I slept with my sister's classmate, and she turned out to be my boss.

Six o'clock in the morning.

Fang Zhiwen was woken up by his phone while he was still asleep. He opened his eyes groggily and saw that it was Sun Tiejun calling.

The relationship between Sun Tiejun and Fang Zhiwen dates back eight years.

That year, Sun Tiejun was just an ordinary police officer in the county public security bureau's public security brigade.

He made a mistake during an operation and was supposed to be punished, but Fang Zhiwen asked someone to save him.

Later, Fang Zhiwen helped him get transferred from the county bureau to the Liuhe Town Police Station, where he rose from a regular police officer to the station chief.

In Liuhe Town, these people are called "Secretary Fang's people".

Sun Tiejun has done a lot of work for Fang Zhiwen over the years—suppressing or covering up security cases in the town;

The above inspections were handled perfunctorily or superficially.

Some people who came to Liuhe Town to investigate were "persuaded" to go back before they even entered the town.

Fang Zhiwen had only one request for him: do not let the county bureau interfere with the affairs of Liuhe Town.

What the town can handle, the town will handle.

If the town can't handle it, they should tell me first.

When the phone rang at this time, Fang Zhiwen immediately realized that something major must have happened.

He sat up abruptly and answered the phone.

"explain."

"Secretary Fang, something's happened." Sun Tiejun's voice was very low. "Liu Jun has been arrested by Zhao Gang and his men."

"When? Where?"

"Just now, at the Old Street Bathhouse. Zhao Gang personally led a team of four in one car. They made the arrests and left."

"You saw it?"

"I was on the third floor of the bathhouse at the time. I heard a noise downstairs, looked out the window, and saw Liu Jun being forced into a car."

Fang Zhiwen gripped his phone tightly.

"Did your office notify Zhao Gang when he came to Liuhe Town?"

"No. None of us knew anything about it." Sun Tiejun paused for a moment. "He bypassed us and acted directly."

Fang Zhiwen remained silent for a moment.

Where is Wang Lei?

"I don't know anything about Wang Lei's situation yet. I only saw that Liu Jun was arrested. However, I found out that Zhao Gang brought two cars with him this time, but I didn't see which direction the other one went."

Fang Zhiwen's heart sank even further.

Two cars arrived; one came to the bathhouse to arrest Liu Jun, and the other went elsewhere.

If the other vehicle was there to arrest Wang Lei, it means Zhao Gang launched a two-pronged attack today.

"Find out right now whether Wang Lei has been arrested. Be careful not to let anyone know you're asking."

"clear."

Sun Tiejun hung up the phone.

Fang Zhiwen sat on the edge of the bed, holding his phone.

Liu Jun has been arrested.

Wang Lei is very likely to be caught as well.

Moreover, Zhao Gang personally led the team, bypassing the Liuhe Town Police Station.

This means that He Ying has completely bypassed the Fang family's network of influence in Liuhe Town and directly transferred people from the county bureau.

After waiting for about ten minutes, Sun Tiejun called.

"Secretary Fang, I've found out. Wang Lei has also been arrested. Another team went to his rented house and made their move at the same time."

Fang Zhiwen closed his eyes.

They acted simultaneously from both sides, without letting any word slip beforehand.

This shows that Zhao Gang already has enough evidence and does not need to go through the Liuhe Town Police Station.

"Secretary Fang, there's one more thing." Sun Tiejun lowered his voice even further. "Zhao Gang's operation this time didn't go through our station, nor did it notify the county bureau's duty officer. He reported directly to County Chief He."

Fang Zhiwen's fingers tightened suddenly, and he reported directly to He Ying.

This means that Zhao Gang is already He Ying's man.

"I understand. Pretend you didn't see it, and don't tell anyone you made this call."

"clear."

Fang Zhiwen hung up the phone and immediately dialed Fang Mingyuan's number.

Beep—beep—beep.

The call was answered after three rings.

"Brother, Liu Jun and Wang Lei have been arrested by Zhao Gang. It happened early this morning. Zhao Gang bypassed the Liuhe Town Police Station and reported directly to He Ying."

Fang Mingyuan was silent for two seconds: "I just received the news too."

Fang Zhiwen's heart sank.

"Brother, you found out too? What do we do now?"

Fang Mingyuan did not answer immediately on the other end of the phone.

Then, Fang Zhiwen heard a sound—not a voice, but a sigh.

Fang Mingyuan never sighed, at least not in front of him.

But today, he sighed.

"Zhiwen, are you out of your mind? You actually went so far as to hire someone to beat up Chen Dapeng?"

Fang Zhiwen remained silent.

What could he say?

The person has already been beaten and arrested; it's too late to say anything now.

"Did you think about the consequences before you hit him? He's He Ying's man. Do you think He Ying will let this go? The audit team is in Liuhe Town. You acted at this critical moment because you were afraid the audit team wouldn't find you, right?"

"Brother, the audit team was really strict back then, I just wanted to scare them a little."

"Scare me?" Fang Mingyuan's voice rose several decibels. "Three stitches to the corner of your mouth, a bruised rib, and you call that scaring me?"

Fang Zhiwen shut his mouth.

"It's no use talking about this now. The people have been arrested; the key question is—have they confessed?"

"I don't know. Sun Tiejun has no access to the interrogation information."

Fang Mingyuan remained silent for a moment.

"Zhiwen, tell me the truth. Did you contact Liu Jun and Wang Lei directly about the assault?"

"No. Everything is done through Qian Cheng."

"What about the WeChat records?"

"No, not at all. It was all said face-to-face."

"What about Qian Cheng? Did he leave any evidence against him?"

Fang Zhiwen thought for a moment and said, "I don't know."

"You didn't know?" Fang Mingyuan's voice turned cold. "Zhiwen, you let Qian Cheng handle this kind of thing, and you don't even know if he kept any records?"

Fang Zhiwen did not answer.

The sound of a lighter lighting a cigarette came from the other end of the phone.

"Zhiwen, listen to me."

"Um."

"First, have Qian Cheng immediately delete all call logs, text messages, and WeChat messages from his phone."

Second, let him go out and hide for a few days, and don't let him stay in Liuhe Town.

Third—no matter who asks you, you know nothing about the assault. Qian Cheng never mentioned Liu Jun or Wang Lei when he reported to you. You know nothing about it.

Fang Zhiwen's fingers slowly tightened.

"Brother, what if Qian Cheng can't handle it?"

Fang Mingyuan did not answer.

"Brother, what if Qian Cheng implicates me?"

"Then let him know that the price of biting you is greater than the price of enduring it."

Fang Zhiwen didn't speak. He knew what Fang Mingyuan was talking about—Qian Cheng's wife was a nurse at the Liuhe Town Health Center, his son was studying at the Liuhe Town Central Primary School, and they still had fifteen years left on their mortgage.

Fang Zhiwen knew all of this, and so did Fang Mingyuan.

It's not a threat, it's an exchange.

You handle the work, I'll take care of your family outside.

If you bite me, we're all doomed.

"Zhiwen," Fang Mingyuan's voice softened slightly, "Keep dealing with the audit team, delay as long as you can. Prepare the materials you need. Not just for submission, but just in case."

Fang Zhiwen knew what this "what if" meant.

"I see."

"There's one more thing," Fang Mingyuan said, lowering his voice even further. "Don't touch He Ying's people anymore. Hitting Chen Dapeng was already a bad move; don't make a second one."