“Secretary Lin?” Xu Ze looked at the newcomer, a man in his mid-twenties, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, a suit and tie, with hair slicked back in a classic government staff style—Secretary Zhang. Xu Ze raised his eyebrows in surprise. “What does Secretary Lin want with me?”
Secretary Zhang replied respectfully, “Young Master Xu… Secretary Lin has suffered from chronic back pain for several years. He’s sought treatment everywhere without success. Seeing your remarkable medical skills the other day, he sent me today to see if you have time. He would like to invite you for a consultation.”
“Secretary Lin has back pain?” Xu Ze frowned slightly, hesitated for a moment, then looked at Secretary Zhang and said calmly, “Alright… the day after tomorrow. I have time the day after tomorrow.”
“The day after tomorrow?” Secretary Zhang was taken aback. Although Secretary Lin had instructed him to extend the invitation politely, Secretary Zhang hadn’t taken it too seriously. He’d heard this student had some connection with Mayor Tang, but Secretary Lin was Mayor Tang’s closest confidant, a top city leader in Xing City.
Secretary Lin asks you for a medical favor, and you actually put it off? Just because he called you ‘Young Master Xu,’ you really think you can put on airs… He frowned and said, “Young Master Xu, you shouldn’t have classes today… Secretary Lin is quite busy… He rarely has free time. Please, you must make some time today…”
“I’m sorry, but I’m about to leave for Beijing. My flight takes off in an hour… Please convey my apologies to Secretary Lin. I’ll be back tomorrow…” Although he noticed the displeasure in the other’s eyes, Xu Ze gave a light smile, then turned and drove away.
Watching Xu Ze’s departing figure without a backward glance, Secretary Zhang couldn’t help muttering under his breath, “Really thinks he’s somebody. Doesn’t know what’s good for him…”
Back in the office, Secretary Zhang didn’t dare embellish the story and reported the situation truthfully to Secretary Lin.
However, Secretary Lin’s reaction was completely unexpected. Though slightly surprised, he showed no sign of displeasure. He nodded and said, “Since Young Master Xu has matters to attend to… contact him again tomorrow.”
Seeing Secretary Lin wasn’t upset at all, Secretary Zhang grew curious. “Secretary Lin, who exactly is this Xu Ze…”
Looking at his secretary, who had been by his side for two years, Secretary Lin finally sighed lightly. “His status isn’t exactly a secret. I wasn’t too sure before, but now I know. He’s the old master’s godson.”
“The old master? You mean… Tang…” Hearing this, Secretary Zhang’s face filled with shock and he asked in astonishment.
“Yes… He’s the one who made Vice Mayor Zhang take two hard falls. You should have heard about that.” Secretary Lin said with a light smile. He still felt a sense of satisfaction remembering how Xu Ze had dealt with Vice Mayor Zhang’s two good-for-nothing sons.
Secretary Zhang finally fell silent, just nodding quietly. He felt secretly relieved that he had been respectful to Young Master Xu… Being the old master’s godson, if he had really offended Young Master Xu, it would have been real trouble.
Xu Ze, meanwhile, wasn’t dwelling on it. He was rushing to Beijing because Mr. Li’s treatment session was approaching. He naturally couldn’t delay his trip to Beijing for a non-urgent matter with Secretary Lin.
After getting off the plane, someone was already waiting with a car at the exit. Xu Ze got in and headed straight for the small courtyard.
After finishing Mr. Li’s treatment and sharing a meal with him, Xu Ze returned to the hotel, planning to head back to Xing City early the next morning.
However, since Li Yue seemed very busy lately and Xu Ze usually stayed just one night before returning, they hadn’t seen each other for over half a month. Today, Li Yue sought him out.
Watching Li Yue walk in and help himself to opening a bottle of red wine, Xu Ze smiled wryly. “I suppose you didn’t come just to drink, did you…”
“Actually, yes, I came specifically to drink with you…” Li Yue pointed at the bottle on the table with a light smile. “This bottle, I specifically stored here. A good vintage… Don’t tell me you didn’t notice?”
“I really didn’t notice… Who knew you’d store wine in the room I’m staying in?” Xu Ze chuckled, walked over, sat down, picked up a glass, poured himself a small amount of the red wine, and took a sip.
If Li Yue said it was good wine, it definitely was. Feeling the rich, mellow flavor swirl gently in his mouth, Xu Ze sighed with satisfaction, then asked, “Has Beijing been quiet lately?”
“Quiet? Of course it’s quiet… At a time like this, Beijing couldn’t be lively even if it wanted to be. Although there are minor frictions among the families, no one dares to cause trouble right now…” Li Yue took a small sip of his wine, shook his head with a faint smile. “Originally, some people were planning to make a move. Your future father-in-law, the Sun family head, his situation isn’t too optimistic. With the reshuffle coming up, his position is a bit precarious, so many are eyeing it…”
Hearing this, Xu Ze was startled. If that were true, then he and Sun Lingfei would have trouble again…
“You can rest easy. All those moves were quashed by the old master… Since the old master gave you two years, you can be at ease these two years. Nothing major will happen.” Seeing Xu Ze’s worried look, Li Yue couldn’t help but laugh, raising his glass to tease Xu Ze.
Teased like this, Xu Ze felt a bit embarrassed. He quickly covered it by taking a sip from his glass and giving an awkward laugh.
After getting off the plane and driving back home, Xu Ze’s phone rang again. Looking at the somewhat familiar number, he couldn’t help but sigh lightly. This Secretary Zhang was really persistent… He’d only been off the plane for a little over half an hour, and the call was already coming.
But since the other party was Secretary Lin’s subordinate, and Secretary Lin seemed to have a very close relationship with the Tang family, Xu Ze naturally wouldn’t refuse…
He arranged to meet the other party at the school gate, took a quick shower, and headed out towards the school.
This time, he didn’t drive. The residential area was only about two hundred meters from the school gate, and Secretary Zhang seemed to have arranged a car to pick him up personally, so Xu Ze saw no need to drive…
However, not driving led to some trouble. As he approached the school gate, before he could spot the car arranged by Secretary Zhang, he caught the attention of a police car.
The police car seemed to have been parked outside Xing University for quite some time. The two officers inside were smoking, full of complaints about their superiors who had told them to wait here without letting them enter the school to find the person directly. They had no idea how long they’d have to wait.
Moreover, this district wasn’t under their jurisdiction. Lingering here wasn’t ideal. If colleagues from the local branch saw them, they’d surely accuse them of overstepping their bounds…
But after waiting for so long, their vigil finally paid off. One sharp-eyed officer suddenly spotted Xu Ze walking towards the school gate.
His heart leapt with joy. He quickly nudged his colleague. “Take a look… Is that him?”
The other officer, hearing the target had appeared, perked up immediately. He followed his colleague’s gaze. Seeing the young man’s strong resemblance to the photo, he was delighted. “That’s him… What are we waiting for? Let’s go… If we don’t nab this kid, Captain Niu will blow his top again when we get back…”
Xu Ze strolled leisurely towards the school gate. He had already spotted the black Audi parked at the gate from a distance. It seemed Secretary Zhang had been waiting for a while.
Seeing that the other had waited so long, Xu Ze quickened his pace towards the school gate. But he’d only taken a few steps when two plainclothes officers quickly jumped out of a nearby police car and blocked his path.
Seeing two officers blocking his way, Xu Ze was puzzled. He really couldn’t figure out why the police were after him.
“Are you Xu Ze?” one of the officers, a heavyset man, asked, frowning at Xu Ze.
“Yes… I’m Xu Ze. Is something wrong?” Xu Ze nodded, puzzled, looking curiously at the two officers. He’d never had dealings with the police before. Being stopped by them now, he was rather curious.
“Good that you’re Xu Ze… Come with us. We have a case and need you to cooperate with the investigation…” The heavyset officer was direct. He flashed his badge in front of Xu Ze and spoke with an air of official duty.
“A case?” Xu Ze raised his eyebrows. He really had no idea what case required his cooperation. He hadn’t been involved in anything lately…
But since the police had come to him, cooperating with their request was basic for a good citizen. So Xu Ze didn’t ask further. He was confident he hadn’t done anything wrong, so he wasn’t afraid of going to the station.
However, Secretary Zhang was waiting for him up ahead. Xu Ze thought for a moment, took out his phone, and dialed Secretary Zhang’s number, intending to inform him before heading to the station.
But Xu Ze had barely pressed the call button, had only heard the first beep from the other side, when the call was cut off…
“Sorry… You can’t make calls right now. Please cooperate with us first and come to the station for investigation…” The heavyset officer reached over and forcibly ended Xu Ze’s call, his voice cold.
The officer didn’t want any complications. He just needed to take this kid back to the station and hand him over to Captain Niu. This was right outside Xing University’s gate. If he made a call and caused some problem, it would be troublesome.
Seeing the somewhat unfriendly look on the officer’s face, Xu Ze raised his eyebrows, growing even more curious. What exactly had he gotten into that warranted a ride in a police car?
He didn’t say anything more, obediently got into the police car, waiting to see what this was all about today…
