Chapter 199 - 198: Helan Jing Infuriates Pei Xuan, Dad’s Identity!

Chapter 199: Chapter 198: Helan Jing Infuriates Pei Xuan, Dad’s Identity!

Whether he was called a "lunatic" or a "monster," such labels couldn’t hurt him in the slightest.

He had heard it too many times. Pei Xuan, in particular, used to curse him with those exact words every single day before and after court sessions. If a day passed without him hearing it, he would actually feel quite uneasy.

Xu Wenge never expected that Professor Jingyun would remember him after he had only attended a few of his lectures.

He stammered, "P-Professor, I... well, I..."

"Relax," Helan Jing said, reaching out to grasp his shoulder. The smile on his lips deepened. "I’m not going to do anything to you. Why are you shaking so badly?"

Xu Wenge was indeed in a panic, his Adam’s apple bobbing nervously.

It was common knowledge that Professor Jingyun was an expert at solving crimes. Over the years, he had assisted the police in cracking numerous cold cases. But his methods were truly extraordinary. He could easily and flawlessly see right through a criminal’s psyche. Even the so-called perfect crime was full of holes in his eyes.

If it weren’t for his airtight alibis, the police probably would have suspected him instead.

The line between genius and madness was often razor-thin.

Professor Jingyun’s classes were also quite interesting. He rarely taught anything related to the law, preferring instead to discuss ancient philosophy, Mind learning, and the like. Xu Wenge didn’t know if anyone else understood him, but to him, it was all Greek.

"Kid, you’ll be dealing with terrorists in the future. You can’t afford to be this cowardly," Helan Jing drawled, raising an eyebrow. "You’re a junior this year. It’s about time for your internship, isn’t it?"

Xu Wenge blurted out, "It’s fine, I can just become a softcore streamer!"

His eyes widened in horror. Damn it! Why did he say what he was thinking out loud? He wondered if this lunatic professor actually possessed the ability to manipulate minds.

"Ah, so you already have other aspirations. Then your professor won’t bother you anymore," Helan Jing said, his voice dragging out. "Wenge—a good name. Someone in your family is in the military. Is it your mom or your dad?"

Xu Wenge subconsciously replied, "Dad."

Seeing how easily he had fallen for the trap, Helan Jing burst into laughter and teased, "Kid, I’m not old enough to have a son your age."

With that, he didn’t linger any longer and strolled away gracefully.

Xu Wenge stood there in a daze for a few seconds before saying miserably, "Little Cousin, my reputation is ruined."

Shi Changying replied over the call, "Your reputation was ruined the moment we saw your post on Moments."

Xu Wenge was speechless. Weren’t younger sisters supposed to be sweet little angels?

Even more depressed, he sighed, "Little Cousin, I won’t bother you anymore. I’m going to the library."

His top priority right now was passing his finals.

After the video call ended, Qingyuan snapped back to reality. "He really is handsome. Better looking than any actor I’ve ever worked with."

Ning Liuyu reminded her, "But Sister Yingying’s cousin said this handsome guy traded his sanity for those looks."

Qingyuan was silent. She would rather act opposite an ugly person than deal with a lunatic. Just like four hundred years ago, she had always taken detours whenever she saw Helan Jing, terrified of being cornered by him.

Shi Changying evidently recalled her own traumatic memories of Helan Jing as well. She raised a hand and rubbed her temples. Such suffering was better left for Xu Wenge to endure alone.

Xie Qingshi said thoughtfully, "Although Young Master He is a bit abnormal, the theories he proposes have been of great help."

Cui Jinghan’s expression was indifferent. "They certainly were. He’s the only person capable of making Pei Xuan faint from pure rage."

Intrigued by this, Qingyuan and Ning Liuyu leaned in eagerly. "What do you mean?"

"He brought it upon himself," Cui Jinghan shrugged noncommittally. "Pei Xuan is never one to let things go when he thinks he’s in the right, but Helan Jing has his own twisted logic. That day, Pei Xuan was injured, yet he still tried to take a few jabs at Helan Jing. In the end, he lost the argument and passed out from the sheer stress and fury of it."

Shi Changying remembered this incident too. She had been waiting for Pei Xuan to seek an audience and report on the war situation, but he never showed up.

After Nie Mingchu finished examining Pei Xuan, she reported, "Your Majesty, Lord Pei’s injuries are not severe. He simply fainted from sheer rage."

Since the incident was quite embarrassing, it was never publicized. However, after court one day, Pei Xuan found an opportunity and ambushed Helan Jing.

Qingyuan thought to herself that although she had no desire to run into Helan Jing, she genuinely wanted to see him make Pei Xuan faint from rage one more time. After all, the number of people who could actually win a verbal spar against Pei Xuan could be counted on one hand.

For the past few days, Xu Zhao Yu had been running around trying to fix Meng Shuyan’s mess, but she still couldn’t find a solution. After much deliberation, she had no choice but to prepare lavish gifts and seek out Ming Chengli to beg for his help.

"Chengli, I’m truly sorry," Xu Zhao Yu said, adopting a very humble attitude. "I promise that Shuyan will never make a similar mistake again. Please, I beg you to show mercy and put in a good word for him with the Mingjing Cultural Heritage Institute."

Ming Chengli didn’t even glance at the gifts on the table. "If the previous few times gave you the illusion that I’m easy to talk to," he said coolly, "then you are sorely mistaken."

Xu Zhao Yu’s smile froze. She clearly hadn’t expected the usually weak and accommodating Ming Chengli to be this unyielding.

"It doesn’t matter what you do to me. I don’t care. But if Changying gets dragged into this..." Ming Chengli paused, a sudden murderous intent radiating from him. "Don’t blame me for going down fighting with you! I should have died a long time ago. Throwing this life away means nothing to me. But do you have the guts to do the same?"

BOOM!

Xu Zhao Yu’s mind went completely blank. She froze in place, her face deathly pale as cold sweat poured down her back.

By the time she snapped back to reality, Ming Chengli had already left. Yet, she still felt as though she had been locked onto by something terrifying. Her chest felt suffocatingly tight, making it impossible to catch her breath.

She had to rest for a full half hour before her trembling hands could finally lift her cup to take a sip of water.

Go down fighting? Did she have the guts? Of course she didn’t! Her life was the most important thing she had.

Xu Zhao Yu suddenly realized that her assessment of Ming Chengli had been completely wrong. The Ming Chengli she saw today was his true self. He wasn’t even afraid of death—he was an absolute madman! She was, after all, a meticulously groomed daughter of the Xu family. Yet, she had completely crumbled under Ming Chengli’s outburst.

Could it be that Ming Chengli had some hidden background? But if he did, with the Xu family’s capabilities, how could they have found nothing?

Her mind raced, her nails digging deeply into her palms.

Her phone rang. It was her secretary, who said respectfully, "President Xu, Miss Ye is very interested in the new perfume you developed. She would like to invite you to Mingjing for a chat."

Xu Zhao Yu snapped to attention. "Did Miss Ye mention a time?"

"The tenth of next month," the secretary replied. "Miss Ye is still abroad. However, she is very interested in antiques. She expressed her regret that she won’t have the time to attend the upcoming auction in Jianghuai."

Being a smart woman, Xu Zhao Yu understood the implication immediately. "Tell Miss Ye that I will prepare a generous gift for her."

Ending the call, she let out a long breath.

If she could establish a connection with the Ye family, she could break into Mingjing’s elite circles. That way, she would have another trump card up her sleeve. Even if Ming Chengli did have some hidden tricks, could he possibly compare to the Mingjing Ye family?