I Became a Rich Heir in a Novel and Saved the Female Lead - Chapter 11:

Chapter 11: Sophistry

Suddenly, several firefighters emerged from the warehouse and walked over to report something to the man who appeared to be leading the operation.

Luo Wenxiang and Liu Hong, who had been sitting on the steps nearby, hurried over. Luo Wenxiang immediately asked, “How is it?”

As Luo Wenxiang spoke, the fat on his face trembled slightly. Several beads of sweat still clung to his skin. He had arrived very early and had not even taken a sip of water since then. The moment he stood up, his vision dimmed slightly, and a wave of dizziness washed over him.

If this incident was not handled properly today, his future would become just like the charred ruins before him, utterly bleak.

The fire brigade captain said with a grave expression, “We conducted a preliminary inspection, but the scene was too severely damaged by the fire. The loft also collapsed, and everything that was above came crashing down. If someone died in the fire on the first floor, there’s nothing we can do right now. I’m afraid we’ll have to wait for the police to arrive before the body can be found.”

That was right. The firefighters had already assumed that Lin Wansu had died in the fire.

Luo Wenxiang suddenly felt the world spinning around him.

The captain took an evidence bag handed over by one of the firefighters and continued, “However, we found a damaged padlock near the entrance. Take a look and see if this was the one hanging on the door. By the time we arrived and started fighting the fire, the flames were already completely out of control, so we didn’t notice whether the door was open or closed.”

Luo Wenxiang’s spirits immediately lifted. If the warehouse lock had been broken, didn’t that mean no one had actually been locked inside?

However, Liu Hong’s expression remained grim. She said, “This isn’t the lock that was hanging on the door. There was only an old padlock on the door, and it could be opened very easily. Besides, as long as someone slid the bolt shut from outside, the person inside wouldn’t be able to open the door regardless of whether it was locked.”

The faint glimmer of hope vanished, and everyone fell silent once again.

In truth, part of the problem was that Zhang Xiaoyu had been too panicked when she sent the voice message and had failed to explain everything clearly.

If she had mentioned in her voice message that the warehouse door had been opened at one point, or that they had bought a new lock, the atmosphere at the scene would not have been nearly this grim.

But at the time, Zhang Xiaoyu had been overwhelmed by extreme fear. She had not even exposed He Man as the mastermind, much less mentioned details like these.

Luo Wenxiang wiped the sweat from his face and forced himself to speak, “For now, seal off the scene. Don’t let any unrelated personnel enter the school. We’ll wait until the police arrive.”

At some point, Li Jian had moved closer. He lowered his voice and said, “Director Luo, Lin Wansu’s younger sister should be arriving soon.”

Luo Wenxiang abruptly turned his head toward him, his expression becoming exceptionally ugly. “Didn’t I tell you not to let word of this spread yet?”

Li Jian braced himself and replied, “Her sister is the only family she has left. If we don’t inform her, it would be a little…”

“Inform her of what?” Luo Wenxiang lowered his voice, irritation thick in his tone. “Nothing has been investigated yet. What do you expect me to tell her? That the school failed to properly inspect its fire hazards, causing the warehouse to catch fire? Or that you useless fools couldn’t even manage a student properly and let a living person burn to death inside the warehouse?”

By the end, Luo Wenxiang was nearly roaring. “If word of this gets out, how am I supposed to explain it to the principal? What will people think of Linjiang No. 1 High School?”

After being shouted at like that, Li Jian’s expression darkened. However, he refused to back down in the slightest. “Director Luo, I know Wanning. Her sister is her only family in this world. Something like this has happened, and she has the right to know!”

Luo Wenxiang’s chest rose and fell heavily several times. Just as he was about to speak again, he suddenly noticed a teacher approaching from the school’s rear gate with several students.

They were none other than He Man, Li Li, Zhang Xiaoyu, and the others.

The teacher called toward them, “I found them near the playground by the rear gate. They seem to be students from Liu Hong’s class, so I brought them over.”

Clearly, He Man and the others had been unable to stop worrying about what was happening at school. They had come back to see the situation for themselves, only to be caught red-handed by a teacher.

Although they looked extremely disheveled, their clothes were not dirty, and their hair had been combed again. It was obvious they had tidied themselves up in a restroom. Even so, their faces looked worse than the next.

Zhang Xiaoyu was in the worst condition. Her eyes were terribly red and swollen, and her legs were so weak that she could barely walk steadily.

The moment Liu Hong saw them, her expression darkened. “Zhang Xiaoyu!”

Zhang Xiaoyu’s entire body trembled at the shout, and she instinctively hid behind Li Li.

He Man stepped forward first. She glanced at Luo Wenxiang, then at Liu Hong, before barely managing to squeeze out a smile. “Teacher Liu, were you looking for us?”

Seeing the state they were in, Liu Hong immediately understood that something was wrong. She had no patience left to beat around the bush. She directly opened her phone and held it up in front of them. “Where did you go last night? Zhang Xiaoyu sent me a voice message after midnight saying that you locked Lin Wansu inside the warehouse, and then the warehouse caught fire. Which one of you is going to explain exactly what happened?”

The strained smile He Man had barely managed to maintain instantly vanished.

She turned her head and glanced at Zhang Xiaoyu.

Zhang Xiaoyu flinched in fright. She had never imagined that the teacher would openly reveal in front of everyone that she had informed on them. All she could do was lower her head even further, completely unable to meet He Man’s eyes.

Liu Hong had no time to worry about Zhang Xiaoyu’s feelings. When she had first received the message, she had even assumed that Zhang Xiaoyu herself had been responsible for everything. Only now, after seeing the group together, did she realize that He Man was probably the true mastermind.

Li Li hurriedly spoke up, “Teacher Liu, Xiaoyu must have had a nightmare last night and gotten too frightened. Please don’t take what she said seriously!”

He Man quickly added, “We just heard that there was a fire at the school, so we came over to take a look.”

“Just to take a look?” Liu Hong stared directly at her. “The school’s rear gate was locked. How did you get inside?”

Li Li opened her mouth, but no answer came out.

He Man immediately took over. “We happened to be nearby and saw the fire trucks coming this way. We were worried something might have happened at school, so we came inside to check.”

Li Jian had already lost his patience with their excuses. He sharply interrupted them, “What exactly happened last night? If you won’t tell us now, then save your explanations for the police when they arrive!”

The moment He Man heard the word “police,” her expression shifted repeatedly.

After several seconds of silence, she suddenly frowned, adopting an aggrieved and impatient expression. “Teacher, what exactly are you trying to say? The school caught fire, and now you’re trying to blame us for it?”

“I never said you started the fire.” Liu Hong’s voice turned cold. “I’m only asking you one thing. Why did you lock Lin Wansu inside the warehouse?”

“We don’t know anything…”

Li Jian once again cut off He Man’s sophistry and roared, “You’re still making excuses! She was tricked into coming to the school by you!”

He Man’s expression immediately darkened. “That’s slander.”

Zhang Xiaoyu’s shoulders suddenly trembled violently.

He Man instantly turned toward her, warning clear in her eyes.

Zhang Xiaoyu’s mind was almost shutting down from fear. The things He Man had told them last night and the raging inferno inside the warehouse kept replaying through her mind like an endless slideshow.

“I…”

The instant she managed to utter a single syllable, He Man snapped, “Zhang Xiaoyu, didn’t you say you weren’t feeling well? Stop standing here and causing trouble.”

“Causing trouble?” Liu Hong let out a cold laugh. “She sent me a voice message on WeChat and told me what happened. Is that what you call causing trouble for you?”

He Man’s face instantly turned pale. She was completely speechless.