At nine o'clock, Gao Zhensheng personally went to the hospital and brought his son out.
In the hospital, Gao Ning, who had been heartbroken, changed his expression as soon as he got into the car, looking both agitated and fearful.
Gao Ning: "Dad... I..."
Gao Zhensheng: "You beast!" Gao Zhensheng slapped him across the face. "Look at the mess you've made!"
Gao Ning: "I... I really didn't mean to! She... it was her..."
Gao Zhensheng: "Enough! Don't mention this again!" Gao Zhensheng said, then called President Jin.
Gao Zhensheng: "Have you found that manager yet?"
President Jin: "I've already contacted a hacker, who's trying to locate her. We should have results soon. Hehe... Gao Zhensheng, trust me, I'm very thorough. I'll make sure she disappears completely."
Gao Zhensheng: "You dragged me into this scheme, so you'd better not mess up!"
President Jin: "I won't, I won't! My backer said you did well this morning. Once we've dealt with Chu Zhiqing, he'll meet with you." Gao Zhensheng was silent for a moment before asking, "Can you at least tell me who your backer is?"
President Jin: "Gao Zhensheng, it's not that I don't trust you, but the time isn't right yet... Don't worry, he's powerful enough to ensure the Chu family doesn't come after us."
The car was eerily quiet. Gao Ning had heard every word of the conversation. After his father hung up the phone, Gao Ning, trembling, asked, "Dad, what... what did you do this morning? Did you target Chu Zhiqing?"Gao Zhensheng, brimming with anger, scolded, "You fool! You're just like your mother, not a single ounce of brains! You think that b*st*rd Jin is targeting Chu Yuxuan? Hmph... His target has always been Chu Zhiqing! All that talk about teaming up with you to bring down Chu Yuxuan was just a ploy to get me involved!"
With a sigh, Gao Zhensheng stared at the phone screen displaying Jin's contact number and cursed under his breath.
"I don't know who's backing this guy, but he's got my connections all figured out! My secret ties with the second branch of the Chu family have always been hidden. Even the head of the inspection team sent to Jiangcheng recently has been a close friend of mine for over twenty years. We haven't met once to avoid suspicion…"
Gao Ning felt a chill run down his spine. "Jin… knows all of this? Dad, I… I had no idea!"
"Of course you didn't! Even your mother doesn't know!" Gao Zhensheng snapped, "If it weren't for all this, why do you think Jin is so desperate to drag me into this mess? Hmph… but there's no turning back now… This morning, I contacted the second branch of the Chu family. That old widow gave me plenty of dirt on Chu Zhiqing—smuggling, illegal bidding, tax evasion, bribery, money laundering… She can't report this stuff herself, but I can do it for her!"
"But… why didn't Jin contact the second branch of the Chu family himself?" Gao Ning asked suspiciously. "I've heard that the Chu family is embroiled in internal strife right now. The first and second branches would probably be eager to team up with anyone to bring down the third branch, where Chu Zhiqing holds the most power. So why drag us into this?"
"You don't get it!" Gao Zhensheng snapped. "Old Master Chu is still alive! Family feuds are one thing, but teaming up with outsiders against their own is another! The old widow from the second branch trusts me, and more importantly, she trusts my connections. I passed the dirt directly to the head of the inspection team without going through the usual channels, so no one will know who provided the information, and Old Master Chu won't trace it back to her."
"As for our Gao family, you stay out of Chu Yuxuan's business. Even though Chu Zhiqing is in trouble and Chu Yuxuan, as an illegitimate child, isn't favored by the Chu family, he still carries the Chu name. The old man won't just sit by and watch. Don't get yourself involved. Let the Chu family deal with Jin. I want to see who's really behind him!"
Gao Ning shivered with fear, his voice trembling, "So far, your actions against Chu Zhiqing haven't been exposed, but I… I gave false testimony at the police station… But all those accusations were orchestrated by Jin. They shouldn't trace back to me, right?"
Gao Zhensheng glared at him coldly, "Now you're scared? Where was this fear earlier, huh?"
"I… I didn't expect it to lead to… someone's death…"
He paused, then nervously glanced at his father, "Dad, that agent… she just wanted money. We could've given it to her. Was there any need to kill her?"
Gao Zhensheng stared angrily at his useless son. "Where was this compassion when you killed Xia Zhu? Huh?"
"I… I didn't mean to!"
"I'm telling you, Xia Zhu's agent must die. Only the dead can keep secrets!"
"I… I understand, Dad. I'll do as you say..."
Meanwhile, at the police department.
Jin Tianliang, the head of the influencer base, was in the interrogation room facing off against Chu Yuxuan. He fabricated one accusation after another, and the influencers he had brought along all chimed in, cursing Chu Yuxuan to the core.
Chu Yuxuan remained calm, neither agitated nor defensive. Instead, he asked, "What's your relationship with that Jin from the advertising company?"
A sly glint flickered in Jin Tianliang's eyes, but his expression remained angry. "Don't try to distract me with irrelevant nonsense! Chu Yuxuan, I'm not afraid of you. For the sake of these girls, I'll fight you to the end and show everyone your true colors!"
Chu Yuxuan smiled slightly. "Hey, with you framing me like this, haven't you thought about the consequences?"
Jin Tianliang pursed his lips and let out a cold snort, his expression seemingly saying, "You're doomed."
After giving the police a few more fabricated accusations against Chu Yuxuan, Jin Tianliang confidently walked out of the interrogation room.
As he reached the office lobby, a blonde guy hurriedly ran over, bumping into him. "Sorry, sorry!" the blonde apologized repeatedly. "What's going on with this police department? So many people! Sorry, man!" Jin Tianliang smiled generously, "No problem!"
A moment later, the blonde ran out of the police department and approached a nearby van. He pulled a phone out of his pocket and tossed it into the car window.
The scruffy-looking blonde was the receptionist at the lounge on Binhe Road 227.
The one who was almost knocked unconscious by Lao San was him.
In the back seat of the van, Lao Wu grabbed the phone and quickly connected it to his computer. In less than ten seconds, he tossed the phone back out and said to the blonde, "Take it back, quickly! Don't let him find out!"
Sitting nearby was Li Bin, who, despite his burly size and street reputation, now sat obediently like a child.
Watching Lao Wu rapidly type on the keyboard, this tough guy flashed a fawning smile. "Brother Wu, do you have any other orders? I've got plenty of talented people under me—scammers, thieves, you name it!"
"Not for now," Lao Wu responded absentmindedly, his eyes fixed on the computer screen.
"Heh heh..." Li Bin chuckled awkwardly, sucking up, "I knew it! Following you guys was the right choice! Look at us, we're even stealing from the police station now. Wow! If word gets out, my reputation is going to skyrocket!"
Lao Wu glanced at him and said, "It's best if no one knows about this, or you might end up losing another tooth, I swear."
Li Bin instinctively covered his mouth and dared not say another word.
Last time, when Chu Yuxuan realized he had hit the wrong person, he didn't go too hard on Li Bin, even paying him a hefty sum. He warned him not to harass Chen Ting again.
To his surprise, Li Bin, showing some street smarts, refused the money and insisted on becoming friends with Chu Yuxuan, claiming that his team was full of versatile talents who could handle any dirty work.
Chu Yuxuan only humored him and had Lao San and Lao Wu save his number, never expecting to cross paths with him again.
But now, they had a use for him.