APTnovel Chapter 596 - 583: Foolish!
Chapter 596 - 583: Foolish!
"Dad, let’s go! Let’s get out of here and find shelter! Let’s go to Beijing and request protection in a safe house! Please, Dad, please!"
Beneath the barrage of slaps, Bao Qiudong was oblivious to the pain. He shuffled forward on his knees, his entire body trembling with terror as he cried out.
"Qiudong, what happened? What on earth happened?" his wife, her face pale with fright, knelt and embraced their son on the floor, her questions sharp and shrieking.
"Speak! Tell me the whole story, from beginning to end! Don’t you dare leave out a single detail!" Bo Xianmin’s voice followed his wife’s, his brow furrowed into a tight knot as he growled hoarsely.
He couldn’t just sit here and wait for death; the Bo Family couldn’t just wait to be destroyed. But before he could even think of a countermeasure, he needed to know everything. The opponent they faced this time was no ordinary foe, but a heaven-defying existence that operated beyond the confines of the law!
"Dad, I didn’t want to do it! I... I was manipulated! Yes, that’s it, I was manipulated!" Bao Qiudong said, his lips quivering uncontrollably as his head switched between frantic nods and shakes, as if he were possessed.
"Who manipulated you?"
As a towering figure in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Bo Xianmin managed to suppress his initial wave of panic and despair. His face was ashen, the corner of his mouth twitching as he demanded an answer.
"Chen Tiansheng!" Bao Qiudong blurted out the name without a second’s hesitation.
"Chen Tiansheng?" Bo Xianmin’s eyes widened; he couldn’t place the name.
"Yes! He’s the one who saved me when I was kidnapped years ago! He’s been abroad ever since, but we kept in touch. The moment he returned, he came to me and said he wanted to deal with Qin Fan! His plan was to first kidnap Qin Fan’s girlfriend and Chang Yuanyi to drive Qin Fan insane. He said Qin Fan would definitely kill Chang Yuanyi and even drag the entire Chang Family down with him! In his madness, he would tear Jinling’s world apart and be forced to stand against the law. Then, he would face execution by the highest authority!" Bao Qiudong continued to shout, his body still trembling as he stared at his father’s dazed expression.
"It was him!" Bo Xianmin was stunned for a moment before roaring, "It’s his business if he wants to deal with Qin Fan, but why did you get involved? Don’t you realize how untouchable that monster is? Huh?! Why? Tell me, why!"
As he roared the last word, Bo Xianmin lunged forward, grabbing Bao Qiudong’s collar.
"Dad, I was wrong! He provoked me! I... I was determined not to get involved, but then... I don’t know what came over me, and I agreed! But I only helped him find a few men to kidnap Jiang Yino! I didn’t do anything else, nothing! How could Qin Fan know it was me? How could he know?! Dad, I was wrong, I was truly wrong! Save me, please save me!"
His knuckles turning white, Bao Qiudong desperately clung to Bo Xianmin’s trouser leg, completely frightened out of his wits. Qin Fan had only released a single message—that he was coming to the Bo compound to slaughter them like dogs—but for Bao Qiudong, who thought he had a firm grasp on who Qin Fan was, that one message was enough to scare the soul from his body.
"Bao Qiudong, oh, Bao Qiudong! I, Bo Xianmin, thought you would be my pride and joy, but I never imagined you could be so utterly foolish! You helped kidnap Qin Fan’s girlfriend, and you call that ’doing nothing’? Besides, did he really need you to find a few kidnappers? A man who could abduct Chang Yuanyi would have no trouble grabbing one more person. It’s obvious he just wanted to drag you into this! His plan to drive Qin Fan mad wasn’t just about killing Chang Yuanyi and toppling the Chang Family! He wanted Qin Fan to kill you, too! He wanted Qin Fan to wipe out our entire Bo Family! Only then would the conflict be truly maximized! The Chang Family and the Bo Family, both annihilated at the same time—can you imagine the colossal impact that would have on Jinling, on Jiangsu and Zhejiang, even on Beijing? At that point, the higher-ups, no matter how reluctant, would be forced to show zero tolerance! But now, with just our Bo Family? Can that alone force their hand? Ah! Ah! Ah! HAHA, ridiculous! How ridiculous! And my pride and joy, in his foolishness, has just paved the way for the Chang Family’s rise to power! Without the Bo Family, the Chang Family’s ascent will be unstoppable! Unstoppable!"
Gritting his teeth, his face a mask of pure fury, Bo Xianmin wrenched his leg free from his son’s grip and kicked him brutally in the chest. At that moment, he felt like a colossal failure.
He knew his son was only this stupid because he had been blinded by hatred. But even if you lose your mind, you shouldn’t lose your most basic sense of self-preservation, your ability to think! It was clearly a pit of fire, a deathtrap with no chance of survival, and yet Bao Qiudong had foolishly leaped right in!
After delivering the kick, Bo Xianmin collapsed back onto the sofa, spreading his arms wide. A sinister sneer appeared on his pale face.
"HAHA! HAHAHA! Foolish, so utterly foolish!"
The continuous, sharp laughter revealed the profound frustration and crushing defeat of a man with once sky-high ambitions.
After this, whether Qin Fan actually came or not, the Bo Family’s influence had been irrevocably shattered. The scales of support in Beijing would undoubtedly tip in the Chang Family’s favor. After all, the Forbidden City had no place for idiots, nor for a father who could be brought down by one.
"Bo Xianmin! Have you gone mad? He’s your son! He’s your son!"
His wife had endured the earlier slaps, but this vicious kick to her son’s chest was too much. She scrambled to help Bao Qiudong up, then turned on her husband and shrieked hysterically, "Is this the time to be beating our son? Figuring out how to handle this crisis is what you, the second-in-command of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, should be doing!"
"Handle it? I’m afraid this is beyond me!" Bo Xianmin said wearily, a bitter, pale laugh escaping his lips.
"You’re the second-in-command! How can you not handle a situation in your own territory? Is kicking your own son all the courage you have left? Bo Xianmin, can’t you be a man? Can’t you protect your son? I’m asking you, can you?!" the distraught mother continued to scream.
Protect him? This wasn’t the Chang Family they were up against. It was Qin Fan. A mongrel who operated outside the rules. Even the annihilation of the entire Qiao Family was hushed up. What did he have to protect his son with? What?! Forget protecting Bao Qiudong; his entire family of three could be dragged down to Hell at any moment!
But Bo Xianmin didn’t want to say any more.
He took a deep, shuddering breath, his terrified eyes darting around the room. He picked up the phone he had tossed onto the sofa and dialed a number he had never called before.
This was his last lifeline, the ace in the hole his ancestors had left him.
But as for whether it would work, he had absolutely no confidence.