Chapter 18: He Lian Is Coming Again?!

Meng Zhenyue froze for a moment, seeing his face darken into a grim coldness, and double-checked with deep suspicion: “You’ve been to the Song family’s old mansion twice—do you really not know about this?”

He Lian truly didn’t know.

Besides, a tiny entity like the Song family in Yangcheng wasn’t worth the trouble of him investigating thoroughly.

Yet the man didn’t reveal his thoughts, asking back instead: “Who told you?”

Meng Zhenyue: “Her grandfather had Jingyue’s dad go over back then, and the two spoke in secret. The Old Master said he wanted to leave all his assets to Jiang Yu and have Jingyue marry her, which was why he called it entrusting her to his care.”

The tip of He Lian’s tongue swept across his canine teeth. Setting down the deformed beer can, he picked up a towel beside him to wipe his hands.

His gloomy gaze fell upon the veins on the back of his hand, and he suddenly let out a cold laugh.

So that was why.

He had thought that the Song family simply found taking care of Jiang Yu troublesome and abused that little fool to vent their anger.

No wonder that day when he went to break off the engagement, Song Qian and his wife agreed without a second thought.

Turns out it was to swallow the Old Master’s inheritance.

Looking at it this way…

That little fool wouldn’t live much longer in the Song family.

He Lian’s hand holding the towel twitched slightly.

Seeing that he didn’t speak, Meng Zhenyue tried calling out to him.

Instead, He Lian threw the towel heavily onto the table, stood straight up, and strode outside.

Stunned, Meng Zhenyue hurriedly caught up with him. The courtyard was full of burly soldiers doing drills, shirtless and dripping with sweat. Embarrassed, she quickly lowered her head and grabbed hold of He Lian.

“He Lian, what on earth do you mean by this?”

He Lian stopped in his tracks, his tall figure bathed in the warm sunlight, yet his entire person radiated a dangerous, icy tone: “Old Master Song’s inheritance is merely a pittance. Don’t go yearning after it.”

Displeased, Meng Zhenyue wondered when He Lian could speak on behalf of the Duan family, saying plainly: “Yes, to you, He Lian, it’s a pittance, but it’s not to me and Jingyue’s dad!”

He Lian leaned down, his broad shoulders blocking the light in front of the woman: “And so?”

Meng Zhenyue clicked her tongue repeatedly, rendered speechless by his overbearing attitude, and only managed to say after a long pause: “…You were the one who took charge and broke off the engagement. You have to get this money back for me.”

He Lian raised a sharp brow, offering a half-smile: “And so?”

Meng Zhenyue: “…Huh?”

He Lian’s voice trailed off ominously: “So to you people, Jiang Yu is just a vault key, is that right?”

Meng Zhenyue didn’t understand why he took this attitude, and grew somewhat angry too: “He Lian, if you act like this, you’re being far too tyrannical! Believe it or not, I’ll go find your grandfather!”

“Even if you bring God Himself here, He’d still have to call me ‘Grandpa’.” He Lian let out a mocking laugh. “The engagement—I broke it off as I saw fit. The money—don’t even think about getting a single penny.”

Meng Zhenyue stared with wide eyes as she listened.

What kind of bastard was this? He was being completely unreasonable!

“You…”

“Uncle! Quick, look at this!”

Duan Jingyue shouted at the top of his lungs, running out of the barracks holding up his phone, shoving it right in front of He Lian’s eyes: “Quick, look at this fire news! The Song family’s old mansion caught on fire!”

Frowning, He Lian snatched the phone away.

Headline: [The Song Family Mansion in Yangcheng Caught Fire Last Night, Century-Old Prince’s Estate Hanging in the Balance]

The picture attached to the news showed black smoke billowing into the sky, mingling with dense white clouds.

He Lian’s head buzzed with a loud hum.

A fire?

The little fool’s wooden building?

Since Meng Zhenyue said Jiang Yu was Old Master Song’s sole heir, he naturally associated it with the Song family committing arson to burn Jiang Yu to death just to murder her and swallow the money!

The temperature around the man instantly plummeted into ice!

These dogs of the Song family!

“Uncle, that lunatic couldn’t have been burned to death, right?” Duan Jingyue said, “Over at the old mansion, I saw that only Jiang Yu’s wooden building had no guards—it’s also the place most prone to catching fire.”

Hearing him say this, Meng Zhenyue grew anxious as well.

If Jiang Yu died, what would happen to the inheritance?!

“He Lian!”

Shen Jin rushed in hurriedly from the main gate. Seeing He Lian’s expression resembling an impending storm, he looked over at Duan Jingyue and his mother, assuming that this foolish nephew of his had caused trouble again.

However, there was a more urgent matter at hand, so he pulled He Lian to the side to speak.

“Hurry to Luocheng!”

He Lian’s brows were tightly knitted: “What happened?”

Shen Jin: “That batch of Southeast Asian smuggled coca we investigated last time—it was traded again in Luocheng!”

He Lian bit his lower lip slightly: “So fast?”

“It seems the buyers from the previous batch suddenly pulled out,” Shen Jin said, “Those drug dealers blew their cover during the secondary resale, which was how Team 3 caught onto them. Team 3 is already making arrests in Luocheng.”

He Lian bit his lip harder, his fingers tightening so much he nearly crushed Duan Jingyue’s phone into pieces.

Shen Jin swept a glance, instantly recognizing the image as the news report of the Song mansion catching fire. Realizing what was going on in a daze, he understood why He Lian’s expression looked so terrible just now.

Somewhat at a loss for words, he guessed something: “Worrying about Jiang Yu?”

He Lian remained silent, giving no answer.

He merely felt an excruciating, unbearable discomfort in his heart.

What if that little fool really died at the Song family’s hands? At the thought of never seeing her again, He Lian slammed the phone onto the ground, shattering the cold communication device to pieces instantly.

The suffocating blockage in his chest couldn’t be smoothed out no matter how he tried.

Duan Jingyue, who was watching from the side: “…”

His phone.

Shen Jin narrowed his eyes, his tone darkening: “What’s wrong? Haven’t you never cared about women? Besides, if Jiang Yu dies, you’ll go back to being the pure, untainted Crown Prince of Jinzhou again.”

He Lian cast a side glance at him, his gaze sharp as a hawk’s.

No matter how much Shen Jin usually mocked him, he never felt anything of it, but listening to those words just now, for the first time, he felt like landing a hard punch right on the man’s face.

Shen Jin took half a step backward.

Good grief, the kid actually wanted to hit him.

What kind of spell had this Jiang Yu cast on him?

He had been completely distracted for a whole month.

“Alright, cut the crap. The helicopter is already prepared—hurry up and take Team 1 to Luocheng to meet up with Team 3.” He patted He Lian, his tone taking on a earnest, well-meaning note this time.

“As for other matters, they weren’t your concern to begin with.”

He Lian’s thin lips twitched slightly, but he swallowed his words back down.

Arriving at the helipad a dozen miles away, Zhuang Yumian was already waiting for him.

“President, Team 1 is already on their way.”

He Lian took the helmet, buckled his seatbelt, and put on the noise-canceling headphones: “Let’s go.”

Zhuang Yumian nodded.

Lifting higher and higher off the ground, He Lian leaned back, gazing at the thin clouds around him as the sunlight shone directly on him. That warm, even scorching feeling was completely different from Yangcheng.

The wind howled past.

The moment he closed his eyes, he could smell the dampness.

Shen Jin was right—if Jiang Yu died, he would have no stain on his romantic history.

After all, the Crown Prince of Jinzhou had been slept with by a fool.

If that got out…

It would be far too embarrassing.

He Lian rubbed his fingertips, his brows furrowed tightly.

That little fool.

Let her remain as a trace of his wild delusion, forever hidden within that misty fog.

Yangcheng.

In this lifetime…

He would never set foot in that rain-soaked land again!

“What?! He Lian is coming again?!”

The next evening, hearing this news in the old mansion, Song Qian looked as if he had been struck by lightning, nearly falling right off his chair!

Su Xuning hurriedly supported him, staring at Song Xun across from them: “Is it real?”

Song Xun nodded frantically, slapping his forehead in madness as he paces back and forth quickly in the hall.

“We’re finished, we’re finished! Could it be that he uncovered that batch of coca?! But we already pulled out! Could those people have been caught when they resold it for a second time?”

“If that’s the case, isn’t He Lian… coming to raid our house?!”

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