CHAPTER 74 — The Fall of Alliances
The Qin household had always been known for its silence. A chilling, dignified quiet. But today, the silence was suffocating—like the house itself was holding its breath. For the first time in over a decade, the gates were locked not to keep the media out…
…but to keep the scandal in.
Inside the wide study, Qin Yuhan's uncle, Qin Wenzhao, paced back and forth while his wife sat stiffly on the sofa, her fingers trembling around the edge of a porcelain teacup. The air felt thick with the weight of ruin.
A large television displayed the breaking news headline over and over:
"QIN YUHAN SCANDAL REOPENED: EVIDENCE OF COVER-UP EMERGES."
"HIGH-LEVEL INVESTIGATION CONFIRMED."
"QIN CORPORATION STOCKS PLUMMET 38%."
Every station was broadcasting it. Every commentator was predicting disaster.
This time… the Qin family's name couldn't shield Yuhan.
Not from the law.
Not from public fury.
And certainly not from the truth that had finally resurfaced after twelve years.
Wenzhao ran a hand through his hair. "This is a catastrophe."
His wife trembled. "What will happen to the company? To us?"
"We'll handle it," he snapped, but the panic under his voice was unmistakable.
At that moment, the door burst open, revealing Qin Yuhan's mother, her face pale, eyes red from crying.
"What are we going to do?" she demanded. "They've taken him for questioning!"
Wenzhao's jaw tightened. "We'll hire the best legal team. We'll release a formal denial. We'll—"
"Deny?" she choked out. "How? Everything has been exposed. The victim is alive. The witnesses are coming forward!"
Her voice cracked.
"And the Shi family—where are they now?!"
Her question hung heavily in the room.
An hour ago, Rong Roulan's father had promised to 'stand together.'
Now?
Silence.
No calls.
No messages.
No alliance.
Wenzhao's expression darkened.
"They're abandoning us," he said coldly. "They want to avoid sinking with us."
His wife's teacup slipped from her hands and shattered on the carpet.
"So after all these years of supporting them… this is how they repay us?"
Qin Yuhan's mother sank into a chair, her shoulders shaking.
"My Yuhan… my boy… how can this be happening?"
The room fell into another suffocating silence.
Then Wenzhao spoke again, voice rough.
"We must distance the Qin family from him."
His sister looked up sharply. "What?! That's my son!"
"If we don't," Wenzhao said sternly, "the entire family will go down with him."
"He's innocent!" she cried.
Wenzhao's silence answered her.
Whether Yuhan was innocent or guilty no longer mattered.
The world had already decided.
Their only chance of survival was to sacrifice him.
Meanwhile, across the city, the Shi family was gathered in their private study.
Zhenghong watched the same headlines repeating on the television with a clenched jaw.
Roulan sat with her knees drawn to her chest, face buried in her hands. Her phone lay shattered beside her. The flood of insults and mockery had been too much to bear.
Old Master Shi stood at the window, hands clasped behind his back, his voice heavy with disappointment.
"The Qin family is collapsing."
Zhenghong nodded slowly. "And we're next if we don't act fast."
Roulan lifted her head, eyes swollen.
"So they're really abandoning us?"
Zhenghong's sneer was bitter. "They haven't returned a single call. They're pretending they don't know us."
Old Master Shi turned sharply.
"Then we must find a way to cut ties before they drag us further into this mess."
Roulan swallowed.
"Cut ties? What about my engagement with Yuhan?"
Zhenghong's expression hardened.
"It may need to end."
Roulan's heart cracked. "Father…"
Old Master Shi waved dismissively.
"We can't hold onto dead alliances. If he is convicted, the Qin family will be ruined. And public opinion will bury anyone associated with him."
Roulan hugged her arms tightly around herself, shaking.
First, her career was destroyed.
Now her engagement?
The life she'd been building for years—crumbling in days.
Her voice was barely a whisper.
"What will happen to me?"
Old Master Shi answered calmly.
"You will apologize publicly. Cry. Beg for forgiveness. Say you were manipulated by the Qin family into a toxic engagement. You will portray yourself as the victim."
Roulan blinked.
"What?"
"You must detach from him," he said. "Or the public will use your scandal to compare it with his."
"And then you'll both be buried."
Roulan's hands trembled.
So this was how far she had fallen.
Once a beloved celebrity, now a liability even to her own family.
Then Zhenghong spoke.
"And after that—"
Old Master Shi finished the sentence for him.
"—we go after Shi Yunxi."
Roulan stiffened.
"What?"
"She is the root of this destruction," the old man said slowly. "Everything began when she reappeared. Her presence destabilized the Qin family. Her existence threatens our legacy. If we eliminate her influence…"
His voice lowered into a chilling whisper.
"…the storm will calm."
Roulan's breaths grew faster.
"You want to destroy her reputation completely."
Old Master Shi smiled darkly.
"No. Not just her reputation."
Zhenghong added coldly,
"We take her down. Permanently, if necessary."
Roulan's pulse raced.
Permanently?
She stared at them, horrified—but also desperate.
The world had turned on her.
Her fiancé might be arrested.
Her endorsements were gone.
Her reputation was in ruins.
In her collapsing world…
the idea of making someone else fall felt like the only thing she could still control.
Her voice was small, frightened, and hungry.
"What do you want me to do?"
Old Master Shi turned, his eyes gleaming with a cruel, ruthless ambition that had built empires and destroyed countless enemies.
"Simple."
He stepped closer, lowering his voice.
"You will be our weapon."
Roulan swallowed.
"And Shi Yunxi…"
He smiled.
"…will regret ever coming back."