ASPWL Ch55: Taken Away Together

Zhong Ziwei was not just stunned on the stage; even after being thrown to the ground by Cui Fan, he didn’t regain his senses for several seconds.

It wasn’t until a sharp pain shot through his back that he cried out in agony, “It hurts—”

Zhong’s parents were even more bewildered.

What was happening?

Was it really a man?

No way!

Father Zhong even began to wonder if the Cui family was dissatisfied with the money they offered and deliberately did this.

Or was it just a prank?

Mother Cui recognized Cui Fan. Seeing her son, whom she couldn’t find earlier, now appearing here, she was the first to react. Her expression twisted, and her voice became sharp, echoing through the quiet banquet hall: “Cui Fan! What are you doing? How are you here? Where’s your sister?!”

Hearing Cui Fan’s name, Zhong’s parents also snapped back to reality.

Indeed, although the boy was wearing makeup, his facial features were exactly the same as Cui Fan’s when you looked closely.

So, what on earth was going on?

Why was Cui Fan here? Where was Cui Shu?

Mother Zhong saw her son writhing on the ground, quickly went to help him up, and was furious to see her son thrown to the ground. She turned and said, “Cui Fan! Why did you hit Ziwei? Don’t you know today is his wedding day with your sister? What kind of brother are you?”

Even if it was a prank, wasn’t it a bit too much?

But Cui Fan acted as if he didn’t hear their questioning, didn’t even glance at them, and directly walked toward the clueless emcee: “May I borrow the microphone?”

The emcee, being sensible, saw that things were spiraling out of control and didn’t want to get involved in this mess. Seeing Cui Fan reach out, he quickly handed over the microphone.

Cui Fan took the microphone and walked straight to the front of the stage, smiling as he began, “Dear friends and family, respected guests, good afternoon. Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend today’s banquet. But as you can see, today isn’t the wedding of my sister, Cui Shu, and Zhong Ziwei; I’m here on behalf of my sister. Why is that, you ask?”

Yes, why indeed?

Could it really be, as they had just gossiped, that Cui Shu didn’t want to marry Zhong Ziwei and was being forced by her family?

Before the guests could start discussing, they heard Cui Fan, still smiling, continue, “Of course, it’s because my parents aren’t good people; they want to be human traffickers. Zhong’s family paid twenty million, so they decided to ‘sell’ my sister to them!”

His words dropped into a room of silence.

Mother Cui angrily shouted, “Cui Fan! Stop talking nonsense!”

Father and Mother Zhong couldn’t hold back either: “What do you mean, sell? Our families are forming an alliance…”

But the guests below didn’t care about their opinions. After hearing what Cui Fan said, they burst into intense discussions.

“So it’s true!”

“Only twenty million?”

“Is the Cui family that desperate?”

“Aren’t they? They’re practically ‘selling’ their daughter!”

“Unbelievable! And they pride themselves on being a scholarly family… What a disgrace!”

…

Today’s banquet didn’t just invite the families and friends of both parties; there were also many top-tier wealthy families from the circle. If they believed what Cui Fan said, how could the two families ever hold their heads up again?

Father Zhong was so furious that his chest heaved violently, and his hand, pointing at Cui Fan, trembled slightly: “You brat, what nonsense are you spouting?!”

Mother Zhong’s eyes were red with anger as she turned to Mother Cui: “Aren’t you going to do something? How long are you going to let him cause this chaos?”

Your Cui family might not care about face, but our family does!

Father Cui quickly stepped forward, grabbed the microphone from Cui Fan’s hand, and gritted his teeth: “You brat, do you even know what you’re saying? I’ll deal with you later. Now, tell me, where’s your sister? Where did she go?”

After all, up until Zhong Ziwei came to pick her up, Cui Shu had been under their watch.

Father Cui had kept an eye on the wedding car all the way to the banquet hall. Cui Shu didn’t have a chance to get out of the car, let alone switch places with Cui Fan…

Unless—

Father Cui suddenly realized, his eyes wide with rage: “You—”

“What about me?” Cui Fan looked at Father Cui with cold eyes, as if he were looking at a stranger.

“Did you hide your sister? You little brat, I swear I’ll beat you to death today—”

Father Cui rolled up his sleeves, ready to charge at Cui Fan.

Mama Huo frowned at the scene.

Just as she was wondering why Cui Fan didn’t even try to dodge, two pairs of hands suddenly appeared behind Father Cui, firmly restraining him.

Mama Huo was stunned for a moment, then heard Ye Leyao say:

[Here they come, the bodyguards are here!]

Other bodyguards also rose from their seats and headed toward the stage.

Father and Mother Zhong saw this, their eyes filled with delight: “Quick, drag him down!”

They couldn’t afford to be humiliated any further!

But the bodyguards didn’t even glance at them, walking straight toward them instead.

Father and Mother Zhong were utterly confused, and then they were restrained by the bodyguards.

Not only that, but even Zhong Ziwei and Mother Cui were all subdued by the bodyguards.

Mother Cui was dumbfounded by this sudden turn of events: “What are you doing?!”

Ye Leyao couldn’t hold back and laughed out loud.

[Isn’t it obvious?! Of course, it’s because they’re not your bodyguards!]

[These bodyguards were hired by Cui Fan and Cui Shu! Oh, and by the way, yes, you did have bodyguards, but let’s just say, could it be that your bodyguards were also subdued?]

[And naturally, these bodyguards are doing this to ensure that the exciting scene coming up won’t be interrupted!]

Not be interrupted?

Could there be another surprise they didn’t know about?

The Huo family members unconsciously straightened up a bit, eager to get a better view of what was coming.

At the nearby table, Qin Yao was also watching intently, not wanting to miss any of the action.

More than a dozen bodyguards took only a few seconds to subdue everyone on the stage except Cui Fan. At Cui Fan’s command, they were all dragged to the side.

Mother Cui was about to explode with anger: “Cui Fan, what are you doing! Let me go!”

Father and Mother Zhong also began to struggle violently.

Mother Zhong couldn’t help but shout angrily at Mother Cui: “What is your family trying to do? If you didn’t want this marriage, you should have said so earlier! Now your son is causing such a scene; could it be that you—”

Mother Cui looked innocent: “I… I don’t know either.”

Everything had been fine just a short while ago. They had told Cui Fan not to let his sister go, and he had agreed. Why did he suddenly change his mind and even have them all restrained?

Could it be that Cui Fan had been pretending to be obedient all along?

But then, where was Cui Shu?

Father Cui struggled with all his might for a long time, but couldn’t break free. Now, he was starting to panic, glaring at Cui Fan: “Cui Fan! Do you even know what you’re doing? I’m your father!”

Cui Fan took back the microphone from Father Cui’s hand and gave him a faint smile: “Of course, I know you’re my father. Otherwise, do you think you’d still be standing here talking to me?”

As he spoke, Cui Fan glanced at Zhong Ziwei, who was still weak in the knees and could barely stand even with the bodyguards holding him up.

Although Cui Fan didn’t speak directly into the microphone, his voice was still picked up and echoed throughout the hall.

Ye Leyao couldn’t hold back.

[If you weren’t Cui Fan’s dad, do you think Cui Fan wouldn’t have beaten you up? You’d probably be lying on the ground like Zhong Ziwei. You should be grateful!]

The guests couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

Realizing that there were so many guests watching, Father Cui’s face turned pale. He knew that confronting Cui Fan head-on now would be useless, so he softened his tone: “Cui Fan, I’m still your father. If you’re unhappy with today’s banquet, we can discuss it further.”

“Didn’t I discuss it with you before?” Cui Fan asked coldly.

Ye Leyao shook his head.

[Not only did Cui Fan discuss it with them, but he even kneeled down and begged them.]

[But what about them? They only cared about their own interests and about the money from the Zhong family. They didn’t care if their daughter would be happy, and they even resorted to violence against Cui Shu to make her comply! They’re complete scum!]

The Huo family was shocked to hear this.

They even hit Cui Shu?

How could they be so inhumane?

At this point, Cui Fan didn’t want to waste any more words with Father Cui.

He and Cui Shu had been preparing for this moment for so long.

Cui Fan cleared his throat and smiled as he said, “I’m really sorry, everyone, for wasting your time today. This wedding banquet is canceled. But please rest assured, since our two families have invited you all, we will definitely take responsibility to the end. Please feel free to eat and drink at the wedding banquet today. But in order to compensate for wasting your time, please watch an interesting video!”

Many guests were a little confused.

“What video?”

“I don’t know, but Cui Fan is wrong. I don’t think today’s wedding banquet was a waste of my time.”

“Who said it was?”

Eating melons is human nature.

At the wedding, the bride turned into a man. Isn’t this much more interesting than an ordinary wedding?

And intuition told everyone present that they always felt that the video Cui Fan was going to show them later was not simple!

Maybe there is some big news in there.

Ye Leyao was also very excited at this time:

[Here it comes! Cui Fan is the only son of the Cui family. Although Father and Mother Cui say that they do not favor boys over girls, the status of Cui Shu and Cui Fan in the family has been very different since they were young. ]

[In the eyes of Father and Mother Cui, Cui Fan would definitely inherit the family business in the future, so even when discussing the marriage with the Zhong family, they did not hide it from Cui Fan.]

[But they certainly didn’t expect that Cui Fan was not prepared to let them control him, right? Every time the Cui family discussed important matters, Cui Fan would install a pinhole camera on himself. ]

[The video that Cui Fan released today will also be strong evidence in the future. ]

Upon hearing this, the Huo family was stunned.

Evidence?

Could it be that Cui Shu and Cui Fan are planning to sue their parents together?

An arranged marriage might be hard to indict.

But what about illegal detention?

The eyes of the Huo family brightened simultaneously.

At this moment, the big screen on the stage finally lit up, and the video began to play.

The entire video wasn’t long, with a total duration of just seven minutes.

But these seven minutes were packed with highlights, all carefully edited.

Not only did it show the bargaining over the dowry amount between the Zhong family and the Cui family, but it also captured a series of key moments in the development of the entire incident.

Naturally, this included the critical scene where Cui Shu refused to marry Zhong Ziwei, only to be violently confined by her parents, who also confiscated all her communication devices and identification documents, essentially imprisoning her at home.

After the short, seven-minute video ended, the entire audience was in an uproar.

Someone muttered in disbelief, “I… I think I just saw the Cui family hitting Cui Shu. Did I see that correctly?”

The person next to them said, “You saw it right; I saw it too.”

“They not only hit their daughter, but I also saw that Cui Fan was beaten as well…”

“These two kids are really pitiful.”

“Dammit, forcing their own daughter to marry someone she doesn’t like, and when she resisted, they not only beat her but also imprisoned her. These two aren’t human!”

The person next to them said it indignantly.

Ye Leyao also heard this and nodded in agreement.

[Because their parents aren’t acting like humans, Cui Fan and Cui Shu’s goal from the beginning wasn’t just to sabotage the marriage.]

[Their initial goal was to send those two to jail!]

The Huo family suddenly felt a surge of excitement.

It was exactly as they thought!

Although illegal detention might not result in a long sentence, what about adding an illegal injury?

Just thinking about it is thrilling!

The guests below the stage started discussing even more intensely.

On stage, Father and Mother Cui wished they could faint on the spot.

Cui Fan was simply a rebellious son!

A rebellious son!

When did he record these videos? How dare he play them in front of so many guests?

Is he crazy?

“Cui Fan! I’m going to beat you to death! You little brat…”

“You’re going to hit me?” Cui Fan seemed to have heard something funny and slowly walked over to Father Cui with a microphone in hand, his face full of provocation. “Fine, I’m standing right here. Go ahead, hit me. Let everyone here see how you two have been abusing your authority as parents at home.”

After saying this, Father Cui’s face alternated between red and white, a truly colorful sight. “You… you dare to untie me?”

“Yes!” Mother Zhong couldn’t hold back anymore and said, “Cui Fan, quickly have someone untie us! Since your family doesn’t want to marry into ours, we’ll call off the wedding!”

She finally saw the situation clearly. The reason Cui Fan made such a scene today was that he was unhappy with Cui Shu marrying their son, Zhong Ziwei!

If he was unhappy, then they wouldn’t force the marriage.

After all, they didn’t want to be taken advantage of. If Zhong Ziwei hadn’t insisted on marrying Cui Shu, they wouldn’t have bothered with the Cui family’s mess.

But Zhong Ziwei became anxious when he heard this, “Wait, Mom, I…”

“What do you mean, ‘I’!” Father Zhong scolded, “If it weren’t for you insisting on marrying Cui Shu, would any of this have happened today? It’s just a woman; look at how pathetic you are!”

Zhong Ziwei’s expression changed slightly, “But…”

Father Zhong didn’t care about Zhong Ziwei’s thoughts. He had already figured it out. “Since Cui Fan and your sister don’t want to marry into our family, let’s part on good terms. But let me make it clear, Cui Fan, wasn’t today’s stunt of yours a bit too much? You must apologize to us!”

Ye Leyao couldn’t help but laugh.

[Have Cui Fan apologize to you? Aren’t you afraid that Cui Fan will send your son to jail as well?]

Father and Mama Huo turned to look at Ye Leyao at the same time.

Could he really send Zhong Ziwei to jail too?

Is there such a good thing?

Ye Leyao was very familiar with this part of the plot.

[You should know that to completely free Cui Shu from the Cui and Zhong families, Cui Fan has put in a lot of effort during this time.]

[Could it be that the Zhong family thinks Cui Fan only targeted their family with this elaborate show?]

Huo Yan was grinning from ear to ear.

Oh, so they won’t see Zhong Ziwei for several years?

Just thinking about it put Huo Yan in a great mood.

At this moment, Cui Fan’s voice came through the microphone again. He chuckled softly, as if he had heard something amusing, and looked at Father Zhong, “You want me to apologize to you?”

Father Zhong glared at him, “What else?”

Cui Fan just looked at him regretfully and shook his head, “It’s about time; everyone, enjoy your meal.”

Huh?

Is that it?

Everyone was a bit confused.

But at this moment, Ye Leyao suddenly got excited and turned to look towards the banquet entrance.

[They’re here!]

The Huo family followed suit and turned their heads.

Leading the way was a girl, whom the Huo family recognized at a glance as Cui Shu.

Cui Shu was still wearing a waiter’s uniform, and behind her were several police officers in uniform.

The guests closest to the entrance were the first to notice. Their expressions changed.

Everyone present was smart, so they quickly understood.

“Did Cui Shu and Cui Fan bring these police officers?”

“My God, I knew it wouldn’t end so simply!”

“So these siblings plan to bring their parents to justice?”

“Exciting.”

Indeed.

Soon, all the guests noticed the arrival of the police, and many of those seated further away even stood up from their seats.

The police were here.

Things were getting more interesting!

At this moment, the Cui family on stage also noticed Cui Shu. Before they could even get angry, they saw the police officers behind her.

Father and Mother Cui’s expressions instantly turned ugly.

Father Cui shouted angrily, “Cui Shu! What do you think you’re doing?!”

Mother Cui, feeling guilty upon seeing the police, softened her tone and said, “Xiao Shu, stop this nonsense! If you don’t want to marry Zhong Ziwei, we’ll find you someone else…”

“Someone else as indecent and wealthy as him?” Cui Shu spoke coldly, her gaze sweeping over everyone on stage. Then, she pointed at Father and Mother Cui and said to the leading officer, “It’s them. They not only used violence against me but also illegally imprisoned me.”

Father and Mother Cui were stunned, their faces full of disbelief.

Cui Shu actually came to accuse them!

Mother Cui panicked, “Xiao Shu! I’m your mother…”

“You have no right to restrict another person’s freedom,” the leading officer said, showing his badge. “Since the accuser has identified you, you’ll have to come with us.”

The bodyguards handed them over directly to the police.

Even as they were being escorted out by the police, Father and Mother Cui couldn’t believe what was happening.

“I just… I just wanted her to get married! What did I do wrong?” After being escorted off the stage, Father Cui finally came to his senses and started yelling.

Mother Cui’s tears were streaming down her face, “Xiao Shu! Do you really have to break your parents’ hearts like this? We raised you all these years, and now, just because the company needs your help to get through a rough patch, you refuse to make a small sacrifice…”

“Why should she?” Ye Leyao couldn’t hold back anymore and frowned at Mother Cui, “You ran your company into the ground, and now it’s facing bankruptcy. Why should your daughter bear the consequences of your failure?”

Mother Cui was stunned.

Other guests chimed in:

“You two are shameless!”

“I’ve heard of ancient officials selling their daughters for power, but I never thought in the 21st century there would still be people like this. Absolutely shameless!”

“Just take them away already, you two suspects!”

When the word “suspects” hit them, Mother and Father Cui felt like the sky was falling.

“What nonsense are you talking about—”

“We did nothing wrong, let alone commit a crime!”

“Whether or not a crime was committed, you’ll find out at the police station,” Ye Leyao added another jab.

Huo Yan quickly pulled Ye Leyao back.

That’s enough. That’s enough.

Mr. and Mrs. Cui became even more frantic.

But no matter how much they struggled, it couldn’t change the fact that they were being taken away by the police.

On the stage, Father and Mother Zhong were completely dumbfounded, standing there in a daze, their faces full of disbelief.

Wait.

Didn’t Mother Cui just say that if Cui Shu didn’t want to marry, they wouldn’t force the marriage? Why are these siblings still relentless, insisting on getting their parents arrested?

Mother Zhong looked at Father Zhong.

Father Zhong frowned deeply.

How could he know what they were thinking?

But in a way, this might be for the best. Cui Shu, this ungrateful child who would even have her own parents arrested, it’s good that she didn’t marry their son!

Mother Zhong shared the same thoughts as Father Zhong. She glanced at the remaining police officers; her eyes suddenly brightened, and she quickly shouted, “Officers! You should make them release us immediately! This Cui Fan is simply despicable. He not only beat up my son but also had bodyguards restrain us. We want to press charges too!”

Father Zhong also snapped out of it: “Yes, we want to press charges too!”

Ye Leyao, seeing what was happening on stage, burst out laughing.

[Why are you in such a hurry? Relax, look, there are still some officers who haven’t left yet. You’re definitely part of this too!]

Cui Fan, who had been quietly talking to Cui Shu, couldn’t help but laugh when he heard Mr. and Mrs. Zhong.

At that moment, a police officer asked, “Who is Cui Fan?”

Cui Fan comfortingly patted Cui Shu’s hand and said to the officer, “That would be me.”

The officer nodded, “So you’re the one who reported Zhong Ziwei for organizing group debauchery?”

“Yes, I’ve gathered a lot of evidence and contacted the victims,” Cui Fan replied.

Hearing this, Zhong Ziwei’s face immediately changed color.

Father and Mother Zhong’s faces turned into a chaotic mess of colors, like a spilled palette.

“Wha-What…”

“Is he Zhong Ziwei?” the officer asked, “Take him along with us.”

As soon as the words were spoken, two bodyguards stepped forward to hand Zhong Ziwei over to the police.

Zhong Ziwei’s face turned deathly pale. He turned to Mr. and Mrs. Zhong in panic: “Dad! Mom! Save me!”

Ye Leyao almost lost it laughing.

[Save you? How? Why don’t you look at who’s taking you away?]

The bodyguards promptly released Father and Mother Zhong.

Mother Zhong stumbled and fell to her knees.

Father Zhong felt dizzy, the world spinning around him: “Officers, there must be some mistake…”

Mother  Zhong mumbled, “My son, no way… This must be a mistake!”

“Very well,” the officer said, “Since you’re his parents, you can come along with us to give your statements.”

Ye Leyao couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

And he wasn’t the only one—many of the guests couldn’t hold back their laughter either.

The laughter echoed around, making Mr. and Mrs. Zhong feel utterly humiliated, wishing they could just disappear.

Meanwhile, Zhong Ziwei was still shouting: “Dad! Mom! Think of something! I didn’t… I really didn’t…”

[Think of what? The police have come to arrest you. Do you think they don’t have any evidence?]

Ye Leyao’s smile never faded. Watching the three of them being taken away by the police, he sighed:

[Both families have been taken away, I guess good things do come in pairs!]

Qin Yao and the Huo family members nodded in agreement.

Who could disagree?