Watching his son being taken away by the two military judges, Yang Li felt as if one of his main tendons had been pulled out, and he slumped limply into his leather boss chair.
He knew very well that for the Xingcheng Military Region to take his son away for investigation without first giving him a heads-up meant they already had solid evidence. Otherwise, the military region wouldn’t have completely disregarded him, the director of the Xingcheng Police Bureau.
Although the position of police director isn’t exactly a top-tier role, it’s by no means a small one. But as the police director of a directly-administered municipality, it’s definitely not comparable to other police directors. As a Second-Class Police Supervisor with real power, the military region couldn’t just ignore him entirely. Besides, there are many local matters where the military might need his cooperation.
But since they were so direct today, sending only two lieutenant officers—not even a field-grade officer—and didn’t bother communicating with him, it showed that there was absolutely no room for negotiation anymore…
“Why has it come to this? How is this possible? What evidence does that Xu Ze have that could make Commander Peng of the military region take Xiaoming away so directly?” Yang Li’s mind was now in complete chaos…
“I absolutely cannot let Xiaoming be brought before a military court like this. Once he goes to trial, there will be no hope left!” After thinking for a long time, Yang Li suddenly sat up straight in his boss chair again and reached out to dial a number: “Hello, Secretary Wu… I’d like to speak with the old chief…”
Xu Ze looked at the imposing yet warm and smiling Major General Peng Zhihua across from him, and said with a smile, “General, I’m sorry for the trouble I’ve caused you…”
“It’s no trouble at all. You cured the old chief’s long-standing ailment. Those of us who once served under him are incredibly grateful. Besides, the old chief has asked me to look after you…”
Major General Peng shook his head with a faint smile, then said with emotion, “And now you’re an officer in the General Staff Department. If something had happened to you in Xingcheng, I would have felt ashamed in front of the old chief… Fortunately, that little brat isn’t very good with guns… And since he’s done so many outrageous things in the past that have angered both heaven and people, we definitely won’t let him off easy this time…”
Xu Ze nodded, then looked at Major General Peng and asked, “So, there won’t be any issues with Yang Li?”
“There might be a few issues, but since the evidence is solid and you have video proof, that little brat can’t escape. Even if I don’t show him any courtesy, Yang Li can’t do anything about it.” Major General Peng spoke dismissively when mentioning Yang Li, the police director.
Seeing Major General Peng’s demeanor, Xu Ze understood that the military typically doesn’t think much of local police. First, they aren’t under local jurisdiction, and second, local police have no authority over them… So naturally, they don’t have to worry about them…
——-
The winter sunshine was warm and brilliant. Xu Ze leaned against a large rock by North Lake, lazily dozing off. After returning from General Peng’s place yesterday, Xu Ze felt relieved. He hadn’t expected that General Peng had once been a subordinate of Old Chief Li and cared so much about him.
Now that General Peng had made his stance clear, this matter was certainly not a problem. All he had to do now was wait and see what moves Yang Li would make… Over the past few days, Xiaodao had carefully analyzed and organized all the information about Yang Li. Now he was considering whether to hand this material over to Tang Guorui…
For now, though, he hadn’t yet asked Tang Guorui for his stance. But Xu Ze believed that if he could find a way to take down Yang Li, even if Tang Guorui didn’t exactly support it, he probably wouldn’t oppose it either…
Xu Ze sat on the grass with his hands behind his head. Today was truly comfortable. Old Dean Guo had already couriered over the two professional qualification certificates. Looking at those two brown-covered certificates, Xu Ze’s mood became even better. So today, he had rarely gone to the lake alone to soak up the sun…
The warm sunlight fell on his face, gentle and cozy, incredibly pleasant. In a state between sleep and wakefulness, Xu Ze suddenly noticed someone blocking his sunlight.
He half-opened his eyes and saw Lin Yumeng standing in the sunlight, as pure and lovely as a little lily, smiling as she stood before him.
Seeing Xu Ze open his eyes, Lin Yumeng lightly pressed her lips together and smiled, then said, “Xu Ze… a few of my classmates heard that you saved us, and they insisted on coming to thank you…”
“Hmm?” Xu Ze glanced at the figures behind Lin Yumeng and couldn’t help but smile wryly. He had finally found a peaceful afternoon, and now it was interrupted again. He had no choice but to sit up and say, “I went to save you, and saving them was just a byproduct… No need to be so polite…”
Behind Lin Yumeng, a few young, fresh-faced girls looked at Xu Ze, who was leaning lazily against the large rock, with admiration in their eyes. They were all first-year students who had just started school half a year ago. But in those six months, they had come to admire this legendary figure at Xingda University immensely. Especially Xu Ze’s performance at the freshman orientation had sparked a few fantasies in these young girls’ hearts.
And this time, their small gathering had almost turned into a disaster. If Xu Ze hadn’t stepped in, their innocence might have been compromised. So, after a lingering sense of fear, they had asked Lin Yumeng to bring them to thank Xu Ze…
Lin Yumeng knew that Xu Ze disliked such formalities and had originally refused. But teased and egged on by her group of friends, she had blushed and reluctantly agreed to bring them along.
Since they were brought by Lin Yumeng, Xu Ze had no choice but to stand up with a smile and greet the young girls behind her with a gentle nod.
The girls, bathed in the sunlight and witnessing Xu Ze’s faint smile, all blushed deeply and swarmed around him like a flock of little birds.
After nudging each other forward for a moment, a brave and pretty girl finally stepped out. She looked at Xu Ze with a red face and said, “Xu Ze… thank you for saving us… Could we… invite you to dinner?”
“Dinner?” Looking at this group of innocent and adorable young girls, Xu Ze couldn’t help but smile. Over the past couple of days, dealing with directors and generals had made him feel like an old man. But now, seeing these young girls, he finally felt a bit of his youth return. So he smiled and replied, “Sure… but, I’ll treat you instead…”
Before the girls could respond, Lin Yumeng happily agreed, saying with a laugh, “Alright! Let’s have Xu Ze treat us. He’s rich, so let him buy us something really good!”
“Alright then, something really good it is…” Xu Ze looked at Lin Yumeng’s happy expression and knew exactly what she was thinking. She said it was his treat, but judging by her look, she would definitely secretly pay the bill. That red envelope she had been holding onto probably made her uncomfortable. By using it to treat everyone to a meal and spending some of it, she would finally feel at ease.
Since he was treating everyone to dinner, he wanted to show some sincerity. If they were going to eat well, they shouldn’t just eat somewhere nearby. To be considerate, he didn’t want them to have to take a taxi. So Xu Ze called Tang Zhi to ask if he had a larger car. After Tang Zhi asked a few questions, he said, “Someone will drop a car off at the school gate at five o’clock.”
At exactly five o’clock, Xu Ze received a Mercedes-Benz minivan at the gate, which could comfortably seat six or seven people. After waiting a moment at the gate, Lin Yumeng arrived with a group of young girls. Amidst the envious stares of many boys, they appeared at the school entrance. Xu Ze waved to Lin Yumeng from inside the car, finally curbing the eager glances of the young boys.
Taking a large group of charming, lovely young girls out to dinner definitely drew attention, but for someone like Xu Ze, who was no longer a green youth, it didn’t really matter.
The doorman at the Baorui Grand Hotel attentively opened the door of the Mercedes-Benz minivan and watched as a group of lovely young girls hopped out. He was momentarily stunned, then secretly envied them, thinking, “Could this be some big boss treating a group of art school girls to dinner?”
But recalling the license plate he had just seen, which seemed to belong to a government vehicle, he felt a bit puzzled. Surely no one in the city government would be so bold as to show off like this, right?
However, when he saw Xu Ze get out of the driver’s seat and accept the tossed car keys, the doorman quickly snapped out of it. Of course, he recognized Xu Ze. This young man had done the hotel a huge favor last time and seemed to have a deep connection with Mayor Tang. The general manager had later personally instructed that this young man was to be treated as a VIP guest at the hotel.
Such a young VIP guest was rare at the hotel. For a guest like this, no matter how many girls he brought to dinner, it would be perfectly normal…
When the girls got out of the car and saw that it was the Baorui Grand Hotel, they were startled. Baorui was the largest, best, and naturally the most expensive hotel in Xingcheng. They had no idea that Xu Ze meant to treat them to a meal here. Most of the girls had never eaten at such a place before, so they were a bit excited.
The group of curious girls followed Xu Ze, chattering and looking around as they walked through the hotel’s revolving door.
As a group of lovely young women walked in through the entrance, the lobby manager inside was momentarily stunned, but then he saw Xu Ze in front. Immediately, his face lit up with a warm smile, and he walked over enthusiastically, respectfully saying, “Young Master Xu… Are you here for dinner today?”
Seeing the lobby manager, Xu Ze remembered that when he had eaten here last time and rescued District Chief Bai, the manager seemed to have been present. So he probably recognized him.
Xu Ze nodded and smiled, saying, “Yes, I’m here for dinner. Do you have any private rooms available?”
The lobby manager hesitated for a moment, then looked at Xu Ze with a troubled expression, a hint of apology in his eyes, and carefully asked, “Mr. Xu… all the private rooms are full at the moment. However, there is one room that can fit two tables, but only one table is occupied. How about I put up a screen to partition it for you?”
