As Song Hu and Zhang Wei vanished from view, Guo Jian stole a glance at Feng Xinyue. The girl sat in silence on a tiny chair, her presence so unobtrusive that it was easy to forget she was there at all.
But as soon as Feng Xinyue caught sight of Zhang Wei departing, she too rose from her seat and started to follow him, her steps soundless and swift. However, before she could slip out of the room, Guo Jian reached out and grabbed her by the hand, halting her in her tracks.
"Wait, you little girl--" Guo Jian's eyes suddenly widened as Feng Xinyue turned back and looked at her with sharp, ice-cold eyes.
Her heart pounded with fear as she met Feng Xinyue's piercing gaze. It was as if the girl's eyes could cut through steel, leaving Guo Jian feeling exposed and vulnerable. But just as suddenly as the intensity had come, it dissipated, and Feng Xinyue seemed like a different person altogether.
Guo Jian let out a sigh of relief as Feng Xinyue tilted her head, her soft voice breaking the tense silence. "Brother?" she asked innocently, pointing in the direction where Zhang Wei had disappeared.
Guo Jian's mind raced with questions.
Who was this girl?
What kind of life had she led before arriving at the orphanage?
And why did she seem to have such a powerful hold over Zhang Wei?
She couldn't shake off the feeling that there was more to Feng Xinyue than met the eye
"Brother?" whispered Yu Lei with perplexed look, soon shaking her head helplessly.
Her words caught Yu Lei off-guard, but she soon sighed with relief.
It would actually be better if Feng Xinyue didn't call Zhang Wei "father" out of the blue, else Yu Lei wouldn't know how to react if that did happen.
Guo Jian's mind felt heavy as she looked at the little girl. "You can't go there," she said, gesturing towards the door where Song Hu and Zhang Wei had disappeared. "They are discussing something in private."
She paused before continuing, "Before you decide, why don't you tell me whether you want to follow them home or not? After all, they are here to adopt you."
As a professional, Guo Jian knew that it was necessary to ask for the child's opinion, but she couldn't help but feel uneasy about the situation given Feng Xinyue's obvious infatuation with Zhang Wei.
After a moment of contemplation, Feng Xinyue nodded resolutely. "I will go," she said, her determination clear in her voice.
Listening to her resolute words, Yu Lei felt a bit surprised.
She can't help but smile wryly, ' How did Zhang Wei managed to charm her in such small amount of time?'
Sighing, she stood up and walked towards Feng Xinyue, extending her hand for a handshake. "Hello, I'm Yu Lei. I will be your new family and will be helping you settle in. It's nice to finally meet you," she said with a warm smile.
Feng Xinyue hesitated for a moment before reaching out to shake Yu Lei's hand.
"Nice to meet you too," she replied softly.
Guo Jian watched the interaction with a small smile on her face, feeling relieved that the little girl seemed to be adapting well.
Meanwhile, in the back room, Song Hu and Zhang Wei looked at each other in silence. After a while, Song Hu broke the silence with a serious look on his face.
"Look, Mr. Zhang, I will be brutally honest with you. That girl is trouble for you from all angles. She doesn't have any identification, nor does she look like a native of this country. In the future, she could put you into a lot of trouble, especially if she was smuggled from a foreign country. That could create even more problems for you," he paused, waiting to see Zhang Wei's reaction.
Song Hu hoped that Zhang Wei would show some sign of panic, as it would give him an advantage in bargaining. But to his surprise, Zhang Wei stood there unbothered by all his warnings.
Song Hu couldn't help but click his tongue and continue, "Applying to the court for identity will take a lot of time. How about I hand her over to you directly?"
He looked at Zhang Wei for his opinion.
The latter smirked and asked, "What do you mean?"
Zhang Wei pretended to get angry and spoke, "Are you trying to accuse me of something?"
Song Hu chuckled and explained, "Young man, don't get angry. I know why you need that young girl. We both know why, so why pretend?"
Song Hu seemed to be growing bolder by the minute, and he added, "How about I let you take her without any documents? I can use my connections to create an identification for her with an age of fourteen. If you go through the court, they will take her samples to determine her real age, and if she's younger than fourteen, we both know you'll be in trouble. So, do we have a deal?"
Song Hu asked with a wide grin on his face, clearly pleased with his proposition.
Zhang Wei couldn't help but laugh at the audacity of Song Hu. "Sure, but it won't be free, right?"
Song Hu laughed, "Of course not, only a hundred thousand HLD! Considering her looks, it's not a bad deal at all," he spoke, unable to hide his smile.
Zhang Wei shook his head in pity at how careless people had become with their words these days.
As for why Song Hu offered an identification with a fourteen-year-old age for Feng Xinyue, it was related to the laws of Hanland country.
The normal age of consent in Hanland country is eighteen years old.
However, many felt that this age was nothing but a hoax, as most teenagers start dating in high school itself.
Therefore, the country soon amended the law with an exception. After all, while framing a law, the main thing is to look beyond and see the original spirit of the law, which was, in this case, to provide protection to immature teenagers.
So, now if the female is willing, then the age of consent can be ignored if she is fourteen or above.
What difference will it make for Zhang Wei?
Well, If Zhang Wei is caught having any relations with a girl 'below' fourteen, it will be treated outright as sexual assault, and he will be punished as per the law.
What difference does it make if she is above fourteen or fourteen?
Then If Zhang Wei somehow manages to prove that Feng Xinyue was willing and consented, he is free to go, as it was consensual sex.
Someone might wonder why a weird law like this was created instead of directly dropping the age of consent to fourteen.
The answer is that if a person assaults a woman who is above eighteen, they will be prosecuted as per the criminal law and punished accordingly.
However, if the victim is between fourteen to eighteen years of age, the offender will be punished under the child protection act, which carries a much harsher punishment.
If the age of consent was directly shifted to fourteen, then the child would be unable to get any protection from the child protection act.
Therefore, it was a wise move by the country's lawmakers.
However, this law also created many loopholes. Now, all a person has to do is prove that the girl was willing and above fourteen years of age.
Song Hu was certain that Zhang Wei would accept the deal, but he began to feel apprehensive when the latter remained silent. Just as he was about to speak up, Zhang Wei said, "Fatty, don't you fear making such a shady deal? What if I tell the police?"
Song Hu narrowed his eyes and snorted, "So what? What proof do you have to support your claim? There are no cameras here. I warn you, young man, either give me the money and take the girl or leave."
Song Hu despised being threatened, but at that moment, another person entered the room - Leng Yan, followed by Leng Mei.
Leng Mei followed closely behind Leng Yan, her voice laced with anger and disgust as she addressed Song Hu. "How dare you make such assumptions, Song Hu? Are you telling me the Song family has sunk so low that they're selling children for money?"
As they waited outside, Zhang Wei had messaged Leng Yan, prompting them to come and listen in on the conversation. Leng Yan had given Zhang Wei her contact information when she had interrogated him before.
As soon as Song Hu saw the two unfamiliar faces, he frowned, his eyes darting to the badge on Leng Yan's dress. For a brief moment, his face turned pale with fear, but he quickly composed himself. After all, being from one of the top families meant he knew how to handle any situation.
With a sneer, he taunted them, "What proof do you have? Just because you belong to the public security bureau doesn't mean you can arrest anyone, especially not me."
He underestimated Leng Mei, assuming that she was just a college student and couldn't do anything to him.
Leng Yan became angry and was about to beat Song Hu, but then Leng Mei caught her daughter and looked at Song Hu with visible anger. "Do you think we need proof?"
Her inexplicable confidence caught Song Hu off-guard, and he couldn't help but look at the woman closely.
'Is she a big shot?' he thought to himself.
He tried to scan his memory to see if he recognized her, but there was no familiarity.
Zhang Wei also observed the scene with raised eyebrows. 'Is she going to use her powers?' he wondered.
He thought that Leng Mei would use her powers to deal with Song Hu right then and there.
There was another possibility - that she came from an even larger family that could command the higher-ups of the country.
If his second guess was correct, then it would be quite a troublesome matter for him.
After all, he found this woman quite attractive and interesting.
The only problem was that she was a woman with morals.
As for her daughter, Zhang Wei was interested in only teaching her a lesson, but nevertheless, Zhang Wei was never a person to deny an oyakodon.
Zhang Wei's guts were increasing as he got the system.
If he didn't have it, he would probably avoid landing his hands on a woman like Leng Mei, as no one likes to deal with large behemoths of the country.
Song Hu smirked as he saw Leng Mei dialing a number.
He didn't believe this woman had the power to put him behind bars without proof; she might only be pretending.
Zhang Wei didn't want this drama to continue, so he pulled out his phone and handed it over to Leng Yan. "It has the voice recording of the whole incident, use it."
Leng Yan squinted her eyes and caught the phone with ease. She checked the phone and found the recording of it. She couldn't help but look at Zhang Wei in a new light. To think that he was quick-witted enough to record this, she felt Zhang Wei had quite a potential.
Song Hu's face drained of all color, his eyes bulging with fear and anger as Leng Yan seized him and began to haul him out. He shot a venomous glare at Zhang Wei, who stood there calmly watching the scene unfold.
After a few moments, Song Hu was handed over to another officer on duty, who took him away with a stern expression. As the commotion died down, Zhang Wei finally retrieved his phone, feeling a sense of relief and satisfaction wash over him.
[Host, is it alright to offend the Song family?] the system asked cautiously.
Zhang Wei let out a wry chuckle and lit a cigarette. 'Even if Song Hu was at fault, he could easily get out of prison and cause problems for me later,' he replied.
But Zhang Wei wasn't one to back down from a fight, especially when it came to protecting his possessions.
He took a drag from his cigarette, a glint of ruthlessness in his eyes.
'Who told Song Hu to dare to eye something that belongs to me?' he said. 'I won't hesitate to take them on, even if it means going up against the mighty Song family.'
Zhang Wei knew that he couldn't rely solely on the law to protect him. If the Song family decided to cross the line, he was ready to fight back with everything he had.
He was willing to enter a battlefield with no rules, where only the biggest monster would emerge victorious.
In Zhang Wei's world, it was survival of the fittest, and he was determined to come out on top.
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If this chapter was ambiguous let me clear few things, I am not making MC good at all, he will get more evil by passing time, it is the women around him who had good morals, like Leng Yan and Leng Mei.
So, how do you think Zhang Wei will tame these women with good morals?