Li Zhenliang never expected that a rookie fresh out of Police School could have such formidable interrogation skills.
Especially that shout when she slapped the table— even he felt his heart suddenly race.
Li Zhenliang had been working at the Jinwu Road Police Station for ten years, dealing with civil disputes day in and day out— things like marital quarrels, brothers falling out, neighbors bickering. These trivial matters had gradually worn down his sharp edges.
Jiang Ling was different. When facing the Qian family, she was full of vigor and tough in her attitude. Seeing Qian Darong finally quiet down, Li Zhenliang couldn’t help but reflect on whether his own way of handling things had been too gentle, inadvertently encouraging bad behavior.
Thinking this, Li Zhenliang put down his pen and said to Jiang Ling, “I’ll go get the two previous mediation statements. Let them reflect on why Qian Darong keeps repeating his mistakes!”
Jiang Ling nodded. “Alright.”
She had an excellent memory— any case file she’d read carefully would be etched firmly in her mind, so she didn’t actually need the physical documents. But since Li Zhenliang suggested it, it showed he was taking initiative in this case, and that deserved recognition.
Li Zhenliang walked out of the interrogation room and, standing in the corridor, suddenly let out a laugh. What was wrong with him? Facing a rookie, he was actually feeling a strange urge to follow her lead. But he quickly shook his head, jogged off to retrieve the case records, and handed them to Jiang Ling.
Jiang Ling placed the two mediation statements on the table and rapped her index finger heavily on the paper. “Take a good look at these!”
It was still hot in September, and the interrogation room was stuffy and airless. Qian Jianshe’s back and forehead began to sweat.
He raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his brow. “Yes, yes, we’ll definitely educate Darong properly when we get home. Nip evil in the bud, and never let him make the same mistake again.” Just moments ago, he’d been lecturing Jiang Ling about “nipping evil in the bud,” but he hadn’t expected it to come back on himself so quickly.
Jiang Ling continued coldly, “Liang Jiushan called the police three times, each time the injuries were worse. This is your idea of education?”
A light appeared in Liang Qiqiao’s eyes. She knew Officer Jiang was helping her and her brother.
She’d been present for the previous two mediations. In her view, you couldn’t confront the Qian family head-on, couldn’t offend them. Endure for now, wait until she got into university and Jiushan went to Yan Cheng No.1 High School as a boarder, then they could escape the Qian family’s control.
Liang Qiqiao knew the comrades at the police station were good people. When her parents died, Director Yao had brought a collective donation, and every year the community police would visit to offer their condolences. She never wanted to trouble them.
But her forbearance hadn’t brought peace.
Now, Officer Jiang was coming out strong, openly defending her and her brother, and Liang Qiqiao felt a surge of emotion she couldn’t describe.
There really are more good people than bad in this world.
Seeing Jiang Ling stand up for her, Liang Qiqiao finally found a bit of courage and said softly, “Qian Darong promised he wouldn’t bully my brother, but he didn’t keep his word. He… he also harasses me all the time.”
In the past, Liang Qiqiao could never bring herself to say this, but today was different. She had to speak out. She couldn’t let her brother threaten the Qian family with violence, and she couldn’t let Officer Jiang fight alone.
Liang Jiushan immediately echoed, “That’s right! Qian Darong is shameless. He said right in front of me that he’d pin my sister to the bed…” His face turned pale with shame and anger, and his voice trembled so badly it was hardly recognizable.
Qian Jianshe looked at his son in disbelief. “You… you actually said that?” Only fifteen and already thinking about women?
Zhao Yanhong shielded her son behind her. “Old Qian, what are you talking about? Darong’s still a child, he was just fooling around.”
Qian Darong hadn’t expected the Liang siblings to bring this up in public. His eyes darted around as he tried to defend himself. “Yeah, I… I was just joking around.”
Jiang Ling narrowed her eyes, sizing up the burly Qian Darong before turning to Zhao Yanhong. “Looks like the one who matured early is Qian Darong. As parents, you need to guide him properly, or he’ll stray onto the wrong path in the future.”
Zhao Yanhong’s face twitched, cursing Jiang Ling inwardly. Damn! Earlier, she’d mocked Liang Qiqiao for developing early, for her big chest and wide hips, but Jiang Ling, that petty thing, remembered it all and was now taking the chance to mock her in return. How annoying.
Qian Jianshe couldn’t stand it anymore. He shot to his feet, dragged his son over, and smacked him on the backside twice. “So young and already learning to tease girls? I’ll beat you to death!”
Qian Darong yelped as he dodged, butt stinging. “Dad, why are you hitting me? I didn’t tease anyone! I didn’t! Don’t believe them… Mom, Mom!”
Hearing her son call out, Zhao Yanhong’s heart ached. She hurried forward to pull Qian Jianshe away. “Old Qian, Darong’s still a child. Why are you hitting him? This is the police station. If you have something to say, wait till we get home.”
Qian Jianshe hardly ever exercised and was overweight. After a bit of exertion, he was already panting. He braced his waist with one hand, gasping, and pointed at Zhao Yanhong with the other. “A doting mother spoils the son! If you keep coddling him like this, you’ll raise a wolf cub!”
Zhao Yanhong rolled her eyes. “Hmph! Liang Jiushan is the real wolf cub here. My Darong is a good kid. Besides, it’s normal for a boy to think about girls as he grows up. Why are you hitting him?”
Jiang Ling quietly sat back in her chair, watching the couple argue.
Li Zhenliang leaned in and whispered, “You’re just letting them argue? The last two times were like this too—Qian Jianshe pretends to scold and educate his kid, Zhao Yanhong acts unreasonable and protects him, and the whole station can’t get any peace. Only when Qian Jianshe offers a compensation plan and both sides settle do people finally relax.”
Jiang Ling shifted her body away, putting more distance between herself and Li Zhenliang.
Maybe because she grew up in the Welfare Institute, Jiang Ling was very resistant to physical contact and didn’t like to get too close to people. During four years at Police School, she couldn’t even become truly close with her own dorm mates.
It was also because of this introverted nature that Jiang Ling hadn’t gotten married or had children in her previous life.
Did she have regrets? Of course.
Jiang Ling liked children, longed for stable love and a warm home. She looked strong and calm, but deep down she was timid.
She didn’t dare.
She didn’t believe in everlasting love, or that she could be a good wife and mother.
Li Zhenliang noticed her discomfort and awkwardly scooted over.
Having lived one life already, Jiang Ling was much more mature. She explained seriously, “Sorry, I grew up in the Welfare Institute. I’m not used to people getting too close.”
She used to think being abandoned by her birth parents was shameful and never talked about it, rejecting all warmth and making few friends. But now that she’d decided to leave the archives and join the front lines of criminal investigation, she knew she’d have to deal with all kinds of people. Showing a bit of vulnerability could help gain her colleagues’ understanding— not a bad thing.
“No problem, no problem. I’ll be more careful from now on.” Li Zhenliang was a soft-hearted, warm person. Hearing this, he felt sympathy for Jiang Ling. For her to get into Police School from the Welfare Institute was no small feat, and her usual quietness and distance now made sense.
Having cleared things up with her colleague, Jiang Ling turned her attention back to the Qian family. “Quiet!”
Her tone wasn’t fast, but it carried a cold, hard authority. Just that single word made Qian Jianshe and Zhao Yanhong, who had been arguing non-stop, instantly fall silent.
Jiang Ling picked up today’s mediation statement, pointed at the written compensation terms, and said bluntly, “Qian Jianshe, are you playing games at the police station because you think we’re easy to fool?”
Qian Jianshe leaned in to look at the statement carefully. “No, no, how could we try to fool the police?” As the saying goes, it’s easy to meet the King of Hell, but the little devils are hard to deal with. He had connections and influence at the Textile Factory, but he’d never dare offend the grassroots police.
Jiang Ling sneered. “Is it up to you to decide whether Yan Cheng No.1 High School waives tuition? Is the Textile Factory’s living allowance coming out of your pocket? There’s not even a specific amount— you’re just treating us like monkeys!”
Qian Jianshe had only been making empty promises to fool the Liang siblings, but now that Jiang Ling had exposed him, his old face turned red. “Well, I just wanted to help the Liang siblings with their difficulties. The exact amount will be worked out, I can’t say for sure right now.”
Jiang Ling turned to Liang Jiushan. “Tuition at Yan Cheng No.1 High School is directly linked to entrance exam ranking. Top three get rewards, top twenty are free, top fifty are half-price. If you want to ease your family’s burden, study hard and aim for a good result.”
Qian Jianshe forced himself to stay calm. “How could that be? I haven’t heard about this.”
He was cursing inside. The principal of Yan Cheng No.1 High School was a good friend of his. At a dinner last week, the principal had said the school was discussing ways to attract better students, possibly linking tuition to exam rankings. But it was still being discussed, not finalized. How did Jiang Ling know about it?
Liang Jiushan’s eyes lit up. “Really?”
If this was true, then as long as he worked hard and got into the top twenty, he wouldn’t have to bow his head to Qian Jianshe!
Jiang Ling nodded firmly. “It’s true.”
Liang Jiushan grabbed his sister’s arm excitedly. “If Officer Jiang says it’s true, then it must be true. Sis, I’ll study really hard.”
His grip made Liang Qiqiao flinch, as if in pain. But after a moment, a smile appeared on her face. “Alright.”
Jiang Ling noticed Liang Qiqiao’s flinch and let her gaze rest on her arm for half a second before continuing.
“As for the living allowance… According to our investigation, the Textile Factory’s labor union already has a hardship subsidy for situations like this. With both of Liang Jiushan’s parents gone, leaving the siblings to depend on each other, the Factory had officially decided to give them a two-hundred yuan hardship subsidy each year until they turned eighteen. Using that money as your family’s compensation— Qian Jianshe, doesn’t that trouble your conscience?!”
At this, what else was unclear to Liang Jiushan? He spat at Qian Jianshe in anger. “Pah! Bullying the weak— shameless.”
The Textile Factory was supposed to give them a hardship subsidy every year, but the siblings had never received it. Clearly, someone had embezzled it. And now, Qian Jianshe was trying to use that money as compensation— utterly shameless.
Qian Jianshe’s face turned ashen and his body stiffened.
Every year, the two hundred yuan hardship subsidy had been quietly pocketed by Zhao Yanhong. How did Jiang Ling know about this?