Zhang Ruoyu Returns a Favor

Li Xue saw that Duo Duo was unharmed and burst into tears of joy as she hugged her. "Mommy came too late. I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

Halfway through, Li Xue hurriedly let go of Duo Duo and looked her over from head to toe. "Are you hurt? Let Mommy see."

"Mommy, don't cry. Xuan Xuan Younger Brother and I are both fine." Duo Duo was still a little confused by the situation, but when she saw her mother crying, she quickly assured her that they were all right.

"Xuan Xuan—right, Mommy has to thank him properly!"

Li Xue wiped away her tears, only then remembering that it had been Lin Xuan who saved Duo Duo. She hurriedly led Duo Duo over to him.

"Auntie Li." Lin Xuan stood and greeted Li Xue.

Ye Hongyu and Lin Hai noticed Li Xue and the others arriving as well, and both walked over.

"Xuan Xuan, Auntie Li truly doesn't know how to thank you. If you hadn't saved Duo Duo, I..." Li Xue was so emotional that her words came out in a jumble.

Having nearly lost her daughter and then gotten her back made it impossible for her to calm down.

"You're being too formal, Duo Duo's mom. Back when Xuan Xuan wanted to enroll at Twin Leaves and we asked you for help, didn't you agree without a second thought?"

Ye Hongyu patted Li Xue's shoulder and comforted her. "Don't worry. The most important thing is that both children are back safe."

"You're right, Sister Hongyu. It's good they're back, good they're back." Li Xue nodded repeatedly, though calming herself down was easier said than done.

By now, Ye Hongyu and Li Xue had long become familiar with each other. Since Ye Hongyu and Lin Hai were both a little over ten years older than Li Xue, Li Xue had eventually begun calling Ye Hongyu Sister Hongyu.

Zhang Ruoyu stepped forward at this point and extended a hand to Lin Xuan. "Thank you for this, Xuan Xuan. Uncle owes you one."

Lin Xuan naturally recognized Zhang Ruoyu. He had met him before when he went to Duo Duo's home to play.

However, even when Zhang Ruoyu had greeted their family at Li Xue's prompting in the past, he had always carried a polite sense of distance.

Having lived two lives, Lin Xuan naturally understood that this was most likely because Zhang Ruoyu held an unusual position and status.

But this time, Zhang Ruoyu had completely put aside any airs. He was simply expressing his gratitude to Lin Xuan as a father.

"Duo Duo is my friend. There's no need to thank me, Uncle Zhang." Lin Xuan reached out and shook Zhang Ruoyu's hand, but shook his head.

"You're too polite, Duo Duo's dad. Xuan Xuan is a little man—of course he should look after Duo Duo." Lin Hai grinned from the side.

Still, anyone could see how proud he was.

His son was only three years old and already so clever. How could a father not be proud?

"I should thank you too, Brother Lin. You raised such a fine son." Zhang Ruoyu clasped his fist in his palm toward Lin Hai.

"If you keep praising him, his head will end up in the clouds." Lin Hai waved his hands repeatedly.

"He deserves the praise." Zhang Ruoyu smiled, then said to Lin Hai, "I'll have to trouble you to make another trip, Brother Lin. Tell Director Lei that we need to take the teacher we caught today with us."

"This... wouldn't that be a little against procedure?" Lin Hai understood that Zhang Ruoyu was referring to Teacher Hu, the woman who had taken Lin Xuan and Duo Duo away.

"Just tell him I said so. Sorry for the trouble," Zhang Ruoyu said after a brief pause.

"Dad, hurry up and go." Lin Xuan urged him from the side.

"All right."

Only then did Lin Hai nod and hurry toward the director's office.

Seeing that his father was not being stubbornly obtuse, Lin Xuan let out a sigh of relief.

No wonder he's been a chief inspector for so long without advancing. He's still a little lacking in social awareness.

Lin Hai might have been skilled at catching criminals and investigating cases, but he was clearly somewhat lacking when it came to navigating the workplace.

What Zhang Ruoyu had said just now was plainly an attempt to return the favor.

Lin Xuan had been an old hand in the workplace in his previous life. The moment he heard Zhang Ruoyu's words, he understood what he meant.

But judging from this, Duo Duo's father's status is probably even higher than I thought... Lin Xuan could not help feeling surprised.

He had indeed seen that Zhang Ruoyu wanted to repay the favor by letting Lin Hai display his connections before his former superior.

Such a display would certainly benefit Lin Hai in the future.

But there was a prerequisite: Director Lei had to know Zhang Ruoyu, and Zhang Ruoyu's status could not be lower than his.

After all, as the head of the Dragon River Security Division, Director Lei was himself a Level 6 Authority Holder.

Looking across Longjiang's entire official hierarchy, there were not many people ranked above him.

Lin Xuan had previously guessed that Zhang Ruoyu's identity was far from ordinary, but he had not imagined it would be to this extent. Yet now, it seemed Zhang Ruoyu's status was at the very least no lower than Director Lei's.

The facts proved that Lin Xuan's analysis was correct.

Not long after his father Lin Hai left, a middle-aged man in a Public Security Bureau uniform, who looked to be in his fifties, returned with him.

"Greetings, Director!"

"Good afternoon, Director!"

The agents they encountered along the way all saluted and greeted him.

Clearly, this was the head of the Dragon River Security Division—Director Lei Bin!

"Long time no see, Brother Lei." Before Director Lei could speak, Zhang Ruoyu took the initiative and smiled.

Director Lei paused in surprise, then smiled. "It has indeed been some time. Brother Zhang, you've honored our Dragon River Security Division with your presence. Why didn't you let me know in advance? At least then Lei could have had some mental preparation."

"It happened suddenly. I never expected... that someone would dare set their sights on my daughter in Longjiang." Zhang Ruoyu's voice was calm.

"What?" Director Lei was startled. "Brother Zhang, are you saying those two children who were kidnapped..."

"Yes. One was my daughter, and the other was Brother Lin's son. Fortunately, Brother Lin's son was clever. Otherwise, my daughter would likely have already been taken away."

Zhang Ruoyu nodded, confirming Director Lei's guess.

Upon hearing this, Director Lei was shocked and furious. "Who was so bold? This is simply lawless!"

His shock and anger were not an act.

Before this, he had known about the kidnapping case. After all, one of the kidnapped children was Lin Hai's son.

Although Lin Hai had been transferred to Crimson Flame, he had still devoted over twenty years of his life to the Dragon River Security Division. If the Dragon River Security Division did not handle something like this with great fanfare, quite a few people within the organization would inevitably have objections.

Besides, Lin Hai had gone to Crimson Flame, and there might well come a time when the Dragon River Security Division needed him to make introductions or pull strings.

Director Lei naturally did not mind showing goodwill toward such an old subordinate. It would also help win people over—why not?

The reason the Dragon River Security Division had sent such a large force to retrieve Lin Xuan and Duo Duo earlier had been his decision.

He wanted everyone to see that the Dragon River Security Division was not something just anyone could target.

Yet he truly had not known that the little girl kidnapped alongside Lin Hai's son was actually Zhang Ruoyu's daughter.

At the thought of what might have happened if Zhang Ruoyu's daughter had truly come to harm, he could not help feeling a lingering fear.