CHAPTER 212: 192: WEDDING RUINED, BREAK WITH YUAN LI_2

With an expressionless face, he said coldly, "Upon investigation, you are suspected of illegal operations and coercing others to steal trade secrets. Please come with us."

At the precise moment the cold handcuffs clasped around his wrist bone, Yu Baisheng seemed to age ten years all at once. The words of denial that reached his lips stuck there, as if he could no longer speak them.

Whether it was illegal operations or coercion, these charges were unambiguously true.

The only thing was... he had thought his actions were flawless.

Watching Yu Baisheng about to be taken away, Yu Xinman, who was leaning on the man’s shoulder, had a delicate and strikingly beautiful face that now looked as pale as paper.

She forced herself to calm down, and as her peripheral vision caught sight of the silent Chen Shiguang and his wife, she clenched her fists tightly, firming up her resolve.

"Dad, why did you have to do this...?" Yu Xinman burst into tears, her expression one of utter despair.

Trembling with grief, she wrapped her arms tightly around the man’s waist. "Brother Yan, what do I do now... Have I lost my home?"

Her role as a naive, unworldly young lady was played to perfection, effortlessly winning sympathy from those around her.

Chen Yan gently patted the girl’s back in consolation, his tone as gentle as always. "Silly girl, you have me."

With that fleeting remark, Yu Xinman was reassured, feeling a subtle sense of relief. Still, she probed, "You... you won’t leave me, will you?"

"No."

At least, not now.

Blinded by the tender affections the man bestowed upon her, Yu Xinman failed to consider how a relationship built on mutual interest could possibly be as simple as it seemed.

Everything, after all, was nothing more than a trap.

*

*

Under the effects of medication, Yuan Li, restored to a semblance of normalcy, sat up in the empty hospital room, her head throbbing painfully.

From the time of the incident till now, nearly two hours had passed. But in this stretch, no one had come by—a clear sign that something was amiss.

Yuan Li rubbed her temples and struggled to sit upright. She reached out a hand, aiming to grab the phone placed on the bedside cabinet.

"Mom, you’re awake?"

The door suddenly burst open, followed by a boyish voice.

Yu Cheng’an put down his book bag, carefully observing her condition. Once he confirmed there was nothing serious, he resumed playing games on his phone.

"Why are you home?" Yuan Li glanced at the school uniform he was wearing, furrowing her brows slightly.

This youngest son had attended a closed school in Yun City since middle school. Other than vacations, he rarely came home.

She had tried countless times to transfer him elsewhere, but he had always resisted. To this day, she couldn’t comprehend what was so captivating about Yun City.

"Sis got me leave, said you were sick." Yu Cheng’an didn’t even lift his head as he replied, completely absorbed in his game.

The sound effects of battles blared from his phone, reverberating throughout the room and adding to Yuan Li’s already excruciating headache.

"Stop playing and call Xinman."

For some reason, she felt a sudden sense of unease, almost like a foreboding.

"Wait, let me finish this fight."

"..."

Yuan Li sighed silently and decided not to press him. Instead, she reached again for her phone.

Just as the call connected, a ringtone sounded from outside the room.

Yu Xinman had arrived alone, her formal gown replaced by a dress, and her makeup meticulously redone.

She snatched Yu Cheng’an’s noisy phone away. As he was about to protest angrily, she spoke in a hoarse voice, "Dad’s been taken away by the police."

"Why?!"

"He... committed crimes."

Yu Xinman recounted to Yuan Li the charges the police had mentioned at the engagement banquet and described Yu Baisheng’s reaction as he was led away.

"How could this... It shouldn’t have happened." Yuan Li kept repeating the same phrase, her complexion growing increasingly ashen.

It was as though she’d been dealt an overwhelming psychological blow and had fallen into a dazed stupor.

"What do we do now?" Yu Xinman glanced at her irritably, her tone slightly cold.

"Where’s Chen Yan? Tell Chen Yan to think of a way. He must get your dad out."

"He can’t."

Before coming here, she had already asked Brother Yan.

Just the single charge of illegal operations was enough for several years of imprisonment, not to mention the other myriad offenses.

Yuan Li gripped the girl’s arm forcefully, her expression turning frantic, her voice escalating in pitch. "He can’t? Then find a way! Don’t just sit there!"