After Marrying the Evil God - Chapter 14

Tao Beizhi was being led away by the police, yet he continued to scream at the top of his lungs, “My father is Tao Cong!”

Students at Hua University captured the scene on video and uploaded it to the campus forum.

#My Father is the Richest Man#

Such a sensational headline instantly drew a crowd of students.

“My God, school just started and something already happened? What’s going on?”

“Wait, does this guy look familiar to anyone?”

“That’s Tao Cong’s son, the richest man in Nancheng.”

“Tao Beizhi? That guy is incredibly arrogant. I went to the same high school as him; he was the school bully. He caused trouble every day and even hit a teacher once, but his dad is rich he just paid everyone off for a private settlement. I’m deleting my account after posting this, I’m worried he’ll come after me.”

“I heard this time he tried to hit someone with his car.”

“Some people are just born bad seeds.”

“How much do you think Tao Cong will have to pay to settle it this time?”

“Probably millions.”

“Inside scoop: the people he almost hit were Liu Ci and a freshman [Image] [Image].”

“Isn’t that the handsome guy from the Chinese Language department? He’s in the same dorm as Tao Beizhi.”

“We’re in university and people are still doing the bullying thing? I support the police report. I hope they don’t forgive him.”

“Guys, latest update: the person next to Liu Ci is the top scorer of the college entrance exam from Hua Ting, named Xie Chouzhuan.”

“Is it just me, or do those two look kind of good together? Just a personal thought, don’t flame me…”

“Sister above, you are not alone.”

“Xie Chouzhuan personally admitted he has a fiancé. Sisters, think about that carefully…”

“Ahhh! Ci-Zhuan is real!!!”

“Alright, that’s enough. They probably just ran into each other by chance.”

“I’m not listening, I’m not listening…”

“Is this thread getting derailed? Weren’t we discussing Tao Beizhi? I hope Junior Xie doesn’t forgive him. Give that kind of person a lesson. I’m from the Law School; I can provide help to the junior.”

“Look at the news! The school issued a public reprimand. Tao Beizhi has been given a demerit.”

“Satisfying.”

“+1. I have to say, Tao Beizhi is really a ‘father-坑’ (a disaster for his dad).”

“Does nobody think Tao Cong isn’t a good person either? If he hadn’t indulged him behind the scenes, could Tao Beizhi be this arrogant?”

The post gained massive traction and was soon shared across the wider internet, sparking a heated debate among netizens. Thousands of people flooded Tao Cong’s corporate social media accounts with insults. The foot traffic at Tao Cong’s newly built shopping mall dropped to its lowest point overnight, and the company’s stock plummeted.

When Tao Cong received the news, he was livid. He never expected his precious son to cause such a catastrophe on the very first day of school.

Tao Cong took an overnight flight to Hua Ting with a team of lawyers, originally intending to negotiate a compensation settlement. Unfortunately, he couldn’t even get a meeting with the victims; the opposing party’s lawyers handled everything.

Tao Cong could act like a tyrant in Nancheng, but in the capital, he found himself unable to move an inch. No one cared about his influence, and he hit a wall at every turn. His company was also in chaos; several veteran board members took the opportunity to begin marginalizing him. Not daring to waste more time, he hurried back to Nancheng.

Tao Beizhi was the child of his first wife, and he had always felt he owed her, which was why he indulged the boy. Now that Tao Beizhi was affecting the company, Tao Cong was already secretly plotting to groom one of his illegitimate sons instead.

On the other side, after a school meeting, Xie Chouzhuan was granted a transfer to a double-occupancy dorm. Another male student in that dorm had temporarily moved in with a friend, leaving a spot vacant.

When Xie Chouzhuan went back to pack his things, he ran into Zheng Jie and Peng Bo.

Zheng Jie slammed the door shut coldly and spoke in a sarcastic, biting tone, “Some people just love to make a mountain out of a molehill. I bet you feel real good about yourself now that someone got a demerit because of you.”

“Since you’re so intent on defending him, why don’t you take the demerit for him?” Xie Chouzhuan replied.

“You…”

Zheng Jie was incredibly frustrated with Xie Chouzhuan. He couldn’t understand it—it was just a scare, right? He didn’t actually hit him, so why the big fuss? If Tao Beizhi had to take a leave of absence or go abroad because of this, Zheng Jie’s dreams of rising to the top through those connections would be shattered.

Earlier, when he heard Xie Chouzhuan was a local and the top scorer, he had intended to befriend him. He even tried to give him a “friendly reminder” later on, but the guy didn’t know what was good for him and insisted on crossing Tao Beizhi. Truly beyond saving.

Knock, knock, knock— A knock sounded at the door.

Xie Chouzhuan walked over and opened it to find a boy with a baby face standing there.

“You must be Xie Chouzhuan, right? I’m Shi Zhi, your new roommate. I heard from the counselor and came over to help you move.”

“Thank you for the trouble,” Xie Chouzhuan handed him a lighter backpack.

“No problem! We’re roommates now. Please look after me for the next four years!” Shi Zhi said with a beam, leading Xie Chouzhuan up to the fourth floor.

Thanks to their joint efforts, they finished packing quickly. Shi Zhi took out some local specialties he had brought from home and shared them with Xie Chouzhuan. He was a talkative, cheerful person with a carefree personality, and the two quickly became acquainted.

Xie Chouzhuan learned that while Shi Zhi looked like a cute, baby-faced boy on the surface, he secretly loved thrill-seeking. He and a group of like-minded friends spent their spare time exploring various haunted houses. He had already gained a significant following by posting videos of his adventures.

“Here, this is our next target.” Shi Zhi pulled up information from an adventure group chat. It detailed a mass murder case at a restaurant on Qinghe Road.

Since that family died, many neighbors had fled in fear, but some skeptics stayed behind. As it turned out, the sound of crying could be heard from that restaurant every single night. Furthermore, after falling asleep, people would enter the murder scene in their dreams, helplessly watching themselves be killed. After a night of such terrifying nightmares, the remaining few families scrambled to move out.

Now, the deepest part of Qinghe Road consisted entirely of empty houses. The streetlights had mostly failed due to a lack of maintenance, making it a true “place of ill omen.”

Xie Chouzhuan looked at the photo of the family of five that Shi Zhi had found. He realized the elder sister in the picture looked exactly like the female ghost he had encountered that day.

“Shi Zhi, you really shouldn’t go,” Xie Chouzhuan warned. “That place on Qinghe Road is indeed very wrong.”

Shi Zhi was full of excitement. “I just want to see who’s pretending to be a ghost. I don’t believe in that stuff!”

“A few days after that family of five died, I went to Qinghe Road for a meal and was almost hit by a car.”

Shi Zhi was slightly startled. “You’re that ‘lucky guy’ from the internet?”

Xie Chouzhuan gave a bitter smile and pointed to the sister in the photo. “I saw her with my own eyes at the time. She strangled the driver to death.”

Shi Zhi shuddered at the thought of the scene. “Ghosts are all just hoaxes!”

“It’s real. My family knows some masters. I was carrying an evil-warding talisman at the time. If that paper hadn’t blocked the calamity for me, I would have been killed in the crash.”

Shi Zhi’s mouth hung open uncontrollably. “Talismans actually work? I always thought they were scams.”

“Most of what you buy on the market or in online shops these days are fakes. Real talismans are extremely rare.”

“Chouzhuan, can you contact that master of yours? I’ll pay to buy a talisman.”

“You’re really going?”

Shi Zhi nodded. “I already promised them. We’re going right after military training ends. It’s fine, it shouldn’t be a big deal.”

Knowing he couldn’t talk him out of it, Xie Chouzhuan simply took out an evil-warding talisman and handed it to him. “Take this with you.”