Rivals of Rebirth

Chapter 49: Destruction

Wen Hua'an sat somewhat dazed in the center of the living room at the Wen Mansion. The luxurious crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling emitted a dazzling light, and Wen Hua'an's complexion appeared slightly pale.

Wen Yize slightly curved his mouth, crossing his legs as he sat opposite Wen Hua'an, smiling and saying, "Uncle, things have come to this point. There's no need for futile struggles. The Wen Mansion has always been the residence of the Wen family head. Since you have already withdrawn from the Wen family, it's better for you to move out."

Wen Hua'an's lips trembled slightly as he stared at Wen Yize, almost unable to utter a word. He had lived in this house for over twenty years, never expecting that one day he would be forced to leave.

"Wen Yize, whose power do you rely on?" Wen Hua'an pointed at Wen Yize with trembling fingers, nearly grinding his teeth.

Wen Yize coldly snorted and looked at Wen Hua'an with some mockery. "Uncle, you offended someone yourself. You know it well enough. Is there any need for me to say more?"

Wen Hua'an's heart sank instantly. He felt a chill running from head to toe, with cold sweat forming on his back. He had once harbored a sliver of hope that this matter was executed meticulously and wouldn't be discovered by Han Zizhang. But now he understood how foolish the command he had given in a fit of irrationality was. Even if he tried to make amends afterwards, he feared he wouldn't be able to escape Han Zizhang's all-seeing eye.

Wen Hua'an suddenly felt desolate. He closed his eyes, appearing as if he had aged several years. He leaned back heavily and spoke with a melancholic tone, "I understand now. You can leave first. I'll move out tomorrow."

These words truly pierced his heart like a knife, recalling how he had driven the Wen brothers out back then, and now the Wen brothers were driving him out. The cycle of karma was truly relentless.

Wen Yize forced a fake smile, tugged at the corner of his mouth, and leisurely stood up. Looking down at Wen Hua'an, who clearly displayed some signs of weariness, he sneered, "Uncle, I have to thank you for successfully moving out of the Wen Mansion this time. You should do more of these things in the future."

Without caring about Wen Hua'an's unsightly expression, Wen Yize turned around and left the Wen Mansion.

Wen Hua'an's face turned livid with anger. He stared at the direction Wen Yize had left with a gloomy expression, but deep down, his heart couldn't help but sink. He knew Han Zizhang's methods. When that person wanted to deal with someone, it would never be done through such means.

**

Wen Hua'an moved out of the Wen Mansion.

This became big news throughout the entire city. However, as this major news emerged, another piece of news appeared out of nowhere.

Zheng Jue looked at the distorted image of Wen Hua'an's face in the newspaper and couldn't help but furrow his brows. He asked hoarsely, "Wen Hua'an is suspected of financial fraud and behind-the-scenes manipulation? Did you create this news?" He was referring to Zhou Cheng'an, who sat across from him.

Zhou Cheng'an merely smiled, took the newspaper from Zheng Jue's hand, casually folded it, and placed it aside.

"I don't have that much ability. Wen Hua'an is also a prominent figure in the city. He was involved in these matters before I was even born," Zhou Cheng'an replied with a hint of teasing in his tone.

Zheng Jue raised an eyebrow, and his heart suddenly skipped a beat. He hurriedly asked, "Could it be...?"

Zhou Cheng'an cast a meaningful glance at Zheng Jue but didn't mention the matter again. He said, "How is your health now? Can you get out of bed? How long are you planning to stay in the hospital?"

Zheng Jue lowered his gaze with a hint of guilt and said softly, "It's chaotic outside. It's quiet here."

Zhou Cheng'an couldn't help but laugh upon hearing this. "Zheng Sheng, you're even more innocent than Han Jin. With your current appearance, I could easily mistake you for a fledgling."

Zheng Jue remained silent with a cold expression. Zhou Cheng'an didn't dare to mock him too much and changed the subject. "By the way, you haven't seen Han Jin in a long time. He's not doing well now."

While Zhou Cheng'an hadn't mentioned it earlier, as soon as he did, Zheng Jue became tense. He looked at Zhou Cheng'an with an unpleasant expression and whispered, "How is he doing?"

Zhou Cheng'an felt some compassion as he observed Zheng Jue's reaction. He didn't dare to fabricate anything and honestly said, "Don't worry, he's lucky to be alive. His condition has stabilized now, and the doctor said he should wake up in a few days."

Hearing this, Zheng Jue finally breathed a sigh of relief. He knew Zhou Cheng'an well enough. Although he seemed unreliable in trivial matters, he wouldn't deceive him in important affairs.

Now that Han Jin's condition had stabilized and a blazing fire had erupted on Wen Hua'an's side, Zheng Jue didn't mind adding more fuel to the flames. He wanted the fire to burn even more fiercely. As he thought about it, a dark glint appeared in Zheng Jue's eyes.

Seeing Zheng Jue's determination, Zhou Cheng'an could almost guess his thoughts. A faint smile appeared on his lips for some unknown reason. Zheng Jue, though formidable, was sometimes still too inexperienced...

Unaware of Zhou Cheng'an's smile, Zheng Jue's entire attention was focused on his seething anger towards Wen Hua'an. He silently counted the private secrets he knew about Wen Hua'an. If he didn't strike a fallen dog while it was down now, then when would be the right time to strike?

In the following days, the news about Wen Hua'an in the newspapers crossed the boundaries of the entire city's tolerance. First, he was taken in for investigation by financial authorities due to economic issues. After seventy-two hours, when he emerged, the media in the entire city rushed to interview him, exposing his aged and disheveled appearance to the sunlight.

But it didn't end there. During his more than twenty years as the head of the Wen family, he had engaged in numerous shady activities, and they were all being exposed one by one. Whether it was keeping mistresses, framing colleagues, or suppressing competitors, anything negative associated with Wen Hua'an was now attributed to him.

Even Zheng Jue found it inexplicable because many of the things being reported were completely fabricated, having no connection to Wen Hua'an whatsoever. However, the media's imagination was rich, and Wen Hua'an had become a condemned criminal in their eyes. The entire city knew that Wen Hua'an was done for.

This storm continued for a long time without achieving significant results. Wen Hua'an went in and out of financial institutions, yet he remained unscathed. The things he had done in the past were kept well hidden, and the evidence available now was insufficient to bring him down.

But just at this critical moment, something happened that took the whole situation to its climax. Someone reported to the relevant authorities that Wen Hua'an had caused the death of his brother and sister-in-law in his pursuit of power within the Wen family.

Once this news broke, it swept through the entire city like a whirlwind. While manipulating the business world was different from committing murder, the former concerned moral issues, whereas the latter involved legal problems.

As soon as this news came out, Wen Hua'an was taken away by judicial authorities in the afternoon. Zheng Jue was reviewing documents at the time and almost snapped his pen in half upon hearing Susie's report. He never expected Wen Hua'an to be so ruthlessly depraved.

Susie noticed Zheng Jue's surprise and quickly said, "Zheng Sheng, this matter is nothing. Now there's a rumor circulating that Wen Huai'an was also involved in Mr. Zheng's affairs back then. Take a look..."

Furrowing his brows, Zheng Jue found it troubling that his father's name was being dragged into this, even though his father hadn't done anything wrong. But the deceased couldn't defend themselves and were left hanging in the mouths of others, enduring sympathetic glances from strangers. Zheng Jue couldn't bear it.

The current public opinion in the city was clearly manipulated by the Han family behind the scenes. Without their approval, no one would dare to provoke Zheng Jue at this time. Realizing this, Zheng Jue felt a slight trembling in his tongue. Han Zizhang probably knew about it and was using this incident to warn him.

Suppressing his inner restlessness, Zheng Jue pursed his lips and said, "Don't worry about that. Arrange a meeting with Mr. Han from the Han family for me. I have something to discuss with him."

Upon hearing this, Susie also realized that it might be Han Zizhang orchestrating things behind the scenes. Her hands trembled slightly. Han Zizhang's ability to ruin a person had been fully demonstrated in these past few days. If he were to target Zheng Jue subconsciously, Zheng Jue would suffer a much more miserable fate than Wen Hua'an because Zheng Jue didn't have any background, unlike Wen Hua'an who had an entire family backing him.

Susie hurriedly went out to carry out her tasks. Zheng Jue watched her figure receding and found his mind filled with countless thoughts. Han Zizhang must have already known about the situation between him and Han Jin; otherwise, he wouldn't be targeting him so openly and especially at this time.

Zheng Jue asked himself honestly, and in the face of Han Zizhang, he had no means to resist. Whether it was his ambiguous feelings for Han Jin or Han Jin's unwavering determination, when faced with real power, it was like a flimsy house of cards. It would collapse with a gust of wind, without anyone pushing it.

Zheng Jue didn't want to fall.

But then he remembered the words Han Jin whispered in his ear, and it felt like a sharp pain stabbing his heart. It was a piercing pain that made him restless and unable to find peace.

What should he do?

Zheng Jue didn't believe that someone like Han Zizhang would allow his son to be entangled with another man without consequences. He also didn't believe that Han Jin, with his temperament, would easily let him go. Just by seeing his enthusiasm and reckless reactions, Zheng Jue understood that he couldn't escape Han Jin in this lifetime. But what about his own heart? Zheng Jue felt a bit lost for a moment.

After a while, Susie returned. She looked at Zheng Jue sitting blankly on the bed, feeling a twinge of bitterness in her heart. She had seen the good moments between the two of them and could tell that Han Jin cared for Zheng Jue. Now, with this outcome, even as an outsider, she felt somewhat distressed.

"Zheng Sheng, Mr. Han has agreed to your invitation. He will meet you in his office tomorrow afternoon at 4:30," Susie said, suppressing her feelings of sadness.

Zheng Jue stared into space and slowly nodded, as if he hadn't heard her, but every word seemed to be engraved on the tip of his heart.

After a while, he suddenly said, "I want to go see Han Jin."

He had been in the hospital for so long and had never visited him. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but rather, he couldn't. Han Zizhang guarded that floor like a fortress, and not even a mosquito could get in, let alone Zheng Jue. Zhou Cheng'an had only been inside once.

Susie was taken aback and lowered her head. "I just saw Mr. Han going downstairs. He shouldn't be in the ICU right now."

After all, Han Zizhang wasn't made of iron, and he was getting on in years. There would be times when he couldn't hold on anymore. As for the remaining people, they wouldn't be able to stop Zheng Jue.

Understanding Susie's implication, Zheng Jue slowly got off the bed and, with Susie's support, walked towards Han Jin's room in the ICU.

Every step felt like a heavy burden pressing on Zheng Jue's heart. It weighed him down more than ever.