Gao Zhenyue pointed at the buzz-cut young man across from him, then shot a quick glance at Officer Chen beside him. He seemed to want to say something, but swallowed his words.
Yang Qi took it all in.
He calmly looked at the buzz-cut young man.
When the buzz-cut young man met his gaze, he glanced over at the composed Director Wu, and his aggressive demeanor visibly deflated. His eyes began to shift evasively.
Just then—
Yang Qi keenly sensed that Officer Chen’s foot, hidden beneath the table, had given the buzz-cut young man’s calf an extremely light and swift tap.
The motion was so quick it was nearly imperceptible.
But to the powerful senses of Yang Qi’s Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer, this tiny motion was as clear as a slow-motion replay.
He could even "hear" the subtle rustle of their pant legs brushing against each other.
The buzz-cut young man’s body tensed slightly.
He wasn’t a fool.
A person who dared to demand two hundred thousand yuan in a police station, and right in front of an officer at that, was obviously not brainless.
Now, looking at Yang Qi, who had arrived with the director, then at the director’s obviously displeased expression, and finally at Officer Chen’s covert reminder...
He understood instantly.
He’d messed with the wrong guy.
This ride-share driver’s connections were stronger than his.
The ferocity and arrogance on the buzz-cut young man’s face receded like a tide.
He gave a dry cough, wrung his hands, and forced an almost fawning smile onto his face, nodding repeatedly at Director Wu and Yang Qi.
"A misunderstanding! It’s all a misunderstanding! Director Wu, and this... this gentleman, I was in the wrong just now. I wasn’t thinking straight, just spouting nonsense."
He turned to Gao Zhenyue, his tone softening. "Hey man, my bad. Just forget everything I said before, it was all crap. We... we just had a regular scuffle, it’s no big deal. Mediation, let’s just go with the standard mediation. As for medical fees and stuff, I’ll take care of it myself. You don’t have to pay for anything."
The swiftness of his change in demeanor left the young officer stunned for a moment.
Officer Chen, on the other hand, let out an imperceptible sigh of relief. He quickly jumped in, putting on a stern face to scold the buzz-cut young man, "Have you made up your mind? Do you want to mediate or not? Don’t keep changing your story! This is a police station!"
"I have! I’ve made up my mind!"
The buzz-cut young man nodded like he was pounding garlic. "Mediation. I agree to mediation."
"Now that’s more like it."
Officer Wu’s expression softened, and his tone grew milder. "Young man, you shouldn’t be so hot-headed. These little things can be sorted out with a simple conversation. The law is impartial; it doesn’t favor whoever shouts the loudest or demands the most money."
He looked at the young officer. "Xiaozhang, follow standard procedure and prepare their mediation agreement. Get the necessary signatures and make the proper records."
"Yes, Director," the young officer quickly responded.
Only then did Officer Wu turn to Yang Qi, a smile reappearing on his face. "Advisor Yang, my apologies for that display. A lot of grassroots police work is just dealing with these trivial little disputes. Come, let’s go to my office, have a seat, and drink some tea."
"Then I’ll be happy to take you up on that offer, Chief Wu," Yang Qi replied with a smile.
Before leaving the mediation room, he nodded to Gao Zhenyue, giving him a reassuring glance.
Gao Zhenyue blinked firmly in acknowledgement.
...
「Twenty minutes later.」
The mediation agreement was signed, and the formalities were completed.
Gao Zhenyue and the buzz-cut young man walked out of the police station, one after the other.
The buzz-cut young man didn’t even dare to look at Gao Zhenyue. With his head down, he hurried to the side of the road, hailed a taxi, and sped off.
Gao Zhenyue, meanwhile, stood by the entrance, waiting for Yang Qi.
A few minutes later, Yang Qi and Director Wu emerged from the office building, talking and laughing. They exchanged a few more pleasantries at the entrance before shaking hands and parting ways.
Yang Qi walked toward his car.
Gao Zhenyue immediately followed him.
As soon as they were inside with the doors closed,
Gao Zhenyue’s pent-up emotions finally burst forth.
"Holy shit! Brother Qi! I knew calling you would work!"
He slapped his thigh in excitement, a grin of pure satisfaction spreading across his face.
"That bastard! The moment he got in the car, he was acting like he was looking for a fight, complaining my car was old, the AC wasn’t cold enough, just running his mouth the whole way."
"When we got to his destination, he deliberately picked a fight to get out of paying, accused me of taking a detour, and kept cursing at me. I couldn’t take it anymore, so I said a few things back, and that’s when he shoved me first!"
"I’m no pushover, so we went at it. I figured we’d just have a fight, lick our own wounds, and be done with it. But who knew that son of a bitch actually had connections inside the station!"
"That cop, Officer Chen, was clearly on his side! He started intimidating me right away, saying I’d injured the guy and that I’d be detained and have to pay a fine. Then the buzz-cut creep seized the opportunity to make an outrageous demand—two hundred thousand yuan!"
The angrier he got talking about it, the more smug he became. "Heh heh, too bad for him, he completely miscalculated. He has connections? Well, I have connections, too! My Brother Qi is a special advisor to the Municipal Public Security Bureau! The deputy mayor himself presented you with an award! What’s some beat cop from a local precinct? He’s nothing!"
Yang Qi shook his head with a resigned sigh as he started the car and slowly pulled away from the police station.
He knew Gao Zhenyue wasn’t the type to throw his weight around and bully people.
This time, he had simply been pushed too far and was scared by the other party’s apparent collusion with the police. That was the only reason he’d thought to call Yang Qi for backup.
The consequences for a public brawl were extremely flexible.
At best, it was a minor public order offense: mediation, compensation, and you walk away the same day with no permanent record.
At worst, it could be classified as "creating a public disturbance" or "intentional assault," leading to detention, fines, or even a prison sentence.
It all came down to how it was defined—and who was doing the defining.
Although Gao Zhenyue was a second-generation rich kid from Donghua whose family had made a fortune from demolition compensation—and he only drove for a ride-share app out of boredom—at the end of the day, he was still an ordinary citizen. It was perfectly normal for him to panic when faced with such blatant favoritism.
"Alright, what matters is that it’s resolved now."