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墨書 Inktalez
Wang Jingwei was feeling quite guilty. He was afraid that Xin Yi would deal with him like last time in the hospital, but as soon as he saw the traffic police car approaching, his courage returned. No matter how powerful a gangster was, they wouldn't dare to act out in front of so many police officers. Thus, his attitude made a complete turnaround; his previously hunched body straightened up, and his hands naturally clasped behind his back. Clearing his throat, he said to Qin Dali, "Ahem, comrade, bumping into someone in such a crowded place isn't a big deal. Let's just forget about it. However, your way of speaking is not right. What do you mean by saying that we officials speak empty words? What do you mean we can distort right and wrong? Such statements are simply slander! Without the dedication of national officials serving the people, how could there be stability and prosperity for the Motherland? … So, it’s essential to focus on educating citizens’ quality."
"Wow... well said!" Xin Yi had walked closer and clapped his hands. "Every word is precious. But may I ask you, who are you? Are you an official? What position do you hold in which department?"
"You... why should I answer you?" Wang Jingwei was infuriated by Xin Yi's question. He clearly knew who he was asking about; this was just mocking him. As the First Secretary of the Provincial Party Secretary, he was not someone to be trifled with. Therefore, he decided not to respond and wanted to see what tricks Xin Yi could come up with.
Seeing that Wang Jingwei refused to answer, Xin Yi smiled at the crowd gathered around and said, "Everyone heard that, right? This official from an unknown department just claimed that national officials serve the people diligently for the stability and prosperity of the Motherland. So what are we? We are the people! When asked which department he works in and what position he holds, he refuses to answer. If he can't even answer such a simple question from the people, how can he talk about serving us diligently? He speaks one way but acts another; isn’t this just empty talk? Don’t you all agree?"
"Yes, exactly! These officials are all like this now!"
"What do they mean by serving the people? Now it's the people serving them; society has changed!"
"How can officials ever speak the truth? Believing them is worse than believing a pig will give birth!"
...
Xin Yi's words surprisingly resonated with many in the crowd. Usually, these people wouldn't dare to voice their opinions for fear of offending those in power. However, not speaking out didn't mean they didn't harbor grievances. As long as someone dared to take the lead, they were more than willing to criticize those so-called government officials who lined their pockets while pretending to serve the people.
"Let’s take a step back and say he isn’t a government official," Xin Yi continued as he successfully stirred up the crowd's emotions. "Even ordinary citizens like us know to apologize when we bump into someone. Yet he bumps into someone and starts cursing instead, saying that citizen quality education needs to be prioritized. Isn’t that equivalent to insulting us citizens for lacking quality? He claims to be a servant of the people; how can a servant insult their master for lacking quality? Isn’t this turning right into wrong? Don’t you all agree with me?"
"No! He should apologize!"
"Nonsense! This person is talking utter rubbish!"
"Yes! Make him apologize! If he doesn't apologize today, he shouldn't think about leaving here!"
...
The crowd became agitated once again, demanding Wang Jingwei apologize to Qin Dali. The current situation was no longer important; what mattered was that they could vent their long-held frustrations through Xin Yi and Qin Dali. After all, even if things escalated later on, it wouldn’t fall back on them as mere spectators. Why not enjoy watching an official make a fool of themselves?
Wang Jingwei looked at the indignant crowd around him and then at Xin Yi's calm smile. He thought to himself that this guy really knew how to stir things up; with just a few words, he had incited the emotions of strangers. It seemed that aside from being able to use violence, this troublemaker had quite a knack for rhetoric as well. If such talent were to enter politics, they would likely thrive even more than his superior Provincial Party Secretary Qiao Qiang. However impressive it might be, Wang Jingwei still faced a dilemma: should he really apologize to this common citizen who had deliberately bumped into him? That was absolutely out of the question; someone of his esteemed status couldn't do such a thing.
Just then, two officers wearing caps approached him. One stepped forward respectfully and said, "Wang Secretary! Hello! I am Qian Yong from the Longchuan Traffic Police Brigade. Secretary Zhang has instructed us to escort you out of Longchuan; please come with us."
"Well, Officer Qian, thank you. Let's go," Wang Jingwei sighed in relief and turned to leave.
"Not so fast! No apology, no leaving!" Suddenly, a voice called out from the crowd.
"Yes! Apologize! He can't leave without an apology!"
"Apologize! Apologize!"
...
The onlookers began to stir again, demanding Wang Jingwei apologize.
Qian Yong looked at Wang Jingwei with confusion, then turned with a stern face to the crowd and shouted, "Stop this nonsense! Do you know who this is? This is our Secretary Qiao of the Provincial Committee's chief secretary! Disperse immediately! Keep this up and I'll have you all arrested!"
"So what if he's the Provincial Party Secretary's secretary?! Even if the Provincial Party Secretary himself hit someone, he has to apologize! No way, he must apologize! He can't leave without an apology!" The voice from the crowd called out again, and others echoed in agreement. Seeing that public anger was rising, Qian Yong hurriedly leaned closer to Wang Jingwei and quietly asked, "Secretary Wang, what exactly is going on here?"
Xin Yi saw that it was about time and exchanged glances with Qin Dali. The two quietly slipped out of the crowd. The person who had been shouting earlier also squeezed out and jumped into one of the cars that Du Hong and the others had parked by the roadside.
Shu Rui and Lu Hanmeng were conversing quietly not far away, occasionally glancing over. Lu Hanmeng wore a smile, as if all previous displeasure had vanished. Xin Yi thought about how he was actually at fault last time for violating traffic rules and causing someone to get hurt. He walked over to Lu Hanmeng and said, "Officer, I'm sorry about what happened last time; it was my fault. I sincerely apologize."
"Forget it; you were just eager to help," Lu Hanmeng replied with a smile. "You must be Xin Yi. My dad often mentions you, saying it's a waste of talent for you not to be a criminal investigator."
"Your dad?" Xin Yi asked in confusion. "May I ask who your father is?"
"Hehe, my dad is Lu Jianming. I'm Lu Hanmeng, just graduated from police academy this year," Lu Hanmeng answered.
"Oh, so you're Director Lu's daughter! My apologies. By the way, I haven't seen Director Lu in a long time. I heard he is now the head of Longchuan City Public Security Bureau. I really should have gone to congratulate him; it's quite remiss of me. Once I finish up some matters in the next few days, I must go visit Director Lu for a drink."
"That sounds great! My dad has always wanted to treat you to a meal to thank you. He was just worried that someone as busy as you wouldn't have time. I'll tell him when I get back to arrange it."
"Alright then, I'll definitely come by another day. Well, we still have things to attend to today, so we'll take our leave now," Xin Yi said. "Xiaorui, let's go."
"Well, okay," Shu Rui replied, then leaned closer to Lu Hanmeng's ear to whisper a few words before turning around and saying, "Let's go! Huh? Where's Shanshan?"
"Shanshan? Wasn't she with you?" Xin Yi's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't seen Shen Shanshan when he arrived and thought Shu Rui had already taken her back to the car.
"Ah, Shanshan was with me," Shu Rui said anxiously, looking around. "She was just standing behind us listening to us talk. How could she suddenly disappear? She must still be nearby; she hasn't gone far. Let's hurry and look for her!" With that, he ran toward the area where the crowd was most concentrated, and Lu Hanmeng quickly followed him into the crowd to search.
"Dali, have all of Du Hong's people get out of the car and start looking!" Xin Yi said as he ran toward his own vehicle. Although he knew the chances of Shen Shanshan getting back to the car on her own were slim, he still hoped she would be waiting for him inside. However, he was inevitably disappointed to find the car empty.
Du Hong's people had already gathered, and Xin Yi quickly assigned tasks before everyone began searching. They searched in circles for a long time, but even after the crowd had dispersed and traffic returned to normal, they still hadn't found Shen Shanshan. Xin Yi instructed everyone to continuously expand their search area, transitioning from foot searches to driving searches. They had already scoured several kilometers but still found no trace of Shen Shanshan.
Xin Yi drove in frantic circles on the road, his face filled with anxiety as his eyes scanned left and right like a hawk. Shu Rui, sitting in the passenger seat, was on the verge of tears. She held back her tears and said to Xin Yi, "Xin Yi, I'm sorry! I didn't keep an eye on Shanshan; I..."
"Stop saying useless things!" Xin Yi shouted. "The most important thing now is to find her! Don't look at me! Look outside! Shanshan doesn't know anything right now; she doesn't recognize anyone! Do you understand how serious it is that she's lost?!"
Shu Rui fell silent and suddenly turned her head to look outside. Tears streamed down her face. As soon as Xin Yi's words left his mouth, he felt he had gone too far. What right did he have to blame Shu Rui? If he hadn't insisted on humiliating that Wang Jingwei, Shen Shanshan wouldn't have left him; if she hadn't left him, she wouldn't have gotten lost. Shu Rui was helping him; Shen Shanshan was missing, and her anxiety and sadness couldn't be any less than his own. How could he blame her? With this thought in mind, Xin Yi sighed and softly said, "I'm sorry, Xiaorui. This isn't your fault; I'm just too anxious and lost control when I yelled at you. I'm sorry!"
"I know," Shu Rui said through her tears. "I’m not blaming you; I’m anxious too."
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