Chapter 52: A Reckoning and a Revelation

Those around them were utterly bewildered.

What was happening? Who on earth was on the other end of the line, capable of terrifying the head of the Linhai City Police Department to such an extent?

Director Wang clutched his phone, large beads of cold sweat rolling down his forehead, soaking into his temples.

As he listened, he bowed repeatedly, his mouth ceaselessly repeating phrases.

“Yes, I understand. I’ll handle it immediately. Please rest assured, I guarantee it will be taken care of properly!”

The call ended.

A profound silence descended upon the entire scene.

Director Wang seemed to have had all his strength drained away, his hand still trembling as he held the phone.

“What are you still standing around for? Arrest them now!” Xia Hongde impatiently urged.

The very next second, something utterly unexpected by everyone transpired.

Director Wang abruptly shoved aside the subordinate blocking his path, a curse word erupting from his lips.

“Get out of the way! All of you, get the hell out of my way!”

He lunged towards Gu Qing with a speed that bordered on a sprint.

Then, under the dumbfounded gazes of everyone present, this prominent figure, who usually strutted through Linhai City with impunity, dropped to his knees with a resounding ‘thud’!

His voice was thick with a sob, trembling uncontrollably.

“L-Lord Tian Lanxing! This lowly one was blind! I didn’t realize you were here on a mission! Please forgive me! Forgive me!”

The name Tian Lanxing rendered all the police officers present utterly speechless, their mouths agape as if they had been struck by a paralysis spell.

The arrogance on Xia Hongde’s face twisted into disbelief.

‘Tian Lanxing?’

‘How could she be Tian Lanxing!’

He suddenly recalled Zhao Lingtian’s words, grabbing his collar and roaring, “Didn’t you say the one who hit you was a pink-haired loli?! How the hell is this a blonde one!”

“I… I don’t know…” Zhao Lingtian stammered, so terrified he could barely speak.

That day, he had distinctly seen a pink-haired shorty; how had they now become a blonde girl?

This incident had even been posted online, and his father had expended considerable effort to erase its impact.

Gu Qing gazed coldly at Xia Hongde, whose face was utterly ashen, speaking each word distinctly, his voice not loud, yet clearly audible throughout the entire scene.

“I care nothing for legal procedures, nor for your Xia or Zhao families.”

“Xia Xingyan, from today forward, is a member of my Starfall Squad.”

He took a step forward, and the invisible pressure emanating from him caused Xia Hongde to recoil repeatedly.

“Should anyone dare to object,” a cold arc curved on Gu Qing’s lips, “they will first have to contend with my fist.”

Xia Hongde’s face cycled between green and white, his lips trembling, unable to utter a single word.

He knew this was Tian Lanxing asserting his absolute power, declaring his dominion to all present!

‘He was finished.’

‘He had truly kicked an iron plate (TL Note: A Chinese idiom meaning to encounter an unyielding obstacle or person) today.’

Before an entity of Tian Lanxing’s caliber, his proudly held wealth and status were utterly meaningless.

‘Trouble Tian Lanxing?’

Setting aside his unparalleled influence, just considering his raw power alone…

Forget his Xia family; even ten Xia families bound together could be crushed by a mere flick of his finger!

Gu Qing no longer spared him a glance, turning instead to the stunned Xia Xingyan behind him, and patted the bicycle’s back seat.

“Let’s go. Why are you still standing there?”

Xia Xingyan snapped back to reality, gazing at the slender yet dependable back before her, and at the expressions of awe and fear on the faces of those around them, still finding it all somewhat surreal.

This was her captain, this was the legendary Tian Lanxing, this was the light she had chosen to follow!

Suddenly, she felt that all the grievances and suppression she had endured for the past eighteen years had, in this moment, vanished into thin air.

Xia Xingyan silently climbed onto the bicycle’s back seat.

This time, she did not cling to the hem of his clothes.

Instead, she extended both arms and gently wrapped them around his slender waist.

Gu Qing’s body stiffened slightly, but he said nothing.

He paid them no mind, treating the dozens of police officers and numerous wealthy elites around him as if they were air. With a powerful push of his long legs, he leisurely cycled away with his teammate, gradually disappearing into the city’s neon glow, under the watchful eyes of countless astonished onlookers.

He left behind only chaos and a group of successful individuals, their lives thrown into doubt amidst the flashing police lights.

****

Director Wang wiped away his cold sweat, finally having crawled back from the gates of hell.

He looked at Xia Hongde, the fawning expression on his face completely vanished, replaced by undisguised disgust.

“Chairman Xia, you can explain today’s incident to Director Zhou of the GSA yourself!”

Having said his piece, he got into the police car without a backward glance.

“Fall back!”

The wail of police sirens resumed, but no longer to apprehend anyone; instead, it was to swiftly flee this troublesome place.

In the blink of an eye, the bustling street that had been so lively moments before was left with only Xia Hongde and Zhao Lingtian, standing isolated in the evening breeze.

Xia Hongde’s body swayed, and he nearly toppled to the ground.

‘He was finished.’

‘The Xia family was also finished.’

****

Just as the shared bicycle rounded a deserted street corner, a pink light suddenly flared around Gu Qing.

‘Damn, I forgot the transformation time was almost up!’

No sooner had this thought surfaced in his mind than his hands, gripping the handlebars, went limp, before he even had a chance to curse.

The front wheel began to wobble violently, completely out of control.

Her golden hair reverted to the detested cherry pink, and her height and physique rapidly shrunk, transforming back into her pink-haired loli form.

Hua Mu’ai let out a short gasp, on the verge of toppling, bicycle and all, onto the road.

In that flash of lightning, Xia Xingyan leaped from the back seat, her figure, clad in an evening gown, tracing an elegant arc beneath the streetlights.

The second before Hua Mu’ai could fall, Xia Xingyan precisely extended her arms, deftly scooping the small figure, who was about to tumble off the bike, securely into her embrace.

It was a textbook princess carry!

“Clang!”

The next second, the shared bicycle, now riderless, crashed to the ground.

Hua Mu’ai was utterly bewildered.

She was cradled in an arm, her nostrils catching a faint, elusive scent of jasmine—the fragrance of Xia Xingyan.

‘W-What was happening?’

Once she processed the situation, her face flushed crimson from cheeks to earlobes, like a ripe apple.

‘This was a profound humiliation!’

‘She had actually been princess-carried by her own teammate again!’

“P-Put this young lady down!”

Hua Mu’ai began to thrash in Xia Xingyan’s arms, desperately trying to reclaim her dignity.

Xia Xingyan’s expression remained neutral; she merely glanced down at the bristling little one in her arms, then calmly and steadily placed her on the ground.

She released her grip and calmly pointed out,

“It has nothing to do with me; it’s just that you, Captain, suddenly shrunk. And the bicycle is broken.”

Hua Mu’ai was speechless.

She looked at the shared bicycle lying on its side, its chain dislodged, and was momentarily at a loss for words.

After a long pause, her face flushed, she stubbornly retorted, “It wasn’t this young lady’s intention; I only forgot the transformation time because I was trying to help you!”

Xia Xingyan ignored her, walked over to the bicycle, and bent down to inspect it.

“The chain’s off, but it can be fixed.”

She straightened up after speaking, glancing at the fallen bicycle, then at the much smaller figure of Hua Mu’ai.

“I’ll ride this time. Captain, you can just sit on the back.”

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