Chapter 166: Backstabbing Qiu Ruonan with a Knife

You think all rich kids who drive Lamborghinis are scumbags?

No, there are also some rich kids who are like a Husky.

For example…

Now, sitting properly in front of Gao Peng like a model student, this little fatty—Gao Shuo, nicknamed Gao Xiao Pang—is, in the eyes of many acquaintances, just the landlord's foolish son.

Gao Xiao Pang is born to clash with his father, later schemes against his mother, and occasionally even angers his maternal uncle who holds office.

The interrogation has only just begun.

Gao Peng is already on the verge of collapse.

"So… you mean you really were driving at 187 kilometers per hour, zigzagging on Donggang Avenue, changing lanes three times in a row?"

"Uncle, I had a reason for changing lanes repeatedly."

"What reason?"

"The speed spiked suddenly; I couldn't exactly dive under a big truck's rear, could I? If I were that stupid, all you'd see now would be my ashes."

"What do you mean by 'spiked suddenly'?"

"That day I had diarrhea, was about to lose control, felt a bit nervous, and all I could think about was tightening my sphincter. When I clenched hard, for some reason my legs straightened, and I accidentally pressed the accelerator to the floor."

"Because of your one bowel movement, you took two lives—do you know I want to slap you?"

"Uncle…"

"Don't call me uncle; those two words are too costly for me to bear!"

"I'm not asking you for New Year's money."

"I know, you want my life!"

Gao Peng clutched his faintly aching liver, not knowing whether the Gao family's ancestral grave had been splashed with black dog blood; lately everything has gone wrong for him, and he keeps spraining his ankle wherever he goes.

Before coming here today, he had once harbored a faint fantasy.

He fantasized about this foolish nephew righteously declaring: "I wasn't speeding, I wasn't zigzagging…"

Alas, heaven did not fulfill his wish.

His fantasy was ultimately destroyed by this idiot's sincerity.

Never lying—that's the highest realm among fools! Such a realm can sometimes be truly moving, yet at other times it's utterly heartbreaking.

Gao Peng struggled to calm his emotions.

He then asked another crucial question: "After the accident, when the traffic police arrived to handle the scene, did you report my name?"

"No."

Gao Shuo shook his head, always sitting bolt upright with his back straight.

He carefully recalled the situation that day.

He also felt a bit lost.

He muttered, puzzled: "I feel like I didn't do anything wrong—I hit someone, I didn't flee, and I even called 120."

"Since you didn't report my name, what did the police tell you?" Gao Peng pressed.

Gao Shuo earnestly recalled: "At the time I told the police, 'I'm fully responsible.' They were a bit surprised, saying this kid's got a screw loose, hit stupid. Then they sent me to the hospital, and not long after my mom came."

"In other words, after the accident, it was your mom who handled the follow‑up for you?"

"Yeah, while I was in the hospital, I wanted to go see the van's owner to apologize, but my mom absolutely wouldn't let me go, and afterwards I never met that person."

"Sigh!"

"Uncle, do you have asthma? You're panting for so long."

"Aren't you afraid of going to prison?"

"How long?"

"Under three years; if you behave well, you can get a reduction."

"Oh."

"What does 'oh' mean?"

"It means I have no objection—I killed someone, isn't going to prison normal? I heard you can operate a sewing machine in prison; Uncle, is that really true?"

Saying this, Gao Shuo's face broke into an excited grin, as if he were full of longing for the world inside prison.

Gao Peng gloomily patted his forehead.

Just now he was so angry his liver hurt.

Now his head felt like it was about to explode with a throbbing pain.

He couldn't fathom what sin he'd committed in a past life—having a sister as fat as a pig who gave birth to a pure‑minded simpleton Gao Xiao Pang; damn it, what's there to long for? Instead he longs to go to prison and work a sewing machine! Damn, he's got ambition.

"Brother, how did you come here?"

Just as Gao Peng was pondering how to clean up this mess, a voice came from behind—Gao Lu's.

He turned around and looked.

The scene at the door was quite striking.

It seems this evildoer hasn't been slacking off lately—she's apparently slimmed down a bit, can now fit into Balenciaga's new spring outfit, and looks prettier.

Gao Peng glumly lit a cigarette: "If I don't come again, my nephew will be ruined in your hands. Such a pure young man, just turned eighteen. How can you teach him to evade responsibility?"

"Who taught him to evade responsibility?"

Gao Lu glanced in surprise at the foolish son Gao Shuo, wondering if this idiot would actually dare to sue her; if he had such insight, he truly ought to return to the ancestral hall and burn two sticks of high incense.

Gao Peng took a dull drag on his cigarette.

He calmly reminded: "Regarding the accident, Lin Dongfan is dead set on overturning the case; he now has evidence of Gao Shuo's speeding and illegal lane changes."

"That's simple—just find someone to destroy his evidence." Gao Lu dismissed it with contempt.

But Gao Peng's face grew ever more gloomy: "With the retrial imminent, him displaying his evidence right in front of me—could it be that he's trying to lure you into destroying it, so he can catch you red‑handed?"

"He's not that smart." Gao Lu still didn't bother to look.

Gao Peng exhaled a puff of smoke: "You're already in your fifties, don't force me to hit you in front of the child. Is it only you who's smart, everyone else is an idiot? Even if you look like a pig, that's fine, but your brain can't keep up with human development..."

"I also have a temper, watch what you say!"

Gao Lu was like a hedgehog that's been poked in a sore spot.

On the spot she burst out: "You can call me anything, but you can't say I look like a pig! I've slimmed down from 160 to 130, do you know what that means?"

Gao Peng replied calmly: "It means you're old, even the Paris world can't save you."

"Gao Peng!!!"

Gao Lu was so angry she jumped like thunder.

She picked up the cushion from the sofa and posed as if to smash someone: "If you don't prick me, you'll die, right?! How am I old? Are you blind? Don't think I won't hit you just because you're a leader!"

Despite the harsh roar, Gao Peng turned a deaf ear.

He stubbed out the remaining half of his cigarette in the ashtray, his expression stern, and asked: "Speak, was the fake testimony your doing?"

"I... I didn't..."

When it came to the serious matter of possibly going to jail, Gao Lu suddenly became timid again, daring not to speak recklessly.

Gao Peng pressed: "How did those false testimonies come about? Tell me everything in detail."

"I really didn't instruct anyone."

Gao Lu put on an innocent look: "Before the traffic police issued the accident liability determination, they told me: two people died at the scene, possibly facing criminal charges. I was also anxious then—I couldn't just watch my son go to jail. So I contacted the top lawyer Qiu Ruonan and asked if she had a solution."

"What did Qiu Ruonan say?" Gao Peng asked.

Gao Lu frankly said: "Qiu Ruonan said she had a way, told me not to worry, and then I let her handle everything."

"Then why did you stop Gao Shuo from going to see the victim?"

Gao Peng's eyes blazed like torches as he stared straight at his sister Gao Lu.

Gao Lu lowered her head timidly: "I... I also followed Qiu Ruonan's arrangements, doing whatever she said. She said poor people are hard to deal with; once you go see them, they'll pester you endlessly. Although... I know she's using some tactics to turn black and white, but those things really weren't my doing."

"You really have a brain!"

Gao Peng laughed angrily; if he were thirty years younger, he'd have already slapped her.

He suppressed his anger: "Listen, this time Lin Dongfan's real target is Qiu Ruonan. If you don't want to become a sacrificial pawn, do as I say from now on."

"Brother, tell me."

"Before the hearing on March 27, take Gao Shuo privately to see the victim, pay whatever amount you owe, try to gain the victim's forgiveness, and don't let Qiu Ruonan know about this."

"If it's a problem that money can solve, it's not a problem."

"Just spending money isn't enough."

"Then what else should we do?"

"When the trial comes, bring Gao Shuo to court to confess and expose Qiu Ruonan. Let Gao Shuo speak for himself, saying he'd been recuperating at home all along, leaving all matters to Qiu Ruonan's full handling, with no involvement. Only after the first‑trial result comes out will we learn that Qiu Ruonan bribed the traffic police detachment to turn black and white. Only if Gao Shuo takes responsibility voluntarily, shows a good attitude of repentance, and also gains the family's forgiveness will the court have reason to give him a lighter sentence."

"Isn't this a backstabbing of Qiu Ruonan?"

"Regardless of whether this stab lands, Qiu Ruonan must go in; Lin Dongfan won't let her off."

"What grudge does Lin Dongfan have against her?"

"That's none of your business; don't pry."

Gao Peng also only learned after Lin Dongfan gave him a lesson that Lin Dongfan was brandishing a knife at Qiu Ruonan. Had he known the inside story earlier, he wouldn't have gone to the Clear Lake Guesthouse today to feel out of place.

In Gao Peng's view, someone like Qiu Ruonan who betrays her teacher and destroys her ancestors also deserves death.