Chapter 215 - The Maximum Sentence
Translator: aominemika
TLC: Lav
Editor: Seliniaki Ilikia
Before they started, Wei Qing told Hu Xiaohua and his friends that he had made an appointment for Shi Lei with the Bureau’s Wang Hua’an and some people from the Procuratorate, so they shouldn’t drink that much. Everyone only drank a little before eating and chatting. When it was almost time, Hu Xiaohua and the rest left first.
Shi Lei walked them out and could not refrain from thanking them again. Hu Xiaohua put his arm around his shoulder and hinted at the rest to leave first, since he wanted to talk to Shi Lei alone.
“Shitou, you don’t mind if I address you this way right?” Hu Xiaohua asked, grinning.
Although Shi Lei was not used to having Hu Xiaohua’s arm around him, he still smiled. “You should’ve been calling me that from the beginning.”
“I thought so as well. We grew up together after all!”
Shi Lei felt slightly awkward. Ultimately, Hu Xiaohua was the one who truly knew that they were complete strangers.
“Let’s get to the point, since it’s only the two of us. My father asked me to handle this matter. The others, including Yuanchao, do not know that we were complete strangers before this. Maybe they have their own theories, but as long I don’t mention a thing, they won’t probe further. No matter what, since I told them we grew up together and you also admitted it , I hope we can be real friends from now on. Are you coming back to Run Zhou or are you staying in Wu Dong after you graduate next year?”
Shi Lei hesitated before replying. “It is still early and I haven’t yet made up my mind, but my original plan was definitely to stay in Wu Dong.”
“Then we’ll talk about it when the time comes. Anyway, when you come back to Run Zhou, remember to look for me. When I go to Wu Dong, I’ll definitely do the same.”
“Then let’s exchange numbers!”
After doing so, Hu Xiaohua added, “To be honest, I was shocked—very shocked—when my father told me to deal with your case Who would ask their dear son to take the blame for someone else? I even began to suspect that you were the result of a sin my father had committed while he was young. But I understood when Shui Ye and Young Master Wei appeared. You had plenty of chances anyway, and my father also said it was a favor someone asked of him and he couldn’t refuse, which was why he asked me to take the blame. Anyway, it is a small matter and it’s no big deal even if Qin Huaiyuan wants to pursue the case further. But I am still very curious who it is my father could not refuse, even to the extent of making his son take the blame for someone else. And this person didn’t settle the issue for you himself. Originally, I had thought that it was either Young Master Wei or Shui Ye, but when I think about it, it doesn’t make sense. They showed up in person, so there was no need for me to be there. If you regard me as your friend, can you clear my doubts?”
Shi Lei thought: I really can’t explain this to you. Your father must know about the existence of the Eye of the Dark Night. He probably has his own reasons for keeping it from you. I can’t tell you either.
“If I told you that I also have no idea, would you believe me?” Shi Lei asked after thinking for a while.
Hu Xiaohua smiled and removed his arm from Shi Lei’s shoulder in apparent disbelief.
“I received a call this morning,” Shi Lei added. “The person told me that the son of some millionaire from this city will take the blame for me, and told me that, no matter what, I could not admit that I was the one who demolished the house. Then I saw you guys at the police station. When you greeted me, I immediately knew that you were the millionaire’s son the person in the phone had referred to. So I could only pretend that I didn’t know anything. But if you want me to point out who the person was, I really have no idea. It’s up to you to believe it, but this is the truth.”
Hu Xiaohua’s eyes flickered, but he eventually patted Shi Lei on the shoulder and said, “Okay, I believe you. Well, you will be able to settle this quickly with influential friends like Shui Ye and Young Master Wei. There was no need for you to beat around the bush and make me take the blame for you. It looks like the person who came to my father was the same as Shui Ye and Wei Shao. He helped you of his own accord and doesn’t want you to know who he is. Shitou ah, Shitou, you’re such a strange person. Why does it look like all the super millionaires eagerly want to lend you a hand?”
This is all thanks to the Black Card, so I really can’t tell you. Shi Lei thought.
“Alright. Chief Wang and the people from the Procuratorate should be here at any moment. You should go in now. If you are free or not in a hurry to return to school, remember to contact me. Let’s look for a place and hang out.”
“I’ll contact you when my father’s condition improves.”
“Okay, bye!” Hu Xiaohua waved. He walked into the cold wind and stepped into a car that had stopped in front of him.
Shi Lei returned to the private room. The waiters had long since cleaned the place. Wei Qing’s phone rang after Shi Lei had barely sat down for five minutes. He smiled and told the person on the other end of the line their room number.
“I think I’ll go outside and welcome them.” Shi Lei stood up. “Chief Wang is with the people from the Procuratorate, right?” Of course he wouldn’t know the other people, but it was enough to know Wang Hua’an.
Wei Qing waved his hand and said, “There’s no need. It’s only a city-level chief and a few officials from the Procuratorate. Treating them to a meal is already showing them respect. If you really went outside, then what would happen to Shui Ye’s reputation? In Run Zhou, it is impossible for Shui Ye to personally welcome someone, even if they were the mayor.”
Shi Lei sighed at the hidden meanings behind everything these fuerdais did. Soon, a waiter opened the door and Wang Hua’an walked in with two other people. They were smiling and even seemed like they had the intention to welcome them or offer them something. When you are wealthy past a certain degree, even officials can only smile and welcome you. Shi Lei thought. At the same time, he was determined to not be careless with the Black Card’s money, but he definitely had to pay more attention to his investments so he could try to possess assets of at least a hundred million yuan.
Greetings were done and the food was served. Although Wang Hua’an was curious about Shi Lei, he didn’t dare ask too much with Song Miaomiao there, instead thinking: When I have the chance, I’ll ask Hu Jianjun.
“Old Li and Old Zhao here were with me before we came, and we studied the case for a while. The subbureau’s Zhou Qi also called and reported the situation before we left. Those who committed the crime from the security department of Da Hua Electronics have all confessed that they had been told by Qin Huaiyuan to cause trouble for Mr. Shi’s family. They also admitted that Qin Huaiyuan had told them to use violence if Mr. Shi’s parents refused to move out. In addition, they said that they were the ones who injured Mr. Shi’s father. The subbureau has confirmed that this is a case of assault, and has arranged the materials for a lawsuit. With concrete evidence, Qin Huaiyuan has given up all resistance. He has admitted to all the crimes and expressed that on top of compensating Mr. Shi senior for the medical expenses and the pay he missed for being absent from work, he is willing to pay an additional 200,000 yuan as compensation for mental trauma. He hopes that Mr. Shi will let him off after seeing his regret and willingness to repent. Of course, I am just passing along his message. Old Li and Old Zhao have already informed me that they will proceed with the lawsuit, whether Mr. Shi accepts the compensation or not. He won’t be able to escape imprisonment, but we would like to ask for Mr. Shi’s opinion on the sentence.”
Shi Lei was stunned. They can ask for my opinion for this? He looked at Song Miaomiao and Wei Qing. The two of them remained silent with a slight smiles on their faces, as if it was something that happened everyday. Otherwise, what would be of their reputations?
“If they are to be prosecuted,” Zhang Meimei interrupted, “the main culprits would serve at least two to three years in prison and the accomplices at least half a year. This is a fact, but there should be some form of interval?”
Shi Lei looked at Zhang Meimei gratefully. He knew that she was helping him by implying how he should respond, so he said, “I don’t care about the money. I would like to sentence Qin Huaiyuan to life in prison!”
Wang Hua’an laughed loudly and said, “Old Li, Old Zhang, this is up to you now!”
“Don’t worry. We will go with the maximum sentence,” the two quickly answered.
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