Chapter 107

On her way, He Miaomiao received supplementary case details from a subordinate. After sorting through them, she incorporated them into her proposed solution.

Once she finished the revisions, He Miaomiao fell silent for a long time.

To think Yun Zhou had left because of a person like that.

A moment later, she sent a message to Yan Mu: Are you okay?

Yan Mu replied: Mhm.

She wanted to say more, but the elevator chimed as it arrived at her floor. He Miaomiao composed herself and stepped out.

After reviewing the plan He Miaomiao had formulated, Li Hao offered no opinion. He simply nodded, signaling for her to proceed as outlined.

He Miaomiao immediately began assigning tasks to her subordinates, but she remained in the office, not leaving.

Her intention was obvious. Li Hao looked up, his fingers interlaced beneath his chin. “What do you want to ask?”

Since he had addressed it directly, He Miaomiao saw no need to beat around the bush. “What is your relationship with Jiang Zhihuo?”

After so much had happened, it was difficult not to connect Jiang Zhihuo and Li Hao.

During the Fu Xiuwang incident, Jiang Zhihuo had arrived on the scene first and planted the cracking device. Li Hao had arrived on time afterward, yet in the subsequent handling of the case, there was no mention of Jiang Zhihuo whatsoever.

The same was true for this kidnapping. First, it was impossible that Li Hao would let his subordinates take orders from a high school student of unknown origin. Second, Jiang Zhihuo’s performance throughout the entire process far exceeded the level expected of someone his age; he was even more experienced and calm than many proper police officers. Moreover, having been granted command authority, there was absolutely no need for him to relay the personality profile of Dai Hongtian and the action plan to her through Yan Mu.

He Miaomiao could only think of two reasons.

Either Jiang Zhihuo judged that the police chief lacked sufficient trust in him, or the situation at the time was too urgent to allow for repeated explanations to clarify the reasons.

Or, Jiang Zhihuo was wary of Li Hao’s motive for handing over command to him for no apparent reason, and he therefore did not want to pass any of his conclusions on to Li Hao and his team.

Third, and most obviously:

According to Professor Yun’s statement, Jiang Zhihuo was supposed to be Dai Hongtian’s son, but in the household registration system, Jiang Zhihuo had no connection to Dai Hongtian.

—There was no doubt about this point. Someone had tampered with the system.

And the only person connected to Jiang Zhihuo who could access the police system was Li Hao.

He Miaomiao looked at Li Hao quietly, her thoughts written all over her face and in her eyes, without the slightest attempt at concealment.

If Li Hao had really altered the system, it was an abuse of his personal authority. Regardless of his current position, if it were reported to his superiors, he would not be able to clear his name.

Li Hao met her gaze for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing. “Hahaha, don’t look at me like that. I didn’t do anything.”

As if he knew she would come asking, he sent her a file, distancing himself from the matter. “Jiang Zhihuo and Dai Hongtian, they never had a father-son relationship from the very beginning. I just helped move his household registration back to where it originally belonged, which is within my authority.”

Having gotten her answer, He Miaomiao asked no more questions and exited the office.

Only after she had dealt with the majority of her tasks did He Miaomiao open the file Li Hao had sent her.

The matter of Jiang Zhihuo’s parents was, in fact, part of another case.

But it had happened too long ago, and with no one pursuing it, bringing it up now was merely acknowledging that such a thing had once occurred, and nothing more.

—Professor Yun’s case was not the only one on Dai Hongtian’s record.

Over a decade ago, perhaps due to drunkenness or an impulse, Dai Hongtian had raped a woman.

The woman was an omega. Even now, when the call for AO equality was so loud, some prejudice against omegas still existed; back then, it was far worse. It was said that the woman had just attended her boyfriend’s funeral that day and was forcibly dragged away by Dai Hongtian on her way back.

After that night, the woman discovered she was pregnant.

Her family, using the excuse that she was an omega who had been indecent, pushed all the blame onto her. Ignoring her tearful pleas, they forced her to marry Dai Hongtian.

The marriage and the wedding were only the beginning of the nightmare.

A man capable of rape could not be considered a human being.

He drank all day and would beat her as soon as he got home. The woman’s body was perennially covered in injuries.

On the day she gave birth, she wasn’t even at her due date. She had been beaten into the hospital by Dai Hongtian, who had kicked her stomach and lower body. By the time she was admitted, she was already bleeding uncontrollably.

It was all so long ago. Even the file mostly used uncertain phrases like “according to an insider,” “it is said,” and “possibly.” But one thing was certain, confirmed by a paternity test, Jiang Zhihuo and Dai Hongtian had no biological relationship.

He was the child of the woman and her deceased boyfriend. The man’s family would never have agreed to such a child being born into the world, so the woman told no one.

That was why Li Hao could so easily remove all of Jiang Zhihuo’s information. He had no connection to Dai Hongtian to begin with. No matter what the future held, at least legally and biologically, Jiang Zhihuo would not be affected by Dai Hongtian in the slightest.

He Miaomiao sighed. She looked out the window at the scattered clouds embracing the exceptionally blue sky. A breeze swept by, clear and crisp.

She deleted the file and rose to leave her office.

—

The kidnapping had occurred in front of a live broadcast camera, and the internet was in an uproar. Everyone was condemning and questioning. Just as online public opinion was about to explode, the authorities promptly issued a case report.

There were no casualties or property damage involving unrelated personnel in the entire incident. The mastermind of the kidnapping, Dai Hongtian, was confirmed dead.

The case was resolved in thirty minutes, with another ten minutes for emergency response, totaling forty minutes, right on the brink of a major public outcry.

The netizens who had been ready to unleash their fury were left with: “?”

Thanks to proper guidance, the crowd at the scene had not taken photos or spread details of the situation. After the official statement was released, the Pick U production team immediately announced they would cooperate with the follow-up investigation.

Ten minutes after the report was issued, the police received an update from the hospital.

Yun Xiaoxu was not seriously injured; the bruises on his body were superficial. Once he was mentally stable, he could continue participating in the competition. Jiang Zhihuo, having cushioned Yun Xiaoxu’s fall when they jumped onto the safety air cushion, had absorbed most of the impact. Fortunately, his posture was correct, and he avoided serious injury, suffering only multiple contusions to his arm and chest muscles. It was not a major issue and did not require hospitalization.

The police also immediately released the cause and course of the entire incident and, with the consent of the two professors, published some details from the original case file.

The language in the official notice was, after all, official and not easy to read. A helpful netizen summarized the official report, and when the others saw the truth, they exploded.

[Holy shit? Is this motherfucker even human?! He swapped their kid, scammed them out of a huge sum of money, and then came back for revenge?]

[Sob… Professors, Yun Xiaoxu, this is too heartbreaking! My heart aches for them. Hugs.]

[Thank god, Dai Hongtian is dead. I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.]

[Wait, he only got thirteen years for kidnapping and extortion?! What must the professor have thought hearing that sentence? Just reading the report makes me feel suffocated. How did they endure it?!]

[No wonder Yun Xiaoxu said on the show that he had an older brother before, and that he only joined the family later. So the older brother was the swapped child?]

[What happened to that older brother?]

[Hell is empty, and the devils are here on earth.]

[Sunrise fans, let’s get it together! Our Yun Xiaoxu has been through so much and can still be so cheerful and optimistic, giving us strength. Everyone, hurry up and mobilize, let’s send our little brother to a high-ranking debut!!]

[Aaaah, let’s go!! Go, Yun Xiaoxu! Go, Professor! Go, brother!]

In the hospital room, Yun Xiaoxu, unaware of the online commotion, was still reeling from the shock of Jiang Zhihuo telling him he had no relation to Dai Hongtian.

“Really?” Yun Xiaoxu was clearly skeptical.

“Really,” Jiang Zhihuo said with certainty.

Yun Xiaoxu was first astonished, then his eyebrows twitched, and he threw himself at Jiang Zhihuo. “That’s great!” He rubbed his face all over Jiang Zhihuo’s. “Then you can take the civil service exam in the future! You don’t have to worry about failing the political background check!”

Jiang Zhihuo: “…”

With his tattoos, he probably wouldn’t pass the physical examination.

Yun Xiaoxu was even more excited than Jiang Zhihuo himself. He clung to him, refusing to let go, and nearly strangled him. Fortunately, a suddenly ringing phone saved him.

His manager asked about Yun Xiaoxu’s physical condition. After getting an answer, he told him, “The production team is coming to film your condition in a bit. I won’t say much, but be mindful of what you say. Don’t be too extreme.”

“Yeah, I know. Don’t worry!” Yun Xiaoxu said.

The manager paused, then couldn’t help but add, “It might not be the best thing to say, but you could consider this incident a blessing in disguise. Your Super Topic, follower count, votes, and fundraising numbers are all skyrocketing.”

The manager left it at that. The company wouldn’t interfere with how he explained things, but Yun Xiaoxu could make his own decisions. As long as he had a normal level of emotional intelligence, he could totally use this to boost his chances for the final live broadcast night.

“Of course I know that!” Yun Xiaoxu stared at the large patch of bruises on his hand from the ropes and ground his teeth. “I can’t have gotten tied up for nothing, right?”

After hanging up, Yun Xiaoxu told Jiang Zhihuo that the production team was coming. Not wanting to be on camera, Jiang Zhihuo left the room ahead of time. Just as he stepped into the elevator, Yan Mu called, saying he was already downstairs and asking if Jiang Zhihuo wanted anything to eat.

“I don’t want to eat.” The moment Jiang Zhihuo heard Yan Mu’s voice, he no longer wanted to hide his emotions. His tone was low. “Yan-ge, just take a walk with me.”

There was a large flower bed downstairs at the hospital. Jiang Zhihuo and Yan Mu walked along the footpath.

“I…” Yan Mu said, “I just heard the professors’ conversation.”

The two professors still needed to cooperate with the police, so Yan Mu had left the station first.

Jiang Zhihuo was silent for a moment before saying, “I didn’t mean to leave back then.”

“I didn’t go back. I… I didn’t know what to do, where to go. Because I’m not related to them. I’m not related to anyone. They don’t need to bear the burden I bring. The professors were living well. I thought I shouldn’t disturb them.”

Jiang Zhihuo’s words were somewhat incoherent. He rubbed his cheeks, felt the heat in his palms, and covered his face.

“I don’t know how to say it,” his muffled voice came from between his fingers.

There were many things he had never said and couldn’t say. His choices, the path he walked, the solution he had chosen for himself.

It was just that thinking back on it still hurt. If he had gone back later, would things have been like before? Would he not have been separated from Qin-ge for so long? Would he not have had to pretend to be a bad student, not have had to move from place to place?

However, it was all just “if only.”

These thoughts were too selfish. The subject was always only himself. And Jiang Zhihuo knew very well that to Professor Yun, to Yun Xiaoxu, and even to Yan Mu, he was just a part of a divergent path.

They had become each other’s regrets.

Unwilling to forget, but never regretting.