The next day.
Dong Xuebing felt everyone was giving him weird looks when he arrived at the Western District Branch. Some people who were closer to Yan Lei were laughing at him. Everyone in the branch knew he was not selected for the exchange program despite his outstanding results. Instead, Dong Xuebing’s enemy, Yan Lei, who had no results at all was selected. It was apparent that Chief Zhen was punishing Chief Xiao Dong. Some people were laughing at him, and some people felt unjust for Chief Xiao Dong. Everyone in the bureau was discussing this.
Dong Xuebing was pissed as he entered the General Affairs Office.
“Chief Dong!” The newly transferred staff, Wang Xin, stood up. Her eyes were all red. “It’s all my fault. I……. I……”
Dong Xuebing calmed himself down and said gently. “It’s not your fault. Just focus on your work.”
“Chief Dong, I’m sorry. I will not create any problems for you in the future.” Wang Xin was feeling very guilty. If Chief Xiao Dong had not helped her, he would definitely be included in the exchange program. He would not be punished by Chief Zhen. She thought about the incident the whole night and felt it was all her fault.
Tan Limei said angrily: “The higher-ups are unreasonable. Yan Lei was the one who came here to create trouble, but he is selected to go for the holiday.”
Chang Juan added: “It’s too unfair! Chief Dong had so many contributions to the branch! How many problems have Chief Dong solved for the branch? Now, Chief Dong had solved all the problems, and the higher-ups just kick him aside, pretending not to see his past contributions? They cannot do as they please!”
Old Yan frowned and sighed. “This is really unfair.”
Everyone in the General Affairs Office was pissed.
By making this decision, Chief Zhen was indirectly punishing the General Affairs Office! He was telling everyone that the General Affairs Office is inefficient and did not provide the required administrative support for his secretary! All the staff in the office were wrongly accused! How can they provide the necessary support when Yan Lei did not say when he wanted that document?! He was the one who was being unreasonable and started scolding and shouting in the office! What’s wrong with Chief Dong shouting back at him? Just because Yan Lei was the Branch Bureau Chief’s secretary and he gets special privileges? He can be unreasonable? The ones in the General Affairs Office had witnessed the whole incident. Zhen Anguo, Xu Yan and the rest of the people in the branch had only heard about the incident from someone else. Chief Xiao Dong might be in the wrong, but Yan Lei was the one who started this.
Dong Xuebing knew how everyone feels. But as the leader, he cannot allow his staff to say such things. “Alright. The name list is already confirmed. Let’s not talk about this anymore. Get back to work.” The ‘number one’ of the branch had already decided, and Dong Xuebing could not change anything.
Yan Lei! This f**king bastard!
Dong Xuebing threw his briefcase on the table and stared at his monitor.
Ring, ring, ring. The phone rang. Dong Xuebing reached over and answered. “Hello.”
“Chief Dong, do you know that there is some trouble at the entrance?” It was Director Li Qing who called. “There is a group of students outside. They were also here yesterday evening and stood at the entrance looking inside. Chief Xu had asked me to chase them away, but they were gone before I reached. They are here again, and I heard they are looking for female staff with long hair. They want to get to know that staff……. What nonsense.”
These students are too daring. Going to the State Security to get to know girls?
When Dong Xuebing was still a student, he had seen many incidents like this before. But this was the first time he saw students coming to wait for a girl outside a government agency. “You want me, to……”
Li Qing also knew that Chief Xiao Dong was in a bad mood. “Ask Guo Panwei to wait for me downstairs.”
Dong Xuebing was not in the mood to work. Chief Zhen’s decision had disappointed him greatly. He acknowledged and called Guo Panwei to go downstairs. He checked his outstanding work and went to the toilet to have a smoke. He did not go upstairs to look for the leaders today. He was still pissed and did not want to do any work today. In the toilet, he lit a cigarette and coughed while smoking. At the same time, he was looking at the branch’s entrance through the toilet’s windows.
There were a few students outside the main gate. He could not see their features, but he recognized their uniforms. They were from No.15 Middle School, Shi Da Fu Middle School, and No. 4 Middle School. Dong Xuebing wonders why these students from different schools were mixing together and had come to a government agency to wait for a girl.
After a while, Li Qing and Guo Panwei walked towards the entrance.
“Do you know what this place is?” Li Qing said sternly. “This is a government agency! Why are you all standing here?!”
A boy laughed and said: “So what? It is not against the law for us to stand outside.”
Guo Panwei shouted: “It is against the law! This place belongs to State Security! Hurry up and leave!” Although the Western District Branch Bureau did not have any signage, it’s an open secret that this place belongs to the State Security.
A boy from No. 15 Middle School said: “Oh, State Security? Hehe, Liu Kong, that girl you like is from the State Security.”
“Wow, it’s a good department. Hey, can you help me call that pretty sister out? She has long hair, big eyes, and thin lips.”
“There is no such person! Hurry up and go back to your schools!”
“Stop lying. I saw her in the compound yesterday.”
“Anyway, she will surely come out when she finishes work. Let’s just wait here.”
Li Qing patiently persuades these boys to leave. But these boys were stubborn and refused. Li Qing does not want to waste any more time with them and reported the situation to the higher-ups. Most of the staff members were looking out of their windows to look at the situation outside. They had noticed these students yesterday. This was not the first time such incident happening at the branch. In the past, people outside will leave after the people from the General Affairs Department went to speak to them.
Zhen Anguo shook his head after he received Li Qing’s report. He called Public Security Sixth Bureau to ask them to settle this.
A few moments later, 5 to 6 police officers arrived in their uniforms.
The leader of the officers pointed at the students: “You all dare to block the entrance of the State Security? Hurry up and leave, or you all will have to bear the consequences!”
The students were stunned when they saw the officers taking out their handcuffs. All of them turned and looked at a good-looking student. This student had been keeping quiet earlier and should be the leader. He glanced at the officers and said: “So what if you all have handcuffs? We stand wherever we want, and we are also not bothering anyone. Why? You all want to arrest us?”
The rest of the students joined in: “That’s right! We have not committed any crimes!”
“What’s wrong with us standing by the streets? Even if you all are from the State Security, you all also cannot stop us.”
The officers from the Public Security Sixth Bureau saw these students behaving so arrogantly and got mad. “I am asking you all to leave now!”
“We will not leave! What can you all do?!”
“That’s right! We will not leave until we see that pretty sister!” The rest of the students joined in.
The leader of the officers shouted: “Fine. You all are asking for it!” He turned to his men and said: “Cuff them!”
The Shi Da student shouts: “You all dare to arrest us?!”
Another student shouted: “Damn! Try to arrest us! I will make sure you all regret it!”
The officers from the Public Security Sixth Bureau did not care and ran forward to handcuff them. After a while, all 6 students were handcuffed and locked in a room behind the guardhouse. Once the students were in the place, they were handcuffed to a metal pipe. There were no lockups or holding cells in the Branch Bureau. This room was a storeroom to store water bottles and other miscellaneous items.
The leader of the officers looked at the students: “You all don’t want to leave, right? Fine! You all can stay here all you want!”
The students started cursing and swearing: “F**k! Release us now!”
“This is illegal confinement!”
The officers from the Public Security Sixth Bureau ignored them and returned back to the bureau.
The officers from the Public Security Sixth Bureau did not really want to arrest the students. They were only scaring the students. These arrogant students were a nuisance to others by standing outside the branch’s entrance. When these students were scared, they will be released. This way, the officers would be able to answer to Chief Zhen.
But no one expected this arrest…… caused a huge uproar!
A few minutes later.
The phone in Chief Zhen’s office rang.
Yan Lei answered the call, and his face changed. He quickly passes the phone to Zhen Anguo.
It was Chief Jiang from the City Bureau. “Chief Zhen, the leaders in the western district branch have just been replaced and what the branch needs is stability! Stability! Can you all stop creating trouble for me?! They are just kids! If there a need for you all to handcuff them? Release them immediately!”
Zhen Anguo was stunned. “……. Are you talking about the few students blocking our branch?”
Zhen Anguo felt there was nothing wrong with the way he handled the situation. This was different from the incident with Chief Jiang’s nephew. Chief Jiang also understands this and replied: “A leader from the Ministry of Land and Resources had called me. One of the students is that leader’s nephew!”
Zhen Anguo realized what was happening. “Yes…… I will release them immediately!” If the students were from ordinary households, it’s okay. But if it’s the relatives of a Central Government leader, this has to be handled differently. He has to release them immediately, as this would affect many people. If this dragged on, it would be more serious. After hanging up, Zhen Anguo shouted to Yan Lei. “Go to the Sixth Bureau and tell them to release the students immediately! One of those kids is the relative of a Central Government leader!”
Yan Lei jumped and ran out of the office.
Ring, ring, ring. The phone rang again. Zhen Anguo frowned and answered. “Hello?”
“I am calling from the City’s Ministry of Finance. I heard that your branch had arrested my son? Ah? What crime has my son committed? Why did you arrest him?” For someone who dares to say he is calling from the City’s Ministry of Finance, he must be holding a high rank. This person should be at least the Deputy Chief or one of the department heads!
At the other end.
Xu Yan received a call from her former Party School’s classmate.
“Chief Xu. I am Old Liu from the Audit Office. Why did your branch arrest, my nephew? I heard he was even handcuffed! He is only a kid. Even if he did something wrong, there is no need to arrest him like this.”
At the same time.
Political Commissar Cheng Haimei received a call from an old friend of hers.
“Sister Cheng. I heard the Western District Branch had arrested the youngest son of our Party Secretary. That group of kids has strong backings. You better release them and don’t blow up the matter! My Party Secretary’s son is still fine. I am quite close to him……. That’s all I can tell you! You better release them before it’s too late!”
Phone calls started coming in, and everyone in the branch panicked.
Dong Xuebing, who was smoking and watching from the toilet window, sense something was not right. The officers from the Sixth Bureau ran back to the room behind the guardhouse. Dong Xuebing wondered what happened when someone entered the toilet. Dong Xuebing looked at the person, and it was someone from the Political Section. He offered a cigarette to him and asked: “Did something happened?”
“Oh. Thank you, Chief Dong.” That man received the cigarette and smiled wearily. “It was an unlucky year for our branch last year. But luckily, you are around, and we managed to escape unscathed. I thought this year would be better. But……. We got into trouble again. Those students outside by the entrance have strong family backgrounds. They are either relative of some bureau chief or son of some Deputy Sub-provincial leader. Sighed…… My Deputy Chief is still monitoring the situation outside by his window. If this incident is not handled properly, the branch will be in deep trouble.”
Dong Xuebing was speechless. He turned and look at the small room through the toilet windows. Arrested the wrong person again?
The officers from the Sixth Bureau had entered the room.
The leader of the officers was relieved that he had not hit those students. If not, he would be in deeper trouble. He looked at the students. “Alright. All of you can go back now.” He turned to the other officers. “Release them!” The other officers took out the keys and walked over.
The student from No. 15 Middle School exploded: “Go back? F**k! You all are the ones who arrested us! You want me to go back now?”
The good-looking student holds on to the handcuffs tightly. “Brothers! Don’t let them release the handcuffs! This is the evidence! If they are unable to give us a good explanation, we will not go back!”
“That’s right! We will not go back! F**k!” The student from Shi Da pushes the officer who was trying to release the handcuffs away. He held on to his wrist: “Why did you all arrest us? Is it a crime to walk along the streets?”
The other students also followed suit and prevent the officers from releasing the handcuffs. “I will wait for my father to come! I will not let you all off just like this!”
“That’s right! My uncle is on his way here! I want to show my uncle how you all treat us!”
The few students sat on the water dispenser bottles and refuse to leave!
This matter had gotten out of control!!!
