As long as they were detained, she would come dig tonight! No delays!
The group arrived at the police station, and Old Mrs. Chu tried to get the first word in, shouting loudly.
“Comrade police officers, you must not listen to this seductive vixen’s nonsense. It’s clearly that she seduced my son’s younger brother-in-law, and when that failed, she—”
“Shut up! You’re a woman too! You’re a widow too! Don’t you know what consequences your words will have for her? Going on and on calling her a vixen! The older you get, the more wicked your heart becomes!”
“The police haven’t even spoken yet, so why are you opening your mouth! Don’t make baseless accusations! Do you know what defamation is? The police can lock you up directly!”
Mei Yanxia scolded with full authority, her finger pointing so close it nearly jabbed into Old Mrs. Chu’s throat.
Old Mrs. Chu quickly covered her mouth and backed away, not daring to spout nonsense anymore.
“Alright, let’s question them separately.”
“This is the police station. Making a scene like a shrew won’t do you any good.”
Liu Jun gave a subtle warning, then gestured for Quan Ruifeng to question Xia Xian while he handled the mother and son himself.
Quan Ruifeng was from the capital—he surely wouldn’t know how to deal with these ruffians. Liu Jun didn’t dare let Quan Ruifeng handle them either. If there had been anyone else in the station today, he wouldn’t have even brought Quan Ruifeng along for this trip.
“Mm.”
Quan Ruifeng gave a cold nod and led Xia Xian and Mei Yanxia to another interrogation room.
Xia Xian remained silent the whole time, her face wearing a frightened, cowering expression that made her look utterly pitiful. She kept clutching Director Mei Yanxia’s hand.
She was performing very convincingly.
Quan Ruifeng glanced at Xia Xian clinging to Mei Yanxia, then decided not to question her at all, addressing only Director Mei Yanxia.
“How did her marriage to Eldest Brother Chu come about?”
“Oh, I know about that. Eldest Brother Chu was sick, but I don’t know exactly what illness he had—the Chu family kept it tightly under wraps. All I know is he went to the hospital every day. I saw him two days before the wedding, and his face was so pale it didn’t look human. He couldn’t even walk—Second Brother Chu had to carry him back. I could tell he wasn’t long for this world, and I even asked if they needed help.”
“But they refused, so I didn’t push myself on them.”
“Two days later, when I saw them welcoming a bride through the door, I realized the engagement hadn’t been called off. I thought Eldest Brother Chu had improved, but it turned out the girl had no idea he was sick at all. She was tricked into marrying into that family, and within a few days, Eldest Brother Chu was gone.”
“Who wouldn’t feel sorry for her? Such a fine young girl, becoming a widow just like that. I’ve kept it in my heart ever since. I came by to check on her twice and knew she wanted to leave. I thought the Chu family would refuse and it would take some effort, but I never imagined they’d be so shameless as to force her to marry Second Brother Chu! That’s just trampling all over her!”
Director Mei Yanxia spoke with righteous indignation. But before today, the two sides hadn’t clashed, so she’d had no excuse to intervene. Today, she’d finally found her opportunity.
Quan Ruifeng learned what had happened from Director Mei Yanxia. His long fingers tapped on the table as if deep in thought. He gave an “mm” to indicate he understood.
The next questions were mainly for Xia Xian. Quan Ruifeng said coolly, “Director Mei, please step out for a moment. I have something I’d like to discuss with her privately.”
“Huh?”
Xia Xian looked bewildered, while Mei Yanxia looked surprised.
“Director…”
Xia Xian looked at her with a dependent, frightened expression, her demeanor panicked. Mei Yanxia patted her hand reassuringly.
“Don’t be afraid. The police aren’t bad people—they won’t make things difficult for you. Just tell them whatever you know.”
“Okay.”
Xia Xian nodded weakly. Once Mei Yanxia had left, she nervously twisted her fingers, pressing her lips together and lowering her eyes, waiting to be questioned.
This time, her unease wasn’t an act. Under Quan Ruifeng’s gaze, she felt immense psychological pressure. This man was so sharp—could he tell she was putting on an act?
But she wasn’t exactly lying. That mother and son really had tried to assault her!
With that thought, Xia Xian felt much more justified. She raised her eyes voluntarily, her red lips parting slightly, about to speak.
But she was interrupted—by something completely unrelated to today’s events.
“Would you be interested in helping me with something?”
Quan Ruifeng asked directly, his expression serious, his gaze piercing.
“Huh? Me helping you?”
Xia Xian was stunned, frowning instinctively. She couldn’t imagine what she could help him with, and they’d only just met.
Even if he was a police officer, this was far too presumptuous.
“More precisely, it’s about helping the victims—helping many people who might be harmed in the future.”
“If you don’t agree, I can’t tell you the details. The reason I chose you is twofold: one, your appearance and temperament fit; two… you can act, and you think on your feet.”
“This favor will put you in harm’s way. I can’t force you, but I hope you’ll seriously consider it. Setting aside my profession—if you’re willing to help, I can privately resolve two problems for you: one is the Chu family mother and son, and the other is money.”
“Even if you want to move somewhere else to live, that’s no problem. If you stay in this place, the gossip and rumors will likely follow you for the rest of your life.”
Quan Ruifeng leaned in slightly, his thin lips parting as he looked at Xia Xian and spoke word by word, his eyes as dark as ink.
Under that gaze, Xia Xian felt completely exposed, as if she had been stripped bare.
Her heart skipped a beat. She clenched her palms and blinked rapidly, trying to steady her erratic breathing.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not good at acting, and I’m not smart enough to be of help to you. I just want to leave the Chu family, go back to my own home, and live a peaceful life.”
Xia Xian tactfully declined Quan Ruifeng.
She had no intention of getting involved in some major case. She still had a belly full of hatred that had yet to be avenged.
“Your clothes were torn by yourself, weren’t they? You don’t have much strength, so the tear isn’t big enough, and the direction is wrong. You might fool others, but you can’t fool me.”
“You’re very clever. You knew you couldn’t break free from the Chu mother and son on your own, so you blew things up, and you chose to show weakness, letting the justice-driven Director Mei help you out, using public opinion to condemn that mother and son.”
“When you say you’re not smart enough, that’s just being modest.”
Quan Ruifeng suddenly glanced at Xia Xian’s torn sleeve and hit the nail on the head, pointing out exactly how Xia Xian had maneuvered the Chu mother and son into a disadvantageous position.
Xia Xian listened, her face tense, her whole body stiff. She pressed her lips together and remained silent for a long time.
She had lived a whole extra lifetime compared to the person before her, yet she was still so easily seen through. It was clear that even living longer didn’t change one’s intelligence by much.
She suddenly began to doubt whether she could really completely deal with Chu Sheng and his mother. Even if she successfully made it home, if that mother and son resorted to being shameless and came to her house every day to cause trouble, what would she do? Just keep tangling with them like that? What about her parents? Would they be affected?
She couldn’t actually kill anyone either. They had already ruined one lifetime for her—this lifetime, she absolutely had to live well!
And she knew that the college entrance examination would soon be restored, and private business would be allowed. She wanted to get the gold bars as start-up capital for a business, and she also wanted to try whether she could get into university. In her past life, if it hadn’t been for getting pregnant with Chu Nannan, she would have wanted to try too. She had kept reviewing her lessons afterward, trying to make up for that regret.
So perhaps leaving would be a good choice.
“I need some time to think it over.”
Xia Xian relented.
“Fine. Whenever you’ve made up your mind, you can come find me anytime.”