After Dinh Truong Sinh followed Khau Dai Bang into the office, the latter immediately picked up the phone and called Police Chief Hoac Lu Mau.
“Dinh Truong Sinh, listen carefully. Keep your damn mouth shut. If I find out you’ve been running it, you better watch your mangy little life!”
“Uncle Khau, don’t worry. My lips are sealed—won’t let a peep out. But if someone hears it from somewhere else, you can’t blame me for that,” Dinh Truong Sinh replied with a cheeky grin.
“If you don’t talk, no one will ever find out…” Khau Dai Bang growled through gritted teeth.
Just then, a man in a police uniform walked into the room.
“Chairman, you called for me? Wait—Dinh Truong Sinh? What are you doing here?” the man asked, clearly surprised.
“You two know each other?” A sense of unease crept into Khau Dai Bang’s heart.
“This punk’s a petty thug from Bang Duc Village. Always stealing chickens and dogs—I’ve arrested him more than once.”
“Alright, that’s enough, Lu Mau. Let bygones be bygones. I called you here today because of him.” Khau Dai Bang’s face flushed slightly as Dinh Truong Sinh’s less-than-stellar record came to light.
Half an hour later, Dinh Truong Sinh followed Hoac Lu Mau to the local police substation. Seeing the excited look on Dinh Truong Sinh’s face, Hoac couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Alright, kid, spill it. What’s your connection to Khau Dai Bang?” Hoac asked in a cold tone.
“Didn’t he just say it earlier? Chairman Khau’s wife is my cousin-aunt. That’s all. Simple. You saw it yourself—I called him Uncle, didn’t I?” Dinh Truong Sinh replied with such a straight face, Hoac Lu Mau started to second-guess himself.
“Hmph. You’d better behave from now on. Don’t go around flaunting your police badge causing trouble. If you do, I’ll skin you alive—family ties or not!”
“Yes sir, of course sir! I’m your man now. Wherever you point, I’ll charge!” Dinh said with a grin.
“Hah! You throw on a uniform and you’re still a damn hooligan.”
“No way! I seriously want to turn over a new leaf. Just watch me, you’ll see!”
Dinh even raised a hand like he was swearing an oath.
In truth, the so-called “security team member” was nothing more than a short-term contract worker at the substation. Mostly there to handle the dirty work that official officers couldn’t be seen doing. If anything went wrong, they’d just blame the temp and fire him—problem solved. But Dinh Truong Sinh had no clue. He really thought he’d landed a legit, stable job with decent pay and a future.
“Truong Cuong, get over here!” As they walked inside, Hoac Lu Mau called out to a uniformed man.
“Yeah, Chief Hoac? What’s up?”
“This guy’s our new recruit—Dinh Nhi Cau… no, wait, Dinh Truong Sinh. Get him a uniform. From now on, he’s one of us. Look after him.”
“Got it. Come on, Dinh Nhi Cau!”
Dinh Truong Sinh had been arrested so many times for petty theft that nearly everyone at the substation—cops and temp guards alike—already knew him.
"My name's Dinh Truong Sinh."
"Got it, Dinh the Second Mutt," Truong Cuong smirked, throwing an arm around his shoulder and leading him to the back courtyard.
Honestly, the guy didn’t have much of a choice—his past reputation was so rotten no one could remember his real name anymore. As for the nickname "Second Mutt"? That came from a childhood discovery by the village kids: the boy was unusually gifted in a certain department. Bigger than two dogs put together, or so the rumor went. The name stuck like gum on a shoe.
"Morning, sis-in-law!" Dinh Truong Sinh called out while strolling with Truong Cuong. A woman was walking toward them. One look and—boom—it was her. The woman from last night: Dien Ngac Nhu. Her eyes met his, and instantly, a flush crept up her cheeks. Flashbacks clearly hitting her harder than a hangover.
"Morning to you, and… this is?" she asked, doing her best to sound casual.
"Oh, sis-in-law, this here’s our newest team member—goes by Dinh Truong Sinh."
“I’m Dinh Truong Sinh. Nice to meet you, sis-in-law!” he chimed in, parroting Truong Cuong with a straight face.
“Nice to meet you. Take care now.” And with that, she turned and walked off, swaying with every step like she was doing a slow-mo scene in a drama.
Dinh Truong Sinh stood there, feet glued to the ground, eyes trailing her silhouette as images from the previous night played in glorious HD inside his brain.
“What are you staring at, punk? Wanna get skinned alive by Hoac?” Truong Cuong snapped, smacking the back of his head.
“Bro Cuong… who is she exactly?”
“You serious? That’s Hoac’s wife! You better wipe that look off your face, or you’re done. That guy’s crazy jealous. There was this one guy who kept buzzing around her like a fly—got canned faster than instant noodles.”
“What?! She’s Hoac’s wife?” Dinh Truong Sinh's jaw dropped. No wonder! So that’s why the guy kept giving off those weird vibes. Holy hell—if he ever finds out what happened last night, somebody’s gonna die for sure! And the guy’s got a gun! Dinh could almost feel his neck turtling inward from sheer fear. If word got out, who’d believe he didn’t spill the beans?