The security guard immediately answered the question: "His name is Xu Caihou!"
Lu Chen nodded and said, "Thank you both, please continue your game."
With that, he took Lingling's hand and walked back.
Watching the two figures disappear, the two security guards lost their focus on chess and began muttering:
"That girl, I heard she has some kind of mental issue. She was probably assaulted by someone before, so… she's not quite right in the head. Strange, where did this cousin come from?"
"Sigh! That girl is really unfortunate. She's probably been bullied by that little bastard again. Should we go and settle the score? Her dad's a police station instructor, what can he do?"
"Let's not get involved, we can't afford to! Come on, let's continue playing chess!"
When Lu Chen and Lingling reached the bottom of the building, Lingling suddenly spoke up: "He's very powerful… really? Then forget it. Anyway… thank you." With that, she released Lu Chen's hand and walked into her building.
Her hands were tightly clutching a doll, her head bowed, her thin shoulders trembling slightly, looking so lonely and helpless.
Lu Chen scratched his head helplessly and said a little louder, "Lingling, no matter how powerful he is, I can help you deal with him, believe me?"
Lingling stopped. She stood still for two seconds, then turned around, still keeping her head down, letting her dark hair obscure her face, and walked back. She grabbed Lu Chen's hand again, this time seeming to hold it even tighter.
Lu Chen smiled, gently brushing Lingling's long hair aside with his fingers, revealing her pale yet beautiful face. Her face was covered in tears, a heartbreaking sight.
Lu Chen couldn't help but pinch Lingling's small nose with two fingers, saying with a mixture of amusement and exasperation, "You, don't cry so easily. You're seventeen already, aren't you? You need to be strong, okay?"
Lingling softly hummed in agreement and nodded. She glanced up at Lu Chen, her eyes filled with a hint of dependence.
Lu Chen led Lingling up to the building where that perverted second-generation official lived.
Second-generation official? Not quite! He's just the son of a police station instructor.
As he went upstairs, Lu Chen made a phone call to You Haoguo.
Lu Chen remembered that You Haoguo, as the head of the Public Security Bureau, was in charge of this area. So, speaking of which, Xu Caihou, this so-called police station instructor, was also his subordinate.
You Haoguo answered the phone quickly, his voice filled with boundless enthusiasm, even tinged with respect.
If You Haoguo had wanted to befriend Lu Chen, who was favored by the Zhuang family's eldest daughter, when Zhuang Keluo and Lu Chen caused a scene at the Fourth People's Hospital, then now he was clearly trying to curry favor.
Just think, how much power must Lu Chen possess to have Jin Ziliang, the military tyrant of Fuhai Province and commander of a special operations division, completely wipe out the Caishentang gang overnight with only a regiment!
Even Zhong Qitao is currying favor with him, so You Haoguo naturally felt he couldn't fall behind.
Whether it's his current position as the director of the public security bureau or any future achievements, having the support of the military would make his position as secure as a mountain. Conversely, opposition would put him in a precarious position.
Hearing You Haoguo's almost fawning tone, Lu Chen felt a little embarrassed, but he went straight to the point: "Director You, is there a guy named Xu Caihou, an instructor at some police station, one of your subordinates?"
"That Xu Caihou guy!" You Haoguo nodded: "Yes!"
Lu Chen said calmly, "His son is very arrogant, bullying my sister. Right now, I'm taking my sister to his house to settle the score. I didn't tell anyone else, just you."
With that, he hung up the phone. That was enough. Lu Chen knew You Haoguo had his own way of doing things, so there was no need to say more.
Meanwhile, You Haoguo stared at the disconnected phone for a moment, then gasped, forcing a bitter smile. "Old Xu, Old Xu," he said with a wry smile, "how many times have I told you? Don't be so arrogant. Don't think you're so great just because you're an instructor. It's always better to keep a low profile than to be cocky. Why don't you listen? Son, you don't know how to discipline him!"
"Now, you've finally met your match, haven't you? You've provoked a demon!"
Thinking this, he quickly dialed another number, but after a while, the phone was off. He dialed another number, also off. You Haoguo smiled bitterly: "Damn it, you're going to get what's coming to you, aren't you?"
At this very moment, in apartment 401 of building A3.
If you were standing inside, you would never guess that the outside was a rather dilapidated and run-down neighborhood. The interior was incredibly luxurious. Everything from the furniture to the appliances was a designer brand; the spacious Mediterranean-style sofa was even imported. The walls were adorned with numerous paintings and calligraphy by near-famous artists—not antiques, but each piece cost tens of thousands of yuan.
One wall was even hollowed out, fitted with a large aquarium where many rare fish swam, creating an atmosphere of opulence.
A man, around fifty years old, somewhat thin, but with an arrogant expression, leaned comfortably on the sofa. He was watching a football match while enjoying a foot massage.
A woman in her forties was kneeling beside the sofa, washing and massaging his feet. Her technique seemed quite good, making the older man feel comfortable. It appeared the woman was his wife.
This older man was Xu Caihou. He sighed contentedly and said, "A half-day of leisure, what a relief! Just sitting here, phone off, Ali, give me a foot massage, isn't it wonderful!"
As he spoke, he picked up the teacup beside him and took a satisfying sip.
The middle-aged woman, Ali, grumbled, "Old Xu, I just think you don't need to turn your phone off. What if someone calls and it's something important?"
"What important thing could you possibly need to say at night? Huh?" Xu Caihou glared. "Aren't you busy enough during the day? I'm not a detective, not a frontline officer, why would you bother me at night?"
Xu Caihou was in his early fifties, and having only reached the position of instructor at the police station, he figured he wouldn't be able to climb any higher. At most, he'd serve one more term as station chief. So, he wasn't working as hard anymore. He already had everything he needed, and he could enjoy what he wanted; he might as well settle down and enjoy life.
Ali rolled her eyes at him: "I wasn't talking about work. I was saying what if someone calls you, asking you for a favor, or offers to give you money, and you don't answer? What if they go after someone else? That's a loss, isn't it?"
Xu Caihou glared at her and said, "You can't earn all the money in the world. We have four or five million in savings now, right? Isn't that enough?"
Ali bluntly replied, "Of course not! Think about our precious son! He'll have so many expenses in the future! This morning he was insisting on buying him a sports car. I looked at the price—wow! Over two million! That'll wipe out half of our savings!"
Xu Caihou's eyes widened even more: "What a load of rubbish! He's twenty-four and still hasn't found a job, just loafing around all day, doing nothing productive! I saw him the other day, stripped naked in his room, and started messing with that mentally unstable girl across the street! That's outrageous! He'll cause trouble sooner or later! How are you disciplining him?"
Ali snorted, "She's just a lunatic. My son teasing her is giving her credit! What can she do? What trouble can she cause? If she dares to say anything, I'll rush over and slap her a few times! Don't she know who my husband Xu is? He's the instructor at the police station! She's just a commoner, what can she do?"
Xu Caihou found this quite pleasing and grinned. He pointed at his wife and said, "You! You! You'll really get me into trouble sooner or later. Do you think being an instructor makes you so powerful?"
"Of course I'm powerful! I can't speak for far, but in this neighborhood and the surrounding blocks, who dares to mess with my husband?"
Ali giggled, swaying her middle-aged hips, and leaned closer to kiss Xu Caihou. Then, they heard a series of urgent knocks on the door.
Ali's face immediately changed: "Which jerk is so inconsiderate, coming at such a late hour? Knocking on the door so loudly, did someone die in her house?"
Xu Caihou remained calm: "Go check!"
Ali stood up angrily, strode over, and flung open the door.
Standing outside were Lu Chen and Lingling.
Ali recognized Lingling, of course—she was the crazy person she'd just mentioned! She was still a little taken aback; what a coincidence! Speak of the devil, and he appears?
She put her hands on her hips, tilted her chin slightly upwards, and glanced at the sallow-faced woman. She snorted, "Who is it? What do you want? Why are you banging on the door? Don't you have any manners? Are you even human?"
Lu Chen disliked her arrogant, shrewish demeanor. He smiled faintly, "Sorry, I might have been a little hasty in banging, but there's a reason. We did see something inhuman, a mad dog, so we came to find you."
"What do you mean? Huh?" Ali immediately shouted angrily. Those words were clearly not kind!
"What do I mean? You'll find out when you open the door!" Lu Chen's voice suddenly turned cold.
There was a security door separating the two of them.
Inside, Xu Caihou called out impatiently, "Ali, what's wrong? What happened?"
Ali turned around and shrieked, "Old Xu, two lunatics have come! They say they saw some mad dog, so they've come looking for us. That's clearly calling us mad dogs! What did we do to deserve this? We've been behaving ourselves, how could two brainless idiots suddenly appear and start insulting us?"
She certainly had the skills of a shrew.
Xu Caihou stood up and walked over, his bloated face quickly filling with the imposing presence of a leader. He stared at the door, and when he saw Lingling, he paused, then spoke authoritatively: "Young man, you have legal consequences for your words. Who gave you the right to talk like that?"
Lu Chen only said two words: "Open the door!"
Ali shouted, "Open what door? You're either crazy or a thug, you're obviously no good! Opening the door for you is like letting a wolf into the house! Get out! Or I'll call the police!"
"Open the door or not?" This time Lu Chen only asked four words, his tone as cold as ice.