The Matter Settled

Some people left, while others stayed. The rest honestly returned the money as well. Gradually, only the Xue Household, several police officers, and the lawyer remained in the room.

"Xiao Chen, I never expected you to be so capable. Luckily, you called the police officers over. Otherwise, we really would have been kept in the dark." Though Xue Qing's words were flattering, her worry was genuine. She could see clearly now that her nephew was determined to see this through.

"Yes. If your eldest uncle and aunt knew you'd become so promising, they would surely be smiling in the afterlife." Xue Pan did not dare look into Xue Chen's eyes. His gaze was simply too sharp.

"Smiling in the afterlife? Hmph... I'm afraid they're dying with their eyes wide open, aren't they?" Xue Chen said blandly. His voice was as pleasing as a clear spring, yet everyone who heard it felt a chill run through their hearts.

"Xiao Chen, you... what's wrong with you? Your eldest uncle and aunt... why would they die with their eyes wide open?" Even Xue Hui, the most mentally resilient among them, could not help feeling afraid.

Xue Chen said, as if he were being exceedingly considerate, "Would anyone really die in peace after getting into a car that their own younger siblings had tampered with?"

"Xue Chen, what nonsense are you spouting? Who's been filling your head with lies? Was it these police officers?" Xue Qing's heart nearly leaped into her throat upon hearing him. Regardless of everything else, she pointed at the officers standing nearby, speaking without restraint.

"Ma'am, please watch what you say. Since we're here, we naturally have the evidence. Everything you say today may become evidence in court," the young officer taking notes snapped angrily.

If Xue Hui still did not understand what kind of person his nephew was at this moment, then he had lived all these years for nothing. "Xiao Chen, you..."

"When you harmed my parents, you should have known this day would come." Xue Chen looked at Xue Hui and spoke calmly, coldly.

"I know I was wrong, Xiao Chen. Please forgive your second aunt." Ignoring Xue Hui's shock, Xue Qing only wanted to save herself. She nearly wept herself hoarse. "Think of your cousin. She's still so young. She can't be without her mother—"

"Xiao Chen, for the sake of how well I treated you before, your cousins can't be without their mother! You know what your eldest uncle-in-law is like. If I go to prison, who will take care of your cousins?"

"Hahaha! Hahaha!" Xue Chen suddenly burst into loud laughter. "They're innocent? What about me? Wasn't I innocent too? Do you know? If nothing had happened to my parents, I would have had a younger brother or sister. They would have grown up healthy—!" He suddenly flung a gynecology department ultrasound report before them. He had not known his mother was pregnant; he had found it in a drawer while sorting through his parents' room. At that moment, his heart had hurt even more. Why couldn't he have come back just a few days earlier?

"I know, I know, Xiao Chen. It was all your second uncle's fault. I was the one who harmed your parents. It was all my fault! But your cousin did nothing wrong... He's still so young..." Tears streamed down Xue Hui's face.

"Heh, what the hell does that have to do with me?" Xue Chen sneered at Xue Hui, then left without looking back, utterly ignoring the wailing and curses behind him. He knew it was nothing more than unwillingness to accept their fate.

The Matter Settled

What happened to Xue Chen's family could not be kept secret. Before long, everyone in the neighborhood knew the whole story. When they saw Xue Chen coming downstairs, their eyes held a trace of pity. Having relatives like that was truly the worst luck imaginable.

"Xue Chen, get out here! How can you be so heartless? He's your second uncle, and you just sent him to prison? Do you have any conscience at all?" The moment Xue Chen stepped outside, he saw a gaudily dressed woman pointing at his nose and cursing him, as though he owed her a fortune.

The teenager standing beside the woman was his cousin, Xue Hao. At that moment, Xue Hao glared at him with hatred, as if he wanted to swallow him alive.

"Second Aunt, do you know that stealing property worth more than three thousand can get you sentenced? If I remember correctly, the necklace around your neck was the one I put on my mother when she was cremated." Xue Chen looked expressionlessly at the woman before him.

His voice was not loud, but it seemed especially abrupt in the quiet neighborhood. Some of the people who had followed over to watch began murmuring among themselves.

Several women looked at the necklace around Li Cuilan's neck. "I've seen that necklace. Hui Qin really did wear it when she was alive. I can't believe she even dared take something from the dead."

"They even dared kill someone. Taking a dead person's belongings is nothing to them. Aren't they afraid the Xue couple will come for them at night?" another woman said, looking at Li Cuilan with contempt.

"I was wondering why I heard them talking in the alley a couple of days ago about luring Xue Chen back to the countryside. They said he had no money for school and wanted to introduce him to Chuan Ying Paint Factory. I heard their factory had excessive formaldehyde levels not long ago. Quite a few young men and women there became infertile. Ah, their intentions were truly vicious." Another woman quickly chimed in. Father Lin knew her; she was a teacher who lived upstairs from them. His expression immediately darkened further. He had not expected the Xue family's relatives to be so utterly consumed by money.

Xue Chen's second aunt, Li Cuilan, instantly changed expression when she heard everyone's comments. She hurriedly grabbed the necklace around her neck, then cursed at Xue Chen, "You little bastard, what are you talking about? I bought this with my own money. What does it have to do with your damned mother?"

Seeing Li Cuilan practically confess without being asked, Xue Chen shook his head with a cold smile. "You still won't admit it? The police officers haven't left yet. Want them to test it for my mother's DNA? Uncle Lin, I'll have to trouble you."

At Xue Chen's words, everyone immediately looked astonished. They had never seen the boy so sharp before, but then they thought about it—anyone who went through such things could undergo a drastic change in temperament, especially because of a pack of ungrateful wolves.

"You're talking nonsense... Let go of me." Li Cuilan had not expected that she had come to get her husband out, only to drag herself down with him.