Wu Zhiming hit someone.
In Yao Jing's understanding, this was the first time Wu Zhiming had ever hit someone.
From a sudden change in personality to physical violence, it had only been three or four days.
Yao Jing always thought that Wu Zhiming became confident and outgoing because someone was backing him up. However, no matter how much support he had, there should have been a limit to Wu Zhiming's change, because some things are ingrained in a person's soul and won't change just because someone is backing them up.
But when Wu Zhiming threw that brick, Yao Jing understood that what she thought was just her own perception.
Wu Zhiming had undergone a huge change, a change that fundamentally turned him into a different person.
Like being reborn.
That brick thrown by Wu Zhiming not only completely changed Yao Jing's perception of him but also changed how those around him perceived him.
If he was really a useless coward, how could he have had the courage to knock down Sun Qiangjun, who was notorious in the neighborhood, with a brick?
Before, Wu Zhiming would casually insult Zhou Yanqiu, probably just because Zhou Yanqiu was his elder, right?
Sun Qiangjun fell to the ground, one hand clutching his head, the other pointing at Wu Zhiming, his face filled with shock and anger.
"You bastard, how dare you hit me, you're finished!" Sun Qiangjun roared, struggling to get up from the ground, then charging towards Wu Zhiming.
Sun Qiangjun was a strong middle-aged man, much stronger than Wu Zhiming.
Facing the charging Sun Qiangjun, Wu Zhiming took two steps back, creating distance between himself and Sun Qiangjun. Then, he decisively threw the brick in his hand, launching a long-range attack.
The brick seemed to be guided with precision, directly hitting Sun Qiangjun's head.
Those who haven't been hit by a brick would never know how painful it is.
Sun Qiangjun knew, and now he knew twice.
As soon as the brick hit him, Sun Qiangjun's eyes lit up with stars.
Wu Zhiming seemed to understand the principle of striking while the iron is hot. While Sun Qiangjun was seeing stars, Wu Zhiming took three steps forward and kicked Sun Qiangjun in the crotch.
This kick was the last straw that broke the camel's back for Sun Qiangjun.
With a miserable scream, Sun Qiangjun fell to the ground.
His body twisted strangely, like a fish out of water.
"Let's go." Wu Zhiming shook his hand, grabbed the stunned Yao Jing, turned around, and left without even looking at his car.
The crowd automatically made way for them, watching Wu Zhiming walk away.
There was no other sound at the scene, only the continuous screams of Sun Qiangjun.
"Was I handsome just now?" Wu Zhiming asked with a smile, pulling Yao Jing to the door.
"Do you want the truth?" Yao Jing asked.
"The truth!"
"Handsome," Yao Jing said, showing a brilliant smile.
This smile eclipsed everything.
Wu Zhiming looked at Yao Jing in a daze and couldn't help but say, "You're really beautiful."
Yao Jing immediately withdrew her smile and then said with a straight face, "But, being handsome aside, things will be very troublesome from now on."
"Who cares, let's deal with it after the fact. He insulted my wife, so I hit him. Let's go!" Wu Zhiming raised his hand to hail a taxi.
"Driver, to the nearby police station," Wu Zhiming said.
"Why are we going to the police station?" Yao Jing asked in confusion.
"Of course, to turn myself in and confess, to get a lighter sentence," Wu Zhiming said confidently.
Even with Yao Jing's mindset, she felt a bit overwhelmed when she heard Wu Zhiming say such a cowardly thing so seriously.
But on second thought, what Wu Zhiming said made sense.
These days, if you hit someone, there's nowhere to hide. Surveillance cameras are everywhere. Instead of waiting for the police to find you, it's better to take the initiative to go to the police. Although it's uncertain whether this counts as turning oneself in, at least in the eyes of the police, you've shown a cooperative attitude.
At the local police station.
Deputy Director Wang Zhiqiang hung up the phone and said to a nearby officer, "Let's go, let's go back to Riverside Community."
"What's up, Director Wang?" the officer asked.
"Somebody reported being assaulted, seems pretty serious. Let's go check it out," Wang Zhiqiang said, putting on his police cap and heading towards the door.
Just as he reached the door, Wang Zhiqiang saw two familiar faces.
Aren't these the two who reported their car being vandalized just now?!
"Why is it you guys again?" Wang Zhiqiang looked at Wu Zhiming in confusion.
"Hey there, Officer Wang!" Wu Zhiming recognized him and greeted with a smile.
"We're already assigning someone to investigate your case. You can rest assured and wait at home. No need to come over here!" Wang Zhiqiang said.
"It's not about that," Wu Zhiming scratched his head embarrassedly and said, "I've come to turn myself in."
Turn himself in?
Wang Zhiqiang looked at Wu Zhiming in astonishment and asked, "What did you do?"
"I got into a fight at Riverside Community," Wu Zhiming said succinctly.
"So it was you!" Wang Zhiqiang suddenly realized, then frowned and asked, "You seem like a well-behaved guy, why would you hit someone?"
"That guy, Sun Qiangjun, scratched my wife's car," Wu Zhiming said.
"Do you have evidence?" Wang Zhiqiang asked.
"No," Wu Zhiming shook his head.
"Then how could you hit someone?" Wang Zhiqiang asked angrily.
"So I realized I was wrong and came here to turn myself in!" Wu Zhiming said with a smile.
"You can still laugh! You're suspected of provocation and causing trouble, you're going to be detained! Go inside!" Wang Zhiqiang pointed to the station.
Wu Zhiming nodded with a smile and walked into the station.
Because it was just a regular fight incident and not a criminal offense, Wang Zhiqiang didn't handcuff Wu Zhiming. Instead, he let Wu Zhiming wait in his office while he called Sun Qiangjun to inform him that the person who hit him had turned himself in, asking Sun Qiangjun to come to the police station.
"Director Wang, I had dinner with Director Li from your department just last week," Yao Jing finally spoke up after struggling for a while.
This sentence might have been said by others long ago, but Yao Jing couldn't do it. She had thin skin and always felt that saying such things would make her look like she was throwing her weight around. But the thought of her husband possibly being detained made Yao Jing speak up.
"Oh." Wang Zhiqiang remained unmoved. He had dealt with many people before, from drunk drivers to fighters to debtors. These people always knew someone or the other, but it didn't matter to Wang Zhiqiang. Firstly, what these people said was mostly lies. Secondly, even if it was true, Wang Zhiqiang only stood on the side of the law. Knowing someone didn't change anything.
Seeing Wang Zhiqiang's casual attitude, Yao Jing's face turned bright red.
Her first attempt to use her influence ended in failure.
But Yao Jing couldn't stop there, because she had to help her husband!
So, Yao Jing picked up her phone and prepared to make a few calls to pull some strings.
"Don't just make random calls. It's fine, at most, he'll be detained for a few days. It's not worth wasting favors, and they might not even give you face," Wu Zhiming said.
He meant well, but unfortunately, the last sentence added fuel to the fire, which annoyed Yao Jing a bit. She, a prominent figure in Haixia City's business world, couldn't handle a simple public security case?
Just as Yao Jing was about to use her connections to let Wu Zhiming feel the breadth of her social network, a policeman pushed the door open and walked in.
"Director Wang, Sun Qiangjun, who reported being assaulted just now, called again, saying he wants to drop the case," the policeman said.
"Drop the case? But we've caught the person who assaulted him. Why would he drop the case?" Wang Zhiqiang asked in confusion.
"He said he was drunk and fell down on his own, not that he was assaulted," the policeman said.
"Really?" Wang Zhiqiang found this explanation amusing. He said, "The assailant always admits to hitting someone, while the victim claims they fell down themselves. I've been a policeman for so many years, this is the first time I've heard of such a thing! But Sun Qiangjun is no good guy. If he says he fell down himself, then he fell down himself. Drop the case."
"Yes, sir."
"It seems I underestimated you!" Wang Zhiqiang squinted at Wu Zhiming and said, "You, the second young master of the Wu family, have some skills. You've stirred up quite a storm recently. I thought it was just hearsay."
"Do you know me?" Wu Zhiming asked curiously.
"I wouldn't say I know you, but I've heard of your name. Alright, since the person who filed the case withdrew it, you guys can go," Wang Zhiqiang waved his hand.
"What luck! Well, we'll be going then. See you later, Director Wang. Feel free to drop by my company for tea sometime!" Wu Zhiming said, grabbing Yao Jing, who looked puzzled, and walked away.
"It's quite something to make Sun Qiangjun, that rascal, give up filing a case so quickly. Wu Zhiming, you're interesting," Wang Zhiqiang said jokingly.
Meanwhile.
Wu Zhiming walked out of the police station with Yao Jing.
"You were on your phone sending WeChat messages the whole way here. Were you informing your people?" Yao Jing seemed to have figured it out and went straight to the point.
"I had someone inform a few people," Wu Zhiming said.
"I knew it was your people who contacted them!" Yao Jing nodded knowingly.
Wu Zhiming smiled. Except for Yao Jing, he had lied to many others, but strangely, everyone believed his lies, while Yao Jing didn't believe his truths.
People are complicated.
On the other side, in Riverside Community.
"Is this, is this all right?" Sun Qiangjun cautiously asked the several burly men in front of him.
"Mr. Sun is very sensible," one of the burly men stood in front of Sun Qiangjun and said with a smile, "Just fix our madam's car, and everything will be fine."
"Yes, yes, what about this knife?" Sun Qiangjun pointed to the knife held against his neck.
"Just a joke with you," the burly man put away the knife, put his hands on his waist, and then patted Sun Qiangjun's shoulder, saying, "Just a small matter. It's okay to suffer a bit of a loss, but it wouldn't be good if you put your life at risk, right?"
"Yes, yes, of course!" Sun Qiangjun nodded repeatedly, afraid that this man emitting a strong aura of fierceness might get upset and kill him.
As a scoundrel, Sun Qiangjun had been able to live so well because of his keen sense of smell.
At this moment, his sense of smell told him that the man in front of him was definitely the boss, not to be trifled with!