Huang Chengcai burst into laughter upon hearing this. "I told you, I'm the highest-ranking official here. Who else do you want to see?"
The others also scoffed.
In their eyes, Ling Feng's words were a joke.
They all looked at Ling Feng as if he were an idiot, especially the security guards, whose expressions were incredibly amusing. They even felt ashamed for being intimidated by Ling Feng's gaze just moments ago.
Ling Feng ignored them and instead crouched down, casually playing with Xiao Ran.
"Alright, I'll give you fifteen minutes, so you can be completely disheartened then."
Huang Yuan said with forced bravado. It wasn't that he didn't want to deal with Ling Feng immediately, but the security guards were too cowardly to step forward, leaving him with no options.
Peng Lin approached Huang Chengcai and whispered, "Director, should we call the police?"
"No rush, he's not going anywhere," Huang Chengcai said coldly.
While he appeared to have everything under control, he was actually being cautious. He feared that if Ling Feng had some special background, calling the police immediately would cause trouble later.
Although the possibility was zero, he didn't mind waiting an extra ten minutes.
He wasn't completely brainless to have become the director.
On the contrary, he was quite shrewd.
The fifteen minutes passed quickly.
However, not a soul appeared at the kindergarten entrance.
Huang Chengcai immediately dismissed his slight apprehension, thinking he had been overly cautious. How could someone from Ling Xiao Ran's family know any important figures? He had wasted so much time for nothing.
Ling Feng, standing nearby, also frowned slightly, realizing that some people were no longer fit for their positions.
"Fifteen minutes are up. Your so-called highest-ranking official, how..." Before Huang Chengcai could finish his sarcastic remark, a sharp screech of brakes echoed from the kindergarten entrance.
Immediately, a commercial van stopped at the entrance.
The door opened, and a slightly overweight, expensively dressed middle-aged man hurried over. He ran the short distance of ten meters, breaking into a sweat.
"Chairman, why are you here?"
Huang Chengcai immediately greeted him with a fawning smile, completely disregarding Ling Feng and Ling Xiao Ran.
However, his enthusiasm was met with a cold shoulder. Zhang Tianhe merely glanced at him coldly and asked with a hint of urgency, "Where is Mr. Ling?"
"Mr.... Mr. Ling? Which Mr. Ling?"
Huang Chengcai felt a sense of unease but didn't immediately connect it to Ling Feng.
After all, someone who could command such attention from the chairman must be no ordinary person. Ling Feng, dressed as he was, clearly couldn't be the person Zhang Tianhe was looking for.
Just as Zhang Tianhe was about to respond, another screech of brakes sounded from the entrance.
But upon seeing the people alighting from the car, they were all startled and quickly greeted them with smiles.
"Heh heh, Director Han, why are you here?" Zhang Tianhe said ingratiatingly, his stern expression vanishing instantly as if by magic, replaced by a brilliant smile.
He had no choice but to be obsequious, for the newcomer was none other than the Director of the Hanjiang Education Bureau, Han Zhizhou!
With a single word from him, he could shut down their kindergarten, or rather, all the kindergartens under their entire group.
Behind Han Zhizhou were seven or eight other people, all appearing to be from the education bureau.
Such a grand display made Zhang Tianhe’s heart pound.
Han Zhizhou snorted and said, "With such a major incident, how could I not come?"
"Major incident?" Huang Chengcai was taken aback, racking his brain but failing to understand what major incident had occurred.
So, he braced himself and asked, "Director Han, may I ask what major incident you are referring to?"
"Hmph, I don't have time to explain these things to you right now. Quickly tell me, where is Mr. Ling?" Han Zhizhou said coldly.
Another "Mr. Ling"?
Huang Chengcai's heart sank, and he finally realized the seriousness of the situation.
Could they really be looking for that Ling Feng?
The thought of this possibility made his scalp tingle, and cold sweat broke out instantly.
If that were the case, he was doomed.
However, he still couldn't bring himself to believe that Ling Feng was an important figure. Holding onto a sliver of hope, he asked, "May I ask, Director Han, is the Mr. Ling you're referring to named Ling Feng?"
During the waiting period, he had learned Ling Feng's name.
"What Ling Feng, Ling Yu, I don't know them!" Director Han said absentmindedly, looking around.
Upon hearing this, Huang Chengcai breathed a sigh of relief. Ah, it seemed he had been overthinking things. How could a phoenix emerge from a straw nest?
But before he could fully exhale, he gasped for air again.
"I remember, that Mr. Ling has a niece named Ling Xiao Ran, who was treated unfairly at your kindergarten. Is that true?" Han Zhizhou asked with a dark expression and unprecedented seriousness.
When Huang Chengcai heard this, he was completely stunned, his face turning ashen.
"This... this..."
Huang Chengcai stammered, unsure how to respond.
Seeing Huang Chengcai's reaction, Zhang Tianhe knew the matter was almost certainly true. He immediately said sternly, "You, Huang Chengcai, how have I taught you? Regardless of who it is, everyone must be treated equally. Have you been ignoring my words?"
"Chairman, I..."
Huang Chengcai's face turned green with fear. He never imagined things would escalate to this point.
Even the Director of the Education Bureau, Director Han, had been alerted. What was he to do?
If he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have dared to show any disrespect to Ling Feng, even if it meant death!
Peng Lin, standing nearby, was also terrified, her whole body trembling uncontrollably.
"What 'I'? Speak up, where is Mr. Ling?" Zhang Tianhe said impatiently.
Huang Chengcai then looked at Ling Feng with a terrified gaze and said tremblingly, "Ov... over there."
As he uttered these words, it was as if all his strength had been drained, and he slumped to the ground.
Han Zhizhou's eyes lit up when he saw Ling Feng standing tall like a pine tree. He strode forward.
He took three quick steps to reach Ling Feng, a genial smile on his face, and said with a hint of deference, "Mr. Ling, I apologize. There was traffic on the road, so I'm a little late. Please forgive me."
The kindergarten staff stared with wide eyes, as if they had seen a ghost.
That was the esteemed Director of the Education Bureau, and he was being so respectful to Ling Feng. It was utterly unbelievable.
Who exactly was he?
However, what surprised everyone even more was that despite Han Zhizhou's politeness, Ling Feng showed no deference whatsoever.
He slowly raised his hand, checked the time, and then said indifferently, "You're three minutes late!"