Chapter 1564: You all asked for it
It"s noon.
However, no airport staff member dared to eat or take a lunch break. They all waited anxiously with their supervisor, listening to the reprimand.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
No one uttered a word, and the atmosphere was extremely awkward.
Secretary Xie smiled coldly and said, "Speak."
Xu Xianglin hurriedly said, "Secretary Xie, this was our mistake."
Deputy Chief Zhou said, "Yes, we didn"t investigate properly earlier, you"re right. We didn"t do a good job of investigating." His words had a double meaning; he referred to investigating the situation when the conflict occurred and the fact that Dong Xuebing was Secretary Xie"s husband.
"Secretary, I…" Zheng Fei also wanted to explain.
But Secretary Xie interrupted, "If you didn"t investigate properly, then investigate now."
"This…" Xu Xianglin hesitated, not knowing how to respond.
However, Zheng Fei understood the situation and, seeing this, gritted his teeth and took a low stance, saying, "There"s no need to investigate further, Secretary Xie. This whole thing is my fault. I wasn"t careful on the plane and accidentally b.u.mped into your husband"s luggage. My att.i.tude wasn"t good, so things escalated. Finally, I accidentally b.u.mped into Mr. Dong when I got off the plane. He pointed at me, and I even pushed his hand away. So, I was the one who initiated physical contact." Zheng Fei knew in his heart that even if they investigated, he would be relatively at fault. After all, he had provoked Dong Xuebing first. Moreover, there was no need for an investigation now that Secretary Xie was standing here; it would be meaningless.
Zheng Fei admitted his fault.
He had no choice but to admit it.
After all, the other party was the top leader.
Dong Xuebing thought to himself, "You changed your tune pretty quickly. You were just swearing that I wouldn"t leave today, but as soon as you saw my wife, you backed down."
Secretary Xie looked at Deputy Chief Zhou. "How do we handle this?"
Deputy Chief Zhou hesitated for a moment, glanced at Zheng Fei discreetly, and said, "Um, since Director Zheng was the one who initiated physical contact, our police station will have to take Director Zheng back for investigation for disrupting airport order. At least a fine of more than two hundred RMB or detention is required." After saying this, he looked politely at Dong Xuebing, and his att.i.tude turned from his previous indifference. "County Chief Dong, regarding compensation for the loss, this falls under a civil dispute and can be negotiated to a certain extent."
Dong Xuebing calmly said, "I just stated my demands earlier. Whether or not to compensate doesn"t matter. I just want an apology and my belongings returned to me."
Upon hearing this, Zheng Fei clenched his fists and had no choice but to comply. He pushed through the crowd and picked up the bag he had knocked away earlier. He gently patted off the dust on it, but seeing it wasn"t clean, he removed a napkin from his pocket and wiped it off. Finally, he handed it over to Dong Xuebing and said, "I"m sorry, Mr. Dong."
Dong Xuebing glanced at him. He took the luggage slowly but didn"t let him off verbally. "Your character is highly questionable. It was originally your fault, yet you didn"t relent but made things difficult in every way. You"re too full of yourself. You even yelled and laid hands on me. Let me tell you, I"m not afraid of anything, not even someone causing trouble for me. Because I do things with a clear conscience, unlike some people."
Xu Xianglin felt his face burning with embarra.s.sment.
Many airport staff couldn"t help but chuckle.
Zheng Fei could only listen, seething with hatred. The person he had just ignored had suddenly become the husband of the City party secretary. There was nothing Zheng Fei could do. He knew he had messed up this time and thoroughly knew it. Today, he finally understood the meaning of "never judge a book by its cover." Often, those who seemed mediocre on the surface were the ones with the most significant backgrounds. Because they operated in different circles, people like Zheng Fei, mid-level cadres, sometimes liked to be surrounded by dozens or even hundreds of people when inspecting, which was a way to show off and satisfy their vanity. But the higher-level leaders were often low-key. After going out, they preferred not to be recognized by anyone.
Listening to Dong Xuebing"s reprimand, Zheng Fei said, "Sorry, I got a bit emotional just now. It was also because of my bad mood earlier. I apologize."
Dong Xuebing glanced casually, waved his hand, and walked to his wife"s side with the bag.
Many people who knew Dong Xuebing felt that he was a particularly principled person, relentless and dominant. But those who knew him a little better would know that Dong Xuebing had a tolerant personality from a young age. In the past, when dealing with people, Dong Xuebing was tough and without scruples, but only when dealing with those who were unyielding or went too far. If it was a minor matter like today, and the other party apologized and backed down, Dong Xuebing didn"t intend to pursue it further. He considered himself tolerant and didn"t bother with Zheng Fei and the others. So Dong Xuebing thought of himself as a magnanimous person. He believed that the truly ruthless one was his wife, Xie Huilan. She might appear smiling on the surface, but when facing opponents, she would not hesitate to act.
One is externally cold but internally warm; the other is externally warm but internally cold.
Some say that couples need to complement each other. This seemed to be true for Dong Xuebing and Xie Huilan, but their personalities were drastically different.
Seeing that Dong Xuebing was leaving, Xu Xianglin looked at Xie Huilan and said, "Secretary Xie, what do you think?"
Everyone quieted down, waiting for Secretary Xie to speak. Whatever she decided would be final.
Xie Huilan smiled and said, "It"s settled."
Xu Xianglin quickly said, "Right, we must also apologize to your husband." He reacted quickly, immediately bowing to Dong Xuebing. "I"m sorry, Mr. Dong. Our airport"s mistake for not investigating clearly led to the wrong judgment and caused you trouble."
Deputy Chief Zhou also apologized, "I"m sorry." However, his sincerity seemed lacking due to his inability to lower his face.
Xie Huilan smiled, "As long as it"s settled. Can my husband and I leave now?"
Xu Xianglin couldn"t afford to offend her. "Of course, of course. Shall I arrange a car to send both of you?"
Xie Huilan came by car herself and didn"t even acknowledge him; she just glanced at Dong Xuebing. The two walked side by side out of the airport and got into an Audi.
In the car.
Dong Xuebing threw the bag onto the back seat, stretched lazily, and laughed, "I didn"t start well. Even a simple trip has been so b.u.mpy. I"m wondering, why do people always think they can bully me so easily? This isn"t the first time. Why does everyone want to swipe at me whenever they see me?"
Xie Huilan chuckled, "With your temper, you start cursing after just a few words. It"s strange if you don"t get into conflicts. You always blame others without introspection."
Dong Xuebing didn"t like to hear it. "But that Zheng Fei is infuriating. I"ve barely cursed at him lightly. I didn"t even break his bones to save your face. I feared that it wouldn"t look good if I started fighting on my first day here. It"s not that I care about myself, but I"m afraid people would gossip about you, saying how your husband is. Just be content. In other places, with this temper of mine, I wouldn"t be able to beat him to death."
Xie Huilan asked, "What"s the deal with the person in charge at the airport?"
Dong Xuebing chuckled, "It"s quite a coincidence. My family lived near the Beikou area of Ping An Street in Beijing. You know it, right? You"ve been there before. It"s that rundown neighborhood. I used to be neighbors with Xu Xianglin and his son Xu Dong. We lived upstairs and downstairs. Those preparing for the civil service exams had conflicts with Xu Dong. We had quite a few conflicts in the past. But I didn"t expect them to come to Xiaxing City this time. Xu Xianglin saw Zheng Fei and me having a dispute, and without hesitation, he came over to teach me a lesson, which led to this mess."
Xie Huilan started driving and glanced at the time. "Haha, I was just taking care of something earlier. I was wondering when the call came in, but it"s not surprising. If you ever stop causing trouble, then I"ll be surprised."
Dong Xuebing added, "Originally, I didn"t want to give them your number, but those guys are so hateful. I didn"t want to resort to violence, so I thought you could handle it. But I would"ve been fine if you didn"t want to come. I could handle such a small matter."
"What do you think we should do, my little hubby?"
"We"ve all apologized. Let"s see how he behaves."
"What about Xu Xianglin from the airport?"
"It doesn"t matter. I didn"t care much about them. They"ve suffered a loss this time, and I"ll probably back off in the future. I can"t be bothered to deal with them. It"s a waste of my time."
Xie Huilan shook her head slightly.
"What"s wrong?" Dong Xuebing asked.
"Listen to your sister"s advice, alright?" Xie Huilan said.
Dong Xuebing blinked. "What do you want to do?"
Xie Huilan looked ahead as she drove and said calmly, "I know you"ve calmed down. Your temper flares up quickly but also dissipates quickly. But everyone chooses their path. Since they"ve already chosen theirs, they must pay the price for their choices and take responsibility for their mistakes. There"s nothing to say about it. And I have just taken office, and my authority is insufficient. If we let it go now, others might not see us as generous or tolerant. They might think we"re weak and easy to bully. Are you weak, Dong Xuebing? No, unfortunately, I am not either. So this matter can"t be settled temporarily. My temper hasn"t fully flared up yet. They just happened to provoke it. Besides, my little hubby can only be troubled by me. If anyone else wants to mess with him, they must ask me, Xie Huilan, first."
Dong Xuebing was speechless. He found it quite amusing to think about Xu Xianglin and Deputy Chief Zhou calling the City party secretary and not knowing what to say. They brought it upon themselves. They deserved it.
Xie Huilan made a few calls from the car.