Chapter 146: I Must Thank Brother Zhou

“Is it you? You’re behind all of this, aren’t you?” In a flash of realization, Luo Xiaofeng fixed Yang Tao with a furious glare.

“Hey, watch your accusations, Luo Xiaofeng. How could it be me? I’ve just been discharged from the hospital.”

Despite his words, the smug expression on Yang Tao’s face betrayed his true feelings.

He had just made another phone call to Secretary Wang, ensuring that once he stirred up trouble, Secretary Wang would immediately take action. Thus, in his view, Lin Xiao was thoroughly doomed this time, and so was Luo Xiaofeng, who had taken his position thanks to Lin Xiao.

“Luo Xiaofeng, I suggest you go find Lin Xiao right away, otherwise you won’t be able to clean up the mess once things get out of hand,” Yang Tao gloated.

“You…” Luo Xiaofeng glared at Yang Tao, seething with anger. However, he had to admit that the current situation was beyond his control.

With a final furious glare at Yang Tao, he left to find Lin Xiao.

***

At that moment, Lin Xiao was sitting in the office of the Director of Logistics, resting with his eyes closed. After returning to the Brilliant Tower, he had visited the CEO’s office several times to see Wan Caixuan, only to be sent away each time.

Feeling helpless, Lin Xiao had given up on approaching the currently angry Wan Caixuan, opting to rest in the office instead. Before long, he was interrupted by a knock on the door. Opening his eyes and rising from his chair, he opened the door to find a visibly anxious Luo Xiaofeng.

“What happened? What’s the matter?”

Lin Xiao was generally pleased with Luo Xiaofeng’s recent performance. In contrast, Luo Xiaofeng felt nothing but guilt for failing to meet Lin Xiao’s expectations.

“Brother Lin… I’m sorry. I’ve let you down,” he apologized.

“What happened exactly?”

“Brother Lin, here’s what happened…”

Luo Xiaofeng then proceeded to relay the entire incident to Lin Xiao in detail.

“Is it that Yang Tao again?”

Lin Xiao’s eyebrows slightly furrowed. He hadn’t expected Yang Tao to be so ungrateful. He had already shown him mercy last time, and now he was causing trouble again. If that was the case, he wouldn’t hold back any longer.

“This is not your fault. Take me to the scene now.”

“Yes, Big Brother Lin.”

Lin Xiao then left the office with Luo Xiaofeng, heading to where Yang Tao and the fire inspection team were located.

***

Yang Tao had a smug look on his face. He said to Brother Zhou beside him, “Thank you for your help this time.”

“It’s nothing.” Brother Zhou was holding a mobile phone, his attention entirely focused on it. To him, this was just a minor issue.

“Brother Zhou, has there been any news from the martial arts school?” Yang Tao enviously looked at Zhou’s mobile phone, specifically, the WeChat group that Zhou had joined.

“There’s nothing much. Tomorrow is the annual exchange meeting of the martial arts school. The group is currently sending out information, introducing the new headmaster,” Zhou replied, his eyes still fixed on his phone.

“Is that so?” Yang Tao’s face was full of envy. As an intern, he wasn’t qualified to attend such a conference. “Then, brother, I wish you all the best for tomorrow. I hope you can make a great impression on the headmaster.”

“Haha, you’re joking, just joking. I’m just a regular student. There are countless regular students at Chen’s Martial Arts Hall. How could I possibly make an impression on the headmaster?” Zhou hastily waved his hand, attempting to downplay the situation.

However, despite his words, his eyes were filled with hope. Although he knew the chances of catching the headmaster’s attention were slim, leaving a deep impression on him could potentially be a life-changing opportunity.

As the captain of the fire brigade, he might seem impressive to ordinary people, but in front of the headmaster of Chen’s Martial Arts Hall, he was nothing more than a small shrimp. No, even smaller than a small shrimp.

Meanwhile, Luo Xiaofeng and Lin Xiao had already arrived at the scene.

“What’s up? What do you want with me?” Lin Xiao asked Yang Tao calmly.

At that moment, Yang Tao also noticed Lin Xiao’s arrival. He glared at Lin Xiao, who remained calm, and felt a surge of anger.

‘Keep acting, but let’s see how you’ll cry when it’s all over.’

With a sarcastic tone, he said, “Director Lin, it’s not me who’s looking for you, it’s Captain Zhou from the fire brigade.”

“Is that so?” Lin Xiao responded with a cold smile, then turned to Brother Zhou, who had been preoccupied with his phone, and said, “Captain Zhou, what brings you here?”

“It’s no big deal, it’s just that your fire safety measures are not up to standard and need to be renovated,” Captain Zhou explained, glancing up at Lin Xiao before quickly lowering his head to look at his phone again.

“And how should we go about this renovation?”

“Do I really need to spell it out for you? Can’t you figure it out yoursel–”

Brother Zhou spoke impatiently, still focused on his phone. However, he abruptly stopped midway through his sentence and looked up at Lin Xiao with an expression of disbelief.

Meanwhile, Yang Tao, who had been standing nearby, failed to notice Brother Zhou’s reaction. In a disdainful tone, he said, “Director Lin, how can you be the director of the logistics department when you don’t even know the fire safety regulations? You shouldn’t have to bother Captain Zhou with such questions. He’s a busy man.”

Shaking his head, he added, “Some people seem to think they can just coast by on their relationship with the president, using their position as his bodyguard to get ahead, without any real skills or knowledge.”

Though Yang Tao didn’t mention Lin Xiao by name, it was clear to anyone with common sense that he was referring to him.

“Is his name Lin Xiao?”

At this point, Brother Zhou, his face etched with unease and fear, asked Yang Tao in a low voice.

“Yes, why?” Yang Tao responded, clearly puzzled by Brother Zhou’s reaction. “Brother Zhou, let me tell you, this Lin Xiao is nothing but trash. If he hadn’t brown-nosed the president, he would have been kicked out of the company ages ago.”

However, Brother Zhou seemed to ignore Yang Tao, his attention fixed on his phone screen, where a group message displayed a photo of Lin Xiao along with the caption, “This is our new headmaster of Chen’s Martial Arts Hall, Lin Xiao. Make sure you remember him and don’t get it wrong.”

At this moment, Brother Zhou felt as though he had descended into the eighteenth level of hell, paralyzed with fear. He hadn’t anticipated that what he thought was just a small favor would land him in such a precarious situation, especially after Yang Tao had reassured him that the director of the logistics department had no significant background. Now, he realized the gravity of his mistake.

A flashback to Yang Tao’s previous words about leaving a lasting impression on the new headmaster crossed his mind, and indeed, the impression he had left was profound.

“Brother Zhou, should we just issue him a fine?” Yang Tao, oblivious to Brother Zhou’s inner turmoil, continued to ramble on. “Once Brother Zhou takes care of this loser, I’ll definitely thank Brother Zhou.”