novelraw Chapter 145 What to Do Next?
Chapter 145 What to Do Next?
"Zhou Yang, if you leave now, I can pretend today’s incident never happened!" After hearing Lin Feng’s words, Liu Jilong knew he couldn’t talk to this sharp-tongued person anymore. Accidentally, he had let Lin Feng catch an opportunity and turn the situation into an even more passive one for himself. The best course of action now was to quickly resolve the current situation and not let its influence spread any further!
"Chief, I can’t leave this place without taking Liu Nan back with me." The situation had reached this point; how could Zhou Yang possibly heed Liu Jilong’s words and walk away, especially since his very purpose of coming here today was to take Liu Nan away, to provoke Liu Jilong into making a mistake. It was even less likely for him to simply leave.
"Are you deliberately opposing me?" Liu Jilong truly hadn’t expected that the cautious Zhou Yang would suddenly seem like a different person today, daring to talk back to him and insisting on taking his son back to the police bureau. What was going on!
But no matter what, he couldn’t let Liu Nan be taken away. If his son were really taken by Zhou Yang, how would he mix in Tianhai City in the future!
"It’s not that I’m deliberately opposing you, I am performing my duty," Zhou Yang said seriously, bringing everything back to his official duties, leaving Liu Jilong anxious and angry but powerless to respond. There were so many people here, and whether he spoke or remained silent, it was all wrong.
"Zhou Yang, what exactly do you want?"
"I just want to take Liu Nan back for investigation."
"It’s impossible to take him away!"
...
Zhou Yang and Liu Jilong started to argue in the private room, locked in a standoff with neither willing to give in. Their words grew more intense and their voices louder, causing everyone to watch them in astonishment. The head and deputy head of the Tianhai City Police Bureau were publicly quarreling in a hotel—such an event was too...
"How can they quarrel here, they’re the head and deputy head after all, don’t they care about the impact?"
"Exactly, the impact would be huge, look how many people are around."
"I’ve never heard of such a thing happening in Tianhai before, the head and deputy head quarreling in public."
"Who knows what they’re thinking, airing their dirty laundry like this!"
"We have to end this quickly, or else there will be no way to wrap this up."
...
Everyone in the corridor fell silent, looking at the arguing Zhou Yang and Liu Jilong, and began to feel shocked. They were all shrewd people who understood the ways of the officialdom. What was absolutely taboo was exactly the situation unfolding before them. The head and deputy head should not be quarreling like this, especially when it was Liu Jilong, the head, who was in the wrong!
In such a public display of discord, how could this situation possibly be settled!
...
News of the incident at the hotel quickly reached the ears of the city’s various leaders. After all, communication in this society was still very developed, and a single phone call could sort out everything.
Leng Junsheng also received a call. After understanding the situation, he started to consider what steps to take. He hadn’t expected Lin Feng to do so well, creating such a significant impact. If there was evidence, bringing down Liu Jilong should be a sure thing.
He still had to notify the municipal party committee. After all, Liu Jilong was the chief of the police bureau, not just an ordinary person. Now that things had gotten to this state, some form of communication on how to manage the situation was necessary.
After briefly notifying the municipal party committee, the call from the Executive Vice Mayor Xu Mingtao came in, and Leng Junsheng shook his head before answering the phone.
When Executive Vice Mayor Xu Mingtao, in his office, received the report about this incident, he immediately rose from his office chair. His first thought was that this was trouble – the matter had blown up! Lighting a cigarette and leaning against the window, he pondered his next move. His tall figure exuded a sense of calm and experience. Only after finishing the cigarette did he dial Leng Junsheng’s number.
"Mayor, are you aware of the situation at Yuehai Hotel?" Xu Mingtao took the initiative to clarify his stance. As the Executive Deputy Mayor, he felt responsible for the dispute between the police chiefs under his authority occurring over there, especially since it had already caused such a negative impact!
"I’ve just learned about the general situation, Mingtao. Hurry and bring those two back with you. Otherwise, we’ll all lose face as public servants." Leng Junsheng understood what Xu Mingtao meant; he wanted to seek advice on how to handle the situation. Mayor Leng simply told him directly, since the situation had already escalated enough and any further delay would not be good!
"Understood, I’m on my way." Xu Mingtao responded crisply and immediately headed out the door towards Yuehai Seafood Restaurant, fuming with irritation. How could these two give him such a headache? Was it fun for the police chiefs to argue in public, to the point where the whole city would become aware?
When Xu Mingtao arrived at Yuehai Seafood Restaurant, he saw a crowd blocking a private room. The sound of arguing was coming from inside, sparking immediate anger. He hadn’t expected the scene to be this bad—the effect on their public image was enormous. What if someone inside was recording or taking pictures? How would they resolve this? The thought made his brows furrow tightly, filled with frustration.
"Everybody clear out, clear out. There’s nothing to see here!" Seeing Xu Mingtao’s expression, Secretary Xiao Li immediately understood what to do and rushed to disperse the crowd.
"Deputy Mayor Xu..."
Someone in the crowd recognized Xu Mingtao and immediately knew he must have come to control the situation. Facing this Executive Deputy Mayor, who wouldn’t get nervous? The crowd quickly dispersed, and people returned to their own rooms, each one speculating that today’s incident was unlikely to end well. Deputy Mayor Xu was now involved, and no one knew how he might handle it!
The corridor instantly became quiet, but the silence only made the voices of Zhou Yang and Liu Jilong even louder!
"Liu Jilong, Zhou Yang, both of you shut up!" Xu Mingtao stormed into the room with a black face and yelled, furious inside. What on earth were these two thinking today, engaging in a fight here? Was it not enough until everyone knew and they’d completely lost face?
"Deputy Mayor Xu!" Zhou Yang was overjoyed to see the Deputy Mayor stepping in, successfully achieving his aim of escalating the matter. The appearance of Executive Deputy Mayor Xu Mingtao, representing the city government, meant Mayor Leng was already informed. Assuming no surprises, Mayor Leng might intervene next. With that in mind, he looked at Lin Feng and saw him nodding with a smile, which bolstered Zhou Yang’s confidence and brought a smile to his own face.
"Deputy Mayor Xu!" Liu Jilong felt a chill in his heart when he saw the Deputy Mayor arrive. The situation had gotten out of hand. He had been so focused on arguing with Zhou Yang that he hadn’t paid attention to his surroundings. The fact that Deputy Mayor Xu was now intervening indicated that the city government was fully aware. How would he ever recover from such a public debacle?
"What are you still standing around for? Follow me. Don’t embarrass us here any longer!" Xu Mingtao reprimanded them sternly and walked out the door, his mind racing with how to deal with the two of them. He decided to take them to his conference room first, then consult Mayor Leng.
How could these two, who were normally so rational, pull off such an incomprehensible feat today? Was it a moment of madness? Just go crazy on your own time without dragging me into this. Have your brains been kicked by a donkey? The more he thought, the angrier he got, wishing he could kick them both to vent his frustration.
Zhou Yang and Liu Jilong exchanged glances. With Deputy Mayor Xu so furious, they obediently followed him out of the private room...
Lin Feng watched as Zhou Yang and the rest left, then followed behind and disappeared into the night. Now, it was Mayor Leng’s turn to step in. He sent a brief message to Leng Junsheng, then vanished.
Zhao Lei and a few others had long found Liu Nan distasteful. With both police chiefs following Deputy Mayor Xu, they wasted no time in apprehending Liu Nan without any courtesy and took him back to the police station.
The farcical scene at Yuehai Seafood Restaurant finally came to an end, but it left many people with plenty to talk about. Everyone was guessing what punishment Deputy Police Chief Zhou Yang might face, and not a single person thought Liu Jilong would be punished—he was famously from the Liu Family in Tianhai City!
After throwing Zhou Yang and Liu Jilong into the meeting room, Xu Mingtao called Leng Junsheng to discuss what to do next.
"Mayor, I have brought them to my office. What should we do now?" Xu Mingtao proactively asked for specific instructions. Considering the extent of the trouble the two had caused, he expected they wouldn’t be let off easily. It was always best to consult further.
"Alright, let them sit for a while. I’ll consult with the other leaders shortly." Leng Junsheng was pleased to hear that Zhou Yang and Liu Jilong had been brought in. He had already been informed of the specifics via a text from Lin Feng. The next steps seemed much clearer!
Taking Liu Jilong’s connections into account, Mayor Leng made several phone calls. To no one’s surprise, given the uproar caused by Liu Jilong and Zhou Yang, how could they not know what had happened? After receiving calls from Mayor Leng, they all expressed their concern and agreed to come and deal with the matter together right away.
After talking to Mayor Leng, Xu Mingtao began to ponder how to handle today’s affair. From what the Mayor said, it seemed he preferred to deal with the situation openly. In that case, either Zhou Yang or Liu Jilong was going to suffer the consequences. With other leaders now involved, which one would Mayor Leng target? Liu Jilong was backed by the secretary, and Zhou Yang was a man without significant support. Neither seemed a justified target.
Lost in thought, he headed towards the meeting room, only to hear the two men still bickering inside. It irritated Xu Mingtao how they hadn’t had enough of arguing even here!