Epiphanies of Rebirth Chapter 77 (Part 2)
Translated by Pure
Chapter 77.2 Elder Qi snapped like an over taut bow, and fell to the ground without warning.
The Shi Family quickly received the first issue of a tabloid newspaper from Hong Kong Island. They almost fainted of anger when they saw the huge words <Qiu Qiang's Former Sponsor Suspected of Murdering a Famous Young Entrepreneur in Yan City> on the headline of the newspaper. They took all sorts of precautions, and pleaded to everyone to help block the news, but never expected to fall short at Hong Kong Island.
Qiu Qiang was one of the most popular actresses in Hong Kong Island at the moment, so this was breaking news. Shi Nanxing had endorsed her in the past, and acted unscrupulously in the open, so there were many sex scandals regarding the two back then.
Hong Kong Island had a well-developed entertainment industry, so the various newspapers, periodicals, and magazines were also slightly more developed compared to the mainland. News circulated quickly; as long as it was published in the media, it would almost instantly become a household name. Though the hook of this news was very venomously executed. Although the main content was about Shi Nanxing's alleged homicide case, the focus was on his status as the former patron of a certain actress.
The civilians on Hong Kong Island were most concerned about the private lives of female celebrities and rich people. Compared with their gratitude and grudges with another, it was undoubtedly much more interesting that the ‘ex-boyfriend’ of a popular actress was a suspected murderer. Therefore, in just a few days, the whole island was set abuzz by the news, so much so that the related actress had been relentlessly chased by the paparazzi and dared not go out.
The report was only thousands of words long but was written quite boldly. It not only directly named Shi Nanxing, but also revealed his parents, ancestors, close friends, and even his past history of being suspected of smuggling cultural relics. The identity of the victim, Lin Jingzhe, became secondary, and was only casually included by the editor during the short narration. Compared with finding out what happened, the public was obviously more concerned about Shi Nanxing and how ‘the benevolent man cannot be rich[1]’.
Even before the Shi Family had caught wind of this news, the heat of this matter had already spread from the paper media to the small screen.
The old lady of the Shi Family cried while taking her blood pressure medication, "Those bastards!!! How dare they write such words!? How dare they directly bring Xingxing's name to the public! Remove it! Tell them to remove it immediately!!"
Unfortunately, the paparazzi on Hong Kong Island were notoriously unscrupulous, and they didn’t hesitate to break the news regardless of whether there was any conclusive proof. The forces there were tangled and complicated, so Shi Nanxing's parents were extremely apprehensive. However, after all the phone calls, there was still nothing they could do about it. Not only did the tabloids not want to withdraw the news, but their attitude was very rascal-like. They only said that if there were any doubtful points, it would be fine to go directly to Hong Kong Island to file a lawsuit.
The Shi Family were left helpless. Regardless of whether the lawsuit could be won, if they were to really go, then this matter could turn into a bigger mess.
The family was in chaos, but Shi Nanxing fell into an unprecedented panic. He looked at the newspaper full of small print; it not only mentioned his recent financial difficulties, but also vaguely mentioned about his attempt to leave the country.
There wasn’t much said about it, it was only briefly mentioned, if one were to skim the paper, it would be a seemingly minor detail.
But it was enough to break his whole.
His whole plan of escaping abroad had been well hidden until he was intercepted by customs. Until then, this matter was only known to the members of the Shi Family. These days, Shi Nanxing has been living in anxiety. His family only thought that he was fearful because of the car accident case, but only Shi Nanxing knew the real truth. He was living in constant stress, for the fear that his whereabouts would be discovered by Sha Peng. It didn’t matter who wrote this news, the most important thing was whether or not this news was seen by Sha Peng or his related party.
Fortunately, the location of Hong Kong Island is very far from the southwest, and this terrible guess has only a small possibility to come true.
After Shi Nanxing realized the point, he immediately grasped the problem by its core. "Block the news! If it can't be gotten rid of, make sure this news stays in Hong Kong Island and never spreads out!"
"Yes!" The old lady of the Shi family, who almost cried to the point of collapse, soon reacted. She struggled to get up from the bed as she said, "This news cannot be seen by more people! We’re still looking for others to help, our relatives and friends only promised after so much hesitation. If this becomes a big problem..."
Father Shi nodded and acted immediately.
Unfortunately it was already too late. Misfortune continued to come knocking at their door before their call for help was heard.
This hot news from Hong Kong Island had been enthusiastically reprinted by major newspapers in the mainland, starting from the Special Administrative Regions, and even had a showing in Yan City’s Evening News on television that night.
Father Shi's roar was earth-shattering, "Those bastards!!! Why is the Shen Family so ruthless!?!?!"
"It's not the Shen Family." His trusted aide on the other end of the phone explained tremblingly, "It was the Fang Family who had personally contacted the news."
The whole Shi Family felt an incoming headache. "Where did this Fang Family come from? Which Fang Family is it?"
As the incident continued to fester, more and more people became involved; such a matter exceeded the expectations of every member of the Shi Family. The answer from the other party made it feel as if they were still dreaming, "It's that Fang Family, Elder Fang personally made the call..."
Father Shi found it hard to believe, "What?!!?!?"
He couldn’t fathom why Elder Fang had to wade into muddy water for absolutely no reason. Only Shi Nanxing, who knew the inside story, felt his vision go dark when he overheard the conversation.
*****
Elder Fang was so angry that he smashed his favorite teacup, and chased his grandson around with his cane.
Fang Wenhao felt aggrieved. He only hung out with Shi Nanxing when he was very young, okay? However, after he grew up and noticed that their moral beliefs didn't match up, Fang Wenhao seldom communicated with Shi Nanxing. They would only greet one another at occasional meetings; what's the use of beating him to vent his anger!?
He inwardly scolded Shi Nanxing, who caused him to suffer such a disaster. Back when they were still children, Hu Shaofeng had a better relationship with Qi Kai and Shi Nanxing, the former even thought about doing business with those two people. He had to complain to Uncle Hu later, no way he can be the only one being beaten.
Elder Fang leaned on his cane and scolded furiously, "Does he not know repentance!? That degenerate!"
Fang Wenhao agreed and quickly added to his grandfather's words, "We have to let him know how powerful we are!"
Elder Fang snorted, enraged as he continued to stand in place. Very soon, he bursted into tears, and with the help of his cane, he sat down on a sofa, wiped his tears, and sighed, "We’ve truly let down Little Lin!"
The guilt in his heart was incapable of further increase. Back then, Lin Jingzhe had donated the priceless cultural relics without hesitation. This was one of the oldest batches of treasures that Elder Fang had ever processed; these precious items were still placed in the most heavily guarded display window of the museum. It was a commendable feat for a young not-even-twenty-year-old man at the time to possess such breadth of mind, he deserved the honor and credit for his conduct. However, for various reasons, his chivalrous deeds could only be sealed behind an archived file.
Elder Fang was determined to help this young man succeed in his life, but Lin Jingzhe's personal ability was far beyond his imagination, thus he had no chance to fulfill his own promise. As time went by, Elder Fang began to brace himself and relinquish his concerns of repaying this gratitude. Counting in detail, what did he ever do to help Lin Jingzhe?
Asked for his grandson to pick him up at the train station? The other party donated that batch of cultural relics, and this was what he was given in return?!
This was an ingratitude! Ingratitude!
If Lin Jingzhe had gotten the credit he deserved in the beginning, and assumed the status of a national treasure donor who promoted the process of domestic cultural relics protection, who would dare to rush indiscriminately into action against him?
It’s been years since Elder Fang had been this angry; he had committed an unforgivable crime. He then grabbed the arm of his grandson, who was frightened by his sudden tears, and told him, "Call Uncle Cunzhi and ask him to come to Yan City!"
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Footnote:
[1] ‘the benevolent man cannot be rich’ (为富不仁) - is a quote by Mencius.