Era: Starting with the struggle to refuse being taken advantage of

Chapter 255 Sincerely convinced
Seeing Wang Chengpeng's flawless operation, Zhou Xia was truly frightened and resigned himself to his fate, intending to completely obey Wang Chengpeng's arrangements.

Whether it's the fingerprints on the small yellow fish or the recording that was just played, these are definitely things that could kill him.

He suddenly began to believe Wang Chengpeng's words.

If Wang Chengpeng wasn't really there to save him, why would he come looking for him under these circumstances?

Why doesn't he just take the evidence and report the case to the police station?

The fingerprints on that little yellow fish were irrefutable evidence. If it was confirmed that he had colluded with the wanted criminal and hired someone to kill him, even if he wasn't taken to a shooting range, he would definitely spend the rest of his life in jail.

Looking at the composed Wang Chengpeng, Zhou Xia felt as if he were looking at a demon, a demon that could devour him at any moment.

Why did I provoke such a terrifying being in the first place? Wouldn't it have been better to just pay up and avoid trouble altogether?
Now that the other party has fatal evidence against me, they can manipulate me however they want.

What does it matter if Zhou Xia is willing to risk everything just to survive?

Looking at the predatory gaze in Zhou Xia's eyes, Wang Chengpeng showed no fear, only satisfaction with Zhou Xia.

If Zhou Xia didn't have this kind of awareness, Wang Chengpeng would really worry that he wouldn't be capable of betraying the Li family.

Thinking this, Wang Chengpeng slowly began to speak:

"The matter of your affair with Liu Yanran will at most be attributed to Liu Yanran. As long as I don't say anything and no one pursues it, it definitely won't involve you."

"As for hiring someone to kill, you can't escape that responsibility, after all, your fingerprints were left on the little yellow fish."

"But how much this matter actually relates to you is really uncertain."

“Personally, I tend to think you’re just an accomplice. After all, you have no money, no connections, and no guts, so it would be difficult for you to do something like hiring someone to kill someone on your own.”

"But it's not enough for me to just believe it; you need enough evidence to convince the police."

At this point, Wang Chengpeng seemed to be speaking to himself, muttering to himself:
"How can one lessen one's own guilt? Of course, it is by handing over the guilt to someone else, to the one who actually committed the crime."

"It's obviously not feasible to just find someone to take the blame, after all, the evidence is too overwhelming, and the police aren't stupid, they won't listen to my side of the story."

“I’m about to die, I can’t keep taking the blame for someone else. Nothing is more important than my life.”

"Besides, how could I dare to do something as heinous as hiring someone to commit murder? Where would I get the connections to know a wanted criminal like Bi Jun? And where would I get twenty small fish to pay the commission?"

“It was Li Weiguo who instructed me to do this. I was just running errands. Even if I am guilty, it is not a serious crime. At most, I will be released after three to five years in prison.”

“I am willing to atone for my crime by surrendering myself to the authorities and submitting evidence of Li Weiguo’s crimes in order to get a reduced sentence. Maybe I can be released in a year or two.”

Although he was talking to himself, Wang Chengpeng spoke very loudly, just loud enough for Zhou Xia to hear.

Looking at Wang Chengpeng's handsome face, Zhou Xia felt only fear.

What kind of devil is this? He actually tried to trick me into betraying my newly found father-in-law and becoming the dagger that would stab me in the back with just a few words.

Trembling all over, Zhou Xia tried his best to make his tone sound calm as he said:
“Wang Chengpeng, you may just want revenge, but you don’t know Li Weiguo’s power.”

"Take my advice: you can't afford to mess with him. You should back down. Maybe then you'll have a chance to survive."

Bang,

That was the sound of Wang Chengpeng's fist slamming hard on the table, making the tea set on it clang loudly.

Wang Chengpeng sneered and said, "Stop, and I'll give you another chance to hire someone to kill someone?"

"Zhou Xia, are you either too stupid or too naive to dare to give me such a suggestion?"

"Or are you saying that even now you haven't given up and are still planning to trick me?"

"It seems you're not sincere about sitting down and talking to me. The idea I just gave was to an ingrate."

"In that case, there's nothing more to say between us."

"Since you're so eager to take the blame for Li Weiguo, then you can just wait to be shot!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Chengpeng made a move to get up and leave the teahouse.

Zhou Xia is really shameless. Even at this point, he's still trying to deceive Wang Chengpeng. Well, don't blame Wang Chengpeng for being ruthless and sending him straight to hell.

Although it might be a bit troublesome, Wang Chengpeng has plenty of ways to deal with Li Weiguo.

After all, this person wasn't exactly clean, and Wang Chengpeng could always find some clues about him.

This might delay Wang Chengpeng's college entrance exams and university admissions this year, but to eliminate future problems, this sacrifice is worthwhile for him.

Seeing that Wang Chengpeng was about to leave at the drop of a hat, and was about to send him to his death at the drop of a hat, Zhou Xia was so frightened that his legs went weak and he actually knelt down in front of Wang Chengpeng.

Not only that, he slapped himself hard across the face and quickly began to explain:

"Brother Wang, Brother Wang, believe me, I was just being stupid, I didn't have any other thoughts about you."

"I'm just afraid that if we do something, it won't achieve the desired effect, but will instead backfire and leave us with nowhere to bury our bodies."

"After all, you know Li Weiguo's methods, Brother Wang. Not only will we not be able to bring him down, but we'll also get Brother Wang involved."

Zhou Xia's actions undoubtedly made him the focus of the entire teahouse, and the few people present also cast surprised glances in his direction.

You must understand that we are now in a period of reform and opening up, not the era of the queue-wearing regime, and such kneeling and bowing ceremonies are no longer practiced.

The two were sitting quite far apart, but no one heard the lewd things they were saying.

With a slight frown, Wang Chengpeng could tell from Zhou Xia's panicked appearance that he was indeed just being foolish and didn't actually intend to trick him.

With a heavy sigh, Wang Chengpeng helped Zhou Xia up and said:

"Comrade Zhou, what do you mean by this?"

"Don't kneel down all the time. I don't have a grandson as big as you."

"Your concerns are indeed somewhat valid, but do you really think I'm like you, someone who acts impulsively and does whatever comes to mind?"

Seeing that the people nearby had already turned their attention away, Wang Chengpeng whispered to Zhou Xia:

"You probably don't know this, but the Song family and the Li family are sworn enemies."

"You only need to do what you are supposed to do. You don't need to worry about anything else. The Song family will take care of it for you."

"You, who once served in the Song family, should know best what kind of power the Song family wields."

"Given conclusive evidence, even the Li family has only one possibility: being overthrown." It is precisely because the Song and Li families are sworn enemies that Zhou Xia, this good-for-nothing, is so highly regarded by Li Weiguo.

Although Zhou Xia was just coasting along in the Song family, it was hard to guarantee that he didn't know some of the Song family's secrets.

Bringing him into our fold could very well make him the most important pawn in betraying the Song family.

Li Weiguo's plan was brilliant, but he never expected that offending Wang Chengpeng would lead to his downfall and the destruction of his family.

Of course, Wang Chengpeng played the role of a catalyst in this process.

If the Li family hadn't committed so many unjust acts, Wang Chengpeng, even if he had a grudge against them, wouldn't have been able to bring down the Li family.

"The Song family? The Song family is actually involved in this?"

"No wonder Li Weiguo seemed to have said last time that the evidence absolutely must not fall into the hands of the Song family. Was he referring to this Song family?"

Hearing Wang Chengpeng's words, Zhou Xia was very surprised. Then, as if he had remembered something, he said in horror:

"You know the Song family, so my leaving with nothing is also related to you?"

"No wonder that bitch Song Wenxin was able to arrive at the police station at just the right time and receive the irrefutable evidence you threw at her. So it was all your doing?"

"You are simply a devil, how could you do such an outrageous thing?"

The thought of how he had once eaten the blood of the Song family members filled Zhou Xia with extreme resentment.

He clearly had a bright future ahead of him. If it weren't for Wang Chengpeng, how could he have ended up in such a miserable state?
Faced with Zhou Xia's complaints, Wang Chengpeng found it all very funny and said:

"What? You're allowed to attack me, but I'm not allowed to retaliate?"

“I remember that after you signed the IOU, there were often some ill-intentioned people around me. I don’t believe those people weren’t people you hired.”

"The worst time was when I was stopped on the side of the road by five strangers. If I hadn't known some kung fu, I don't know how badly I would have been beaten up."

"Zhou Xia, does your distorted worldview mean that only you can do the first day of the lunar month and no one else can do the fifteenth?"

"If you really think that way, I can only say that you are both stupid and wicked."

"At first, I just wanted to get some compensation to settle things, since it would be a bit disgraceful for me if this got out."

"But you keep challenging my bottom line. If I don't teach you a lesson, do you really think I'm made of clay?"

Zhou Xia's anger, which had just risen, was instantly extinguished by Wang Chengpeng's barrage of insults.

Ultimately, this whole thing boils down to him and Liu Yanran being shameless, constantly pushing Wang Chengpeng's limits.

Not only that, but each time it became more and more outrageous.

In other words, it wasn't Wang Chengpeng who sent them in, but rather they themselves.

Having been reprimanded by Wang Chengpeng once again, Zhou Xia was no longer willing to give up and could only meekly say:
“These things were indeed wrong of me. Let bygones be bygones. Let’s talk about bringing Li Weiguo to justice.”

After hesitating for a moment, Zhou Xia said, "There's something I have to say, even though it's not pleasant to hear."

"Even if I were to turn the tables on Li Weiguo, based on the evidence we have now, even with the Song family's help, it's highly unlikely we could do anything to him."

With a dismissive smile, Wang Chengpeng said, "What you know, how could I not know?"

"If it weren't for that, why do you think I would give you this opportunity?"

"Whether you can bring down Li Weiguo, oh, I misspoke, it should be whether you can make Li Weiguo bear the consequences of his crimes and then help you get acquitted, that depends on what you do."

“The better you do, the greater Li Weiguo’s crime will be, and the lesser your crime will be.”

At this point, Wang Chengpeng smiled and said, "I've taught you how to obtain evidence so many times, I'm sure you don't need me to teach you again."

"In short, that's how it is this time. How much you can get a reduced sentence depends entirely on your abilities."

Upon hearing that he was still going to jail, Zhou Xia's brows furrowed deeply, and he asked Wang Chengpeng in a fawning manner:
"Brother Wang, can I skip jail this time?"

"If I go to jail, not only will my life be ruined, but my whole family's life will be ruined."

If Zhou Xia redeems himself through meritorious service, and if the operation is handled properly, there is indeed a possibility that he will not go to jail.

But how could Wang Chengpeng let this accomplice go? Not sending him to be shot was already the greatest mercy Wang Chengpeng could show him.

Therefore, when Zhou Xia asked him, Wang Chengpeng simply said in a cold voice:
"You're being a bit too naive to think you won't go to jail."

"Besides, going to jail isn't necessarily a bad thing for you; it might even be a good thing."

"You did get away with it by providing evidence against Li Weiguo, but do you think the remaining forces of the Li family will let you off so easily?"

"Go to jail for a while, and when you come out, this whole mess will be over, and you'll be truly at ease."

"Besides, as long as you have money and the Song family's support, you might not necessarily have a bad life in prison."

"There are still some days before you go to jail, so there's still a lot of room for maneuver. You can directly exchange some things you don't need for money."

"Once you get out, won't you be a hero again?"

At this point, Wang Chengpeng pointed to the Hongqu Textile Factory not far away and said:

"Take this job that you were destined to lose, for example. It's still highly sought after right now, and you have plenty of time to deal with it."

"The reason is simple: you've already latched onto the Li family, so naturally you wouldn't look down on such an ordinary job."

"If you're willing to cooperate, the few hundred dollars you owe me will be wiped clean, so you won't have to be punished for multiple crimes and spend even more time in jail. What do you say?"

With Wang Chengpeng's guidance, Zhou Xia's eyes finally lit up.

Wang Chengpeng is right; sometimes going in might not be a bad thing for him.

Everything else is illusory; only money is real.

Especially after hearing that Wang Chengpeng would waive several hundred yuan of his debt, his eyes lit up, and he said with heartfelt admiration:

"Brother Wang, you are truly farsighted and have considered everything perfectly. You have thought of everything for me."

“Especially since you were incredibly kind enough to forgive my debt, such kindness is beyond words, it’s like giving me a second life.”

"Compared to being shot, being able to come out safely after only a few years in prison is indeed a rare find."

(End of this chapter)