Chapter 196: The Villain's Dual Personality

Considering this is the first time meeting Kang Shaoxiong, Lin Dongfan plans to act as an elegant gentleman, putting the four words "courtesy before force" on the agenda.

In short, in other words:

If Kang Shaoxiong is sensible, then shake hands and carry out the social directive "Good rivals are great, everyone being good is truly good!".

If Kang Shaoxiong is not sensible.

Then I won't pretend to be a gentleman; what's wrong with being a bandit for a change? First I'll make you piss and shit yourself, then I'll report to superiors for approval—chaotic world scoundrel, you deserve to be chopped!

Thump thump~~

After adjusting his emotions, Lin Dongfan knocked steadily on the door a few times.

No one made a sound in the office.

A passing young married woman enthusiastically said, "You're the new Lin from the bureau, right? Director Kang just went out; he probably won't be back today."

"Sis, do you know where he went?" Lin Dongfan asked.

Hearing the friendly "Sis," the young married woman felt pleased and added enthusiastically, "I heard he made an appointment to eat at the Four Seasons Restaurant."

"Thanks for the directions, sis; I'll treat you to a meal another day."

I've been working at the headquarters for over a month, and still I haven't gotten to know everyone; I don't even know this young married woman's surname or given name—this is actually quite awkward.

Lin Dongfan simply painted a big favor pie, then turned and slipped away.

He drove straight to the Four Seasons Restaurant.

The Four Seasons Restaurant, located in the business center of the East Third Ring Road, features interior decor known for its elegant Eastern charm, displaying refined taste.

But not everyone who likes to dine here is a refined person.

For example, Kang Shaoxiong.

Kang Shaoxiong never considered himself a refined gentleman; he prefers a down-to-earth lifestyle—eat when he should eat, drink when he should drink, and curse when he should curse.

The reason he came here for the appointment today is simply because the person opposite is down-to-earth.

Kang Shaoxiong glanced at the golden cane in the other person's hand, then at the blue-and-white porcelain chamber pot on the table, and asked in surprise, "This thing, was it really used by the Qianlong Emperor?"

"Just picked it up from Pan Family Garden; the stall owner said it's genuinely authentic."

The person sitting opposite Kang Shaoxiong is the newly arrived time-traveler version of Li Hengbo.

Since failing to reconcile with Lin Dongfan at the airport, being dragged by bodyguards into the toilet, and having his two heads flicked with a finger-thick rubber band, the new version of Li Hengbo's days have also been quite morbid.

One day.

He was sleeping soundly in the hotel, but upon waking he found himself on a train back to Nanzhou; at that moment he was completely bewildered, panicking to the extreme.

Moreover, this sort of strange occurrence didn't happen just once.

But it happens frequently.

For example, he doesn't know how to navigate officialdom, but one day he woke up to find a perfect counterattack plan on his desk, including how to use the resources of the wealthy woman Gao Lu to open the passage to Jingcheng.

At the end of the counterattack plan document, there was also an encouraging line: "Don't be afraid, I'm with you!"

How strange.

Later he went to consult a psychologist.

The psychologist said:

This is called dissociative identity disorder!

It means there are two independent personalities; due to different memories, emotions, and life pursuits, their behavior patterns also differ.

The two personalities: one is dominant (the time traveler), the other is hidden behind (the original host).

So……

When the hidden personality gets up in the middle of the night to work, the dominant personality goes into dormancy, and upon waking, he will be clueless about what he did.

This series of bizarre events.

Leading the new version of Li Hengbo to glumly realize:

Perhaps the departed soul of the true master hasn't completely died, and his will is extremely stubborn, determined to counterattack and have Lin Dongfan executed by lingchi!

But the true master's counterattack plan is also indeed somewhat usable.

Being able to meet Kang Shaoxiong today is the effect of executing the counterattack plan—just a quick trip back to Nanzhou to taste Gao Lu, and the passage to Jingcheng opens smoothly.

"Director Kang, let me tell you this: earlier I went to Jade Pavilion to ask Boss Wang, and he said a chamber pot used by the Qianlong Emperor is worth at least seven figures."

Li Hengbo said this, and his heart felt a faint ache.

A seven-figure greeting gift!

Making friends can be really expensive; fortunately I have a way to make money, and the true master also said, "If you can't bear to part with the child, you can't catch the wolf; if you should discard the child, then discard the child."

Seeing Kang Shaoxiong, he seems not yet to have grasped the rhythm of getting rich.

Li Hengbo lifted the blue-and-white porcelain chamber pot.

He then pretended to appraise it: "Director Kang, you'd better not say it, but this broken thing might actually be fake; I'll sell it to you for ten bucks, want it?"

"If you say it's fake, even a ghost wouldn't want it." Kang Shaoxiong didn't even glance at it again.

Li Hengbo stubbornly held up one index finger:

"Just one piece, one piece isn't expensive, right? This is my first time reselling antiques; give me face—maybe Boss Wang is blind and will really pay seven figures for this chamber pot."

"You invited me to eat, yet you pull out a chamber pot and put it on the table—I feel you're disgusting me."

Kang Shaoxiong laughed while cursing.

Li Hengbo couldn't help feeling a bit embarrassed; for a moment he couldn't tell whether this big shot would accept it or not, and was pondering how to phrase his next move.

A woman in her sixties suddenly walked into the private room.

Kang Shaoxiong's face instantly darkened.

Impatiently he shouted toward the doorway: "Waiter! What are you eating? You let any stray cat or dog in, and still won't let people eat? You're deliberately ruining appetites!"

Before the waiter could come in.

The auntie suddenly pulled out a fruit knife and held the knife horizontally against her own neck.

She glared at Kang Shaoxiong with hatred and resentment: "If you don't let me finish what I have to say today, I'll die right in front of you!" This move shocked everyone instantly.

Li Hengbo, who didn't know the truth, looked utterly confused.

Kang Shaoxiong also dared not act rashly.

This auntie was no ordinary auntie.

She was the wife of Song Wen, former leader of the Sea Mining Group—Huang Suying; the elderly couple had no children, and they had originally been living a life of mutual dependence, growing old together.

After Song Wen's "suicide to avoid guilt," Huang Suying's life rhythm was completely disrupted.

For the past three years, she has been petitioning, demanding that the Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Public Security Bureau, which jointly handled the case back then, clear Song Wen's name, investigate the murderer, and bring the killer to justice.

She had gone back and forth countless times, growing thinner and thinner, yet the problem remained unsolved.

Now everyone treats her like a plague god.

When her emotions flared, she couldn't control her strength, and the fruit knife pressed to her neck had already cut a fine line of blood on her skin.

But this pain was insignificant compared to the three years of grief she had accumulated in her heart.

She fought back tears and glared at Kang Shaoxiong: "You clearly know my husband Old Song was framed, yet you slapped a 'suicide to avoid guilt' label on him! Now he's gone, yet he bears a lifelong stigma and will be reviled for eternity! Put yourself in his shoes—if this happened to you, wouldn't you die with unresolved resentment?"

"Ma'am, put the knife down first."

"Whether there's injustice or not, whether someone dies a ghost or not, Kang Shaoxiong has no interest in discussing such a deep topic."

He patiently urged Huang Suying:

"Threatening me with a knife like this makes me nervous too, and I can't calmly talk to you like this. If you really want to have a good discussion, then put the knife down, sit down, and I'll go over the case with you."

Upon hearing this, Huang Suying again believed his words, feeling they made sense.

So she put down the knife and sat down nearby.

"That's more like it—a harmonious society where we can talk things out nicely."

Kang Shaoxiong personally got up to pour Huang Suying a cup of tea, and in passing took away the fruit knife placed nearby, completely removing her threat.

Then he shifted tone: "Crazy old woman, I toast this tea to your age. After you finish it, go back where you came from—don't make me call people to drive you off, or I'll lose face."