Chapter 51: Chai Lin, How Are You Managing This Team?

"Are you with Wanqing? I don't want her to worry too much!"

"My phone was in the study. I answered it in the study. They are having dinner in the dining room. Go ahead."

"When I went to pick up Yutong today, someone happened to be giving her flowers. Yutong was quite annoyed with the person, so it was a bit unpleasant. Afterward, as Yutong and I were about to go get dinner, someone deliberately hit us with a car!"

"Where are you now? Are you seriously hurt?" Zhou Jianguo stood up, because in his heart, Liang Jiyong truly was a young man of great potential.

"My reflexes are fast, so it's nothing major. Just scraped my arm and took a tumble on the ground. The guy driving the car had some trouble and got beaten up pretty badly by me. His name is Pei Haitao, and he's Pei Chengwen's son!"

"To what extent is he injured?" Zhou Jianguo knew that the severity of Pei Haitao's injuries would affect the outcome of this matter.

"I was indeed furious at first, but after throwing a few punches, I sobered up. I didn't hit any fatal spots, so he probably won't be crippled, but I estimate he'll have to lie in the hospital for a month or so."

"Mm, I see. Just handle it according to normal procedures... Reach out to Zhao Shu first, you know what to say, right?"

If Liang Jiyong weren't so young, he wouldn't have had to ask twice.

"Understood, I'll call him right away..."

"Mm!"

"Uncle Zhou, then I'll hang up first. On such a big holiday, I've brought you trouble. I'm sorry!"

"For me this year, there are too many upsetting things; one more doesn't make a difference. Besides, it's not your fault. We live in a society governed by law now, and everything must be handled in accordance with the law!"

"Indeed. It's just that I haven't studied much law yet; I don't know if this counts as legitimate self-defense."

"Whether it counts or not, the law has the final say!"

"Yes!"

...

After hanging up the phone, he called Zhao Guangming next. Zhao Guangming offered Liang Jiyong a few words of comfort, then hung up and immediately called Zhou Jianguo back.

After expressing appropriate shock, Zhou Jianguo only said one sentence: "Handle the case according to the law, with reason and evidence!"

After the call ended, Liu Zhao's ambulance and the criminal police squad arrived successively, having been thanked earlier.

Pei Haitao was taken away by the ambulance, and the leading criminal police officer turned out to be an old acquaintance—Chai Lin!

"It's you again!" Chai Lin held no good impression of Liang Jiyong.

"Captain Chai, your tone isn't right. I was completely innocent in the matter last time, and this time, I'm a victim as well!"

"You're a victim? The victim has already gotten into the ambulance," Chai Lin said disdainfully.

"Let's go. You won't need to cuff me, right?" Chai Lin snorted coldly.

"I'm injured too. I was just hit by a car, and now I'm going to the hospital to have my injuries assessed. That's reasonable, sensible, and legal, isn't it?"

"You don't need to teach me how to handle a case. We're going to the bureau to take your statement first, and then I'll arrange for your injury assessment!"

"That scum drove his car right at us. If it weren't for Jiyong's quick reflexes, we both would have been killed. Jiyong rolled on the ground several times after being hit. If anything happens to him, are you going to take responsibility?"

"Hmph, I really don't believe that someone who could beat a man like that could have any major problems. If anything is wrong, I'll take responsibility! Back to the bureau to take statements first!"

Seeing that Di Yutong was still going to entangle with this guy, Liang Jiyong stopped her. There was no point; his injuries indeed weren't serious.

Besides, he would be able to get out soon enough. At the very least, Zhou Jianguo was not the kind of person who pandered to the powerful, and furthermore, matters in Pingzhou really didn't have much impact on Zhou Jianguo.

It was a pity that the internet wasn't developed yet; otherwise, this incident could have even allowed Pei Haitao to thoroughly screw over his old man!

"Alright, it's fine. I haven't been to the municipal bureau in a long time; let's go back and take a look, take a trip down memory lane," Liang Jiyong sighed with emotion.

"Hmph, looking at your attitude, you must have broken the law plenty of times before!" Chai Lin gave Liang Jiyong a shove, urging him into the police car!

"Don't touch him, he's injured! If anything happens to him, I'm not letting you off!" Di Yutong glared at Chai Lin.

"What are you doing? Who told you to get in the car? Is the municipal bureau somewhere you can just waltz into whenever you want?"

"I hit that scum too. Just now in the girls' dormitory building, I gave him a kick that will end his family line. Does that count as breaking the law?"

Chai Lin blankly recalled that scumbag who had been castrated by an ice skate last time!

This chick was fiery, but far too ruthless—better not mess with her in the future!

"Fine, I've never seen anyone rush to go to a police station. Take them both away..."

The two sat in the back row, with a young police officer sitting next to Liang Jiyong, while Chai Lin sat in the front passenger seat.

"Hmph, what a couple of hotheads. Do you have any idea who you hit?"

Chai Lin spoke with a gloating tone; anyway, the two in the back were his trusted subordinates, so it didn't matter what he said.

"Isn't he just Pei Chengwen's son? Acting like some big shot—is it really worth making a fuss?"

"You know?" Chai Lin turned his head in surprise.

"Of course I know. He just has a good father; otherwise, I definitely would have crippled him!"

"Hmph, the guy has a good father, and you still made a move? I really don't know if you're just stupid or full of yourself!"

Liang Jiyong smiled. "This is the third time we've dealt with each other. Although none of them have been very pleasant, we're old acquaintances now. You're not a good person, but you're not too bad either. Let me give you a piece of advice: don't mess around blindly."

"Hmph, as if I need you to teach me!" Chai Lin rebuked.

Liang Jiyong ignored him.

"Does it still hurt?" Di Yutong asked.

"It's fine if I don't move, but it hurts a bit when I do," Liang Jiyong said.

Di Yutong immediately said to the young police officer sitting beside them, "Hey, make some room. It's suffocatingly cramped. We're not going to break out of prison, why are you crowding in?"

The officer next to them was probably a fresh graduate and hadn't yet become a hardened veteran. Scolded by Di Yutong like that, he looked embarrassed and actually made a bit of room.

Upon arriving at the police station, Liang Jiyong stood at the entrance for a moment, looking at the sign—it still bore the same characters.

However, once inside, the interior layout differed quite a bit from what he remembered.

"Empty your pockets!" A young police officer shouted upon entering a room!

"We're here to give statements, not as prisoners!" Liang Jiyong was far too familiar with these procedures.

Since when did people coming to give statements have to hand over their personal belongings?

"Stop talking nonsense. Hand them over when you're told!"

"What if I don't?" Liang Jiyong stepped back.

Chai Lin stood to the side, giving neither instructions nor interference.

"If you don't, then I'll just have to do it myself. We don't have any female colleagues around right now!"

The twenty-seven or twenty-eight-year-old officer cast a glance at Di Yutong.

"Try touching her and see what happens," Liang Jiyong clenched his fists.

"Alright, let's take the statements!" Chai Lin interjected.

"Captain Chai, with hotheads like these, there's no need to be polite," the criminal police officer said dismissively.

Liang Jiyong's gaze darkened, and he immediately prepared to rush forward.

However, two officers standing in the back instantly stepped up and grabbed Liang Jiyong's arms.

Liang Jiyong struggled. He freed his right arm, but when he tried to pull away his left arm, which was injured, a piercing pain shot through him.

"Agh!"

Simultaneously, the officer squatted down, crying out in pain!

Chai Lin's expression turned ugly in an instant.

He was filled with resentment toward Liang Jiyong, as well as toward Li Tou, who continually refused to listen.

Just then, the door was pushed open, and a burly, dark-skinned middle-aged man appeared at the entrance.

"What are you all doing?" With a furious roar, Chai Lin's complexion turned utterly ghastly!

"Director Zhao!"

Zhao Guangming was the head of political and legal affairs and also the director of the municipal bureau, so the officers were accustomed to calling him Director Zhao.

"This woman hit Li Tou," one officer hurriedly answered.

"He was acting like a hooligan!" Di Yutong shouted.

Zhao Guangming's gloomy gaze fell upon Chai Lin.

Right now, Chai Lin wanted nothing more than to murder Liang Jiyong and Li Tou. Although his uncle was a deputy director, he simply couldn't compare to Zhao Guangming.

As the political and legal affairs secretary holding concurrent directorship, Zhao Guangming's word was absolute law within the municipal bureau.

While he was agonizing over how to respond, Liang Jiyong's voice rang out: "Uncle Zhao, it's just a misunderstanding. As soon as we came in, this criminal police officer demanded we hand over our personal items. I said we were just here to give statements and shouldn't need to surrender our belongings.

Then this officer said if we didn't hand them over, he would search us, and since there were no female colleagues present, he would have to do it himself!

Captain Chai tried to stop him, but this officer—I'm not sure if he didn't hear clearly—still tried to come over and conduct the search. My friend probably felt his gaze was a bit off and misunderstood his intentions, so she gave him a kick!"

Liang Jiyong kept Chai Lin out of the fire, but completely doomed Li Tou, who had been kicked by Di Yutong!

Hearing Liang Jiyong address Zhao Guangming as "Uncle Zhao," Li Tou's heart sank.

Yet, there was a glimmer of hope: Liang Jiyong hadn't made things difficult for him and had actually kept him out of the blame.

Thus, in an instant, most of his resentment toward Liang Jiyong vanished!

"A complete mess! Chai Lin, how are you managing your team?"

"I didn't do my job well. Please criticize me, Director Zhao!"

"Cut the crap. The 'Big Brother' mobile phone assigned to you isn't a brick—why couldn't I get through?"

"Director Zhao, I... the battery died. I was out looking into something last night and didn't get a chance to charge it when I got back..." Chai Lin hurriedly explained.

"What about the office phone? It's been busy the whole time. What business is so important?"

Chai Lin glanced at the telephone on the adjacent desk; the receiver hadn't even been put back yet.

And from the earpiece, the sound of music could faintly be heard.

Seeming truly angered, Zhao Guangming picked up the phone directly and barked a "Hello!"

"You old ghost, are you done with your little mess? President Liu invited you to play cards tonight and has everything prepared for you. When can his younger brother get out?"

Zhao Guangming's face was as dark as water.

Zhao Guangming hung up the phone, and everyone present understood: Li Tou was finished.

"Xiao Liang, how's your arm?"

"Nothing major. Fortunately it's winter; otherwise, I'd have had two ounces of flesh scraped right off!"

"Hmph, simply lawless! I just reported to Secretary Zhou, and Secretary Zhou was deeply shocked as well, instructing us to handle the case in accordance with the law. Go get medical treatment first and get an injury assessment report!"

"Alright, I'll go right after recording my statement!"

"Chai Lin, make sure the on-site testimonies are thoroughly gathered, the facts are crystal clear, and the evidence is solid so that everything is grounded in reason and evidence!"

"Yes!" Chai Lin replied hastily.

At this moment, Liang Jiyong extended his hand toward Di Yutong, who pulled a folded stack of paper from her pocket.

"Uncle Zhao, these are the factual accounts written by several classmates at the scene, along with the signatures of dozens of classmates acting as witnesses. Quite a few of them left contact information and are available to testify!"

Zhao Guangming paused, casting a surprised look at Liang Jiyong. He had gathered evidence at the very first moment.

Zhao Guangming took a look. "Mm, it's very clearly written. However, since you are a party involved, these testimonies still need to be further verified!"

Zhao Guangming handed the stack of testimonies to Chai Lin.

"Hurry up and verify them. Make sure the facts are indisputable and turn this into an airtight case!"

"Yes!" Chai Lin saluted.

Zhao Guangming didn't linger. The case wasn't complicated and didn't qualify as a major felony, so it didn't warrant intervention from a political and legal affairs secretary, but his message had been clearly delivered.

Both Secretary Zhao and Secretary Zhou were paying close attention: cases must be handled in accordance with the law, with reason and evidence.

Within a few minutes, the statement was recorded, and Chai Lin personally escorted Liang Jiyong and Di Yutong to the hospital.

More than a foot-long area on his arm was blue and purple, though the bone wasn't fractured.

Thank goodness it was winter and his clothes were thick; had it been summer, his arm surely would have been mangled.

Seeing Liang Jiyong's injury, Di Yutong was practically moved to tears.

Soon, the doctor issued the injury assessment report.

One copy was handed to the criminal police officer staying at the hospital to take back, as Chai Lin had already gone to verify the evidence.

Before leaving, Chai Lin even thanked Liang Jiyong—needless to say, for not kicking him while he was down, sparing him further trouble.

Liang Jiyong shook hands with Chai Lin, a gesture that felt like letting bygones be bygones.

Liang Jiyong's injury didn't even require bandaging; it mainly just needed topical ointment applied.

Checking the time, it was already close to eight o'clock. The New Year's ball had begun, but who cared about a New Year's ball now?

They found a restaurant for dinner, and afterward, Di Yutong took Liang Jiyong to buy a new set of clothes.

It was a long trench coat that matched the black coat Di Yutong was wearing, looking very much like a couple's outfit.

Liang Jiyong also wanted to buy Di Yutong a gift, but she only asked for a thirty-six-yuan tube of lipstick!

Then, they rented a room at a four-star hotel, and Di Yutong helped Liang Jiyong take a bath.

Though their hearts fluttered with temptation, they didn't cross any lines; after all, Liang Jiyong was a wounded soldier.

Once in bed, after Di Yutong applied the ointment to his arm, she tried to crawl under the covers to help him release his desires, but Liang Jiyong stopped her!

"What's wrong? Don't you want to tonight?"

Today, Di Yutong had almost lost Liang Jiyong, so right now, she was desperate to throw caution to the wind and offer herself to him as a New Year's gift!

...

At midnight, after exchanging wishes for a Happy New Year, Liang Jiyong and Di Yutong fell asleep in each other's arms.

The next morning, Liang Jiyong slept until eight o'clock—something that hadn't happened in years.

Whether it was due to the injury or because of last night...

After getting up and having breakfast in the restaurant, a reluctant Di Yutong hailed a taxi to go home. She needed to spend the day with her parents; their family hadn't sat down for a meal together in a long time.

Liang Jiyong also hailed a cab and headed to Yalan Residence!

Upon seeing Liang Jiyong, Jiang Lan immediately led him into a room—her bedroom inside Yalan Residence.

It wasn't large, but it was very tidy, lined with numerous books.

There were texts on economics, management, and psychology. A clever woman is rarely born that way; rather, she constantly learns.

Liang Jiyong moved to embrace Jiang Lan, but this time she said, "Don't move!"

With a look of worry on her face, Jiang Lan said, "You scared me to death! Let me see your injury!"

"Uh, how did you know? Oh right, you went to Yunda too!"

Seeing the injury on Liang Jiyong's arm, Jiang Lan felt lingering fear.

If Liang Jiyong's reflexes hadn't been so sharp, it wouldn't just have been a patch of bruises.

"That bastard is truly lawless!" Jiang Lan said resentfully.

"It's normal. They all think their fathers are the sky and the law means nothing."

"Yeah, just like that bastard Wen Ming. He'd better go keep Wen Ming company and rot in hell together!"

"Hehe, not right now. If he died right now, I'd actually end up in prison!"

"Hmph, a scourge like that will drop dead sooner or later!"

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Happy New Year and Happy Birthday!"

"Thank you," Jiang Lan said gratefully.

"I bought you a gift, hope you like it!" Liang Jiyong said, taking a small box from his pocket and handing it to her.

"Thank you, I love it!"

"Ah, you haven't even looked at it yet!" Liang Jiyong protested.

"Whatever you give me, I love. Even if I haven't seen it, your thoughtfulness is enough!"

Inside was a bottle of nail polish.

Colorless, transparent, with a shimmering glitter.

"Even though you like blue, you can't make everything blue. I thought this color would match that cheongsam you like!"

"Mm, you really have an eye for this. I love it, truly!"

"As long as you like it!"

"I have a gift for you too, but this nail polish of yours is so pretty, I want to try it on first. I've prepared some soup, do you want some?"

"Must have it, otherwise how could I handle a siren like you?"

Jiang Lan kissed Liang Jiyong on the lips without a word and went out to prepare it.

Soon, the soup was served. While Liang Jiyong drank the soup and ate pastries, Jiang Lan sat on the edge of the bed applying her nail polish!

By the time Liang Jiyong finished his soup, Jiang Lan had finished painting her nails!

She inspected them closely—they looked lovely!

Liang Jiyong stood up to embrace Jiang Lan.

Jiang Lan stopped him, saying, "You're injured today, don't move around!"

Liang Jiyong looked stunned. "I rushed over here in such a rush today, nearly dying yesterday! If I had actually died, it would have been such a waste! My heart hasn't quite settled down yet, so you know what I mean. Will you be upset?"

Jiang Lan smiled, hugged Liang Jiyong, and said, "Why would I be upset? I know you just want to vent right now. I've felt that surviving a disaster feeling before too..."

"I'm going home this afternoon; my older brother and second sister are both back, along with my future sister-in-law!"

"So that means until then, you belong entirely to me!"

"Mm, today I belong to you, and you belong to me. Thank you, Jiang Lan; your love makes my heart ache with tenderness."

"Don't say that, my life was saved by you!"

"It wasn't that dramatic," Liang Jiyong shook his head.

"No, not at all. If it weren't for you, that day I surely would have been ruined by that beast Wen Ming, and I wouldn't have survived!"

"You might think I'm joking, but can you imagine what it would feel like if you had an encounter with that female dorm supervisor from yesterday?"

Liang Jiyong felt an urge to retch!

"Right, that's exactly the feeling. That old hag got fired!"

"Leaving that kind of person in the girls' dormitory was absolute trash management."

"Hehe, you know what? Your popularity in our school right now is definitely higher than the Twelve Beauties!"

"Surely not," Liang Jiyong shook his head.

"Really! Think about it: first, you're the man princess Yutong chased for eighteen years without success; then, you led a group of guys to charge into the girls' dormitory. Finally, after getting hit by a car, you chased the perpetrator down and beat a powerful man's son half to death. Aren't these things enough to make you famous?"

"Hehe, you missed one: the man Yutong chased for eighteen years without success was snatched up by you!"

Jiang Lan wrapped her arms around Liang Jiyong from behind.

"Don't move!" Jiang Lan said again!

"Fine, I won't move."

"Close your eyes..."

"Alright!"