Chapter 117: Distorted Lives and the Elder

It was not until they met that Jiang Wan handed him a file containing information about his aunt and uncle.

The file was thin, yet it chronicled an entire life.

"Is all their information in here?"

"Yes." She gripped the steering wheel, released the brake, and merged onto the main road. Jiang Wan had arrived early; less than half an hour after their phone call, she had already reached his home. There were things inconvenient to discuss over the phone, and only in moments of solitude like this could they be addressed.

"Did you follow their household registration to investigate?" Chen Qing unsealed the file, saw the imprint on the envelope, shook it slightly in his hand, and gestured toward Jiang Wan.

"Go ahead and open it." She glanced at it briefly before turning her gaze back to the road. "I did. But just like before, your uncle’s household registration was transferred seventeen years ago from his father’s—which is to say, your grandfather’s. However, I checked the household records from that time, and the information had been lost."

Chen Qing furrowed his brows and pulled out the documents that should never have been in his possession.

"Administrative penalty... administrative penalty."

He looked at the list of records in the file, his mouth twitching. "Given his situation, only seven days of detention?"

Jiang Wan glanced at Chen Qing, following his finger. "If it doesn't reach the level of a criminal offense, that’s just how it is. But the fines have already been maxed out."

Hearing this, his expression seemed to darken with frustration.

"What’s wrong?" She tilted her head slightly, her gaze lingering on him for a few seconds.

He shook his head and turned his eyes toward the window.

"Feeling like you weren't loved by your parents?"

"Yes." He hesitated for a moment, then shook his head again. "Speaking realistically, I never had those two parents to begin with. That statement doesn't apply."

"Sigh." She couldn't help but smile bitterly at his words. "Only when you say things like that do I manage to catch a glimpse of the youthful arrogance and resentment that actually match your age."

He glanced at her, though his tone had become much calmer. "Oh. Well, thank you for treating me like a peer."

"You're welcome."

After chatting for another twenty minutes, the vehicle pulled away and gradually approached a residential area on the outskirts of the city. This area had once been prosperous, but about a decade ago, the nearby commercial districts collapsed one after another, and core businesses shifted to what is now the city center. This place had since become a suburb.

It was here that Chen Qing’s former home—or rather, the house his parents had left behind—was located.

"What reason should I give for us going in?" At the entrance to the residential complex, Jiang Wan rolled down the window, asking Chen Qing while scanning the surroundings. "I have a feeling we’re going to come up empty-handed."

He chuckled. "Is that the effect of your non-legacy item?"

"Yes."

"I should help you upgrade it when I get the chance; it’s quite useful." Chen Qing thought for a moment and said to Jiang Wan, "Let's use custody and inheritance of assets as our pretext for finding them."

"Custody?" She turned back, looking somewhat startled. "And what’s this about asset inheritance?"

She frowned, looking puzzled. "How did you even know about that? Didn't you say you never met your parents?"

Hearing Jiang Wan’s words, the hand he had been using to tap on the car door suddenly stopped.

"Right..."

His brows knitted together, and the resentment he felt was instantly diluted. "This whole thing... it seems like something is wrong."

After a short discussion, the two reached a conclusion: they would confront the pair using the grounds of illegal guardianship and the embezzlement of inherited assets. They chose these two points precisely because of Chen Qing’s precocious nature, which had left behind a trail of records from long ago.

He walked up the stairs he hadn't stepped on in over a decade, unable to avoid a sense of melancholy.

"I wonder if they will feel regret when they hear about everything you’ve done," she said, following behind him with a faint smile in her eyes. No one likes to see their partner bullied, not even by the past.

"They won't regret it." Hearing Jiang Wan’s words, the young man let out a cold snort. "They will only feel that they didn't cover their tracks well enough, that they weren't careful enough. There won't be a shred of remorse for their choices. That is humanity; or rather, that is the life of greedy, small-minded people. Perhaps when they face punishment, the first thing they'll say is, 'I didn't know it would be this serious,' or something of the sort."

She thought for a moment, then nodded in firm agreement.