HBWMA -Chapter 324 Settling the Past

“Click—”

The sharp sound of a mechanical shaft turning was especially piercing, and it made Yao Yongwei’s heartbeat tighten.

He first glanced at Lei Xing, then suddenly seemed to realize something. He quickly turned back to Shen Guiling, urgency creeping into his tone.

“If I die, Mr. Shen will also be in trouble. I’ve followed him for ten years—even if I have no merit, I’ve worked hard. You can’t do this to me! Mr. Shen won’t agree to it either.”

Watching the prey struggle in the net, the curve of Shen Guiling’s lips deepened.

“Director Yao, that cigar of yours looks pretty good.”

Cigar?

Yao Yongwei’s eyes narrowed with caution. He lowered his gaze to the cigar box on the table. Shen Guiling would never bring up something meaningless for no reason.

“What do you mean?”

He still didn’t understand.

Shen Guiling said calmly, “Aria tobacco has been drastically reduced due to war. Aria cigars are priceless and impossible to find on the market. As far as I know, only Fu Jiaming in the entire A Country has a strong preference for Aria cigars—so much so that he once spent heavily to buy up all the Aria tobacco available at the time.”

Yao Yongwei’s face instantly turned as pale as paper, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.

These cigars had been “gifts” from his subordinates during the South Bay explosion incident. He hadn’t even smoked cigars before, but was gradually led into the habit by those people.

Shen Guiling continued unhurriedly, “A loyal servant does not serve two masters. Director Yao, you should understand this principle. As you said yourself, you’ve devoted ten years of hard work for my father. If you had truly helped him secure South Bay’s prosperity, he wouldn’t care about these minor gains.”

“But… your ambition is too great. Knowing full well that my father’s path to national politics is dangerous, you still colluded with the Fu family to disrupt the peace of the harbor…”

Only then did Yao Yongwei realize Shen Guiling’s intent. He shouted urgently to interrupt him.

“Nonsense! Slander! I have nothing to do with the Fu family! I want to see Mr. Shen!”

Shen Guiling looked faintly regretful.

“Unfortunately, my father no longer wishes to see you.”

At that moment, Lei Xing gestured to the men behind him. Two burly men stepped forward, blocking Yao Yongwei on both sides.

Yao Yongwei retreated warily, glaring at Shen Guiling.

“What are you trying to do? I am the Director of South Bay…”

Before he could finish, fists came down from both sides at once. Yao Yongwei let out a sharp scream. Before he could react, a heavy punch landed in his abdomen.

After years in a position of power, he had long forgotten what it felt like to be at someone else’s mercy.

“Cough… cough cough…”

He spat blood and fell to his knees, clutching the coffee table.

“I am the South Bay… Director… you…”

Shen Guiling curled his lips slightly.

“Director Yao, you’re a busy man. I heard that line three years ago.”

Yao Yongwei froze.

Suddenly, he remembered the fire in Berlin three years ago in South Bay.

Flames engulfed the sky, thick smoke rolled endlessly, and screams filled the air.

He had been sitting in his car, leisurely smoking a cigarette, before finally putting on a show of “inspection.”

The order from Yao Ge had been to ensure that woman was burned alive before starting firefighting operations. So the fire burned for a full hour before evacuation even began.

“Director Yao, a child just ran into the fire—there’s an escape pod inside. If we extinguish the fire now, we might still save him.”

“He was already meant to die. Why bother saving him?”

So he had directly ordered, “Extinguishing the fire now is too dangerous. Prioritize evacuating civilians.”

“But… Director Yao, that child will die.”

He had looked at the raging flames with feigned regret.

“Then it’s just his fate. I am the Director of South Bay—follow my orders.”

Yao Yongwei slowly raised his head, as if recalling something.

“Ring—ring—”

At that moment, the phone on the desk rang.

Shen Guiling pressed speaker.

A panicked voice came through.

“Director Yao! There’s a fire in the detention warehouse! A huge fire! Young Master A-Jiang is still trapped inside…”

Hearing his son’s name was like a thunderclap. Yao Yongwei looked at Shen Guiling in disbelief.

The voice on the phone grew more frantic.

“Director Yao, please think of something! If the fire brigade doesn’t come soon, everything here will be burned down—Yao—”

Before the man could finish, Shen Guiling hung up directly.

Yao Yongwei’s face turned ashen, his whole body trembling as he stared at Shen Guiling.

“You… did this?”

Shen Guiling didn’t respond. Lei Xing stepped forward and kicked the man to the ground.

Yao Yongwei immediately scrambled back up and began slapping himself hard across the face with both hands.

“Young Master, I was blinded by greed and acted beyond my station. I, Yao Yongwei, swear that if you spare me this time, I will turn over a new leaf, become a better man, and serve you faithfully without a single complaint!”

At this point, Yao Yongwei was truly terrified. Back then, after repeatedly humiliating Shen Guiling without consequence, he had assumed Shen Guiling was nothing more than a weak, harmless young master of the Shen family. That was why he had dared to climb over his head.

Later, after Shen Guiling moved against Yao Jiang, Yao Yongwei had planned to suppress him a bit to “teach him a lesson.” The takeout incident and the car-burning incident were both meant to establish authority. He never actually intended to kill Shen Guiling—after all, he was still a member of the Shen family. If anything happened to him, Yao Yongwei couldn’t afford the consequences.

“Second Young Master, I know I was wrong. Please, spare my son. You don’t punish the family for the sins of one man!”

“Don’t punish the family? If Chief Yao had understood that principle from the beginning, he wouldn’t have ended up without anyone to send him off in death.”

Shen Guiling stood up, took the gun from Lei Xing’s hand, removed the magazine until only one bullet remained, chambered it again, and tossed it toward the other three men.

“There’s only one gun. Only one chance. You choose for yourselves.”

He lowered his head and straightened his tie, then turned and walked out of the office. Lei Xing followed closely behind. The moment the door closed, a heavy bang echoed from inside.

Soon after, someone walked out.

A broad-faced, heavily built man stepped forward, holding the gun, and knelt in front of Shen Guiling.

“Master A-Ling.”

Shen Guiling turned back, his gaze calm and gentle.

“What’s your name?”

The man no longer showed any trace of earlier mockery or contempt. He answered respectfully, “Ma Wen.”

Shen Guiling smiled faintly.

“Congratulations, Chief Ma.”

Lei Xing stepped forward and placed the gun into a plastic evidence bag.

The man kept his head lowered, not daring to show any expression.

That gun was proof that he had killed Yao Yongwei. If he disobeyed, Shen Guiling could send him to the execution table without lifting a finger.

Seeing that he was a smart man, Shen Guiling gave a courteous nod.

“I’ll leave things here to you.”

Ma Wen quickly stood and bowed deeply—an almost 180-degree bow.

“Please rest assured, Young Master.”

After leaving the police bureau, a light rain began to fall.

Shen Guiling looked up. The fine rain clung like strands of silk to his handsome brows and eyes.

Lei Xing asked softly, “Young Master, are we going home?”

Shen Guiling shook his head and looked toward the distant direction where thick smoke was still rising.

“To the detention center.”

“How can someone quickly get over emotional trauma?”

AI Baidu Encyclopedia explains:

“First: understand and release emotions—crying or confiding can help relieve inner pressure. Second: provide continuous care; love and positive emotions help someone emerge from darkness more quickly. Third: build new social connections and change environments—healthy intimate relationships can fill emotional emptiness and ease emotional loss.”

“Hiss~” Jiang Huashan sat cross-legged, stroking her chin in serious thought.

Shen Guiling’s fear of fire was likely connected to the fire in Nanyan three years ago. She remembered that in her previous life, those people mocked him by mentioning that his mother had been burned alive in that fire.

So, Shen Guiling probably developed psychological trauma back then.

“Snap!”

Jiang Huashan suddenly had a flash of inspiration and snapped her fingers.

Shen Guiling is still young. Using seduction on him is basically bullying him. Instead, why not help him heal his psychological trauma?

That way, even if she eventually takes the affection value and leaves, he would still gain real healing. She wouldn’t be being unethical either.

But how exactly should she do it?

She turned to look at the wardrobe—where a cute pig costume and a black silk nightdress were placed side by side, clearly separated.

“I’ve got it!”