The old man straightened, looking imposing, and fixed his gaze on the newcomers.

Since he didn't speak, no one else dared to either. It was as if liquid nitrogen froze the air, making everyone restless. Du Kang's greeting remained unanswered, and he began to sweat. He looked up and noticed the handcuffs on Elder Fang's wrists. He almost staggered due to his suddenly soft knees.

It wasn't enough for Liu to condemn himself—he wanted to drag down everyone else with him!

Du Kang hated he couldn't grab a gun and shoot the man then and there. His bow deepened, and he tore off the key on Liu belt and personally unlocked Elder Fang's handcuffs. He asked ingratiatingly, "Why don't we change locations, sir?"

Elder Fang asked, expressionless, "Are you 'inviting' me somewhere too?"

He's angry! And not just a little! Du Kang swallowed thickly and forced himself to smile, "Please don't jest, sir. I'm simply worried there are too many people here—what if someone carelessly b.u.mps into you? The rest of the museum delegation is waiting for you at the guest house. They're worried about your health. They kept exhorting me to make sure you're unharmed and to bring you back…"

"Unharmed? I am indeed unharmed, haha!" Elder Fang clasped his hands behind his back, and his fathomless eyes slowly swept their surroundings. This sounded like praise, but Du Kang's back was damp with sweat. "The owner of this house, a patriotic young man who donated valuable cultural relics to our museum, has been taken away by your extremely competent subordinate to 'a.s.sist in the investigation.' I have to thank you for coming just in time—a few minutes later, and I guess I'd have ended up the same!"

Du Kang didn't dare raise his head. He could only repeat, "I was negligent in my supervision."

Elder Fang gave him a profound look, snorted coldly, and pa.s.sed through the crowd to the exit.

He walked past Liu without sparing him even a glance as if the man was transparent. It was obvious he didn't consider him worth even a fraction of his attention.

With the stalemate finally broken, the four bodyguards quickly appeared at the old man's side, blocking Du Kang from offering his arm as support. Yet, though he was so rudely rejected, nothing negative was visible on his face—he politely gave way, and the bodyguards went ahead.

Suddenly, his arm was caught. He turned his head and met Liu's deathly pale face.

Liu's eyes were empty. He'd worked in Liyun Town for many years and had a lot of contact with Du Kang. Du Kang always presented the image of a calm, dignified leader. This was the first time he ever saw him so subservient.

Just how important is that old man? Liu realized this wasn't a simple failure the moment he was slapped—but with every pa.s.sing second, his heart sank deeper and deeper. Now, his heart pounded in his chest, his blood pressure soared, and genuine fear had his back soaked in cold sweat.

"Secretary, Secretary Du… This…"

He couldn't even speak properly. The palm of his hand on Du Kang's arm was damp. The only thought on his mind was that he couldn't let the other man go—some subconscious instinct screamed that once Du Kang left, his life was over.

His intuition wasn't wrong. The moment Du Kang saw him, the respectful, polite smile disappeared as if it was never there. His expression became dark instead, eyes burning with fury. He looked moments away from strangling Liu to death.

"Liu Qis.h.i.+." Du Kang spat out Liu's full name. He grabbed the hand on his arm and, one-by-one, pried the fingers open.

He didn't want to stay here a second longer. But, before he left, he pointed his finger at Liu and said, voice surprisingly gentle, "We'll settle this later, don't you forget."

Everyone crowded in the house poured outside like sardines in a can, even the students of Cla.s.s 5 who would usually never be this compliant. The only ones left in the messy living room were Liu and his men.

Liu slowly took off his cap. Then, as if completely exhausted, he leaned on the sofa and slid to the ground.

He knew the location of the warehouse, and he knew the cultural relics he'd tried so hard to get waited there. Yet, despite them being completely unguarded, he didn't dare even approach that place.

He was like a drowning man in a sea of endless regret and fear, aware he would never survive.

His followers were in a panic too, neither daring to go out with the others nor daring to ask what was going on. They looked at each other and saw the same words in the others' eyes—

We're done for.

Outside, Du Kang finally found an opportunity to approach Elder Fang. He caught the old man's frown at the messed up front yard and immediately said, "This is awful—the lawn is destroyed, and I noticed even the tea table in the living room is broken. This is completely our fault. Rest a.s.sured, sir, I'll arrange for someone to take care of this. We will do our best to minimize the losses due to this incident and compensate the owner."

Elder Fang gave him a glance and nodded slightly. Though his expression was still dark, Du Kang felt much better.

Realizing he had found a way to calm Elder Fang's anger, he wanted to make up for his mistake as soon as possible. He signaled to the secretary following him with a glance and rushed forward to open the car door for the old man.

"Sir," he began, almost pleadingly. "Let's go to the guest house…?"

Elder Fang got into the car and said, cold, "To your town's PSB. I'm going to personally pick up the young man you took away to 'help with the investigation.'"

Shocked, Du Kang wanted to dissuade him. The old man motioned for a bodyguard to close the door, but then suddenly lowered the car window and looked out as if searching for something.

Finding it, he pointed towards the crowd and said, "The comrade with darker skin, please get in the front car and lead the way."

Deng Mai's father, who was trying to calm Gao Sheng and the other students down, started at being called out. By the time he turned to look, the car window had already been raised.

Stunned, for a moment he didn't react. Du Kang, standing by the car, immediately realized what was going on, and his gaze toward Deng Mai's father became much friendlier.

"Comrade Deng Fengshou, you received a task. Why are you still standing there?" An encouraging smile on his face, he beckoned to the subordinate to whom, in the past, he hadn't bothered paying attention to because his reports weren't very good. "Come on, squeeze in with me."

PSB town headquarters

Vice-President Zhou, who came to “help with the investigation,” peered through the small iron window in the interrogation room's door to check the situation inside. As there was no progress, he frowned. He glanced at the time, nervously stroking the lid of the enameled tea mug in his hand. No, this couldn't drag on like this any longer, or who knew just how long would it take? Until now, Lin Jingzhe hadn't even asked for the bathroom.

He went to the phone on the desk and dialed a number to the provincial capital.

Qunnan City

Since their relations.h.i.+p had grown closer, Qi Qing and Jiang Qiaqia were invited to Mr. w.a.n.g's home instead of meeting outside. They brought an exquisite small gift to show their appreciation.

Mr. w.a.n.g opened the gift box, and his eyes lit up. He took out the squarish, chunky cell phone and carefully turned it in his hands over and over again. He pulled out the antenna and put the phone to his ear to see how it felt.

He really loved this small gift.

"My, you said you'll bring me something, but who knew it would be this." The wrinkles of his eyes were smoothed out with a smile, but he refused to accept: "This is too valuable. You should take it back."

The couple exchanged glances, smiling. Qi Qing had been worried about what to bring. According to his usual style, he'd simply give a monetary gift, but Jiang Qiaqia stopped him, saying it was too dull. The Qi family received a rare gift from a friend who came back from overseas a few days ago, and she proposed they take that instead. Who knew that thing would be perfect?

Jiang Qiaqia's voice was soft but powerful like a spring breeze: "How can you say this, Big Brother w.a.n.g? Such a little thing is worthless compared to our friends.h.i.+p, isn't it?"

Mr. w.a.n.g smiled and put the cell phone back in the box. "I have never seen this model before—it should take tens of thousand yuan to buy it. This isn't 'a little thing' by any means."

Jiang Qiaqia said, “No matter how much it costs, it's just a tool, something to use. Don't you think?"

Mr. w.a.n.g burst out laughing and finally handed the box to his wife who sat beside him. His att.i.tude became extremely enthusiastic. He even prompted her, "Why are you still sitting here? Hurry up and make a pot of tea for Brother Qi and Sister Jiang. Use that box of Pre-Qingming Longjing I brought back yesterday."

The anxiety in Qi Qing's heart disappeared—a smart wife was truly a husband's treasure. Right now, he was full of admiration for Jiang Qiaqia. She not only helped him get a connection with such a big and unattainable backer but also gave him important advice at the critical moment. Thanks to that, they had such outstanding results. As long as they maintained a close relations.h.i.+p with Mr. w.a.n.g, the sky was the limit for Qiqing Real Estate. And it wasn't for some unspecified time in the future—they could expect to reap benefits as soon as the next real estate auction.

The two sides chatted amiably, savoring the sweet, mellow taste of authentic Longjing tea. It was then Vice-President Zhou called and reported the unsatisfactory progress.

Jiang Qiaqia kept an eye on Mr. w.a.n.g's mood all the time. Seeing his face suddenly looking bad, she asked keenly, "What's wrong, Big Brother w.a.n.g?"

Mr. w.a.n.g covered the receiver and said, "It's about the antiques. They have the owner in their hands, but he refuses to sign."

At the first part of the second sentence, Jiang Qiaqia's eyebrows rose a little, but she quickly concealed the unnatural expression. Qi Qing, beside her, snorted. "What a country b.u.mpkin. Doesn't he know he has no choice?"

"Indeed." Jiang Qiaqia lowered her head slightly. She had also been called that by her parents-in-law.

Success was just in front of them, they could almost touch it.

The temptation of those antiques was too much. Mr. w.a.n.g pondered for a moment—he was dealing with a child in a rural town, with no elders to defend him. Estimating that any possible trouble the boy could make would be negligible, he boldly ordered, "It doesn't have to be voluntary. If he refuses to sign, just press his handprint to the doc.u.ment. I'll take care of anything that comes up."

Vice-President Zhou breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly agreed, and Mr. w.a.n.g hung up. When he turned back to his guests, his expression was jovial again. He rubbed his hands, eagerly looking at the teapot on the table, and said, "This should do it."

"Then we should congratulate you in advance. I'm delighted my father's antiques finally found a master who could truly appreciate them." The gentle smile on Jiang Qiaqia's face was impeccable as she flattered Mr. w.a.n.g with sweet words. Seeing he treated them fondly now, not with the indifference from first time they met, she decided to strike while the iron was hot: "Big Brother w.a.n.g, there's actually one more thing. The plot no. 6…"

"Ah, that matter is nothing." Mr. w.a.n.g smiled and dropped onto the sofa. "Tomorrow, come to my office with the doc.u.ments, and we'll talk about it in detail. Now, come to the dining table, I'll let you try your big sister's craft."

Lin Jingzhe, who rested with his eyes closed, suddenly heard a rush of footsteps and a chaotic dispute. Both were getting closer to the interrogation room.

"We told you, Deputy Commissioner Liu said we have to do this according to the procedures…"

Then came the sound of several people being shoved away, and the door opened with a bang. Lin Jingzhe opened his eyes. Through the blinding light, he saw "Vice-President Zhou," whom he last met in his house, coming in.

"Come on, hurry up," the man commanded, stopping by the door. "Let's get this over with quickly."

Two people, holding the stack of papers he'd refused to sign and an ink pad with red ink, approached Lin Jingzhe. The two men exchanged glances, then one pressed the doc.u.ment to the desk, and the other grabbed the youth's arm.

"What do you want to do?!" Lin Jingzhe's eyes widened. He lifted a leg and kicked the man holding him in the stomach.

"Ah!" The man let him go and bent, holding his abdomen. After a moment, he straightened, and the expression in his eyes became ruthless.

"You f.u.c.king brat, you're asking for it! Just you wait!" He snapped, then reluctantly suppressed his anger at his companion's urging.

He grabbed Lin Jingzhe's arm again, this time with much more strength. He pressed the young man's hand to the ink pad then forced it to the spread-out page where the signature should be.

His movements were limited, and he couldn't resist, but Lin Jingzhe was not going to let the other side have their way. So, the moment the palm of his hand touched the paper, he rubbed it hard, smudging the handprint.

d.a.m.n it, we can't use this! The man who had been kicked became angrier and angrier. He looked at the doc.u.ment and veins popped up on his forehead.

He glared at Lin Jingzhe, who watched him with a mocking smile, and clenched his fist, knuckles rattling. "When we're done here, I'll teach you the price of impulsiveness," he drawled, stressing each word.

Then, without turning to the door, which was suspiciously quiet for some reason, he shouted, "Print one more, no! Print ten more copies! We'll take our time if we have to and make him stamp them one by one!"

"Hehe."

The answer he expected never came. Instead, cold, emotionless laughter sounded from the door.

Who the h.e.l.l was laughing at him? He scowled and turned around, wanting to give a piece of his mind.

However, while it was easy for him to turn towards the door, it became impossible to turn back.

The man… No, the several people outside the door were impossible to mistake. The man sometimes followed his brother-in-law, Vice-President Zhou, to make a report, and it was considered lucky to even see one of them. Now, they all appeared in front of him without warning.

"What do you want to print, huh? And as much as ten copies?" The big boss, who had never spoken to him before, finally opened his mouth, but he'd rather he hadn't.

They came here some time ago, and Du Kang had long wanted to interrupt, but Elder Fang stopped him. And so, he watched this performance from beginning to end. The grimace on his face couldn't possibly be uglier, but he still squeezed out a distorted smile. He glanced at the sluggish-looking man in the interrogation room, who was clearly frightened by his appearance, and stretched out his hand. "This paper… Let me have a look too?"

Translator's Notes:

Translator: Eques

Editor: Bet