As soon as the police officer finished speaking, Lin Wen immediately panicked.
“Oh, officer, our Xiao Hai is a good kid. Are you sure there isn’t some mistake?” Lin Wen said, pulling out a cigarette and offering it with a forced smile.
The commotion at the entrance caught the attention of everyone in the hall. Seeing the police here to arrest Lin Hai, the room erupted into a buzz of whispered conversations.
“Whether there’s a mistake or not, you’ll have to come with me to the station first,” the officer said, hiccuping from the alcohol as he reached for Lin Hai.
“Wait a minute!” Song Qin hurried out.
“Oh, aren’t you Xiao Hao’s uncle?”
The Xiao Hao Song Qin mentioned was Sun Guizhi’s son. Lin Hai immediately understood what was going on.
“Your sister, Guizhi, is our second aunt. Last month, I attended your son’s full moon celebration. Don’t you remember?”
Song Qin tried to establish a connection.
Sun Guiqiang snorted inwardly. How dare she bring up my sister? It was my sister who sent me here.
“I don’t care who you are. Even if the heavens themselves broke the law, I’d still arrest them.”
“This… this…” Song Qin was truly flustered now.
“Wait a moment, let me call Guizhi.”
With that, Song Qin frantically pulled out her phone.
“Guizhi, can you call your younger brother? He’s at the entrance of the Pearl Hotel in town, trying to arrest Xiao Hai.”
Sun Guizhi, holding the phone, smirked with satisfaction.
“Guiqiang is a police officer now. I can’t interfere with police matters.”
She hung up with a snap, her lips curling in disdain. So, you didn’t invite me to your little celebration, huh? Just because you have some money now, you think you can show off? I’ll teach you a lesson!
“Guizhi, you sent Guiqiang to arrest Xiao Hai? What are you doing?” Lin Wu stomped his foot in frustration.
“What’s it to you? They dared to ignore me!” Sun Guizhi shot Lin Wu a glare.
“No, I need to go over there too.”
After a moment of thought, Sun Guizhi left the house, got in her car, and headed straight for town.
“Guizhi, tell Guiqiang not to let Xiao Hai suffer, okay?” Lin Wu called after her.
“Not let him suffer?” Sun Guizhi snorted.
Did he think she was going to save him?
She just thought this was a great opportunity to show off.
“Hurry up, stop wasting time. Get in the car.”
At the hotel entrance, Sun Guiqiang was impatiently urging Lin Hai.
“If you want to arrest me, at least tell me what crime I’ve committed.”
“We suspect you’re involved in a robbery case in Jiangxia City. The amount involved is significant, so we need to take you in for questioning.”
Lin Hai laughed in anger. Truly, if you want to accuse someone, any excuse will do.
“Fine, I’ll go with you.” With a clear conscience, he had nothing to fear.
“Let me make a call first.” He needed to inform Elder Xiao Qingshan.
“Xiao Lin, I’m already on my way,” Elder Xiao’s hearty laughter came through the phone.
“Elder Xiao, I’m sorry, but I might not be able to host you today. The police suspect me of robbery, so I have to go with them.”
There was a moment of silence on the other end.
“Wait for me. I’ll be there in ten minutes at most!” Elder Xiao’s voice was filled with anger.
“Mayor Huang, get to the Pearl Hotel within ten minutes!”
“Yes, sir!” Huang Bo, sensing Elder Xiao’s fury, didn’t dare ask questions and urged the driver to speed up.
A black Passat pulled up to the hotel entrance.
“Guizhi’s here.” Song Qin felt a glimmer of hope, thinking that despite her earlier words, Sun Guizhi had come after all.
As soon as Sun Guizhi got out of the car, Song Qin rushed over.
“Guizhi, please talk to Guiqiang…”
“Guiqiang, as a police officer, you must enforce the law impartially. Don’t worry about me, but Xiao Hai is still my nephew. Try to reduce his sentence if you can.”
Sun Guizhi brushed past Song Qin without even looking at her.
“What? A sentence?” Lin Wen was terrified.
Lin Hai’s heart turned cold.
By now, it was clear that Sun Guizhi was behind this.
“Auntie, this is the last time I’ll call you that. From now on, our family has nothing to do with you.”
“Xiao Hai, what are you saying?” Song Qin quickly tried to stop him.
After all, they still needed Sun Guizhi’s help.
“Oh, so you’ve learned to disown family after a few years of school, huh?” Sun Guizhi sneered.
“Everyone, did you hear that? I was going to ask my brother to go easy on him, but since he doesn’t recognize me as his aunt anymore, I won’t bother.”
“If he doesn’t recognize me, I won’t force it. Guiqiang, do what you have to do. I won’t interfere.”
With that, Sun Guizhi stood to the side, a cold smile on her face as she watched the scene unfold.
“Guizhi, Xiao Hai’s just a kid. Please, for my sake, don’t take it to heart,” Song Qin pleaded.
“For your sake? Your son doesn’t recognize me as his aunt, so why should I recognize you as my sister-in-law? If you’re not my sister-in-law, then what are you to me? What face do you have to ask me for favors?”
Song Qin’s face flushed red.
“Mom, don’t bother with her. The more you give her face, the more she’ll bully you.”
Since the relationship was already broken, Lin Hai didn’t hold back.
“But…”
“Don’t worry, Mom. I haven’t done anything wrong. I’m not afraid of them.”
“Tch, how naive. You must be stupid from all that studying.”
“Let’s go, stop wasting time!” Sun Guizhi gave Sun Guiqiang a look, and he moved to grab Lin Hai.
“Let go! I can walk on my own!” Lin Hai shook off Sun Guiqiang’s hand, nearly causing him to stumble.
“Damn it! You dare resist arrest? Do you believe I can destroy you?”
“Xiao Lin, did I just hear someone say they want to destroy you?”
A black Passat stopped by the roadside, and Elder Xiao Qingshan stepped out, followed by Huang Bo and Xiao Wu.
“Elder Xiao, as you can see, I might not be able to host you today,” Lin Hai shrugged, though he felt a sense of relief.
Lin Hai had already guessed Elder Xiao’s status. Calling him earlier was partly to seek help.
“Why can’t you host me? Come on, let’s go in. I’d like to see who dares to stop us.”
With that, Elder Xiao gestured for Lin Hai to follow him inside.
“Damn it, old man! Can’t you see the police are handling a case? If you don’t want trouble, get lost!” Sun Guiqiang, seeing Elder Xiao ignore him, grew furious.
Xiao Wu’s eyes narrowed, ready to step forward, but Elder Xiao stopped him.
“Did you just call me an old man?” Elder Xiao asked, feigning surprise.
“Haha, Huang Bo, did this police officer just call me an old man?” Elder Xiao laughed in anger.
Huang Bo broke out in a cold sweat.
Trembling with rage, he pointed at Sun Guiqiang and shouted, “You! What’s your name?”
Before Sun Guiqiang could answer, Sun Guizhi jumped in.
“Who do you think you are, yelling at the police? Do you want to spend a few days in jail too?”
“How dare you!” Huang Bo was livid.
Sun Guiqiang, who had been arrogantly staring at Huang Bo, suddenly felt something was off.
His eyes inadvertently swept over the Passat’s license plate, and his expression froze.
“Buzz!”
Sun Guiqiang’s head spun, and the alcohol-induced haze vanished.
Meanwhile, Sun Guizhi was still berating Huang Bo.
“You think driving a crappy car makes you special? You think you can mess with the police? Let me tell you, I can have you locked up with a single word. My brother runs this town. The police station might as well be my home. I can have you locked up for as long as I want!”
“Sis, stop talking!” Sun Guiqiang was on the verge of wetting himself, tugging at Sun Guizhi’s sleeve.
“Why are you pulling me? I’m telling you, Guiqiang, when dealing with troublemakers, you have to be tough. Lock them up for a few days, and they’ll behave.”
Sun Guiqiang wished he could slap his sister. Seeing Huang Bo’s face turn purple with rage, he felt a wave of despair.
“Damn it, we’re done for!”
With a grit of his teeth, Sun Guiqiang dropped to his knees.
“Guiqiang, why are you kneeling?” Sun Guizhi looked puzzled.
“Mayor Huang, I was wrong. I know I was wrong. Please, forgive me.”
“Mayor Huang?” Sun Guizhi was stunned, then it hit her.
“You… you’re the mayor?”
Before Huang Bo could respond, Elder Xiao coldly laughed. “Huang Bo, you’ve done a fine job managing Lanzhen Town. I think you’re perfectly suited to stay in office for another term.”
“Elder Xiao…” Huang Bo’s face drained of color, his heart sinking.
“Humph!”
Elder Xiao ignored him, turning to Lin Hai with a smile. “Xiao Lin, let’s go in. This old man is determined to have your meal today, haha.”
Left standing there, Huang Bo knew his chances of advancing further were slim.
Turning to Sun Guizhi and her brother, Huang Bo wished he could devour them whole. He pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
“Who is it?” Zhang Fan, the police station chief, was in the middle of enjoying himself with a new female officer when the call interrupted him. He was annoyed.
“Zhang Fan!”
Huang Bo roared!
Thinking his political career might be over, the usually composed mayor lost all sense of decorum.
“Who the hell are you?” Zhang Fan, having his fun interrupted, was equally furious.
“I… damn you!”