"He said he picked up a bargain at the Antique City and sold it for three hundred thousand!" Chen Yinuo said.
"Damn it!"
Chen Yihao was furious now.
He didn't care how Ye Chen got the money, nor did he care whether the so-called bargain was real or fake.
What he simply couldn't accept was that his release was thanks to that bastard.
He turned and walked toward a police officer. "Officer, could you please help me get that one hundred thousand back and return it to that scumbag bastard? I don't want a settlement. Lock me back up, file a formal case against me, and judge me according to the procedures. Keep me locked up for however long it's supposed to be—I accept it!"
"What do you think the detention room is? Somewhere you can just walk in and out of as you please? Besides, the other party's family agreed to the settlement and took the money to leave. How do you expect us to go and get it back for you?"
The officers were dumbfounded.
They had seen reckless people before, but never one quite this reckless.
"Yihao, have you lost your mind? Hurry up and come back with me, let's go!"
Chen Yinuo panicked, grabbing Chen Yihao by the arm and dragging him toward the exit.
Knowing that the matter was already a foregone conclusion, Chen Yihao passed right by Ye Chen while being dragged away.
He glared and shouted viciously, "I'll pay you back that one hundred thousand with principal and interest, you hear me? I won't owe you a thing, and don't expect me to be grateful! If you ever dare bully my sister again, or if you still refuse to sign the divorce papers, I'll find a chance and kill you just the same!"
Ye Chen said nothing.
On his face, aside from that bitter smile, there was only more bitterness.
He just stood frozen in place, watching the siblings leave the police station, and did not follow them out.
It wasn't that he didn't want to go after them, but he was afraid that Chen Yihao, whose temper was still flaring, would throw another crazy tantrum!
"You... are you really her brother-in-law?"
An officer looked Ye Chen up and down and couldn't help asking.
"Yeah, doesn't look like it?" Ye Chen gave a bitter smile.
"What a sin!"
The officer reached out, patted Ye Chen on the shoulder, left those words behind, and walked away.
Just as Ye Chen was about to lift his foot and leave, he suddenly heard a few officers chatting.
"Old Li, I heard you're buying a house? Where are you looking?"
"Where else can I look? Wherever is cheapest, of course! My wife and I scrimped and saved just to scrape together this little nest egg. If it weren't for the kids, I'd never even dare think about buying a house. Life is exhausting enough as it is, and if you pile a mortgage on top of that, it's even harder to breathe!"
"You still haven't said where you're buying."
"I'm planning to go to the West District. There's a newly opened housing development there called Jinlin Mansion. Sales start tomorrow, seven thousand per square meter, and the first one hundred buyers even get a 4% discount. I'm planning to go check it out tomorrow!" said Officer Old Li.
"Jinlin Mansion in the West District? Isn't that right on the urban-rural fringe? They say there's no infrastructure to speak of out there, and you're still going to buy? What are you thinking? There's no room for development there in the short term!"
Old Li smiled bitterly. "I know, but what choice do I have? You all know the situation at home. With my parents, my younger brother, my sister-in-law, and my sister, the whole big family is crammed together and nothing is convenient. Plus, the kids will be starting school in a couple of years. No infrastructure? So be it, at least we'll have a home of our own. At worst, ferrying the kids back and forth to school will just be a bit more tiring. After all, my little nest egg is only enough for the down payment at Jinlin Mansion!"
Listening from a distance to the conversation among the officers, Ye Chen, who had been about to leave, froze in place.
Immediately afterward, a bright light flashed in his eyes.
Chapter 18: The Pinhole Camera
Jinlin Mansion.
If he hadn't happened to hear the name just now, Ye Chen probably would have forgotten about this real estate project that swept the entire country in his past life.
Hearing the officers' conversation, all the memories of his past life rushed back clearly and vividly.
Just as the officers had said, Jinlin Mansion was indeed located on the urban-rural fringe.
It was also undeniably the lowest-priced housing development in Jiangzhou at present.
Compared to those developments starting at twenty or thirty thousand per square meter, Jinlin Mansion seemed utterly out of place in the city of Jiangzhou!
That was because Jinlin Mansion was not only on the edge of the urban-rural fringe, but it also bordered a dirty, chaotic urban village. Though separated by a single wall, there were certain issues with security and hygiene compared to other areas. On top of that was the infrastructure problem—it simply couldn't compare to other residential communities.
Therefore, in Ye Chen's memories of his past life, for the first three days after Jinlin Mansion went on sale, it was completely deserted. Word had it that there were more sales staff than people coming to look at the apartments.
It was very simple: nobody looked favorably on Jinlin Mansion.
And the people living inside the urban village were mostly migrant workers. Even though seven thousand was practically dirt cheap, few could afford it anyway.
However, unexpectedly, on the fourth day after Jinlin Mansion went on sale, the previously deserted scene turned into a bustling crowd with long lines snaking out the door.
This was because on the third night after Jinlin Mansion opened for sales, the authorities released several pieces of news that caught everyone completely off guard!
That urban village area was slated for demolition and redevelopment, to be replaced by a commercial district.
In addition to commercialization, a high-spec, high-faculty foreign-language school would be built there.
It was precisely because of this sudden announcement of relocation and redevelopment that overnight, housing prices in Jinlin Mansion skyrocketed fivefold!
And it wasn't just a simple fivefold surge; starting from the fourth day of sales, long lines of homebuyers had to compete through a lottery system. In other words, money alone wasn't enough anymore—you needed luck to buy a unit.
Thinking of these developments from his past life, Ye Chen already had a plan in mind!
Although the three hundred thousand he made from selling the Buddhist prayer beads was now down to twenty thousand, with this tailwind from Jinlin Mansion, multiplying that twenty thousand several times over was absolute certainty.
Suddenly, Ye Chen really wanted to go thank Officer Old Li; if not for him, he would have completely forgotten about this whole business with Jinlin Mansion!
In the end, though, he didn't say anything.
That night.
In Shanshuijian, a luxury residential community where housing prices reached sixty to seventy thousand per square meter, inside a river-view apartment close to two hundred square meters in size.
This was the residence of Yuntian Network's top live-streamer, Yiyi.
Although Zhang Jingshan had paid the down payment for this apartment, the property deed bore Yiyi's name.
"Darling!"
When a slightly drunk Zhang Jingshan opened the door with his fingerprint password and stepped into this love nest where the two of them often tangled in affection, Yiyi—wearing sexy hollow-out sheer gauze, possessing a standard internet-celebrity face yet exuding an extremely alluring charm—immediately pounced on him like an octopus.
Hooked by Yiyi, who was radiating a bewitching and seductive perfume, Zhang Jingshan lost all self-control the moment he crossed the threshold.
He immediately scooped Yiyi up in his arms and headed toward the bedroom.
"Darling, go take a shower first!"
"Darling, go take a shower, please! I don't want you smelling all sweaty!"
Yiyi cooed and pleaded as Zhang Jingshan carried her.
"What shower? We'll wash later!"
Kicking the bedroom door open and entering the room, Zhang Jingshan was instantly overcome with eager impatience.
"No, no!"
"We can't!"
"I'm begging you, don't be like this!"
Yet, once inside the room, Yiyi was like a completely different person from just moments before.
If Yiyi had been playfully seductive earlier, now she seemed genuinely panicked.
However, with alcohol clouding his mind, Zhang Jingshan didn't notice anything amiss.
Even if he had noticed, he wouldn't have thought much of it.
Because in the past, he and Yiyi had often played out little scenarios to spice up their passion.
So he simply assumed this was just Yiyi showing off her good acting skills!
"No, don't be like this!"
"We can't, let me go, please!"
"President Zhang! President Zhang, no!"
On the bed, Yiyi kept pushing against him, tears glistening in her eyes.
Beneath the guise of a struggling resistance was yet another presentation of playing hard to get.
Not only did Zhang Jingshan not take it seriously, but the adrenaline in his body surged even higher.
"Damn, your acting is getting better and better! Keep going, this is the exact effect I want!"
Zhang Jingshan cried out excitedly with a dry throat, transforming into a hungry wolf!
Half an hour later.
The live-streamer Yiyi cursed him as a bastard before hurrying out of the bedroom. Immediately after, the sound of running water echoed from the bathroom!
Lying on the soft Simmons mattress, Zhang Jingshan lit a cigarette and basked in the afterglow.
Yet before he could finish that cigarette, his mind suddenly flashed back to what Ye Chen had told him in the office:
"A beauty is a sharp blade hanging over your head..."
"A peach-blossom calamity..."
"Keep your guard up..."
"You're going to take a fall..."
Although he had dismissed Ye Chen's words at the time, once these phrases began nagging at the back of his mind, he couldn't help narrowing his eyes.
Then he glanced at the nearby light switch, hesitated for a moment, and pressed it.
The next second, the entire room plunged into darkness.
"Am I being way too paranoid?"
Zhang Jingshan muttered, sobering up from the alcohol.
Yet he couldn't shake Ye Chen's earlier words echoing endlessly in his head.
Finally, he picked up his phone, opened the camera app, and began inspecting the surroundings.
Well, the trap he could think of was that Yiyi might have installed a camera in this room.
After a thorough patrol, he found no issues whatsoever.
Just as Zhang Jingshan was about to turn the lights back on, suddenly—
As his phone camera inadvertently swept across an inconspicuous corner outlet, an abnormal red dot instantly appeared on the phone screen in camera mode.
"Huh?"
Zhang Jingshan froze abruptly.
His heartbeat skyrocketed instantly!
A chill ran uncontrollably down his spine.
The next moment, he hurriedly switched on the room lights, scrambled to find a handy tool, and nervously pried open that outlet.
As soon as it was pried open, a miniature wireless pinhole camera immediately came into view.
Seeing that pinhole camera, Zhang Jingshan broke out in a cold, trembling sweat in an instant.
He didn't think for a moment that Yiyi had recorded this just to review and enjoy later!
"Damn it!"
Trembling as he cursed, he hurriedly picked up the laptop from the study desk, opened it, and entered the password he had once inadvertently seen Yiyi type.
Then he quickly scanned the computer folders for abnormal files!
With that scan, he immediately found a real-time recording software.
And the video files saved by that software were entirely filled with passionate intimate sessions between him and Yiyi. More importantly, those sessions all gave the visual impression that he was violently raping the other person—every single saved file was like that!
At that moment, Zhang Jingshan felt a coldness wash over his entire body.
If these videos were ever leaked...
He would never be able to clear his name, even if he jumped into the Yellow River!
Chapter 19: This Favor is a Massive Debt
"Is she trying to drive me to my grave?"
Spitting these words through chattering teeth, Zhang Jingshan started frantically shredding those files with trembling hands.
Then, as if thinking of something, he picked up Yiyi's phone and opened WeChat. As he expected, there weren't many anomalies.
Next, he logged into Yiyi's WeChat directly on the computer.
Whether the other party hadn't had time to delete the synchronization records on the computer or whatever the reason was, a black avatar appeared in Zhang Jingshan's line of sight.
Zhang Jingshan clicked on it:
[Baby, make time to come over to my place. I haven't tasted you in half a month and I miss you terribly! Also, hurry up and record some videos to threaten Zhang Jingshan. Make him get his grandfather to pull strings—you must get my younger brother out. Stop playing games and stalling me, or don't blame me for leaking those unspeakable videos and photos of you for the whole world to see how loose, dirty, and promiscuous the top-tier live-streaming beauty used to be back in the day!]
Seeing this WeChat message that hadn't had time to be deleted yet, Zhang Jingshan instantly blew his top.
So the pure little vixen in his eyes had actually been going behind his back to hook up with someone else? And back in the day, she was just a common plaything for anyone?
Yet none of that was the most important thing. The most important thing was that this person was planning to use these videos to threaten him? And even drag his grandfather, who had retired for years, into the mud?
Screw your ancestors!
Clack—
Zhang Jingshan snapped the laptop shut.
With the laptop in one hand and his phone in the other dialing a number, he whipped around and strode out!
"Darling, hurry up and take a shower!"
Yiyi walked out of the bathroom draped in a bath towel.
There was no response to her call.
"Could he have fallen asleep?"
Muttering to herself, Yiyi returned to the bedroom.
But where was there even a shadow of Zhang Jingshan?
What greeted her eyes was the pried-open wall outlet and the missing laptop!
Seeing this, Yiyi instantly plunged into boundless terror.
The flushed, post-shower complexion from a moment before turned ashen gray in an instant!
Because she knew all too well what this scene meant.
Panicking to the point where she could barely stand, she grabbed her phone and dialed Zhang Jingshan's number.
Rejected and hung up!
She called again!
Rejected again...
"Darling, please listen to me and let me explain. I'm begging you to answer the phone, please—"
However, before she could even send out the text message she had edited, the front door—which Zhang Jingshan had left open when he rushed out—slammed shut with a loud bang.
Several men rushed inside.
Seeing the uninvited guests swarming in, Yiyi collapsed to the floor.
Naive as she might be, she knew this must be people sent by Zhang Jingshan!
One hour later.
In a hotel suite.
"Speak!" Zhang Jingshan answered his phone.
"President Zhang, she said those videos haven't been sent to anyone yet, nor are there any backups—they're all on the computer. Looking at her reaction, she probably isn't lying!"
With a blank expression, Zhang Jingshan asked again, "That WeChat nickname 'Drifter', what's his background? Did she spill the details?"
"He was her boyfriend when she was in her teens, named Lin He. Back in the day, he filmed a lot of videos of her. She claimed she was young and foolish back then, and got brainwashed by Lin He into doing all sorts of extreme things. After they broke up, they had no contact until she started live-streaming, and that's when Lin He tracked her down again!" the man replied.
Little did he know that Young Master Zhang almost couldn't kick the wall in frustration!
The so-called pure jade maiden he adored and pampered was actually a piece of trash like this?
Back when he didn't see any sign of her virginity on the first night, he had actually believed her excuse that it tore when she was riding a bicycle as a kid!
"Go on!" Zhang Jingshan said, suppressing his anger.
"President Zhang, that Lin He's younger brother is a drug mule for dealers and was sentenced to ten years; this is his third year. And Lin He himself is not only a drug-addicted scumbag, but he also loves extortion and blackmail—back in the day, he used to pull honey-trap scams all the time!" the man reported.
"President Zhang, I'm sorry! Please let me go, I was forced by that bastard Lin He, he forced me, I didn't want any of this!"
Through Zhang Jingshan's phone came live-streamer Yiyi's hysterical, pleading cries.
"President Zhang, how should we handle this? Just give the order, and the boys will take care of it!" the man asked.
Clack—
In the hotel room, Zhang Jingshan clicked open a cigarette with a flick.
Walking over to the floor-to-ceiling window, he exhaled a cloud of smoke and said, "Catch that scumbag Lin He, give him a beating, and then bring the police in. Ask Lin Yiyi if she's willing to come forward and testify against that scumbag. If she's willing, we'll call it a day. If she isn't willing, tell her that I, Zhang Jingshan, will spare no effort to make her wish she were dead!"
"Understood, President Zhang!"
Standing before the floor-to-ceiling window, Zhang Jingshan looked down at the colorful, neon-reflected brilliance of the city below.
First came a burst of self-mockery, followed by a wave of solemn gravity.
"Mr. Ye, can you really tell fortunes?"
He muttered to himself, then murmured again, "No matter what, this favor is a massive debt!"
Zhang Jingshan had to admit.
If not for Ye Chen's fortune-telling warning about his glowing glabella looking a bit off, he never would have grown suspicious, let alone discovered the hidden pinhole camera.
If that had been the case, once Lin Yiyi used those videos to blackmail him, or sent those videos to Lin He, the consequences would have been truly unimaginable! He didn't dare picture what would be waiting for him.
Yield? Let the old man step in to bail out a drug dealer? Putting aside whether he could even bring himself to make such a request, even if he did open his mouth, the old man would never risk ruining his reputation in his twilight years to fish out a drug dealer!
If he didn't yield, once the other party dumped those maliciously edited videos onto the internet, not only would his own life be completely ruined, but the entire Zhang Family would likely be dragged down with him!
The more Zhang Jingshan thought about it, the more terrified he became!
The night passed without incident.
Inside the cheap rental apartment, Ye Chen slept soundly until broad daylight.
He had no idea that Zhang Jingshan had spent a thrilling, heart-pounding night.
Even less did he know that Zhang Jingshan had safely crossed that hurdle!
After hastily eating a few slices of bread and cleaning up the apartment inside and out, Ye Chen finally headed out with that twenty-thousand-dollar cash in hand.
Enduring the scorching midday sun, he first went to the bank to close his old accounts and then opened a new card.
Looking at the bulging kraft paper bag, the bank teller assumed this guy was going to deposit the money right after getting the card.
Who would have thought that the moment the card was issued, he turned around and walked away without even putting a hundred yuan into it.
Before Ye Chen could step out of the bank to hail a taxi, the phone in his pocket rang.
Seeing the caller ID, Ye Chen was slightly surprised.
After all, he hadn't expected Zhang Jingshan to resolve his predicted calamity with such lightning speed.
"President Zhang, something up?"
"Mr. Ye, where are you?" Zhang Jingshan asked with a smile.
"Just went to the bank to set up a card, and now I'm heading out. What's wrong?"
"Which bank?" Zhang Jingshan pursued urgently.
"The Industrial and Commercial Bank on Binhai Road. Wait, do you have business? Is there something wrong with those Buddhist prayer beads? If you feel like you got ripped off, just keep them, and I'll go swap them back with you in a couple of days!" Ye Chen said.
"No, no, no! Mr. Ye, you misunderstood! Look, the ICBC on Binhai Road, right? Wait for me, I'll be right there! Wait for me!"
From the other end of the line came the sound of Zhang Jingshan scrambling about in a panic, as if he had even tripped over a trash can.
It left Ye Chen utterly bewildered and baffled.
Chapter 20: Zhang Jingshan's Probe
Leaving wasn't an option, and staying wasn't either.
In the end, Ye Chen chose to stick around and see what kind of medicine the guy was trying to sell in his gourd.
Amidst Ye Chen's boring wait, ten-odd minutes later...