After Ian Song arrived in Mesa City to serve as Minister of the Special Police Base, he’d only met Helen Lu, his deputy, once—back when he’d arrested Kevin Guan, and she came to persuade him to let the kid go.
Since that day, Helen Lu never returned to the Special Police Base.
Who’d have thought their next meeting would be at Tai’an Restaurant, and she’d show up as the reinforcements Jason Shen called in.
Ian Song glanced at the surprised Helen Lu. “Is it really so strange for me to be eating here?”
“Second Aunt, you know him?”
Jason Shen’s suspicious gaze swept back and forth between Ian Song and Helen Lu.
“Sort of.”
Helen Lu’s expression was complicated. At first, she hadn’t thought much of this young minister—especially after he arrested the 96th Division commander’s son, Kevin Guan. She really thought he was finished.
Wanting to do Commander Guan a favor, she’d rushed in to urge Ian Song to let Kevin go. But he was dead set against it, so their first meeting ended on a sour note.
It wasn’t long before this young minister stirred up even more trouble—arresting some elite clan heir, getting suspended by Mayor Victor Liang, and even drawing Titus Lou, the military chief from Aries District, into the mess.
For a while, she was honestly stunned by Ian Song’s knack for causing trouble. She figured this time, he’d not only lose his job, but get hit with real disaster.
But to her surprise, he was suspended at noon—and reinstated by evening.
That was totally unexpected. She started to suspect this young minister had some seriously deep connections—otherwise, how could he come out of all that mess untouched?
Jason Shen didn’t notice Helen Lu’s expression. He strutted over to Ian Song and said, “Since you know my second aunt, you should know her status. Now, kneel and apologize to me, then slap yourself ten times. Maybe I’ll let you off!”
Ian Song just smiled, then looked at Helen Lu. “Deputy Minister Lu, is that what you want too?”
“Minister, you must be joking!” Helen Lu forced a stiff smile, then turned to Jason Shen. “Jason, this is our Special Police Minister, Ian Lu. Hurry up and apologize!”
“What? He’s the Special Police Minister?” Jason Shen blurted out, suddenly realizing why those ten officers had rushed out of the private room so quickly.
His dad might be the Supervision Bureau chief, but that only put him on the same level as Ian Song—and honestly, the Special Police Minister had even more authority.
The Supervision Bureau might be able to monitor officials, but unless someone committed a crime, there wasn’t much they could do.
Realizing that, he started to feel stuck.
Just then, Colin Han suddenly stepped forward, looking at Ian Song. “Are you Minister Lu?”
Ian Song nodded. “That’s right, I am.”
Colin Han’s eyes flashed coldly. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Oh? Is that so?” Ian Song replied coolly, but he could sense a faint hostility coming from Colin Han.
“I’ve heard about you too. Pretty impressive—you even dared to injure my dad’s bodyguard!”
A sweet, beautiful girl spoke up—the same Miss Han Jason Shen had mentioned. She was nearly 1.7 meters tall, with a gorgeous figure and a truly stunning face.
Hearing that, a picture flashed through Ian Song’s mind. He suddenly realized, “You’re Chief Jason Han’s daughter!”
“This is my brother, Colin Han. I’m Hannah Han. Nice to meet you.” With that, she held out her hand.
“Hello, Miss Han. Nice to meet you too!” Ian Song extended his hand and shook hers. Her hand felt soft, smooth, and delicate.
Off to the side, Helen Lu was secretly amazed. So Ian Song had even injured Jason Han’s bodyguard? How could he offend so many big shots and still be totally fine?
Jason Shen overheard their conversation, and his face turned pale. Ian Song had injured Jason Han’s bodyguard and nothing happened to him—how could Jason possibly go up against someone like that? He couldn’t help but want to slap himself for picking this private room.
“Mr. Han, Miss Han, have you eaten yet? If not, why not join us?” Ian Song offered.
“Sure! This place is packed, there aren’t any free seats!” Hannah Han jumped in, flashing Ian Song a sweet smile. “Minister Lu, you don’t mind, do you?”
“Of course not. We ordered so much food, it’d be a waste not to eat!” Ian Song laughed.
The two previously opposing groups soon found themselves sharing one table. But Helen Lu and Jason Shen looked more and more uncomfortable.
“Minister Lu, let me introduce you—this is Ron Luo, and this is Erica Jing, both from Aries District,” Colin Han said with a smile.
Hearing the surnames Luo and Jing, Ian Song quickly connected them to Chief Luo, ranked fifth, and Chief Jing, ranked seventh in the district.
Birds of a feather flock together—these two were probably Chief Luo’s and Chief Jing’s children or direct relatives.
The meal turned lively and harmonious, with both sides chatting while they ate. Hannah Han, in particular, seemed very interested in Ian Song, asking him all sorts of questions.
Meanwhile, Helen Lu and Jason Shen grew more and more uneasy.
Finally, at Helen Lu’s prompting, Jason Shen picked up his glass and stood. He toasted Ian Song, saying, “Minister Lu, I was blind and offended you before. Please forgive me. I’ll drink first to show respect—you do as you please!”
Ian Song didn’t respond, just glanced coolly at the bottle on the table.
Seeing this, Jason Shen refilled his glass and tried again. “Minister Lu, I’ll keep drinking until you tell me to stop!”
Suddenly, Ian Song raised his hand and said to Brandon Wong, “Mr. Wong, ask the staff to bring in a case of white liquor.”
“Sure thing!” Brandon Wong replied.
Soon, a waiter arrived carrying a case of white liquor—six bottles, each one jin.
“Finish them all and I’ll forgive you!” Ian Song pointed at the six bottles in the box.
Jason Shen’s face changed dramatically. He could drink, but downing six jin of white liquor in one sitting was impossible.
“Fine, I’ll agree for him!” Helen Lu cut in.
“Thank you, Minister Lu—I’ll drink!” Jason Shen said.
Jason Shen gave a bitter smile, twisted open a bottle, and started chugging. The first bottle was fine—his face just turned pale. But after the second and third, he looked ghostly.
Halfway through the fourth bottle, his stomach felt like it was on fire. He was miserable.
In the end, Jason Shen managed to finish all six bottles—but as soon as he was done, he collapsed to the floor, dead drunk.
Helen Lu seized the chance to escort Jason Shen to the hospital and slip out of the private room.
“Minister Lu, don’t you think that was a bit much?” Colin Han asked, looking at Ian Song.
“Heh.”
Ian Song just smiled, saying nothing.
Hannah Han immediately spoke up to defend Ian Song. “Honestly, Jason Shen brought it on himself! If he hadn’t tried to steal Minister Lu’s private room, he wouldn’t be in this mess!”