Chapter 997: Wuzhou No. 1, Furiously Enraged

Three days later, the Provincial Psychiatric Appraisal Center.

Yang Qing stood in the hallway, clutching an appraisal report, his face darker than the sky outside the window.

He stared at that line on the report three times—"The party was in an epileptic state at the time of the incident, lacking criminal responsibility."—then slapped the report against the wall, and the hallway echoed with a buzzing.

"Damn, epilepsy? An attack? Two years ago that was also an attack? How could that be such a coincidence!"

The nearby officer dared not respond.

Yang Qing took a deep breath, folded the report and stuffed it into his pocket, then pushed open the ward door.

The driver responsible for the accident, Yang Jie, sat on the bed, wearing a blue-and-white striped hospital gown, hands on his knees, expression dull, eyes empty.

Seeing Yang Qing enter, he lifted his head, the corner of his mouth twitching, unsure whether he wanted to smile or cry.

"Yang Jie, do you know me?" Yang Qing stood before him, looking down.

Yang Jie shook his head.

Yang Qing locked eyes with Yang Jie, releasing his criminal investigator's aura, staring for Along while! The other's eyes were murky like a pool of dead water, showing not a flicker of emotion.

But earlier, when they met in the interrogation room, this person spoke clearly, avoiding the important and emphasizing the trivial.

Now this feeble-minded act—is it an act, or is it genuine?

Yang Qing refused to believe it was real!

But the appraisal report had already been issued, and he could do nothing about it.

"Send him to the psychiatric hospital for compulsory treatment!" Turning and walking out of the ward, Yang Qing issued a death order, his voice as cold as possible.

The officer nodded and began the paperwork.

Yang Qing walked out of the hospital building, the sunlight blinding; he narrowed his eyes, took out his phone, and dialed Lin Dongfan's number.

"Zhuang Biao Fan, Yang Jie's appraisal results are out. He was in an epileptic state, lacks criminal responsibility, so we can only send him to a psychiatric hospital for compulsory treatment."

The other end of the phone stayed silent for two seconds: "How about Peng Xianjun's side?"

Yang Qing got into the car, closed the door: "We're checking. His call records and WeChat chats before death have all been retrieved. The Technical Section is analyzing; it should be soon."

Lin Dongfan grunted: "Come to my office, let's talk in person."

Mayor's Office.

Lin Dongfan stood by the window, holding an unlit cigarette.

The sky outside was a dull gray, like a worn-out rag. Yang Qing pushed the door open, threw his briefcase onto the sofa, and plopped down.

"Peng Xianjun's call records are out." Yang Qing pulled a stack of papers from his bag: "In the three days before his death, he called Fu Xinping seven times. The longest call lasted over twenty minutes."

Lin Dongfan turned, took the stack, and flipped through page by page—call times, durations, base station locations—all clear as day.

After finishing, Lin Dongfan laid the materials on the table: "Seven calls in three days, the frequency is still quite high."

Yang Qing said: "It's not just calls. The WeChat chat logs have been restored, although many were deleted, but the Technical Section recovered part of them. Peng Xianjun sent Fu Xinping a few photos—those are the ones of you and Su Qianqian secretly photographed at the hotel entrance. Fu Xinping replied 'Okay,' and then there was nothing more."

Hearing this, Lin Dongfan merely smiled; sure enough, Fu Xinping was up to something behind the scenes.

But based solely on this, it's still impossible to convict Fu Xinping.

Lin Dongfan said: "The evidence isn't enough yet; keep investigating."

"The evidence is insufficient, but at least it now shows one thing: Fu Xinping is connected to this case."

Yang Qing further analyzed: "Now Peng Xianjun died in a car crash, dead men tell no tales; I suspect Fu Xinping is also gambling that we won't get the evidence."

Lin Dongfan walked back to his desk, sat down, lit a cigarette: "He's not just gambling; he's also waiting. Waiting for me to make a mistake, waiting for public opinion to turn..."

He hadn't finished speaking when the office door was knocked.

Lin Dongfan stubbed out the cigarette: "Come in."

The door opened, and Character walked in, a faint smile on his face. He glanced at Lin Dongfan, then at Yang Qing: "Vice Director Yang is also here? What are you discussing? So lively."

"Party Secretary, please have a seat."

Lin Dongfan rose, gestured to the seat: "We're discussing Peng Xianjun's case."

Character sat down and asked: "Peng Xianjun, that bar owner who died in the car accident?"

"Yes, him." Lin Dongfan sat opposite: "His death was no accident."

Character's smile faded: "Not an accident? Any evidence?"

"The driver who caused the accident is Yang Jie, who had a history of epilepsy; two years ago he injured an investor. This time, he just happened to have an attack when we were preparing to apprehend Peng Xianjun, hitting and killing him—this is no coincidence."

Lin Dongfan poured the brewed tea and gave Character a cup.

He continued: "Peng Xianjun called Fu Xinping seven times in the three days before his death." Saying that, he pushed the stack of call records toward Character.

Character picked up the materials, his face turning extremely grave.

He pondered for a moment.

Character looked up at Yang Qing: ""Vice Director Yang, I'd like to have a private word with Mayor Lin."

"Alright, you two talk; I have some things to attend to at my unit, I'll leave first." Yang Qing, understanding implicitly, withdrew from the Mayor's office, giving Character and Lin some space to argue.

Only the two of them remained in the office.

At that moment, Character lifted his teacup, took a shallow sip, and after letting the anger in his chest subside, he turned his gaze to Lin Dongfan opposite.

"Mayor Lin, I've only just taken office in Wuzhou. If there's anything that displeases you, you can speak plainly. We should discuss matters calmly; there's no need to fight to the bitter end. Our conflict isn't good for Wuzhou's development." Character wore a solemn expression, as if he had made up his mind to lay his cards on the table.

Lin Dongfan leaned back in his chair, chatting and laughing with the ease of a big shot: "Party Secretary, what do you mean by that? I don't understand."

"Mayor Lin, you are a smart person."

Character's smile carried a hint of anger.

Character spoke bluntly: "Fu Xinping is a cadre I promoted. Now he's sitting in the Bureau Chief's seat, his butt not even warm yet, and you want to pull him down. Your thrust isn't at him—it's at my heart."

"Party Secretary, we're both cadre members; your remark shows a lack of awareness." Lin Dongfan's face also turned cold, showing no weakness: "In this matter, I too judge the issue, not the person. Whether Fu Xinping has a problem isn't for me, Lin Dongfan, to decide—it's for the evidence to decide."

"Mayor Lin, now that it's just the two of us here, you don't need to stand on ceremony."

Character's anger ultimately still wasn't suppressed.

He coldly accused Lin Dongfan: "You teamed up with the Provincial Public Security Department to investigate Fu Xinping—isn't that just to slap my face? Do you want me to know that this Wuzhou is run by you?"

"Secretary Guo, you're overthinking."

Facing Character's various suspicions, Lin Dongfan's gaze was as calm as a dead pool.

Lin Dongfan calmly said: "I investigated Fu Xinping because he's related to Peng Xianjun's death. If you think I'm targeting you, that might be your mistake."

"A mistake?"

Character coldly stared at Lin Dongfan:

"Back when you fiercely protected Luo Zhiwei, I stepped back! Now you want to bring down Fu Xinping—if I step back again, I might as well not be secretary! Might as well let you have it—go tell the Provincial Committee, say I, Character, don't deserve this position! I'll yield the seat to you—are you satisfied?!"

Character became more and more agitated as he spoke.

This time he wasn't acting on impulse; he truly didn't want to back down another step! These words had been bottled up in his heart for Along time, already reaching the point where he couldn't keep them in.

Lin Dongfan calmly picked up the tea in front of him, took a sip, and said: "Secretary Guo, if you're here to discuss work, to talk about how we can jointly build a harmonious and prosperous Wuzhou, I welcome you greatly. If you're here to argue, then sorry—I haven't been a petty man for many years."

"You!!! ……

Character rose angrily, unable to speak from rage—he truly hadn't expected Lin Dongfan to dare, to his face, call him an old petty man!