Chapter 420

At this thought, Lin Yongkun frowned. “Hearing you put it that way, it does seem like he’s confident. Otherwise, he couldn’t possibly be this calm. What I don’t get is, if he’s so confident, that must mean he has some kind of ace up his sleeve. So why hasn’t he played it to refute the accusations?”

Zhang Hongtu threw up his hands. “That’s what I can’t figure out either. It’s why I stopped you. I wanted to ask him about it directly.”

Lin Yongkun glanced around and said in a low voice, “A lot of people here know who you are. If you go ask him now, they’ll likely think you’re showing him favoritism. They might even think you’re using your position as a Yang City official to help him.”

“Yes, and if this is all a conspiracy, my going over there now would certainly be blown out of proportion. Especially by someone like Lin Jiji, who I’m sure is just itching for any excuse to cause trouble for us.” Lin Yongkun sighed. “I came out too late. I never thought the situation would escalate this far,

but by the time I arrived, it had already reached this irreconcilable point. Plus, Chenyang still hasn’t played his hand to refute the claims, which obviously means there’s still an issue he hasn’t resolved. If we just keep him in custody, the underlying problem will remain.”

“But if we let him go, Lin Jiji will definitely incite the crowd. When that happens, we so-called ‘leading officials’ will lose all credibility. I don’t mind losing a bit of face myself, but the problem is, if things escalate to that point, the entire municipal government will be disgraced along with us.”

Zhang Hongtu gave a helpless smile. “So, what’s the plan?”

Lin Yongkun rolled his eyes. “If you hadn’t been in such a rush to arrest him, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“How can you blame me? The evidence and witness testimony we just saw were nearly flawless. Besides, he just kept denying everything without offering any concrete proof of his own. With everyone watching, you tell me, what else could I have done?”

“Alright, there’s no point talking about that now. In my opinion, instead of overthinking all the angles, let’s just be direct.”

“Direct how?”

“I’m just going to walk over and ask Chenyang.”

“What if Lin Jiji starts accusing you, a government official, of showing favoritism to Chenyang?”

“If Chenyang were a bad guy, I obviously wouldn’t ask for this kind of trouble. But I’m betting he’s a good person and that he has a way to clear his name. That means I’d be helping the side of justice. Once the truth comes out, not only will no one condemn me, they might even praise me as a good official.”

Zhang Hongtu said with a sigh, “So you’re not afraid your gut feeling is wrong? What if Chenyang has nothing to clear his name with?”

“My gut feeling is never wrong.”

“You’re gambling with your political career. Getting some public backlash won’t get you fired or demoted, but it will have a negative impact. You’re on the verge of a promotion. At such a critical moment, I really don’t think you should be taking this kind of risk.”

Lin Yongkun took a deep breath. “There are some things… if you don’t do them, and I don’t do them, a genuinely good person could be framed as a villain right before our very eyes. We may not be perfect officials, but we can’t become corrupt ones who help villains blur the lines between right and wrong, can we?”

Zhang Hongtu mulled it over for a moment. “You’re right. I was being too shortsighted. Let’s go together. You can’t be the only one playing the hero, and you shouldn’t have to take all the blame if it goes wrong. Besides, if people start yelling, I can just use the excuse that I need to question Chenyang.”

“You old bastard. I see you’re not coming along to share the blame at all. You just want to share the glory if this works out.”

“Hahaha! So, are you going to let me come with you or not?”

“Come on.”

As the crowd of fans and onlookers cheered at the sight of Chenyang being put in handcuffs, Zhang Hongtu and Lin Yongkun walked over to him together.

At that moment, everyone assumed they were about to pass judgment on Chenyang. Some looked on with anticipation, while others waited quietly for the show to continue. No one had yet sensed that something was amiss.

Even Lin Jiji thought that Lin Yongkun had appeared to help her punish Chenyang. As for the words “Let him go!” that Lin Yongkun had shouted when he first arrived, everyone had long since forgotten them.

A moment later, Lin Yongkun came to a stop in front of Chenyang.

“Doctor Xiaochen, we meet again.”

Chenyang smiled. “To be honest, I’d rather not have seen you.”

“Why’s that?”

“I saved your niece’s life, and I saved yours. While that’s just a doctor’s duty, it still counts as a favor. I wasn’t asking to be repaid, but I thought I might at least get a smile the next time we met, right? But that niece of yours… forget a smile. A moment ago, it looked like she wanted to skin me alive and rip my bones out.”