From Evil Sect Leader to Doctor

Pan Weidong’s gaze turned to Xu Chunliang. He knew Xu Chunliang; this guy had fought with Wang Zeqiang at the entrance of Beijing OMMIA Bar and managed to leave unscathed. Later, he single-handedly stormed into the East Sun Auto Repair Factory and gave Guo Chengyi a beating.

Wang Zeqiang suffered in silence and took no further action. After some inquiries, Pan Weidong learned that Xu Chunliang was Mei Ru Xue’s boyfriend and surmised that Xu Chunliang dared to make such a stir because he had the backing of the Qiao Family.

Pan Weidong pretended to be unfamiliar with Xu Chunliang and deliberately said, "And this is...?"

Hua Zhuyue said, "My friend, Xu Chunliang."

Pan Weidong smiled at Xu Chunliang and said, "A pleasure to meet you." He did not extend his hand for a handshake and continued to speak to Xie Chunlei, "Manager Xie, I’ve heard about the incidents at your bar. If you need any help, just let me know."

Xie Chunlei said, "Thank you, President Pan." After speaking, he glanced at Hua Zhuyue. It was clear from Pan Weidong’s words that he had a low opinion of Hua Zhuyue, seeming warm on the surface but implying that they might not handle things properly.

Hua Zhuyue said, "Though the incident happened at our bar, President Pan should also take it as a warning. Life is unpredictable, and misfortune can strike at any moment."

Pan Weidong, looking interested, said to Hua Zhuyue, "Today’s supposed to be a joyful occasion for our grand opening, and what you said isn’t exactly auspicious."

Xu Chunliang said, "Bitter medicine is good for illness; harsh words beneficial for practice. There is nothing impossible in Dongzhou." He stood firmly beside Hua Zhuyue, especially since Pan Weidong had previously offended him; dealing with him didn’t require encouragement.

Pan Weidong, full of confidence, said, "President Hua should have learned modern management, where every project undergoes risk assessment before implementation. Our He Dong Group has developed so rapidly over the past two years precisely because of our scientific management." He paused and continued, "I have always admired President Hua’s abilities. If you’re not happy at Blue Star, you’re always welcome at He Dong."

Hua Zhuyue, looking at the arrogant Pan Weidong, smiled and said, "President Pan has already poached many of our people, and now you have your sights on me. Aren’t you afraid I’ll replace you at He Dong?"

Pan Weidong laughed heartily and said, "It would be a relief to have someone share my burdens."

Xu Chunliang said, "In this line of work, you must abide by the law. Dongzhou is a place of law and order." Though this seemed like something said to everyone present, it was actually a jab at Pan Weidong.

Pan Weidong said to Hua Zhuyue, "Mr. Xu has a strong legal awareness. By the way, has there been any progress on the SEVEN STAR murder case?"

Hua Zhuyue said, "It’s still under investigation."

At this moment, more guests arrived, and Pan Weidong excused himself to greet them.

Xie Chunlei’s phone rang; there was a situation at the bar’s entrance. Relatives of Yang Mufeng had placed numerous funeral wreaths at the entrance. Xie Chunlei briefly explained the situation to Hua Zhuyue and hurried over.

Xu Chunliang, seeing Hua Zhuyue continue to calmly tour the site, was curious and asked, "Aren’t you going back to handle it?"

Hua Zhuyue said, "If I have to handle everything personally, then what are Xie Chunlei and the others for?"

Xu Chunliang said, "That Pan Weidong is quite arrogant."

Hua Zhuyue said, "He has reasons to be. He indeed has some skills in management." Looking up at the ubiquitous cameras, she whispered, "If the same thing happened here, the truth might have already come out."

Xu Chunliang said, "How did you end up with so many surveillance failures?"

Hua Zhuyue said, "We just upgraded the surveillance system recently, so logically, this shouldn’t have happened." She placed the wine glass aside as the host began to liven up the atmosphere. Tonight was both OMMIA’s grand opening celebration and its trial operation, with the celebration officially starting at 7:18 PM.

##

In front of SEVEN STAR were a dozen or so funeral wreaths, with a group of people in mourning attire sitting at the entrance burning paper.

Xie Chunlei frowned at the scene in front of him. The security guards who arrived before him quietly reported the situation; it was relatives of Yang Mufeng mourning at the site of the incident, their intention being to get the bar to give an explanation.

Xie Chunlei didn’t plan to get entangled with these people and told the security to call the police directly. It was best to let the authorities handle situations like this. The security helplessly informed him that the police had already come. The deceased’s family claimed they were mourning a lost loved one, making it difficult for the police to force them to leave.

The impact of Yang Mufeng’s death was foreseeable to last a long time. Even if the bar reopened for business, it would likely see a significant drop in customers.

While Xie Chunlei was making a call, someone approached. It was Yang Mufeng’s twin brother, Yang Mulin. He confronted Xie Chunlei, "Are you the owner here?"

Xie Chunlei, not in a good mood, asked, "What do you want?"

Yang Mulin said, "My brother died in your bar. Aren’t you going to give us an explanation?"

Xie Chunlei guessed that the purpose of this group of people was to extort money, really frustrating. Yang Mufeng died here, causing them such a huge loss, who should he seek compensation from?

Xie Chunlei understood that the family of the deceased was still in a rage. If he spoke too harshly, it might backfire on him. He said to Yang Mulin, "Your brother did indeed die in our bar, but we are also victims. The police have already found a suspect, and you should find the real murderer and seek compensation from her."

Yang Mulin said, "You’re talking nonsense, the police said they haven’t found the murderer yet. We are coming to you, and if you don’t give us an explanation, we won’t leave."

Xie Chunlei said, "I can understand your feelings right now, but you can’t take it out on me. You should be looking for the real murderer, not coming to me."

Yang Mulin asked, "Who is the murderer then?" He seemed completely unaware of the situation.

A security guard nearby interjected, "It’s Chen Weiwei from the nail salon on the third floor of Jianjie Square. I heard she is the murderer."

Xie Chunlei glared at the security guard. The police hadn’t drawn any conclusions yet, so it wasn’t right to speak recklessly. However, Xie Chunlei and the others had gone to make an identification in the afternoon, and two waitresses had recognized Chen Weiwei, believing she was the one drinking with Yang Mufeng last night. There were also rumors that she was Yang Mufeng’s mistress.

Yang Mulin glanced at Jianjie Square not far away, gritting his teeth, "I’m going to find her right away."

Xie Chunlei snickered, thinking that this was a fool. Chen Weiwei was still at the police station, so even if he went now, he wouldn’t find her. But this had nothing to do with him. As long as this fool didn’t come looking for him, it was all fine.

Xie Chunlei said to the security guard, "Call 110 again, I don’t believe they will ignore our situation."

##

Chen Weiwei was questioned by the police all day, and at seven in the evening, she was finally released. Although quite a bit of evidence pointed to Chen Weiwei, it didn’t add up logically when considered together.

Regarding Chen Weiwei’s release, there was internal disagreement within the team. Li Zhong and the other team members believed she shouldn’t be released, as she was currently the main suspect.

Lu Qi believed that a suspect and a criminal were different concepts. They still couldn’t confirm Chen Weiwei’s guilt. Generally, detention for questioning should not exceed twenty-four hours. Even though Chen Weiwei had some time before reaching this limit, they had already asked everything they could, and further detention wouldn’t produce any more clues.

Lu Qi suggested allowing Chen Weiwei to leave for now. They could track and monitor her every move, possibly discovering new leads.

Li Zhong and the others believed Chen Weiwei was essentially the real culprit, motivated by money. The fingerprints, hair, lipstick, and castor seeds were evidence. Two staff members from SEVEN STAR recognized Chen Weiwei as having been in the bar last night.

Lu Qi thought there was a possibility of misidentification. The same clothes and hairstyle didn’t necessarily mean the same person. In conclusion, investigation was a scientific and cautious process. Guilt could not be assigned to someone without solid evidence.

Of course, a comprehensive investigation surrounding Chen Weiwei had already begun, including her connection with Yang Mufeng and their financial dealings over the years.

After leaving the police station, the first thing Chen Weiwei did was go to Jianjie Square. She wanted to retrieve some personal items from the nail salon, having been exhausted by the day’s questioning.

Everyone has secrets, and Chen Weiwei hadn’t disclosed everything to the police. What Yang Mufeng gave her wasn’t just one million. In the past, when Yang Mufeng was the head of cardiology at Hai Zhou Second Hospital, he received a lot of kickbacks. To be cautious, he had suppliers deposit a lot of money into Chen Weiwei’s account, which he would withdraw as needed.

After the incident with Yang Mufeng, he turned over more than three million to the prosecution to avoid charges. Originally, he wanted Chen Weiwei to give him two million, but in times of trouble, one sees people’s true nature. Although Chen Weiwei had previously promised to keep it safe for him, when it came to actually giving him the money, she was reluctant, using the excuse that she had used the money to buy a house.

Yang Mufeng couldn’t get the money from Chen Weiwei, and to scrape enough together for the fine, he eventually sold a house in Hai Zhou and barely made it through.

After his divorce, Yang Mufeng left with nothing and came to Dongzhou to find Chen Weiwei. Out of guilt, Chen Weiwei temporarily took him in, but a rift had already formed between them over money. Several arguments erupted during this time, and Yang Mufeng even hit her.

They finally managed to come to an agreement. Chen Weiwei wrote Yang Mufeng an IOU for one million, promising to pay off the debt by the end of the year. In this regard, Yang Mufeng had conceded quite a bit.

Chen Weiwei never imagined Yang Mufeng would suddenly die, leaving her as a suspect.

The police had already conducted a thorough search of the nail salon, and Chen Weiwei planned to take away some of her personal items and temporarily close down.

Before the cause of Yang Mufeng’s death was clarified, she could not leave Dongzhou. She wasn’t in the mood for business. Once she got home that night, she planned to carefully sort through everything that had happened recently. If nothing else worked, she would tell the police everything truthfully.

After all, she didn’t commit murder, and at worst, she would hand over all the money that belonged to Yang Mufeng.

As she mulled over this, she opened the door.

At that moment, someone called out from behind, "Chen Weiwei!"