Chapter 349: Chapter 349: Trading Your Freedom from Jail for Two Legs and the He Family’s Company

Zhou Lin brought up the hotel affair, and He Lanzhi’s gaze involuntarily fell on Zhou Ruoki, whom Zhou Lin was holding in his arms.

As if he were his own son.

Yet he asked about the hotel affair again.

"The hotel affair was indeed my fault. At that time, Seo Zhenzhen begged me—she had been infatuated with you for many years and couldn’t bear to let it end like that, so she pleaded with me."

He Lanzhi felt guilty toward Zhou Lin, but not by much, so she spoke with ease, "The child she was carrying was mine, but after returning, I had the child aborted. As for Zhou Ruoki, he’s neither mine nor yours."

He thought Zhou Lin would immediately cast Zhou Ruoki away.

But Zhou Lin didn’t.

He looked at He Lanzhi with a smirk that wasn’t quite a smile, fury suppressed in his eyes, his mouth curling into a sarcastic arc, "So what you’re saying is, without knowing that Seo Zhenzhen had already aborted the child, you and Seo Zhenzhen teamed up to deceive me?"

"I’m sorry, Ah Lin," He Lanzhi apologized.

"Later, when you discovered Qiqi wasn’t your son, you still just stood by coldly," Zhou Lin’s stern face was expressionless, "He Lanzhi, you really do surprise me."

"I..." He Lanzhi was at a loss for words.

Back then, he actually could have told the truth, but for some reason, he didn’t spell it out at the time.

Whatever he was thinking then, even if he were to account for it now, it would just seem distasteful to people.

"He Lanzhi, Qiqi may not be your son, but he is mine," Zhou Ruoki said indifferently, his tone utterly cold.

He Lanzhi was taken aback. Zhou Ruoki was Zhou Lin’s?

When he found out that Zhou Ruoki was neither his nor Zhou Lin’s, and Zhou Lin claimed Zhou Ruoki was his biological child, he thought Zhou Lin had an affair with Seo Zhenzhen and was under a misconception.

Little did he know that this was actually the truth.

"How is that possible?" He Lanzhi’s eyes widened in disbelief. The child was conceived that night at the hotel, and he had been with Seo Zhenzhen all along afterward, knowing there was nothing between her and Zhou Lin during that time.

How could Zhou Lin be the father?

"Get out," Zhou Lin said as he stood up with Zhou Ruoki in his arms, looking down at He Lanzhi from above with narrowed, ice-cold eyes.

Such an icy attitude.

He Lanzhi exhaled, "For the sake of a woman, Ah Lin, are you going to cut ties with me?"

He still couldn’t acknowledge his own mistake.

Zhou Lin went up the stairs.

He Lanzhi suddenly felt angry and shouted, "For Cheng Zhiwei’s sake, you never treated me this way, have you fallen for that bitch Seo Zhenzhen?"

He had thought his brotherly bond with Zhou Lin would last a lifetime, especially since when he used Gao Wei to do that deed before, Zhou Lin simply let it slide and sent him overseas for a while.

But now with Seo Zhenzhen...

Zhou Lin stopped at the top of the stairs.

He Lanzhi, thinking Zhou Lin had had a change of heart, said with some joy, "I knew you still valued our relationship."

Zhou Lin turned his head toward Secretary Zhang, who had never left, his voice icy, "Call an ambulance."

Secretary Zhang bowed and responded, "Yes."

Just as He Lanzhi was about to ask why an ambulance was needed, he saw two men in black coming out, one of them kicking his wheelchair, flipping it over, and He Lanzhi fell to the ground.

He panicked, "What are you doing?"

Secretary Zhang said expressionlessly, "President Zhou said that the things Young Master He has done are too numerous to record, and spending a lifetime in jail wouldn’t be enough. He thinks this isn’t good."

"That’s right, what’s happened has happened, what’s the use of pursuing it any further?" He Lanzhi hurriedly said, "Help me up quickly."

"So, exchanging your two legs and the He family’s company for your freedom from prison is not too much," Secretary Zhang stated word by word, emotionlessly.

"What... ah..."

As the sound of bones breaking echoed, so did the screams of He Lanzhi.

It was just a few seconds, but the intense pain made him sweat profusely, as if he had been pulled out of water.

"Zhou Lin, you’re so cruel." He cried out in agony, but Zhou Lin didn’t appear. Only Secretary Zhang and two expressionless bodyguards in black suits were watching him.

They looked at him as if he was trash that had its spine broken.

He writhed in pain on the ground, but it was of no use.

About half an hour later, just as the world in front of He Lanzhi’s eyes started to darken and he felt like he was about to die,

Secretary Zhang’s voice sounded, "Let the doctors and nurses come in."

Groggily, He Lanzhi thought that the ambulance had been prepared for him.

...

After Cheng Zhiwei had treated the wounds on her body, it was past midnight when she got home. The two children were asleep, and Guo Cuihua was waiting for her in the living room, asking in a low voice, "What exactly happened? How did Seo Zhenzhen die?"

Cheng Zhiwei looked up at Cheng Shang’s room, fell silent for a few seconds, and then said, "Didn’t he say anything when he came back?"

Guo Cuihua sighed with concern, "As soon as he came back, he went straight to his room without saying a word."

Cheng Zhiyin also said, "He seemed to have received a huge shock, what actually happened?"

Cheng Zhiwei said coldly and indifferently, "Seo Zhenzhen asked Qiqi to take Cheng Yang and Cheng Xing downstairs, planning to kidnap the children. But Qiqi didn’t agree, and after seeing me, she tried to kidnap me. In the end, she was hit by a car."

"Then what about the injuries on your body?" Guo Cuihua was extremely distressed.

"Seo Zhenzhen tried to push Zhou Ruoki towards the car, and I pulled her back, falling and getting scraped," Cheng Zhiwei didn’t feel that the wounds on her body were that painful, especially compared to the greater pain in her heart.

"That’s how Seo Zhenzhen was hit and killed by the car. As for him..." Cheng Zhiwei clenched her fists, chuckled lowly in derision, and said with a cold dismissiveness, "He thinks that Seo Zhenzhen’s death is my fault. I’m truly curious about what relationship Seo Zhenzhen had with him. He is so heartbroken, yet he believes it’s my fault."

Cheng Zhiyin and Guo Cuihua looked at each other, "Since it was a car accident, what does it have to do with you?"

Cheng Zhiwei wanted to know that as well. When Bai Zhuzhu had died in a car accident, she had still been clinging on to Cheng Zhiwei till the end, saying Cheng Zhiwei had some responsibility; that could be seen as plausible. But Seo Zhenzhen’s death was entirely her own fault, and yet Cheng Shang put the blame on her.

Even having to take care of Seo Zhenzhen’s funeral arrangements, did he think that the suffering he had endured these six years was for nothing?

"After all, she was a student he sponsored, and he must be feeling terrible inside," Guo Cuihua spoke a good word for Cheng Shang, "In a couple of days, when he has thought it through clearly, it’ll be okay."

Cheng Zhiwei shook her head. Cheng Shang would not think it through that easily this time.

He would hold Seo Zhenzhen’s death over her head for a lifetime.

"Mom." Cheng Zhiwei grasped Guo Cuihua’s hand and finally couldn’t help but ask, "Is Seo Zhenzhen really not his daughter?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Guo Cuihua firmly shook her head in denial, "I’ve been married to your father for so many years, we have the same research field, and we’re practically together every day. If he had another woman, would I not know?"

"But..."

"With all these injuries on you, you should go to sleep," Guo Cuihua coaxed Cheng Zhiwei. It was already late, and it would be best to rest early.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read