Wang Wu was originally one of Cheng Mingliang's confidants, and Qin Shiyao had naturally seen him when she was working on the case.
Those damned sunglasses had such good shading performance that he didn't recognize Qin Shiyao for a moment.
They weren't in a legitimate business to begin with, and meeting an Inspector was like a mouse meeting a cat. If they didn't run, they'd be caught; if they did run, they'd be slapped with a charge of obstructing public duties, adding crime upon crime.
The six lackeys behind him also shuddered, not daring to step forward.
If they didn't answer well, they might end up being invited to the Patrol Office for tea.
Wang Wu's eyes darted around as he put on a fawning smile and said, "Captain Qin, we were just negotiating the price of this land with Director Li. The language was just a bit intense; surely that doesn't count as a major offense!"
As he spoke, he winked frantically at Li Changwei.
The lackeys behind him also chimed in one after another.
"Yeah, that's right!"
"Even at a vegetable market, people bargain. Bargaining over the price of land is understandable."
"We didn't force a buy or sell. If the price isn't right, we just don't sell, right? Can't we still negotiate?"
Su Ci actually felt that what they said made some sense. She could just stand aside and watch this dog-eat-dog show.
She looked at Qin Shiyao beside her. Without knowing Li Changwei's background, how would she solve the problem?
Qin Shiyao didn't feel so good. As the person involved, what Wang Wu said was actually true. She couldn't convict him based on a single sentence; she had to follow the legal procedures step by step.
Her eyes narrowed: "Fine. Since you're here to talk business, let's sit down and talk slowly. I want to see if your procedures are reasonable and legal."
"This..."
Wang Wu hadn't expected Qin Shiyao to take him up on his words so readily, and he felt incredibly panicked.
Li Changwei also hadn't expected things to reach this point. He hadn't wanted to sell the Orphanage in the first place, but this damned Cheng Clan Real Estate insisted on hounding him.
If he hadn't had some connections behind him, he would have disappeared long ago along with those people who had been shouting.
Now that Qin Shiyao was here, he didn't know how to handle the situation.
The Orphanage in his hands couldn't withstand a detailed investigation.
He also saw Wang Wu's winks clearly.
Characters like Wang Wu would occasionally go to underground casinos to try their luck.
The two of them had even met at an underground casino.
As the director of an Orphanage, this was undoubtedly a stain. If Li Changwei didn't resolve this properly, Wang Wu might just rat him out, and then it would be all over.
Li Changwei was panicking inside, but he remained calm on the surface. He waved his hand at the children blocking the way in front of him and said, "Children, this is Captain Qin from the Patrol Office. With her here, nothing will happen to us. Go line up for your physical exams; don't make the doctors wait."
The children's gazes shifted between Li Changwei and Qin Shiyao. Some said reluctantly, "Okay... fine! Papa Director, you must be careful."
It was as if they were about to experience a life-and-death separation.
A little girl timidly walked up to Qin Shiyao, took a deep breath as if to embolden herself, and reached out to grab the hem of Qin Shiyao's clothes. Her watery eyes were full of hopeful pleading:
"Inspector Sister, you... you must protect Papa Director. You... you can't let him get hurt."
Facing the cute girl, the sternness on Qin Shiyao's face softened quite a bit. She bent down and rubbed the little girl's head: "Don't worry, with big sister here, I definitely won't let the director get hurt."
With Qin Shiyao's assurance, the little girl felt relieved and left with the other children, though they all looked back at Qin Shiyao and the others from time to time.
Watching the children walk away, Li Changwei's mind had already come up with a way to solve the current problem. He took the initiative to invite them: "Why don't we go to my office to chat?"
It was true that Wang Wu had dirt on him.
But Wang Wu wasn't clean either.
In the face of justice, the two of them were now standing on opposite ends of a single-log bridge.
If they wanted to reach the other side safely, they had to make mutual concessions; otherwise, both would fall into the river.
However, compared to mutual compromise, he wanted more.
He wanted to use Qin Shiyao to drive away the wolf and devour the tiger, making Wang Wu afraid to target the Orphanage ever again.
Qin Shiyao looked at the burly men, whose feet seemed stuck to the floor. "What are you standing there for? Unless you have a guilty conscience? Or should I invite you to the Patrol Office for tea right now to talk slowly?"
Wang Wu stiffened his neck. Not knowing what Li Changwei was thinking, he could only curse Li Changwei's ancestors in his heart. "Fine, let's go. Who's afraid of whom? I, Wang Wu, am tilted but not afraid of a straight shadow."
A lackey next to him couldn't help but chime in to show his presence: "Boss... it's'straight but not afraid of a tilted shadow.'"
Wang Wu glared at him in dissatisfaction. "Get lost, don't they mean the same thing?"
The lackey shrank his neck and whispered, "How is that the same thing? The angle of the light affects the shadow. At a certain point, the shadow might just be straight!"
Who would have thought that Wang Wu would hear this? He immediately slapped the back of the lackey's head. "Too much nonsense. Don't you know your boss only has an elementary school diploma? Are you trying to show off how educated you are?"
The lackey finally shut his mouth obediently.
Wang Wu crossed his arms and walked toward Li Changwei.
"Do you want to come and take a look together?"
Qin Shiyao asked Su Ci.
Now that the development rights were with Su Ci, she was also an involved party and needed to be consulted.
Su Ci thought for a moment and said, "You go first, I'll be there in a bit."
Then, under Su Ci's gaze, Li Changwei led the group into a room in a nearby building.
Su Ci glanced briefly at the children who were still peeking over from time to time, then turned and walked back toward where she had come from.
With Qin Shiyao here, both Li Changwei and Wang Wu would be restrained.
The dog-eat-dog drama would become dull and tasteless.
In the end, the two of them might just reach some shady deal and brush the matter aside.
Even if Qin Shiyao wouldn't let it go easily, according to law enforcement standards, there wasn't much she could do to them.
Su Ci might as well look for an opportunity to prepare for her contact with the female protagonist.
For example, whether this Orphanage was demolished or kept was up to her.
When the time came, she could stand before the female protagonist, Lin Xiaoxiao.
"Ms. Lin Xiaoxiao, you wouldn't want to see the Orphanage where you've lived for twenty years be demolished, would you?"
Cough cough!
As a person of integrity, Su Ci naturally wouldn't engage in such coercive behavior.
It definitely wasn't because using kindness to seek rewards was a more effective way to win people's hearts.
Coming outside the Orphanage, she saw two other cars parked next to the SUV.
She looked around. The camera at the Orphanage entrance was tilted and didn't cover this area, and there were no pedestrians or vehicles passing by.
A wicked smile unconsciously appeared at the corner of Su Ci's mouth as she walked to the base of the Orphanage's perimeter wall.
On the weed-covered ground, Su Ci followed the rusted barbed wire on the wall and found two broken spikes in the grass.
She wrapped the spikes in a tissue and fiddled with them in her hand for a bit.
Su Ci walked past Qin Shiyao's car and 'accidentally' tossed the spikes out of her hand.
Perhaps the spikes also shared a hatred for evil, as they happened to fly right under the front tires of Wang Wu's group's car.
Su Ci clapped her hands and put the tissue back into her pocket.
Just then, the sound of a car driving reached her ears.
Then a cool breeze blew against her face.
It also ruffled the hair by Su Ci's ears.
Su Ci turned her head and saw a taxi stopping nearby.
She couldn't help but be curious. Was someone else coming to this Orphanage today?
The rear door opened, and a pair of black leather shoes first came into view, stepping onto the ground. Brown knee-high socks wrapped around well-proportioned calves, leading up to fair thighs.
A girl stepped out of the car with a light posture. Her waist-length, flowing black hair was tied with a red ribbon that swayed gently with her movements. She reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, looking at the large characters at the Orphanage entrance with deep nostalgia.
The girl seemed to have just noticed Su Ci's gaze.
She turned to meet Su Ci's eyes, a gentle smile playing on her lips.
Fine bangs brushed her eyebrows, and her phoenix eyes and willow-leaf brows were clear without a trace of impurity. Her oval face had a rosy glow, and dressed in a light black JK uniform, she exuded an aura of youth.
Su Ci couldn't help but stare blankly, as if she had returned to that campus where cherry blossoms bloomed.
If asked if she wanted to relive the beautiful times of university.
The answer was, of course, no.
The girl turned to thank the taxi driver and walked toward Su Ci: "Hello, big sister. Are you here to visit the Orphanage? Would you like me to take you inside for a look?"
Su Ci wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but she seemed to catch a hint of sweetness in that soft, glutinous rice (nuò) voice.