170: You have offended your boss and lost your diploma.

Ye Lin was a bit annoyed. If it were a criminal, it would be easier to deal with; he wouldn't feel any psychological burden hitting or scolding them. But this young girl just wanted to protect herself, and there was nothing wrong with that. He could only get her to speak voluntarily.

How to make her speak voluntarily? Offer money?

Just as he was fretting, Ye Lin's phone rang.

Who was calling so late at night? Ye Lin was a little irritated.

However, as a police officer, professional ethics dictated that no matter how late it was, if the phone rang, he had to answer it. Who knew if there was an emergency? After all, crime had no time limit.

Ye Lin picked up his phone from beside his pillow and glanced at it—an unfamiliar number, from the City of Yuezhou.

He answered it, puzzled.

"Who is this?"

Answering the phone in the middle of the night, Ye Lin wasn't in a good mood.

The person on the other end seemed startled by his tone and went silent.

Ye Lin checked; the call was still connected. He impatiently called out, "Who is it? Speak up, or I'm hanging up."

"No, no. Officer Ye, I'm Pan Guoming's father, Pan Dahai." Pan Dahai on the other end snatched Pan Guoming's phone and started speaking. It was Pan Guoming who had called earlier, but the kid was a bit too proud, so the old father had to step in personally.

"Who? Pan Guoming? I don't know him. Did you dial the wrong number?" Ye Lin was full of question marks, thinking for a long time but couldn't recall who that was.

Pan Dahai's mouth twitched. Damn it, he was being a bit overly worried. He should have known not to make this call.

"Officer Ye, I am Pan Dahai, the Director of our Yuezhou Culture and Tourism Bureau." Since the other party didn't remember him, Pan Dahai could only introduce himself first.

"Oh, it's you. Is your son trying to get you to deal with me?" Ye Lin replied with a cold laugh.

"No, no, Mr. Ye..." Pan Dahai deliberated for a long time, deciding that calling him "Mr." would better convey his sincerity.

"I'm here to apologize for my son. He's usually not very good with words, but he's kind-hearted and still wants to do things for the country and the people." Pan Dahai began to forcibly whitewash his son, even using useless phrases like "kind-hearted."

Pan Guoming, standing nearby, listened with an awkward expression. Oh my, am I that great?

I was just going to pick up girls.

"Director Pan, whether your son wants to do things for the country and the people is none of my business, but don't interfere with my work, or don't blame me for being impolite," Ye Lin said bluntly.

"Yes, yes, he was also misled by a villain this afternoon, which ruined your plans, Mr. Ye. I will definitely teach him a lesson. Also, I heard you're looking for some clues from that student, Meng Qiu, right?" Pan Dahai sincerely accepted Ye Lin's criticism, then smoothly steered the conversation towards Meng Qiu.

This tactic of deflecting the topic made Pan Guoming feel inferior. His old man was still his old man.

"You have a way?" Ye Lin was also a sensible person. Since Pan Dahai asked that, he must have a plan.

Pan Dahai on the other end chuckled obsequiously twice. "Mr. Ye, I am the Director of the Culture and Tourism Bureau. Many students from Communication University go into the cultural and tourism industry after graduation, so I know their principal."

Ye Lin smiled knowingly. What was this called? A pillow delivered when you were sleepy.

For a department head to handle a student from a school under his jurisdiction, it was truly not just ordinarily easy.

"Alright, if Director Pan can help me with this, I'll remember this favor," Ye Lin said readily.

Pan Dahai on the other end was overjoyed to hear this. Having Ye Lin owe him a favor was a huge stroke of luck.

Given Kang Dejun's relationship with Ye Lin, if he just said a word, Pan Dahai's career advancing another step wouldn't be a problem at all.

Most importantly, dealing with Meng Qiu was effortless for him and didn't require violating any rules.

"Mr. Ye, please rest assured, I will handle it as quickly as possible and give you a satisfactory result," Pan Dahai promised.

After hanging up, Pan Dahai shed his obsequious expression, and the look in his eyes towards Pan Guoming was no longer so hateful.

"Son, I didn't expect you to actually help your old man this time, hahahaha."

Watching his father's face change so drastically, like a face-changing act, Pan Guoming was speechless. Then why did you hit me just now?

On the other side, Ye Lin had someone to handle things, so he felt relieved, lay down, and fell asleep.

Meanwhile, Meng Qiu, who was about to lose sleep, had already fallen into a dream... At 8 AM, Meng Qiu had just finished washing her face and was about to have breakfast.

Suddenly, the Counselor rushed in and anxiously pulled Meng Qiu out.

"Counselor, what happened?" Meng Qiu looked confused.

The Counselor said nothing, directly led Meng Qiu to the office, then closed the door, looked at Meng Qiu sternly, and asked, "Did you offend the school leaders?"

"School leaders? I haven't even met them, how could I offend them? No, Counselor, what exactly happened?" This sudden question left Meng Qiu bewildered. How did she offend a leader after waking up?

Seeing Meng Qiu's innocent expression, the Counselor was also a bit confused. Looking at this child from a struggling family, he hoped Meng Qiu could graduate smoothly, but now it seemed there was a problem.

"As soon as the leaders came to work today, they called me in and said the school decided to re-evaluate your credits and wouldn't allow you to graduate on time."

"Why? I've already found an internship. How will I get a job without a diploma?" Meng Qiu panicked. A diploma was the stepping stone to employment, and she desperately needed a job now.

Moreover, her entire family was waiting for her to graduate, hoping she could bring about a change in their fate.

If she didn't have a job, let alone hope, her very survival would be a problem.

The Counselor sighed, "The leader said he didn't want to either, but he said you offended someone, and it was a leader from the City who directly pressured them."

"From the City? And a leader?"

Meng Qiu felt like crying. As a struggling student, barely able to afford food, how could she possibly offend a City leader?

"Counselor, is there a mistake? You know my situation. How could I have the capital to offend anyone, let alone a leader?" Meng Qiu was now hoping the school had made a mistake.

"I don't know either, but the principal gave me a phone number and told you to resolve it yourself." The Counselor handed her a phone number.

Meng Qiu pulled out her phone, secretly cursing whoever was framing her.

Looking at the seemingly familiar string of numbers, she entered them one by one.

After entering the number, the contact list displayed a name: Annoying Police Officer.

Meng Qiu immediately understood.

Seeing Meng Qiu's sudden realization, the Counselor had nothing more to say. "Take care of yourself. Bow your head when you need to. When you're under someone's roof..."

With that, the Counselor left Meng Qiu alone and departed.

Meng Qiu gritted her teeth, staring at the name on her phone. This damned police officer, it was endless.