Xu Mu thought he had misheard at first. Then he quickly asked,
"What happened? Was Yingying learning to drive recently?"
"No," Li Yun said on the phone, her voice trembling with panic.
"Yingying was riding her electric scooter to school this morning when she hit an old man. He was taken away by an ambulance… they say he didn't make it."
Xu Mu's expression hardened. "Which hospital? I'll be there immediately."
"The First People's Hospital of Jiang City," Li Yun answered, her voice still shaking.
"Auntie, don't worry. I'm on my way."
Beside him, Ye Tong had already woken up. "You heard?" he asked.
"Mm. Go quickly and help them," Ye Tong nodded.
Xu Mu dressed and left at once. But while driving toward the hospital, something felt off.
It was still early morning—Yingying wouldn't need to rush that fast on her way to school.
How could she possibly have hit someone?
Still, the truth would only come out once he got there.
At the People's Hospital
Xu Mu parked and messaged Li Yun, finding that she and her daughter were in the main hall.
As soon as he walked in, he saw a middle-aged couple shouting at a pale, tearful Zhao Yingying.
"Xiao Mu!"
Li Yun spotted him, her face lighting with a fragile hope as if she'd finally seen a lifeline.
"Brother Mu…" Zhao Yingying's voice was faint, choked with tears.
"What exactly happened?" Xu Mu asked gently.
"This little brat killed my father!" the round-faced middle-aged man roared, jabbing a finger at Yingying.
"Brother Mu, I didn't mean to! The brakes on my scooter failed this morning—I couldn't stop!" Yingying sobbed.
"Both front and rear brakes?" Xu Mu frowned.
"Yes, both! They were perfectly fine last night!" she cried, covering her face. "I really didn't mean to!"
"Don't worry," Xu Mu said, patting her shoulder reassuringly. Then he turned toward the furious couple.
"Both her brakes failed—it's likely sabotage. But we're not denying responsibility. Whatever compensation is needed, I'll pay it."
"Compensation? You think my father's life can be bought with money?!" the round-faced man shouted.
"We don't want your filthy money—we want justice! She killed him, and she'll pay with her life!"
"That's right!" the middle-aged woman spat. "Even if she doesn't die, she'll go to prison!"
Li Yun's face turned deathly pale; she nearly collapsed.
Her daughter was only a first-year university student—bright future ahead. How could she go to prison now?
With tears streaming down her face, she bowed deeply to the couple.
"Please, have mercy! My daughter is so young. The brakes failed—it wasn't her fault. Please, spare her!"
"Spare her? So my father deserved to die instead?" the round-faced man snarled.
"No discussion! A life for a life!"
Moments later, police officers arrived on the scene.
"Who called the police?" asked a young officer.
"I did! This woman ran over and killed my father!" the man pointed at Yingying.
Xu Mu stepped forward calmly. "Please investigate carefully. Her brakes failed—she was clearly targeted."
"How do we know you didn't destroy the brakes yourselves, to cover it up?" the man accused, glaring at him.
"Relax," Xu Mu said evenly. "There'll be surveillance footage. I'm certain it'll show her braking attempts."
"Miss," the young officer said, turning to Yingying, "please come with us for questioning."
Yingying's legs trembled, but she took a deep breath and nodded, walking toward them.
"Officer, she won't really go to jail, will she? This won't go on her record, right?" Li Yun pleaded through sobs.
"Not for now," the young officer replied. "She just needs to cooperate with our investigation."
Then they led Yingying away, with the angry couple following close behind.
Li Yun wiped her tears helplessly. She turned toward Xu Mu and broke down, clutching his chest.
"Why is this happening to us? What did we do to deserve this?"
"Auntie, the truth will come out," Xu Mu said softly, patting her back. "I promise Yingying will be fine. Let's go for now—I'll handle this."
Li Yun nodded weakly, tears still falling.
Xu Mu told her to go home and rest—no work for the next few days, just wait for updates.
Then he headed straight to the crash site.
But when he arrived, the electric scooter was already gone and traffic was back to normal.
Something wasn't right.
He immediately called Jiang Huihui.
It rang for a long time before a lazy voice answered,
"What's up? Calling me so early."
"I need a favor," Xu Mu said. "I'll send you an address. I want surveillance footage from that location."
"Is it in Jiangbei?" she asked. "I only have clearance there—otherwise I'll have to file a request."
"Yes. It's in Jiang City, under Jiangbei's jurisdiction."
"Got it."
After hanging up, Xu Mu sent her the address and waited in his car.
About half an hour later, Jiang Huihui called back.
"How is it?" Xu Mu asked immediately.
"The cameras were destroyed," she said. "Not just at your spot—several in the surrounding blocks are gone too."
"I see," Xu Mu replied grimly.
Now he was sure. This was planned.
Other than Fang Chu, no one else even knew how close he was to Li Yun and Zhao Yingying.
So who else could be behind it?
Xu Mu glanced around—there were plenty of nearby shops. Maybe their internal cameras had caught something.
He texted Meng Wanyue, asking her to bring her detection equipment.
They needed those recordings as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, in a five-star hotel, Fang Chu lounged on his bed, smiling faintly as he scrolled through his messages.
He hadn't originally planned to use this method—but after everything that had happened recently, the anger festering in his chest demanded an outlet.
He stood, went downstairs, and drove his Ferrari straight toward Li Yun's house.