Chapter 526 - 540: Aftermath
An Ning and Jiang Xia left the police station.
Tao Quan’s case was processed quickly. He had no intention of trying to get off the hook and cooperated fully with the police investigation.
As for Tao Quan’s parents, they were released after cooperating with the investigation.
The murder was completely unrelated to the two of them. As for their other deeds, if Tao Quan didn’t press charges, it was a moral issue, not a legal one.
Even though the couple had earned the disgust of everyone who knew the situation, they could only watch helplessly as they walked out of the station.
A young police officer slammed his fist against a nearby wall and let out a choice curse.
"Son of a bitch!"
"I, on the other hand, think this is a good thing."
The young officer, filled with righteous indignation, stared at his mentor before following close behind and launching into a tirade.
"How can you say that? What they did was worse than any animal! How can you still be on their side?!"
The veteran officer looked at the fuming young cop, unhurriedly picked up his tea mug, blew the tea leaves from the surface, and took a loud slurp.
"Those two people just now, how did they walk out of here?"
"Huh?"
The young cop’s train of thought was derailed. He thought back for a moment. ’They seemed to be covering their faces as they left,’ he recalled, ’but what does that have to do with anything?’
The veteran officer looked at his foolish apprentice and decided to spell it out for him.
"Those two are hypocrites. People like them have a common weakness: they value their public image, their ’face,’ more than life itself. The things they’ve done will be exposed to the world sooner or later. Do you think people like that will be able to live well after that?"
"Like you said, we could have sentenced them. But how long would they have been locked up? After they got out, this whole affair would have cooled down. The damage they’d suffer would actually be less."
With that, the veteran officer stood up, tea mug in hand, patted his foolish apprentice on the shoulder, and walked away.
The young cop stood there, thinking. ’He has a point, but what if those two monsters don’t feel any guilt?’
「Three more days passed.」 Tao Quan had already been transferred to prison.
Jiang Xia went to see him alone. He had only one question: why had Tao Quan taken a bullet for him when they were abroad?
Tao Quan, dressed in striped prison garb, spoke through the thick glass, his voice somewhat hoarse.
"If you had died or gotten hurt, An Ning would have been heartbroken. A person like her shouldn’t have to feel that way."
Jiang Xia left the prison.
That very evening, every newspaper he owned published the same story.
Some ran it as a long-form series, some as a synopsis, and others with photos to prove the truth. In short, it was one story, presented in many different formats.
Huaxia emerged from the newspaper office, covered in ink, and gazed at the rising sun.
"Tao Quan, I know you were scheming to use me. I’ll only let myself be used by you this one time."
Jiang Xia left the newspaper office, and Tao Quan’s story was seen by countless people.
In this world, nothing spreads faster than gossip.
Although some pseudonyms were used in the newspapers, Tao Quan’s real name was printed, which was exactly what he wanted.
Anyone who knew the Tao family now knew about the disgusting things Tao Quan’s parents had done, and that included their own relatives.
That day, the Tao family’s home was splattered with feces, rotten eggs, and buckets of swill—anything and everything disgusting was thrown at it.
Tao Quan’s father and mother were immediately fired from their jobs and blacklisted from future employment.
On their way home from work, anyone who recognized them couldn’t help but come up and curse them out.
Eventually, it even escalated to people coming up and hitting them.
The pair returned home, bruised and battered, only to find their house covered in red paint, scrawled with the most vicious words imaginable.
"You still have the nerve to come back!"
"Exactly! People like them should go to hell!"
"Hell is too good for them!"
"I never thought people could be so disgusting. That kid, Tao Quan, was so good when he was little!"
"Tell me about it. They’re not fucking human! They’re animals!"
"Animals!"
"Worse than animals!"
The couple was surrounded at their own front door, unable to get in and unable to leave.
Just as the veteran officer had said, the two had maintained a polished public image their entire lives. Their current, pathetic state felt like a knife twisting in their hearts.
Worse still, it seemed the entire world had rejected them.
The family clan behind them published a statement in the newspapers for the first time since that bygone era, announcing they were disowning the pair.
They became pariahs, hated by all.
For three months, the two lived as outcasts, with people constantly "taking care" of them.
Three months later, a tip-off letter, sent on a timer from an unknown location, was mailed to the Disciplinary Inspection Department.
The two pariahs were taken away.
As they were confronted with piece after piece of concrete evidence, only one thought remained in their minds: ’Tao Quan, I’m going to kill you!’
When An Ning heard this news, she had just come out of her lab.
She casually slipped a hair tie from her wrist and pulled her hair into a small, thumb-sized ponytail.
"I’m actually quite happy to hear that."
"Same here."
Jiang Xia, who had brought An Ning the news, explained the details.
"Tao Quan had planned it all long ago. He prepared a mountain of irrefutable evidence. Crimes like corruption, embezzlement of public funds, and misappropriation of public resources are much more serious than a rape charge."
"And... he also found evidence of his father sexually assaulting someone else. With the two crimes combined, he won’t be getting out for at least twenty years, I’m afraid."
An Ning lowered her hand, tapping a finger on the armrest of her chair.
"In that case, let’s send a message inside. News like this should be known in there."
"Don’t worry, I will."
Jiang Xia and An Ning shared a knowing smile. They then brought up the mother’s punishment; it might be lighter than the father’s, but ten years or so should be about right.
Tao Quan’s revenge seemed to be complete.
「The next morning.」 After receiving a phone call, Jiang Xia rushed to An Ning’s home.
"An Ning—!"
"An Ning—!"
"Coming."
An Ning opened the door, and Jiang Xia said frantically, "Tao Quan is dead! He killed himself!"
"I know."
"Huh? Did someone call you?"
Jiang Xia saw An Ning shake her head and heard a completely unexpected answer.
"He floated over himself."
It took Jiang Xia a moment to understand what "floated over" meant.
"Come in."
An Ning let Jiang Xia in, and the two sat down on the sofa.
Jiang Xia noticed An Ning’s eyes were fixed on the armchair and asked with a dawning realization, "He’s still here?"
"Mhm, right there."
An Ning pointed toward the armchair. "Tao Quan, what do you want from me?"
The transparent shadow of Tao Quan seemed to have shed all his worldly hostility, transforming into a true peach blossom immortal.
"I just wanted to get to know you again."
"I’ve started over in a way, haven’t I?"
An Ning was speechless, but still stated the facts bluntly. "Based on the energy of your spiritual form, you can exist for a month at most."
"I know. I want to be your friend for a month. Can I?"