That night, after confirming that Camel was indeed driving under the influence, the young men in the Iveco paid no attention to anything else and immediately took out their phones to call the police.
At that time, the prevalence of national surveillance cameras was not yet widespread.
Even if the young men had hit us while driving, as long as we stuck to the fact that Camel was driving under the influence, we could have absolved ourselves completely.
If we didn't want them to call the police, it was also very simple: we could have settled it privately with them.
But Camel did not compromise, and neither did I.
I knew these people's backgrounds very well. If we had compromised and settled privately, we would have definitely been extorted for a significant amount of money.
Moreover, at that time, drunk driving was only an administrative penalty.
Minor offenses would result in a fine, while more serious ones would lead to a driver's license suspension and a fine.
Normally, if one's driver's license was suspended, they would have to re-enroll in driving school and retake the tests. However, for those in the Jianghu, there were always ways to sort things out.
Therefore, when the socially problematic youths with ulterior motives threatened to call the police, I chose to ignore them.
Seeing that both Camel and I remained unmoved, the leader of the young men knew we wouldn't compromise. Gritting his teeth, he directly dialed the police.
I swear to God, if I had known at that moment that administrative penalties, while not resulting in a criminal record, would still leave a record of administrative punishment…
I would have definitely backed down and compromised with the socially problematic youths in front of me.
Before long, the police car arrived.
The two traffic police officers did not appear to be very old, but their division of labor was clear.
One was responsible for examining the scene, and the other was responsible for questioning the parties involved.
In cases of rear-end collisions like this, the parties involved usually have conflicting accounts.
The socially problematic youths focused their accusations on Camel, insisting on the dangers of driving under the influence, while Camel calmly recounted the facts of the collision and being rear-ended.
Faced with this situation, the two traffic police officers actually had a pretty good idea of what was going on.
If Camel had not been driving under the influence, the Iveco would have been entirely at fault.
But now, with both sides arguing and refusing to back down, the final judgment could only be made after the breathalyzer test was completed…
Traffic Police Detachment.
After both groups of us completed the breathalyzer tests, the traffic police's verdict followed…
For a traffic accident like this, if one party was driving under the influence, regardless of who was at fault, the traffic police had a principle when making their judgment.
That is, they needed to handle the accident legally and in compliance with regulations, while also helping the involved parties avoid unnecessary financial losses.
To put it simply.
The fact that the socially problematic youths hit our car while driving is beyond doubt; the collision marks at the scene could prove it.
As long as this responsibility was clearly established, according to traffic law, the fault determination had nothing to do with whether our side was driving under the influence.
Because these were two completely separate matters.
Of course, if Camel's test result had indicated drunk driving, it would have been a different story.
According to the traffic police's judgment, all losses of our vehicles, personnel, and property were to be borne entirely by the party at fault for the rear-end collision.
As for the matter of our driver driving under the influence, that was a separate penalty.
As I had predicted, the breathalyzer test results did not reach the standard for drunk driving, so it was only a fine, not a license suspension.
I had to admit that this judgment demonstrated the fairness and justice of the law.
Was it really that easy to exploit loopholes in the law?
Although I didn't know how many people those socially problematic youths had extorted using this method before they encountered me, one thing was very clear to me.
Their success rate must have been quite high.
This was likely due to the owners of luxury cars being unwilling to haggle over minor details, or perhaps when confronting the socially problematic youths, they were in a vulnerable, isolated position.
Perhaps out of cowardice, fear, or a desire to avoid complications, these socially problematic youths had repeatedly succeeded, exploiting these loopholes.
But they must have had their failures too. As long as they encountered knowledgeable elites or tough Jianghu characters, they would certainly not get away with it easily!
Of course, they would also be caught if they encountered traffic police.
While ordinary people might not understand the scam of "fendering" luxury cars, traffic police are almost always fully aware of it.
………………
Given our cooperative attitude and willingness to accept the penalties, our side left the traffic police detachment first.
As I left the traffic police detachment, I still felt quite fortunate, fortunate that I hadn't let Camel compromise with those wayward socially problematic youths, thinking that paying a fine would resolve the matter.
What I didn't know was that this administrative penalty would sow the seeds of future trouble…
When I returned to the residence, it was already past two in the morning. Cheng Minglang and Zhu Wenjing had not yet rested; they were both neatly dressed and sitting solemnly on the living room sofa.
"What happened, Brother Xiang? Why didn't you answer your phone earlier?" Cheng Minglang asked impatiently as soon as he saw me enter.
"Nothing! I got into a car accident on the road and was dealing with things at the traffic police detachment, so it was inconvenient to answer the phone," I replied with a slight smile.
I understood Cheng Minglang's feelings at that moment. To put his mind at ease, I forced a smile.
Ever since Han Jinlun's accident, I hadn't smiled.
"Hoo…" Cheng Minglang sighed after exhaling, "It's good that you're okay, it's good that you're okay."
Hearing this, I looked at Cheng Minglang and Zhu Wenjing and said, "It's getting late, you two should go back to your rooms and rest."
After saying that, I walked towards the west-side bedroom.
The apartment Camel rented was a two-bedroom, one-living room unit. The original two bedrooms were occupied by him and Xiaolong, but since I brought people over, these two bedrooms had been reallocated.
One was for Cheng Minglang and Zhu Wenjing to share, and the other was for me, Camel, and Xiaolong to share.
This situation would continue for some time until Xiao Tianci's matter was completely resolved.
After getting into bed, I tossed and turned all night, vaguely unsure if I had slept at all or how long I had slept.
When I opened my eyes and woke up, it was already dark.
The schedules of people in the Jianghu are the opposite of ordinary people; they basically live a life of reversed day and night, being active at night and sleeping during the day.
Not long after I woke up, I received a call from Yu Shuang.
Previously, due to the circumstances, I had chosen to seek help from Yu Shuang, but in non-essential times, I would not call her.
And it was the same for her.
So I knew very well that if she was calling me, it must be for a reason.
After the call was connected and a brief greeting…
"Chen Xiang, have you had dinner yet?"
"No, why? Is something wrong?"
"There is indeed something. Why don't you come over to my place, and we can chat while we eat."
"Alright! Tell me the address, and I'll be right there!"