It took but a moment for both of them to order a glass of iced fruit drink. One had to admit, the shop was quite busy, filled mostly with couples, and students at that. They were the picture of modern non-conformity—fashionably dressed, strikingly styled, almost jarringly mismatched. Yang Yi felt that way right now; he glanced away and didn't look back.

Li Qian shot him a surprised look, inwardly wondering, Does he like that type of girl?

Sweat. If Yang Yi knew what she was thinking at that moment, he wouldn't know whether to weep or laugh.

Just then, two police officers suddenly appeared at the entrance of the fruit drink shop. They checked a photograph in their hands. "Right, it's him. The Chief ordered that he must be brought back to the station today, no matter what."

"Hmph, he definitely has to come back. How dare he offend our Chief," the other officer sneered darkly.

It was somewhat baffling how these two officers knew Yang Yi was here. The answer wasn't hard to find. Once the police captains received orders from the Chief, they had already broadcast the instruction across all of City A: every officer was to keep an eye out for this man. Considering City A wasn't huge, but certainly not small either, when a high-ranking official personally issued an order, how could the officers not jump at the chance to find him? Earning the Chief's favor would be a great thing.

As Yang Yi and Li Qian sat there slowly sipping their iced fruit drinks, the two officers were already walking toward them.

"Yi..." Li Qian whispered softly, her delicate eyebrows furrowed as she looked past Yang Yi at the two officers behind him.

"What is it?" Yang Yi asked, perplexed.

"Behind you!" Li Qian said.

"Hmm?" Yang Yi turned his head and saw the two officers stop right beside him.

"You are Yang Yi, right?" the approaching officer asked.

"Yes, I am Yang Yi. May I ask what this is about?" Yang Yi felt a chill deep inside. He didn't know why he always felt a sense of disdain toward the police; frankly, he held no favorable impression of them whatsoever.

"We suspect you are connected to an explosion case, so we must ask you to come back with us to assist with the investigation." This was, typically, the standard opening line from the police.

Hearing this, Yang Yi couldn't help but frown. "On what grounds do you say I’m connected to an explosion case? Do you have evidence?"

"I suggest you cooperate, considering we are in a public place," the officer said, seemingly unwilling to waste words with Yang Yi.

"If you have no evidence and still demand I return with you, I’m sorry, but I don't have the time for idle chatter. Besides, how do I know you’re actually police officers?" Yang Yi’s lips curled up into a cold sneer. He thought to himself, So they actually tracked me down? I wasn't wrong to say you were quite a figure.

Yang Yi seemed to have guessed the situation by now. When the officer mentioned the explosion, a flash of realization crossed his mind. But seeing their insistence and the stubborn look that suggested they would resort to force if he refused to go, he became utterly certain. After all, the person killed in that explosion was the Chief's own son. Who wouldn't want to claim credit for solving it?

"You... Kid, do you realize you are currently a suspect, yet you still dare to..."

Before the first officer could finish, the other, clearly more seasoned in procedure, pulled out a small booklet. Written across the front in large characters were the words "Police Officers." "This is our identification. Are you willing to come back with us to assist with the investigation?"

"Yi—!" Li Qian cried out in worry.

"It's fine. These people just want me to go back with them. Yes, I’ll go with them," Yang Yi said with a faint smile. He understood clearly that even if he refused now, it wouldn't take long for them to send others to forcibly take him away. He didn't want to waste any more time.

Standing up, he said to Li Qian, "Qian'er, I'm very sorry I can't accompany you shopping today. I’ll make it up to you later. You should go back first, maybe go out with Yanran!"

"Yi—!" Li Qian stood up, called out, and then suddenly stopped, hesitating before reaching out to take his hand. She mulled over his last words: "Yanran, Yanran... Oh, right, Sister Yanran!"

Hmph. Still talking about 'later.' Wait until we get inside, then we’ll see how smug you are, the officer walking beside Yang Yi thought darkly.

Sigh. I hope she remembers. Damn it, I didn't bring my phone today! Yang Yi cursed himself internally for being careless. If he had his phone, he wouldn't have needed to use coded language to tell Li Qian to go find Yanran and inform her of his current predicament.

In a short while, the two officers escorted Yang Yi into a police car, which slowly began to move. A strange, low buzzing sound filled the air, annoying Yang Yi, who was sitting in the back. They were clearly treating him like a criminal already. A cold glint sparked in his eyes, and the interior of the car suddenly grew frigid.

One officer thought the air conditioning was too high and spoke to the driver. "Liangzi, turn the A/C down a bit, it suddenly got so cold..."

"Oh, okay," the officer replied with a slight laugh.

However, a moment later, the first officer asked in confusion, "Liangzi, you didn't turn the A/C down?"

"I did!"

"Then why is it still this cold?"

"Cold? Maybe a little. Then I'll just turn it off completely!" As the driving officer mentioned the word "cold," he instinctively glanced at the bright sunshine outside. Though he felt a bit puzzled, the car was indeed growing noticeably colder, so he promptly shut off the vehicle's air conditioning.

A cold smile touched Yang Yi’s lips as he retracted the killing intent he had been emitting. He thought with a hint of frustration, These idiot cops are truly unparalleled in their idiocy.

Meanwhile, Li Qian was rushing toward the Black Serpent Gang's commercial headquarters, heading straight for the ninth floor.

"Hey! Isn't that Li Qian? What are you doing here?"

A familiar voice suddenly sounded near Li Qian's ear. She turned around and joyfully exclaimed, "Fatty Lin, quickly, quickly! Yi was arrested by the police! What do we do, what do we do?"

"What?" The person who had just spoken was indeed Fatty Lin. Hearing that Yang Yi had been apprehended by the police, he was momentarily stunned before quickly saying, "Don't panic, follow me."

"Okay!" Li Qian knew she had indeed become overly flustered, which wouldn't help matters. She followed Fatty Lin toward the office.

"Uh, Fatty, didn't you say you were going out on business? Why are you back? Oh, Miss Li is here too?" Feng Shi's voice chimed in, sounding quite bewildered as she looked at Li Qian. As far as she knew, Li Qian should have been out shopping with her Young Master today. Why was she here now?

"Something big just happened," Fatty Lin stated.

"What happened?" Feng Shi asked, knitting her delicate brows.

"Brother Yi was taken by the police," Fatty Lin paused, then asked, "Li Qian, did those officers say why they took Brother Yi?"

"They did. They said Yi was involved in an explosion case and needed him for assistance in the investigation. But judging by their expressions, this matter is definitely not that simple," Li Qian admitted, having keenly sensed something was amiss.

"Hmm, I understand," Fatty Lin’s eyes sharpened. After exchanging a look with Feng Shi, he seemed to grasp the other’s meaning. He then said to Li Qian, "Li Qian, please wait here. We need to make some arrangements. Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to Brother Yi."

"Where are you going? Can you take me along?" Li Qian asked, wanting desperately to be of some help.

"Hehe, Miss Li, I know you are very worried about the Young Master's safety, but please wait here. Just leave it to us," Feng Shi said with a gentle smile.

"Let's go!" Fatty Lin urged.

Just as Li Qian was about to say something more, Feng Shi and Fatty Lin had already walked out. She gave up the idea of going with them and could only murmur, "Yi, you must not have anything happen to you!"

######### On the other side, an elderly man with a full head of white hair stood by a doorway holding a telephone. He knocked a few times and called out, "Master, there’s a call for you."

"Come in!" a middle-aged man’s voice replied.

"Master!" The old man handed the phone to the middle-aged man.

"Mmm!" The middle-aged man took the call, simply saying "Hello," but remained silent for a moment, only his expression shifting slightly. A moment later, he finally spoke, "Good, I understand. I will send someone to pick him up later."

"How did that rascal get into this mess again?" the middle-aged man grumbled after hanging up the phone.

"Master, that person..." The old man seemed to find the voice on the other end of the line familiar, so he asked tentatively.

"Hmph, who else could it be besides that old coot!" The middle-aged man seemed to instantly understand the question. "Oh, right, go call Li Han over here for a moment."

"Yes!" A flicker of a smile crossed the old man's face as he thought privately, Old Yang, you old dog, why don’t you come find your old brother? Damn it!

"The Chief of City A Police? This brat actually went after his son? But it really has a certain flair to it. This guy managed to keep that stubborn old mule running around in circles, taking so much effort just to find out it was him," the middle-aged man said, a smile spreading across his face—a smile that seemed to carry both a hint of reproach and a touch of indulgence, making it utterly difficult to decipher.

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