Chapter 354 - 354 Bet with You
Several police cars pulled up, and Gong Ping immediately ran over to talk to the officers, occasionally pointing to Ye Qing upstairs. This guy wore a look of triumph on his face, as if Ye Qing was already a sitting duck.
The officer leading the team was someone Ye Qing recognized: Deputy Director Zhou Hongbin from the county bureau. The last time Ye Qing helped Old Fifth Yang catch that assassin, it was Zhou Hongbin who led the team. However, there had been some rift between Zhou Hongbin and Ye Qing at that time.
After Ye Qing captured the assassin, Zhou Hongbin lost face, and Old Fifth Yang was also very dissatisfied with him. It was said that Old Fifth Yang had punished him through his connections. Unexpectedly, they met again this time, which could really be described as a narrow road for enemies.
After listening to Gong Ping, Zhou Hongbin immediately commanded his subordinates to climb up the stairs from several directions, heading straight for Ye Qing. It looked like they were afraid that Ye Qing would try to escape.
Zhou Hongbin stood downstairs, smirking as he watched Ye Qing above. When he received the call, he already knew it was Ye Qing. He was determined to take back the humiliation he suffered last time. In his heart, he was even starting to think about what kind of torture to use on Ye Qing when they got back.
Just as the police officers ascended the building and were getting close to him, Ye Qing suddenly leaped over the railing and jumped straight down from the third floor.
The onlookers were all shocked; jumping from the third floor was a height of almost five or six meters—wasn't he going to break his legs?
"Bastard, a cornered dog will leap over a wall, huh?" Gong Ping said, surprised. But before his words could finish, Ye Qing had already grabbed onto the second-floor railing to slow his descent. Then he let go, dropping to the grass on the first floor, rolling to dissipate the force of his fall, completely unharmed.
All the onlookers on the scene were stunned, including the police officers who had gone up the stairs—they were so astonished that they forgot what they were supposed to do for a moment.
Without any pause, Ye Qing headed straight for Zhou Hongbin as soon as he landed.
Zhou Hongbin was also startled and instinctively reached for his gun, but it was too late. Ye Qing rushed up to him, pushed him into the car, snatched his gun holster, and threw it on the ground outside.
Gong Ping, watching from the side, was surprised and quickly shouted, "Director Zhou..."
Ye Qing glared at him, and Gong Ping immediately shut his mouth and turned to run. He wasn't a fool; if Ye Qing dared to strike Zhou Hongbin, what about him, a mere director of the political education office?
Ye Qing got into the car, turned it around, and drove off. By the time the police officers from upstairs chased down, Ye Qing had already driven away from the school, and they were too late to pursue him.
Zhou Hongbin sat in the car, his face filled with panic as he tried to maintain composure and shouted, "You... you are assaulting a police officer..."
"I've hit too many cops, I don't care about one more!" Ye Qing glanced at him and said, "Cooperate, and you might suffer less!"
"You sure talk big!" Zhou Hongbin glared and said, "Hit too many cops? Which cop did you dare to hit? I'm telling you, if you dare to touch me, all the police in Jiuchuan County, even in Dengyang City and Pingnan Province, will not let you go. If you have the guts..."
Ye Qing quickly raised his hand and slapped him cleanly, leaving Zhou Hongbin stunned. He had thought Ye Qing was just boasting, not expecting Ye Qing would actually dare to hit him. But he didn't know that when Ye Qing was in Shenchuan City, he had really hit more than one or two cops—it wasn't an empty boast!
"Two questions..." Ye Qing said calmly, "First, where is my brother? Second, who's behind this, instructing you to do these things?"
Zhou Hongbin shouted, "Humph, don't think you can scare me. If you dare, kill me; I won't speak even if I die!"
"I won't kill you, but please remember what you just said," Ye Qing glanced at him and said. "Someone has to take the fall for this. If you want to show loyalty, then you take the blame. I guarantee you won't have an easy time!"
"Don't fucking scare me, what can you do to me over such a trivial matter?" Zhou Hongbin said, "It's just kids fighting. We didn't sentence him; taking him back for investigation is proper. What, can you remove my cap for this? Ye, don't think that because Old Fifth Yang, that lowlife, is backing you, you can do whatever you want in Jiuchuan County.
I'm telling you, Yang himself is barely staying afloat; he can't even save himself, how can he protect you? Jiuchuan County isn't under Old Fifth Yang's control anymore. You'd better take me back honestly, and I might consider not suing you!"
Ye Qing ignored him and made a phone call to Old Fifth Yang, asking for his help in dealing with this matter. For such a trivial affair, Ye Qing didn't want to bother Elder Master Ding's friend just yet.
When Old Fifth Yang heard that Ye Qing had kidnapped Zhou Hongbin, he was clearly annoyed. He had already figured out the situation here; this time it involved Hong Tianxiang's son, and that made it complicated.
Now, the county was at a critical moment of power struggle, and Hong Tianxiang, who had worked with Chen Jia'an for many years, was very much needed by Chen Jia'an. If at this moment he fell out with Hong Tianxiang, Chen Jia'an would be put in a passive position and could even be directly overwhelmed. In that case, his project for the New District's construction would be directly ruined.
However, Ye Qing had called, and he couldn't simply refuse. He was now facing a very troublesome choice, whether to choose Ye Qing or the grand project of the New District's construction.
Old Fifth Yang sat on the sofa with his mobile phone in hand, falling into deep contemplation. This choice was indeed very difficult. One was a project that could make billions, and the other was a person who had saved his life. How should he decide?
While Old Fifth Yang was silent, Lin Mengjie knocked on the door and came in. She had an ice pack on her face, which had reduced much of the swelling, but on her fair cheeks, you could still faintly see the marks of five fingers. He Biao had really been ruthless, showing no mercy to the girl.
Lin Mengjie's eyes were still swollen, but her mood had somewhat improved. Seeing Old Fifth Yang like this, she asked in a low voice what had happened.
Old Fifth Yang looked at the swelling on Lin Mengjie's face, sighed softly, and recounted what had happened with Ye Qing.
After hearing Old Fifth Yang's story, Lin Mengjie frowned and after a long silence, finally asked, "Why would Ye Qing kidnap Zhou Hongbin? This is not his usual way of doing things, is it?"
Old Fifth Yang glanced at Lin Mengjie and said, "What is his usual way of doing things?"
Lin Mengjie said, "Ye Qing is a person who is steady in his actions. Although he doesn't talk much, he thinks everything through very carefully. He should be aware that kidnapping Zhou Hongbin is a serious matter. Especially with the complex situation in the county, to make such a big move, isn't he afraid that we won't be able to smooth things over?"
Old Fifth Yang furrowed his brow and said, "That's exactly what I want to talk about. Kidnapping a police officer, and the deputy director of the county bureau at that, isn't this taking things too far? I, Old Fifth Yang, am just a businessman, and it's really not easy to smooth over something like this. Doesn't he think before acting?"
"Ye Qing is not the kind of person who acts without thinking…" Lin Mengjie fell silent for a while and then said, "I think, we should help him with all our might!"
"Why?" Old Fifth Yang looked at Lin Mengjie in surprise and said, "By helping him, wouldn't that be falling out with Hong Tianxiang? At such a critical time, if I fall out with Hong Tianxiang, how can I continue with the New District construction project?"
"Actually, regarding today's incident, there are many ways to solve it. However, Ye Qing resorted to such an extreme method right off the bat, don't you think there is something wrong with that?" Lin Mengjie looked at Old Fifth Yang and said, "Perhaps, Ye Qing intentionally wanted to blow the situation up, to an uncontrollable extent."
Old Fifth Yang frowned, and after being reminded by Lin Mengjie, he also felt that there was something fishy about this incident.
"I think, the person Ye Qing wants to deal with isn't Zhou Hongbin, but Hong Tianxiang!" Lin Mengjie tapped lightly on the table and said, "But dealing with Hong Tianxiang won't be easy. Just based on a minor fight between children, he can't bring down Hong Tianxiang. By making a big scene now, Ye Qing is aiming to provoke Hong Tianxiang to make a move."
Lin Mengjie paused, then said softly, "I don't know how Hong Tianxiang offended Ye Qing. Why did Ye Qing set his sights on him the moment he made a move?"
Old Fifth Yang also showed a look of surprise. After a moment of silence, he said, "Him dealing with Hong Tianxiang brings us no benefits. Besides, Hong Tianxiang is no simple character; can Ye Qing really bring him down?"
"If Ye Qing has taken such action, then he must have some reliance!" Lin Mengjie said with a smile, "Ye Qing is already a billionaire in Shenchuan City. If you say there is no one behind him, how could he, with just his fists, establish himself in Shenchuan City? Perhaps the figures that have a say in Shenchuan City might also have a say in Jiuchuan County.
If such a person can bring down Hong Tianxiang, they must possess overwhelming power, even having connections in the Capital. If such a person exists, who else could snatch away the New District construction project?"
Old Fifth Yang's eyes lit up with great joy as he said, "Right, right, right, if Ye Qing dares to make such a big scene, he must have a way to end it. Alright, I'll gamble with him this time. Mengjie, immediately call Director Pan and have him release Ye Qing's brother!"
Lin Mengjie said, "This issue involves Hong Tianxiang's son, Director Pan may not dare to release Ye Qing's brother!"
Old Fifth Yang sneered and said, "Tell him to just release the boy. I'll contact the city's reporters right away and have them come to cover the story. Hmph, the county police holding a minor student and not releasing him, I think even Hong Tianxiang wouldn't dare let this be reported!"
Lin Mengjie also smiled slightly and turned to take care of the matter.
Old Fifth Yang picked up the mobile phone on the table and, after clenching his teeth, said, "Ye Qing, I'm staking everything with you on this gamble, my entire fortune and life. You better not let me lose. I hope your backup is solid enough!"