"This time, you'll handle this yourself!" Sun Haowei declared with grim finality.
"Father, what do you mean?" Jingwei asked hurriedly, but the only response he got was the unsympathetic beeping of the dial tone.
They sat in surprised silence. Jingwei never had his father hang up on him before, usually he would scream at him until his heart's content and then propose a solution. If he hung up, he must have really decided to leave him to his own devices.
"How do you even solve this?" Jingwei muttered to himself, frowning.
Meanwhile, Xue Ning turned over Sun Haowei's words in her mind. The traffic police were putting out their own fires? How curious. Wouldn't any request from the Sun family trump any of their own internal department squabbles, unless the Sun family wasn't putting out any request to begin with…?
"Let's find out more." Xue Ning said. She needed more information to make the next move.
p
True enough, simply typing 'traffic police' was enough to link her to an entire page of news reports.
She clicked on the first one and let out a low whistle at the headline, giving Jingwei a quick glance from the corner of her eye. He seemed frozen in surprise.
CORRUPTED TRAFFIC POLICE CONDONES ILLEGAL STREET RACING
Guess there was some truth to his rumours of illegal night races after all.
Traffic Police Superintendent Liu Shixing is under fire for colluding with the youngest son of multi-billionaire Sun Haowei, Sun Jingwei, in the organising and participation of night racing on the streets of Shanghai.
Jingwei and his father were both named in the article. No wonder he was furious.
There was a video underneath that headline. The thumbnail was of a man with his back bowed in apology as camera flashes brighten the background.
She clicked on the video and Jingwei looped an arm around her shoulder and huddled closer to watch.
The man in uniform started speaking as camera flashes nearly blinded him.
"I'm deeply sorry for my decisions. My decisions have damaged the prestige of the police department and shamed my colleagues' efforts in keeping the roads safe for everyone. I will resign immediately.
Once again, I'm very sorry."
Reporters began to yell out questions, but then he exited the stage without answering them.
Xue Ning then read the comments, curious about public opinion.
+34256 What a bastard! He and the entire department should go hang their heads!
+4626 At least he admitted to his faults! Where is Sun Jingwei in all of this!
+3256 He should at least have his licence suspended, if not jailed!
+6233 If you think about it, what could the police do if the Sun family wanted to race?
They have no power!
Well. They weren't wrong. Xue Ning clicked on yet another link, and her eyes widened. This was an entire dossier of Sun Jingwei's races, the people he raced with, where he raced, and how the police looked the other way. It was a stunning piece of investigative journalism!
"Are you going to end up in prison?" Xue Ning had to ask, briefly glancing through all the information.
"Of course not!" Jingwei denied, scoffing. "I'll just have my reputation dragged through the mud again. Maybe receive some good old death threats. This isn't even as bad as my sex scandal video… but I'm sorry for dragging you into it."
Jingwei said, shamefully looking at Xue Ning. With the breaking of this news, there was no way Xue Ning would even think about pursuing a romantic relationship with him.
Even if she did (and that was a very big 'if'), her parents would immediately voice their disapproval - and who could blame them? Who would want their only daughter dating a notorious man that made the headlines for scandals with depressing regularity?
"It's fine," Xue Ning shrugged. Truthfully, it may not be, but honestly, Jingwei made his bed, so of course he had to lie in it.
Even if it meant she would miss him as a friend. And perhaps something more.
"So, how are you going to take responsibility for your actions?" Xue Ning asked. "Are you going to hold a press conference? Do community service?"
"Would you like me to?" Jingwei asked curiously. "Do you think it'll help?"
"Maybe?" She shrugged. "It'll be good to show people that you feel sorry and you want to be a better person. But then again, they might end up hating you more. So it's up to you."
Jingwei thought about it. He honestly didn't care too much about what other people thought about him, but Xue Ning… he had to become a better person if he even wanted to have something more than a one night stand with her.
Knowing her, she wouldn't accept a man that was cowardly and hid behind his family's money and influence. She already hated corruption.
It was time that he stepped up and took responsibility.
"I'll do it." Jingwei declared, letting out a deep breath. He had no idea if it would backfire on him or not, but it was worth a try. "I'll hold a press conference to clarify things."
=
A trilling laugh greeted Zi Long as he checked in with his boss, once again bowing deeply.
"Rise Zi Long. Why do you keep standing on ceremony with me?" Young Master Wu stalked closer to him, pulling him up.
Zi Long noted that his hands didn't shake. His boss took his medication then. Small mercies.
"Boss? You seem… happy." He noted cautiously, for Young Master Wu's moods were as mercurial as the weather. One never really knew how he would react the very next second, but for now, it was easy for Zi Long to read fervent joy in the carefree smile of Young Master Wu's face.
He had not seen it in years. He was almost surprised at how much it transformed his face, back to the handsome youth he used to be.
"How could I not be? Our plan is finally executed." He cackled to himself, and Zi Long's arms erupted in goosebumps.
"Now, Zi Long, prepare for phase 2." Young Master Wu ordered, light in his eyes. "Sun Jingwei may have survived the honey cookies, but let's see if he can survive what I've planned for him!"
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