Hearing Xia Liang's words, Director Wu's expression instantly soured. After all, if soone told you that your son was about to die and you would be left to die alone in your old age, no one would take it well.
And Xia Liang knew that speaking so bluntly would provoke the man, but he didn't hide anything. He wasn't so great philanthropist. If he ca across a problem, he'd lend a hand. If you didn't believe him, there was nothing more he could do. Besides, Xia Liang wasn't the type to beat around the bush. Whatever he discovered, he said. So he divulged everything he had deduced.
As expected, Director Wu didn't believe a word of it. However, out of respect for Xia Liang's reputation, he managed to restrain his displeasure and said, "Master Xia, I'm afraid you've made a mistake this ti. I know my son better than anyone. The walls of our house are covered with his award certificates. How could he possibly be a petty thug?"
Although he restrained himself, the respect in his tone was gone, replaced by a cold indifference. He was acquainted with many influential people in Haojiang, so after hearing about the incident at the He Family Ancestral Ho, he had made several calls. When he learned they had all personally witnessed Xia Liang's terrifying abilities, he had chosen to believe in him. But he never expected the first divination Xia Liang perford for him to be so unreliable. His son was a model student; how could he have any connection with street thugs? And to say his son would get into trouble in the next two days, leaving him to die alone with no one to attend his funeral?
That's complete nonsense! He couldn't tell if Xia Liang was deliberately mocking him or if he simply lacked any real ability, making the stories from Haojiang a lie. In either case, Director Wu no longer felt any respect for the man.
Hearing Director Wu's words, Xia Liang simply waved his hand. He hadn't expected the nationally famous Director Wu to be so naive. Indeed, every family has its skeletons in the closet.
"Certificates like that can be bought anywhere," Xia Liang said, implying that the awards hanging on the wall were fake.
Naturally, Director Wu didn't believe him. He shook his head, his expression growing even uglier.
Xia Liang continued, "Director Wu, it seems you've never attended your son's parent-teacher etings."
"Of course," Director Wu scoffed, a hint of pride in his voice. "The teacher called . He said my son's grades are so good and he's so well-behaved that I don't need to attend. Occasionally, the teacher calls to report on his grades and even makes personal house visits. The treatnt he gets is far better than what other students receive."
But hearing this, Xia Liang shook his head again. "Your son was the one who gave you the 'teacher's' number, wasn't it? I must say, your son is much smarter than you. Hiring soone to attend his parent-teacher etings wasn't enough; he even had soone pose as a teacher to call you and make house visits. No wonder you've never suspected a thing, Director Wu."
"Bullshit!" Director Wu finally exploded. He had a short fuse to begin with. The rumors about Xia Liang had led him to respect the man, believing he was a truly capable Diviner. But this conversation shattered that perception. In his view, every single word from Xia Liang was rubbish. No matter Xia Liang's reason for saying these things, he no longer saw a need to be polite. "My son could never be the person you describe! Even though it's Saturday, he's in his dorm studying right now. He only cos ho once a month. How could he possibly be deceiving ?" Director Wu said with a cold laugh.
"Are you so certain your son is in his dorm right now?" Xia Liang wasn't angry. Instead, with a perverse sense of amusent, he felt a flicker of anticipation for the mont Director Wu would learn the truth, and he smiled faintly. After all, if soone were to say such things about his own son, he knew his own expression wouldn't be any better than Director Wu's.
Director Wu took out his phone. "Then let show you what my son is *really* doing."
With that, he imdiately dialed a number. He realized that no matter what he said, Xia Liang would refuse to believe his son was a good student. I have to show him so real evidence. The call connected quickly.
"Hello? Dad, what's up?" his son's voice ca through the phone.
Director Wu asked directly, "Son, what are you doing right now?"
"Studying in my dorm, of course. Why? If there's nothing else, I have to go. I just figured out a tough problem."
"Oh, okay, okay! You get back to your problem. I just called to check in. Rember to call if you run out of money."
"Alright, bye, Dad."
Director Wu hurriedly hung up, not wanting to disturb his son. Seeing this, Xia Liang couldn't help but chuckle. Fathers are always such suckers for their sons. A few words were all it took to completely convince Director Wu.
Director Wu noticed Xia Liang snickering at him and demanded, "What are you laughing at?"
"I'm laughing at how your son is playing you for a fool."
Before Director Wu could retort, Xia Liang continued, "If I'm not mistaken, the phone your son uses isn't a smartphone, is it?"
"Of course not." Director Wu's expression turned frosty. He'd already called to confirm, but this man *still* wouldn't believe his son was a good student. He explained, "My son said smartphones would distract him from his studies, so he told not to buy him one." A touch of pride returned to his face as he spoke.
Xia Liang just shook his head and smiled faintly. "Did it ever occur to you that he doesn't want a smartphone to avoid video calls? Your son hasn't been to school in a week. In a couple more days, he'll probably be expelled."
"Impossible!" Director Wu flatly denied it, unable to believe a word. Seeing that reasoning was futile, he stood up to leave, but Xia Liang gestured for him to stay put.
At the sa ti, Xia Liang took out his own phone and dialed a number. As it was ringing, he continued speaking to Director Wu. "And your son has more than one phone."
The words had barely left his mouth when the call connected. Xia Liang had dialed his son's other number. Through his divination, he knew the boy wouldn't answer a video call from a stranger, so he'd made a regular voice call.
"Yo, who's this?" a voice barked through the phone, thick with impatience.
Hearing it, Director Wu froze. The voice was eerily similar to his son's; only the tone was completely different. Putting together what Xia Liang had just said... could this be his son's other phone? Frowning, he quickly shook his head. No, my son would never speak with that kind of tone.
But Xia Liang was already speaking into the phone. "I heard that if you have trouble in South Bay, you're the guy to find?"
"That's right. Didn't think my rep had spread this far. There's nothing in South Bay I can't handle. Spit it out. You need soone chopped up or what?"
Hearing the voice on the phone, Xia Liang just smiled faintly, not answering. Instead, he looked over at the utterly bewildered Director Wu.
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