Although Lu Chen was furious inside, he maintained a good facade. Besides, he wasn't facing that bastard An Caishen, but You Haoguo, who seemed like a nice guy no matter how you looked at him.
He said calmly, "It's alright, I was just worried about keeping you occupied. You'll stay with me tonight."
"It's alright, it's alright!" You Haoguo waved his hands repeatedly, "We're like family, just sitting here and chatting is good, it'll strengthen our relationship! Young Lu is promising, if he can control his temper a bit more and hone his skills, he'll definitely be a pillar of society in the future! Besides, Miss Zhuang admires you so much."
Just then, the phone rang.
You Haoguo was delighted: "Someone's probably here."
He picked up the phone and his face showed disappointment: "Huh? It's not An Caishen..."
He answered the phone.
Lu Chen vaguely heard the voice on the other end of the phone; it sounded familiar, but where had he heard it before?
"Old You, I saw your car parked outside. You're here to relax too? Such a high-class place, you dare come here? Be careful the Discipline Inspection Commission doesn't investigate you!"
You Haoguo laughed: "Ha, Old Zhong, you have the nerve to say that to me? You saw my car, which means you're here to relax too. We're in the same boat, so neither of us should say anything."
"Are you senile? I'm just a poor cop, with so many superiors watching me. Where would I get any kickbacks in a place like this? Only you, the branch director, living in your own little world, can be so carefree! I'm here on a case, just finished. Do you have any leftovers? Want to bother you for a meal? What room number?"
"Room number three, Xuan, but, this..."
Before You Haoguo could finish speaking, the other party hung up.
You Haoguo was a little embarrassed. Looking at Lu Chen, he smiled somewhat awkwardly, "Little Lu, look, I'm really sorry. It's just a colleague of mine, usually so carefree, he..."
"It's alright, it's alright!" Lu Chen waved his hand, "Is that Captain Zhong? We're old acquaintances, perfect timing!"
"Huh? You know him?" You Haoguo was taken aback.
Lu Chen nodded with a smile.
Zhong Qitao, the deputy captain of the Criminal Investigation Division of the police station! He recognized the voice.
Last time, when he, Jin Ziliang, and Gong Jiu were eating at the food court on Fuqi Road, they ran into that bastard Xin Zhida and gave him a good thrashing. After that, they never came to Zhong Qitao's place again.
At first, Captain Zhong wanted to help Xin Zhida, but after being intimidated by Jin Ziliang's identity, he was scared half to death. How could he dare to protect Xin Zhida anymore?
Unexpectedly, they met here by chance!
Thinking this, the door was pushed open, and sure enough, it was Zhong Qitao who entered. He looked around and was stunned.
"Huh? What's going on? Why are there so few people? The food hasn't arrived yet? Were you waiting specifically for me?"
Then, he saw Lu Chen.
He was immediately taken aback, his expression changing instantly. He quickly walked over and extended both hands to Lu Chen: "Isn't this Mr. Lu? Oh dear, what a coincidence! Do you remember me? Little Zhong!"
A man in his forties was addressing a young man in his twenties as "Little Zhong"!
You Haoguo, who was drinking tea, immediately spat out his tea.
Zhong Qitao was very respectful to Lu Chen; even a fool could see that. Of course he would be respectful to Lu Chen; this Mr. Lu was Master Jin Ziliang's brother!
And judging from how enthusiastically Jin Ziliang had helped him humiliate him at the food court that night, he was definitely not an ordinary brother! His identity was definitely not simple! Therefore, Zhong Qitao was very respectful to Lu Chen.
This scene, however, surprised You Haoguo.
While it was true that Lu Chen had an ambiguous relationship with the Zhuang family's daughter, and that it was good to be under someone powerful, Old Zhong didn't need to be so respectful, did he?
Lu Chen smiled slightly, took Zhong Qitao's hand, and said warmly, "Captain Zhong, how could I not remember you? That night at the food court, it was fortunate that you stood up for me!"
Zhong Qitao immediately felt his face flush. That night, Master Jin was there; he couldn't not stand up for him! But if justice was on Xin Zhida's side, and Xin Zhida was a pure victim, he wouldn't have stood up for him.
"Ah, what... what's going on?" You Haoguo asked.
Zhong Qitao immediately said, "Old Zhong, don't you know, Mr. Lu is..."
Lu Chen immediately grabbed Zhong Qitao's shoulder and laughed, "We're old acquaintances! Luckily, Captain Zhong arrived in time that night and apprehended those troublemakers, otherwise, I would have been beaten to a pulp. Right, Captain Zhong?"
Lu Chen knew what Zhong Qitao wanted to say, but he didn't want to reveal his relationship with Jin Ziliang.
Jin Ziliang was, after all, a soldier, and a high-ranking one at that. Introducing him would inevitably damage his image, especially at a time like this.
Zhong Qitao immediately understood Lu Chen's thoughts and quickly nodded, "Yes, yes! Hehe!" Then he quickly changed the subject, "Hey Old You, you've got some serious connections! You managed to get Mr. Lu to dinner!"
You Haoguo already sensed something was off, and this made him even more uneasy.
Could this young Lu have some kind of background?
Although Zhong Qitao was one star lower than You Haoguo, their seniority was roughly the same. The star Zhong Qitao was missing would soon be added back, making them equals.
A policeman of equal rank—a position that was definitely respectable in Yunzhou City—was being so respectful to Xiao Lu? Why was that?
The more You Haoguo thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. He chuckled, "To be honest, I'm not inviting Xiao Lu to dinner; I'm accompanying him. He's treating someone to dinner."
"Oh?" Zhong Qitao was surprised. "Which important person is Mr. Lu inviting to dinner?"
"Captain Zhong, don't call me Mr. Lu anymore. It's easy for you to call me that, but it sounds awful to me. Just call me Xiao Lu, like Director You did, or you can call me A-Chen!"
Lu Chen said sincerely, then changed the subject, answering Zhong Qitao's question: "Inviting An Caishen to dinner! An Caishen, Captain Zhong, you should have heard of him, right?"
"An Caishen?" Zhong Qitao's face immediately darkened. He curled his lip and said, "An Caishen? He's a household name! The head of the Caishen Hall, one of the four major gangs in Yunzhou City, a notorious gangster!"
Lu Chen smiled. It seemed that even if their director had connections with An Caishen, this Deputy Captain Zhong didn't treat him with much respect.
Zhong Qitao asked again, "Chen, what's going on? Are you inviting him to dinner? It's best to avoid people like that! Even that General Manager Xin Zhida from last time didn't dare to deal with him."
The way he addressed him had indeed changed, and it was even more intimate than the "Little Lu" You Haoguo had used.
Lu Chen scratched his head, saying helplessly, "I don't want to deal with him either, but I have no choice! I offended him, so I'm here to apologize!"
Zhong Qitao was startled: "What exactly happened?"
Lu Chen looked at You Haoguo: "Director You, this… can you tell me?"
You Haoguo smiled wryly and waved his hand: "It's alright, Old Zhong is one of us, he knows the implications. Go ahead, it's fine!"
Lu Chen then briefly explained the situation.
Zhong Qitao sneered, "Doing business on the third floor? The renovations disturbed the customers? Heh heh, that An Caishen guy, maybe he's running a casino upstairs? His casinos are springing up everywhere these days, and then he follows up with loan sharking!"
He then looked at You Haoguo, "Old You, aren't you going to do anything about it? Just let it go like this?"
You Haoguo smiled bitterly, pointed a finger at the ceiling, and remained silent.
Zhong Qitao shrugged, "That An Caishen has done all sorts of bad things. Ah Chen, dealing with you is nothing special. I can name seven or eight people he's killed. It's just that he has powerful backers; we little devils can't do anything about it."
This was quite modest. If even the deputy captain of the criminal investigation team and the police station chief are considered little devils, then there are far too many little devils in the world. It just means that the big devil is a bit too powerful.
You Haoguo nodded: "Yes, that's why I'm just trying to smooth things over. Let Xiao Lu suffer a little, spend some money, it's better to pay to avoid trouble! I think, although my influence isn't that great, An Caishen has to keep an eye on things, he won't make things too difficult for Xiao Lu."
Zhong Qitao sneered.
You Haoguo glared: "What are you sneering about?"
Zhong Qitao picked up a plate of pickled radishes from the table, placed it in front of him, and started eating them with a toothpick. While chewing on the pickled radishes, he said: "I'm laughing because An Caishen's end has finally come. He's too blind. Although he can run rampant in half of Yunzhou City, not everyone can mess with him! Some people, once they mess with him..."
He paused, then said, word by word, "...are doomed for him!"
You Haoguo was stunned: "Old Zhong, you're talking strangely tonight!"
He was suspicious. From Old Zhong's words, it seemed that Lu Chen had some trump card? Old Zhong's initial respectful attitude suggested that Xiao Lu had some powerful backing! But why didn't he say?
"Strange? Haha, secrets of heaven cannot be revealed, just wait and see!" Zhong Qitao laughed heartily.
You Haoguo, itching with curiosity, said, "You better explain yourself clearly!"
Zhong Qitao swallowed a mouthful of sour radish and asked, "You know Xin Zhida, the boss of Zhida Real Estate Company, right?"
You Haoguo nodded, "Yes, he's very powerful! Hey, it seems like you're practically his underling!"
"Go away!" Zhong Qitao's face flushed, and he waved his hand, "So, how do you think he compares to An Caishen?"
You Haoguo thought for a moment, then said solemnly, "They each have their strengths. An Caishen's underworld influence is stronger, and Xin Zhida also has underworld influence, but not as much as An Caishen. However, his connections in the legitimate world are more substantial. But generally speaking, it's better to mess with An Caishen than Xin Zhida. Underworld influence, after all, lives in the shadows, which is why many underworld figures want to whitewash their past after gaining fame."
Zhong Qitao laughed heartily: "That's right! Someone dared to beat Xin Zhida so badly he had nowhere to turn for justice. So tell me, if An Caishen provokes him, what will he do?"
You Haoguo was stunned for a moment: "In our Yunzhou City, there aren't many big shots like that! Who is it?"
Seeing that Jin Ziliang was really about to be dragged into this, Lu Chen interjected: "Strange, why hasn't that An Caishen arrived yet? It's almost eight o'clock! Weren't we supposed to meet at six-thirty? An hour and a half has passed."
"Damn it!" Zhong Qitao slammed his fist on the table: "Is An Caishen doing this on purpose? Seriously!"
Just as they said, "Speak of the devil," the door suddenly opened, and two burly young men in black T-shirts strode in, standing on either side. Then, a round, chubby guy walked in from the middle.
Behind him were five or six burly henchmen.
He had a fat head and big ears, looking a bit like a pig, and he was even wearing a Tang suit. He looked like a pig in human form.