Zhang Heng returned home unscathed the next morning.
The news broke out across the city before noon. Vice Chief Wang Shouyi of the Chongzhou city branch of the Public Security Bureau was suspended and under investigation after being suspected of severely violating professional principles. No further details were being disclosed other than that.
Zhang Heng had a hard time explaining to his parents as well. His mother initially wanted to ask in detail but she was quickly stopped by his father. From his father's perspective, his son had grown up and was no longer that boy that needed his father to shelter and protect him. He was able to tell from what happened that day that his son was more than what was seen on the surface.
Zhang Heng's father sighed deep down, but pride and relief were seen in his eyes when he looked at his son. The baby bird had grown up and was finally about to leave the nest. Keeping Zhang Heng by his side with notions of filial piety and whatnot would have only served as a selfish way of limiting his son's growth.
Zhang Heng had outgrown all that he had planned for his son back then without a doubt and he saw it fit to let him soar for greater skies and fly free instead of limiting him to who he is now.
The love of a father knew no bounds.
Zhang Heng thanked his father deep down for not pestering him for more details. He didn't want to lie to his parents, yet there were secrets that he couldn't share with the people around him. As such, the best course of action to take was to simply stay mum.
Their doorbell rang suddenly when the four of them were having lunch back at home. Zhang Heng exchanged looks with his father before getting up to answer the door. He saw Yang Yang and her parents standing at the door with bags full of stuff outside. All of them had swollen and reddened eyes.
"Uncle and Auntie here really couldn't thank you enough, Heng!" Yang Yang's parents walked up to him with reddened eyes before Zhang Heng said anything or even had the chance to, grabbing his hands with their own trembling ones. Zhang Heng didn't know how to react to what was happening and things looked really awkward.
"We've been neighbors for years, there really is no need for all this! Come in, come in." Zhang Heng's father came up and eased things down for his son, having all three of them come into the apartment and saved Zhang Heng from further awkwardness.
He rubbed away the cold sweat on his brow and took a look at his sister, who was busy eating. Zhang Xin was only shocked for a bit when she saw her brother came home before becoming silent all over again. She had been crying for almost the whole night from remorse and residual fear, knowing that she had done something very wrong. She had only gradually quieted down after finding that Zhang Heng returned home safely.
Zhang Xin had calmed considerably since then and she made a face at Zhang Heng when she saw her brother looking at her before smiling sheepishly like she was trying to curry his favor, but Zhang Heng simply returned the antic with a glare.
"We're here today to specifically thank Heng. If it wasn't for him, our daughter would have been…" Yang Yang's mother couldn't help but cry her eyes out again after the family were taken into the living room. Yang Yang kept wiping her tears away to the side as well, frightening Zhang Heng's parents, and they went on to try to comfort her.
"Uncle, Auntie, it shouldn't be you who are coming to thank me. I should be the one thanking the both of you instead." Zhang Heng felt a headache and interjected after seeing how both his parents failed to comfort the girl.
"Why are you saying that, Heng?" Yang Yang's parents stopped crying almost right away and turned to look at Zhang Heng with curious looks on their faces.
"If it hadn't been for Yang Yang's text message, I wouldn't have known that something like that was happening in the first place and I definitely wouldn't have gone to save both of them. As such, you could say that it is she who had saved my sister." Zhang Heng nodded solemnly.
"Sigh, don't bother giving any credit that this stupid brat doesn't deserve. I scolded her really well as soon as we got home earlier today. All of this happened because she went to do something stupid instead of spending her time studying! She also almost got Zhang Xin in trouble! If something were to happen to Zhang Xin, I don't think my wife and I would ever be able to come to meet with your parents again!" Yang Yang's father added, feeling vexed about what his daughter did.
"Uncle, I'm sincerely thanking Yang Yang for this." Zhang Heng didn't say any of that out of an attempt to sugarcoat things; those were his real thoughts deep down. If it hadn't been for the text message that she sent him, there was no way he could have gone out to save her and his sister. It would have been pointless if he were to take revenge for his sister and kill Wang Shouyi's family as there would have still been trauma that could never be erased left in his sister's mind, which was something that Zhang Heng deemed unbearable. As such, his gratitude for Yang Yang was sincere.
"Uncle Yang, did you say something about Yang Yang not doing so well with her studies?" Something came to Zhang Heng's mind and he asked.
"Sigh, this kid has always been slacking off in her studies and was still like that getting into Bashu Middle School. We're really at wit's end now and I'm afraid that she won't be able to make it to the second-rate universities after taking the college entrance exam," Yang Yang's father replied with that same vexed tone while Yang Yang kept her head low the entire time out of shame.
"No need to be so hard on your daughter. It's the same thing with mine too," Zhang Heng's father comforted Yang Yang's father and glared at Zhang Xin, frightening her so badly that she kept digging into her bowl instead of looking up.
"Well then, would Yang Yang be willing to go to Fudan University after taking the college entrance exam?" Zhang Heng turned around and flashed a warm smile at Yang Yang.
Everyone was stunned and turned their attention to Zhang Heng right away. The entire room was rendered dead silent for a moment.
"Zhang Heng, what do you mean?" Yang Yang reacted after a while. Her face was reddened from excitement, unable to believe what she just heard.
"I'm saying that I just happen to know some people. If Yang Yang is willing to go to Fudan, I think I'd be able to help out."
"Heng, since when did you…" The eyes of Zhang Heng's father looked like they were about pop out of their sockets, making it look like it was the first day he came to know his son. Both of Yang Yang's parents panted as they locked their gaze at Zhang Heng, seemingly trying to figure out if he was joking.
"Uncle Yang, while I don't personally know the dean of the university, I have a friend who does and he owes me a really, really big favor. I can guarantee that there is no university that Yang Yang wouldn't be able to be enrolled in Haizhou, so long as I give the word." Zhang Heng felt exasperated, clapping on the shoulder of Yang Yang's father, and explained with a smile.
That 'friend' that Zhang Heng was talking about was none other than Li Jianguo, the president of the Li Group who had an extensive network of connections and influence. His influence was such that even if he did not know the dean of Fudan University personally, it still wouldn't have taken more than a word from him to get someone enrolled. Then again, there was no telling how Li Jianguo would feel if he knew how Zhang Heng made use of him.
Everyone in the living room was utterly shocked at that moment. Yang Yang's parents exchanged looks with one another. Excitement and joy were written all over their faces and Yang Yang was even more so. She nodded eagerly and said loudly, "I definitely wouldn't say no to that! Zhang Heng, I'm willing to go to Fudan!"
"Hahahahaha!" Zhang Heng's father immediately laughed out loud. His pride was clearly heard in the laughter, as his son had just made him look really good.
"I'm going too, bro!" Zhang Xin, who was at the table with her lunch, was no longer able to sit still. Her results were more or less the same as Yang Yang's. Both of them were students who were only able to score 400 to 500 points on their mock exams. Even if they were to be able to get very good results, they still wouldn't be able to get further than the usual second batch to be considered. If they were unlucky, they could only go to vocational colleges. Hearing that her brother had the ability to get others into a renowned school like Fudan, she was unable to sit still anymore, as she got up from the table, went on to cradle her brother's arm, and began begging.
"You?" Zhang Heng glowered at Zhang Xin and deliberately took a stern tone with her. "Don't even think of going to Fudan before you at least scored 500 points in your college entrance exam. You'd only end up embarrassing me otherwise."
"I'm definitely gonna listen to mom and dad from here on out, I swear!" Zhang Xin got anxious and put up her pinky, wanting to do a pinky promise with her brother and that made everyone around laugh.
Yang Yang's parents brought their daughter home with happy faces after all the laughter. They kept thanking Zhang Heng over and over before they left the apartment. In return, Zhang Heng kept reassuring them to leave Yang Yang's letter of admission from Fudan University to him.
Zhang Heng rested for several more days before taking a flight back to Haizhou in a hurry. It was not that he didn't want to extend his break, but the thought of the unknowns that humanity had to face in the future cast a shadow in his mind, causing him to feel a looming sense of crisis and anxiety. He felt like having the Sword of Damocles hanging right above his head, preventing him from being able to completely unwind.
He was also planning to put his plans into action earlier after returning to Haizhou, the plan was to set up a company that could steer the direction of both the world's fighting forces as well as funds.
There was no doubt that he had a long way to go before being able to get to the first step of achieving such a dream. The first step was to simply keep his company running successfully.