“Du… Du…”

Glared at by almost ten pairs of eyes, the man couldn’t speak properly. When Du Kang asked to read the documents on top of that, he was nearly frightened to death.

Du Kang waited, but the man didn’t move. His face darkened. He snorted coldly, approached the man, took the documents from his hand, and skimmed through them—

The list of charges, the “confession,” the smudged handprint…

On the way here, Du Kang prayed things wouldn’t develop in the direction he least wanted to see. Though it was inevitable he would end up looking like an incompetent fool in front of Elder Fang and the provincial leaders who were about to arrive, he’d wanted to save at least some face. However, reality gave him a cruel slap.

“Well, well, well, this is truly a masterpiece, written by an outstanding literary talent.” He slapped the pile of papers on the desk and smiled—if the expression full of burning rage could be called a smile. “What’s your name?”

Though asked a simple question, the man didn’t dare open his mouth. His stomach churned, his knees turned to water, and it took all his willpower simply to stand.

Deng Mai’s father, who still accompanied their group, introduced instead, “He’s Sun Laixin, Deputy Commissioner Liu’s brother-in-law. He’s usually in charge of Baima Street.”

Du Kang understood what was important. He nodded and repeated, “Very good, very good. That’s the busiest area in town, and I guess there’s also a lot of ‘benefits.’ Liu’s brother-in-law’s in charge of it? Really, Liu’s way of appointing duties makes me speechless.”

Du Kang held a high position in Liyun Town; his subordinates always painted the scene in gold and glitter. He knew the actual state of affairs would never be that good, but when he finally peeled off the layer of gilt, he found the rot was even worse than expected. Since Elder Fang was also involved, it presumably wouldn’t be long before everything was widely known. He expected that soon, he’d become the laughingstock of the whole Qunnan Province.

Trees cannot survive without bark, people cannot live without face. Du Kang thought about the consequences he would face and nearly coughed blood. The rage in his heart was so great it almost shattered the walls of the interrogation room—he planned for the culprits to suffer.

He personally unlocked the chain shackling Lin Jingzhe to the chair, giving him a smile full of sympathy: “We let you suffer, young man.”

His secretary, waiting at the side, had already prepared a damp towel. When Du Kang helped Lin Jingzhe stand up, he quickly stepped forward to support the youth’s other arm, and to help clean his stained palm.

“I’ll do it myself.” Lin Jingzhe was upset, but he’d long passed the age of taking his anger out on innocent. He also didn’t like other people entering his personal space, so he took the towel and added, “Thank you.”

“I’m very sorry about all this. You can rest assured I will do everything in my power to make amends for everything you suffered,” Du Kang said.

He sounded remorseful and apologetic, but Lin Jingzhe knew this was directed not so much at him as toward Elder Fang. He didn’t know this man, nor the rest of the people in his group, but Sun Laixin’s behavior was enough of a clue.

Lin Jingzhe was a pragmatic man. He wiped his hand, threw the now dirty towel on the chair in which he spent such a long time, and gave a slight nod. His attitude was calm, not like that of a terrorized teenager at all. “You don’t have to apologize, it wasn’t your fault, after all,” he said.

Du Kang’s heart filled with unspeakable gratitude—this remark was clearly meant to excuse him in front of Elder Fang.

Therefore, when he turned to the scared Sun Laixing, his anger burned even more fiercely.

It’s all because of this group of bastards! He hated he couldn’t flay them alive—literally!

Sun Laixing, who watched in shock, realized he might have offended someone he never should have. But how could this be? At the very beginning, he and his brother-in-law checked the information about Lin Jingzhe and confirmed he was an ordinary, powerless kid. His parents were divorced, the person who was his factual guardian died not too long ago, and he was estranged from the rest of his blood relatives. That was why they dared to be so bold. But now, Du Kang himself came to save him, and even apologized in such a humble way! What the hell was going on?!

Even after all this time, his brother-in-law didn’t come. Sun Laixin thought he was about to have a heart attack.  He felt as if he faced the muzzle of a loaded gun. Sweat trickled down his face and formed a small puddle on the ground, but he didn’t dare to wipe it. He hunched over, wishing to make himself invisible.

At this moment, a commotion could be heard outside. A man slipped through the crowd near the door, hurried to Du Kang’s side, and whispered in his ear.

“So quickly?!” Du Kang exclaimed, shocked. He promptly straightened his clothes and went out, looking solemn.

Su Laixin was abandoned like a dirty rag. His mind was completely blank.

He heard the man’s whisper to Du Kang. It was, “Mr. Zheng Cunzhi’s car just drove in.”

Zheng Cunzhi?!

Even if he forgot his own mother’s name, he would never forget the name “Zheng Cunzhi.”

The world went dark before his eyes, his pulse racing. Lightheaded, he felt that suddenly, the air was too thin, and he would suffocate.