Chapter 44
“What a rare sight!”
As soon as they heard that Chu Tianhe didn’t have an invitation, the crowd began to murmur again, their words brimming with contempt.
At this moment, Director Liu’s face darkened with anger. He swept a cold glance at Wu Tianhao and demanded, “How did you handle the arrangements? How could just anyone be let in?”
“Yes, yes, it was my mistake!” Wu Tianhao hurriedly apologized to Director Liu, then waved his hand dismissively. “Security, seize this man! Lock him in the warehouse for now. Once the banquet is over, send him to the Department of Patrol and Security for processing!”
At Wu Tianhao’s shout, a dozen security guards immediately stepped forward and surrounded Chu Tianhe.
“Brother-in-law…”
Seeing this, Qin Xiaomeng grew anxious, instinctively tightening her grip on Chu Tianhe’s arm.
“It’s alright,” Chu Tianhe replied with a faint smile. Then, turning his gaze back to Director Liu and Wu Tianhao, he said, “I just got out of the Department of Patrol and Security, and I’m not eager to go back so soon.”
“What?”
“Just got out of the Department of Patrol and Security?”
“Is this guy an escaped criminal?”
Chu Tianhe’s words, each more startling than the last, instantly set off a wave of unrest throughout the banquet hall. The murmurs rose like a tide, sweeping through the crowd.
---
Now, Director Liu could hardly maintain his composure. He barked, “Brazen troublemaker! You dare come here and make a scene? Do you even know who I am?”
“I do,” Chu Tianhe replied, his expression calm and unruffled. “You’re Liu Dongming, Director of the Department of Patrol and Security.”
“Insolence!” Wu Tianhao snapped. “How dare you address Director Liu by name!”
He turned to Director Liu. “Sir, this man is far too arrogant. I think we should have your men from the Department come and take him away immediately.”
Director Liu nodded without hesitation, waving his hand. Instantly, several plainclothes officers from the Department strode over.
“Wait, Director Liu, please let me explain! My brother-in-law—”
Qin Xiaomeng, now desperate, tried to intercede, but Wu Tianhao and Director Liu both frowned and barked in unison, “Miss Qin, this has nothing to do with you!”
“I warn you, do not shield a suspect,” Director Liu added sternly. “Even if you have ties to Young Master Wu, the Department of Patrol and Security will not show mercy!”
Director Liu’s brow was furrowed, his eyes burning with anger as he fixed them on Chu Tianhe. “You’re the first person in River City to dare cause trouble at an event I organized. You’ve gone too far!”
Seeing Director Liu genuinely angry, the crowd immediately fell silent, none daring to utter another word.
Yet Chu Tianhe only smiled faintly. “So, just because I don’t have an invitation, I’m a troublemaker?”
“In that case, let me write you one now!”
---
With those words, Chu Tianhe’s right hand flashed with a blur of motion. In an instant, he plucked a pen from the pocket of a nearby plainclothes officer and, with swift strokes, wrote three bold characters on a sheet of paper. He handed it to Director Liu and said, “Director Liu, please take a look. Will this invitation suffice?”
At Chu Tianhe’s action, many in the crowd couldn’t help but sneer.
“Is this guy fresh out of a mental institution?”
“A handwritten invitation? And right in front of the host? He must be mad!”
“If you’re going to forge something, at least try to make it believable. What is he playing at?”
“Does he take Director Liu for a fool?”
The whispers started again. Everyone wore a look of schadenfreude, eager for a spectacle. They waited for Director Liu’s wrath, expecting him to have Chu Tianhe seized and sent to the Department for a harsh sentence.
Even Wu Tianhao was losing patience. He barked coldly, “What are you all waiting for? Take this lunatic down!”
“Wait!”
Suddenly, Director Liu’s expression changed dramatically, his face filled with shock. He cried out, hastily stopping Wu Tianhao in his tracks.