Though he didn't know why Zhang Yang insisted on dealing with those prisoners so strictly, for Zheng Qimo, these were simple matters. After all, if the goal hadn't been to apprehend the few members of the Jiang family, the evidence he already possessed would have been enough to have them all shot hundreds of times over.

Having received Zheng Qimo's assurance, Zhang Yang nodded and said no more.

Upon arriving at the [Police] Bureau, Wang Chen and the others were mostly sober. Waking up to find themselves at the [Police] Bureau, they were greatly astonished.

Naturally, Li Ya also recalled the time they ate roast chicken and drank wine with Zhang Yang and Wu Zhiguo at the hotel, which had ended in a confrontation and a fight.

However, only after listening to the [Police] explain everything did Li Ya and Su Zhantao fully grasp what had happened. Wang Chen's mouth hung wide open; at this moment, he didn't find the soup even remotely delicious. Although he was an idle rich kid, he clearly knew what things one could touch, and what things were absolutely forbidden.

Zheng Qimo was directly interrogating the restaurant owner and had no time to greet Zhang Yang or Su Zhantao and the others. This was because the restaurant owner, right after arriving at the [Police] Bureau, confessed everything after only a couple of questions.

He was indeed connected to the Jiang family of the North Suburbs; he was a distant relative of a Jiang family steward. Years ago, he had worked elsewhere, getting involved in organized crime. But with the severe crackdown on gangs in recent years, he returned to the North Suburbs and quickly became a core member of the Jiang family. Since the Jiang family had been striving to expand its influence outward, he was sent to Changjing to casually open a restaurant—whether it made money was secondary; the main point was to establish good relations with some of the Changjing [Police] Stations. The news about Yan Liangfei interning at Jinghe Hospital had, of course, been passed back to the Jiang family by him.

What he hadn't expected was that the Jiang family's drug manufacturing and trafficking operations would be discovered overnight. Losing his source of income so abruptly had driven him to take a desperate risk, using poppy pods as seasoning in his soup, hoping to still earn some money through the restaurant.

Of course, if he knew that even the North Suburbs Jiang family fell apart because of Zhang Yang, he would likely harbor even deeper resentment toward Zhang Yang. It was a pity that Zhang Yang would never give him such an opportunity; only the ruthless sanction of the law awaited him.

From the owner, Zheng Qimo learned the location of the Jiang family's main lair in Yanming Mountain. Unable to sit still, he immediately led a team to search the mountain. They eventually found the charred ruins of a villa on Yanming Mountain and discovered several bodies there. It was only after identification that they realized these were the key figures of the Jiang family—though that was a story for later.

Knowing the relationship between Zhang Yang’s group and Deputy Director Zheng Qimo, the police officers taking their statements didn't make things difficult for them, and the statements were concluded quickly.

After stepping out of the [Police] Bureau's main gate, Su Zhantao stretched languidly and sighed, "It's best to keep visits to this place to a minimum!"

"I think you have a destiny with this place!"

Wang Chen immediately teased Su Zhantao upon hearing this.

"You rascal!"

Su Zhantao was displeased and began chasing Wang Chen like a child, making Li Ya roar with laughter on the sidelines.

"Huh? Where are Hu Tao and Xiao Xiao?"

Mi Xue, following behind Zhang Yang, looked around, realizing that Hu Tao and Xiao Xiao were missing from the group.

"Weren't they right behind you guys?"

Hearing Mi Xue, Wang Chen and Su Zhantao stopped their scuffle. They had just noticed that Hu Tao and Xiao Xiao hadn't come out with them.

"Could these two have started flirting inside the [Police] Bureau?" Su Zhantao immediately linked the two together, saying with a sly grin.

"Go away! Do you think everyone is like you and Yang Ling, starting a relationship when we aren't looking!" Wang Chen immediately retorted, using the situation between Su Zhantao and Yang Ling to tease him further.

"So what? It's better than you, who is bound to die on a woman's stomach sooner or later!" Su Zhantao quickly seized on one of Wang Chen's weaknesses and fired back. Wang Chen had even asked Zhang Yang to treat him previously; his physical condition was weak all around, especially his kidney deficiency.

"Alright, stop arguing. It sounds like there's some commotion over there. I think I hear Hu Tao's voice. Let's go check it out," Zhang Yang interrupted Wang Chen and Su Zhantao's banter, pointing toward the entrance of the [Police] Bureau.

Over there, quite a few passersby had formed a circle, pointing and gossiping about the ruckus.

As Zhang Yang and the others approached, they could hear shouting coming from within the crowd!

"You little vixen, how dare you seduce my man!"

"Who are you calling names, Xia Ting? I'm telling you, don't push your luck. You were the one who said I lacked ambition and broke up with me!"

Hearing the furious exchange, Zhang Yang frowned. The ones surrounded outside the [Police] Bureau entrance were naturally Hu Tao and Xiao Xiao. The person blocking them, Zhang Yang knew well—it was Hu Tao's ex-girlfriend from school, Xia Ting. Standing next to Xia Ting was a woman with her head held high, dressed fashionably like a society lady—this was Xia Ting's extremely trashy older sister!

In the crowd, Xiao Xiao was hiding behind Hu Tao, while Hu Tao was grasping Xia Ting's raised hand—it was clear Xia Ting had intended to hit Xiao Xiao, and Hu Tao had blocked her. However, a distinct red handprint was already visible on Hu Tao's face.

"Sister!!"

Xia Ting was pinned by Hu Tao and couldn't exert much force, and Hu Tao wasn't showing any mercy toward her now. The grip hurt her so much that tears sprang to her eyes. She could only turn her head to beg her sister, Xia Lan, for help.

"Hu Tao, your guts have gotten big, daring to lay a hand on my sister? Have you forgotten who paid for your tuition and living expenses to keep you in school when you were struggling the most?"

The moment Xia Lan spoke, she condemned Hu Tao with sharp words, and her statement struck right at Hu Tao’s weak spot. Hu Tao’s face turned pale, and he let go of Xia Ting’s hand.

He was a university student from a very poor area who had to strive desperately to stay in Changjing. He had agreed to date Xia Ting back then precisely to secure his position in the city, but at that time, Xia Ting never respected him and would hit and curse him at the slightest displeasure. It was only later, when Zhang Yang offered him a job opportunity, that he managed to gain a foothold in Changjing. He had kept all this secret from Xia Ting, who later dumped him when she felt he wasn't successful enough.

The girl behind Hu Tao, Xiao Xiao, was the one he truly loved now. He hadn't contacted Xia Ting since they broke up, but he never expected to run into the Xia sisters right as he was about to take Xiao Xiao home after leaving the [Police] Bureau.

Upon seeing Hu Tao, Xia Ting couldn't move on, and when she spotted Xiao Xiao behind him, her rage immediately flared. She first slapped Hu Tao. When Hu Tao saw it was Xia Ting, he didn't resist, but Xiao Xiao was indignant and questioned Xia Ting about why she hit someone. Without a word, Xia Ting turned and prepared to slap Xiao Xiao as well, but this slap was blocked by Hu Tao.

This was the exact scene Zhang Yang, Su Zhantao, and the others witnessed when they arrived.

Hearing Xia Lan’s words, the surrounding onlookers immediately associated the situation with the term "kept man" (). Looking at Hu Tao—a tall, well-built, sunny young man—his pale face suggested guilt.

"Oh my, I didn't realize he was one of those guys who lives off women."

"Yeah, look at him, but living off a woman isn't enough; he's fooling around with another girl. No wonder that young lady is hitting him so fiercely. If it were me, I’d beat him to death!"

"This man is truly shameless, and the woman behind him is shameless too—to go after a kept man!"

The murmurs from the crowd, after hearing Xia Lan’s accusation, were all condemning Hu Tao, and by extension, they dragged Xiao Xiao into it as well.

"What is going on here?"

Su Zhantao had also heard Xia Lan's previous words. He couldn't recall Xia Lan at all, but it sounded as if what she said might be true. Hu Tao never mentioned his past when they were together, so Su Zhantao knew nothing about his history.

Since Su Zhantao didn't understand the situation, he didn't step forward immediately. Li Ya and Wang Chen were even more clearly outsiders; if Hu Tao was genuinely caught red-handed in an emotional dispute, they naturally couldn't intervene on his behalf.

But Mi Xue was different. Seeing Xia Ting and Xia Lan, she recognized the two sisters instantly. The memory of buying a phone at the Post and Telecommunications Office flashed into her mind.

At that time, Xia Lan had targeted Zhang Yang everywhere, assuming he couldn't afford a phone, which had already earned Mi Xue's deep-seated resentment. After all, it wasn't easy for a woman to forget such slights.

"I wondered who was shouting so loudly in front of the [Police] Bureau entrance, aren't you afraid of becoming a joke?"

Mi Xue linked her arm with Zhang Yang's and stepped forward.

Seeing Mi Xue, the two sisters, Xia Ting and Xia Lan, were momentarily stunned. Then, they saw Zhang Yang standing beside Mi Xue, and Xia Lan's face immediately darkened considerably.

Xia Lan certainly hadn't forgotten Zhang Yang; it was he who had slapped her across the face with a thick stack of cash. Moreover, he had an intimate relationship with Su Zhantao—whom Xia Lan held in high regard—and because of him, the Su family had become much cooler toward the Xia family.

It could be said that Xia Ting’s subsequent breakup with Hu Tao was partly due to Xia Lan constantly speaking ill of Hu Tao behind his back.

Seeing Zhang Yang appear, Hu Tao seemed to have found a savior. He quickly pushed Xiao Xiao next to Mi Xue. In Hu Tao's mind, as long as Xiao Xiao stood beside Zhang Yang and Mi Xue, Xia Ting wouldn't be able to hurt her anymore.

Mi Xue held Xiao Xiao close, looked at Xia Lan, and asked in a cold tone, "Didn't you both despise Hu Tao for lacking ambition? Why is it that now that Hu Tao has made something of himself and become successful, you want to snatch him back from my little sister?"