Chapter 64

Wang Defa had followed Xu Chunming for many years and was very familiar with his character. When Wang Hu revealed the voice recorder, Wang Defa sensed that Xu Chunming would make him the scapegoat. However, when he saw Xu Chunming act out of character and not blame him, he became even more convinced of his guess.

Although he was the deputy head of the security department and held significant power, he knew that his power was inseparable from Xu Chunming's support. Moreover, everyone in the department knew he was Xu Chunming's man. If Xu Chunming fell from power, his fate would be predictable. At this moment, it was better for him to take the blame himself rather than let Xu Chunming propose it. In the future, when Xu Chunming returned to power, he might remember his sacrifice and offer more compensation.

With this decision made, Wang Defa said to Xu Chunming, "Old Leader! This matter is not Xiaozheng's fault. I didn't thoroughly investigate Wu Potian beforehand, and as a result, I was deceived by Wang Hu and him. But you can rest assured, I take responsibility for my actions. This was something I did on my own to curry favor with you, without consulting you beforehand. It has nothing to do with you."

On the other end of the phone, Xu Chunming's furrowed brows finally relaxed, and a bright smile appeared on his dark face. He said to Wang Defa, "Xiao Wang! You are my most trusted subordinate. I am very pleased that you recognize this. You should not have any psychological burden. After all, everyone makes mistakes, and it is not scary to make mistakes. What is scary is not recognizing your mistakes. The fact that you can recognize your mistakes at the first moment shows that you are not a hopeless cadre. Our party has always advocated that if there is a mistake, it should be corrected, and if there is no mistake, it should be encouraged. As long as you seriously correct and learn from this lesson, the organization will definitely forgive you."

"Old Leader! Rest assured! I will not evade my mistakes and will earnestly learn from this lesson, accepting the organization's investigation to ensure I do not disgrace you," Wang Defa said, knowing the meaning behind Xu Chunming's words and immediately making a promise to him.

Hearing this, Xu Chunming laughed and said, "Xiao Wang! Because the boss is about to retire, this period is very sensitive. Some people might take advantage of today's incident to stir up trouble. But don't worry, as long as I am here, no one can pin false charges on you. So don't have any psychological burden."

Before Xu Chunming could finish speaking, the office door was suddenly pushed open. A young man in a police uniform, without knocking, rushed into Xu Chunming's office, panting and reported, "Boss! Something has happened."

Hearing the young man's words, Xu Chunming's face darkened. He slammed his hand on the desk and pointed at the young man, angrily scolding him, "Li Jinbo, look at yourself! Do you still look like a police officer? Get out and knock again before coming in."

Hearing Xu Chunming's scolding, Li Jinbo felt extremely aggrieved but knew Xu Chunming's character and did not dare to contradict him. He immediately turned and walked out of the office, then knocked again and loudly called out, "Report!"

Hearing the report from outside the door, Xu Chunming responded, "Come in!"

After Li Jinbo entered the office, Xu Chunming pressed the phone and angrily asked, "Speak! What happened that made you look so flustered?"

Hearing Xu Chunming's scolding, Li Jinbo felt very aggrieved but did not immediately defend his actions. Instead, he quickly walked to Xu Chunming's desk, turned on the computer, and reported with a tense face, "Boss! Something big has happened. Take a look at the news on Weibo!"

Seeing Li Jinbo's panicked appearance, Xu Chunming's face showed a look of frustration and anger. Without looking at the news on the computer, he scolded Li Jinbo, "Li Jinbo! Look at yourself! The sky isn't falling!" However, before he could finish, his gaze fixed on the computer screen.

Xu Chunming had set up Wu Potian to get the hidden camera video from Wang Hu, to clear the way for his competition for the position of bureau chief. But he never expected his plan to not only fail but also anger Wang Hu. Seeing the content of the video, Xu Chunming sat lifelessly in his chair, angrily roaring, "This damn bastard, he's ruined me. It's over! It's over! Completely over!"

"Jinbo! Immediately call the internet monitoring team and have them block this news," Xu Chunming finally reacted after a long moment and instructed Li Jinbo.

Hearing Xu Chunming's instructions, Li Jinbo did not immediately act but reported with a dejected face, "Boss! Before reporting to you, I personally went to the internet monitoring team. Since the video comes from a website in another province, the internet monitoring team cannot block it. Moreover, netizens have already started a human flesh search for Xiao Xu's identity, and your identity has been exposed."

"Immediately contact the website that uploaded this video and get them to delete it at any cost. Also, call that little scoundrel and tell him to come to my office immediately," Xu Chunming's face turned pale, and his hand holding the phone began to tremble.

Since Xu Chunming was on the phone with Wang Defa, every word of the conversation was transmitted to Wang Defa's ears. Wang Defa had agreed to take the blame for Xu Chunming and his son because Xu Chunming had a good chance of becoming the bureau chief. However, the conversation he heard on the phone made him realize that Wang Hu had a backup plan, and Xu Chunming might lose his chance to become the bureau chief. At this moment, he had to carefully consider whether he should take the blame.

When Wu Potian and Lin Xiaqing returned to the clinic with Wang Hu, Chen Yuemei immediately ran out of the clinic, looking Wu Potian over with concern and asking, "Xiaotian! Did those bandits hurt you?"

Seeing his mother's reaction, Wu Potian felt a strong sense of concern. Just as he was about to answer, Wang Hu quickly interjected, "Auntie! You can't generalize and blame everyone. There are only a few bad apples in our police force. Most of us, like me, Wang Hu, are absolutely good comrades."

Hearing Wang Hu's response, Chen Yuemei remembered that Wang Hu was also a police officer and smiled, saying, "Huzi! You're right. Our Huzi is a good comrade, and I shouldn't say such things." Chen Yuemei's gaze then fixed on Lin Xiaqing.