Husband, Hungry, Eat! Chapter 127 Part 1

Chapter 127

Qi Cheng dyed his hair black again.

Both husbands attended the court session where Jiang Qifeng was sentenced.

When the news broke, Uncle Quan was shocked and heartbroken for days, blaming himself for being a poor judge of character. During that period, right after Bai Zongyin's car accident, the Jiang family had been so helpful that Uncle Quan even praised Jiang Qifeng right in front of Bai Zongyin.

And over the past few months, when Zongcheng Technology went up against the Jiang Group, Uncle Quan had heard the rumors outside and almost said something. But Qi Cheng always changed the subject. At the time, Uncle Quan thought he just didn't understand business. Now he knew the real reason.

He'd been old and blind.

Uncle Quan blamed himself, but more than that, he grieved for Bai Zongyin. Bai Zongyin had only been eight back then. His father died first, then one relative after another. Bai Zongyin was smart—he must have sensed something, which was why he refused the Jiang family's offer to adopt him and chose to live alone.

But no one would have believed him then, so Bai Zongyin never said a word.

Now Uncle Quan realized: if young Bai Zongyin had told him that Jiang Qifeng was behind his parents' deaths, Uncle Quan—

He wouldn't have believed that either. He'd have just thought Bai Zongyin was overcome with grief and overthinking.

So when the truth finally came out, Uncle Quan couldn't forgive himself for a long time. He was heartbroken and felt he had no face to meet Bai Zongyin's grandfather in the afterlife.

Qi Cheng noticed this and made sure Fanfan stayed close to Uncle Quan to cheer him up. After all, none of this was Uncle Quan's fault.

Sure enough, Fanfan—the apple of Uncle Quan's eye—could always lift his spirits just by being around.

So on the court date, only Bai Zongyin and Qi Cheng showed up.

Outside the courthouse, reporters swarmed like a dark cloud. Fortunately, they'd hired plenty of bodyguards to clear a path. Even so, cameras and flashbulbs were shoving right into their faces.

Bai Zongyin kept one arm wrapped protectively around Qi Cheng. Qi Cheng half-buried his face against his husband, listening to the reporters firing questions—all of them just trying to dig into how Jiang Qifeng had committed his crimes over a decade ago, and how his husband had figured it out.

Qi Cheng didn't like it. It felt like these people were ripping open his husband's old wounds. He held his husband's hand and looked up. Bai Zongyin understood what Qi Cheng meant, gently patted his head, and said, "Let's go in."

Another car pulled up.

Out stepped Jiang Zhi, Yu Qingshi, and Zhao Qing. Zhao Qing wore sunglasses and carried a clutch purse. Jiang Zhi shielded her as they walked, also flanked by bodyguards. The reporters' questions were just as biting—probing right where it hurt most.

"Mrs. Jiang, did you know your husband had killed people?"

"With the Jiang Group bankrupt, are you planning to auction off the mansion at Qian Shui Bay?"

"Over the past ten-plus years, did Jiang Qifeng ever act strangely?"

"Yu Qingshi, will you and Jiang Zhi stay together?"

That last one—the reporter's tone was particularly gleeful and snide. Jiang Zhi, who had been walking ahead with his mother, stopped and shot the reporter a long, hard look. The atmosphere turned icy. Yu Qingshi, cool and composed, didn't speak, but stood behind Jiang Zhi—ready to back him up no matter what he said or did.

Jiang Zhi's lips moved, but in the end, he said nothing.

"Let's go in. Xiao Zhi," Bai Zongyin said.

Jiang Zhi's eyes reddened instantly. After learning the truth, he felt he had no right to call Bai Zongyin "big brother" anymore. He also remembered now why, so long ago, his big brother's feelings toward him had always been so complicated. That birthday gift back then—it must have been his way of trying to distance himself.

But now, it suddenly hit him: if his big brother had truly resented him, why had they still stayed in contact? Why had he spelled everything out so clearly? Why was he still calling him Xiao Zhi now?

Jiang Zhi didn't reply. He just lowered his head slightly, hiding his expression.

The five of them walked into the courthouse in silence, shutting out all the hostile eyes outside.

Not until the trial officially began did Zhao Qing remove her sunglasses. Only then did Qi Cheng see how haggard she looked—so worn that even makeup couldn't hide it. But she sat up straight and didn't say a single word from beginning to end.

They waited in silence for the trial to begin. They listened in silence as both sides' lawyers made their statements. They watched in silence as physical evidence and witnesses were presented. The driver who had hit and killed Zhao Xue was still alive—after the accident, he'd gone to prison. The arsonist who set the fire that killed Bai Hua was a company employee who had fled abroad shortly after. He was now in court, confessing to everything.

Faced with all the evidence, Jiang Qifeng stayed silent. His legal team may have advised him to plead guilty. In the end, he was sentenced to life in prison.

"I didn't mean for it to go this way," Jiang Qifeng said with a low, hollow laugh. "Bai Hua wouldn't listen to me. He wanted to dissolve the partnership. If we split, I'd have nothing left. I wanted to build something great for the Jiang family—to show all those useless people that they were wrong about me, that they made a mistake."

After that, he said nothing more.

From beginning to end, Jiang Qifeng never once looked at Zhao Qing or Jiang Zhi. Zhao Qing's eyes reddened, but she forced the tears back.

This man had deeply hated the Jiang family. He was desperate to prove his worth and humiliate every single one of them.

The trial ended.

Zhao Qing reached out and ruffled her son's hair, just like she used to when he was little. Her voice was a little hoarse. "What he did—this outcome is only right. Don't hold a grudge against anyone. Just live well." Then she glanced at Yu Qingshi.

"Mom," Jiang Zhi choked out.

Zhao Qing smiled. "You've grown up. At least—at least you're not like him…"

The case closed. The Jiang Group went bankrupt. The mansion at Qian Shui Bay was put up for sale—it sat on the market for a long time because of its massive size and price tag of over a billion yuan. Eventually, it was bought by a wealthy businessman from Hong Kong.

Jiang Zhi took on the mess. It took him nearly a year to pay off all the debts. After that, he vanished from the public eye, though tabloids later reported that Yu Qingshi had been seen on set with someone who looked a lot like Jiang Zhi.

Most people in his situation would have gone abroad to escape. But Jiang Zhi chose to stay in the country.

The entire social circle of Mingcheng was reshuffled. The old elite families assumed that Zongcheng Technology would step into the Jiang Group's former place, and they all rushed to curry favor. But the Bai couple kept a very low profile—they rarely hosted banquets, and gossip about them was hard to come by.

Zongcheng Technology wasn't just making waves in Mingcheng—it was making them worldwide. The whole pace of society accelerated, as if the world had leaped forward several dimensions because of it. Bai Zongyin was busier than ever, but no matter how busy, he came home every night, worked overtime there, and always made time on weekends to go shopping with Qi Cheng and take Fanfan to the park or the playground.

In July, they moved. A three-courtyard mansion—spacious enough for Fanfan to zoom around on his little tricycle. The back courtyard was turned into a small garden, not with rockeries and ponds, but with a lawn, flowers, a swing, a slide, and other play equipment—all for Fanfan.

The compound was big enough to house the bodyguards, and Auntie Zheng and Uncle Li finally had their own bedrooms too.