Tsk, how typical—bullying the weak but fearing the strong.
She had been so arrogant in front of Shen Ran, yet in front of the police she looked like a mouse seeing a cat.
Shen Ran crossed her arms, clearly enjoying the scene.
Seeing her watching the drama unfold with such amusement, Shen Yunrou bit her lip, feeling uneasy.
She had clearly placed the jade bracelet inside Shen Ran’s wardrobe the night before—so why was it gone today?
Had Shen Ran discovered something?
Could the bracelet have somehow ended up back in her own room?
Shen Yunrou’s nervousness finally eased when the police searched her room and found nothing.
Fortunately, it wasn’t there. Otherwise, she would have had no explanation.
She guessed Shen Ran must have discovered the bracelet and secretly hidden it somewhere else.
But just as she was thinking that, she saw the officers pull out a metal box from the dressing table drawer in her parents’ room.
When they opened it—
inside was the Shen family’s heirloom jade bracelet.
Except it had been smashed into several pieces.
The relieved expression on Shen Yunrou’s face froze and slowly cracked.
Her jade bracelet!
It was extremely valuable—and now it was broken just like that?!
“Oh my, so it turns out Mom was the one who took the bracelet!”
Shen Ran covered her lips in mock shock.
“Mom, if you wanted to take it, then just take it. Why did you bring people here to break into my room? Isn’t that just a thief crying ‘stop thief’?
Comrades, look at this mess—it’s truly embarrassing.”
Shen Ran laughed without restraint.
The two police officers’ faces darkened. The Shen family had practically made fools of them.
“Officers, I didn’t take the bracelet! I don’t know why it appeared in my room!”
Mother Shen hurriedly explained, her face full of panic.
“If I really wanted the bracelet, I wouldn’t have given it to Yunrou in the first place. There must be some misunderstanding!”
Shen Ran sneered.
“What misunderstanding? Don’t tell me you’re still trying to say I stole it, broke it, and then secretly placed it in your room?”
“I…” Mother Shen was speechless.
Because that was exactly what she had just been thinking.
After all, Shen Ran’s reputation was already terrible—one more accusation wouldn’t make much difference.
But under the sharp gazes of the police officers, she didn’t dare lie.
“I’m sorry, officers. Perhaps I’m getting old and confused. I must have made a mistake. I’m sorry you had to come all this way for nothing.”
No matter what, the priority was to send the officers away first.
Shen Ran almost laughed.
She hadn’t expected Mother Shen to say something like that.
In truth, Mother Shen didn’t look old at all. Because of her comfortable lifestyle, although she was in her forties, she looked barely over thirty.
She had always been proud and took great care of herself. She hated it when people called her old.
Yet today, to smooth things over, she had actually slapped her own face by admitting she was “old and confused.”
Her face kept changing colors—green one moment, pale the next.
“Alright. Next time, make sure you figure things out before reporting to the police. Don’t waste police resources.”
Since the truth was already clear, the officers didn’t see any reason to pursue it further.
After saying that, they turned to leave.
“Wait!”
Shen Ran quickly stopped them.
“Officers, the bracelet issue is settled, but there’s another matter that hasn’t been resolved.”
The officers paused in confusion.
“What matter?”
Shen Ran spoke loudly,
“Someone filed a false report and slandered me for theft. Are you going to deal with that?”
Bai Man’s face instantly turned pale.
Mother Shen frowned.
“Xiao Ran, stop making trouble.”
“Making trouble?” Shen Ran raised an eyebrow. Her beautiful face was filled with cold anger.
“So you’re allowed to frame people, but I, the victim, have to swallow my anger in silence?
If you, my own mother, won’t give me justice, then the police will. So please—just be quiet.”
Mother Shen froze, staring at Shen Ran in disbelief.
No matter how reckless or stubborn this girl had been before, she had never spoken to her like this.
She was her mother. Wasn’t it natural for a mother to scold her child?
How could she… how could she…
But Shen Ran ignored the hurt look in Mother Shen’s eyes.
Where had that concern been before?
Why act pitiful now?
Actually, the original host’s “troublemaker” personality was extremely convenient.
She could argue and scold as much as she wanted without worrying about acting out of character.
It felt like the role had been tailor-made for her.
The officer spoke again.
“Comrade Shen Ran, we understand your request. What do you want to do?”
The two officers had watched everything unfold from start to finish. Who was right and who was wrong was obvious.
They were the people’s police—the representatives of justice. Naturally, they would give her fairness.
Shen Ran replied,
“Thank you, officers. I want Bai Man, Shen Yunrou, and my mother to apologize to me.”
Just an apology?
Bai Man relaxed slightly, but inside she felt contempt.
As expected, a country bumpkin would always be a country bumpkin.
If she had suffered such humiliation, she wouldn’t let the other party off without making them pay dearly.
But just as she thought that, Shen Ran added calmly:
“And I also want Bai Man—the one who started all of this—to compensate me for emotional distress. Not much, just one hundred yuan.”
Bai Man’s teeth clenched in anger.
“One hundred yuan and you say that’s not much? You’re asking for an outrageous amount!”
A pair of Liberation brand shoes from the supply cooperative cost 1.8 yuan. One hundred yuan could buy fifty-five pairs.
A dress from the department store cost five yuan. One hundred yuan could buy twenty dresses!
She had been working for more than two years. After living expenses and helping her family, she could only save about five yuan a month.
It had taken her two full years to save that hundred yuan—almost all her savings.
And now Shen Ran wanted to take it all with a single sentence.
How could she possibly agree?
“I’ll give you twenty yuan at most,” Bai Man said angrily. “Not a penny more!”
Twenty yuan was already her limit.
Shen Ran replied calmly,
“If you don’t pay, then I’ll go to your workplace and speak with your supervisor. I’ll tell them you falsely accused someone and demand an explanation.”
“You wouldn’t dare!” Bai Man panicked. “You’re not allowed to go to my workplace!”
Jobs these days were extremely hard to obtain. Her family had pulled many strings to secure this job for her.
If she lost it, her family would beat her to death.
Bai Man grabbed Shen Yunrou’s arm and complained,
“Yunrou, look at your sister! She’s bullying me too much!”
Shen Yunrou patted her arm comfortingly before turning to Shen Ran.
“Sister, please let Manman off this time. She didn’t mean it. She only acted this way because she was worried about me.”
Shen Ran smiled.
“Sure. I’ll let her off—if you pay the hundred yuan for her.”
Bai Man’s eyes lit up immediately.
The Shen family was wealthy, and Shen Yunrou’s military-officer husband also had money. She would definitely help.
But Shen Yunrou shook her head.
“I’ve been a little short of money recently… I don’t have that much on hand.”
Bai Man’s expression instantly fell.
Mother Shen couldn’t stand it anymore.
“That’s enough, Xiao Ran. Don’t go too far. For my sake, just forget about it.”