Ma Tianjiao’s mouth twitched slightly, and then she glanced at Yang Hao with the corner of her eye, “If you can do morning exercises, why can’t you fight?”
The pride of the police force obviously didn’t understand what Yang Hao meant by morning exercises and lacked sufficient awareness of the diversity of the Chinese language!
“It’s about the location.”
“You can do morning exercises at home, but going to the park…”
Yang Hao wanted to say that going to the park wouldn’t work, but then he thought that wasn’t entirely true; he needed to keep an open mind and not speak too absolutely, because that could easily boomerang back on him.
What if he had to do morning exercises in the park with this pride of the police force one day!
Ahem…
Miss Color, who was sitting in the back, of course knew what her man meant, and she coughed lightly to interrupt their conversation.
“Pride, how come you ended up at the police station?”
Huang Qing knew Ma Tianjiao; their fathers had dealings with each other, but the two of them did not have a good relationship and looked down on each other.
In Ma Tianjiao’s eyes, Huang Qing was nothing but a female gangster, while in Huang Qing’s eyes, Ma Tianjiao was nothing but a stodgy, stuck-up prude!
So even though they had known each other since junior high and their social circles intersected, the two had no private contact.
“Secondment.”
Ma Tianjiao gave a cold two-word reply.
“Do you two know each other?”
Yang Hao looked at the two women in surprise, as it had escaped his notice during the long car ride.
“Not close!”
“Just acquainted!”
The two women gave different responses, but the meaning was similar; they seemed to intentionally maintain a sense of distance.
This is somewhat interesting!
Yang Hao became interested in their relationship and decided to use the last two chances of Listening to Heartbeats available for the day, since they would expire after midnight anyway.
Then he heard the fascinating inner thoughts of the two women.
Ma Tianjiao: I, a distinguished elite of the police force, certainly have nothing in common with this female gangster! People on different paths do not make plans together!
Huang Qing: Stuck-up prude, you just have a bad attitude and got demoted for screwing up! Serves you right!
Ma Tianjiao: She looks shady with this man!
Huang Qing: Sister is trying to save you from embarrassment, alright? You don’t understand anything. Besides, Hao wouldn’t be interested in this stuck-up prude!
Ma Tianjiao: In the video, this man moves so fast and hits the vital spots precisely each time. Recognizing pressure points like that takes over a decade to identify, no doubt!
Uh?
Pressure points?
You would need more than a decade for that! Enjoy new adventures from empire
“How about tomorrow afternoon?”
Ma Tianjiao asked Yang Hao again.
“This afternoon? I might not have time,” Yang Hao shook his head again. He was very busy and really didn’t feel like fighting with this pride of the police force.
Mainly because Yang Hao didn’t think there would be any gains from fighting with her; no matter how strong a woman was, there was a limit to her strength.
It would be a pure waste of time!
Ma Tianjiao: This man is so annoying, making such a fuss over a fight. Is he afraid he will lose face if he can’t beat me?
Ma Tianjiao: Probably realizes those hoodlums were too weak, and he has some self-awareness.
Hearing the pride of the police force’s inner thoughts left Yang Hao somewhat speechless; no wonder Huang Qing called her a stuck-up prude.
She really was quite conceited, and with oddly high self-confidence!
“If you really want to fight, come find me at Tianmei Media tomorrow afternoon.”
The 42nd floor of Tianmei Building was the CEO’s area, it had a gym, and the space was not small – setting up a fight with Ma Tianjiao would be more than enough.
“Tianmei Media??”
Ma Tianjiao gave Yang Hao a puzzled look, she obviously knew of the company; after all, it was the largest entertainment company in Jiangcheng and quite prominent nationwide.
“Come find me on the 42nd floor,” Yang Hao didn’t feel like explaining and simply gave a nonchalant remark.
“Okay!”
Ma Tianjiao wasn’t too concerned about why Yang Hao would be at Tianmei Media; after all, her aim was to set up a fight.
And now she had achieved her goal.
While they were talking, the police car had already driven into the precinct’s courtyard.
Zhao Jinlong, the leader of the troublemakers, was taken straight into the interrogation room.
“Director Li, my dad is Zhao Yueshan, the president of Mountaineering Logistics; he knows the leaders of your city bureau…”
After this ordeal, Zhao Jinlong had sobered up and started to show his cowardice, looking downcast.
Thinking of pulling his dad out of this mess and having already called his dad Zhao Yueshan for help on the road, he now just hoped his dad would show up quickly with reinforcements.
Li Donglai looked at Zhao Jinlong with a bit of speechlessness, thinking to himself that just Zhao had a background, as if Manager Huang didn’t?
If there was a clear disparity in the backgrounds of the parties involved, Li Donglai would have handled it accordingly; after all, that’s just how society worked, and everything was linked in a chain. As a mere deputy director of a police station, he couldn’t afford to offend big shots.
Now, with both sides having strong backgrounds, he could only act by the book, waiting for the behind-the-scenes power play of both parties.
“Who your dad is has nothing to do with this case; just talk about your own issues!”
“There are cameras here, and everything you say will be recorded.”
Li Donglai pointed at the nearby camera and continued, “Gathering three or more people to destroy public or private property is an intentional act of property damage, and it’s also a serious act of provocation. This is something we can press charges for!”
“So, this case is not as simple as you think…”
Hearing that charges could be pressed, Zhao Jinlong became even more panicked, his chubby, beat-up face trembling.
“Director Li, you saw how severely I got beaten, and he didn’t get hurt at all, how can you still charge me…”
“That’s not fair!”
Zhao Jinlong’s voice was trembling now.
“It was legitimate self-defense, the video is very clear.”
Li Donglai waved his hand: “Next, you answer whatever I ask.”
“Name.”
“Zhao Jinlong.”
“…”
While Li Donglai was interrogating Zhao Jinlong, a black Passat pulled into the courtyard of the police station, and Director Wang Youshan of Quanyang Police Station got out of the car with a solemn expression.
He had already finished his shift, but had just received two phone calls, both from his superiors—one telling him to mediate the matter involving Zhao Jinlong, and the other telling him to handle it impartially.
Wang Youshan had encountered similar situations before. Obviously, both parties involved had pulled strings, and it seemed they both had very powerful backgrounds. This kind of case was tricky for him; if handled incorrectly, he could offend the leaders, yet he couldn’t afford to offend either of the two “immortals” who had called him.
Shortly after Wang Youshan arrived, two Rolls-Royces drove into the police station courtyard one after the other.
Zhao Yueshan and Huang Dazhong got out of the cars respectively.
“Old Huang, there’s no need to make a big fuss about this, right? We were almost in-laws, weren’t we?”
Zhao Yueshan already knew the situation and realized that if the matter were pursued seriously, his foolish son might end up behind bars, so he was very polite.
Huang Dazhong nodded: “Actually, I’m still not clear about the whole situation. Let’s go in and hear what Qing and the others have to say.”
Huang Dazhong certainly didn’t want to be sworn enemies with Zhao Yueshan. If Zhao Jinlong were truly sent away because of this, Zhao Yueshan would definitely seek revenge, and he would be ruthless about it.
Moreover, with a business the size of Huang Dazhong’s, it was impossible to be completely clean, and if someone targeted him continuously, it would also be troublesome.
As the saying goes: It’s not the theft that’s feared, but the thief’s constant attention!
Therefore, today, Huang Dazhong also came with the intention of settling the matter amicably, as it was not a major issue after all.
However, before coming, he still called a familiar leader, not making any specific requests, only saying to handle matters impartially.
After all, as long as the issue was handled impartially, his daughter and “son-in-law” would have the upper hand.
The two men entered the police station, where Yang Hao and Huang Qing had also finished giving their statements.
“Mr. Yang, I’m really sorry about today’s incident. It’s all because of my son’s carelessness!”
“Let me apologize on his behalf first.”
Zhao Yueshan walked up to Yang Hao, bowed deeply, and was very sincere in his manner.
He had investigated Yang Hao’s background; not only was he the president of the Jiangcheng Newspaper Group, but he was also the owner of Tianmei Media, with a net worth of several billion!
Zhao Yueshan’s total assets were just over a few billion, which was nothing compared to Yang Hao’s.
Therefore, after learning over the phone that his son had gotten into a conflict with Yang Hao, he cursed his own son countless times in his heart.
“Director Zhao, I understand how you feel, but apologies should still come from your son.”
“Moreover, Zhao Jinlong brought five men to smash up my club and attempted to assault me; you should know what that kind of behavior amounts to!”
Yang Hao shrugged his shoulders.
Zhao Yueshan was the typical shrewd businessman, cunning and astute, knowing when to advance or retreat, and he could clearly judge the situation.
It’s often said that a tiger does not beget a dog for a son, but Zhao Yueshan had somehow produced a fool like Zhao Jinlong, which was puzzling.
But second-generation heirs like Zhao Jinlong were not uncommon.
The circle of the so-called “second generation” is actually quite extreme; some really are elite members of society, benefiting from the best educational resources from an early age, and coupled with their environment, they can’t help but absorb some competence.
Others, however, are like Zhao Jinlong, chasing girls, squandering the family wealth, living carefree lives, but only on the condition that they don’t cause trouble and especially don’t provoke people they shouldn’t!
“Mr. Yang, I will compensate double for all the losses to the club!”
“And also for your mental distress.”
“Later on, I’ll have Zhao Jinlong apologize to you in person!”
Zhao Yueshan made his position clear straight away; he knew if he didn’t show weakness and tried to be tough, it would be akin to sending his son to prison.
Although he knew the leader of this police station, he was aware that Huang Dazhong definitely knew people too, and this Mr. Yang with a net worth of several billion might even know higher-ranking leaders.
So in this matter, connections were useless; only admitting defeat, apologizing, and paying compensation, trying to meet Mr. Yang’s demands as much as possible, were options.
“Mr. Yang, please calculate how much money the total losses amount to.”
“I’ll have someone transfer the funds immediately!”
Again, Zhao Yueshan spoke with a sincere face.
Yang Hao was quite satisfied with his attitude.
“Qing, calculate how much the club lost?”
Yang Hao turned to ask Huang Qing.
“The renovation of the private room will cost about 500,000 or so, just those lamps cost over 300,000. Based on the renovation period of a month, the daily loss in profits is about a hundred thousand or more; over a month, that comes to three or four million. Additionally, they injured two waiters, and we need to pay for that as well.”
“All told, that comes to at least 5 million.”
Huang Qing had already silently calculated the losses in her mind, and of course, there was a significant markup in this 5 million figure.
After hearing this, Zhao Yueshan nodded, showing little emotion.
Double the 5 million came to 10 million, which was within his ability to pay.
Now it was up to how much Mr. Yang wanted for mental distress, which was impossible to quantify and entirely dependent on what Yang Hao would say.
“Director Zhao, your son and his five men tried to gang up on me, definitely causing me considerable physical and mental harm.”
“How about this, each of them compensates me 10 million for mental distress, a total of 60 million!”
“As you just said, the double compensation for the club’s loss is 10 million, bringing the total to 70 million!”
Upon hearing Yang Hao’s words, Zhao Yueshan, who had remained calm throughout, turned pale. He expected Yang Hao to ask for a high price, but not this much.
70 million!
This was faster than robbing a bank!!
“Mr. Yang, it’s not that I don’t want to compensate, but I really can’t afford 70 million. Business has been tough lately, and the company only has a little over 20 million in liquid assets…” Zhao Yueshan showed his stance first and then began to plead poverty.
Upon hearing this, Yang Hao smiled: “That’s not right, Zhao Jinlong said he would give Qing an 88.88 million dowry!”