Finding a Scapegoat

It turned out that her little life could be held in someone else's palm and crushed so easily.

She had been wrong. Why had she been single-mindedly obsessed with waiting for the appearance of the young male protagonist, Sui Yu, instead of immediately hugging Shen Zhihan's powerful thighs the moment she transmigrated here?

However, who could have ever predicted that Shen Zhihan, who was clearly meant to be a mere plot device, could achieve such incredible fortune!

Xia Kexuan's sobs this time were no longer feigned. Her trembling body and the extreme terror gripping her heart were completely real.

Shen Zhihan didn't even spare Xia Kexuan a glance as he said coldly, "A prank? My An'an has never been an unreasonable person. Arguing? Is she even worthy? For my An'an, even looking at her is enough to taint her eyes. I simply want the truth to be brought to light."

Shen Zhihan was quoting An'an's exact words.

An'an looked at Shen Zhihan in pleasant surprise.

She discovered that whenever she said something, Shen Zhihan would always listen to it carefully and take it to heart.

Sometimes, when she chattered away with childish nonsense, Shen Zhihan would still remember it. Her daddy was simply the best.

In the end, Ding Jianhui, Huang Liying, and the others all headed toward the Xia family's villa.

Shen Zhihan even left people behind to keep watch, preventing them from attempting to escape halfway by car.

Xia Kexuan's heart turned to ash, her face deadly pale.

Seeing Xia Kexuan looking like this, Huang Liying felt a surge of intense hatred, yet her maternal instincts were still inevitably stirred.

She pulled Xia Kexuan into her arms. "Xuanxuan, don't be afraid. Godfather and Godmother will protect you."

Xia Kexuan sneered inwardly. Protect her?

Who was it that had pushed her out in front of everyone at school just moments ago and berated her?

Nonetheless, Xia Kexuan buried herself into Huang Liying's embrace.

Her mind spun rapidly as she searched for a way to ensure her own survival.

Yet she was only four years old; where could she possibly run to?

No matter who caught her, her life would not be pleasant.

To be sent to an ordinary family and live out her days as a commoner—Xia Kexuan was entirely unwilling.

Once a person has tasted extreme wealth and luxury, how can they ever be content with mediocrity?

When Xia Kexuan raised her head again, her eyes were red-rimmed. "Godmother, actually, I didn't do that. It was Older Sister. An'an wanted to be the darling of the kindergarten, so she purposely said those things. Sister came to me that day and said she wanted to dig up the ashes under the tree because it wouldn't look good if someone saw them. Our conversation must have been overheard by An'an. I never expected her to suddenly attack today."

Xia Kexuan delivered the lines with such heartfelt sincerity that Huang Liying finally believed her.

"Godmother, please call Sister and ask her to come over too. Sister is an adult; when she sees me being wronged, she will definitely step forward to clear my name."

Xia Kexuan's speech was excessively mature. Even though she was crying, she remained remarkably calm.

Of course, Xia Kexuan didn't need to put on an act; she was widely renowned in social circles as a famously gifted child, precocious beyond her years.

She had been able to solve junior high school math problems at the age of three. The Xia family had publicly proclaimed that Xia Kexuan only attended kindergarten simply to have a normal childhood.

When Xia Kexuan took those junior high tests back then, many people had gathered around to watch. Later, when someone refused to believe it and brought out a brand-new set of test papers, Xia Kexuan solved them just as easily.

Huang Liying immediately dialed Xia Jing's number.

On the other end, Xia Jing answered almost instantly.

Hearing Xia Kexuan's tear-choked voice calling out, "Sister," Xia Jing felt an aching tightness in her chest.

After all, this was the younger sister she had cherished for four years.

During the past few days since the Xia family went bankrupt, they had been unable to contact Xia Kexuan, yet they continuously made excuses for her.

Her sister wouldn't just abandon them; she must have just arrived at the Ding family and hadn't established her footing yet.

Besides, the person they had offended was Shen Zhihan. The Ding family wasn't powerful enough to contend with the Shen family, and Shen Zhihan was absolute madness incarnate!

Just because they had impersonated his savior, he had driven their entire family to utter ruin.

"Xuanxuan, are you alright? Are Uncle and Auntie Ding treating you well? We haven't been able to reach you these past few days and we've been so worried."

At that moment, the entire family was huddled inside a public library, taking advantage of the free air conditioning.

They were completely penniless now, possessing nothing in the world except their smartphones.

Xia Jing could acutely feel the judgmental gazes of the passersby.

Subconsciously, she sniffed her own clothes. In the restroom earlier, she had deliberately wet some paper towels and wiped herself down, but having worn the same clothes for two days, she did indeed smell a bit foul.

"Sister, I'm not doing well, I'm doing terribly. Sister, can you come over right now? Can you come and help me? Shen Zhihan has gone mad; he's going to dig up the bodies of the cats and dogs buried under the villa. Sister, I can't cover it up anymore! Sister, I said I did it, Sister..."

Xia Jing's face flushed bright red. "No, no, no! I did it, I'm coming right now. I'm heading back immediately."

She had only a few hundred yuan left on her—money originally intended for the whole family to rent a cheap motel for the night—but saving her sister took precedence.

Xia Kexuan hung up the phone, buried her face in her knees, and let out a cold laugh.

Xia Jing was truly a fool; she was always the most eager when it came to cleaning up messes.

Of course Xia Kexuan wouldn't pass up this opportunity to use her.

After all, Xia Jing was still counting on her to turn things around!

When the cars arrived at the Xia family's residence, the parents of Qu Bowen and Tian Wenhan had already arrived, having met Shen Zhihan previously.

Seeing that their mom and dad had both come, Qu Bowen and Tian Wenhan were overjoyed.

The parents of the other three children were stunned when they caught sight of Shen Zhihan upon their arrival.

None of them had ever imagined that An'an's father would turn out to be Shen Zhihan!

They certainly had come a long way—they actually got to meet Shen Zhihan in person!

The main gate of the Xia family's villa was pushed open, and the adults exchanged polite pleasantries as they walked toward the jaboticaba tree.

With a single gesture from Shen Zhihan, the bodyguards began to dig.

The two animal carcasses had been buried roughly a month ago and had not yet completely decomposed; the stench was potent enough to make everyone instinctively cover their noses.

Patches of fur were still visible.

A small bell was unearthed, only to slip off and drop back into the dirt.

Gao Feifei recognized it at a single glance—it was Little Gray, the pet she had given to Xia Kexuan.

Because Little Gray was extremely mischievous and liked to run around everywhere, she had specifically put a bell on it so she could guess its whereabouts by the sound.

Gao Feifei burst into wails and lunged forward to scratch at Xia Kexuan. "Xia Kexuan, give me back my Little Gray! Give me back my Little Gray!"

With a dull clatter, Shen Zhihan's bodyguard unearthed a wooden box. When the lid was pried open, everyone fell silent.

Inside lay a small dog. The inside of the wooden box was riddled with deep scratch marks, and the puppy's limbs were twisted at horrific angles, bearing silent witness to the agony it had suffered at the moment of death.

The other children present immediately broke down in loud tears.

"Wuwuwu, it's so pitiful, the cats and dogs are so pitiful."

Qu Bowen and Tian Wenhan didn't cry aloud, but tears were already swirling in their eyes.

No one had expected that every single thing An'an said would turn out to be true.

Ding Jianhui refused to accept reality. "You can't necessarily say Kexuan did this. What if someone else buried dead cats and dogs here beforehand?"

As soon as these words left his mouth, the surrounding crowd cast sympathetic glances at Ding Jianhui.

With death staring him in the face, the man still refused to admit defeat.