As soon as Lu Qi answered the phone, he heard the person on the other end wailing, "I confess, I surrender. We were responsible for the gas explosion at Yu Shuqing, the Dongzhou Fengxiang Gold Store theft, and the Global Mobile Phone theft."

Although Lu Qi didn't know about the gas explosion at Yu Shuqing, hearing the latter part made him sit up straight in bed, "Where are you?"

"Weishan... Weishan Island... Da... Da Hu Recycling Company..." The voice was almost in tears.

"Is there anyone else with you?"

"No... just me... Officer, please come quickly; I've been bitten by a snake... I'm... I'm dying..."

That night, the Hu Shan Town Police Station dispatched emergency services. They found two people bitten by snakes at Da Hu Recycling Company, one of whom had been bitten in a vital spot by a cobra and was barely alive.

Before the police arrived, Xu Chunliang had already left the recycling company, taking the opportunity to put the five cobras back in their cages. These were highly venomous creatures and couldn't be allowed to roam freely, which would be troublesome if they harmed anyone.

Lu Qi urgently applied to his superiors for approval and set off for Weishan Island that night. At this time, there were no ferries, so a patrol boat was temporarily dispatched from the water police to take the task force to the island.

When the task force arrived at Weishan Island, it was already three in the morning.

The two men bitten by snakes were rushed to Weishan Island Hospital, where the hospital administered anti-venom serum to them.

To be cautious, the task force decided to bring the two suspects back to Dongzhou overnight. Firstly, the medical conditions there were more advanced, and secondly, both were involved in multiple crimes and were serious offenders.

Xu Chunliang was having breakfast when Lu Qi called, telling him that he'd been to Weishan Island and even visited their hospital the previous day. But the task was urgent, so he stayed for only half an hour before taking the two suspects back, and now they had safely arrived in Dongzhou.

Xu Chunliang laughed, "Being a cop is really tough; you must not have slept all night?"

Lu Qi wasn't calling to chat; previously, Xu Chunliang had asked him to check Liu Haiyu's ID, but Lu Qi couldn't find any record of Liu Haiyu. The identity information he had left behind was also fake. After a brief interrogation of the two suspects, they found out that Liu Haiyu was actually Liu Manyi, a fugitive. Lu Qi became suspicious of why Xu Chunliang wanted to know about this person.

Xu Chunliang explained to Lu Qi that Liu Haiyu was a chef at Yu Shuqing Restaurant who left without settling his medical bills, and he just wanted to find him for the money, which was reasonable.

Xu Chunliang was sure that those two guys wouldn't confess to the ambush, and as long as they weren't stupid, they wouldn't say they were forced by someone else to confess to Lu Qi. In the current situation, they'd surely play along, at least to be seen as actively surrendering and confessing to get leniency.

Lu Qi didn't ask further and told Xu Chunliang to contact him if he had any news about Liu Haiyu.

Xu Chunliang deliberately asked Lu Qi who they took away yesterday, and Lu Qi dodged the question with a line about confidentiality policy.

After hanging up, Xu Chunliang was about to have breakfast when he saw Tang Mingmei coming out of her room and greeted her.

Tang Mingmei's eyes were a bit swollen, and her smile was somewhat forced.

Xu Chunliang asked if she wanted to have a meal together. Tang Mingmei suddenly remembered something and said she still had things to pack, so she asked Xu Chunliang to go ahead.

Xu Chunliang felt something was off. Tang Mingmei had clearly been crying, but wasn't she usually quite optimistic? Who upset her?

During breakfast, something felt wrong again, with people around occasionally giving him strange looks.

Just then, Cao Jing came over for food, and Xu Chunliang called out, "Sister Cao." Cao Jing smiled at him and sat on the other side with her food tray.

Xu Chunliang felt like he had suddenly become a plague or a beast; just now, Tang Mingmei was clearly avoiding him, and now Cao Jing's actions seemed to distance herself. Before today, didn't he used to be quite popular, if not a friend to women, at least a friend to young women? What was going on today?

Xu Chunliang bought some fruit from a small shop at the entrance to visit Jin Yonghao, who was convalescing in the dormitory.

Jin Yonghao had just sought treatment from Liu Shanmin for hemorrhoids yesterday and was feeling much better today. He was lying on his stomach video-calling his wife and son. Upon hearing a knock at the door, he closed the video and hobbled to answer it. Seeing Xu Chunliang with fruit, he instantly understood.

Embarrassed, his face flushed, "Xiaoxu, what are you doing?" Inwardly, he cursed Xu Chunliang, couldn't you just pretend nothing happened? Bringing fruit to see me like this, are you reminding me you saw the shameful position I was in yesterday?

Xu Chunliang said, "Someone gave me this fruit, so I brought it for you to try."

Jin Yonghao secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, this kid was smart; if spoken explicitly, it would be too embarrassing. As long as we both know without saying.

Jin Yonghao didn't refuse and accepted the fruit he brought.

Xu Chunliang said, "Dean Jin, I heard Zhang Haibin is reappointed?"

Jin Yonghao nodded. It was inconvenient for him to sit, so he stood and talked to Xu Chunliang: "There's such a thing; it's said that nothing problematic was found. The order was directly from Dean Zhao."

Xu Chunliang chuckled dismissively, "Did Zhang Haibin pull some strings?"

Jin Yonghao thought to himself, you're still young—do you even need to ask this? If he hadn't pulled some strings, would this matter have been settled so quickly? Jin Yonghao said, "I heard that Deputy Director Wu is his uncle by marriage."

Xu Chunliang felt somewhat displeased with Zhao Feiyang. Here I am, helping you eliminate dissidents and expand territory. Just when there's some progress, you reappoint Zhang Haibin without even informing me—aren't you undermining my efforts? If you piss me off, I won't play along. Go play by yourself if you're so capable.

Jin Yonghao said, "Xiaoxu, sometimes it's good to leave some room in what you do. In this society, relationships are always more important than ability."

Xu Chunliang did not agree; relying on relationships is what happens when you lack ability. Once you have absolute competence, no damn relationship is useful.

Jin Yonghao noticed his resistance and actually acknowledged Xu Chunliang's ability. He also believed that Xu Chunliang had an unusual relationship with Zhao Feiyang; otherwise, he wouldn't have been given such heavy responsibilities at a young age.

Jin Yonghao said, "Xiaoxu, there's something I should remind you about."

Xu Chunliang said, "Please, go ahead."

"You're still young, and you need to be mindful of keeping your distance from the opposite sex."

Xu Chunliang paused for a moment. Is someone spreading rumors about him and Mei Ru Xue? Nothing's going on on his part, but it could affect Mei Ru Xue, who is, after all, the town mayor.

"Dean Jin, could you be more specific?"

Jin Yonghao coughed and said, "There have been some rumors circulating recently that are unfavorable to you. It's just... hey, don't get too close with Nurse Chief Tang."

Xu Chunliang was stunned. It turned out that they were spreading rumors about him and Tang Mingmei, no wonder she had puffy eyes when he saw her today and was avoiding him. This also explained why Cao Jing treated him like a plague.

Xu Chunliang got angry, "Who the hell are you hearing this from? It's complete nonsense. If I find out who's spreading these rumors, I'll beat the crap out of them."

Jin Yonghao, sensing his anger, was a bit scared. "Don't be mad. It's just what I heard. If there's something to it, change; if not, learn from it."

"Completely fabricated, utter bullshit!" Xu Chunliang got up and left.

The usual way to deal with rumors is to stay silent, letting the truth speak for itself. But this time, the rumors were more intense than ever, claiming Tang Mingmei was a cougar, Xu Chunliang was not picky out of desperation, and even that the two were caught having an affair in the office. The stories were endless, and even the patients had started to spread them.

Tang Mingmei, nearing forty, had been through plenty. Whatever people said didn't matter to her; she was, after all, a divorced woman. But Xu Chunliang, just in his early twenties and unmarried, was different. Spreading such rumors was bad for him.

Tang Mingmei knew for sure they were above reproach. The trouble Xu Chunliang found himself in likely had a lot to do with helping her last time.

The saying goes that a famous person can be destroyed by rumors.

In such situations, most people are not interested in the truth but in the unspeakable dirty stories they fabricate in their minds. They prefer to believe in the latter and indulge in the excitement and thrill that lies bring them.

Tang Mingmei decided to leave. Though Weishan Island didn't have a large population, a rumor spread by even a single person could drown her. She thought about clarifying, but such matters only get more complicated with explanation. As a woman prone to trouble, she did not want to drag Xu Chunliang down with her.

First, Xu Chunliang had to confirm that the rumor started within the hospital. He'd only been at the branch for a few days, and the people he had offended could be counted on one hand. The most suspicious individuals were Zhang Haibin and Xu Daqing. Once he clarified his target, he immediately took action. If they could do it once, he could hit back twice.

Xu Daqing's detention period had just ended, and he'd lost his job. Today, on Sunday, he came to the office to pack up his things. The memory of being chased and bitten by scorpions that night was still fresh in his mind, but after that night, the office had been cleared of pests, and there hadn't been any similar incidents reported.

Luckily, while packing up, he hadn't encountered even a single fly. Xu Daqing initially wanted Zhang Haitao to give him a ride, but Zhang Haitao had excused himself with other plans. Xu Daqing cursed him under his breath, calling him a thankless wretch. As Zhang Haibin had said, not just anyone, even Zhang Haibin, couldn't command him now.

Xu Daqing could only borrow a tricycle from his second sister, load up his things, and send them to his sister's hardware store. Not one of his former subordinates from the security department offered to help.

It was nine in the morning, prime time for Xu Daping to be gossiping vivaciously in front of the hardware store with anyone she encountered. The subject, of course, was the scandalous rumors about Xu Chunliang and Tang Mingmei. With embellishments from her and her band of friends, good news didn't travel, but bad news traveled fast. In just a few hours, the entire town of Hu Shan was buzzing with the scandal.

Pedaling the tricycle, Xu Daqing arrived in front of the hardware store, lamenting how fickle people were as he moved things into the store. He planned to demand compensation from the hospital, arguing that because being stung by a scorpion happened during his shift, it should be considered a work injury.

Don't think that by firing him, Changxing could wash their hands off this matter. What they did violated labor laws.

Peeping at Tang Mingmei bathing was one thing; demanding compensation from Changxing was another. He had to distinguish between the two. As Xu Daqing contemplated how to deal with the hospital next, he suddenly felt something strange on his leg. He reached down to feel but couldn't find anything. It seemed that whatever it was moved quickly, crawling up his left leg toward his crotch.

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