HBWMA -Chapter 300 Discovery, Secret

The sudden smile caught Shen Lanxi completely off guard. To avoid losing his composure, he could only strategically step back first.

The smile on Jiang Huashan’s face froze for a second, then immediately turned even brighter.

“What’s wrong? Are you busy? Did I interrupt you?”

“……” Shen Lanxi shook his head. “No. Do you need something from me?”

Gao Zhi silently looked at the paused video conference on the screen. Those old men had ultimately been betrayed—his monarch had already been distracted by beauty and lost all judgment.

“Mhm, mhm.” Jiang Huashan nodded, clasping her hands together in an unusually polite manner. “Brother Lanxi, I have something very important I need to ask you for help with.”

Shen Lanxi felt slightly unaccustomed to her attitude. He turned and walked toward the study. Halfway there, he suddenly remembered something and said expressionlessly, “Come in.”

Still so distant? Jiang Huashan’s smile almost faltered.

Shen Lanxi entered the study first and without hesitation ended the video conference.

Jiang Huashan peeked inside from near the floor-to-ceiling window. Shen Lanxi remained expressionless the entire time. His cold demeanor instantly killed any remaining confidence she had about asking for help.

She turned to leave—but thinking of Zhou Qishan’s fate, she finally gritted her teeth and stepped inside.

One corner of the study opened toward a small pond. Beneath the window sat a huanghuali wooden daybed. Jiang Huashan casually sat down on it and once again put on a polite—not awkward—smile.

“Brother Lanxi, can I speak now?”

Shen Lanxi lifted his gaze, momentarily dazed.

For some reason, a scene suddenly flashed through his mind—beneath the window, fish splashing among lotus leaves, endless spring light.

He lowered his eyes slightly, his faintly red fingertips unconsciously rubbing the armrest.

Jiang Huashan asked sweetly, “Brother Lanxi, what’s wrong? Are you uncomfortable? Should I call Doctor Meng to take a look?”

Shen Lanxi shook his head calmly. “Speak. What is it?”

With that attitude, what was she even supposed to say?

Jiang Huashan’s courage wavered countless times, but since she was already here, giving up wasn’t her style.

Fine—desperate times, desperate measures.

She restrained her smile and placed a document on the small table.

“Brother Lanxi, are you on good terms with the generals from 313?”

Shen Lanxi raised his eyelids slightly, as if surprised by the question. After a moment, he nodded.

“There’s some connection. Why?”

“If you wrote a recommendation letter under your name, it should carry a lot of weight, right?”

Shen Lanxi looked at her deeply for a moment, then lowered his gaze and took a sip of tea.

“It would.”

This time, Jiang Huashan was stunned.

Based on her understanding, he should have immediately questioned her intentions, her motives, and possibly even scolded her for trying to take shortcuts.

But… this reaction was completely different from what she expected.

Seeing her silence, Shen Lanxi spoke first.

“Helping a friend?”

Her eyes lit up. She nodded vigorously.

“Yes! She really works hard. I don’t want her eliminated just because of one barrier.”

After passing the enlistment exam, there were only two situations requiring a recommendation letter: either an extraordinary background, or a direct family member with a criminal record.

To ask him for something like this—it seemed this friend meant a lot to her.

Shen Lanxi’s gaze darkened slightly. He tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

“Some things can’t be solved by effort alone. I need to see her file first.”

“Okay!” Jiang Huashan immediately handed over the documents eagerly. “You’ll understand once you see it. She’s really excellent—there’s no one else like her in the world.”

Shen Lanxi accepted the file with a cold expression. “Sit properly.”

Jiang Huashan ignored him completely and leaned closer instead.

“Quick, take a look.”

The sudden closeness made Shen Lanxi’s mind go slightly blank. He struggled to steady his fingers so he would not appear shaken.

He opened the file and began reading calmly, as if nothing had happened.

Suddenly, his eyes paused.

A faint smile tugged at his lips.

“Zhou Qishan?”

Jiang Huashan thought he was concerned about the Zhou family and quickly explained, “Don’t worry. I already thought it through. If the Zhou family investigates, just say I stole your seal and used it. As long as Grandpa and you didn’t know, they’ll treat it as kids acting impulsively—it won’t escalate into a family conflict.”

Shen Lanxi flipped through the entire file, then looked at her.

“You want to help her?”

She nodded.

After a moment of thought, he said slowly, “Have you considered this? The recommendation letter is only the first threshold. Even if she gets past it, there will be countless obstacles ahead. Not to mention, once the enlistment order is issued, if the Zhou family intervenes, Zhou Qishan still won’t be able to leave.”

“She can!” Jiang Huashan said firmly. “I believe in her. If she can get past this hurdle, she’ll overcome everything else. And if she can’t even leave the Zhou family behind, then she isn’t Zhou Qishan.”

Seeing that he remained silent, she finally grabbed his hand.

“Brother Lanxi, please help her. I’m begging you.”

Shen Lanxi’s eyelid twitched. The warmth in her palm made him feel like he might burn up the next second. He wanted to pull away—but couldn’t bear to reject the feeling of being relied upon.

“Brother Lanxi?”

He closed his eyes.

“…Alright.”

When Jiang Huashan left Lan Garden, she was still in disbelief.

She had actually gotten Shen Lanxi to break his principles in just a few sentences?

313 belonged directly to Shen Xi’s lineage—no one valued its honor more than Shen Lanxi.

In his past life, Shen Zhuang’s plan for him had been to follow Shen Xi’s path of glory. That was why Shen Lanxi treated everything related to 313 with extreme caution.

And yet today, he had agreed to write a recommendation letter for Zhou Qishan. That was unprecedented.

No matter what, Zhou Qishan’s immediate crisis was resolved. As for whether she could break her fate, that depended on her own willpower.

Jiang Huashan stretched lazily as she stepped into Chrysanthemum Garden. Her phone suddenly vibrated repeatedly.

It must be Su Miao, that little nuisance, coming to “support business” again.

She opened her phone casually—and froze.

[Alipay received: 10,000,000 yuan.]

[My Life Is So Hard: One million has been paid. I want Qishan to have clothing freedom.]

[My Life Is So Hard: No need to reply to this message.]

“….”

Jiang Huashan turned off her phone and walked toward the embroidered building.

For noble ladies like them, they might seem wealthy, but withdrawing ten million in cash wasn’t simple. Such a large transfer would definitely be investigated by the family.

Zhang Ru heard the movement and immediately came out of the room.

“Miss Jiang, are you going out again? If not, I’ll lock the door.”

At that moment—

A long-lost electronic voice sounded.

【Ding—】

【Congratulations. Hidden storyline ‘Heartwarming Arc: Saving the Little Miserable One’ has been triggered. Progress: 99%】

Jiang Huashan paused.

“Lock it.”

Su Residence.

Su Miao was packing clothes in her room.

“They’re all second-hand anyway. What a waste to throw them out—might as well pack as many as possible.”

Before she knew it, she had packed seven or eight boxes. Only a third of the wardrobe remained empty.

She looked around reluctantly. These were all her treasures, accompanying her for sixteen years. Losing any of them made her feel incomplete.

Su Zhuo peeked through the crack in the bedroom door. Old Master Su kicked him lightly, signaling him to follow.

The two walked one after the other into the tea room.

Su Zhuo carefully observed the expression on Su Jingliu’s face. After a moment of hesitation, he lowered his voice and said, “Grandfather, Miaomiao is still not mature. Please don’t take it out on her.”

Su Jingliu tapped the armrest of the chair in front of him. “Sit.”

Su Zhuo obediently sat down and continued defending Su Miao. “Miaomiao might have some unspeakable difficulties. We should ask clearly before handling it, so we don’t end up with any misunderstanding.”

Su Jingliu’s tone turned cold. “Unspeakable difficulty? What kind of unspeakable difficulty makes her steal money from the family?”

Su Zhuo was caught between both sides and couldn’t respond for a moment.

If not for a call from the family accountant reminding them that ten million yuan had suddenly gone missing from the accounts, they would never have believed that Su Miao had secretly slipped into the study and transferred the money herself.

“I told you before—she must have been associating with the wrong kind of people outside, but you refused to believe it! Now look at this—she’s even dared to target the family itself. Investigate! I want to see exactly who has corrupted my granddaughter!!”

The next day

A biting cold wind swept through the campus, and the school of Yucai had become much quieter.

Su Yun tightened her thin jacket and jogged all the way. She had thought the matter over all night, and then missed the earliest bus in the morning. By the time she arrived at school, she was already late.

Just as she passed under a wisteria trellis, a group of girls suddenly appeared in front of her and blocked her way.

Su Yun’s expression changed slightly as she stepped back. “What do you want?”

The leading girl smiled. “Don’t be nervous. We just want to have a proper talk with you.”

“I have nothing to talk about with you,” Su Yun replied.

“Don’t be ungrateful!”

The leading girl gave a look. Instantly, the group surrounded her, grabbing Su Yun and dragging her toward the art building.

Not long after, the bell for the first break rang, and the campus regained a bit of life. But because of the cold, most students stayed seated in their classrooms.

Su Miao looked at the empty seat beside her, her mood complicated. She glanced at Jiang Huashan, who was still lying on the desk asleep without moving, and couldn’t help feeling speechless.

She had taken ten million yuan—how could she still be sleeping so peacefully? Shouldn’t she be going to the Zhou family and making a scene right now?

Fu Xiaoxiao’s gaze shifted between Su Miao and Jiang Huashan. She had long noticed something unusual between these two. Since the last trip outside the city, Su Miao had even been accompanied by Jiang Huashan when she was drunk.

There was definitely something going on.

“Xiaoxiao, I heard there will be a lot of surprises at the carnival this afternoon. You’re close to Young Master Zhou—can you leak a bit of info?” someone asked.

Fu Xiaoxiao was immediately distracted and said proudly, “Even if there are surprises, they’re not for you. There are only a few special invitations for Brother A-Heng.”

The followers around her looked envious.

But someone couldn’t help asking, “I heard Shen Mianzhi also received a special invitation, and it was personally delivered by Young Master Zhou.”

As soon as the words fell, the girl beside her quickly pushed her. Realizing she misspoke, the girl hurriedly laughed it off. “I just heard it, not sure if it’s true.”

Fu Xiaoxiao sneered. “If it’s not true, why say it? Are you stupid?”

The girl immediately fell silent.

Su Miao glanced at Fu Xiaoxiao, then took an invitation out of her desk. “Is this the special invitation you’re talking about?”

Fu Xiaoxiao’s expression changed instantly. “Why do you have that?”

“Is it that rare? Isn’t it distributed to everyone?”

Su Miao stood up, didn’t even lift her eyelids, and walked straight out of the classroom.

She was still a little worried about Zhou Qishan. Since Jiang Huashan wasn’t taking action yet, she might as well go find Zhou Yanheng first to gather some information.

Su Miao went directly to the art building with the invitation.

Because of the welcome event, the “Secret Garden” was extremely crowded today. Many curious visitors had already started scouting targets among the crowd. Su Miao held a special invitation, and those with sharp eyes instinctively avoided her.

She walked through without obstruction. After entering the VIP area, the crowd thinned out, and most people were familiar faces.

“Hey! Su Yun, don’t be ungrateful! Do you know how expensive this dress is? We kindly lent it to you, and you still ruined it? What do you say now?”

The name sounded familiar, and Su Miao stopped walking.

In a circular black sofa area, a group of people surrounded a girl. The atmosphere was clearly wrong.

Su Yun spotted Su Miao at a glance, her eyes lighting up. She pushed through the crowd and grabbed Su Miao’s hand.

“Please… help me.”

The leading girl looked uncomfortable. “Miss Su.”

Su Miao glanced at Su Yun. “Did you do it voluntarily?”

Su Yun shook her head.

After a moment of hesitation, the leading girl raised the dress in her hand. “She damaged it. We’re just asking for compensation.”

“How much?” Su Miao asked.

“Miss Su, please don’t make this difficult for us.”

Su Miao nodded. “Fine. Then let Guan He go ask my brother for it.” With that, she grabbed Su Yun and walked out of the crowd.

Outside the Secret Garden, Su Miao pressed the elevator button impatiently. “I told you to be smarter. If you don’t use your brain, you won’t be this lucky next time.”

Su Yun looked at her gratefully. “Thank you for helping me.”

Su Miao didn’t bother responding. As the elevator doors opened, she tilted her chin. “Go on.”

Su Yun hesitated, then stepped inside obediently.

“Ding—”

Just as the doors were about to close, a hand suddenly reached out from inside.

“Sorry… I know this is rude, but I still have something I need your help with.”

The girl’s eyes were slightly red, as if she had finally gathered the courage.

Su Miao frowned. “What now?”

“My schoolbag is still inside… could you—”

“Go wait.” Su Miao turned and walked back into the glass building behind her.

Su Yun quietly pressed the button for the first floor.

The elevator descended slowly. When the doors opened, the air pressure dropped sharply.

Zhou Yanheng dragged a blood-soaked boy into the elevator.

Su Yun’s face instantly turned pale. She instinctively stepped back.

Zhou Yan Heng glanced at her coldly. “Sixth floor.”

Su Yun’s fingers trembled as she pressed 6.

On the other side.

The leading girl, furious after messing things up, was venting her anger at the people around her.

Su Miao casually scratched her ear and walked over, patting the girl’s shoulder. “Hey. Where is that girl’s schoolbag?”

The girl forced down her anger and pointed to a corner of the sofa.

The bag had clearly been searched. The zipper was open, and books were scattered everywhere.

Su Miao’s expression remained calm. “Pick it up.”

The girl gritted her teeth and immediately bent down to clean it up.

Su Miao glanced casually—then suddenly, her eyes were struck with shock.

A document: “Special Poverty Student Scholarship Application Form”

Direct family member: Mother — Su Li

A photo of a woman was attached in the photo section.