HBWMA -Chapter 260 Evil Will Be Repaid

Xiao Residence.

“Smack—!”

Xiao Qi slapped Xiao Lanlan hard across the face. She let out a sharp scream and fell to the ground.

“What did I even do wrong? Why are you hitting me? Go ahead—beat me to death!”

This was the first time in her life Xiao Qi had ever laid a hand on her. Compared to the pain on her face, what Xiao Lanlan felt more intensely was hatred.

Xiao Qi raised his hand again, but Shen E rushed forward and pushed the man away, then hurriedly grabbed Xiao Lanlan into her arms.

“Xiao Qi! If you dare hit my daughter again, we’re getting divorced!”

“You!” Xiao Qi was heartbroken and furious. He pointed at Xiao Lanlan. “Shen E, even now you’re still protecting her? She’s been spoiled rotten because of you!”

Shen E was enraged by those words. She stood up and shoved Xiao Qi back.

“Spoiled by me? Doesn’t your daughter turning out like this have anything to do with you? Why is everything my fault the moment something goes wrong?”

Xiao Qi grew impatient. “Enough! What’s the point of saying this now? Hurry up and send this disgraceful thing away!”

Xiao Lanlan clutched her cheek. “Disgraceful? If I’m such a disgrace, then don’t care about me! Let me die on my own!”

Xiao Qi’s anger surged again. “Not care about you? And let you run around meeting some wild man instead? Did you go out again today? Say it—who did you meet?!”

Xiao Lanlan became emotional and grabbed a fruit platter from the coffee table, hurling it at Xiao Qi.

“I didn’t! I didn’t do any of those things! Why do you get to interrogate me? Go ask them instead!!!”

Xiao Qi didn’t expect her to fight back and was completely disappointed. In anger he blurted out recklessly: “Who should I ask? The so-called lovers of yours could line up all the way to Country S! I can’t afford this humiliation!”

“Xiao Qi!” Shen E screamed. “Shut your mouth!”

Xiao Lanlan, who had been hysterically resisting, suddenly lost all strength upon hearing this. She lowered her head and laughed softly.

“Fine. If none of you believe me, then don’t bother with me.”

She pushed herself up using the coffee table.

“Lanlan!” Shen E quickly held her. “Mom believes you. Don’t be afraid. I’ll take you away. We’ll leave… we’ll leave…”

Xiao Lanlan turned to look at her.

“Leave? You still want to listen to Grandpa and send me away because you all think I’m a disgrace! But why should I leave? I won’t! If I leave now, it’ll look like I’m running away in defeat!”

“The ones spreading rumors are the ones who deserve to die! Why are you blaming me? Why don’t you go kill those people instead?!”

After returning from Yucai Academy, she had eagerly waited for her parents to avenge her. Instead, she received news that she was going to be sent out of Country A.

She refused to be manipulated, so she secretly contacted Zhou Yanheng. But she waited in the café all afternoon and he never showed up.

Heartbroken, she planned to confess everything to Shen E. But the moment she returned home, Xiao Qi hit her.

Xiao Qi took a deep breath.

“And even now you don’t realize your mistake! Do you know how much trouble you’ve caused? Your uncle was originally expected to return as Speaker. The South Bay Wharf incident hasn’t even settled yet, and now this scandal of yours has erupted. You’ll never step foot in the Shen family again.”

“I don’t care.” Xiao Lanlan stubbornly replied. “Grandpa already planned to send me away. If the Shen family doesn’t want me, I don’t want them either.”

“Ridiculous,” Xiao Qi said coldly. “Lanlan, you still don’t understand, do you? Your reputation is ruined. With such a disgraceful name, which upper-class family would dare marry you? Family prosperity is everyone’s responsibility. If you can’t bring benefit to the Xiao family, you are destined to be discarded. With the Shen family backing you, you could still leave with dignity. Without them, who will ever call you Miss Xiao again?”

Xiao Lanlan froze. She had never realized the situation was this serious.

“Xiao Qi, shut up!” Shen E couldn’t bear it anymore and hugged her daughter tightly.

“It won’t happen. Your grandfather won’t abandon you. He said before… the Shen family has no abandoned children…”

Xiao Lanlan laughed through tears.

“No abandoned children? Then what is sending me away?”

“I don’t believe a word you say.”

That night, Shen E returned to the Shen residence again with red eyes.

But she was told Shen Zhuang had gone to the National Assembly Hall for a two-day summit meeting. During the meeting, no outside news could get in. If she waited two days, Xiao Lanlan would likely be permanently branded with shame.

Shen E nearly fainted from anxiety.

In extraordinary times, extraordinary measures were needed. Shen Yuan, to prevent the situation from worsening, proposed sending Xiao Lanlan out overnight. As for the rumors, they would start suppressing them from the most viral ones first. With the power of the Shen and Xiao families, they should be able to control it quickly.

Shen E, completely lost, tearfully agreed to Shen Yuan’s plan.

But when Xiao Lanlan learned of her mother’s decision, she completely snapped again—going as far as to slit her wrist to force their hand. In the end, Xiao Qi had her tied up and forced into a car.

The scandal severely damaged reputations. Even Jiang Huashan, Shen Mianzhi, and Fu Sui’er were affected. Rumors spread through the school, and wherever they went, they were met with hostile stares.

At this point, the happiest person was Fu Xiaoxiao.

She had finally vented her anger toward the Shen family.

She was the one who spread the rumors. She also bought and leaked the video through production channels. Reputation and fame were a double-edged sword—Xiao Lanlan already had attention, so those rumors spread like a plague.

Half-truths turned into full lies. What was originally 50% malice became 100%, and people still felt it wasn’t dramatic enough—adding another 10% for entertainment value.

After that, she didn’t need to do anything else.

Human nature leaned toward cruelty, and everything fell naturally into place.

Fu Xiaoxiao had originally been resting at home to recover from her injuries, but she couldn’t bear to miss such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch the drama unfold. She insisted on going to school despite being injured. Every time she saw people pointing and whispering about the Shen sisters, she couldn’t help but feel secretly delighted. Even when laughing made her stomach hurt, she still gritted her teeth and kept laughing.

Fu Wenbo had no choice but to let her be, seeing how persistent she was.

Online rumors were like an unquenchable fire, growing more and more intense.

Guan He scrolled through those vulgar comments and shook his head. “Who exactly did Xiao Lanlan offend? At this point, even jumping into the Yellow River wouldn’t clear her name.”

Zhou Yanheng didn’t seem concerned. He moved the mouse to switch his view, eliminated all remaining players in one sweep, and then took off his headset.

“What did you just say?”

Guan He glanced at the large screen and froze in shock. “Oh! You memorized over two thousand map layouts?”

Zhou Yanheng didn’t respond. He simply picked up the glass of water on the table.

“Tsk tsk tsk. You once said you entered the military academy so you could legally kill people. I thought you were joking—but now it seems you might’ve been serious.”

Zhou Yanheng lowered his eyes, watching the clear ripples in his glass. He still said nothing.

Guan He didn’t care about getting an answer anyway. He held up his phone in front of him.

“Is this your doing?”

A forum titled “Xiao Lanlan’s Harem” had gone viral. It was full of people claiming to have had one-night stands with Xiao Lanlan. They were freely sharing various so-called private and intimate photos of her. The angles were extremely tricky—almost none of the images showed her face clearly, but from certain angles, they looked oddly convincing.

Zhou Yanheng glanced at it. “Fake.”

Guan He raised his brows suggestively. “How do you know it’s fake? Did you make it?”

Zhou Yanheng lifted his gaze to look at him.

Guan He gave an awkward laugh. “That day when Fu Xiaoxiao came looking for you, you deliberately didn’t meet her and even let people leak your connection with Xiao Lanlan. I thought—”

“You thought what?” Zhou Yanheng interrupted calmly. “I was just annoyed and wanted some peace and quiet. What Fu Xiaoxiao chooses to do has nothing to do with me.”

A classic case of using others as a weapon.

Guan He had to admit defeat. He studied the photos again, still doubtful. “Really wasn’t you?”

Zhou Yanheng: “I don’t have that kind of fetish.”

Guan He scratched his chin. “If it’s not you, then who could it be?”

Zhou Yanheng set down his cup. “Who knows. But anyone bold enough to manipulate a situation involving the Shen family—must have quite some guts.”

“Manipulate a situation?”

Zhou Yanheng had already lost interest. He started another game.

Guan He glanced at him. “Last time you said you found a new target. Who is it?”

Zhou Yanheng’s fingers paused for a split second.

On the massive screen, a burst of blood splattered across the display.

“Death…”

Guan He was stunned. He hadn’t expected him to lose focus even in his favorite killing game. Just how strong was this “new target”?

“Ding—”

At that moment, a text message popped up on his phone.

Zhou Yanheng removed his headset and opened it. His expression instantly turned dark.

Guan He leaned over curiously. “What is it? Who messaged you?”

Zhou Yanheng smiled faintly. “Xiao Lanlan.”

Guan He moved closer. “What does she want?”

While replying to the message, Zhou Yanheng spoke casually.

“She says she’s pregnant with my child. She wants me to publicly prove her innocence. Otherwise, she’ll go to the Zhou family and ask my grandfather for an explanation.”

“W—what!?” Guan He sucked in a sharp breath.

How dare Xiao Lanlan do that?

Zhou Yanheng’s eyes darkened slightly.

“She’s really courting death.”