"Yes!"
Lei Ming waved his hand, and two tall, burly inspectors stepped forward, grabbed Yan Jinlong like a child being arrested, and dragged him towards the police car outside.
Yan Jinlong finally came to his senses, shouting in a panic:
"Director Kan! I'm innocent!"
Out of the corner of his eye, Yan Jinlong saw Yan Songshan again, and quickly turned to look at him, as if grasping at a straw, shouting:
"Second Uncle! Help me! I'm innocent!"
Yan Songshan hurriedly lowered his head, avoiding Yan Jinlong's gaze, pretending not to see him, inwardly cursing Yan Jinlong's ancestors. Even at this point, he was still fantasizing that he could help him—how naive! And calling him "Second Uncle" in front of the bureau leaders—wasn't he just asking for trouble? He used to think Yan Jinlong was quite clever, but he turned out to be such a fool! Yan Songshan was now filled with regret. He wished it were all a dream. He was just playing cards in the card room, and now he'd inexplicably gotten himself into this mess.
Kan Xufeng also heard Yan Jinlong's shouts. His cold gaze swept over Yan Songshan's face, and he asked indifferently,
"Director Yan, aren't you going to explain why you're here? Have you been transferred to Zhonglou District? Why am I, as the director, unaware of this?"
Cold sweat broke out on Yan Songshan's forehead. He stammered,
"Director Kan... I... I was passing by with some colleagues from the branch office on a case when we saw a serious case of police officers being held hostage, so... we stopped to handle it!"
He had no choice but to use the same excuse he'd given Guan Weiping. But this kind of nonsense might fool a three-year-old. Kan Xufeng wasn't stupid; he could easily see through the relationship between Yan Songshan and Yan Jinlong. Kan Xufeng snorted coldly and said,
"Hmph! I'll settle the score with you later!"
After saying that, he pointed disgustedly at Yue Lei and his gang of thugs, and said to the criminal investigation team officers who had arrived behind him,
"Cuff them all and take them back to the city bureau for proper interrogation!"
"Yes, sir!"
The officers swarmed forward, quickly apprehending Yue Lei and his men, and escorted them outside, stuffing them one by one into the police car. Seeing that the situation was mostly resolved, Kan Xufeng turned to Guan Weiping apologetically and said,
"Old classmate, I won't say much more about my apologies. It was my fault for not managing the team well. When you have time, I'll treat you to drinks as an apology."
Guan Weiping's expression softened slightly. Kan Xufeng addressed him as "old classmate" repeatedly and adopted a very humble attitude, so he didn't want to press the issue further. He smiled and said,
"Okay! But let's skip the dinner. I'll come to your house another day. You mentioned it, and now I really miss your wife's fish-flavored eggplant!"
"No problem!" Kan Xufeng exclaimed happily, "You can come anytime. I'll have your wife prepare a feast for you, haha!"
Guan Weiping, thinking of the evening's events, added,
"By the way, Director Kan, Chen Yang is having dinner at Secretary Fang's house tonight, so he might not be able to accompany you back to the bureau to do your writing." "Recorded!"
Kan Xufeng waved his hand and said readily,
"It's alright! When Xiao Fang has time, I'll have someone come and make a replacement!"
Chen Yang quickly said,
"I'll go to your station sometime! Otherwise, if the police suddenly show up at the school looking for me, people will think I've done something illegal!"
Kan Xufeng couldn't help but laugh. He glanced at Chen Yang, a thought flashing through his mind, and stepped forward to ask,
"Xiao Fang, what happened today was wrong on our part. On behalf of the Rongcheng City Public Security Bureau, I apologize to you!"
He paused, then tentatively asked,
"Regarding how this matter was handled, Xiao Fang, do you have any opinions?"
Kan Xufeng truly regarded Chen Yang as a member of the Fang family in Beijing, so he was very cautious in handling this matter, afraid that a mishandling would displease Chen Yang. He knew that those spoiled scions of wealthy families might not amount to much, but when it came to causing trouble, they were quick to devise ingenious and unpredictable schemes.
Chen Yang hesitated for a moment before speaking:
"Director Kan, I'm just an ordinary citizen. I shouldn't be offering any opinions on your handling of the case, but since I'm a party involved in this matter today, I'll offer some suggestions!"
Kan Xufeng felt reassured and said amiably:
"Go ahead, go ahead!"
Chen Yang nodded slightly and said:
"First of all, there's the issue of those thugs. I don't think this can be treated as a typical public security case. From what I understand, this group, led by Yue Lei, has been bullying men and women in the Hengxiang area, committing many atrocities that have angered the local residents. In my opinion, this already qualifies as a criminal gang. If they aren't dealt with severely, these people will continue to harm society."
Kan Xufeng nodded repeatedly, while Guan Weiping raised an eyebrow. Chen Yang was really going to make things difficult for Yue Lei! It seems this guy isn't exactly mild-mannered. Because Yue Lei ruined his house purchase, he's seizing the opportunity to ruthlessly exploit him! In this respect, Chen Yang really does have the airs of a spoiled brat from a wealthy family.
Guan Weiping's opinion is somewhat unfair to Chen Yang. Chen Yang's comments stemmed partly from a desire to clear obstacles for his own house purchase, but more importantly, Chen Yang felt that Yue Lei and his gang were truly a social cancer. Judging from Aunt Zhou's behavior and what he witnessed at the billiard hall, Yue Lei had clearly become the local tyrant. If he didn't speak harshly, Yan Songshan and his ilk might use their connections to smooth things over, and the matter might end up being treated as a minor offense, with Yue Lei only detained for a few days.
Chen Yang continued,
"As for Director Yan, that's an internal matter for your public security bureau, and I shouldn't interfere. However, I think that regardless of whether there was a money-for-power deal between Director Yan and Yue Lei, the fact that such a vicious gang emerged under his police station makes him, as the station's main leader, undeniably culpable!"
Kan Xufeng smiled and nodded,
"Okay, Xiao Fang! We will take your opinions seriously! We will definitely give you and the victims a satisfactory explanation! The people's police serve the people. If any of our personnel are found to be providing protection for organized crime, we will resolutely root them out and show no mercy!"
Chen Yang said he didn't want to interfere, but Kan Xufeng understood the implication perfectly. Since he had decided to give Chen Yang face, he might as well give him that face fully. So, by saying these words in accordance with Chen Yang's meaning, he was already making a statement. Kan Xufeng then turned to Guan Weiping and tentatively asked,
"Director Guan, what about Secretary Fang...?"
Guan Weiping smiled and said,
"Director Kan, although this matter is egregious, it hasn't caused any serious consequences. The Secretary is so busy; I think we shouldn't bother him!"
Chen Yang then chimed in,
"If Uncle Fang asks about this, Director Guan and I will truthfully report Director Kan's decisive and swift handling of the matter, as well as the effective measures taken afterward, such as a thorough rectification of police conduct and discipline throughout the bureau!"
Guan Weiping nodded with a smile, agreeing with Chen Yang's words.
Kan Xufeng was overjoyed. This young Fang truly lived up to his family's reputation; he knew how to behave. He had just shown him kindness, and he immediately reciprocated!
Kan Xufeng's biggest worry was that this matter would reach the highest levels of government and leave a bad impression on Secretary Fang. Because the parties involved in this matter are Secretary Fang's secretary and someone who appears to be his nephew or niece—both extremely close relatives. Even a slight slip of their tongues could be enough to cause serious trouble.
Guan Weiping has already stated that he won't proactively report this matter. However, the incident involved a large police presence and many onlookers, making secrecy impossible. Even if Guan Weiping doesn't proactively report it, it's inevitable that news will reach Fang Hongda's ears. The open and covert attacks in politics are impossible to guard against.
But Chen Yang immediately proactively stated that if Secretary Fang inquires about the matter, they will focus their report on how Kan Xufeng personally went to the scene and decisively handled the situation, as well as any subsequent remedial measures. This essentially reassured Kan Xufeng.
Kan Xufeng said,
"Thank you, Director Guan! Thank you, Xiao Fang!"
After saying that, he took out a business card and handed it to Chen Yang, smiling broadly, saying,
"Xiao Fang, whenever you have time, come to the station to complete a statement! Just contact me directly!"
Actually, completing the statement was just a pretext; Kan Xufeng wanted to take the opportunity to get closer to Chen Yang. Through their brief interaction, Kan Xufeng could see that although Chen Yang was young, he was very capable in handling people and situations, displaying the demeanor of a scion of a prominent family. In Kan Xufeng's mind, he had already considered Chen Yang to be a member of the Fang family, and thus developed a desire to befriend him.
That's how politics is; there's no absolute good or bad. Sometimes a crisis can be an opportunity. Today's incident was certainly not a good thing for Kan Xufeng, but if he could use this incident to climb the social ladder through the Fang family, one of the seven great political families in China, even if it was just getting to know a third-generation member, that would be a tremendous stroke of luck. Chen Yang accepted the business card and nodded with a smile.
Both parties were satisfied with the outcome, so Kan Xufeng bid farewell to Guan Weiping and Chen Yang.
Before leaving, Kan Xufeng glanced at Yan Songshan, who stood there dejectedly, snorted coldly, and said to Lei Ming, the director of the police disciplinary office following behind him:
"Notify the disciplinary committee to conduct a reprimand talk with Yan Songshan tomorrow!"
After saying this, he didn't look at Yan Songshan again, got into his car without looking back, and left the scene.
Yan Songshan and his subordinates were left standing there awkwardly. Yan Songshan hesitated for a moment, then walked up to Guan Weiping and Chen Yang, bowed slightly, and said:
"Chief Guan..."
"Chen Yang, it's getting late, let's hurry up and go! It's not good to keep Secretary Fang waiting!" Guan Weiping didn't even look at Yan Songshan properly, turning directly to Chen Yang and saying.