Everyone was waiting for Jiang Ling to begin the mediation.
Jiang Ling turned her gaze to Qian Darong: “Qian Darong, step forward.”
Qian Darong, called by name, felt his legs go weak.
No matter how domineering he was, he was only fifteen, and still a bit afraid of the police. The reason he never changed before was because his parents always settled things for him, never giving him a chance to reflect. Now that he’d seen even his parents put in their place by Jiang Ling, of course Qian Darong was nervous. He hesitated, then shuffled out from behind his mother and edged up to the interrogation table.
Jiang Ling’s attitude was very stern.
“Name?”
“Age?”
“Gender?”
“Education?”
“Family situation?”
…
A string of questions came one after another. With Jiang Ling and Li Zhenliang’s solemn demeanor, Qian Darong’s answers grew softer and softer, until by the end his voice was as faint as a mosquito’s.
Jiang Ling asked, “Where do you usually go after school?”
Qian Darong: “…”
Jiang Ling slapped the table, raising her voice: “Louder!”
With a loud “bang!”, Qian Darong trembled, his neck shrinking into his shoulders. “The, the video hall, and the billiards room.”
Jiang Ling pressed on, “What movies have you watched in the video hall?”
Qian Darong’s eyes darted as he prepared to make something up, but Jiang Ling let out a cold snort.
That cold snort made Qian Darong shiver again, and he answered through gritted teeth: “Hong Kong action movies, cop-and-gangster films, like A Better Tomorrow, Project A…”
Jiang Ling: “Which video hall?”
Li Zhenliang chimed in at just the right moment: “Yes, tell us clearly so we can investigate and gather evidence.”
This time, Qian Darong really turned pale with fright: “J-just the one next to the school. Please, I’m begging you, don’t say my name, or Brother Ah Hu will beat me to death.”
He’d spent enough time in that video hall to know the ropes. The owner, nicknamed Ah Hu, supposedly had underworld connections and knew some real tough guys in the area. If he found out Qian Darong had brought the police around, he really might kill him!
Jiang Ling: “If you don’t want us to pay a visit, then honestly confess what movies you’ve watched.”
Qian Darong was chubby and couldn’t stand the heat. The cramped interrogation room made his back sweat all over. After being scared by two officers, he nearly lost his soul, his hands and feet ice-cold, his sweaty clothes chilling him to the bone.
Seeing there was no escape, Qian Darong could only list the videos he’d watched recently. Just hearing the titles made Qian Jianshe want to beat him to death! What was this, “The Carnal Prayer Mat”, “Peach Blossoms in Bloom”—what kind of trash were those? This brat didn’t study, spent all day watching dirty movies, no wonder he set his sights on Liang Qiqiao.
Jiang Ling: “How long do you spend in the video hall?”
Qian Darong: “Just play a bit after school, not too long.”
Jiang Ling glanced at his restless hands: “Lying!”
Qian Darong had to tell the truth: “At least two hours, sometimes I stay all night.”
Jiang Ling: “No one looks for you when you stay overnight?”
Qian Darong looked down at his toes and said nothing.
Jiang Ling: “Why don’t you go home?”
Qian Darong scratched his head, a flash of irritation in his eyes: “Mom and Dad are always fighting. It’s annoying!”
Zhao Yanhong and Qian Jianshe’s faces changed, and they both scolded at once: “Darong, stop talking nonsense!”
Qian Darong lifted his head, the resentment in his eyes growing stronger: “It’s true! One of you keeps a mistress outside, the other plays mahjong all night. Why should I go home?”
Qian Jianshe felt embarrassed: “What mistress? I just work overtime because of my job.”
Zhao Yanhong replied guiltily, “Didn’t the housekeeper make dinner at night? You’re old enough, why do you care if I play mahjong? Can’t I have a hobby of my own?”
Qian Darong, agitated by Jiang Ling’s barrage of questions, began to lose control: “I’m not making it up. I know everything! Dad, you’re never home, always fooling around with that tramp from the finance department. Mom, you’re useless, too scared to get a divorce, just fight with Dad and cry when you lose. If someone calls you to play mahjong, you run off and don’t come home all night. When I get home, the place is cold and empty—no one’s there!”
Qian Jianshe never imagined Zhao Yanhong also neglected the family when he was away. Furious, he cursed: “Zhao Yanhong, you can’t even take care of your own son. Why did I marry you?!”
Zhao Yanhong held back and held back, her face turning from red to white and back again. Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore and snapped back, “You shameless thing, keeping a vixen outside and you still dare blame me? How many times have you cared about your son since he was born?”
The interrogation room immediately grew lively again.
The couple’s quarrel seeped through the thin wooden door and into the hallway, giving everyone in the duty hall a headache.
Wei Changfeng finished handling a robbery case and returned to the police hall, only to discover that the fight between Qian Darong and Liang Jiushan hadn’t been mediated yet. He frowned—wasn’t it just missing a signature? Why wasn’t it over?
Thinking this, Wei Changfeng pushed open the interrogation room door.
A wave of hot, sweaty air hit him. Wei Changfeng looked up at Jiang Ling, who was sitting calmly at the other end of the table. She pursed her lips, watching Qian Jianshe and Zhao Yanhong argue, showing no sign of stopping them.
Wei Changfeng asked in a deep voice, “What’s going on?”
Seeing Wei Changfeng come in, Qian Jianshe jumped up like he’d seen a savior: “Officer Wei, you’re finally here. This new officer of yours doesn’t know how to mediate. Now look, the conflict is just getting worse.”
Wei Changfeng looked at Jiang Ling.
Jiang Ling replied slowly, “All the issues should be brought into the open if we really want to solve them.”
Wei Changfeng pondered this.
Liang Jiushan had come to the police station to report this for the third time. The first two mediations ended in reconciliation, and Qian Darong had signed a guarantee, but nothing really changed. This left Wei Changfeng feeling deeply powerless.
Now that Jiang Ling was willing to take over, and seemed to be handling it with ease, he decided to give the newcomer a chance to prove herself.
Thinking this, Wei Changfeng nodded. “Alright, you continue.” With that, he closed the door and left, not even glancing at Qian Jianshe.
Qian Jianshe, having filed his complaint and received no response, felt deflated and slumped back into his chair.
Interrupted by Wei Changfeng, Zhao Yanhong had no energy left to argue. She snorted coldly and fell silent.
Jiang Ling asked, “Finished arguing?”
Qian Jianshe could only reply, “Finished.”
Jiang Ling: “No, keep arguing.”
Qian Jianshe looked up in disbelief, staring blankly at Jiang Ling.
Jiang Ling said calmly, “You’ve fought countless times, haven’t you? Has it solved anything?”
Zhao Yanhong’s eyes turned red. “No.”
She’d argued with Qian Jianshe countless times about his affair, but it never solved anything. In fact, he became even worse, only coming home on Sundays to spend time with their son.
Jiang Ling said, “Then keep arguing here until the problem is solved.”
“No, no, we won’t argue anymore. It’s just a small issue between husband and wife. We’ll handle it at home. Officer Jiang, let’s deal with the kids’ conflict instead.” Qian Jianshe was really afraid of Jiang Ling. The interrogation room was stuffy and hot, and if they stayed any longer he might get heatstroke. He had no mood to argue anymore.
Jiang Ling sneered: “You think this is just a marital issue? Wrong! This is the root cause of Qian Darong’s constant troublemaking.”
Jiang Ling pointed at Qian Darong: “See? The child you’ve raised—hates studying, addicted to videos, obsessed with sex and violent films, forms cliques at school, bullies classmates long-term, verbally insults female classmates… Every single thing is a disaster you brought on yourselves!”
Qian Jianshe and Zhao Yanhong glanced at each other, then quickly looked away.
Qian Jianshe forced a smile: “Officer Jiang, isn’t that a bit much? Darong’s just a kid. Maybe we’ve neglected him before, but we’ll start educating him better from now on.”
Zhao Yanhong, being a mother, was heartbroken hearing her son’s grievances for the first time. She immediately agreed: “From now on, I won’t play mahjong anymore. I’ll pick up Darong from school every day.” There were all sorts of shady people at the video hall—she couldn’t let that ruin her son.
Seeing his wife bow her head, Qian Jianshe felt a bit regretful. After all, Qian Darong was his only son; he shouldn’t have spent all his time with his mistress and neglected his boy.
He sighed. “Fine, I’ll go with you to pick him up.”
Jiang Ling spoke earnestly: “If the branches are rotten, the problem is at the root. Qian Darong’s behavioral issues come from the family. I hope you both take this seriously, or you’ll regret it in the future.”
Seeing that Qian Jianshe and Zhao Yanhong had lost their arrogance, Jiang Ling finally turned her attention to Qian Darong: “If you make a mistake, you have to admit it and accept punishment. Every weekend, report to the community committee and do two hours of community service. Can you do that?”
“I can.” With his parents backing down, how could Qian Darong dare refuse?
Jiang Ling: “Liang Jiushan suffered minor injuries. Will you pay his medical expenses, yes or no?”
Qian Jianshe nodded vigorously: “Yes, yes. I’ll take him to the Factory hospital right away. I’ll cover all the costs.”
Jiang Ling: “We’ll coordinate with the school and ask the teachers to form a supervision group to monitor Qian Darong’s behavior. If anything goes wrong, they’ll report to the school and the police station immediately. We will also make unannounced visits to the school. If we discover Qian Darong bullying Liang Jiushan, or speaking rudely to Liang Qiqiao, then…”
Before Jiang Ling finished, Qian Jianshe was already promising, “He won’t, he won’t. If Darong makes another mistake, I’ll transfer him to a boarding school right away. I guarantee he won’t affect Liang Jiushan and Liang Qiqiao’s studies or lives.”
Now that everything had been laid out, Jiang Ling looked at Liang Qiqiao and Liang Jiushan, her tone gentle: “Do you think this mediation works for you?”
Tears shimmered in Liang Qiqiao’s eyes, but she smiled: “It works.”
Liang Jiushan’s eyes sparkled like stars: “Officer Jiang, we’ll listen to you!”