“But the one in the room with the thief was Gu Xu.”
Gu Xu’s face went pale instantly. Shen Liren, however, didn’t think much of it—after all, a grown man couldn’t be at a loss.
“But people outside don’t know. They won’t wish us well and will maliciously speculate, taking things to the worst possible extreme. You’re about to marry Gu Xu; don’t complicate things.”
“Li Li, Uncle is right. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
Gu Xu followed Shen Liren’s words. He had to make sure Shen Li didn’t report to the police.
“But my money was stolen.”
Shen Li pointed to the table. “There were two hundred yuan there. Now it’s gone.”
She pointed near a cup—the cup partially blocking the view. Gu Xu didn’t even remember if that money had been there.
But now it absolutely had to exist, otherwise Shen Li would call the police.
Grimacing, Gu Xu reached into his pocket and pulled out two hundred yuan he had saved for a long time. “I kept it for you, in case it got stolen.”
Shen Li took the money, and Shen Liren quickly said, “Since no money was lost, let the man go.”
Gu Xu hadn’t hit him at all. The thief had been rolling around in pain, unable to get up.
“Has the police been called?”
“Where’s the thief?”
Shen Liren had rushed in and hadn’t closed the door.
Aunt Zhao brought the police in. Shen Liren stiffened at the sight of them, feeling very guilty.
He lowered his voice and scolded Shen Li. “You said not to call the police! Do you want to ruin your reputation?”
“Li Li, I heard the screams outside, like pigs being slaughtered, so I called the police. Are you okay?”
Aunt Zhao exchanged a glance with Shen Li and recited their pre-arranged story word for word.
Earlier, Shen Li had instructed Aunt Zhao to contact Gu Xu and give one more instruction: if she heard the man screaming, she was to call the police and have them come, just in case anything got stolen and Uncle tried to blame her.
See, Shen Liren was truly a piece of work—scolding his niece at a time like this.
Aunt Zhao’s ears were sharp; even though Shen Liren whispered, she heard every word.
“Was anything stolen?”
Aunt Zhao knew Shen Li had just regained her inheritance and feared she might be taken advantage of.
Shen Li glanced cautiously at Shen Liren, shivered slightly, and shook her head. “Uncle said nothing was taken.”
Everyone had seen Shen Liren just intimidate Shen Li, and with Shen Li’s fearful, quiet demeanor, it was clear there was more to the story.
The police officer, sworn to protect the people, could not let a thief go unpunished—especially seeing this little girl so frightened and pale. How pitiful.
Shen Li looked young, her lips red and teeth white, inspiring an instinct to protect her.
The officer softened his voice. “Little comrade, did you lose anything?”
Shen Li’s big, round eyes glanced at Shen Liren. The officer reassured her, “Don’t be afraid. Whatever it is, just tell us. We serve the people and will help you.”
Shen Liren and Gu Xu held their breaths, afraid Shen Li would say a word.
Seeing their anxious expressions, Shen Li deliberately dragged it out. “I…”
Shen Liren and Gu Xu were so tense they almost forgot to breathe. For Shen Liren, his goods were supposed to be shipped to Hong Kong tomorrow—nothing could go wrong tonight.
A single minute felt like ten years for them, unbearably tense.
When Shen Li judged the moment right, she continued the act. “I didn’t lose anything… but I don’t know about Uncle and the others.”
“We didn’t either. Nothing was lost.”
“But Uncle, you didn’t even check,” Shen Li reminded him.
Shen Liren, irritated by her delay, snapped, “Officer, nothing has been stolen from my house, period.”
Their immediate priority was to minimize trouble and get the police to leave.
The man had been caught by them, and if anything was missing, it would be Shen Li’s fault. How could he have lost anything?
“But…”
Shen Liren’s temper flared. “I said nothing was taken. Should I lie?”
Shen Li shrank, her big watery eyes seeming to have suffered a great grievance. “Uncle, the officer is here. If you don’t check, and later something is missing, who will we blame?”
Hearing this, the officer understood—when a citizen reports a case, they must respond.
If the family insisted nothing was stolen, he couldn’t contradict them. But if later they turned around and blamed him for negligence, his job could be in jeopardy.
“Since you say nothing was taken, sign a statement for me.”
Seeing the matter almost resolved, Shen Liren immediately fetched paper and pen.
“Uncle, Big Uncle, Mingtang, and Manman don’t know about this yet. Should we wait?”
The officer was reminded, “Include everyone’s names.”
Shen Liren added the names. The officer checked the statement, and satisfied, finally left.
Zhang Tiezhu, lying on the floor pretending to be dead, realized the danger had passed. He turned his head and saw a familiar figure at the door, pointing. “Her… it’s her.”
He recognized the person who had paid him off.
Shen Liren also saw Shen Man and Zhong Shuhua arriving. Fearing Zhang Tiezhu would expose Shen Man, he hurriedly sent Shen Li away.
“Li Li, escort the officer out,” he said.
Shen Li had something to say to the police anyway and didn’t refuse.
On the way out, she brushed past Shen Man and the others.
Shen Man’s gaze was thick with hatred. Even Aunt Zhao noticed.
Shen Man quickly looked away, offering polite small talk, then left with Zhong Shuhua.
“Li Li, you’re really okay?”
Aunt Zhao suspected Shen Li had been intimidated into silence.
With Aunt Zhao speaking, Shen Li found it easier to open up.
“Sorry, Officer, I lied earlier,” she said sincerely.
The officer could see her sincerity and did not blame her. From the earlier conversation, it was clear this orphan had endured much in her home.
“What was taken?”
Shen Li nodded. “My father’s commendation certificate.”
“If it were money or anything else, I wouldn’t trouble you. But this was my father’s legacy, something very important to me.”
Shen Li’s eyes reddened. This time, it wasn’t an act. She thought of the honor her father had earned with his life, falling into Shen Man’s hands, being exploited. Her heart ached.
“Don’t worry. I’ll investigate properly. I know who that man is and where he lives.”
The officer didn’t go into details, but Shen Li understood.
He would also follow up with Zhang Tiezhu.
“Thank you,” Shen Li bowed.
“My father’s certificate may mean nothing to them, but it could circulate publicly. Can I pay to have it advertised in the paper?”
The officer, being a parent himself, understood. “Sure. I’ll help you contact the newspaper. It will be published under our police department’s name.”
In this era, using the collective name of the police was far more effective than a personal one.
Due to technical and contact limitations, the paper would take a couple of days to publish. During those days, Shen Man would no doubt be eager to “make use” of her father’s certificate.