Chapter 62
Su Yunzhe glanced at Shen Yan, who had just turned on his phone and was staring at the screen.
Before long, Shen Bowen’s call came through again.
Shen Yan looked at Su Yunzhe and smiled. “So persistent. It’s almost certain he’s testing the waters.” He then pressed the answer button.
“How long are you going to keep calling? What is it? Speak!” Shen Yan’s tone was impatient.
Shen Bowen, who had probably dialed too many times and thought the call would go unanswered, was caught off guard when Shen Yan picked up. After a brief pause, he spoke in a calm tone. “Yan Yan, it’s me, Dad. I saw the news online that you and Mr. Su have registered your marriage. I’m happy for you, and I want to help with the wedding preparations. After all, marriage is a big event and shouldn’t be rushed. Do you have time to meet and discuss it?”
“No need,” Shen Yan replied coldly. “If that’s all you want, then hang up.”
Sure enough, Shen Bowen couldn’t hold back any longer. “No, no, Yan Yan, there’s something else I need to discuss with you.”
“Speak!” Shen Yan replied tersely.
Shen Bowen hesitated, cleared his throat, and after a long pause, finally spoke. “About your mother… There are some things you may not know, and I’ve never dared to tell you. Actually, your mother suffered from severe depression back then and was on medication for a long time…”
“Shen Bowen,” Shen Yan smiled coldly. “Are you trying to tell me that you’ve found out I’ve already found the people and evidence who you bribed to poison my mother? Are you trying to cover your tracks now?”
Wen Xin had depression?
It was unbelievable that Shen Bowen could say such a thing with a straight face.
Shen Yan had initially planned to see how far Shen Bowen would go with his story, but now it seemed he was trying to excuse his past crimes.
It was utterly disgusting!
On the other end, Shen Bowen was stunned into silence. After a moment, he quickly denied it. “What are you talking about? I… I had nothing to do with your mother’s condition!”
“I’m not making things up. You’ll find out when we go to court. I’ve already contacted Dr. Wang and Wu Ying, and they’ve agreed to testify. Your crimes will soon be exposed,” Shen Yan interrupted with a cold sneer.
“Impossible. Wu Ying clearly…” Shen Bowen grew agitated, but then seemed to remember something. He quickly changed his tune. “Shen Yan, don’t be delusional. Your mother died in a car accident. She had severe depression, so her death had nothing to do with me.”
“If that’s true, then why are you calling me today?” Shen Yan asked. “Did Wu Ying call you and tell you I’ve contacted her to testify? Did she also tell you she refused and now wants you to pay her a hush money?”
Shen Yan was guessing, but he was sure he was right.
Before answering the phone, he wasn’t sure whether the contact person was the nanny or the doctor. Now, it was clear it was the nanny.
After all, Dr. Wang had a stable career and a happy family. He probably wanted nothing to do with this incident, so he wouldn’t have contacted Shen Bowen for a bit of money.
But Wu Ying was different.
She had taken a large sum of money from the Shen family back then and was still working as a nanny. That showed she was extravagant and bad at managing money.
She didn’t want Su Yunzhe’s money because if she took it, she’d have to tell the truth and end up in prison. So, she pretended to be crazy, but she’d gladly take Shen Bowen’s money since he wouldn’t dare call the police.
Therefore, Shen Yan deduced that she had contacted Shen Bowen to intimidate him into paying a large amount of hush money.
Shen Yan’s guess turned out to be correct. Shen Bowen was on edge because of this phone call.
It wasn’t that he was unwilling to pay Wu Ying off, but he was afraid that even if he paid, he wouldn’t be able to silence her.
Shen Yan had married Su Yunzhe, and the Su family didn’t seem like an ordinary business family. Su Yunzhe had a very powerful background—just look at how miserable Duan Yang was right now.
If Su Yunzhe had already contacted Wu Ying and Dr. Wang, he definitely had a way to get them to talk.
So, Shen Bowen had taken the risk of calling Shen Yan to probe the situation.
But he hadn’t expected it to be true.
“Yan Yan, this matter…” He felt the floor drop out from under him, unsure of what to say. His instinct was to beg for mercy.
Shen Yan, however, wasn’t interested in listening. He coldly interrupted him. “You know exactly what kind of person Wu Ying is. She called you because she wants to get a big payout before you’re sent to prison. What’s it to her? In the end, when you’re in jail, what can you do to her? Oh, and by the way, have you ever seen a prison movie? They say in those films, some inmates mysteriously end up dead. I wonder if that’s really how it is in a real prison. Don’t worry, you’ll find out soon enough…”
He deliberately dragged the last part out, leaving the rest unsaid. As Shen Bowen’s unease grew, Shen Yan abruptly hung up.
He turned to Su Yunzhe with a grin. “How’s that for a plan?”
Su Yunzhe chuckled and pinched his cheek. “Impressive!”
Shen Yan smiled smugly. “Of course! Now, it’s your turn.”
“Yes, ma’am! I’ll get to work, and you just wait for the good news,” Su Yunzhe said with a wink.
While they were in high spirits, the Shen family was plunged into an eerie silence. Shen Bowen slumped on the sofa, his face turning an unhealthy shade of purple, trembling as he gripped his phone but couldn’t hold it steady.
Wang Li, sitting nearby, was also shocked at his reaction. “What did he say? Isn’t it Wu Ying, that crazy woman, who ran out of money and is trying to scam us?”
Before calling Shen Yan, Shen Bowen had thought the same.
But now…
He weakly shook his head. “Shen Yan really found them, and they’ve agreed to testify.”
“How could that be? They were involved too. If they testify, they’ll be implicated themselves! Are they out of their minds?” Wang Li exclaimed.
Shen Bowen, irritated by her loud voice, snapped, “Why are you shouting? If it weren’t for your horrible idea back then, would we be in this mess now? Let me tell you, if this goes to court, you’re the one who started it, and you should be the one going to prison!”
With that, he stormed upstairs in a huff.
Wang Li stood there for a moment, processing what he’d said, then immediately started stomping her feet in anger, shouting up the stairs, “You ungrateful bastard! Who was it that was afraid of the divorce and wanted to kill someone for the inheritance? Now you’re blaming me? It was me who foolishly married a good-for-nothing like you, and now I’m stuck with this mess…”
Bang!
From upstairs, Shen Jiaqi stood at his bedroom door, tossing a basin onto the floor. It shattered, the pieces scattering everywhere.
Wang Li instantly stopped her rant, forcing a smile as she approached him. “Did I wake you, darling? I’ll be quiet now, okay? You go back to sleep.”
But Shen Jiaqi didn’t return to his room to sleep. He had already slept enough. Since that day at the Civil Affairs Bureau when he cried and begged Duan Yang not to leave him, he’d been alternating between looking for Duan Yang and sleeping.
He no longer felt like sleeping.
Instead, he went downstairs and pulled Wang Li to sit with him. “What were you and Dad arguing about?”
Wang Li, still worried about him, especially since her precious son had been manipulated by that scoundrel Duan Yang for so many years and ended up with nothing, sighed and patted his face. “Look how thin you’ve gotten! You haven’t been eating much lately. Are you feeling better now? How about I cook something delicious for you?”
Shen Jiaqi shook his head. “No, I’m not hungry. Just tell me, what’s going on? Does it have something to do with… that dead woman?”
Wang Li, having no idea what to do, nodded. “I don’t know how that little bastard Shen Yan found out about what we did to his mother back then, but now he’s found witnesses who are going to testify against your dad and me. Jiaqi, I’m not hiding it from you—this idea was mine, I gave it to your dad. And now, he’s turned everything on me, wants to pin the blame on me and send me to prison. What kind of person does that? A real bastard!”
Shen Jiaqi didn’t respond but lowered his head, thinking for a moment, before asking, “Who else knew about what happened back then?”
Seeing his serious expression, Wang Li knew he was more composed than she was, so she immediately told him all the details about what happened.
“So, only Dr. Wang and that nanny know, right?” Shen Jiaqi asked.
Wang Li nodded. “Yes. If they testify, I really will go to prison.”
Shen Jiaqi shook his head. “No. The key witness is that nanny. If…” His eyes glinted with cold malice, “Without her, even if Dr. Wang testifies, it won’t be enough to convict you.”
“Do you mean…?” Wang Li stared at him, wide-eyed.
Shen Jiaqi sneered. “Why are you so surprised? Didn’t you two do all this seventeen years ago? Alright, I’ll tell you what you need to do. Either get rid of that nanny, or you’ll both end up in prison. The choice is yours.”
With that, he turned and headed upstairs.
Wang Li sat on the couch, dazed for a while, before standing up and climbing upstairs to enter Shen Bowen’s study. The two of them were inside discussing something, and they didn’t come out until dinner time.
Meanwhile, Shen Yan had already forgotten about the situation. After playing a couple of games on his phone while lounging on the couch, he went to the kitchen to check on Su Yunzhe preparing dinner.
Su Yunzhe ladled out some soup and handed him a bowl. “Here, have some to tide you over.”
Shen Yan’s appetite had improved compared to before. He’d eaten a lot at lunch and snacked while writing in the afternoon, yet now he was hungry again.
He also realized that the food Su Yunzhe made was really to his liking.
As he enjoyed the soup, savoring every sip, he finished the bowl and was about to ask for more when his phone, left on the couch, rang.
Reluctantly, he set the bowl down and rushed to answer it. It was Ling Sichen calling.
“Brother Ling!” he greeted cheerfully.
Ling Sichen’s voice was urgent. “Yan Yan, is Mr. Su there? Old Master Duan is having a heart attack and is in critical condition at the hospital. Do you think Mr. Su knows any heart disease specialists?”
Shen Yan didn’t have time to ask questions. He quickly ran to the kitchen and handed the phone to Su Yunzhe. “Brother Ling is calling. You should answer!”
Su Yunzhe saw his troubled expression, took the phone with one hand, and pulled him into an embrace with the other.
After hearing what Ling Sichen said, Su Yunzhe replied, “Got it. I’ll contact the doctors and head over.”
He hung up the phone, quickly dialed several numbers, then efficiently packed the food he’d just prepared into take-out containers and pulled Shen Yan downstairs.
Once in the car, he had Shen Yan sit in the back and eat as they drove toward the hospital.
Shen Yan didn’t have much of an appetite. He held the take-out box, sighed, and asked, “How did this happen? Old Master Duan didn’t even react when he found out Duan Yang was trying to take over the company. What triggered this heart attack now?”
“A heart attack might not necessarily be triggered by stress. He’s getting older, and unexpected health problems can happen. Also…”
Su Yunzhe shook his head, not continuing his thought.
But Shen Yan had already figured it out. Most likely, this was still related to Duan Yang.
