Chapter Eighty-Eight: Caught Again, Every Last One of Them

The news that a group had been taken in by the police at the top floor of the Tianyuan Hotel spread at once. Before the people who heard about it could rush over, the police bureau had already begun questioning them and drawn out quite a few things.

Among them were the number of banquets attended and the items each person had bought at auction.

All of it was compiled into booklets and sent upstairs.

Zhao Fan was among those involved. Because of Fang Tiancheng, he was not taken in for questioning; at that moment, he was in another interrogation room.

Fang Tiancheng said, “This group won’t be held for long. At most, in another two hours, someone will come to bail them out.”

Zhao Fan frowned. “Will they be sentenced?”

An illegal auction—there was no question that the organizers caught in the raid were guilty, but the participants... there was probably nothing that could be done to them.

A flash of unwillingness crossed Fang Tiancheng’s eyes. “No. At most, they’ll be fined.”

“What about the things they bought at auction?”

“Of course, it will be treated as making amends for one’s crimes—voluntary donation.”

Zhao Fan was speechless. The words voluntary sounded very...

He coughed a few times and, pretending he had heard nothing, smoothly changed the subject.

“How much longer before I can leave?”

“You have to wait until the first person leaves before you can go.”

Fang Tiancheng did not want Zhao Fan becoming the target of everyone’s attention. Leaving mixed in with the crowd was the safest option.

An hour later, the first family came to bail someone out, and that seemed to start a chain reaction; more and more people followed.

Zhao Fan blended into the departing crowd without attracting the slightest attention.

The next day, the related matter made the news. No one knew how many people were cursing about it, but the case had indeed shocked quite a few.

Auctions where prices started at tens of thousands—those were numbers most people in Yangcheng would not even dare imagine.

For a period after that, Yangcheng was very quiet.

Only Zhao Fan’s Feiteng Supermarket continued to grow in fame. By the end of the year, the first imitation supermarket appeared, called Rongle, and it had already begun promotion long in advance.

When it opened, Rongle Supermarket drew quite a crowd, and even Zhao Fan’s whole family went out of curiosity. In the end, everyone returned disappointed.

Its name was loud enough, and the store occupied a large space, but the inside was obviously a mess, strange no matter how one looked at it.

In the car, Zhao’s mother shook her head and said with disdain, “That Rongle place won’t last long.”

Zhao Fan smiled but said nothing.

Someone who could not even imitate properly truly had no future.

These past days, Zhao’s father and mother had gradually taken over the supermarket, and their mental outlook had become different—more confident and more easygoing.

In short, they were the sort of people who, at a glance, made others feel fond of them.

The supermarket and the company were both slowly getting onto the right track, and Zhao Fan turned his attention to Sangtian Company.

His shopping mall was still in the construction phase, and there was no telling when it would finally be built.

Sangtian Company.

When Shi Wenxuan saw Zhao Fan, his expression changed instantly, looking rather miserable.

“Well, President Zhao...”

Seeing his expression, Zhao Fan found it very amusing.

“I’m not a demon. Is it really necessary to look like that when you see me?”

Shi Wenxuan sighed. “That’s because the situation is different. President Zhao, I haven’t found even the slightest clue regarding the shopping mall.”

Zhao Fan smiled. “If you haven’t found anything, then keep building. Don’t stop.”

Shi Wenxuan thought he had misheard and instinctively asked, “Keep building?”

“Of course. If we don’t keep going, are we supposed to keep it suspended forever?”

Shi Wenxuan looked around and closed the door.

“President Zhao, this is no small matter. We haven’t caught the person behind it. If it can collapse once, it can collapse a second time. This loss...”

Zhao Fan cut him off. “Then don’t give him a second chance to make it collapse. Catch him before he strikes again.”

In his previous life, the mall had gained its reputation through its own strength, and the person acting behind the scenes had most likely been one of his enemies, so Zhao Fan was willing to give it one more chance.

Of course, if Shi Wenxuan failed to catch the person this time and let the mall collapse a second time, Zhao Fan would never give him another chance.

“People say things come in threes, but with me, I hope there won’t even be a third time. Do you understand?”

Shi Wenxuan nodded solemnly. “Please rest assured, there definitely won’t be a third time.”

Zhao Fan smiled faintly. He had not moved much, and his expression had remained the same throughout, yet Shi Wenxuan somehow felt the atmosphere in the office loosen. A little smile also appeared on his face.

“Oh, right. What’s the situation with the materials on your end?”

“The materials from last time still have some usable ones. If they are not enough in the short term, our company will make up part of the difference. When the later funds arrive, we will deduct it from the bill then.”

For the sake of the mall, Shi Wenxuan had also shown his sincerity.

Zhao Fan nodded. “All right, then proceed according to your arrangement.”

Thus, the mall that had been idle for a long time started construction again.

As he walked out of Sangtian, Zhao Fan tugged at his collar. The biting wind rushing toward him made even someone as physically resilient as he feel a little unable to bear it.

Ring, ring, ring—

His phone rang. Zhao Fan took it out and saw that it was Fang Tiancheng.

“Hello.”

“The person who hit you has woken up.”

Zhao Fan: “...”

With a slight raise of his brow, Zhao Fan rubbed his fingers together. “Woke up? Did he say anything?”

“What do you think?” Fang Tiancheng asked in return.

“Right, looks like he didn’t say anything.”

“And regarding this car accident, what are your thoughts on the compensation?”

“What else can I think? Let’s follow the rules.”

He had only suffered a concussion and had not even stayed in the hospital for long. He certainly would not be able to get much compensation.

Fang Tiancheng sighed. “This really is an undeserved disaster for you.”

An undeserved disaster?

Zhao Fan sneered inwardly. That driver had deliberately driven the truck straight at him with full force. Could that really be called an undeserved disaster?

“Officer Fang, is there really no other factor in this matter?”

There was a pause on the other end. Soon, Zhao Fan noticed that Fang Tiancheng had lowered his voice, and the surroundings on the other side had clearly become emptier.

“Do you think there are other people involved?”

Before, Fang Tiancheng had thought it was someone behind the auction causing trouble. But later, after the arrests went smoothly, he abandoned that idea.

Now the driver in the crash had awakened on his own, and after going back and forth, nothing had been learned.

Fang Tiancheng felt there was no problem, but if Zhao Fan felt there was, then the matter would have to be investigated further.

Hearing Fang Tiancheng’s serious question, Zhao Fan fell silent for a moment before slowly saying, “My shopping mall was halfway through construction when it suddenly collapsed. Not long after that, I ran into a car accident. I only escaped because I reacted quickly. If I had not reacted in time, what then?”

With that ferocious truck barreling toward him, if Zhao Fan had been even a little slower, he would already have been crushed into a pulp, let alone making a phone call.

“What about the investigation into the mall? Any results?”

“No. Not a single problem can be found, but I’ve already had people resume construction.”

Fang Tiancheng understood at once. “You want to draw out the person behind it and make him strike again?”

“Yes. I’ll add fuel to the fire as well.”

“I understand.”

After the call ended, Zhao Fan clicked his tongue. He wanted to see just who was determined to kill him from behind the scenes.

That evening, Zhao Fan suddenly received a call from Han Chen.