Chapter 28.2

When the Principal reached for the papers, the woman snatched them back. “You’re a Principal and you wear glasses—is your eyesight that bad? You have to hold them? How do I know you won’t tear them up? This is the last thing my daughter left me. If you tear them and deny it, who will I go to for justice?”

“What kind of mother is this? The first priority isn’t grieving for her deceased daughter, but running to the school to demand money.” The teacher’s eyes were filled with anger. “I’ve visited your home. You clearly favor boys over girls and don’t care about your daughter’s feelings. Every time she got her scholarship, she had to go back and buy things for your son. This girl complained to me more than once, and I was powerless to change it. How could she write that the school withheld her scholarship? Besides, she didn’t even rank in the top ten this time; she was over three-hundredth. I called you to discuss her academic situation, and you didn’t show up.”

“Fine! This is the face of the school, pushing the blame onto others! You have the nerve to bully us common folk, right? Fine. I’ll get some reporters and let everyone see what this school is really like!”

At that moment, the sound of the ambulance sirens faded away. Several police officers entered the office. Seeing the police, the woman grew flustered, crumpling the papers into a ball and squeezing them in her palm. She hadn’t expected the school to actually call the police; usually, schools would be the most guilty in these situations and try to settle privately to protect their reputation. She had come here with such momentum specifically to extort them.

“Don’t give me that… my daughter wrote that Su Xianxian bullied her and made the whole class isolate her! Su Xianxian, right? Your family has money, right? You think money lets you bully honest people? Don’t hide behind your classmates, come out! The police are here now; tell the truth, or the police will take you to jail!”

The woman’s cloudy eyes darted around. Su Xianxian was rich, and she heard her parents were divorced, so no one looked after her. She figured that if she threatened her, the girl would give in and pay up. Since the police were there, the school wouldn’t settle easily, but she was determined to get money regardless of who it came from.

Su Xianxian felt Jiang Cuo move slightly as if to stand in front of her, but before she could, the police acted.

“This is a school. Do not make a scene here. Talk calmly and do not threaten the students.”

With the police speaking, the woman was forced to restrain herself. The Principal led everyone to a conference room. Facing the police, the woman had to hand over the “evidence.” Her arrogance softened, and she clutched her son tightly.

“My son is only in his first year of high school. My drunkard husband died early, and I’m the only breadwinner. My daughter was usually a high achiever and got into this high school. She was always in the top ten and got scholarships, which helped the family. What do you mean I favor boys? You teacher, you don’t use your brain. I wash dishes every day to pay for school. If I didn’t love her, why would I pay for her education? Now she’s gone because of your irresponsibility. I only have my son left. How much does it cost to raise a child now? Is it too much to ask for a little compensation?”

As the woman spoke, she feigned wiping away tears, but her eyes were full of calculation and not a single drop fell. The police took the “will” for handwriting analysis and warned her: “Every word you say is being recorded. If the investigation contradicts your statements, your demand for money could be viewed as extortion, and the school has the right to sue.”

“No, no, I didn’t mean that. I take back what I said. I just mean my daughter is gone, I should get some compensation. The school is responsible! And my daughter repeatedly mentioned Su Xianxian; her parents should come here and apologize to me!”

The woman was calculating rapidly. Su Xianxian was the richest person here; if she didn’t get a satisfactory payout, she would blow the story up to ruin the girl’s reputation.

The teacher had a look of helplessness and called Su Xianxian aside. “Su Xianxian, you see the situation. It’s gotten this big. I have no choice; have your guardian come over.”

While the teacher spoke, the Principal had already found the parent’s contact information provided during enrollment. He called, and the butler answered. The butler arrived at the school without a word.

Meanwhile, Su Jianxiu, who was constantly monitoring Su Xianxian, also got the news. Recently, the large insurance payout for Bai Qiu’s death had left him feeling Read on BaiLianTalessmug. He was surprised the butler hadn’t interfered, and his recent streak of good luck had made him arrogant. He was eyeing Su Xianxian’s inheritance greedily and wanted to get his hands on it as soon as possible.

The talk in the conference room remained at a stalemate. Once the butler arrived, he immediately intervened. He didn’t do anything illegal; he simply expedited the police investigation to reveal the truth. He had been letting Su Jianxiu off the hook lately just to “play the long game.” The Xu elders had been kind to him; he grew up with the Eldest Miss Xu, and he had watched Su Xianxian grow up. He was a Xu man in life and a Xu ghost in death; protecting Su Xianxian was his only goal for the rest of his life.

Solving Su Jianxiu quietly and calmly without Su Xianxian knowing was something he had planned for a long time. He didn’t want to scare her. He finally had all the evidence of Su Jianxiu’s crimes. Su Lian had accelerated this process—he hadn’t expected the Eldest Miss to bring Su Lian back, nor that Su Lian would be willing to help take down Su Jianxiu.

When the butler arrived, Su Jianxiu also entered the conference room with a punchable expression. The woman, seeing Su Jianxiu in his fine suit, immediately stood up and started babbling.

“You must be Su Xianxian’s father! Even if you’re divorced, you still have to look after your daughter! Now she’s driven my daughter to suicide, you have to give me an explanation! The police are right here. I don’t want a child to go to jail, but you’re a smart man, you know how to solve this.”

The woman realized she was too excited and sat back down slowly, looking like a common street thug. She was waiting for this man to settle with her privately.

“I know my daughter’s temper. I’m not surprised she did this. It’s fine, our family has money. Just name your price. I wasn’t around her much, so I’m sorry she grew up with this personality, but I can’t control her. She has a big temper and doesn’t listen to me. All the money is with her; I don’t have a cent to give you.”

Su Jianxiu spoke these words regardless of how everyone in the room looked at him. The woman’s eyes instantly gleamed with greed. The money is with a child? That’s even easier.

The butler stepped forward, his usually gentle face full of rage. He clenched his fists, suppressing the urge to punch Su Jianxiu’s hypocritical face. “You have no right [stolen content]to judge Xianxian. You are not her legal guardian, so she has nothing to do with you. I don’t know where you heard the news, but you have no right to be here. Eighteen years ago, you cheated, abandoned her mother, and wronged the Eldest Miss of the Xu family. You lost your status then. You aren’t even worthy of mentioning her name.”

The butler then turned to the woman. “I am Su Xianxian’s butler. I have been by her side since she was a child. I am her elder and her kin. I know her character; she would never do such a thing. According to my investigation, Su Xianxian is the victim; she has been morally kidnapped by your daughter playing the role of the ‘weak’ one. If you persist in damaging her reputation, I will sue you for libel.”

Su Jianxiu was resentful. He felt his cheating was Bai Qiu’s fault. If Xu Lian hadn’t treated him like that, how could he have cheated? He had thrown away his dignity to lick the boots of the Xu family like a dog, only to find they were the most malicious, tricking him so that he got nothing. He wanted a piece of that fortune, and if he couldn’t have it, he would destroy it.

The Xu family weren’t good people either. They knew their daughter liked women, yet they watched him play the fool and accepted his groveling like a dog while keeping him in the dark. He was the victim! Why should he get no benefits? Only after Xu Lian got pregnant did he realize he had no shares in the Xu corporation; if they divorced or if he made a mistake, he wouldn’t get a cent. Later, Bai Qiu appeared, but she was also in on it to trick him. Since they were unrighteous, why should he be honorable? Since that old man Xu was so ruthless, he had to look out for his own interests.

Su Jianxiu saw Su Lian with her red cheek and thought he had found an opening. “What happened to my good daughter? Did your sister hit you? It’s expected—someone as heartless as your sister, who doesn’t respect parents or love her sister, is rare in this world! She’s all for outsiders, hanging around a man that old and sleeping in the same house every night—I’d believe it if someone said they were having an affair.”

Su Xianxian clenched her fists, a surge of rage rising from her heart. The butler roared, “Su Jianxiu, don’t go too far!”

Su Jianxiu: “How am I going too far? Su Xianxian is young, but how old are you? She listens to you so much—don’t think I don’t know what’s going on. The police are right here; you’re the one who should be arrested. Officer, my daughter Su Xianxian is immature and shouldn’t hold such a large inheritance. We’ll accept this case. I’ll take back the assets and educate her properly.”

At that moment, a plainclothes officer entered. “The test results are back. This so-called suicide note is a forgery.”

The boy behind the woman began to tremble. The woman’s eyes darted around. “Who knows if you’re all in cahoots to bully us commoners? read the original at bailiantales.com You say it’s a forgery, so it’s a forgery?”

Seeing the police officers’ expressions change, she immediately grew scared and began to compromise. “Fine! I don’t want the money. Since my daughter is gone, let my son transfer to this school! Put him in this Rocket Class and train him to get into the best university.”

The Principal couldn’t listen anymore. “Your daughter tragically passed away, and you haven’t shed a single tear. Instead, you’re here trying to plot a career for your son. You are literally eating the bread of that girl’s blood. As the Principal, I can tell you clearly: none of your selfish plans will succeed.”

“How can you say I’m not hurting? She came from my own womb! I raised her with hardship!” The woman stood up and shouted as if to cover her guilt, her eyes red, though it looked forced and not a single tear fell.

“Forging evidence is no small matter. Please cooperate with our investigation.”

The boy panicked and began to stammer, “It wasn’t my fault! My mom said my sister was useless! My mom said the school didn’t give her the scholarship, so she didn’t even have money to buy me a phone! I don’t know anything! My mom said a daughter married off is like water thrown out; educating her was only so she could make us live well. I figured since she was dead anyway, wouldn’t it be better if we got some money?”

“It’s not my son’s fault! Don’t take my son! Take me if you have to, don’t bully a child!” The scene turned into chaos.

Su Jianxiu saw he wouldn’t gain anything and that the matter was ending. The butler’s gaze was too sharp, giving him a bad feeling. He turned to leave, wanting to slip away. But three or four police officers blocked his path at the door.

“Hello, are you Su Jianxiu?”

“I am…”

“Please cooperate with our investigation. We have a report that you committed a large-scale life insurance fraud. The amount is significant, and we need to open a case. There are also charges of soliciting and suspected libel. Please come with us.”

Su Xianxian glanced at Su Lian, who waved her phone, and at the butler, who gave her a reassuring look.

[Trash System: Congratulations, Host, on calmly passing through the side-plot checkpoint. As a reward for the first half of the story, the villain Su Jianxiu is now offline. No one can compete with the Host for the inheritance anymore; all Xu family assets are now in the Host’s name.]

“So that means I legally inherit everything, but I still have to continue the missions and increase the fusion degree to actually use and control the assets, right?”

[Trash System: Correct, Host. You’re very good at drawing inferences. Friendly reminder: you can now choose your surname. Do you want to take the original host’s mother’s surname, Xu, or remain Su?]

Su Xianxian felt a burning sensation in her stomach; she felt terrible. “Su.” In her original world, she was Su Xianxian anyway; she was too lazy to change it.

She fought back the hatred and anger rising in her, felt her stomach churn, and [stolen content]ran out. Jiang Cuo, her eyes full of worry, followed.

Su Xianxian ran to the restroom and couldn’t stop herself from vomiting. She realized for the first time that when one is angry to a certain point, they truly get sick. She threw up everything in her stomach. Her eyes were red, yet she couldn’t shed a tear. The original host’s emotions were affecting her. In this system world, besides the butler’s elder-like warmth, everyone else saw the original host as a piece on a chessboard.

The original host’s mother hadn’t loved Su Jianxiu; she hated her parents, she hated him, and she hated the child she was forced to bear. She ended her life in a way that caused everyone pain, trying to make the Xu elders feel guilty. And to Su Jianxiu, the host was only a tool; once she grew up and he couldn’t use her, there was nothing but resentment.

Jiang Cuo silently handed her some tissue. Su Xianxian grabbed Jiang Cuo’s wrist and leaned her forehead against Jiang Cuo’s right shoulder. She felt weak and exhausted; the inherited hatred was painful.

A flash of imperceptible softness appeared in Jiang Cuo’s eyes. She didn’t speak. She just took out a “Little Red Flower” sticker from her pocket—the same kind from yesterday. She took Su Xianxian’s hand and pasted it in her palm.

Then she whispered softly: “No crying. What an obedient child. Here is a little red flower as a reward.”

Su Xianxian was stunned by the unexpected gesture. A warm current flowed through her heart. She said weakly, “Thank you, Jiang Cuo. It’s good to have you here.”

Jiang Cuo’s face remained cool, but she pressed the flower into Su Xianxian’s palm with her thumb, gently stroking it. She thought to herself: It turns out I make her feel so much better. Su Xianxian… really loves me so much.

Author’s Note:

Jiang Cuo: (Pressing the little red flower) Satisfied.

Su Xianxian: (Heart-weary)