Chapter Forty-Nine: Burning with Jealousy

Today, there will be two chapters, so let the laughter continue! Thank you for your bookmarks, recommendations, and comments. If you can point out any shortcomings, I would be extremely grateful.

A sharp knock sounded at the door. "Ye Dong, Xiao Bao, Da Chun! Get out here!"

Ye Dong opened the door, his eyes half-closed with sleep. "Who is it?"

A hand shoved him hard in the chest. "Stop pretending!"

Cursed at, Ye Dong finally opened his eyes fully, looking at them in surprise. "What happened to you all? Your clothes are all torn, even your underwear is showing! My god, why do you all stink so much?"

The commotion outside woke up Xiao Bao and Da Chun, who lazily climbed out of bed. "Instructor He, you brought so many people—are we doing extra drills tonight?"

Instructor He replied coldly, "Your acting is top-notch, isn't it? Did you all graduate from the School of Faking Accidents? Be honest—was it you lot playing tricks on us?"

Ye Dong scratched the back of his head and glanced at Xiao Bao and Da Chun, who were equally baffled. He turned and retorted, "Instructor He, what on earth are you talking about? What do you mean, we played a trick on you?"

Xiao Yang cursed under his breath, "Give it a rest, stop pretending! Who else but you would hold a grudge against us?"

Ye Dong looked at Xiao Yang and saw his face covered with scratches. His clothes, except for the front, were in tatters, barely hanging on in shreds.

Ye Dong gasped, "Brother Yang, what happened to you!? And the rest of you—my god! Did you all get mauled by dogs or something!?"

"Enough already!" Xiao Wang couldn't help but curse as well. "You three are really good at acting! Just wait, we'll meet again!"

Before Ye Dong could protest further, Instructor He and the others stormed off in anger.

Ye Dong quietly closed the door, then leaped up, striking a pose with one hand on his waist and the other pointing at the ceiling. "Let's shake together! Shake together, hey!"

He sang as he twisted his waist and winked at Xiao Bao and Da Chun. "N!"

Instantly, Xiao Bao and Da Chun became soul dancers, swaying over to Ye Dong. "Brother Dong, your acting is incredible!"

Ye Dong grinned widely. "But it only worked because you two played along! They never would have guessed we even snipped the surveillance cameras. They were fuming, but had no evidence against us—so satisfying!"

"Boss, you really have to stand up for us now!" Xiao Yang complained to Xiao Wang, pushing him. "We're adults, but we got humiliated by a pack of dogs! If word gets out, it'll be so embarrassing. The elite of the police force, brought low by a bunch of mutts—how do we show our faces?"

Xiao Wang nodded furiously. "Boss, Ye Dong's prank was flawless—even the cameras were taken out and we don’t even know when! We can't even curse him properly. You have to do something!"

Officer Li tapped the ash from his cigarette. "Ye Dong hasn't been here long, but he's already daring enough to take revenge. He's got guts. His plan was even more ruthless and thorough than I'd imagined—he really deserves a second look."

Xiao Yang poked his head in. "Boss, you knew he’d take revenge?"

Officer Li chuckled. "Ye Dong and his friends always repay kindness, but they never forget a grudge either. You thought I wasn’t sleeping in the dorm tonight because I had business at the station? Don’t be naïve."

Xiao Yang and Xiao Wang exchanged helpless looks. "Boss, that’s not very brotherly of you. You could have warned us—now Ye Dong’s ruined our reputation."

Officer Li patted their shoulders. "It's good for young people to suffer some setbacks. Now you’ve really seen what Ye Dong’s capable of, right? His planning is meticulous, his methods ruthless, and his acting top-notch. He’s an ideal undercover candidate."

...

On the training grounds, Officer Li chose to personally supervise Ye Dong and his friends' training to appease his subordinates.

"Ye Dong, your show last night caused quite a stir. Impressive." He glanced at Xiao Bao and Da Chun. "You two were great wingmen as well."

Xiao Bao was about to downplay his role, but Ye Dong jumped in first. "Officer Li, what are you talking about? What show, what assistance?"

Officer Li gave a cold smile. "Good, good—your guard hasn’t dropped at all."

He turned to Instructor He. "Let’s release the dogs earlier today. No need to wait until they’ve run a hundred meters. After several days of training, they should have made some progress!"

Instructor He and the other instructors who had been pranked were all eager for payback. They gleefully smeared Ye Dong and his friends’ clothes with secretions, waiting with anticipation for their revenge to unfold.

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

A mob of aggressive dogs was released!

Officer Li gestured grandly at the training ground a dozen meters away. "Gentlemen, the stage is yours!"

Ye Dong, Xiao Bao, and Da Chun exchanged a glance, then suddenly, with a burst of energy, they hoisted the completely unprepared Officer Li high above their heads and charged into the dog yard!

As they ran, Ye Dong laughed. "Officer Li, I was so afraid you wouldn’t supervise in person today! But you showed up, just as I predicted! Sorry about this!"

Officer Li, held aloft by the three, was shocked and struggled frantically. "Are you rebelling!? Even me, you’re plotting against? What are you three doing? Put me down immediately! That’s an order!"

Ye Dong sneered. "You’re so clever—if we didn’t target you, how could we get our revenge? Besides, ordinary tricks would never fool you! You’re not my master, and I’m not a cop, so why should I take your orders? You let my brothers get humiliated by dogs—I don’t care who you are, you’d better brace yourself!"

Neither Xiao Yang, Xiao Wang, nor the others expected Ye Dong and his friends to be so bold as to target Officer Li. "Ye Dong, are you crazy!? Put the boss down!"

They chased after them, shouting, but were a step too slow. They could only watch as Officer Li was carried into the dog yard.

The three dumped Officer Li onto the ground. "Officer Li, now you’re covered in that stuff too. Let’s see who runs faster—you or us!"

Without another word, they dashed off.

The frenzied dogs immediately caught the scent in the air.

"Woof! Woof woof!"

Officer Li’s eyes bulged. He scrambled to his feet and sprinted away. "You three little brats! You’re dead! You hear me!?"

Xiao Bao laughed uproariously. "Ye Dong, you must have guts of steel!"

Ye Dong crowed triumphantly, "I’m brave, but you two aren’t much less so!"

Da Chun was laughing as well. "Who would have thought Officer Li could run that fast!"

Officer Li chased after them, cursing. "You three are finished! Finished!"

Ye Dong and his friends only laughed harder at his tirade, leaping over obstacles and easily leaving Officer Li twenty meters behind.

But Officer Li was a seasoned veteran, staying cool under pressure. He pressed himself against the high wall and shouted to Instructor He, "Lower the wall!"

Instructor He hit the button, and the wall dropped. "Boss, climb up!"

Gritting his teeth, Officer Li hauled himself up just in time, before the dog pack reached him. He sat atop the wall, sweating as the dogs circled below, barking madly. "Damn, that was close!"

He caught his breath and looked over at Ye Dong and his friends. "That boy Ye Dong always seems so quiet, but once he’s provoked, he’s wild—really wild!"

He pulled out his phone and sent a WeChat message to Chen Yao: "Brother Chen, your three disciples have gone rogue. Come and rein them in."

Chen Yao replied: "I’ll be there in half an hour."

...

Ye Dong and the others had their fun, but in the end, Officer Li still tied them up. He sat silently, smoking and staring into the distance, his face more serious than ever. Even Xiao Yang and Xiao Wang were unnerved. "We’re in trouble—looks like Ye Dong’s pushed him too far this time!"

Ye Dong realized things had gotten out of hand. "Making the deputy chief of the city police lose face in front of so many subordinates—this is bad. I wonder how Master will punish me!"

With a dark expression, Officer Li exhaled smoke slowly, then squeezed out four words: "Don’t let it happen again."

He stubbed out his cigarette with his fingers and walked away without another word.

Seeing Officer Li genuinely angry, Ye Dong turned to Wang Huiyan, whose eyes looked murderous. He couldn’t help but swallow hard. "How could I forget he’s Huiyan’s master!"

Huiyan strode over, face cold, and threw out a frosty sentence: "Do you know why Master is so angry? Because the mastermind behind the dog chase prank wasn’t him—it was your own master, Daoist Chen Yao!"