"I think the case is very clear now. You people are incredibly audacious, to dare to commit armed assault in broad daylight. This matter must be dealt with strictly!"

Then the officer turned toward Zhou Yingying, shedding his previously ferocious demeanor for a smile as he spoke.

"Zhou Yingying, you actually subdued so many suspects by yourself this time. That’s a significant accomplishment! Rest assured, I treat my subordinates very well, and I will certainly recommend you for commendation and celebrate upon our return."

The officer had indeed noticed that Wang Hao was there to stand up for Zhou Yingying, and naturally, he no longer dared to shout at her.

"Young Master Wang Hao, do you think my handling of this is acceptable?"

After doing all this, the officer approached Wang Hao, anxious about whether any aspect of his conduct had failed to satisfy Wang Hao.

"Acceptable!"

Wang Hao casually agreed.

In fact, Wang Hao was aware that the whole of Zao City was now practically divided among the three big families, Cheng Yin, and himself, creating five factions unless directed by Elder Wei.

Otherwise, none of the factions dared to openly offend another.

It wasn’t so much that the officer was ingratiating himself, but that he was just a small policeman who still needed to survive, managing amongst several major powers, which was not easy.

Even though among the five factions, Wang Hao was the newest and youngest, he had previously defeated the Wu family and the Yi family, and just yesterday, he emerged victorious over Cheng Yin at the auction.

So, now nobody in Zao City dared to underestimate Wang Hao.

The most important point was that Wang Hao had the Sun family brothers as a strong backup. It could be said that he was having a smooth ride in both the underworld and the legitimate world, and if it came down to a fight, it was uncertain who would win or lose among these five factions.

"Wang Hao, thank you so much for just now!"

After the officer took Wu Jianzhong and his subordinates to the police car, Zhou Yingying approached Wang Hao to express her gratitude.

"Silly girl, why be so formal with me? I blame myself for not protecting you well and causing you to suffer such an injustice. I’m truly sorry!"

Wang Hao gently touched Zhou Yingying’s face, her pallor and exhaustion stirring his sympathy.

"I should go back with them now. I’ll call you after I’ve finished my work."

The two hadn’t seen each other for a long time, and Zhou Yingying was somewhat reluctant to part so soon after their reunion.

"Go ahead!"

Wang Hao smiled and waved his hand.

After Zhou Yingying left, Wang Hao returned to the Wen family with Shen Bo. Having heard Shen Bo’s words earlier, it seemed he was acquainted with Zhou Yingying, and Wang Hao wanted to inquire about Zhou Yingying’s past from Shen Bo.

"Shen Bo, you seem to know a lot about Zhou Yingying!"

Since Shen Bo was from the Wen Family, asking directly seemed improper, so Wang Hao tried to approach the subject obliquely.

But Shen Bo, having been through the wringer for many years, saw through Wang Hao’s intentions at a glance.

"You’re curious about the relationship between Zhou Yingying and the Wu family, aren’t you?"

Shen Bo laughed and said.

"It’s nothing really. Wu Yangming had a son and a daughter. The son is Wu Jianzhong’s father, who has always been managing the family business. But it seems the daughter is no more."

"It’s said she died from an illness, but the specifics of the illness are unknown to everyone, and it’s suspected there’s something fishy about it."

"Zhou Yingying is her daughter, borne of a relationship with a man outside their family. Because that man was irresponsible, the specifics are not very clear to outsiders like us."

"Later, when Zhou Yingying was six, their family returned to the Wu family. Old Master Wu was very helpless, but she was, after all, his daughter. However, for some unknown reason shortly afterward, her mother died of illness."

"At that time, Wu Yangming was deeply grieved and took a long time off from managing the family business. During this time, her father and she were driven out, and not long after, her father also died."

Could there be such a coincidence?

Wang Hao couldn’t help but frown, feeling that there must be something fishy about the whole situation. Otherwise, why would Zhou Yingying’s father have an accident right after her mother passed away?

"Didn’t Wu Yangming investigate the cause afterwards?" Wang Hao asked, puzzled.

"We’re not sure if he conducted an investigation, but based on what I know about Wu Yangming, he definitely wouldn’t have sat by and let someone bully his family members cluelessly."

"It’s possible that he discovered the reason, but the Wu Family chose not to disclose it!" Shen Bo speculated.

"Then why didn’t Zhou Yingying continue to live with the Wu Family later on? At that time, Zhou Yingying was still quite young and surely needed someone to take care of her." Wang Hao was still quite puzzled; with Zhou Yingying being so young at the time, she certainly wouldn’t have survived without someone to look after her.

"Oh, later on, it seemed that a woman surnamed Dong took in Zhou Yingying. She’s apparently been transferred to be the head of some township now, and Zhou Yingying has always called her ’Aunt Dong.’"

Shen Bo shared everything he knew about Zhou Yingying.

Only then did Wang Hao come to a sudden realization; the new director Dong in Niwotan was Zhou Yingying’s adopted mother, which explained why they had such a good private relationship.

On the other hand, upon reflection, he felt that Zhou Yingying’s life had been quite rough, and Wu Yangming had been quite heartless as well.

After all, Zhou Yingying was his own granddaughter, the flesh and blood of his daughter. How could he have the heart to just watch his own granddaughter starve and freeze outside?

The common saying goes that the elderly often feel more affectionate towards their grandchildren, showering the younger generation with love. Yet, Wu Yangming’s actions left Wang Hao stunned.

Since the Wu Family treated Zhou Yingying in such a way, Wang Hao secretly resolved to guard her from then on.

"How about it? Was Wu Jianzhong dealt with?"

As soon as Wang Hao returned home, Wen Xiaowei couldn’t wait to ask. She didn’t bother to ask if Wang Hao was hurt but immediately wanted to know if he had dealt with Wu Jianzhong.

Because Wen Xiaowei knew clearly that Wu Jianzhong, along with the few men he brought, was simply no match for Wang Hao.

Wang Hao couldn’t help but smile bitterly to himself, thinking, ’Is this my martial arts girlfriend? Why doesn’t she care about me at all?’

"Haha, that Wu Jianzhong was beaten black and blue already, and he even wet his pants out of fear!" Shen Bo answered for Wang Hao, but he purposely omitted mentioning Zhou Yingying crying in Wang Hao’s arms.

Wang Hao was very grateful to Shen Bo for this. After all, Wen Xiaowei was the young miss of the Wen Family. If she knew about the many women Wang Hao had outside, who knew what she might do, especially given her martial arts proficiency.

"What a shame, I knew I shouldn’t have left. I missed such a great show. To witness Wu Jianzhong getting beaten so badly he’d be searching for his teeth would have been quite a treat to the eye." Wen Xiaowei expressed her regret, as if she had missed a major event in life.

Meanwhile, Wang Hao was secretly relieved Wen Xiaowei hadn’t stayed there, because if the two women had met, no one knew what kind of drama would have unfolded.

"Wang Hao, hurry up and come have breakfast. Afterwards, you can accompany me to the warm-up match before the preliminary competition," said Wen Xiaowei, obviously very excited, as she placed Wang Hao’s breakfast in front of him.

"There’s a warm-up match?" Wang Hao was confused as well. This wasn’t a regular ball game; it was a genuine martial arts competition. What if someone got injured during the warm-up, how would they compete in the actual competition? What was the organizer thinking?

Seeing Wang Hao’s bewildered expression, Wen Xiaowei quickly explained.

"It’s not hosted by the organizers but organized privately by us competitors. It’s just for sparring and stopping at the first touch."

"Aren’t you the one who wants to assess the strength of those competitors? This is a perfect opportunity. You can go and check it out for me."

Now that Wang Hao understood the situation, it seemed to be a friendly match held privately by the competitors to gauge each other’s skills. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

After breakfast, Wang Hao and Wen Xiaowei drove to the sports venue...