Ruby: "Mr. Ou, Wang Ziran and Mrs. Wang are here."
Ou Yunchen: "Let them in."
A moment later, the two were brought into the office.
Ou Yunchen: "Please, sit."
Mrs. Wang: "Mr. Ou, you should know why we've come."
Ou Yunchen: "I know, but my hands are tied. I can't save him."
Mrs. Wang: "Mr. Ou, my husband didn't implicate you. If he reveals you were also involved in bribing him, you'll face the same punishment."
Ou Yunchen: "Mrs. Wang, I remember when you were the only one who showed me kindness when I was humiliated at the Wang family's. I won't forget your generosity. I'm a man who repays both grudges and favors."
It seemed Mrs. Wang had been crying often, her eyes constantly red. She must have known the consequences of her complicity.
Ou Yunchen: "President Wang cannot be saved. His punishment is a foregone conclusion. With all the money he embezzled, the death penalty is certain."
Mrs. Wang: "But he helped you..."
Ou Yunchen: "I've been helping you all along. If he dies, we'll be even."
Wang Ziran: "Ou Yunchen! Don't forget, if my father reveals anything about Su Ruiyi, she's finished too!"
Ou Yunchen's smile froze. The moment he had dreaded had arrived. Looking at Wang Ziran's resolute expression, he knew President Wang would confess everything he could to get a reduced sentence... 138 Reading Network.
Ou Yunchen: "Let's make a deal."
Wang Ziran: "Save my father, otherwise there's nothing to discuss."
Ou Yunchen: "I can't save him, but I can save you."
Wang Ziran: "Me? Heh, I don't need it."
Ou Yunchen turned his gaze to Mrs. Wang. He walked over and handed her a stack of photos.
Mrs. Wang: "What is this?"
Ou Yunchen: "Regarding President Wang's affairs, your entire family is implicated. Mrs. Wang, you're not clean either. You know exactly how much tax you've evaded."
Mrs. Wang: "..."
Ou Yunchen: "As for Wang Ziran, take a good look at the girl in these photos, and the child in her arms..."
Wang Ziran: "Taotao? It's Taotao!!!"
Mrs. Wang snatched the photos and stared intently at the girl. Indeed, it was the internet celebrity she had driven away, who had once tried to marry into the Wang family while pregnant!
Mrs. Wang: "This child is..."
Wang Ziran and Mrs. Wang looked at Ou Yunchen simultaneously, desperate to know if the child was...
Ou Yunchen: "Yes."
Mrs. Wang: "A boy?"
Ou Yunchen: "Taotao has immigrated. The father's name on the birth certificate has always been blank. If Wang Ziran claims the child as his now, I can arrange for him to be reunited with his child immediately and leave until this matter is settled. He doesn't have to come back."
Mrs. Wang covered her mouth, sobbing harder. She seemed to sense that a verdict was imminent, and if only Wang Ziran could escape, it might be the best outcome...
Wang Ziran: "I'm not leaving..."
Mrs. Wang suddenly slapped Wang Ziran. It was likely the first time she had ever hit her son in all the years she had raised him...
Wang Ziran: "Mom!"
Mrs. Wang: "Go, go find that girl immediately!"
Wang Ziran: "I want to save my father!"
Mrs. Wang: "You don't need to!"
Wang Ziran: "Mom!!!"
Mrs. Wang: "No one can save him... The moment he started concealing Yan Shizong's murder case, his fate was sealed..."
Wang Ziran clutched the photos, his body trembling as he wept. None of them wanted to make mistakes, but their error was being blinded by profit, becoming slaves to money, and ultimately having their souls consumed...
Mrs. Wang: "Mr. Ou, you promised me you would send my son away..."
Wang Ziran watched his mother nearly kneeling at Ou Yunchen's feet and quickly stepped forward to stop her.
Mrs. Wang, however, grabbed Wang Ziran's arm and told him to kneel and beg Ou Yunchen.
Wang Ziran: "I won't kneel!!!"
Mrs. Wang: "If you won't kneel, I will. Mr. Ou, as long as you can save my son and let him leave safely, I will agree to anything!"
Wang Ziran: "Mom, don't kneel for him!!!"
Mrs. Wang pushed Wang Ziran away, weeping and begging Ou Yunchen to spare her son. She was willing to bear any punishment herself...
Ou Yunchen looked at Mrs. Wang. He didn't know if Wang Ziran would regret seeing all this, or if he'd wish he hadn't acted as he did. But for Su Ruiyi's sake, he decided to let Wang Ziran go...
***
Three days ago.
President Wang was taken away for investigation. Su Ruiyi immediately found Ou Yunchen.
Su Ruiyi: "Is it really you? Why did you do this!"
Ou Yunchen: "If I said it was for justice, would you believe me?"
Su Ruiyi: "Are you righteous? You set a trap to ruin the Wang family, and you call that justice?"
Ou Yunchen: "Then tell me, what kind of ending should someone like him have?"
"Did all those dead people die in vain?"
"Lan Jie Cai? Fan Zhijie? And that unknown paparazzi?"
"Perhaps many more, whose sacrifices we don't even know about!"
Su Ruiyi: "I thought Yan Shizong's death would quell your hatred..."
Ou Yunchen: "It won't. Until the Wang family falls, I will never give up my hatred!"
Su Ruiyi: "You won't spare any of them?"
Ou Yunchen: "That's right. Not a single one!"
Su Ruiyi: "If I beg you, can you spare Wang Ziran..."
Ou Yunchen: "Can't you see how much he hates me?"
Su Ruiyi: "He's my best friend, the playmate I grew up with..."
"I know he made many mistakes, he always targeted you, he used the Wang family's influence to suppress you..."
"But I beg you, spare him. He's different from Yan Shizong and President Wang. He was just jealous of you..."
Ou Yunchen: "You're pleading for him here, but do you know he threatened me with you to protect President Wang!"
Su Ruiyi: "Didn't you say that if you make a mistake, you should admit it? If the fraud case from back then were to be retried, I'd take the blame..."
Ou Yunchen: "Do you think prison is a fun place? Or do you think everyone in there is friendly?"
"You haven't seen them kill each other, have you? You might not even know how you died in there!"
Su Ruiyi looked at Ou Yunchen's anxious expression and started to laugh while crying.
Ou Yunchen called her crazy, but she didn't get angry. Instead, she hugged his waist. Even with her face tear-streaked, she smiled foolishly.
Su Ruiyi: "You care about me, don't you?"
Ou Yunchen: "Otherwise? Do you really want to see me send you to prison?"
Su Ruiyi: "Seeing you care so much about me before going to prison seems worth it..."
Ou Yunchen: "You lunatic!"
Su Ruiyi: "You don't love me, but you're willing to confront the Wang family to protect me..."
"But, do you know, Wang Ziran has professed his love for me his entire life and wanted to marry me, yet he was willing to send me to the guillotine to save his father..."
Ou Yunchen: "Then you still want me to save him!"
Su Ruiyi: "Do you have good friends? The kind who've been with you since childhood? If you did, you'd understand why I'm begging you to spare him..."
Ou Yunchen: "Are good friends meant to be betrayed?"
Su Ruiyi: "That wasn't betrayal, it was a desperate lifeline. If he had any other choice, how could he bear to sacrifice the one he loves most..."
Ou Yunchen: "..."
Su Ruiyi: "You must have a way to save Wang Ziran, right?"