Chapter 517

the afternoon of the seventh day of the first lunar month in 2014.

Lin Dongfan and Old Peng met at the capital airport, escorting Liu Qingmei back to Baiyue Province for trial. Liu Qingmei, who once regarded Lin Dongfan as a loser, still regards him as a loser.

In Old Peng's eyes, this is an arrogant and ignorant woman.

But Liu Qingmei herself doesn't think so; she always believes Lin Dongfan is a petty man who wields a chicken feather as a command arrow, arresting her merely to take revenge on her.

Before boarding.

She even snorted arrogantly at Lin Dongfan: "You're just a deputy bureau-level official, what are you showing off for? When we get back to Yuezhou, if you've got the guts, don't let me go."

Lin Dongfan pretended not to hear, too lazy to bother with her.

In terms of administrative rank, the old man behind this mistress—Wei Shouqin—is indeed half a level higher than Lin Dongfan, but so what?

The young master has indeed taken down bureau-level bigwigs before.

Lin Dongfan looked up at the flight information in the departure hall; annoying, the takeoff time was pushed back another hour—where does all this thunderstorm weather come from?

Who knows if Wei Shouqin will take the chance to flee.

Lin Dongfan immediately called Jian Sining: "Sining, my flight here is delayed, I don't know when we'll take off; you must keep a close watch on Wei Shouqin, don't let him escape."

"Understood; since the day he returned to Yuezhou, we've been watching him."

On the phone, at the same time came the sound of Jian Sining slurping noodles; an overworked ox and horse during the New Year overtime—does she have no time to eat?

Lin Dongfan said: "You're eating instant noodles, right? Eating this during the New Year? Please respect Baiyue Province's cuisine, okay? You're not short of money—I'll give you a big New Year red envelope later."

"Got it, nagging, you even want to manage my meals."

An impatient voice came over the phone.

Lin Dongfan wore a speechless expression: "Senior brother looking after junior sister—isn't that just natural?"

"Let's talk after your big red envelope arrives; anyway, I don't have money for a big meal."

Recently Jian Sining is indeed financially strained; she bought an apartment for her parents in the city, and her sister's living expenses at military academy are also borne solely by her; now she's so poor her pockets are cleaner than her face.

Lin Dongfan gave her money, but she refused again.

Tell her to trade stocks, she won't, saying it's gambling.

Put nicely, she's principled; put bluntly, she's obstinate, working day after day in routine, as if only by doing her job well can she be guiltless before heaven and earth.

Even if she doesn't listen, Lin Dongfan also can't be bothered to say more.

Lin Dongfan hung up, then with Peng Tianhua escorted Liu Qingmei to find the airport police: "Can we borrow your office? We need to conduct an on‑spot interrogation."

Saying that, Lin Dongfan simultaneously flashed his work ID.

The person in charge greeted politely: "Of course, just let us know if you need any assistance."

"Thanks."

After the person in charge left, Lin Dongfan closed the door.

Lin Dongfan interrogated Liu Qingmei on the spot, mainly wanting her to disclose the specific source of that 100 million yuan auction payment, to avoid complications later.

As long as she gives up Wei Shouqin, we can move to arrest him right after disembarking.

Peng Tianhua set up the law‑enforcement recorder, nodded at Lin Dongfan: "Director Lin, we can begin."

"Liu Qingmei."

Lin Dongfan, smiling, stared at Liu Qingmei sitting opposite, recalling their four years as classmates; those not‑so‑pleasant memories seemed to have happened just yesterday.

Back then he didn't drag her into the small grove behind the school.

It was purely out of respect for the law.

"Classmates, can't you cooperate a little? Why must you make everyone unhappy?" Lin Dongfan asked with a smile.

Liu Qingmei was thinking that behind her stood a bureau-level Wei Shouqin.

A confident look appeared on her face.

She gave a cold sneer: "You managed to reach deputy bureau level—that's some ability. Too bad you've run into me, Liu Qingmei. If you want to move against me, you still need a few more years of effort."

"Is that so?"

In the midst of chatting and laughing, Lin Dongfan was pondering what posture to use to unleash his big move.

Sitting beside him, Peng Tianhua suddenly slipped over a note that read: "We should first crush her arrogance; in my view, better to scare her—just say Wei Shouqin has already been arrested."

From a psychological standpoint, this line of thought is fine.

If we say Wei Shouqin has been arrested, Liu Qingmei will surely be desperate—she'll have nothing left to be arrogant about.

Too bad it's against regulations.

"This rotten idea is not bad; don't bring it up again."

Lin Dongfan took out a lighter and on the spot burned the little note to ash.

Peng Tianhua wore a gloomy expression.

Some things aren't convenient to say in front of Liu Qingmei.

Peng Tianhua took out his phone and messaged Lin Dongfan: "I've interrogated her for several days already; I don't understand her mindset. To pry open her mouth in a short time, we must use some unconventional methods."

Lin Dongfan's phone lay on the table.

When the screen lit up and a text‑message ding sounded, Lin Dongfan acted as if he hadn't heard, not even glancing at his phone.

It seems one could even guess what Peng Tianhua wanted to say.

Lin Dongfan pulled out a photo from his pocket and handed it to Liu Qingmei opposite: "Last Mid‑Autumn, my family took a family portrait; interested in taking a look?"

"What are you trying to show off? Your parents' double tragedy?"

Liu Qingmei sneered with her mouth, yet her curiosity was still strong; she lifted her handcuffed hands and took the photo.

Upon a close look, she instantly felt a bit dazed.

This is…

This is… the loser's family portrait?!

She lifted her head to glance at Lin Dongfan, then lowered her head to closely examine the person in the photo; as she kept looking, her expression grew much more complicated, as if her soul had been struck by rolling heavenly thunder.

She lifted her head, eyeing Lin Dongfan suspiciously: "You photoshopped this, right?"

"Taken with a Leica camera, the photographer is Xiao Zhao from the guard company." Lin Dongfan smiled faintly; Liu Qianmei fell silent, then lowered her head to look at the photo.

Dazed, right?

Shocked, right?

Hahaha, not-so-cute green tea sister, you don't like to praise the high and step on the low, do you? I'm asking you, have you ever seen a family photo with such a formidable lineup?

Lin Dongfan happily introduced:

"The old gentleman in the middle is my grandfather; his name is Lin Mu Yuan."

"The one on the left, you probably see him often on TV—he's my uncle Lin Zhenhua. Next to Lin Zhenhua is my aunt, Xie Yuxin."

"The one on the right wearing a military uniform is my aunt, Lin Yuzhi; her rank isn't high—just a major general."

"The handsome older gentleman whose arm my aunt is holding is Liang Jingzhong, the secretary of West Rong Province."

"As for the great beauty beside me, there's no doubt she's my wife, Chu Lingxi; the children we're holding are my own biological kids."

"It should be noted that my wife's father, Chu Jinsong, is a standing committee member of the Jianglan Provincial Party Committee and the municipal party committee secretary of Wuzhou City; he didn't attend the photo session that day."

"This is my loser family tree."

"So, are you surprised or not? Unexpected or not?"

Hearing this, Liu Qianmei became completely flustered, panicked and at a loss—she couldn't even speak, let alone muster the courage to fart!

Is this what you call a surprise? This is more like a fright, okay! Liu Qianmei blinked, two drops of cheap tears fell, she lowered her head trembling: "Fan... Fan Ge, I was blind before... you... don't hold it against me, I don't want to go to jail..."

Liu Qingmei blinked, two cheap tears fell, she lowered her head tremblingly: "Fan... Fan Ge, before I was blind, you... don't lower yourself to my level, I don't want to go to jail..."