He lured her deep into his trap, using both overt and covert methods to seduce her.

Upon hearing this, Song Zhi's eyes widened in disbelief. Her lips trembled as she asked, "Sentenced? That serious?"

She thought that her classmates' previous noise and disturbances would at most result in a few days of detention and education, but she never expected it to be so serious as to lead to imprisonment.

Zhao Man took a deep breath and said in a serious tone, "The child wasn't seriously injured at all, but the other party is very stubborn and unwilling to reconcile. They insist on sending your brother in."

"My dear, your brother has just turned eighteen. If he's really sentenced to prison, his life will be completely ruined."

Song Zhi was extremely anxious and hurriedly asked, "How exactly did you communicate and negotiate with the other party? Why were you sentenced?"

Zhao Man took a deep breath and then recounted the entire incident to Song Zhi in detail.

As before, the other party consistently refused to meet and negotiate, let alone reach a settlement agreement. They insisted that everything be handled according to normal legal procedures.

Based on the current situation, even if the final verdict is relatively lenient, the minimum sentence will be imprisonment of three years or less.

The more Song Zhi listened, the stranger the matter seemed. Based on her understanding of her younger brother, he was definitely not the type to bully classmates or even maliciously harm others at school.

There must be some misunderstanding here.

Just as Song Zhi was about to ask further questions, Zhao Man's anxious voice reached her ears once again.

“Zhizhi, hurry up and find Pei Jinnian and ask him to help save your brother. I know you have always resented me, but no matter what, Jiachen is still your own brother. You can’t just watch him be ruined like this.”

After hearing this, Song Zhi felt as if a huge boulder weighing a thousand pounds was pressing on her chest, making it almost impossible for her to breathe.

She let out a long breath, trying to calm her agitated emotions, and slowly said, "But... I'm not in Kyoto right now."

Upon hearing that Song Zhi was not in Kyoto, Zhao Man's anger flared instantly. Her voice rose involuntarily as she angrily rebuked the person on the other end of the phone: "Song Zhi, do you even know what's going on? Your brother is in serious trouble and his condition is critical. How can you still have the mind to travel around?"

"Do you think that as long as you leave here, you can completely get rid of our family? Let me tell you..." Before she could finish her accusatory words, Song Zhi interrupted her with an annoyed look.

Song Zhi frowned and said impatiently, "Grandpa has passed away. I'm in Fengcheng. I'm not traveling. I'm busy arranging his funeral right now."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, as if stunned by the sudden news, followed by an incredulous question: "Wh-what? Your, your grandfather, he, is dead? When did this happen?"

Song Zhi said helplessly, "Grandpa suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and couldn't be saved. I haven't had time to take care of anything else these days. You'll have to think of something yourself."

When Zhao Man heard that Song Zhi didn't care, she immediately became unhappy and questioned him loudly on the phone, her voice almost screaming.

"You're not going to help? That's your own brother! How can you be so heartless as to watch him die?"

Faced with Zhao Man's accusations, Song Zhi became increasingly agitated. She sighed heavily and then raised her voice in response, "I've already said, I'm far away in Fengcheng right now, how can I care?"

"Is your brother more important or a dead person?"

"I order you to return to Kyoto immediately and find Pei Jinnian of the Pei family. You must get his help to rescue your brother, no matter what."

Faced with Zhao Man's pressure, Song Zhi's anger flared instantly. Gripping her phone tightly, she said angrily, "I've said it many times, I'm busy handling Grandpa's funeral arrangements and have no time to see Pei Jinnian. Also, I and..."

However, Zhao Man was not listening to Song Zhi's explanation at all. Before she could finish speaking, Zhao Man's incessant cursing came from the other end of the phone.

Those harsh words were like sharp thorns, piercing straight into Song Zhi's heart.

She had known all along that in Zhao Man's heart, no one was more important than her son.

Unable to tolerate Zhao Man's unreasonable behavior, Song Zhi impatiently pressed the hang-up button.

However, Zhao Man did not seem to intend to give up.

Not long after, Song Zhi's phone rang again, the screen flashing with that name that was bothering her. Song Zhi didn't want to answer, but Zhao Man seemed determined to get what she wanted, calling one after another.

In the end, Song Zhi sighed helplessly and answered the phone.

Before she could speak, Zhao Man's urgent voice came over: "Hey, Zhizhi, Mom was really too anxious just now, so I said those hurtful things. Mom apologizes to you. Please, please help your brother."

Hearing Zhao Man suddenly lower her stance, Song Zhi felt a little dissatisfied, but her tone softened slightly compared to before.

"Even if I really want to find Pei Jinnian, I won't have the time and energy to rush back until I've finished handling my grandfather's funeral here."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Man hurriedly asked, "When will you be able to finish this?"

Song Zhi frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and then slowly replied, "It's not certain yet. I want to take Grandma back, but she doesn't want to. I'll wait until she's willing before going back."

Zhao Man immediately retorted, "So, if the old lady doesn't want to come back with you, you're just going to stay away?"

Song Zhi nodded calmly and replied, "She's getting old, and her grandfather is gone. I can't just leave her to live alone."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Man flew into a rage and was about to unleash a torrent of curses when Song Zhi spoke up again.

"Don't say anything unpleasant. I won't change my mind. As for Jia Chen's matter, you should have quite a few connections over the years. It's impossible that there's nothing you can do."

Zhao Man said anxiously, "If I really had a way to solve this, why would I come to you? I only thought about asking Pei Jinnian for help because I heard that he has connections with the Zhou family."

Hearing her mother's words, Song Zhi couldn't help but sneer, her tone laced with sarcasm: "Heh, with your connections, is Pei Jinnian the only person who can help you? Mom, I know very well what you're really up to."

Zhao Man felt a little guilty after hearing her daughter's words, but she still tried to remain calm and retorted, "What could I possibly think? I'm just trying to get your brother out of there. In short, no matter what, you can't just sit idly by and do nothing about your own brother's situation."