CHAPTER 103 — The Fall of Shi Zhenhai
The world that once bowed beneath the influence of the Shi family now watched the family crumble piece by piece.
Just days earlier, the Shi Corporation had stood as an unshakable titan. Today, its headquarters were swarmed by reporters, police officers, and furious shareholders demanding answers. The name Shi Zhenhai, once linked with power, wealth, and prestigious connections, was now repeated through the crowd like a curse.
Inside the building, chaos was tearing the company apart.
Executives argued in the hallways.
Employees packed their desks in a panic.
Departments shut down one by one.
Every screen in the boardroom displayed the same horrifying headline:
"ROULAN SHI ARRESTED — FATHER SHI ZHENHAI UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR DECADES OF CRIME."
Shi Zhenhai stood in his office, hands trembling behind his back, staring at the city he once dominated. For the first time in his life, fear—not anger, not ambition—twisted through his gut.
This shouldn't have been possible.
He had bribed officials. Buried evidence. Bought silence. Ruined lives.
But now—his entire empire was collapsing.
And the person the world praised…
Was the daughter he had once tried to destroy.
Shi Yunxi.
Xiolan.
The one child he'd underestimated.
A knock punched through the silence.
Before he could answer, the door flew open and his loyal assistant—once loyal—rushed in with a pale face.
"Chairman Shi—sir—we can't hold them off anymore. The prosecutors… they're already inside the building."
Shi Zhenhai's breath stilled.
"Tell them I'm not here."
The assistant swallowed hard. "S-sir… they have an arrest warrant."
Shi Zhenhai slammed his hands onto the table, voice cracking.
"That witch—Roulan! She dragged me into this! My own daughter—!"
But even as he cursed, he knew it wasn't true.
Roulan was unstable, hysterical, dangerous—but she hadn't created this storm. She had only accelerated his downfall.
It was Yunxi who lit the match.
Yunxi who exposed the rot he thought he'd hidden forever.
He shook with something close to rage.
"This is all because of her… Yunxi… that ungrateful—"
"Shi Zhenhai."
A cold voice came from behind him.
He spun around.
Mu Lingchen stepped through the office doorway, flanked by two prosecutors and several police officers. His presence alone made the room shrink.
Lingchen's eyes were sharp with disgust.
"You really thought you could escape consequences forever?"
Zhenhai's face crumpled into a murderous sneer.
"You think you've won? That little bitch—your precious Yunxi—she was nothing before our family picked her up."
Lingchen's jaw flexed dangerously.
"She built herself," he said. "Despite your abuse. Despite your manipulation. Not because of it."
Zhenhai scoffed.
"Abuse? Manipulation? Raising a girl, feeding her, giving her a name—"
"Then trying to sell her overseas at fifteen," Lingchen cut in.
"Drugging her when she tried to run. Locking her in the basement for days."
Zhenhai's pupils shrank.
He hadn't expected anyone to know.
But the prosecutors had come armed with evidence: documents, recordings, testimonies from old servants who finally spoke.
Xiolan had broken more than a corporate empire—
She had shattered the silence around years of hidden crimes.
The chief prosecutor stepped forward.
"Shi Zhenhai, you are under arrest for human trafficking, financial fraud, embezzlement, domestic abuse, coercion, and multiple counts of obstruction of justice."
Zhenhai stumbled backward, face draining of color.
"Wait—WAIT! I didn't—You can't prove—"
"We can," the prosecutor said. "And your daughter Roulan gave us everything we needed."
The words struck like a thunderclap.
Shi Zhenhai froze.
"…Roulan?"
"She confessed," the prosecutor said coldly. "And she turned on you."
Zhenhai's knees nearly buckled.
Roulan—the daughter he had pampered, spoiled, controlled—
Roulan, who'd always begged for his approval.
Roulan, who kidnapped a child just to hurt Yunxi—
Had broken under pressure and dragged him down to save herself.
"She would never—" he started.
"She did," Lingchen said. "Because you raised her like a weapon. And like every weapon… eventually it will turn in the wrong direction."
Zhenhai shook his head wildly.
"No. No, I can still fix this. I have friends. Allies. Judges. Politicians—!"
"Gone," the prosecutor said.
"Cut ties within 24 hours of the scandal."
"No one is stupid enough to sink with you."
Zhenhai swayed.
His empire…
His connections…
His wealth…
Gone in a single week.
All because of Yunxi.
He lunged forward suddenly, grabbing Lingchen's sleeve.
"PLEASE—help me," he begged, voice cracking. "You're the Mu family heir—one word, and they'll back down. I'll give you anything—money—shares—power—"
Lingchen ripped his arm free, expression ice-cold.
"I don't want anything from you," he said.
Zhenhai collapsed to his knees.
"Please… I'm your future father-in-law—"
Lingchen stepped closer, towering over him.
"My future father-in-law," he said, "is the man Yunxi chooses."
Then his voice sharpened, deadly soft.
"You? You were her captor. Her torturer. You're nothing to us."
Zhenhai's face twisted in anguish.
Lingchen nodded at the officers.
"Take him."
Two policemen seized his arms.
As they dragged him across the office, reporters' voices grew louder through the hallway.
"Chairman Shi! Did you traffic children?!"
"Did you abuse your adopted daughter?!"
"Did Roulan cooperate with the investigation?!"
"How do you respond to the collapse of Shi Corporation?!"
Shi Zhenhai snapped.
He thrashed wildly, screaming:
"YUNXI! YOU DID THIS! YOU UNGRATEFUL GIRL! YOU DESTROYED YOUR OWN FAMILY—!!"
Lingchen stepped into his line of sight, blocking him.
"She didn't destroy her family," he said quietly.
"You did."
The officers pulled Zhenhai out of the building.
His voice echoed down the hall—
A final, broken roar swallowed by cameras and flashing lights.
The collapse of the Shi family was complete.
Outside the tower, the crowd erupted.
Some cheered.
Some cried.
Some shouted Yunxi's name.
But for the first time in her life—
Shi Yunxi was not powerless.
She was believed.
She was supported.
She was protected.
And the man who stole her childhood…
Was no longer free to take anything else.