Chapter 143: The Grim News

“Which classmate? I’ll call and ask.”
“Mom!” Chen Shu grew impatient. “What are you doing? Just because she suddenly said some nonsensical things? Just because she took that cheap recorder and made up a story? I’m your son. If you don’t believe me, why would you believe her?”
“I want to believe you too,” Aunt Qin said, taking a deep breath as she slowly pulled a box from under the table and opened it.

Inside, a jade pendant of considerable value lay quietly.

“Tell me, what is this?”

Chen Shu’s expression shifted. “Did you go through my things?”

Aunt Qin silently wiped away tears. “It’s really you, Shu. Jiang Yao wasn’t lying about you. Why would you do this?”

Chen Shu glared coldly at the pendant. “I should have smashed it and thrown it away a long time ago.”

Aunt Qin raised her hand and slapped Chen Shu across the face. “And you’re still saying things like that now? Our Chen family has always been honest and upright. Your brother was such a good person. He’s watching over you from heaven. How could you do this?”

“That’s enough! Brother, brother, brother—I’m sick of hearing it! All these years, you’ve kept nagging me about him. I’m your son too. I’m the one who’s alive. Why do you only have eyes for that dead Chen Zui?”

Aunt Qin stared in disbelief at her once obedient son.

“Don’t look at me like that. I’ve had enough!” Chen Shu swept everything off the table with a broad sweep of his arm. “Was Chen Zui a good person? Hypocrite! He was an idiot. He didn’t just waste himself for others; he made you and me suffer all these years!”

“How can you say that about your brother?” Aunt Qin pointed a trembling finger at him.

Chen Shu pushed her hand away. “And you, stop pointing at me. I’ve played your good child for long enough!”

“You... you...”

Chen Shu glanced briefly at Aunt Qin, then strode upstairs.

Aunt Qin looked at the son before her—a man transformed beyond recognition—and then her vision darkened, her body went limp, and she collapsed to the floor.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yao, sitting in the car, had planned to go home directly.

As the car moved along, she idly scrolled through her phone.

Though she had felt a bit carsick earlier, the moment she saw the news on her screen, her senses instantly sharpened.

The headline had surged to the top of the trending list, but it felt so unreal, as if someone had deliberately fabricated a rumor.

Jiang Yao clicked in and read it carefully several times but still felt it was a hoax.

Just like the news about He Yunqing last time—it was eventually proven to be false, wasn’t it?

She hurriedly called Cheng Yanchi.

The phone was switched off; she couldn’t get through.

While she was anxiously trying again, Ye Yiyi’s call came in. “Ayao, have you seen the news?”

“I’m looking at it now.” Jiang Yao knew exactly what Ye Yiyi meant; a call at this moment could only be about one thing.

“The Cheng family’s bankrupt? How could that be? It must be fake, right?” Ye Yiyi’s voice was full of disbelief. “The Cheng family has such a vast empire. How could they just go bankrupt like that? There wasn’t even a hint beforehand. And Cheng Yanchi’s older brother...”

Jiang Yao’s finger hovered over the news about Cheng Yanchi’s older brother.

“The future heir of the Cheng Group, Cheng Mochi, fell to his death. The investigation concluded suicide, preliminarily attributed to the pressure of the Cheng Group’s bankruptcy...”

“No, it can’t be true. It must be false.” Jiang Yao’s hand trembled. “I can’t reach Cheng Yanchi right now, but it’s okay. I’m near the Cheng residence. I’ll head there first. Once Cheng Mochi appears in front of everyone, these rumors will be shattered.”

“Yes, Ayao, you go first. I’ll be there soon.”

Both spoke with firm voices but hid their deepest doubts.

Everyone seemed to know that such news was unlikely false, yet they clung to the last thread of hope.

The car slowed and stopped in front of the Cheng family estate.

Jiang Yao had been here before. The usual security guards at the gate were gone. She walked inside, searching for anyone, but found no one.

She rang the doorbell repeatedly, but no one answered.

In desperation, she leaned to look through a window.

She caught sight of Cheng Yanchi sitting on the carpet, his back resting against the sofa, lost in thought.

“Cheng Yanchi! Cheng Yanchi!” Jiang Yao knocked hard on the glass.

Cheng Yanchi didn’t respond; instead, he raised a wine glass from the coffee table and took a large gulp.

Seeing this, Jiang Yao grew more anxious and tried to open the window. Fortunately, it wasn’t locked.

She pulled the window open and leapt inside, approaching Cheng Yanchi. “So this is why you haven’t contacted me these past days?”

Feeling someone approach, Cheng Yanchi slowly lifted his eyes. His once clear eyes were now filled with a heartbreaking pain.

Stubble had quietly crept over his once clean, fair face.

“Tell me, is it true?” Jiang Yao asked.

Cheng Yanchi said nothing and kept drinking.

His reaction only confirmed the answer deep in Jiang Yao’s heart.

She snatched the bottle from his hand. “Cheng Yanchi!”

Once, everyone envied Cheng Yanchi’s life: wealthy, loved by family, able to chase dreams freely, carefree and unburdened.

But in such a short time, it seemed he had lost it all.

The Cheng family was bankrupt, burdened with debt.

His father had just passed away; his older brother had jumped to his death. All he had left was his mother, still bedridden and recovering.

Even his dreams could no longer be pursued due to his injured hand.

Cheng Yanchi looked at Jiang Yao’s face and slowly spoke, his voice hoarse, “Ayao, let’s break off our engagement.”

“What did you say?”

“You heard me.”

“I heard you, but I don’t understand why you say that!”

Cheng Yanchi gave a bitter smile. “Before, I thought I could give you happiness. Even if you loved someone else, I could wait. Even if I never got you, that would be fine, as long as you were happy. But now, I can’t give you anything anymore. The Cheng family’s bankrupt. I have nothing to offer you.”

“Cheng Yanchi, I didn’t come here to hear this,” Jiang Yao crouched down, looking at him. “Did I decide to marry you because of your family’s wealth? Cheng Yanchi, is that how you see me? Even if my feelings for you aren’t romantic, that doesn’t mean you’re not important to me.”

Cheng Yanchi took the bottle back from Jiang Yao and turned his head away. “Go.”

“No, I’m not leaving. Even if you push me away, I won’t go. I won’t break our engagement. Fine, if you want to drink, then I’ll drink with you!”