His introduction was like a drop of water falling into boiling oil, instantly setting the villagers abuzz.
The people closest to him hurriedly backed away, and the crowd erupted into a clamor.
"You're stepping on my foot! What are you doing? Look how scared you are."
"If you're not scared, go up to him yourself. Didn't you hear what people were saying? He might be a wanted criminal."
"Are you stupid? Would our village Party secretary bring a wanted criminal here? Would a wanted criminal drive such a fancy car right into our village in broad daylight?"
Meanwhile, Wu Li stared blankly at Ji Ting's face, still not recognizing him. "You, you're..."
Seeing this, the village Party secretary called out, "Let's not just stand around here. Let's go inside first. Dongzi, Dongzi—"
He raised his voice to call Li Donghu out, but Li Fenglong came rushing over instead. "Secretary Ma, this man's a wanted criminal. He might even have killed someone. How could you..."
Before he could finish, a pair of deep, jet-black eyes swept his way, seemingly in passing. Li Fenglong shrank under that gaze.
Ji Yanzhi looked away, took Ji Ting by the wrist, and followed Wu Li inside.
The village Party secretary frowned and waved Li Fenglong away, scolding him. "Stop spouting nonsense. Go on, get out of here."
He entered the courtyard, called out once more for the villagers to go home, then shut the courtyard gate.
Despite the village Party secretary's repeated orders, the villagers had no intention of leaving. They craned their necks to peer over the courtyard wall, while others stared at the car in fascination.
"Why's the front of this car so long? It doesn't look like other cars."
"It definitely wasn't cheap."
A young man took out his phone and snapped