Chapter 170: Calculated Scheme

Inside the hotel…

After Song Fengwan washed up, she reviewed the key points that the teacher had emphasized during class and checked the items she would be using tomorrow. She waited until 10 o’clock before receiving a call from Qiao Aiyun.

“Wanwan.”

Song Fengwan could obviously hear the howling of the wind over the phone. “Mom? When are you coming back?”

“There’s a problem with the Jade Hall of Spring’s inventory. I came to take a look, so I might be a little late. You should go to bed first. Don’t stay up late. What do you want to eat tomorrow morning…?”

“Anything is fine.” Song Fengwan knew that she didn’t want to say more, so she didn’t ask further.

The two spoke a few more words before hanging up.

Song Fengwan thought that there shouldn’t be a big problem with the inventory of the jade store, so she didn’t think much about it.

***

Yunjin Prime Manor…

After sending a goodnight message to Song Fengwan, Fu Chen tilted his head and looked at Shi Fang opposite him. “How’s the situation now?”

“They kicked up a huge fuss.” Shi Fang spread his hands.

“F*ck, you don’t understand. Those people aren’t people who can afford to buy jade at all. Although their family isn’t poor, they are extremely greedy with money and stingy. They wouldn’t spend thousands on jade bracelets.”

“It’s clear that someone is deliberately causing trouble.”

Fu Chen remained silent while rubbing the hibiscus stone dangling from the agarwood prayer bead bracelet around his wrist.

“When they arrived at the store, without saying anything, they smashed the store and injured a few store assistants.

“The security guards didn’t manage to stop them. When Ms. Qiao went over, she was scratched a few times too. I heard her neck is injured.”

Fu Chen narrowed his eyes. “What’s the situation over there now?”

“They were all taken away by the police. In the end, this kind of thing can only be settled by negotiating compensation. This family is usually so stingy, but now they’re generous. They agreed to pay the compensation immediately and said that they didn’t want to go to jail.”

One look and people could tell that someone had planned it.

“Heh—” Fu Chen sneered.

They didn’t have to pay the compensation themselves, and they could still earn a considerable sum of money by drinking tea at the police station. Naturally, people would take up such a deal.

“A family of five, and there’s also a boy who’s only fifteen. The boy should be sent home later.” Shi Fang was speechless.

“This is too f*cking immoral. Because he couldn’t do things openly, he resorted to underhanded means. And he did it at such a time too. F*ck!

“Just because they said it’s fake, they can cause trouble and smash a store belonging to someone else?”

Fu Chen rubbed the hibiscus stone. “How is Aunt Yun’s condition now?”

“She left the police station and went to the hospital to take a look at the injured employee. She should be returning to the hotel later.

“He picked the time his daughter was going to take the exam and caused trouble when she was the busiest. Isn’t he f*cking destroying their peace on purpose?

“If Miss Song finds out about this, she’ll definitely feel uneasy inside. If this interferes with her exam, isn’t this deliberately ruining her future?”

Fu Chen’s cold and grim eyes narrowed slightly. “Ruining her future?

“I can ruin his entire life.”

“He has already declared war. I’m afraid this won’t end well. This is likely only the start…” Shi Fang shrugged with a face of helplessness. “Is it necessary to do this for the sake of assets?”

“Human nature won’t be exposed unless it involves benefits.” Fu Chen lifted his eyelids, his eyes dark.

***

The next day…

Perhaps because she was about to take the examination, she couldn’t help feeling nervous and anxious. Before the alarm clock rang, Song Fengwan was already awake. She turned on her phone and looked at the time. Fu Chen’s message had already arrived.

[Don’t be nervous. Good luck on the exam.]

There was also a cheering emoji.

Song Fengwan laughed softly and sent him an emoji with a nodding expression before getting up to change her clothes and wash up.

When she walked out of her room, Qiao Aiyun was preparing breakfast.

“It’s not time yet. Why are you up so early?” Qiao Aiyun was still wearing the clothes she had been wearing yesterday. The temperature of the air conditioner in the room was as high as 20 degrees, yet she had a scarf wrapped around her neck.

Although she was smiling, her expression was obviously haggard, and her eyes were clouded and bloodshot.

“Mom, did something happen?” Song Fengwan walked to her side.

“I’m also nervous about your exam. I couldn’t sleep since I came back last night because I was afraid of oversleeping.” Qiao Aiyun smiled. “Hurry up and check your things again. Don’t forget your admission ticket. You can eat immediately.”

“Okay.” Song Fengwan was full of suspicion and kept feeling that something was amiss.

Before the examination, the examination venue was completely locked down. If people went too early, they wouldn’t be able to enter. Song Fengwan ate breakfast and stayed in the hotel to read a book for a while. She only left the hotel 40 minutes before the examination started.

Qiao Aiyun sent her all the way to the school’s entrance, where the examinees entered directly.

“When this ends in the morning, go straight back to the hotel. I’ll cook our meal and wait for you.”

Song Fengwan nodded.

“Don’t be nervous. You have to believe in yourself.” Qiao Aiyun advised her for a long time before letting her in.

***

The art examination was only one day.

In the morning, the examinees were tested on sketching, and in the afternoon, it would be the use of gouache. After Song Fengwan entered the examination hall, she naturally became focused and took the examination seriously.

When she returned to the hotel at noon, Qiao Aiyun acted no different from usual. She even specially cooked a fish for her.

The examination time had always been very tight. Song Fengwan barely took a breather before it was time for the afternoon examination.

Qiao Aiyun walked her into the examination hall and heaved a long sigh of relief.

When Song Fengwan’s figure disappeared, she hailed a taxi and went straight to the lawyer’s office. There were still many follow-up matters that needed to be resolved urgently from last night.

It was nothing more than the issue of compensation and the payment for the employees’ medical bills. It was a matter of money, and this matter also involved some civil liability. Qiao Aiyun had contacted a lawyer in the morning to help deal with it.

When she reached the law firm and was about to go to the police station with the lawyer, she realized that things had developed in an unexpected direction.

The female lawyer’s name was Geng Ying. She was in her early forties and was wearing a smart suit. She placed a video in front of Qiao Aiyun.

The Qiao family only had six jade stores nationwide, and all of them were located at prime locations in city centers. The vandalism incident last night had been photographed and posted online.

The clip was the scene of that family questioning them for selling fake goods and arguing with the employees.

The netizens’ comments were full of different opinions.

“The Jade Hall of Spring is an old brand. Why would they sell fake goods? I buy things there every year as gifts. I’ve never discovered any fakes.”

“I think this family is there to extort them. After all, they’ll be compensated for ten if one item is fake.”

“Such a big store might really have some defective products. People like me who don’t know how to differentiate jade could be fooled by them. In the past, when I was traveling, I spent tens of thousands on a piece of jade. When I went home, I got someone to appraise it. They said that it was worth two to three thousand at most. There are too many fake jade items.”

“Perhaps they bought it together with good and bad products. After all, there are many people who don’t know how to recognize the good stuff. They probably didn’t expect something to happen this time. Besides, the Jade Hall of Spring’s stuff is really expensive.”

…

Geng Ying crossed her arms and looked at Qiao Aiyun. “Why didn’t you immediately contact me last night when such a major thing happened?”

“It happened too suddenly.” Qiao Aiyun frowned deeply when she saw the netizens’ comments.

“You’re currently in a divorce lawsuit. If your reputation is damaged, the other party can use this to attack you. Perhaps some of your testimony will no longer be credible.

“The judge’s use of testimony will definitely take into account the credibility of the parties involved.

“You’re the one managing the Jade Hall of Spring, but it’s selling fake goods now. If this matter isn’t handled properly, the other party will say that you’re a through and through liar. I’m afraid that the credibility of all the evidence provided will be greatly reduced.”

Qiao Aiyun had been busy almost until four at night last night. She hadn’t slept the whole night, so her mind was a little dizzy.

She thought that there was a mastermind behind this whole incident to wreck the store deliberately, but she hadn’t linked this incident to the divorce lawsuit at all.

Compared to hundreds of thousands in compensation, the divorce lawsuit involved more than a hundred million in assets. It was a paltry sum.

“That scumbag!” Qiao Aiyun was so angry that her body was trembling.

“This incident has been spreading online. Let’s not talk about whether it’s true or not. It will definitely be detrimental to your reputation.”

“I understand.”

“I’ll go to the police station with you to deal with the aftermath first.” Geng Ying picked up her coat and walked out with her briefcase.

***

As soon as the two left the law firm, they were immediately surrounded by a large group of reporters.

This group of people had obviously been waiting here for a while. When they saw Qiao Aiyun come out, they immediately carried their various cameras and swarmed in like bees.

“Ms. Qiao, are you really having an affair?”

“Are you really having an affair with the man in the photo? You’re in a divorce lawsuit now, and you keep emphasizing that Mr. Song was the one who had an affair. Have you been having fun on your own since a long time ago?”

“Fake goods have been revealed from the Jade Hall of Spring. I heard that you’re also keeping a boy toy. May I know how the divorce lawsuit will proceed?”

“May I ask who the man in the photo is? How long have you been together? Is Miss Song really Mr. Song’s biological daughter?”

…

Qiao Aiyun’s mind was confused for a moment.

She had thought that this group of reporters had run over to ask about the Jade Hall of Spring’s fake goods. What was this sudden affair and boy toy?

Only when she heard someone mention Song Fengwan did she instantly explode.

Completely ignoring Geng Ying, who was blocking in front of her, she raised her hand and smacked the microphone in the reporter’s hand.

“This reporter, there are some things you can’t say irresponsibly.”

“Are you angry from embarrassment?” There were colleagues around them, and everyone was also carrying cameras. “Do you want to hit me?”

“So what if I hit you?” Qiao Aiyun’s face was livid.

“Aren’t you afraid we’ll call the police?”

Qiao Aiyun sneered. “Call the police? Even if the police come, I won’t let you off if you dare say anything derogatory about my daughter in front of me!”

These reporters obviously hadn’t expected Qiao Aiyun to dare to flare up in front of the cameras. They took two steps back and didn’t dare to go forward.

“You can say anything about me, but don’t drag the child into this.”

Geng Ying pulled Qiao Aiyun toward the car. The reporters didn’t dare chase after them and could only watch the two leave.

Geng Ying drove away. After confirming that there was no car following them, she let out a sigh of relief.

At this moment, there was already a lot of news on Qiao Aiyun’s phone.

They were basically of her and Yan Wangchuan. But his face was covered in mosaics, so no one could recognize who it was. Only her face was exceptionally clear.

Everything happened one after another. If she still didn’t know who was behind this, Qiao Aiyun would really be a fool.

“Song Jingren, you’re so f*cking shameless!” Qiao Aiyun’s eyes were red from fury.

“That man…” As her lawyer, Geng Ying naturally knew the relationship between the two of them. Otherwise, if the other party brought up any fatal evidence during the trial, the case would be over.

“We’re just friends. He’s my father’s disciple. There’s nothing between us.” Qiao Aiyun gripped her phone tightly.

“The other party planned it well. I’m afraid that if this goes on, it’ll be difficult for you to fight for custody during the divorce.”

“How disgusting!”

“Let’s think of something.” Geng Ying sighed. She had fought many divorce lawsuits, but it was truly rare to implicate children in the end.

He’s truly lost his conscience just to get some money.

***

Nanjiang, Yan family residence…

Upon receiving a message from his assistant, Yan Wangchuan ran down the stairs without changing his clothes.

When he went downstairs, he saw his mother sitting in the living room, seemingly waiting for him.

“Mom.”

“Going to Yuncheng?” Old Madam Yan looked up at him.

“I’m already involved. You were right previously. I wanted to help her, but the timing wasn’t right, so someone seized this as evidence against her.” He stood there with a cold face, standing straight without moving.

His eyes were firm, as though nothing she said could shake his decision.

“The Yan family values our reputation. He was sure that I wouldn’t let you appear and admit that the ‘adulterer’ was you. It was a calculated scheme.”

“Mom.”

“Don’t look at me with that deadpan face. You make me look like an evil woman. Go, go.” Old Madam Yan looked displeased.

“Thank you, Mom,” Yan Wangchuan said as he drove out and headed straight for the airport.

***

He was not the only one who had left for the airport.

Inside the lounge of Beijing Airport…

Fu Chen casually flipped through a magazine with a relaxed expression. Regardless of any storms occurring, he would remain calm.

Shi Fang bent over and whispered in his ear, “Third Master, Mr. Yan has set off from Nanjiang.”

“Oh.”

“That person from the Qiao family has left too.”

At this moment, the announcement announced that people could start boarding the flight to Yuncheng.

Fu Chen closed the magazine and smiled.

When he reached Yuncheng and rushed to the school, he would be able to catch up with her leaving the examination venue. The timing was just right.