Chapter 162: Public Confrontation

The representative tasked with presenting the awards to Wang Chen stepped onto the stage. To Wang Chen’s surprise, it was an acquaintance: Manager Liu from the Zhongzhi Trading House.

Manager Liu, dressed in a casual suit with his belly protruding, walked up to Wang Chen and said with a beaming smile, "Mr. Wang, I didn't expect to meet you here."

Wang Chen smiled back. "Manager Liu, I didn't expect us to be so fated to meet."

"It is my honor to be fated with Mr. Wang," Manager Liu remarked with a sigh. "You truly are a hero among youth!"

Previously, Manager Liu had vaguely sensed that Wang Chen’s strength was not to be underestimated, but he never imagined that the young man would take first place in the Luzhou University Tournament. In the past, such a genius would have been someone he sought to recruit and cultivate. However, after hearing Wang Chen’s speech backstage, Manager Liu felt no urge to flatter or curry favor. Instead, he simply wished to befriend Wang Chen with the utmost sincerity. In terms of character, strength, and integrity, this young man was truly a dragon among men. He, old Liu, was thrice blessed to have formed a connection with such a person.

Manager Liu placed a tray between Wang Chen and his two teammates, smiling as he said, "Mr. Wang, these are shopping cards for our Zhongzhi Trading House. Each card usually has a limit of five million."

"However, considering your team only has three members, we have distributed the total credit of twenty-five million across these three cards and added a little extra from our own pockets."

"Now, each card has a limit of 8.34 million. You may use them to purchase anything for free at our establishment until the credit is exhausted."

Good grief. To make a grand impression, the Zhongzhi Trading House had truly spared no expense. Although they functioned like vouchers, one had to consider the value: twenty-five million.

Tang Ruotong was already stunned. She was a girl from an ordinary family; her parents were just common folk working hard in service-related jobs. Even for a middle-class family, this sum was a fortune.

Long Wushuang, on the other hand, appeared quite indifferent. For a young master like him, he would have been much happier if they had just given him the cash. After all, with eight million, he could buy an endless supply of fried chicken. But since it could only be used for shopping at the trading house, he wasn't interested; his father never skimped on investments for his career path, so eight million meant nothing to him.

The students in the audience were also burning with envy, yet no one booed or acted sour. They accepted that Wang Chen deserved this reward.

The trio accepted the three cards from the tray. Wang Chen exchanged a few pleasantries with Manager Liu and, after agreeing to meet again, prepared to step off the stage.

Just then, a discordant voice rang out: "Wang Chen! You must pay the price for the harm you caused my son!"

Wang Chen paused, a trace of a smile on his lips that vanished as quickly as it appeared. He feigned ignorance, turned around, and looked toward the source of the voice.

The crowd, busy preparing to leave in an orderly fashion, was drawn by the commotion and stopped to watch. A short, stout middle-aged man wearing a loose alchemist’s robe stood below the stage, pointing at Wang Chen with a furious glare. He stomped his foot and leaped onto the platform, staring at Wang Chen aggressively.

Wang Chen asked, "May I ask who you are?"

The man sneered, "Still playing dumb! I am Cai Kun’s father, Cai Xu!"

"Oh, so it’s Uncle Cai." Wang Chen remained calm. "May I ask what you meant by your previous statement?"

"You shameless brat! Do you dare do it but not admit it?" Cai Xu roared. He gripped a black, megaphone-like alchemical device that amplified his voice throughout the venue. "Everyone! My son, Cai Kun, was set up and harmed by this shameless thug in the tournament’s secret realm!"

Cai Xu’s face was filled with sorrow. "Now, my son is practically a cripple." He waved a hand, and two burly men brought Cai Kun onto the stage. Despite Cai Xu’s concerned questions, the boy remained silent, staring blankly at the floor.

"I have only this one son! How can I go on living like this?" Cai Xu lamented, weeping as he accused Wang Chen. He laid out all of Wang Chen’s alleged "schemes."

"This boy is deep and calculating! He deliberately disguised his despicable actions as an accident! But how could it be such a coincidence that the Rock-Mud Boar chose precisely my son to ravage? This was clearly a conspiracy!" Cai Xu pointed at Wang Chen and cursed.

The venue erupted in chaos. Wang Chen was the hottest topic of the day; even a sneeze from him would spark intense discussion, let alone such a serious scandal. Students and even teachers began whispering among themselves.

"Could Wang Chen really be so despicable? He didn't seem like it from his performance earlier."

"It's hard to say. You can know a person's face but not their heart."

"I don't think so. He's so handsome, how could he do such a thing?"

"Huh? What kind of reason is that? By that logic, I could say that because he's handsome, he clearly isn't an honest person!"

The student committee members panicked. They were currently broadcasting the awards ceremony live on television, and now a massive scandal had broken out!

In the conference room, the secretary said anxiously, "Director, I’ll have someone cut the live feed!"

"Do it now!" the Director cursed inwardly. Their reaction had been too slow; Cai Xu had already revealed everything before they thought to cut the signal. Now, the audience might think the committee was shielding Wang Chen. Confronted with this emergency, they had no choice but to cut the signal and later claim it was a technical malfunction.

"And get those reporters out of the venue!" the Director added. Then, he reconsidered. "No, bring Wang Chen and the others to the conference room!" He had almost made a mistake in the panic, missing the crucial point.

Meanwhile, Wang Chen faced the crowd’s discussion without any sign of panic. He remained calm, first expressing sympathy for Cai Kun’s tragic state. Then, with a serious expression and a grave tone, he asked, "Uncle Cai, do you have any evidence?"

Cai Xu scoffed, "I knew you would try to quibble." He waved his hand, and four students walked up from the audience. Wang Chen recognized them immediately: they were members of Cai Kun’s squad.

Cai Xu held his chin high and said, "These four are eyewitnesses. They can prove that you plotted to harm my son!"

Ignoring Cai Xu, Wang Chen walked up to the four students and asked, "Do you believe I plotted against Cai Kun?"

The four nodded.

Wang Chen asked again, "Did you see it with your own eyes?"

"This..." Hesitation flickered across their faces.

Wang Chen immediately added, "You had better think carefully. The student committee is watching. If you give false testimony in public, your future will be ruined when the truth comes out!"

Hearing Wang Chen’s words, their faces grew even more hesitant as they exchanged glances.

Cai Xu grew impatient. "Didn't you say you were certain before? Why are you stammering now? Are you afraid of Wang Chen?"

The four students cursed him in their hearts. "What certainty? Weren't you the one who kept threatening us to give false testimony?"