"Don't, don't, don't, Mr. Song, with your delicate and esteemed self, let's first unfasten those handcuffs. We can talk about everything else slowly in my office."
"What's there to talk about? About how you're going to beat me up? Please no, inside this tiny room, at most three people can commit violence against me. If we go to your office, who knows how many more will join in." Song Yun said quite shamelessly.
When Wang Dong heard these ruthless words and thought about the time, feeling that Mr. Li was about to arrive, he almost kneeled down to the imposing figure in front of him. But Song Yun kept repeating the same few words, insisted on not going anywhere.
Just as Wang Dong was frowning and clueless about how to get this Buddha out, the phone rang.
Mr. Li had arrived!
"What to do? What to do?" Wang Dong felt his head was about to explode. Mr. Li could have come at any other time, but he had to arrive at this critical moment. Now, with Song Yun's stubborn refusal to leave the interrogation room, it was likely that Mr. Li's standing would drop a few levels when he came up.
"Wang Dong, what's the matter with you? You got so scared after just a phone call, look at the sweat on your forehead, you could take a bath with it," Song Yun said, relaxedly sitting with his legs crossed, almost to the point of lighting a cigarette as if he were at home.
Wang Dong glanced at Song Yun, who appeared to be vacationing, and felt utterly helpless. With anybody else, he wouldn't have had to be so humble and pleading. He would have slapped them already to teach them a lesson.
"Wang Dong!" A furious shout came from the corridor, and Wang Dong wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and gave a bitter smile. "There's no escaping the inevitable."
He muttered to himself and then hurried out to receive his former superior.
Song Yun was very curious about who was coming. Could it be that his old man had sent someone to rescue him? Judging by the way Wang Dong, the Deputy Director, was so spooked and gingerly catering to the visitor, it must be a bigwig from the provincial level, right?
Not long after, Song Yun saw an elderly man resonating with authority enter, followed by a trembling and half-crouched Wang Dong.
After the old man entered and saw Song Yun with his head bowed and blood dripping onto the floor from his forehead, he cast a dark glance back at Wang Dong. However, he said nothing more, as there were outsiders present and it was somewhat proper to save Wang Dong's face, considering how to scold or beat him was a matter for later.
But when Song Yun lifted his head, the old man visibly flinched, then frowned and ordered Wang Feng and the other police officers to leave the room and, incidentally, to close the door.
Seeing this, Wang Dong breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed Mr. Li intended to probe the lad and minimize the crisis.
But there had been too many unexpected events today, including this one.
After everyone had left, Mr. Li turned around and, holding his cane, began to pummel Wang Dong. Song Yun, clearly unaccustomed to this scene, wondered why they'd started infighting without a word. Where was he to pour out all the arguments he'd prepared?
"Are you Song Yun?" Mr. Li, obviously advanced in years, lacked the vigor of youth, and after a few swats with his cane, gasped for breath and rested.
"Correct," Song Yun wanted to add a smart retort, but choosing to be cautious with this elderly man seemed wise.
"I am old friends with your master, Zhang Fusheng," Mr. Li said amiably, sitting across from Song Yun with a smile. "Your master must have told you that you're to marry my granddaughter Shishi."
"Marry?" Wang Dong exclaimed, seemingly discovering Mr. Li's ill-pleased side glance, and he quickly lowered his head like a schoolkid who had made a mistake. But inside, he was experiencing a maelstrom of emotions, not to mention the Li Family's enormous power across Sunan. The enigmatic figure Song Yun alone was baffling enough. If these two families really wedded, it could likely cause a huge stir in certain circles.
... Song Yun felt indignant at the old man's words. Wasn't it said that an incoming son-in-law at least deserved a round of scrutiny by the gaggle of aunts and then a decision on his status? But the old patriarch's gaze grew stranger the more he looked at him, as if marrying his daughter to Song Yun was a favor Song Yun should be highly grateful for.
Strangeness usually signaled mischief, and Song Yun always believed in that proverb.
"My master only said to consider marriage but didn't specify who with; you suddenly show up in the interrogation room and set me up like this—are you expect me to trust you or not?"
"Song Yun!" Wang Dong quickly stood up and said, "This is Mr. Li; you can't speak so rudely."
Nevertheless, Mr. Li kept that pleasant demeanor, even tapping his leg rhythmically as if he were performing opera, which made Song Yun's skin crawl.
"Do you know who the girl you saved this morning is?" Mr. Li asked with a suppressed smile.
"I don't."
"Your fiancee, Li Shishi, hahaha!" Mr. Li laughed heartily. His dear granddaughter had always loathed this kind of family-arranged marriage, not to mention a betrothal to someone she had never seen, set up long ago. It had been troubling just to bring up the matter with her.
But unexpectedly, today's events allowed the two youngsters a chance to meet. Saving Mr. Li's granddaughter, Song Yun could be the proverbial knight in shining armor. Today's girls often fantasized about such a prince, and Mr. Li had a good feeling about Song Yun.
Well, it seemed he and his betrothed really had fate on their side, meeting for the first time in such a setting. It was, without a doubt, a karmic connection.
"Wang Dong, handle those policemen who laid hands on us yourself. I don't want to interfere too much in your police affairs, lest those old fogeys call me pretending to be a fool." Mr. Li spoke with gravity. "But everything must adhere to regulations. Even if Song Yun weren't my grandson-in-law, does that give you, the servants of the people, the right to act recklessly?"
"Yes, yes, Mr. Li, I understand," Wang Dong wiped the cold sweat from his forehead in secret, realizing that Mr. Li still had expectations for him. If he had given up, he would have ignored Wang Dong completely, letting him fend for himself.
"Song Yun, shall we go home to talk?" Mr. Li, as benign as a Maitreya Buddha, took Song Yun's hand and headed out of the police station.
Song Yun didn't want to snub Mr. Li's honor in public and obediently followed.
Under Wang Dong's grateful gaze, Mr. Li and Song Yun got into the car. Once inside, Mr. Li sat in the back and rested with his eyes closed, saying, "Are you wondering why I'm giving Wang Dong a way out here?"
Song Yun, caught guessing, bashfully smiled and said, "Since you're friends with my master, whatever you do certainly won't harm me."
"You sure have a sweet mouth," Mr. Li suddenly opened his eyes, devoid of his prior geniality, and turned to look at Song Yun seriously, "Firstly, Wang Dong still has potential for growth. While the Li family is flourishing, we're also facing a lack of successors. Shishi has not followed the family's arrangement to enter politics but chose the business world instead. This could lead to the Li family's decline from the third generation onwards. Compared to the family's rise and fall, letting him off is trivial."
"Secondly, you have to make a go of it here in Sunan. Today, I've also forged a good relationship with you. When abroad, you can't afford to push your luck. You might need Wang Dong's help a lot in the future, and in a society like Huaxia, where connections matter, one climbs the ladder by continuously giving face."
"Thirdly, their police forces are a tangled web. I don't want to sweat the small stuff and prompt those old coots to make my life difficult with endless grievances."