Chapter 30: Giving You a Choice

Inside the Strait City Detention Center.

Wu Zhixing, accused of multiple economic crimes, was currently being held here. He knew that within the next few months, the prosecution would likely press charges, leading to a trial. The court would then probably sentence him to probation, after which he would leave this place and re-enter the public eye. 

Every day, Wu Zhixing counted down the days, impatiently waiting to be released. He was seething with anger and desperate to take revenge on the "bastard" who wronged him.

"Zhixing, you have a visitor," a prison guard opened the door to Wu Zhixing's cell.

"A visitor?" Wu Zhixing was momentarily stunned and asked, "Who is it?"

"It's your brother," the guard replied.

"My brother?" Wu Zhixing's eyes narrowed as he walked out of his cell.

**In the visiting room.**

Wu Zhiming was seated at a table with a folder lying in front of him. Wu Zhixing, escorted by the guard, entered the room and was immediately consumed with rage when he saw Wu Zhiming.

"How dare you come to see me!" Wu Zhixing spat out coldly.

"You're my elder brother. You're in prison, so isn't it natural for me to visit you?" Wu Zhiming said with a smile.

With a stern expression, Wu Zhixing sat down opposite Wu Zhiming and said, "If you're here to mock or humiliate me, you're wasting your time. To me, you're nothing but an illegitimate brat. Your taunts mean nothing to me."

"Don't think so little of me, brother," Wu Zhiming said cheerfully. "I'm genuinely saddened by your imprisonment. After all, blood is thicker than water, isn't it?"

"Blood is thicker than water? Do you believe that yourself?" Wu Zhixing sneered.

"I do!" Wu Zhiming nodded. "In my eyes, you'll always be my brother. Whether you're in prison or out, you're still my brother."

"Wu Zhiming, drop the pretense. I'm telling you, I'll be out soon. And when I am, I won't let you off!" Wu Zhixing growled, clenching his teeth.

"Won't let me off?" Wu Zhiming's face suddenly broke into a mocking smile. "Did you think about letting me off when you pushed me off the seventh-floor rooftop twenty-three years ago? Yet, here I am, alive and well."

"What?!" Wu Zhixing's eyes widened in shock as he stared at Wu Zhiming.

"Twenty-three years ago, I was just five years old, and you were ten. You said you wanted to play hide and seek and took me to the rooftop. When I was standing at the edge, you pushed me off with your own hands... I fell from the seventh floor and crashed onto the roof of a car parked below. I broke five ribs, fractured my pelvis, suffered a lung hemorrhage, twisted my spine, shattered my leg bones, and got a concussion... Everyone thought I was a goner, but my will to live was too strong, and I survived," Wu Zhiming recounted, as if narrating an amusing childhood story.

"You remembered everything!? Why didn't you say anything when father asked later?" Wu Zhixing frowned.

"What could I have said? That you pushed me off the roof? Who would believe the words of a five-year-old child? Who would believe an illegitimate child's story? Even if someone did believe me, so what? You could easily claim it was an accident while playing, and at most, you'd get a beating. Since saying anything wouldn't change a thing, why should I have bothered?" Wu Zhiming asked.

"So... that's why you started pretending to be dumb, acting as if you had brain damage, struggling with your studies, talking with difficulty, and becoming timid and weak," Wu Zhixing observed, furrowing his brows.

Wu Zhiming chuckled, "It was my mother's idea."

"That woman!" Wu Zhixing's eyes narrowed slightly.

"My mom told me that if I wanted to survive in this family, I had to act like a fool. I had to be weak, cowardly, and shine all the spotlight on you, big brother. Only then would you and your mother let me go, and I could have enough time to grow!" Wu Zhiming said.

"You've endured so much for over twenty years!" Wu Zhixing sighed sincerely. Enduring for a year or two is not difficult for a person, but enduring for over twenty years, especially since childhood, is terrifying.

Who would have thought that a child at the age of five would already learn to hide and endure?

"Dad should have realized something later, so four years ago, Dad arranged for me to marry a woman from the Yao family... I became the son-in-law of the Yao family. Although the status is not very noble, at least it can make you all a little more wary of me. I actually have no feelings for you. Although we have different mothers, you are still my elder brother. So, for a long time after getting married, I thought about leaving... But unfortunately, just when I was about to leave, Dad died," Wu Zhiming sighed.

Upon hearing this, Wu Zhixing's face changed slightly.

"Dad's death... was too strange," Wu Zhiming looked at Wu Zhixing and said, "How could a good car suddenly have brake failure? How coincidental that it happened while Dad was away on a business trip? And why was it precisely on a downhill section? I went to the scene. The car crashed through the guardrail, hit the wall, and caught fire. I heard from the doctor that Dad was burned alive in the car. He was burned to charcoal. I think he must have felt desperate and painful during that time."

"Stop it!" Wu Zhixing's face turned pale. "Dad's death, I'm also sad about it, but it was an accident."

"Really, just an accident?" Wu Zhiming looked at Wu Zhixing and said, "Before Dad's accident, he once approached me, hinting that I should join the company's management. Shortly after he brought up this matter, he had the accident."

"I said it was an accident!" Wu Zhixing slammed the table and stood up, shouting, "Wu Zhiming, stop making wild guesses. It was my dad!"

"That's my dad too!" Wu Zhiming looked at Wu Zhixing, his expression indifferent. "I believe... no matter how heartless you are, you wouldn't harm our father."

Wu Zhixing sat back heavily on the chair, panting heavily. "I'm human, not a beast."

Wu Zhiming smiled and said, "I'll get to the bottom of Dad's matter. Today I came to see you, besides visiting you, there's another thing I need your help with."

"You want me to help? Are you crazy?" Wu Zhixing said excitedly.

"Don't rush to refuse," Wu Zhiming smiled and said, "You've been in here for several days now, and a house cannot be without its master for a single day. I was thinking, shouldn't you give up the position of the head of the Wu family and hand it over to someone more capable?"

"Wu Zhiming, you want to be the head of the Wu family?!" Wu Zhixing stared at Wu Zhiming, as if finally seeing through his intentions.

Wu Zhiming smiled and said, "I'm the second young master. Besides you, I'm the most qualified to be the head of the Wu family."

"Daydreaming!" Wu Zhixing sneered, "I won't give up the position of the head of the Wu family. Give me a few more months, and I'll leave here. By then, I'll continue to lead the entire Wu family! Even if you buy the Wu Group, so what? You're just the boss of the Wu Group. You're still a bastard of the Wu family. You, and your descendants, can't enter the main branch of the Wu family. Only I, the eldest son and grandson, am the legitimate successor of the Wu family! Hahaha, Wu Zhiming, you'll never be able to turn things around in your life. No matter how much support you get, no matter how much money you have, you're just scum, hahaha!"

Wu Zhiming looked at Wu Zhixing with a mocking expression and pointed to the folder on the table, saying, "Won't you take a look at this thing?"

"What is this?" Wu Zhixing asked.

"Take a look for yourself," Wu Zhiming smiled.

Wu Zhixing picked up the folder and opened it, glanced at it, and then his face changed.

"Where did you get these things?!" Wu Zhixing asked in horror.

"You don't need to worry about where I got these things from. I just want to ask you, can the things inside make you sit in jail for a few years? Twenty years? Or life imprisonment?" Wu Zhiming smiled and asked.

"Did you think that just with some written words, you could put me in jail?" Wu Zhixing gritted his teeth.

"What if we add the three people who provided these words? The three people you asked Dong Jian to send away on the day you got into trouble," Wu Zhiming smiled.

"What?!" Wu Zhixing stared at Wu Zhiming, saying, "You have those three people?"

"If they weren't in my hands, where would I get these things from?" Wu Zhiming pointed to the folder.

Wu Zhixing's face turned extremely pale, his legs weakened, and he collapsed into the chair.

"Let's make a deal," Wu Zhiming looked at Wu Zhixing and said calmly, "You give up the position of the head of the Wu family, and I'll hand over those three people to your mother. In that case, with the connections of your grandfather's family, you can easily leave the detention center. Then, you and I can continue to play by our own rules. If you don't give up the position of the head of the Wu family, then... I'll have those three people personally escorted to the police station."

"You've caused so much trouble, stirred up such a big commotion, all for the position of the head of the Wu family?" Wu Zhixing asked.

"What I want is the position of the head of the Wu family, as well as the entire Wu Group," Wu Zhiming looked at Wu Zhixing, slowly stood up, and said coldly, "I want to imprint my mark on all the assets of the Wu family. I want to completely strip away the label of illegitimacy. I want my mother, my wife, and my descendants to become the main branch of the Wu family, enjoying generations of glory! I want everyone who once looked down on me to only be able to look up to me! I want the entire Wu family to bow down at my feet!!"

Upon hearing these words, Wu Zhixing felt deafened. His whole body softened once again, and he collapsed from the chair to the floor.

"I've given you options. Now, make your choice," Wu Zhiming said.

"I... give up."