78: Chapter 78 Lin Jiadong: I feel like I'm dreaming

The crowd of onlookers automatically parted. Deputy Bureau Chief Chang Le walked at the very front with a confident, imposing stride. His face was gloomy, suggesting he was suppressing his anger. He was followed by four or five people, though Su Ye had no idea who they were.

When Officer Wu Fa and Officer Hu Wei saw Police Station Chief Xu Wen walking in the back, they hurried forward and whispered, "Chief." Meanwhile, Xu Wu realized he had caused his older brother a huge problem and kept his head down, not daring to speak.

When Police Station Chief Xu Wen saw Officer Wu Fa, Officer Hu Wei, and even Xu Wu, his heart sank. It was certain that Xu Wu had used his name to do something illegal or against regulations, and worse, Deputy Bureau Chief Chang Le had found out about it.

At that moment, Police Station Chief Xu Wen felt a chill run down his spine, a coldness piercing straight to his heart.

Seeing Police Station Chief Xu Wen, Lin Jiadong also hurried up and called out, "Police Station Chief Xu."

Although Lin Jiadong didn't really like Police Station Chief Xu Wen and avoided deep contact with him, he still had to maintain appearances. Otherwise, if the man decided to make his life difficult, there would be nowhere for him to turn for help.

Officer Wu Fa had also seen Lin Jiadong lecturing Fu Yun earlier, but he hadn't had the chance to step forward and ask for help before Police Station Chief Xu Wen and the others arrived.

Since the situation was ultimately caused by Fu Yun, if he could get Lin Jiadong to persuade Fu Yun to drop the matter, perhaps he could save his own job. However, Officer Wu Fa knew his own weight wasn't significant enough. Now that Police Station Chief Xu Wen was here, it was naturally best to let him handle it.

With that thought, Officer Wu Fa hurriedly leaned into Police Station Chief Xu Wen's ear and explained the sequence of events, along with Lin Jiadong's identity. As Police Station Chief Xu Wen listened to Officer Wu Fa's whispering, a glimmer of hope began to rise in his initially desperate eyes. Regardless, he had to try—it was like treating a dead horse as if it were still alive.

Whether he could survive this now depended entirely on Lin Jiadong, or more accurately, on Fu Yun.

He knew he had offended quite a few people over the years. Although many of those offenses were committed by his younger brother, Xu Wu, others wouldn't see it that way. Everyone would believe that because Police Station Chief Xu Wen was backing him, he was the primary culprit.

If he lost his position as Police Station Chief and didn't move away in the middle of the night, someone would definitely come to smash his windows by evening.

He forced a smile onto his livid face and said, "Little Lin, I've treated you pretty well, haven't I?"

Lin Jiadong had only rushed over after receiving a call from his uncle and didn't know the specific details of what had happened. Seeing Police Station Chief Xu Wen's uncharacteristically friendly attitude, he was momentarily confused. However, he couldn't ignore a superior's question, so he had to say insincerely, "Police Station Chief Xu has certainly treated me very well."

Police Station Chief Xu Wen patted Lin Jiadong on the shoulder and said with a look of feigned dissatisfaction, "Why call me Police Station Chief Xu? Call me Brother Xu. From now on, you're my little brother."

"Anyway, today was all just a misunderstanding. Do you think you could go talk to your sister's husband and let this matter rest?"

Hearing Police Station Chief Xu Wen say this, Lin Jiadong turned his head to see Fu Yun and his friends chatting happily with the middle-aged man who had entered first. He felt like he had stumbled upon something significant.

When Su Ye and Li Yi saw Deputy Bureau Chief Chang Le enter the courtyard, they walked up quickly to greet him: "Deputy Bureau Chief Chang!" (x2)

After all, with so many outsiders present, the two didn't use a term that was too intimate, fearing it might affect Deputy Bureau Chief Chang Le.

Deputy Bureau Chief Chang Le was very satisfied with their performance. What do officials fear most? They fear having some ignorant fool by their side who is afraid that others won't know their connection, calling out intimate names in any setting. How would that look to others? What would people say if word got out?

"Hey, it's after work hours now, not during work. Why be so formal? Just call me what you do in private."

Seeing how sensible the two were, Deputy Bureau Chief Chang Le didn't care anymore. After all, as he said, it was after work hours. "Brother Le." "Brother-in-law."

Deputy Bureau Chief Chang Le responded and then asked, "I already know roughly what happened. Where are the parties involved?"

Su Ye hurriedly called Fu Yun over, who explained everything in detail. Deputy Bureau Chief Chang Le turned to look at Deputy Town Mayor Wang Hua and the instructor Zhang Zheng-hua beside him, saying with a smile, "So this is the Dongjia Town Police Station. It really has opened my eyes. A single phone call can pull up a citizen's information, and they won't even allow others to use the media to seek justice. Now, they've even colluded to enter someone's home and make an arrest."

"Wonderful, truly wonderful. Are these public servants? Are these police officers? These are nothing but bandits—official-bandit collusion!"

Deputy Bureau Chief Chang Le's roar set the tone for the entire incident. Deputy Town Mayor Wang Hua and the instructor Zhang Zheng-hua were both trembling. They knew their positions were directly linked to the police station; if this characterization held, being stripped of their ranks entirely was not out of the question.

"Deputy Bureau Chief Chang, I swear on heaven and earth, I knew absolutely nothing about this."

"That's right, Deputy Bureau Chief Chang. We rarely interact with Police Station Chief Xu Wen; we only communicate regarding work matters."

At this moment, they didn't care about anything else; they just wanted to dump the blame onto Police Station Chief Xu Wen to save themselves.

Deputy Bureau Chief Chang Le pointed at Deputy Town Mayor Wang Hua and said, "You didn't know? As a supervising leader, you didn't know? You, Wang Hua, were born and raised here, and you're telling me you didn't know?"

He then pointed at the instructor Zhang Zheng-hua: "You are the instructor. Do you know what an instructor is? Something like this happens, and you're telling me you didn't know? Is this the first time something like this has happened? What about your duties? What about your Party spirit?"

Seeing Deputy Bureau Chief Chang Le explode, the two completely lost the ability to speak and could only lower their heads in silence.

Seeing this, Lin Jiadong didn't care about Police Station Chief Xu Wen anymore. He walked directly behind Su Ye and his group and began staring at the sky.

"Great Police Station Chief Xu? Come on, give me an explanation."

Deputy Bureau Chief Chang Le spotted Police Station Chief Xu Wen, who was acting like a turtle pulling its head into its shell, at a glance: "You still want to remove the 'acting' title from your position? Where do you get the nerve, Xu Wen? If you want to remove it, fine, I'll grant your wish. But if you're going to remove it, you'll remove everything. I'm also going to investigate your collusion with organized crime."

Police Station Chief Xu Wen opened his mouth and said, "Deputy Bureau Chief Chang, this..."

"Don't 'this' me. Get out of here. They are getting married today; don't get in the way here."

"I will go to the district tomorrow to hold a meeting. I hope the three of you will be at your posts on time tomorrow."

"That is all."

After saying this, Deputy Bureau Chief Chang Le turned to look at Su Ye and the others, a warm smile appearing on his face: "Li Yi, Su Ye, I'll be heading off now."

He then glanced at Fu Yun: "Young man, I'll come to your house tomorrow to have a glass of wedding wine. How about that?"

Fu Yun was still stunned. Lin Jiadong, standing behind him, hurriedly poked Fu Yun hard in the waist. "Ah!"

Fu Yun let out a cry, then hurriedly said, "Yes! Of course!"

Seeing Deputy Bureau Chief Chang Le's gaze shift toward him, Lin Jiadong immediately stood at attention, putting on his best, most spirited posture.

"What is your name?"

"Reporting to Deputy Bureau Chief Chang, Dongjia Town Police Station officer Lin Jiadong reporting to you."

Deputy Bureau Chief Chang Le didn't speak, merely nodding.

It wasn't until he saw the backs of Deputy Bureau Chief Chang Le and his group disappear that Lin Jiadong felt as if his entire day had been a dream.