227: Chapter 227: Constantly using the term "lowly commoner" is utterly mind-blowing.

Seeing the two of them, Qin Chuan was slightly taken aback, but noticing Xiao Chuyi's expression, he immediately understood what was happening.

It seemed this Deputy County Party Secretary Pei Lin was using his position to force Xiao Chuyi to go out with him; going out at this hour, it was likely for drinks.

For a girl, especially at night, drinking too much was very dangerous.

Although he hadn't accepted Xiao Chuyi's feelings, she was at least his high school classmate, had always liked him in secret, usually behaved well, and was diligent in her work—he couldn't just stand by and watch her suffer.

“Xiao Chuyi, are you preparing to go out?”

“Secretary Qin, Deputy County Party Secretary Pei Lin wants me to accompany him to a dinner party.”

His guess was correct; it really was for drinking and socializing.

There was no need to think about it; if they went out together, she would most likely be pressured into getting drunk.

Qin Chuan's gaze fell upon Deputy County Party Secretary Pei Lin with an inquiring look, the majesty of a County Party Secretary radiating from him.

Coming face-to-face with me, the top leader, shouldn't you take the initiative to greet me?

His good impression of this Deputy County Party Secretary Pei Lin had basically vanished, replaced by a hint of disgust.

He had been in office for so many days and had never come to report his work; instead, he had been secretly building his own faction and had already pulled a group of people to his side. Now, he was even eyeing the other members of the Standing Committee, trying to win them over.

What, is he trying to form a clique to oppose me, the top leader?

Feeling the authority of the top leader, Deputy County Party Secretary Pei Lin could only say, “Secretary Qin, I have a dinner engagement tonight that I simply couldn't turn down.”

Qin Chuan nodded slightly and looked at Xiao Chuyi. “Lin Jiang is hosting a dinner tonight. Didn't he invite you? Did you forget?”

Xiao Chuyi was a smart woman and put on an act as if she had just remembered. “Oh, if you hadn't reminded me, I really would have completely forgotten.”

Qin Chuan said, “Then wait for half an hour, and we'll go over together.”

After saying that, he turned back toward his office.

Since the top leader had spoken and requested Xiao Chuyi to wait for him, what could Deputy County Party Secretary Pei Lin say?

Xiao Chuyi also said, “Deputy County Party Secretary Pei Lin, I'm so sorry, I really forgot I had a prior engagement tonight. I apologize, I can't accompany you to dinner.”

Deputy County Party Secretary Pei Lin felt as if he had swallowed a fly. Success was within his grasp; as long as he got Xiao Chuyi drunk tonight, he could have gotten the goddess into bed. He hadn't expected this to happen.

Qin Chuan, you ruined my good plans! Just you wait!

With a dark expression, Deputy County Party Secretary Pei Lin waved his hand. “You go then.”

Xiao Chuyi felt a weight lift from her heart. She quickly returned to the main County Party Committee Office. After sitting down, she felt a lingering fear; the more she thought about it, the more afraid she became.

She hadn't thought much of it just now, only thinking it would be bad to refuse and make Deputy County Party Secretary Pei Lin lose face. She hadn't considered what would happen if she actually got drunk.

The more she thought, the more grateful she felt toward Qin Chuan. She took out her phone and sent a text: “Qin Chuan, thank you for helping me out. Let's have dinner together tonight. It's on me. Invite Lin Jiang too.”

Every time she had proactively suggested dinner, Qin Chuan would politely decline unless Lin Jiang was invited or a third party was present. In any case, they had never had dinner just the two of them.

Therefore, she explicitly mentioned inviting Lin Jiang in her text this time.

Soon, she received a reply. Qin Chuan sent back a single word: “Okay.”

Seeing the reply, Xiao Chuyi became as happy as a child. The smile at the corners of her mouth couldn't be suppressed, sweeping away all her previous gloom.

As a local of Wanshun County, she was very familiar with where the good food was and knew Qin Chuan's tastes well. She immediately called to make a reservation.

That evening.

Qin Chuan, Xiao Chuyi, and Lin Jiang were eating in a small restaurant.

They didn't drink alcohol, but had soft drinks instead, chatting about interesting anecdotes as they ate.

When they were almost finished, Qin Chuan reminded her, “Xiao Chuyi, don't be afraid of Deputy County Party Secretary Pei Lin. If he forces you to do anything, tell me directly.”

Xiao Chuyi nodded vigorously in gratitude. “Mhm, mhm. Thank you, Qin Chuan.”

With those words from Qin Chuan, she didn't have to worry about offending Deputy County Party Secretary Pei Lin. Her heart felt much lighter.

After dinner, the three of them didn't drive but walked, as the walk back wasn't far. Lin Jiang, however, had driven there.

But since Qin Chuan and Xiao Chuyi were walking, he could only walk with them. He would escort them back and then return for his car.

After walking a few hundred meters, they reached a large intersection ahead. Two of Wanshun County's main thoroughfares met here; it was the most prosperous and bustling area.

From a distance, Qin Chuan saw a large crowd gathered ahead.

“Something might have happened. Let's go take a look.”

As the County Party Secretary, he certainly couldn't ignore such a situation and had to go investigate.

As they got closer, they could basically see what was going on.

Xiao Chuyi pointed it out. “That's Deputy County Party Secretary Pei Lin and the others.”

Qin Chuan nodded slightly and squeezed into the crowd. Seeing the scene before him, a raging fire of anger rose within. It was a car accident; a Mercedes had hit a girl on the crosswalk. She looked like a student, around eighteen or nineteen years old.

The girl sat on the crosswalk in pain, clearly injured. A pot-bellied middle-aged man who looked like a boss was shouting abuse and even kicked the girl twice in succession, knocking her over onto the ground.

This was infuriating enough, but what angered Qin Chuan even more was the behavior of Deputy County Party Secretary Pei Lin. Instead of upholding justice, he was shouting abuse just like the middle-aged man. Even though the girl was already on the ground, he actually stepped forward and kicked her twice with force.

Qin Chuan squeezed into the crowd just in time to see Deputy County Party Secretary Pei Lin kick the fallen girl. He immediately shouted loudly, “Stop! Deputy County Party Secretary Pei Lin, what a display of power!”

As he drew closer, Qin Chuan smelled the stench of alcohol on both the middle-aged man and Deputy County Party Secretary Pei Lin. They must have had quite a lot to drink.

Perhaps emboldened by the alcohol, Deputy County Party Secretary Pei Lin didn't seem to care at all when he saw Qin Chuan. Instead, he said loudly,

“This peasant! She didn't yield when she saw the car coming and damaged our car. Can she even afford to pay for it?!”

Qin Chuan's face turned completely dark. The word “peasant” had actually come from the mouth of a Deputy County Party Secretary.

The surrounding onlookers had long been unable to bear it, and their indignation was boiling over!

“It was clearly this Mercedes that ran the red light! The girl was on the crosswalk!”

“They've been drinking! This is drunk driving!”

“They hit someone and didn't apologize, and now they're cursing and hitting her!”

“...”

Hearing these words, he basically knew what had happened without even needing to ask.

With a dark face, Qin Chuan said, “Xiao Chuyi, call Comrade Zhu Huabing and tell him to get here as fast as possible!”

Xiao Chuyi nodded and hurriedly made the call.

Seeing this, Deputy County Party Secretary Pei Lin protested, “Secretary Qin Chuan, for such a small matter, there's no need to make a mountain out of a molehill.”

Heh.

Is this a small matter?

Drunk driving and assault—and committed by a Deputy County Party Secretary, no less. The crime is doubly severe!