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"So you still refuse to pay compensation!"

"And that whole 'I'd rather be sent to prison by the person I love than be thought of as such a terrible person'—what did the handsome guy ever do wrong? It's your parents who refuse to pay! Even if you really go to prison, it'll be your parents sending you there for the money. What does that have to do with the handsome guy? I don't think he should've saved you at all..."

"Oh, but he had to save him! With parents like his, if he really died in the Gu family's house, his parents wouldn't care whether he started that fire or not. They'd definitely try to extort the Gu family!"

"This is what they mean by rotten parents raising rotten children! The elders refuse to pay, so the younger one resorts to moral blackmail. The whole family is evil!"

"And he even dared to incite us to condemn the victim. People these days are so awful, you can't even imagine it!"

After Shen Heng exposed Bai Yuesheng's sinister intentions with a single remark, the onlookers began venting indignantly. The more sympathy they had felt for Bai Yuesheng before, the more disgusted they were with him now. They truly had not expected someone so young to do something so vicious.

"Does he really think everyone else is an idiot?"

"I'm starting to feel sorry for the handsome guy. He actually got liked by someone like that. Good thing he rejected that person's confession! He got hurt this badly even after rejecting him. If he'd agreed, wouldn't that person have destroyed his entire family?" The person who said this clearly had no idea that his lament had already come true in the previous life.

"No! It's not like that! You've all misunderstood me!" Bai Yuesheng's face turned deathly pale, and he swayed unsteadily. He had never imagined that a seemingly casual remark from Shen Heng would reverse public opinion to this extent.

For a moment, Bai Yuesheng felt the panic of having lifted a rock only to smash his own foot.

At a loss, he looked at Shen Heng, carefully concealing the resentment and envy in his eyes.

As expected of a financial tycoon whose every move could stir up storms in the international market. Why would someone like him be willing to stand so unreservedly on Gu Jiuque's side?

Bai Yuesheng was both jealous and resentful, but he still wore an expression of wronged grievance and pitiful helplessness. "I never wanted to morally blackmail Gu Jiuque. How could I do something like that? I like him so much—"

"I don't care!" Shen Heng was getting into it too. Mimicking the way Bai Yuesheng had spoken earlier, he pinched his voice and said, "I don't care what you said. I only care what you did! It's a fact that you ignored Gu Jiuque's life-saving kindness and came here to pester his family into giving up their legal right to protect their legitimate interests. That's why I don't believe you really like him!"

Yet Shen Heng's six-foot-three stature and his aura of both righteousness and wickedness were completely different from the petite, delicate-looking Bai Yuesheng. Even though he mimicked him perfectly in every gesture, the sight was utterly painful to the eyes—and dripping with mockery.

For a moment, the onlookers all sucked in a breath and clenched their teeth to hold back their laughter.

Bai Yuesheng's delicate face nearly twisted out of shape. With tears brimming in his eyes, he looked at Shen Heng. "Who exactly are you? Have I ever offended you? Why are you slandering me like this?"

Shen Heng looked at Bai Yuesheng with a face full of surprise and continued putting on an act. "How could you think that? Is it because I'm richer than you, taller than you, smarter and more capable than you, and simply repeated what you said in front of everyone? Even my objective summary has become malicious slander?"

Bai Yuesheng: "..."

This time, the onlookers truly could not hold it in any longer. Laughter rose continuously from the crowd. Amid the meaningful, suppressed laughter, Bai Yuesheng finally snapped.

"Stop copying the way I talk!" Bai Yuesheng screamed out of control. "What right do you have to mock me? I may be poor, lowly, and incapable of producing sixteen million right away, but I have my own dignity and character too. I never wanted to morally blackmail anyone. I just don't want to go to prison. Just because I can't persuade my parents to help me repay the money, does that make me some utterly wicked villain? Why won't you put yourselves in my shoes? I'm only eighteen years old. How could I possibly come up with sixteen million immediately without my parents' help? I'm even willing to give up my chance to go to university and work hard to earn money to repay the Gu family. Why won't you let me go? Why won't you give me a chance?"

Listening to Bai Yuesheng's furious accusations, the onlookers fell silent again. For some inexplicable reason, the scales in their hearts began tilting toward Bai Yuesheng once more.

Shen Heng shrugged, looking utterly unconcerned. "I'm just a stranger! Why are you making things difficult for me? Even your biological parents aren't willing to put themselves in your shoes—maybe they think you don't deserve it! So why should I, an outsider, put myself in your shoes?"

Shen Heng casually pointed at Gu Jiuque. "And why should the victim you caused to lose sixteen million put himself in your shoes? Because he risked his life to save you from the fire? Because he rejected your confession?"

"You and your parents shouldn't specifically pick on good people!"

Having been handed a good-person card, Gu Jiuque looked deeply at Shen Heng. Aside from his parents and family, he had never experienced the feeling of being directly protected behind someone in either of his two lives. Before he had even figured out how to respond to Bai Yuesheng's move, Shen Heng had already resolved Bai Yuesheng's moral blackmail. He had even countered every move, directly turning the weapon of moral blackmail against Bai Yuesheng.

The feeling of being protected behind someone while watching another person charge into battle for his reputation and interests left Gu Jiuque somewhat dazed.

Shen Heng did not notice Gu Jiuque's silence. Rubbing his chin, he spoke leisurely. "Come to think of it, after your confession was rejected, you still dared to go to his house, drink, and set a fire. Could it be that you thought your ability to make a shameless fuss meant that even if you really caused the Gu family some losses, you'd still be able to walk away unscathed?"

As though his secret had been exposed, Bai Yuesheng's expression changed drastically. He angrily accused Shen Heng, "Shen, don't go too far. Since you're so eager to stand up for Gu Jiuque, why don't you help me repay this money? You're so rich, and you like Gu Jiuque so much. You could just throw money at him. Why come and make things difficult for a poor student like me? Is it because I like Gu Jiuque, because Gu Jiuque risked his life to save me, and you think he likes me too? So you want to use this chance to smear me and drive me to my death, so you can get rid of a rival, is that it?"