northernbook Chapter 217 Now that we've laid our cards on the table, let's stop pretending.
Chapter 217 Now that we've laid our cards on the table, let's stop pretending.
"Now that we've laid our cards on the table, we're not going to pretend anymore."
Lin Zhou's voice slowly echoed in the infirmary.
The volume wasn't deliberately increased, yet it carried a chilling aura of death.
"Uncle Chen, let's take care of some household chores first."
Upon hearing this, the kindergarten principal, who was pretending to be dead in the corner, shuddered violently.
He knew he couldn't escape it.
The principal, who usually acted superior to parents and spouted righteous words, now resembled a spineless mangy dog.
He crawled on his hands and feet across the floor tiles that reeked of urine.
He crawled all the way to Lin Zhou's feet and kowtowed frantically without any dignity.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
His forehead slammed against the floor tiles with a dull thud, and within moments the skin was broken, blood flowing down his receding hairline.
"Young Master Lin! Ancestor Lin!"
The kindergarten director cried uncontrollably, tears streaming down his face, his fat trembling violently.
"I was blind! I was so foolish!"
"I really didn't know Nuonuo was your daughter! If I had known, I wouldn't have dared to let Haohao bully her even if you gave me a thousand lives!"
"Just ignore me! I have elderly parents and young children to support; I can't afford to lose this job!"
Lin Zhou looked down at him.
There was not a trace of pity in his eyes, only extreme coldness.
"Let you go?"
Lin Zhou twitched the corners of his mouth, revealing an extremely cruel sneer.
"When you forced me to kneel before this fat woman, why didn't you think about letting me go?"
"Where was your conscience when you made me slap my daughter ten times?"
"Now you know to kowtow? Too late."
Lin Zhou took half a step back, disgustedly avoiding the dirty hands of the headmaster who wanted to cling to his leg.
"Uncle Chen."
He called out softly.
"Young master, this old servant is here."
Old Chen immediately stepped forward, bowing respectfully to await orders.
"This kind of opportunistic trash is just polluting the education system." Lin Zhou took out a wet wipe, wiped his hands, and casually threw it at the principal's face. "Investigate his background."
"Yes, young master."
Old Chen turned around, and his kind and respectful old face, which had been so gentle and obedient when facing Lin Zhou, instantly turned as cold and ruthless as an iron-faced Yama.
He didn't even say anything unnecessary.
He simply raised his right hand, which was wearing a white glove, and snapped his fingers lightly.
"Smack."
The crisp snap of fingers rang out.
Two burly bodyguards in black rushed in from outside.
"Go to the principal's office," Old Chen ordered in a chilling tone. "Break open the safe, the computer hard drive, and all the private accounts and bring them to me within ten minutes."
"yes!"
The two bodyguards acted swiftly, turning and rushing into the depths of the corridor.
Upon hearing this, the kindergarten director froze instantly, still in the act of kowtowing.
The color drained from his face in an instant, and he slumped down like a lump of mud.
"It's over...it's all over..." he muttered to himself in despair.
Once those things are exposed to the light, he'll spend the rest of his life working as a sewing machine inside!
really.
Less than five minutes.
The two bodyguards returned.
One person was carrying a metal safe that had been violently cut open, while the other was carrying several thick black ledgers and two portable hard drives.
"Splash!"
The safe was turned upside down on the ground.
A pile of gold bars, luxury watches, and bundles of cash were scattered on the ground, gleaming with a dazzling light.
Old Chen bent down and picked up a black ledger. He flipped through a couple of pages and then sneered.
"Young master, the accounts are very clear."
"This fat pig abused his position to embezzle and accept bribes totaling more than 20 million yuan over three years. He is even suspected of molesting female intern teachers and using their promotion opportunities to coerce and entice them."
"The evidence is conclusive, enough to put him in jail for the rest of his life."
Lin Zhou didn't even bother to glance at those account books.
"Traffic Police Bureau and Economic Crime Investigation Division."
He calmly pronounced the principal's death sentence.
"Send him and these things over there. Tell the director that I, Lin Zhou, am personally overseeing this case. Anyone who dares to abuse their power will be dealt with accordingly."
"clear."
With a wave of his hand, Old Chen ordered two bodyguards to immediately lift up the kindergarten director like a dead dog.
"Young Master Lin! I was wrong! Please give me another chance!"
"Please! I don't want to go to jail!"
The principal's desperate screams echoed in the corridor, growing fainter and fainter until they disappeared completely.
After dealing with the principal, only one last problem remained in the infirmary.
Lin Zhou turned around, his cold gaze falling on the corner.
The district chief's fat wife was lying sprawled on the ground.
Her eyes were tightly closed, but the rhythm of her chest heaving betrayed her extreme panic.
Clearly, this arrogant and domineering woman had been awake for a long time.
She was just too afraid to face this horrific reality, and was frantically pretending to be dead.
Lin Zhou looked at her clumsy acting and a hint of mockery flashed in his eyes.
"Playing dead?"
Lin Zhou sneered.
"Go get some ice water. Since Madam Li likes to sleep so much, let's help her wake up."
"yes!"
One of the bodyguards immediately turned and walked out of the medical room.
Not long after, he came in carrying a large red iron bucket used for fire fighting, which was filled with bone-chilling cold water mixed with ice.
The bodyguard walked up to the fat woman without hesitation.
"Splash!"
A whole bucket of ice water was poured over his head!
"ah--!!"
In this late autumn season, the icy water is bone-chilling.
The fat woman let out a piercing scream like a pig being slaughtered, and sprang up from the ground as if she had been electrocuted.
She was soaked to the bone, her exquisite makeup was completely ruined, and gold and silver jewelry dripped down with the icy water.
It looks like a drowned rat pulled out of a sewer.
"Murder! Help!"
The fat woman screamed and swung her hands wildly in despair.
"I'm the district head's wife! How dare you treat me like this! My husband will never let you get away with this!"
She was still making her last, desperate struggle.
She attempted to salvage her last shred of dignity by relying on her powerful backer, whom she was so proud of.
Lin Zhou's eyes turned cold.
He took a sudden step forward, and his foot, clad in a worn canvas shoe, landed precisely and mercilessly on the fat woman's right hand, which was adorned with emerald and diamond rings.
"Snap!"
The precious jade ring was crushed under Lin Zhou's feet.
Sharp fragments pierced directly into the fat woman's flesh.
"Ah—my hand!"
The fat woman's face contorted in pain, and cold sweat instantly broke out.
She tried desperately to pull her hand back, but found that Lin Zhou's foot was pressing down on her like a mountain, and he wouldn't budge.
Lin Zhou bent down slightly, his eyes like those of a venomous snake eyeing its prey.
"The district head's wife?"
He scoffed, his voice filled with extreme mockery and pity.
"Are you really so stupid that you can't even see the current situation?"
"Do you think Su Zhentian was just joking when he said 'go to the Discipline Inspection Commission for tea'?"
The fat woman froze, her eyes widening in disbelief.
"What...what do you mean?"
Old Chen added insult to injury with a cold remark.
He pulled a tactical tablet from his pocket, opened a recently intercepted internal video, and threw it directly in front of the fat woman.
In the video.
Li Qiang, the deputy district head who had been swaggering around in the kindergarten just moments before, was now being escorted, one on each side, into a black official car, looking dejected.
His hands were already in cold handcuffs.
His face was ashen, like a dead man.
"Did you see it clearly?"
Lin Zhou applied slight pressure with his feet, crushing the broken jade fragments.
"Your proud backer, that so-called district chief husband, was officially taken away by the Discipline Inspection Commission for investigation and detention just ten minutes ago."
"His embezzlement and bribery records are enough to get him executed ten times over."
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
The overweight woman stared at the image on the screen and completely broke down.
She shook her head like a madwoman, her face covered in tears and snot.
"My husband has such a huge network of connections! He couldn't possibly fall from grace! This must be a lie!"
"In this world, there is no network of relationships that money and power cannot break through."
Lin Zhou slowly straightened up, his eyes looking down at him with disdain.
"If so, it just means you haven't spent enough money."
"Unfortunately, the one thing my Lin family has in abundance is money."
Lin Zhou loosened his grip.
He looked down at this vicious woman who had once pointed at Nuonuo and called her a "bastard."
"Go back and pack your things."
"All your properties, luxury cars, and even bank accounts will be seized before sunset today."
"Get ready to beg on the streets. Remember, keep your eyes open while you're begging, and don't mess with people you can't afford to offend."
The fat woman collapsed completely onto the floor, which was covered in icy water.
Her mental defenses had been completely shattered by this cruel reality, and she could no longer utter a sound except for desperate sobs.
The infirmary finally quieted down.
All the debris has been cleaned up.
The nauseating stench in the air gradually dissipated as the bodyguards cleared the area.
Lin Zhou turned around and carefully wiped his fingers with a wet wipe he carried with him.
It felt as if I had just encountered something extremely dirty.
He looked up and glanced through the window of the infirmary at the sprawling, prestigious kindergarten.
The autumn sun shone brightly on the colorful slides and castle, making them appear exceptionally dazzling.
"Uncle Chen."
Lin Zhou precisely tossed the wet wipes he had used to dry his hands into the trash can, his tone as calm as if he were discussing what to eat for dinner.
Who owns the property rights to this kindergarten now?
Old Chen bowed slightly.
"Young Master, the controlling shareholder behind Alice Early Childhood Education Group is a local real estate developer in Beijing."
Lin Zhou nodded.
He twirled the black and gold dragon-patterned ring on his right index finger.
A domineering glint flashed in his eyes.
"Contact them."
Lin Zhou's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unquestionable imperial will.
"I want this kindergarten to change its name within ten minutes."
"I want it, with the surname Lin."