Hu Jiasheng did not move aside. He turned on the light and spread his hands, showing He Yao that he had no intention of harming her.
"He Yao, I trust Rui Rui's judgment. Since he's had something going on with you, it means you must have some special qualities that I haven't seen. You're different from those people today."
"Even more so, you also want to escape them, and you're troubled by your situation. If what I'm saying is true, can we sit down and talk?"
He Yao didn't want to talk to him.
Hu Jiasheng had given her a very bad impression earlier in the day. She didn't think he was kind enough to help her.
Moreover, she had truly thought things through. Her heart was as cold as ice, and she felt life was meaningless. She didn't want to waste time.
"There's nothing to talk about with you. Please let me pass."
"I know I was a bit rude earlier and might have offended you. I apologize."
Hu Jiasheng tried his best to appear sincere.
Given how impulsive He Yao seemed at the moment, he didn't want a minor issue to escalate uncontrollably.
"I'm sorry. It will only take two minutes of your time. Can we talk?"
He was tall and strong, and her arm was hurting.
If he refused to move, she definitely couldn't overpower him.
Instead of confronting him directly, she might as well give him two minutes.
He Yao took a step back, watching him warily.
"The countdown has begun. Go ahead."
"Can you tell me what you're planning to do?"
He Yao was resolute: "It's none of your business."
Hu Jiasheng looked at her lifeless expression. "Then let me guess."
"Your relationship with Zhan Jingrui isn't understood by your family, and I spoke very harshly today. You're feeling very upset, so you're impulsively planning to do something risky where you might get hurt, right?"
Was it that obvious?
He Yao didn't speak, her thoughts having been hit upon so accurately.
Hu Jiasheng shook his head at her. "There's no need, He Yao. A person's life is very long..."
"Don't lecture me with these platitudes. You don't have much time, so get to the point!"
What a fiery temper for a young girl.
No wonder Zhan Jingrui liked her. The paper tucked into his book was full of her name.
Interacting with her for two minutes was indeed quite interesting.
Hu Jiasheng couldn't help but smile. "Alright, I'll get to the point. Let's make a deal."
He Yao looked at him with surprise, as if asking, "We can make a deal?"
"Do you hate your current situation? Do you want to escape? I can help you. Tell me who you want to do what to, and I promise I'll make it happen."
Does he have that much power?
He's bragging.
He Yao said coldly, "Can I have someone killed too?"
Hu Jiasheng couldn't help but smile again.
She was a bit like Rui Rui in personality.
"Yes. I believe you have your reasons. Give me time, and I'll handle it reasonably."
"Of course. Give me eighty years, and he'll naturally die of old age."
Hu Jiasheng stopped smiling and said earnestly.
"I'm not bragging. It's already 4:20 AM. You've implicitly admitted you're going to do something dangerous, and it looks like you don't plan to go alone, wanting to take some people down with you."
"But by the time you rush back, it will be dawn. It won't be easy to act during the day, and you'll likely be taken to the hospital by them instead."
"After the surgery, you'll need to recover. In the meantime, they'll get the money. Perhaps by the time you've recovered, they'll have squandered it all, or maybe the person will have fled."
"Your planned revenge is not only naive, has a high failure rate, but also holds little meaning."
He Yao's fierce determination was instantly halved by his words.
Her previously calm heart was instantly flooded with irritation again.
She angrily clenched her right fist, wishing she could punch the wall.
"What exactly do you want to say?"
"Let's make a deal. With Zhan Jingrui's academic record, he'll definitely be directly recommended to his ideal university. This is very important for his self-confidence, and I don't want anyone to affect his mood."
"So, you cooperate with me in a staged breakup, quietly ending things with him. I'll help you deal with the people you dislike."
The next day, He Yao obediently went to the hospital with her family.
Under Hu Jiasheng and Tang Nannan's arrangements, she had surgery and was hospitalized for recovery.
He Yao's mother received the ownership of the house on Changjiang South Road and 1 million in nutritional expenses, signing Hu Jiasheng's agreement.
However, before she could enjoy it for two days, her dear husband, Ma Songhan, was reported for workplace issues and went to prison.
He Yao's uncle, on his way home drunk, hit someone while cycling. The other party demanded 300,000 yuan, threatening legal action otherwise.
He Yao's mother helped pay the money. Fearing further exploitation by her brother and sister-in-law, she left He Yao 5,000 yuan for tuition and hurriedly went into hiding elsewhere.
A week before the end of the holiday, Zhan Jingrui returned to Suzhou as promised.
Hu Jiasheng hadn't left yet. After they all had lunch at Tang's father's house, he wanted an excuse to slip away but was called to the study by Hu Jia for a talk.
"You rascal, you're not being honest. Are you uncomfortable living at home or something, that you'd secretly buy a house behind our backs."
Zhan Jingrui wasn't too surprised. After all, his family was in real estate development, and his uncle was currently in charge of that department.
He might have seen his name for some reason.
Feeling guilty, he rarely put on a fake smile. "Sometimes I feel depressed and have nowhere to go, so I buy a small place to hide. It's not a good house, not worth much money. You're not going to manage even this, are you?"
"Is that so? Are you sure you bought it to hide in yourself?"
"Uncle. Speak plainly, you're not one to beat around the bush."
Hu Jiasheng handed him a stack of photos.
"Alright, then I won't beat around the bush. Look for yourself."
Why were there photos?
Zhan Jingrui looked at him with confusion and grabbed the photos.
His expression immediately turned grave.
The photos were taken downstairs and on the road in front of his apartment building, all at night.
In the photos, He Yao was wearing exaggerated makeup and flamboyant clothes, standing or squatting like a group of street hooligans, laughing and talking with men and women, their arms around each other.
The sight was too jarring.
Although there had always been rumors in class that He Yao wasn't good, Zhan Jingrui had only seen her in a positive light since knowing her.
He had never believed He Yao had such a side.
If the photos hadn't come from Hu Jiasheng, he might have gone up and punched someone.
"Where did the photos come from?"
Hu Jiasheng looked at his reaction. "I took them myself. Don't get agitated yet, the more exciting part is yet to come."
As he spoke, he opened his phone and clicked on a chat window, which was full of chat screenshots.
Judging by the avatars, they were between He Yao and someone else.
Her "love story" with him was being used as capital for her to show off, shared with others without reservation.
"How do you know her? How do you have these?"
"When I said I wanted to chase her, that guy sold her out for a cigarette."
Hu Jiasheng sat down and shook his head regretfully at Zhan Jingrui.
"Rui Rui, we've all been through adolescence, I understand your feelings, but this judgment... let's choose someone else."