Chapter 350: Chapter 350

Duan Wenhu’s arrest for murder, considering its wide-ranging impact, was something Li Juezhou stepped in to suppress.

His biggest concern was his father. If Li Haidong found out about this, he would surely come to bother him again, asking him to figure out a way to bail Duan Wenhu out, no matter what, out of consideration for her being his aunt.

Even though Li Juezhou made every effort to keep the news under wraps, it inevitably reached the ears of Father Li and Mrs. Li.

As expected, the first reaction of Li Haidong upon hearing the news was to find a way to get her out.

No matter how much of a troublemaker Duan Wenhu was, she was still part of the Li Family. Having a murderer in the family—it’s hard to imagine how Li Haidong could maintain any semblance of dignity in his circles moving forward.

This matter was far too severe, and for once, Li Haidong, rarely assertive in front of Wei Lan, stood his ground. He abandoned their planned global trip and immediately set off back home upon hearing the news.

Wei Lan initially tried to stop him, but the arrest of Duan Wenhu had shocked her too. She decided to return home with him to personally see what was going on. Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵⁂𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⁂𝓷𝓮𝓽

Upon their long-awaited arrival back home, they discovered that Li Juezhou had completely handed over the major responsibilities of the group to others. On top of that, he had blocked their phone numbers entirely, leaving them unable to figure out his whereabouts.

Unable to reach Li Juezhou, Li Haidong then attempted to visit Duan Wenhu, only to be told that no one aside from Li Juezhou had the authority to visit her alone. This infuriated Li Haidong immensely.

Even though Li Juezhou managed the group in its entirety, Li Haidong was still his father. After repeated failures, he began to feel as though his paternal authority had been trampled on by his own son.

Eventually, he managed to contact Li Juezhou through the group secretary.

When Li Juezhou returned home, Li Haidong and Wei Lan were sitting upright on the couch, waiting for him.

Wei Lan appeared relatively calm, but Li Haidong looked ready to deliver a stern reckoning.

Li Juezhou changed his shoes leisurely at the entrance before walking into the living room, unhurried and composed. What greeted him was a teacup hurled straight at his head, but it was no big deal—he dodged it with a slight tilt of his head.

The teacup smashed heavily onto the ground, scattering in all directions. As the sound of shattering resounded, Li Haidong suddenly barked, "Kneel!"

Li Juezhou glanced up at his father, the corners of his brows snapping up in frustration.

Entirely unfazed, Li Juezhou strode over calmly, sat down on the single-seater couch to Li Haidong’s left, crossed his legs, and lazily said, "What wind blew you back here, Old Man?"

Li Haidong was livid, clutching his chest with one hand and pointing at Li Juezhou with the other, teeth clenched as he growled, "You ungrateful bastard! You put your own aunt in the police station with your own hands, and you still have the face to ask why I’m back?"

"Wasn’t Duan Wenhu arrested because she brought it upon herself?" Li Juezhou suddenly sat upright, his expression turning serious as he locked eyes with Li Haidong and said firmly, "Dad, you should be grateful that you’re a law-abiding citizen because if you ever committed a crime, I’d send you in just the same. I live by principles, not blood ties."

"Azhou!" Wei Lan interjected at just the right moment to remind Li Juezhou that his father had heart problems. What if he actually provoked his own dad into a fatal attack?

"Oh, great—principles over blood ties!" Li Haidong clenched his fists, pounding the coffee table repeatedly as he growled in a low, furious voice, "I think you’ve been completely brainwashed by that Sang Ning, that little celebrity!"

Normally, seeing someone like Li Juezhou finally develop feelings for someone would make Li Haidong, as a father, rejoice. As long as the girl was decent, he didn’t care about her family background—he’d support her.

But during this time, he’d been reading up on Sang Ning’s affairs online. It was clear Sang Ning was very complicated, and the Sang Family even more so.

To have someone as steadfast and unyielding as Li Juezhou entirely under her thumb, Li Haidong suddenly found Sang Ning to be an extremely frightening and calculating person.

"Dad, Sang Ning is my girlfriend, not some little celebrity. I’d appreciate it if you respected her. As for Duan Wenhu, what she’s done violates the law. If things have escalated to this point and you still choose to shield her, then I can only say I don’t need a father who can’t discern right from wrong. To prevent your influence from corrupting my thoughts, perhaps I should seriously consider cutting ties with you." Li Juezhou responded with absolute calm, reasoning with Li Haidong.

Li Haidong didn’t expect Li Juezhou to leave him no room for compromise, and immediately his eyes rolled back as he fainted, collapsing backward onto the couch.

"Haidong!" Wei Lan hurried to support Li Haidong and check on him, simultaneously throwing a reproachful glance at Li Juezhou. "Azhou, this is your father! Can’t you just tone it down when you talk? Must you push him to this point?"

Li Juezhou glanced toward Li Haidong and coolly replied, "I anticipated this would happen, so I brought a private doctor with me. Don’t worry, I won’t let my dad die so easily. Even if he ends up as a vegetable, I’ll take care of him for the rest of his life."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Haidong, who had just fainted, suddenly sat up with no trace of illness, his eyes blazing with fury. He raised a hand and slapped Li Juezhou sharply across the face. "You bastard! Ungrateful bastard! You’ve already locked your aunt up, and now you want to kill your father too?"

At the moment Li Haidong raised his hand, Li Juezhou had already anticipated his father’s action, but he neither dodged nor flinched, taking the slap squarely.

Li Haidong was truly enraged, putting every ounce of force into the slap.

The slap echoed loudly, leaving Li Juezhou’s right cheek visibly swollen and marked with an unmistakable handprint. The sight of it could make anyone wince from the imagined sting, but he didn’t even blink, let alone show any expression of pain.

Wei Lan, seeing the shocking handprint on her son’s face, didn’t care anymore whether Li Haidong’s heart could take it. She sided with Li Juezhou and shoved Li Haidong forcefully. "Li Haidong! Have you lost your mind?"

It was only then that Li Haidong realized what he had done. He looked at the hand he had just used to slap Li Juezhou, then at the handprint on his son’s face, and suddenly felt a pang of guilt.

"Dad, no matter how furious you are, this slap should be enough to settle it, right?" Li Juezhou spoke calmly. "But I hope this ends here. Duan Wenhu’s case is a matter of principle. Don’t think for a second I’ll take a single step back on this. From now on, I don’t want to hear her name mentioned by you again."

Li Juezhou stood up and turned to Wei Lan. "Mom, try to talk some sense into Dad. Also, I won’t be staying here for the time being. With just you and Dad living here, it’ll be peaceful and quiet, without anyone disturbing you. Should you need anything, just contact the secretary."

With that, Li Juezhou left the living room with a cold expression, walked to the entrance, changed his shoes again, and left.

The so-called private doctor he mentioned—he’d said it just to fool Li Haidong.

No one knew a father better than his own son. Li Haidong’s actual physical health was no real issue; it wasn’t so easy for him to drop dead from anger.

If it were something trivial, Li Haidong’s usual tricks to manipulate him might have worked. But for this matter, Li Juezhou wouldn’t give an inch.