After Being Blackened All Over the Internet, I Ruled the Military Variety Shows
Chapter 575 - 565: The Broken Buddha Beads

Chapter 575: Chapter 565: The Broken Buddha Beads

Jiang Lingxi was still wearing the outfit from the event earlier, but she had taken her makeup off while removing her fake eyelashes in the adjacent room.

But that didn’t stop people from recognizing her at a glance.

A sound of "pfft" reached her ears, and she instinctively looked over, meeting two pairs of bright but momentarily stunned eyes.

This reaction...

She shifted her gaze to Xu Ling’an, sitting beside her, "They don’t know?"

Even Xu Ling’an hadn’t anticipated such a strong reaction from the two friends upon seeing their sister, so he nodded a little sheepishly, "Not yet..."

Hearing their conversation, the two finally snapped out of their daze: "..."

When Jiang Lingxi looked over at them again, their bodies reacted faster than their minds, and they sprang up from their seats, "Sis, uh no, hello Sister Jiang."

"Hello, sit down, since you know who I am, I won’t introduce myself. I’m An’an’s sister. We’re about to eat, so I called you over to join. Make sure to eat to your heart’s content."

The two sat back down, nodding repeatedly, "Sure, yes, definitely."

Jiang Lingxi walked to the main seat, saw everyone was present, and nodded at Tong Yue, "Let the kitchen serve the dishes."

Once the two were seated again, they couldn’t help but grip Xu Ling’an’s hand under the table.

"Youngest!"

The words were said through gritted teeth.

On their way here, they had expected to meet a wealthy sister, but never anticipated it would be Jiang Lingxi!

Completely caught off guard!

Now they understood why the name ’Shen Chuyue’ sounded so familiar, the founder of the Shanyue Zhiheng brand, and they had just attended her event.

Who would have thought they’d be having dinner at the same table with these two?

It felt like a dream!

Xu Ling’an squeezed their hands in return, softly defending, "You didn’t ask either."

The two: "..."

That seemed true.

But was it really about asking or not?

As the delicious and exquisite food was set on the table and the atmosphere became more relaxed, especially since the one at the head of the table treated them like friends of the family’s children, their tension gradually eased.

*

Even though it was lunchtime, Bai Shengyu sat with a dark expression in the interrogation room at the police station.

Even with his family’s top lawyer negotiating outside, it was quiet around him. But just sitting there waiting for the negotiations to end so he could leave was already intolerable for him.

Bai Shengyu hadn’t eaten, and the officer in charge of the case hadn’t eaten either.

Neither side was in the mood.

Once the police obtained Bai Shengyu’s name from Han Dashan, they knew this case was a tough one.

They had procedures and regulations to follow, but there are always those trying to find loopholes. Even though they were clear about who the real culprit was—him sitting right there—they still couldn’t arrest him without proper evidence.

Both sides were already at their wits’ end in this negotiation, but neither could back down!

Time ticked by second by second.

When the clock chimed, Bai Shengyu looked at the wall clock in the interrogation room, it was 1 p.m.!

He had been brought in around ten in the morning. It had been nearly three hours!

Since when had his family’s legal team become so ineffective?

Thinking this, he was about to stand up, and the officer keeping an eye on him was about to speak up to stop him.

With a "snap," both of them stopped in their tracks.

Bai Shengyu looked down at the Buddha Beads that had suddenly snapped in his hand.

These beads were something he pleaded for from his grandmother, always cherished, something he would handle when his mind was unsettled.

He had personally replaced the string, never letting anyone else handle it.

If he remembered correctly, he had replaced the string less than a week ago.

There was no way it could just break.

But now, watching over a hundred small beads falling from the broken string and scattering across the floor where people had stepped, hearing the series of tiny clinking sounds, Bai Shengyu felt his heartbeat become increasingly frantic and irregular.

Soon, all he had left in his hand was a new segment of thread with a neatly cut end, as if sliced cleanly. The beads rolled everywhere around his feet, some even rolling under the sofa and coffee table.

The officer watched as Bai Shengyu’s expression shifted from shock to a look too grim to observe, then looked at the beads that had rolled to his feet. After a moment’s hesitation, he crouched to pick them up, "Mr. Bai?"

When Bai Shengyu saw the beads in his hand, his already grim expression darkened further.

The beads had been cherished by his grandmother for a long time before he got his hands on them, and he never let anyone else touch them.

Even a woman he favored for a long time couldn’t touch them, and after she tried, thinking she was entitled to, he discarded her without hesitation.

Now, they were in the hands of someone he detested!

Bai Shengyu felt panic rise in his heart.

After a long moment of hesitation, he grudgingly crouched to pick up the fallen beads one by one. While frowning at the dirt on his hand, the door to the interrogation room was finally pushed open from outside.

The officer standing at the door spoke without expression: "Mr. Bai, you may leave."

Bai Shengyu could no longer maintain his composure, let out a breath of relief on the spot, and rushed out, only pausing briefly to glance at his assistant, who was now handcuffed and looking pale, before leaving quickly.

The anonymous check only had the assistant’s fingerprints on it.

But once he was out of the police station and seated in the car, he frowned at the lawyer sitting in the front passenger seat, "What happened? Why did it take so long this time?"

He had thought that even if summoned, his family’s lawyers would resolve it within an hour, but it had taken three times as long!

The lawyer responded indirectly, "Second Young Master, the old lady wants you to return to the ancestral residence."

Bai Shengyu paused abruptly as he was wiping his fingers with a wet wipe.

Realizing, "Then hurry up!"

The vehicle drove away, and although a police officer sprinted out in pursuit, all he saw were the exhaust trails of several luxury cars.

"Missed them, too late, never mind."

He opened his hand to reveal the three beads picked up from the corner, then turned to go back in.

After cleaning his hands, Bai Shengyu retrieved his phone, which he had turned off deliberately before entering the station. When he switched it back on, a flood of messages poured in.

Most were from people in the circle who had heard about his summons and were inquiring if he was okay. Normally, he’d reply, but en route to the ancestral home, he wasn’t in the mood.

Then there were updates from the company, showing all was normal, which finally eased his mind.

But upon reaching the ancestral home and seeing the old steward who followed his grandmother all along, noting that the path led not to the main residence where his grandmother stayed but to the Bai Family’s ancestral hall, Bai Shengyu’s face grew increasingly pale.

"Second Young Master, I can only escort you this far, please proceed inside."

As Bai Shengyu looked at the silhouette facing away from him in the hall, crossing the threshold, he was so nervous he stumbled, and as he regained his footing, a stern voice pierced his ears.

"Kneel down!"