Chapter 5: Formal Investigation

“Hey! Brother, I’m being bullied!” Wang Qi said plaintively.

“Who? Damn it, how dare anyone bully my brother! Didn’t you mention my name?” Gao Han asked.

Wang Qi hurriedly replied, “He’s a friend of Huang Ancheng, the owner of Binjiang Hotel. I did mention your name, but he didn’t care and said I was just a lowly manager. Brother, you have to stand up for me.”

“What about Huang Ancheng’s friend? Is my brother not worth more than his friend? What’s his name? I’ll check if there’s such a person in Jiangcheng!” Gao Han said angrily.

Wang Qi added, “His name is Yang Chen!”

There was the sound of a cup dropping on Gao Han’s side of the line.

“Who? Yang Chen?” Gao Han said in shock.

“Yes! Brother, when did Jiangcheng produce such a character?” Wang Qi asked.

Gao Han wiped the table and replied, “I’ll explain to you later when I have time. Why did he bully you?”

Wang Qi explained the situation to Gao Han.

Gao Han immediately said, “Then you deserved it! He’s been crazy looking for that shameless girlfriend of his; she ran off with a million… Ah, forget it, I’ll tell you later. Right now, you apologize to him immediately and cut ties with that woman at once. Don’t ask why, just do it. Understand?”

“Why… Oh, okay, I get it,” Wang Qi said dejectedly.

After hanging up, Wang Qi, crestfallen, walked over to Yang Chen.

Manager Zhang Liang quickly pulled him back and pleaded, “Manager Wang, don’t hit him, please, let’s talk it out.”

Wang Qi withdrew his arm and then said to Yang Chen, “President Yang, I’m sorry, it’s my fault. I’m officially breaking up with Zhang Xinyue now. She stole your money, so you have every right to go after her.”

At that moment, Gao Han sent Yang Chen a private message: “Director Yang, my cousin, please give me some face and let it go. I’ve already told him not to get involved in your affairs with your girlfriend.”

Though Gao Han was the chairman of Chengjian, there were several even more powerful creditors. If Wang Qi harmed Yang Chen, the other creditors would never let it slide, especially the municipal government. They had finally found someone to handle the mess, and if that person was taken down, nothing good would come of it.

Yang Chen put away his phone, smiled, and patted Wang Qi on the shoulder. “Since you’re Brother Gao’s younger brother, I’ll let it go.”

Wang Qi nodded and turned to leave.

Zhang Xinyue panicked, grabbing Wang Qi’s arm and crying, “Daqi, you can’t just ignore me! We’re living together; how can you not care about me?”

Wang Qi shook her off roughly and cursed, “Don’t talk nonsense! I paid you, so at most it’s prostitution, no emotional or legal responsibility. You stole one million from your ex-boyfriend—who would want a woman like you? I’m worried you’ll steal from me and run off next!”

Somebody had evidently called the police because they arrived at that moment.

“Who’s fighting?” one officer asked.

Zhang Xinyue and some diners pointed at Yang Chen and Wang Qi.

Before Yang Chen could speak, Wang Qi spoke up immediately: “Don’t talk nonsense! Yang and I have known each other a long time. We like to joke around when we meet. I remember once I even tapped his head with my phone. He wasn’t angry; he hugged me warmly. This time I came back to Jiangcheng, and we met once—he welcomed me excitedly with a plate. Isn’t that normal? True friends can joke around. You vulgar folk don’t have real friends and don’t understand true friendship. It’s normal for you to misunderstand and think we’re fighting.”

Yang Chen stifled a laugh, then said to the police officer, “Exactly, that’s the situation. Brother, come here for a hug.”

Wang Qi quickly ran up and hugged Yang Chen.

Everyone else was confused. That fat guy really wasted his body—how could he be so cowardly? Getting beaten up and still making excuses for the other guy.

The officer said, “Oh, then next time when you greet each other in public, try to keep it down to consider others’ perceptions and feelings.”

Wang Qi hurriedly said, “Okay, okay, we’ll be mindful in the future. By the way, since you’re here, please help my brother. That woman stole one million from him and ran off. Please arrest her quickly, investigate thoroughly, help my brother recover the money, and send her to prison for reform. That’s all, I’ll leave you to it.”

Wang Qi slipped away quickly. Zhang Xinyue tried to follow but was stopped by the police.

“You can’t leave! What exactly happened? Come back and tell us,” the officer said.

The police took Yang Chen and Zhang Xinyue to the station for questioning. Yang Chen produced transfer records from his phone proving the money had gone into Zhang Xinyue’s account. Zhang Xinyue argued that the money was a breakup gift from Yang Chen but couldn’t provide evidence.

As Yang Chen’s phone kept ringing, the officer handed it to him.

Yang Chen saw it was a call from Mayor Wang Wenkang.

He deliberately answered on speakerphone.

“Hello, Mayor Wang. What’s the matter?” Yang Chen asked.

The station fell silent as all the officers looked over.

Wang Wenkang laughed, “Oh, nothing much. Just letting you know I’ve already notified the shareholders and executives of Sihai Group. You can head over for the meeting tomorrow afternoon.”

“Got it! Thanks, Mayor Wang. Now it’s up to me,” Yang Chen said with a smile.

Wang Wenkang chuckled, then asked, “I guess those shareholders and execs won’t readily accept you. Want us to lend a hand?”

Yang Chen replied confidently, “No need! If I can’t deal with them, how could I dare to try saving Sihai Group?”

“Haha… If you’re so confident, why did you try to kill yourself in the first place?” Wang Wenkang asked.

“Sigh… It was because of love. Think about it: my girlfriend got drunk and smashed Wang Sihai’s Rolls-Royce. I didn’t abandon her; I took responsibility for the compensation, only to be played by Wang Sihai in the end. I almost gave my life for her, but she secretly transferred all the money and ran off. If it were you, wouldn’t you be heartbroken?” Yang Chen replied.

Wang Wenkang laughed, “True enough.”

Yang Chen quickly added, “Fortunately, heaven has eyes. I found my ex, and we’re at Binjiang police station clearing things up. But the officers seem skeptical of my story and haven’t decided to open a case yet. I might be stuck here for a while.”

“Really? That’s great. The criminal must be brought to justice. Go ahead and explain, I’ll make a call,” Wang Wenkang said.

Yang Chen hung up and handed the phone to the officer.

“You were just talking to Mayor Wang?” the officer asked.

Yang Chen nodded. “Yes. I’m now a major shareholder of Sihai Group, responsible for rescuing the company. Mayor Wang’s notifying the shareholders and executives for tomorrow’s meeting is just routine—don’t misunderstand.”

The officer smiled and nodded. After a few moments of silence, he said, “Let’s go over the details again. If it’s as you say, we’ll open a case or report it to higher authorities for investigation.”

Yang Chen nodded and cooperated as they reviewed everything again.

Before they finished, the station received a notice from the municipal bureau ordering them to transfer Yang Chen and Zhang Xinyue to the city bureau, which would handle the case directly.

“Huh? We haven’t reported to the city bureau yet. How did they know?” one officer wondered.

Yang Chen smiled and said, “Think carefully.”

The officer then recalled Yang Chen’s earlier call, and everything made sense.

Half an hour later, Yang Chen and Zhang Xinyue were transferred to the city bureau.

The Economic Investigation Captain Chen Le personally took over the case.

An hour later, the police issued a criminal case acceptance notice and a detention order for Zhang Xinyue, informing her family as well.

Realizing she couldn’t escape, Zhang Xinyue begged the police for mediation, hoping to reconcile with Yang Chen and reduce her sentence.

The police arranged a mediation session.

The moment Zhang Xinyue saw Yang Chen, she dropped to her knees, sobbing, “Yang Chen, I know I was wrong. Please forgive me for the five years we were together. I’ll return the one million and compensate you. Please?”

Yang Chen smiled, “Sorry, you committed a crime.”

“I know, I know, but if you forgive me, the punishment won’t be too severe. Please, give me another chance to be a good person,” Zhang Xinyue cried.

Yang Chen just smiled and said, “I think you should beg the judge. See if they’ll give you a chance. Officer, I refuse mediation.”

Captain Chen Le nodded and issued a refusal of mediation document.

Yang Chen signed immediately, then happily left the city bureau.

Zhang Xinyue broke down and cried, trying to chase after him.

The officers stopped her and took her to process detention.

Yang Chen returned to his villa, happily organizing materials for tomorrow’s meeting.