In the car, only the sound of panting remained.
Lin Fan sat in the driver’s seat, lit a post-coital cigarette, and took a deep drag.
Xu Jiaojiao, likewise reduced to a puddle of sludge, still mustered the effort to clean up all the spilled ’calcium milk’ from the Garden before using her little mouth to thoroughly cleanse Lin Fan’s weary ’giant dragon’, signifying the definitive end of their battle.
"You little jerk, I... I thought before... that you were investigating him... because you wanted to get close to him... I was thinking too simplistically, sorry!"
Looking at Lin Fan’s resolute eyes, Xu Jiaojiao felt a panic of being completely squashed at that moment. It was as though she feared that saying one wrong word could endanger her life.
"I just needed to confirm... where his Achilles’ heel was!"
After exhaling a puff of smoke, Lin Fan finally pinched her cheek and said, "I’m going to Red Flag County for a position temporarily. I don’t know if I’ll encroach upon the local ’Emperor’s’ cake, so it’s better to prepare in advance."
"He must know about your background. As long as he’s not out of his mind, he shouldn’t provoke you, right?"
Xu Jiaojiao reached out and held Lin Fan’s hand. After all, he had direct connections to Deputy Mayors Zhu Defu and Guo Baoming, the hotshots of the moment. Who would foolishly rub him the wrong way?
"Sometimes, short-term benefits can blind people. Staying in a domain for too long can also make them feel invincible!"
Lin Fan shrugged his shoulders, recalling his several visits to the County Government without a glimpse of Zhao Zhichun, even when Zhu Defu had personally attended the investment promotion meeting and he had been absent. This sufficiently demonstrated his arrogance. Moreover, nobody else could understand the complex interplay of interests between him and Zhu Defu and Guo Baoming as Chen Jiayi could.
"Anyway, I’m always ready to serve you... any time, any place, any request, I will satisfy you!"
Xu Jiaojiao leaned her head on Lin Fan’s shoulder. Behind this obedience was naturally a relationship of mutual use. Observing the docile and charming young lady now, she would likely be the first to cast him aside the moment Lin Fan’s glory faded.
Casually tossing the cigarette butt outside, Lin Fan then started the car, leaving the underground parking lot. He dropped Xu Jiaojiao off at the City Hospital before turning around and driving to the location he had agreed upon with Wu Houbiao.
Following the navigation, Lin Fan realized upon approach that the destination was not some upscale restaurant or a luxurious building, but instead, a messy urban village. It made him park the car on the roadside with a trace of confusion.
Logically, knowing that Lin Fan was looking to discuss business, Wu Houbiao’s reception seemed odd. After all, the urban village was known to be not clean, a place where transient residents from other places, mostly the lower social strata, rent houses to live. Thus, not only cleanliness but also security could be an issue. Inviting him to dine here was simply madness.
So he took out his phone and called Wu Houbiao: "Mr. Wu, did you send the wrong location? I’m at the urban village."
"Mayor Lin, that’s right, it’s the urban village. I’ve specially prepared some delicacies for you that can’t be found elsewhere, as well as girls you won’t find on the outside. Just come on in. I’m waiting for you here, and I even have Tiger Whip Wine prepared especially for you, guaranteed to keep you ’standing tall’!"
Wu Houbiao’s mysterious smile elicited a knowing chuckle from Lin Fan. Truly, those who operated in the grey areas had their own unique ways of hosting. Apart from the game, just the Tiger Whip Wine alone was a prized item. Hadn’t he drunk two cups of that very stuff on the night he had fought a battle with ten women? That stuff packed a punch.
"Alright, I’m at the entrance now, so I’ll..."
Lin Fan was about to speak when he saw a familiar figure dash by on the sidewalk, a graceful figure he knew well, giving him pause.
"Stop, you can’t run!"
Gao Man, dressed in a short skirt and high heels, loudly chased after two runaway teen boys, but they ignored her shouts and darted into the disorderly urban village.
"Damn it, today I don’t believe I can’t catch you!"
With gritted teeth, Gao Man followed in her high heels, and when Lin Fan caught up, she had already disappeared into the maze of alleys.
Sprinting, Gao Man was drenched in sweat yet relentlessly pursued a man in a red T-shirt; she couldn’t let him escape now.
Finally, in his frantic escape, the man ran into a dead-end alley. Seeing no way out, Gao Man stopped, took several deep breaths to recover, and then pointed at him: "Run, you little brat. You’ve even started to snatch cars, thinking you can act with impunity just because you’re not eighteen yet. This time you hurt someone, let’s see where you can flee to!"
"Officer beauty, who are you planning to catch and take back?"
Just when Gao Man thought she had the upper hand, doors in the alley opened, and out poured a group of rowdy teenagers, their hair dyed and bodies tattooed, clearly up to no good from their looks. Moreover, the lustful gleam in their eyes sent chills down Gao Man’s spine.