HBWMA -Chapter 192 Eavesdropping Through the Wall

Shen Guiling looked at the figure that felt like a mountain pressing down on him and felt his eyelid twitch.

This short, stocky girl held a strong grudge—she really would resort to underhanded tactics.

So, between being “killed” and resisting, he chose… to be crushed.

When Jiang Huashan pressed a pillow over his face, he merely turned his head slightly to ensure he could still breathe, then directly gave up resisting.

In the past three years, he had already figured out her temperament completely. She looked wild and domineering, but as long as you stroked her ego the right way, her lips would curl up to the sky.

In other words—she ate softness, not force.

“What are you two doing?”

Jiang Huashan had been entirely focused on revenge and didn’t even notice the car door being pulled open.

Inside the car, the scene was chaotic: the girl was practically pouncing on the boy like a wolf. Though messy, it carried a faintly suggestive undertone.

Shen Qingyu’s expression darkened. He immediately grabbed Jiang Huashan and pulled her out.

“Get down.”

With the suppression gone, Shen Guiling slowly sat up. Because of the struggle, a button on his shirt collar had come undone. He breathed slightly heavily and looked at Shen Qingyu with an unreadable gaze.

Shen Qingyu, seeing him like this, grew even more irritated. He turned to question Jiang Huashan.

“Were you two fighting just now?”

Jiang Huashan lowered her head to straighten her messy clothes, caught her breath, then shot Shen Guiling a glare.

“We weren’t fighting.”

Only then did she realize they were already at the Shen residence gate.

Jiang Huashan reacted quickly—she grabbed the pillow in her hand and smashed it toward Shen Qingyu’s face.

“Oh, so you two are in this together! I misjudged you!”

After yelling, she stormed straight into the Shen residence.

The pillow didn’t hurt, but it was sudden enough to catch him off guard. Shen Qingyu stared at her retreating figure, full of suspicion.

Shen Guiling slowly and methodically straightened his clothes. Lei Xing carefully opened the car door for him.

The boy got out, looked toward the Shen residence, and said, “No need to doubt it. She was deliberately picking a fight just now—so she wouldn’t have to explain where she skipped school to.”

“Ha…” Shen Qingyu let out a cold laugh, nodded, and followed her in.

As soon as Jiang Huashan entered the Shen residence, she was pulled by Fu Sui’er into a corner to hide.

She was startled and almost reflexively swung a hand chop, but upon seeing it was her friend, she finally relaxed.

“You scared me. What are you hiding here for?”

Fu Sui’er pointed toward the gate.

“Isn’t it because of Brother Qingyu? He’s been waiting at the entrance catching people. You didn’t run into him just now?”

Jiang Huashan waved her hand and pulled Fu Sui’er back inside.

“I did. I handled it casually.”

“Casually?” Fu Sui’er looked curious. “Really? Brother Qingyu was furious at school—he even beat up Guan He, and you just brushed it off like that?”

Jiang Huashan froze slightly.

“Shen Qingyu beat Guan He?”

Fu Sui’er nodded.

“It happened when school ended in the afternoon. The entire high school section knows about it. Huashan, what does Guan He have to do with you leaving school?”

Jiang Huashan’s mouth twitched.

“Collateral damage.”

After thinking for a moment, she simply explained everything—why she left school, how she left, and what she saw and heard at the hospital.

The amount of information was too much. Fu Sui’er needed a long moment to process it before finally grabbing Jiang Huashan’s hand.

“Huashan… is Shen Mianzhi really sick?”

Jiang Huashan wasn’t surprised that this was her first question. She thought for a moment and shook her head.

“No. She isn’t sick.”

Fu Sui’er frowned.

“Then… did Shen Mianzhi lie?”

Jiang Huashan replied: “She didn’t lie either.”

Fu Sui’er paused mid-step and turned to look at her friend beside her. “Then… is she like how I was back then?”

The question came out of nowhere. Jiang Huashan’s eyes flickered slightly, a trace of disbelief in them. “You? Back then?”

Fu Sui’er smiled and raised her hand, making a shooting gesture. “Sui’er, look down on them.”

Although Jiang Huashan had never said it outright, Fu Sui’er had always felt it—that the bullet fired when she was twelve would keep piercing through her entire life, until it struck some future version of herself.

Even though Jiang Huashan had never told her what that day truly meant, Fu Sui’er still had a feeling: she had been reborn after arriving at Xiaying Academy. She was Fu Sui’er… and yet not entirely Fu Sui’er.

Jiang Huashan looked at her gesture, momentarily stunned. Then, after a pause, a hint of relief appeared in her eyes. She gently patted Fu Sui’er’s hand.

“No. You’re different from them.”

Fu Sui’er had been unconscious of it all along. Her “label” had been torn apart by Jiang Huashan’s guidance, so she never suffered the backlash or correction from the storyline.

But Shen Mianzhi was different. She had been stumbling alone in an abyss with no idea where the road led. Even if she truly carved out a path for herself, she would—like in her previous life—end up in utter despair, losing all will for anything.

Fu Sui’er didn’t dwell on it and immediately asked a new question.

“Then… should we help her?”

Jiang Huashan didn’t answer right away. Instead, she asked, “Do you want to help her?”

Fu Sui’er thought for a moment. “If it doesn’t go against what you’re trying to do, then yes.”

Jiang Huashan paused slightly. “What I’m trying to do?”

“Yeah.”

After a moment of silence, Jiang Huashan became serious. “Sui’er, do you know what I’m trying to do?”

Fu Sui’er nodded. “I can vaguely guess… it’s about our grandfather, right?”

Jiang Huashan’s gaze briefly went distant, then she let out a quiet laugh.

Seeing her laugh, Fu Sui’er also smiled. “Did I guess right?”

Jiang Huashan didn’t directly answer. Instead, she took Fu Sui’er’s hand and wrote two characters in her palm.

Fu Sui’er froze slightly, confused.

Jiang Huashan said, “As long as we eliminate his suspicion, we’ll properly get to know Shen Mianzhi again.”

In her previous life, Shen Jiao had already been killed before Shen Zhuang’s case. Jiang Huashan only chose to help Fu Sui’er after clearing Shen Jiao of suspicion. By the same logic, Shen Mianzhi was no different. If she couldn’t fully rule out Shen Ran’s involvement, she would still remain cautious toward Shen Mianzhi.

So whether Shen Mianzhi was friend or foe depended entirely on what role Shen Ran played in the matter of her grandfather’s death.

“Eliminate… suspicion?” Fu Sui’er frowned deeply, disbelief written all over her face. “Are you saying my little uncle could betray the Shen family? Huashan, that’s impossible!”

“Shh.” Jiang Huashan signaled her to lower her voice. “Why are you reacting so strongly? I just said to eliminate suspicion.”

Fu Sui’er finally realized and quickly covered her mouth, whispering, “Huashan, anyone could be suspected… but my little uncle absolutely couldn’t.”

Jiang Huashan immediately caught onto a subtle detail. “Sui’er, do you know something? Why are you so sure?”

Fu Sui’er looked around cautiously. “Let’s go to the Embroidery Pavilion to talk.”

The Shen Estate’s winding corridors were vast, and there were over six hundred servants just maintaining the gardens. In a place like this, eavesdropping through the walls was not something they could ignore.

Jiang Huashan nodded. The two of them said nothing more and headed straight toward the inner courtyard.

After they passed the lotus pond, a shadow slowly emerged from a corner, turned, and slipped out of the inner courtyard.