Upon hearing the familiar voice, Yan Songshan couldn't help but shiver. When he turned around, a fawning smile had already appeared on his face:
"Director Kan..."
Yan Songshan had been so arrogant just moments before, but his demeanor completely changed when he actually saw Kan Xufeng standing before him.
Kan Xufeng was furious. He had rushed to the scene as soon as he received Guan Weiping's call, fearing some further trouble. But as the saying goes, what you fear most is what happens. Before he even got out of the car, he saw Yan Songshan with several policemen in a standoff with someone, guns drawn, while Guan Weiping stood in front of Yan Songshan, his face contorted with rage!
"Hmph!" Kan Xufeng glanced at Yan Songshan with icy eyes. He didn't have time to argue with him now; these scores could be settled later. Kan Xufeng turned to Guan Weiping, took his hands tightly, and said apologetically, "Director Guan! Old classmate! I'm so sorry, it's my fault for not doing my job well, I've startled you!"
Director Guan? An old classmate?
Yan Songshan's heart skipped a beat. He suddenly remembered who this somewhat familiar middle-aged man was! Director Kan had a classmate from the Party School who was now the First Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee—a fact almost everyone in the Municipal Public Security Bureau knew. Director Kan didn't shy away from discussing it and often took pride in it…
So, the person he had just pointed a gun at… was the Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Director Guan of the Provincial Party Committee Office?
Yan Songshan felt a chill run down his spine, broke out in a cold sweat, and his expression became incredibly complex. This important figure, whom he usually desperately tried to curry favor with, had been thoroughly offended by him today. Yan Songshan wanted to slap himself! At the same time, he absolutely hated his nephew Yan Huiming, who had called him, and Yan Jinlong, who had caused this whole mess!
Yan Songshan's mind raced, trying to figure out how to extricate himself from this situation.
Guan Weiping's expression remained calm as he said,
"Director Kan, thank you for your trouble! It's so kind of you to come all this way."
"Old classmate, please don't say that," Kan Xufeng quickly replied. "I'm truly ashamed of what happened! Thank goodness you weren't injured, otherwise I wouldn't be able to explain it to my sister-in-law and me!"
Guan Weiping patted Kan Xufeng's shoulder and said,
"Let's not talk about that anymore, let's go inside and take a look!"
"Okay, okay!"
The two of them, as if ignoring Yan Songshan, were about to walk side-by-side into the pool hall when... A screeching of brakes rang out, and a first-level police inspector came running up, panting. Upon seeing Kan Xufeng, he immediately stood at attention and saluted, saying:
"Reporting, Director Kan! Hu Zhong, the director of the Zhonglou Public Security Bureau, has been ordered to come!"
Kan Xufeng frowned, glanced at his watch, and gave a disgruntled snort, asking:
"Fifteen minutes have passed! You're slower than me! Hu Zhong, what's wrong with you?!"
Hu Zhong scratched his head awkwardly and said in a low voice:
"I just went to Cangshui District to take care of some business..."
Chen Yang, who had been observing coldly, couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing this. The two district bureau chiefs were quite amusing; the director of Cangshui District was wandering around Zhonglou District, and the director of Zhonglou District was running errands in Cangshui District...
Chen Yang's smile immediately drew everyone's attention. Hu Zhong was shocked by the scene, especially when he saw that the person being trampled underfoot was Yan Jinlong, Yan Songshan's nephew. He couldn't help but glance at Yan Songshan, but Yan Songshan kept his head down as if in mourning, not even looking at him.
Kan Xufeng and the others also looked at Chen Yang. Guan Weiping said from the side,
"Director Kan, this is Chen Yang, a disciple of Mr. Bai Yan, and a junior of Secretary Fang."
Guan Weiping wasn't wrong. Given the relationship between Master Bai Yan and Old Master Fang, Chen Yang and Fang Hongda were practically of the same generation! However, Guan Weiping had personally heard Fang Hongda tell Chen Yang to call him "Uncle Fang" at the banquet that night, hence the remark.
However, Kan Xufeng and the others interpreted this differently, because Chen Yang also had the surname Fang…
Could this young man be a junior member of the Fang family? Kan Xufeng and the others immediately had the same thought in their minds, and their gazes towards Chen Yang instantly became even more amiable.
Yan Songshan, upon hearing this, felt as if struck by lightning. That bastard Yan Jinlong! Who had he offended? The provincial party secretary, a direct descendant of a powerful red family… was he even allowed to live?! Yan Songshan was now filled with regret.
Kan Xufeng looked at Chen Yang with a kind expression and said gently,
"Young man, put the gun down first! With me here, no one will dare to harm you."
Chen Yang naturally knew that Kan Xufeng was the savior Guan Weiping had brought, so he laughed and withdrew the pistol from Yan Jinlong's temple, releasing his grip. Yan Jinlong, losing his support, immediately collapsed to the ground.
Chen Yang deftly removed the magazine, ejected the loaded bullet, loaded the second bullet into the magazine, and then snapped it back in with a click. These movements were fluid and practiced, clearly those of someone who frequently handled firearms.
Chen Yang reversed the muzzle, offering the pistol to Kan Xufeng with the butt end, smiling as he said,
"You'd better put it away! I've always been a coward, terrified of all this fighting and killing!"
His accent was perfect Beijing dialect. Guan Weiping couldn't help but glance at Chen Yang again. He knew Chen Yang's family background; he grew up in a small county in northern Southeast Province and had never been to Beijing. It was surprising that he could speak such fluent Beijing dialect. Moreover, Chen Yang's actions clearly showed he understood the mindset of everyone present. To further misunderstand those who were already misunderstanding, Chen Yang almost instinctively reacted in a way that was most advantageous to himself, earning Guan Weiping's secret admiration.
Kan Xufeng smiled and took the police gun, then turned and handed it to Hu Zhong, the director of the Zhonglou District Public Security Bureau, who was standing next to him. At this moment, several auxiliary police officers rushed over and helped Yan Jinlong up. Kan Xufeng glanced at Yan Jinlong with disgust, his face darkening as he asked,
"What's going on here?"
Yan Jinlong shivered under Kan Xufeng's sharp gaze, and mustered his courage to speak:
"Reporting, Chief, our station received a dispatch from the command center saying someone called the police on Hongguang Road. I immediately brought my men over, and we saw him..."
Yan Jinlong timidly pointed to Chen Yang, avoiding eye contact, and continued,
"He took a citizen hostage and severely injured him..."
Kan Xufeng's sharp gaze swept across the scene, pointing to the scattered controlled knives and letting out a soft snort, saying,
"So all of this was brought by Xiao Fang alone?"
Then he pointed to Yue Lei and the other thugs, asking,
"And were these the ones who called the police?"
Kan Xufeng's two questions went straight to the point. "This..." Yan Jinlong was speechless. This couldn't be faked; the command center had it all on file.
Seeing this, Chen Yang stepped forward and said loudly:
"Director Kan, esteemed leaders, let me explain!"
Kan Xufeng looked at Chen Yang, the icy expression on his face when he was with Yan Jinlong instantly melting away, replaced by a kind and approachable expression. He nodded with a smile.
Chen Yang said loudly:
"I was running errands around here this afternoon when I received a call from Director Guan saying Uncle Fang was looking for me, so I waited for Director Guan at this intersection..."
Guan Weiping nodded and said, "Yes, the Party Secretary invited Chen Yang to his home for dinner tonight, so I brought my car to pick him up and told him to wait for me nearby."
Chen Yang nodded to Guan Weiping to express his gratitude, and then continued:
"I was bored, so I came in to watch them play pool. That guy, they all call him Brother Lei..."
Chen Yang pointed to Yue Lei and continued:
"He encouraged me to play pool with him, and I thought I had nothing better to do, so I agreed. I won a few games, but he refused to pay me. He even had his thugs surround me and wouldn't let me leave, demanding that I leave my wallet..."
Guan Weiping couldn't help but feel a little strange. To talk so freely about gambling in front of the city and district police chiefs without batting an eye—Chen Yang was truly an oddball. Chen Yang continued:
"Seeing things were getting out of hand, I called 110 (the police emergency number). Hongguang Police Station was right next door, but Chief Yan's response time was truly appalling. No officers arrived for a long time, and these thugs started attacking again. I had no choice but to subdue their leader, Brother Lei. As for the injury on his hand, that was entirely in self-defense!"
At this point, Chen Yang suddenly changed his tone, becoming very cold, and pointed at Yan Jinlong, saying:
"But Chief Yan arrived so late…" "Not only that, but upon arriving at the scene, without any investigation, they immediately drew their guns and pointed them at me, the victim who had called the police. Without asking what happened, they tried to take me to the station, completely ignoring the thugs around them wielding controlled knives… By the way, these thugs seemed to know Chief Yan quite well; I heard Brother Lei call him 'Brother Yan'!"
As Chen Yang recounted the events, Kan Xufeng's expression grew increasingly grim. A veteran police officer, he could tell at a glance that there was definitely something fishy going on between Yan Jinlong and these thugs. Chen Yang's next words further enraged Kan Xufeng.
Chen Yang paused, then continued:
"Just then, Director Guan arrived. He promptly identified himself, stopped Chief Yan's violent enforcement, pointed out his inappropriate behavior of drinking during working hours, and demanded to see his identification. However, Chief Yan not only showed no remorse but also frantically pulled out handcuffs to take Director Guan to the police station as well. Seeing that Director Guan was about to be harmed, and that Chief Yan was intoxicated and pointing a police gun at Director Guan—a very dangerous situation—I had no choice but to intervene, subdue him, and temporarily hold his service weapon for safekeeping..."
Chen Yang stopped there. His account was largely objective, only downplaying parts that were unfavorable to him.
Upon hearing this, Kan Xufeng's already stern face darkened further, his dark cheeks flushing slightly with anger. More police cars arrived at the scene. Kan Xufeng glared at Yan Jinlong, snorted coldly, and shouted to Lei Ming, the director of the police disciplinary office who had arrived later:
"Director Lei! Take him away!"