Lin Hai got in the car and drove straight to the police station.
“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” The officer on duty at the station saw Lin Hai storming in with an angry look and quickly stepped forward to stop him.
“Get out of my way. Call your chief out here!” Lin Hai shoved the young officer aside, nearly sending him tumbling.
“You dare to cause trouble at a police station? You got a death wish or something?” The young officer lunged forward, ready to throw hands.
“Xiao Zhang, stop!” Wang Meng hurried out from inside. “You can go now. You’re not needed here.”
Wang Meng waved his hand, and the young officer, startled that Lin Hai actually knew their chief, quickly gave an apologetic bow and backed away.
“Chief Wang, where’s my dad?” Lin Hai grabbed Wang Meng by the arm, his voice urgent.
“Uncle Lin is in my office—” Before Wang Meng could finish, Lin Hai had already darted inside.
“Dad, are you okay?” The moment Lin Hai entered, he saw Lin Wen sitting comfortably in Wang Meng’s chair, leisurely sipping tea.
“Uh…” Lin Hai’s face darkened. Seriously? The guy looked pretty relaxed to him!
That bastard Wang Meng had said on the phone that his father had run into a little trouble—it had scared Lin Hai half to death.
“Xiao Lin, I’m fine. It’s just—it’s so infuriating, hmph!” Lin Wen thought back to what had happened earlier and slammed his teacup down on the desk in anger.
“Dad, what exactly happened?” Lin Hai asked with concern.
“Hmph, today I went to Shunfa Supermarket to buy a few things. When I was checking out, they accused me of stealing and wanted to search me. I got into an argument with them, and their manager kicked me. Then they called the cops to have me arrested. Luckily, Chief Wang happened to pass by and got into a dispute with those officers on my behalf. In the end, he brought me back here.”
“I noticed Uncle Lin looked a lot like you, so I went up and asked. Turns out he’s your father, so I brought him back with me,” Wang Meng quickly added.
“Xiao Lin, Chief Wang is a good man. The other cops seemed to be led by some captain—someone with more authority than Chief Wang. He even threatened Chief Wang. Sigh, Chief Wang went out of his way to help me, and now he’s made enemies because of it.”
“To be honest, I didn’t want to bother you with this. A kick is just a kick—it’s not like it would kill me. But you know your old man—all my life, I’ve cared about saving face. And today, in front of so many people, I got treated like a thief. I’ve completely lost face,” Lin Wen said, feeling deeply hurt.
“I’ve heard some things about Shunfa Supermarket too. This isn’t the first incident this year,” Wang Meng interjected.
“It seems they’ve got some ties with the captain of the Public Security Brigade. They specifically target elderly people or rural folks coming into the city, accusing them of theft to detain them, then notifying family members to pay a ransom for their release. But Shunfa Supermarket isn’t in my jurisdiction. Even though I know about it, I have no authority to intervene.”
Lin Hai stood by, listening, his anger steadily building.
His father was an honest, simple farmer. Back in the village, he wouldn’t even take advantage of someone over a single grain of rice—there was no way he’d ever steal anything.
And this so-called Shunfa Supermarket, preying on the elderly and migrant workers—these vulnerable groups—was absolutely despicable!
A cold gleam flashed in Lin Hai’s eyes. His father had been wronged—how could a son just stand by and do nothing?
Especially when that scumbag manager had actually kicked his father. Any child with a heart would find that impossible to swallow.
Looking at his old father’s weathered, lined face, Lin Hai’s gaze grew colder and colder.
He pulled out his phone and, after a moment’s thought, dialed Hou Xianpin.
“Xiao Lin, what made you think of calling me?” Hou Xianpin’s voice sounded a bit low, probably still grieving over Taotao’s passing.
“Brother Hou, I rarely ask for favors. But today, I want to seriously ask you for one.” Lin Hai’s tone was icy.
“Tell me!” Hearing how serious Lin Hai was, Hou Xianpin also perked up.
“The owner of Shunfa Supermarket has made me very unhappy,” Lin Hai said coldly.
“Alright, I understand.” Hou Xianpin didn’t ask another word and hung up.
Lin Hai let out a long breath. A cold glint flashed in his eyes—daring to kick his father? This wasn’t over!
Wang Meng swallowed hard beside him, quietly wondering who exactly this “Brother Hou” was.
“Must be Secretary Tang’s assistant. Young Master Lin really has some connections.” A wave of envy washed over Wang Meng.
When would he ever be able to casually call up someone as important as Secretary Hou, just like Young Master Lin?
“Dad, let’s go home.” Lin Hai put his phone away and spoke to Lin Wen.
“Alright, let’s go home.” Lin Wen said goodbye to Wang Meng, and the two of them walked out of the station one after the other.
Wang Meng quickly hurried after them with a smile, personally seeing them to the door. When they reached the car, he rushed ahead to open the door for them.
The young officers passing by were stunned. Their chief, opening the door himself and looking so respectful—just who were this old man and young man?
Lin Hai got in the car and started the engine.
“Uncle Lin, Young Master Lin, take care!” Wang Meng smiled and waved.
“Mm.” Lin Hai acknowledged him, and the car drove off.
Wang Meng kept smiling, but for some reason, he felt a little disappointed inside.
Just as he turned to head back inside, Lin Hai’s car suddenly stopped.
“Chief Wang.” Lin Hai rolled down the window and leaned his head out.
Wang Meng was taken aback, then quickly jogged over.
“Young Master Lin, any further instructions?”
Lin Hai smiled and shook his head.
“No instructions, really. But about today—thank you!” Lin Hai said sincerely.
“No need to thank me, no need at all. It’s the least I could do.” Wang Meng waved his hands hurriedly.
“If anything comes up in the future, just give me a call.” Lin Hai nodded at Wang Meng, stepped on the gas, and the car sped off in a cloud of dust.
Those few words from Lin Hai were like a shot of adrenaline for Wang Meng. The disappointment he’d felt just moments ago vanished in an instant.
Right now, his heart was incredibly light, and his face was beaming with a smile so wide he couldn’t close his mouth.
“Haha, hahaha…”
The young officers nearby watched their usually stern chief laughing like a madman, looking completely unhinged. They were all utterly bewildered and more than a little nervous.
“Chief… are, are you okay?” one officer ventured timidly.
“Haha, what could possibly be wrong with me? Listen up, everyone—except for those on duty, we’re all going to Donghai Fishing Village at six tonight. I’m treating!” Wang Meng waved his hand grandly in high spirits.
“Yay, awesome!” The young officers cheered and eagerly spread the news.
Lin Hai dropped his father off at home and then drove back to the school.
He needed to find Liu Xinyue quickly and get Chang’e to give him some proper guidance.
“Xinyue, come out for a sec.” Lin Hai called Liu Xinyue out of the vocal practice room.
“Get in the car.”
Liu Xinyue’s cheeks immediately flushed red.
“Ugh, stop it. I don’t want to anymore. Can’t you just wait a couple more days? It’ll be over soon,” Liu Xinyue said, tugging at Lin Hai’s hand shyly.
Pfft!
Damn, Xinyue had misunderstood—she thought he was calling her to the car to pick up where they’d left off.
“What’s going on in that little head of yours? Hurry up and get in. I’ve got something important to tell you.”
