Boom! On a sultry summer night, a sudden clap of thunder tore through the sky.
Rain poured down relentlessly, as if trying to wash away all the sins of the world.
Zhao Ba's accusations spread like wildfire, instantly reaching millions of mobile phones.
People were shocked, they hesitated, but soon they redirected their fury—
"Damn it, Zhao Lisheng doesn't look like a good person at all!"
"How can someone like him be a high-ranking official?!"
"Zhao Lisheng should die too! Zhao Lisheng should die too! Zhao Lisheng should die too!"
Inside the Zhao family villa, Zhao's mother was in a panic, dropping her teacup which shattered on the floor.
Outside, reporters and cameramen, who had just started to leave, quickly turned back, rushing into the villa before the door could close.
"Minister Zhao, is what your son said true?"
"Minister Zhao, how do you respond to your son's accusations?"
"Minister Zhao, did you really kill the 13-year-old girl, Wang Rui?"
Five or six cameras were aimed directly at Zhao Lisheng's face, broadcasting every minute change in his expression in high definition.
He remained silent, his gaze evasive, but then he gradually regained his composure, though the veins bulged on his forehead.
Slamming the table, he shouted angrily, "This is slander! The kidnappers must have forced my son to smear me!
"I don't even know that little girl! How could I have killed her?!"
Hundreds of kilometers away, in a dimly lit basement, Zhao Ba screamed furiously, "You know her! You know everything!
"The Xinlei Art School was your personal 'bride selection ground' set up by your subordinates!
"Wang Rui wasn't the first, and she won't be the last! You filthy beast, did you think you could cover this up forever?!
"I'm your son! Your only son! And even at the end, I'm still covering for you, but you voted for me to die!
"Zhao Lisheng, may you die a horrible death!"
Zhao Ba's enraged shouts echoed through the phone to Zhao Lisheng, but he remained still, his expression serene, even sorrowful.
"I see it clearly now—this is a trap laid by my political enemies, using my wayward son to utterly destroy my reputation.
"But I didn't select brides, didn't molest children, and didn't kill anyone. You won't find any evidence."
Turning to the cameras, his voice filled with grief, he said, "Son, these years, your mother and I have spoiled you too much.
"But when a mistake is made, it must be admitted. If you've killed someone, you must pay with your life.
"You're angry at me for not saving you, so you've gone along with these villains to smear me.
"But I really can't save you. If I did, where would justice be? Where would social fairness be?"
At the end of his speech, Zhao Lisheng's voice broke with emotion, and he wiped a tear from the corner of his eye, his tone softening.
"Son, our bond as father and son ends in this lifetime. In the next, come back and be my son again."
Suddenly, Wang Rui's voice came through Zhao Ba's earpiece: "Your father has abandoned you. He's planning to throw you under the bus. Once you're dead, all the blame will fall on you.
"But are you really going to die so easily? Why should you?"
Zhao Ba's mind raced: Why should I?
He had always preferred mature, alluring women