Chapter 41: The Turning Point

  As they walked out of the police station, Qi Shu suddenly burst into laughter as Yuan Da Zhu got on the car and left. Mu Ze Chen smiled and asked: "What's wrong with Yuan Bao Zi? Why are you so happy?"

  "It's nothing, but if I had the chance, I'd chop off his hands!" Qi Shu said with a smile, but her words sent chills down people's spines.

  "Don't mess around, this person can't move now." Mu Zechen furrowed his brow and solemnly warned Qi Shu. He knew that this beautiful woman was capable of doing anything.

  "Alright, got it boss." Qī Shūjiāo pouted and pulled on his shoulder, her soft chest lightly brushing against his arm, sending a spark of electricity through his heart. Mù Zéchén subtly withdrew his arm and said calmly: "Director Lin's car has arrived."

  A Santana stopped in front of the two, and a man in his thirties with a handsome face got out of the car. Mu Zechen went up to him with a smile all over his face and said, "It's really troubling Director Lin, you're still working so late."

  The young man known as Lin Bureau smiled reservedly, "It's just a small matter, General Mu spoke too heavily. I had some other business to attend to and arrived late, didn't the bureau give you any trouble?"

  "There's no way, even if the director himself arranged it, with no outsiders present, there absolutely won't be any trouble."

  It's hard to imagine that the arrogant Mu Ze Chen would be so respectful to this person, but the three people present all felt it was justified. The young man nodded, his eyes looking at Qi Shu, and couldn't help but light up. Under the night sky, Qi Shu was like a blood elf walking out of a dream, with a pure face, a fiery waist, and skin as white as snow. Every move she made sparked a strong impulse in men.

  "Miss Qi, you won't refuse my invitation tonight, will you? Since arriving in Qingzhou, I've heard of your reputation, Miss Qi, but never had the chance to get close. Could it be that Lin Zhen is not worthy, and doesn't meet your standards?"

  It turned out that this young man was the deputy director who had been warned by Zuo Jing not to provoke, Zuo Yu Xi.

  She let out a gentle "aiyo" and walked up to Lin Zhen's side, one hand lightly pressing on the car roof, the other patting his shoulder, her posture charming yet not overly flirtatious: "Director Lin, please don't tease me, you're a busy important person, how could I dare disturb you casually? But tonight is really inconvenient, later I still have to go with General Mu to Guanshan to see the big boss, you know, as secretaries our time doesn't belong to ourselves..."

  Since she has moved out of Gu Shi Tong, Lin Zhen couldn't say anything and smiled with great elegance: "Then let's make an appointment again when Miss Qi returns from Guan Shan. General Mu, I'll take my leave first."

  Mu Zechen nodded and said okay, Qi Shu easily opened the car door, her slender hand blocking the edge of the car, Lin Zhen smiled and thanked her, bowing his head to get in. Watching the Santana drive away, a Nissan SUV came out from the side gate of the Public Security Bureau. After all, he was here on private business tonight, so the Benz was too eye-catching, exchanging it for this low-key car wouldn't attract attention.

  As soon as they got on the car, Mu Zechen shook his head and said: "You... it's fine if you refuse, but do you have to walk all the way to the car and force him to leave? It's too obvious, not good! Lin Zhen will eventually go back to the province, don't offend him too much."

  Qī Shū coldly laughed: "He thought I was a prostitute, I'll let him know that even if I were a prostitute, it's not that easy to get close to me."

  The car fell silent for a while before Mu Zechen let out a long sigh and said, "Why don't I talk to President Guo about it? You actually don't have to put yourself through this..."

  Qī Shū turned her head, and after a moment, she returned to her usual charming self, giggling: "Let's not talk about that! By the way, I've suddenly become interested in Ji Zheng."

  Although Qi Shu dodged it, Mu Ze still saw the tears flashing in her eyes from the window reflection. He deliberately followed her and said: "Ji Zheng is now just a small figure, but this person has an advantage that others don't have, which is being ruthless enough to be cruel to himself. If there's an opportunity to take advantage of the situation, it's hard to say how far he can go. However, it doesn't matter, since we've intervened, his life will only be like this from now on."

  "Kě wén yuǎn nà biān..." = "Look at the distant horizon..."

  Mu Ze Chen sneered: "Wen Yuan just wants to vent, she's just a little girl, once he gets bored, he'll naturally dump her, no big deal."

  "But Yuan Dazhu is also ruthless enough, Ji Zheng and He Xiaobo conspired to report him for embezzling wages to do business. Is this a big deal? Do you want to make someone's family broken and destitute? This person is like a mad dog, I think we'd better not get too close to him."

  Mu Zechen shook his head and said, "Yuan Baozi's butt is dirty and can't be wiped clean. He's not really afraid of this matter, he's afraid that once it's investigated, other rotten accounts will come out. He's so readily accepting our mediation because he wants to cling to a lifeline for self-protection. The storm in Qingzhou is approaching, I don't know how many people are struggling to survive from dawn till dusk, searching everywhere for a place to settle..."

  Zhi Shu let out a crisp laugh, seemingly looking forward to the day when Yuan Da Zhu would be in a sorry state. She turned her head and glanced in the direction of the Public Security Bureau, muttering: "I wonder if that ruthless person is crying or laughing now?"

  At the same time when Ji Zheng made a difficult decision, in another residence of Xueyuexi Education District, the most important guest of tonight, Liu Tianlai, arrived.

  Liu Tianlai was thirty-six or seven years old, with a dark complexion and a hint of redness, the kind of mark left by exposure to the sun. His hands were thick and large at the joints, and when he spread them out, they almost covered his entire face. As soon as he came in, he rushed in without even changing his shoes, and opened his mouth with a loud voice: "Director Zuo, I'm old Liu!" The sound was like thunder, and in the small living room, it seemed to reverberate with echoes.

  The sentence left Wen Ruo's eyes wide with wonder, staring at the two large black footprints on the floor in silence. Liu Tianlai only then remembered that he hadn't changed his shoes and hastily retreated several steps, adding another row of black prints to the floor, his face full of awkward expressions, standing at the door unable to move forward or backward.

  Zuo Yuxi hadn't spoken yet, when Wen Cheng walked a few steps inside and smiled: "Uncle Liu, please come in, it's okay, you don't need to change your shoes."

  Although Wen Qian was just a young man, from the fact that he could speak on behalf of his master, it was clear that his relationship with Zuo Yu Xi was not ordinary. Liu Tian Lai did not dare to be arrogant and stepped down: "The shoes that need to be taken off are still needed." He put the shoes neatly in order and walked over to stand beside him, saying: "Director Zuo, I received the call and came over immediately. I didn't take a police car, so it took some time by taxi."

  At home, meeting Liu Tianlai was Wen Qian's idea. This way, they could speak quietly and make Liu Tianlai feel like he wasn't being treated as an outsider. After all, people tend to lose interest once someone leaves, so it's necessary to be mindful of one's approach when dealing with former subordinates like these. Zuo Yuxi stood up, having had plenty of interactions with Liu Tianlai in the past and knowing his temperament well enough not to take offense. With her usual calm demeanor, she said, "Director Liu, please sit down. I'm so sorry to have troubled you to come over so late." Coincidentally, someone else had spoken similar words at a different time and place, among a different group of people.

  "It's okay, it's okay, it was like this before too. Old Secretary would make one phone call and I'd arrive overnight, never hesitating." Liu Tianlai plopped himself down on the opposite side of the couch, creating a deep indentation in the cushions.

  Wen Cheng sat down beside Zuo Yu Xi, looking at Liu Tian Lai in front of him, with a thousand emotions in his heart. He thought about Liu Zhi and that little rascal, how could his father be such an idiot? Just by listening to this one sentence, it was clear that he was a rough person who only knew how to curry favor and show loyalty. However, this Liu Tian Lai really couldn't be connected to the cunning and clever Liu Zhi, both father and son were so unexpected.

  Zuo Yuxi lazily circled around and directly told Ji Zheng about the case, finally saying: "I want to get this person out, you think of a way."

  Liu Tianlai scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed, and said: "Director Zuo, you also know that I'm ranked lower in the bureau. If it were an ordinary case, there wouldn't be a problem. But if Yuan Dazhu is involved, the resistance from both the bureau and the procuratorate might be quite strong..."

  Zuo Yuxi's eyebrows twitched, and his eyes turned slightly cold for an instant. Wenhe lightly touched her and smiled: "Director Liu, this matter is actually easy to handle. Listen to what I have to say. A deputy director staying in a branch bureau isn't suitable, so we can first transfer him to the Municipal Bureau's Economic Investigation Team. Since economic investigation is under your jurisdiction, we can investigate the specific amount of bribery and, with your help, collude with the Discipline Inspection Commission to cover up as much as possible. Receiving bribes is usually a covert operation; as long as no large amounts of cash are discovered, it's hard to get caught. After reducing and deducting, there shouldn't be much left. Later, we can just let someone from the Discipline Inspection Commission come and conduct a disciplinary review, giving him an internal party punishment, and that will be the end of it."

  Liu Tian was shocked and stared at Wen Qian, unable to speak for a long time. Although this operation had many loopholes, they were all minor issues, and the feasibility of this idea was huge. However, hearing these words from a half-grown child still made him feel a little absent-minded. Zhi He that kid was smart enough, but compared to this young man, he was far inferior.

  "This way is also feasible, but Director Zhao and the Procuratorate..."

  Zuo Yuxi also heard Wen Ze's plan for the first time, and looked at him with some curiosity, nodding his head: "As long as it works, Zhao Xinkuan and the Procuratorate will wait for me to call my father later. You don't have to worry. Director Jiang Wei of the Discipline Inspection Commission is a friend of mine, and she can come forward when the time comes. Director Liu, my father mentioned you old subordinates a few days ago, saying that they didn't contact him even after going to Lingyang for so long..."

  What else can be said? Liu Tianlai's eyes were laughing so hard they couldn't close, and he hastily stood up, patted his chest, and guaranteed: "Wait a minute, I'll call Old Secretary as soon as I get back. Don't worry, this matter will be handled properly, without any leaks."

  "There's no rush, here's what we'll do: Director Liu, you get the person to a place where you have control tonight, and arrange for him to meet with us tomorrow night. Don't contact him, don't say anything, it's better if he's suspicious and uncertain. We'll make decisions after we meet."

  Wen Jian wanted full-hearted cooperation from Ji Zheng, so he couldn't reveal too many of his cards before the negotiations were over.

  After sending Liu Tian away, Wen Ze didn't go to the sofa opposite, but sat down beside Zuo Yu Xi again, just as he was about to speak, he was suddenly pounced on by Zuo Yu Xi and had his ears pinched.

  "Alright, is there anything else you don't understand? Why didn't you mention those things to me earlier? Hmph, now I think it's too risky to cooperate with you, who knows when you'll secretly sell me out."

  "How can I bear it? Ah!" Wen Xianqian smiled and begged for mercy, but unexpectedly this sentence caused Zuo Yuxi's hand to exert a strong force.

  Wen Chen let out a muffled cry as he fell backwards, landing squarely on her legs. The intoxicating scent of perfume wafted up to his nostrils, and the tight jeans accentuated the roundness of her thighs. Through the thin fabric, he could feel an astonishing elasticity. Xi Yu's face turned slightly red with embarrassment, her heart racing with shame. The hot air emanating from Wen Chen's mouth seemed to melt the skin on her legs, making her feel like she was burning with anxiety. Yet, at this moment, it wasn't suitable for her to push him away immediately - that would be too obvious, as if she had something to hide.

  "Hmm, he's still just a kid... Zuo Yuxi forced himself to calm down, his left hand still gripping the other boy's ear, lowering his head to scold him some more. But as soon as he looked up, he was taken aback."

  Wen Qing's head was resting on Yu Xi's thigh, his two bright black eyes were clear as a lake, and with a slight movement, it seemed like countless lights were flashing. His face was still quite immature, with a hint of soft down on the edges of his mouth, his lips were thin and tightly pursed, giving off an impression of stubbornness and determination. Wen Qing wasn't someone with a very handsome face, but his smile was warm, his personality was sunny, and he always had a kind of inexplicable depth and mystery that couldn't be denied, at this moment, he was quite captivating.

  At this thought, Zuo Yu Xi secretly scolded himself and was about to make an excuse to push him away. Wen Chen seemed to be muttering to himself, yet also seemed to be asking: "Will we win?" His eyes were looking at Zuo Yu Xi, but his focus was gathered somewhere else. Zuo Yu Xi's heart skipped a beat, just as he was about to speak, Wen Chen smiled, revealing his white teeth, and made an OK gesture with his hand: "Don't worry, we will definitely win!"

  "Not bad, we will definitely win!"

  Zuo Yuxi gently wrapped her jade arm around Wen Chen's head, one hand stroking his cheek, speaking softly but with a loud tone!