Jiang Ling pulled out the case files she had organized last night and pushed them toward Wen Xiufen.
“There have been a total of eleven bicycle bell thefts in our jurisdiction. All of them involved original Phoenix-brand brass bells, each worth about fifteen yuan. The items may be small, but because these thefts have happened repeatedly and caused serious trouble, the Municipal Public Security Bureau is taking this very seriously and has ordered that the cases be solved promptly.”
When communicating with someone as stubborn as Wen Xiufen, creating an illusion of “sacred rules” from a psychological perspective can be effective.
Jiang Ling emphasized that “the Municipal Public Security Bureau is taking these cases seriously and has ordered a deadline for resolution” to leverage Wen Xiufen’s obedience to authority and get her to cooperate with the investigation.
Wen Xiufen’s face changed instantly, her heart pounding wildly. She was clearly frightened.
“Th-then…” she stammered, struggling to regain her composure. “Have you… investigated? Who did it? What… what do I need to do?”
Jiang Ling handed her a record and pointed to the text. “From the scratches on the handlebars, we can preliminarily determine that the suspect is about 140 cm tall, small and weak, and used a hair clip to commit the thefts. The incidents occurred roughly once a month, starting in November last year. The first report came from Qian Jianshe, whose bicycle bell was stolen from under his apartment building.”
Wen Xiufen’s heart went into complete chaos.
All the clues matched Lin Xiaoyue. Especially the theft of Qian Jianshe’s bell—it shattered the firm belief she had held until now.
What unsettled her even more was that November of last year was precisely when Qian Jianshe had forced himself on her.
Could it really be Xiaoyue?
Had she found out what happened to her mother?
Jiang Ling pressed on: “If Lin Xiaoyue really did this, I suspect she has learned about your situation with Qian Jianshe and has suffered significant psychological trauma. She is introverted, and this damage has nowhere to vent, so she expresses it through self-directed aggression. I noticed she has lost a lot of weight, her breathing is rapid, and there are bloodshot eyes with dark circles underneath—signs of both qi and blood deficiency. Does she usually have trouble sleeping or a poor appetite?”
These words quickly broke down Wen Xiufen’s defenses. Suddenly, she collapsed to her knees with a thud, sobbing uncontrollably. “It’s all my fault! Please… please help my Xiaoyue. I want to take her to the hospital, but she refuses. If things continue like this, I’m really afraid something will happen to her.”
Li Zhenliang was startled by Wen Xiufen’s reaction and quickly stood up to help her.
This is a law-abiding society, not an old-timey magistrate’s office—kneeling like this isn’t appropriate.
But Wen Xiufen refused to rise. Still kneeling, she avoided physical contact with Li Zhenliang and instead clutched Jiang Ling’s leg, tears streaming down her face. “Xiaoyue won’t talk to me, and I don’t know how to persuade her. It’s all my fault. I’m shameless, but I don’t want to hurt her. Please… help me, help Xiaoyue.”
Jiang Ling stiffened instantly at the touch.
The warmth pressed against her through her pants, burning intensely. Even though it was a same-sex contact, she still felt uncomfortable.
She bent down and held Wen Xiufen’s arm, her movements slightly stiff. “Stand up and speak!”
Wen Xiufen obeyed, using Jiang Ling’s arm for leverage to rise.
Jiang Ling pointed to a chair. “Sit.”
Wen Xiufen obediently sat, her tear-filled eyes still pleading as she looked at Jiang Ling. “Officer Jiang, you were right about Xiaoyue’s qi and blood deficiency. She sleeps poorly and refuses to eat properly. Watching her get thinner day by day makes me anxious. My colleagues have reminded me to take her to the hospital, but she won’t go. What can I do?”
Jiang Ling quickened the questioning pace. “Now, I ask, and you answer.”
Wen Xiufen nodded. “Alright, alright. Ask.”
Jiang Ling: “When did you establish a relationship with Qian Jianshe?”
Wen Xiufen hesitated. “It… last November.”
Jiang Ling: “Did you meet once a month?”
Wen Xiufen spoke with difficulty. “Roughly… yes. At first, maybe twice a month.”
Jiang Ling: “How did you meet?”
Wen Xiufen closed her eyes. Though she didn’t want to recall the humiliating past, she had to speak honestly for her daughter’s sake. “Qian Jianshe had a good relationship with our towel factory union chair, Lu Zhen. Every Sunday, no matter what shift I worked, Chairman Lu would pass messages for him. I would go to the union office at nine in the evening, and then…”
Jiang Ling’s gaze was calm. “Did he come to the towel factory on a Phoenix-brand bicycle?”
Wen Xiufen thought for a moment. “Yes, he had a 28-inch Phoenix bike.”
Jiang Ling asked again: “The bell was very loud and clear, right?”
Wen Xiufen’s face paled. “…Yes.”
Jiang Ling: “You and your daughter live under the same roof. She’s home all day on Sundays. Wouldn’t she notice any changes?”
Wen Xiufen fell into her memories.
In November, as the weather turned chilly, Qian Jianshe forced himself on her on the first Sunday. She showered for an hour afterward, scrubbing her skin nearly raw. After changing clothes, she curled up silently in bed. Xiaoyue brought her water and asked what happened, but she said nothing, only weeping quietly.
Had Xiaoyue noticed something was wrong back then?
The next weekend, she worked the afternoon shift from four to midnight. After receiving a message from Lu Zhen, she took two hours off mid-shift. That night, Xiaoyue’s room was dark, but she was too wrapped up in self-blame to care about her daughter.
Could it be that Xiaoyue secretly followed Qian Jianshe and went to the textile factory’s residential area to steal his bicycle bell?
After a long pause, Wen Xiufen shivered. She hugged herself tightly in her loose, thick blue factory uniform, her eyes showing a chilling resolve. “It’s my fault! I really did wrong. I shouldn’t have interacted with Qian Jianshe just to move into the apartment building. I only wanted a better place to live, a quiet and independent room. I never thought I would harm Xiaoyue…”
Jiang Ling saw the deadly intent in her eyes and felt a chill in her heart.
Wen Xiufen was suffocating under guilt and self-blame, and the likelihood of suicide was high.
She had to be stopped!
Jiang Ling interrupted her confession. “Wanting a better life isn’t wrong. You just chose the wrong path. If you go down the wrong path, take another one.”
Wen Xiufen shook her head repeatedly. “No, no, it’s too late. One misstep, and every step after is wrong. My reputation is ruined, and Xiaoyue has become a thief. The police will definitely take her away. I’m finished… and so is she!”
Li Zhenliang smiled wryly again. “Wen Xiufen, I told you last night, Lin Xiaoyue is only thirteen and is a minor. Even if she really did take the bicycle bell, we would focus on education, not punishment. She won’t go to jail. How is she ‘finished’?”
Jiang Ling’s voice was warm. “You’re still young. Your future is long. How can it be ‘finished’?”
Wen Xiufen froze for a moment.
Her face shifted between joy and sorrow, her eyes flickering with light and shadow—clearly, she was engaged in an intense inner struggle.
“Knock, knock, knock.”
Someone was at the door.
Li Zhenliang stood up and opened it. Outside stood Liu Haoran and Lin Xiaoyue.
Lin Xiaoyue must have run all the way to the police station; her cheeks were flushed, and she was gasping for breath. As soon as she saw the door open, she peeked inside. Seeing her mother with her back turned, she dashed in, placing her small frame in front of her mother, and whispered hoarsely, “If you have questions, ask me. My mom doesn’t know anything.”
Seeing her daughter, Wen Xiufen hurriedly wiped her tears, stood up, and grabbed her arm, trying to lead her out: “Why are you coming here instead of attending class? You’re only 13, still a child. Your mom is here—hurry back to school!”
Lin Xiaoyue struggled but turned to Jiang Ling and said, “Ask me, ask me! Let my mom go home and sleep. She just finished her night shift; she’s so tired.”
Seeing mother and daughter resume their protective “you cover me, I cover you” stance, Jiang Ling stood and dragged a chair from the wall to place it at the table: “Both of you stay.”
Hearing Jiang Ling’s words, Lin Xiaoyue felt as if she had been handed a royal command sword. Her voice grew louder: “Mom, the police said I can stay. I took time off to come here. After I speak, I’ll go back to class, I promise.”
Wen Xiufen looked at Jiang Ling.
Jiang Ling nodded. “Good. You can also hear what Xiaoyue has to say.”
Only Wen Xiufen could unravel Lin Xiaoyue’s inner knots and only Lin Xiaoyue could soothe Wen Xiufen’s pain. Unfortunately, their love for each other was so intense that they hid all their dark feelings inside, unwilling to reveal them.
Jiang Ling’s goal was to have them show the shadows and pain in their hearts to each other. Only then could Wen Xiufen gain the courage to continue living and Lin Xiaoyue become sunny and open.
Although Lin Xiaoyue had come voluntarily, her heart was still uneasy. She sat down, only half on the chair, her entire body tense.
Wen Xiufen hugged her shoulders and urged, “The police said, you’re still young. Even if you made a mistake, the focus is on education, not jail. Tell the truth, honestly. I know you’ve been holding so much pain inside. Tell the police so they can help you. Not eating, not sleeping—it breaks my heart to see you like this…”
Lin Xiaoyue indeed had a lot weighing on her.
After the police left last night, she couldn’t sleep all night. This morning she skipped breakfast and hurried to school.
Sitting in class, her mind drifted. She kept thinking about what to do.
If her mother found out she was a shameful little thief, would she be hurt and upset? If classmates, teachers, her mother’s colleagues, neighbors… everyone knew she was a thief, would they come like her grandparents did, smashing and cursing her and her mother?
She hadn’t really wanted to steal the bells. But that day, Qian Jianshe had ridden past her on his bike, grinning smugly, the bells clanging loudly under his hands.
That sound tormented her ears.
That night, gathering her courage, she went to the textile factory and pried the bell off Qian Jianshe’s bike. The anger and frustration inside her eased a little, and she managed to sleep two or three hours.
Gradually, it became an addiction.
If she didn’t steal a bell, her whole body felt uneasy.
But after stealing it, she felt guilt and remorse.
Helpless anger and self-blame intertwined, causing resentment to build inside Lin Xiaoyue. Sometimes, she even imagined stabbing Qian Jianshe, then waiting for the police to arrest and execute her.
She had planned to go to the police station after class at noon, but the more she thought, the more afraid she became. Eventually, she decided that it was better to go confess immediately than sit in class unable to focus.
The female officer had said it last night: the police protect the people.
Even if they arrested her, as long as her mother was safe, Lin Xiaoyue would accept it.
After taking leave, Lin Xiaoyue ran all the way to the station.
When she realized her mother had already been brought into the interrogation room, panic set in. She begged Liu Haoran to let her in, which led to the scene just now.
After hearing Wen Xiufen’s words, Lin Xiaoyue’s tension eased slightly. She opened her mouth, her voice dry: “Mom, I… I… I’m a thief.”
As soon as the words came out, tears ran down her thin cheeks.
She didn’t want to cry, but saying “I’m a thief” lifted a weight off her chest. Tears flowed like broken pearls, unstoppable.
Wen Xiufen’s heart ached; she reached out and hugged Lin Xiaoyue, gently stroking the back of her head: “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. Mom knows. You wanted to vent for Mom; Mom is the one who wronged you.”
A mother’s touch was like a spring breeze over a frozen lake, like rain nourishing parched earth. Lin Xiaoyue, covered in emotional thorns, sobbed into her mother’s embrace: “Mom, mom…”
Seeing this, Jiang Ling’s eyes grew moist.
So this was a mother’s love.
Selfless, warm, boundless.
Unfortunately, Jiang Ling had never experienced it.
Finally, having confessed the deepest guilt inside her, Lin Xiaoyue felt relieved, revealing everything to her mother.
The bells had indeed been stolen by Lin Xiaoyue.
“I don’t like the way Dad treats you, and I don’t like how Qian Jianshe treats you! They’re all bad people!” the childish voice rang in the interrogation room, leaving everyone silent.
The case of the stolen bicycle bells was solved, but Jiang Ling’s heart felt unbearably heavy.
Good people, often morally strong, feel guilty over small mistakes, constantly tormenting themselves.
Those who truly do evil feel justified, eat well, and sleep soundly.
Is this world fair?
Not at all.
Jiang Ling clenched the pen in her hand.
It was a pen awarded by the municipal bureau, engraved with the words “Eradicate Evil, Uphold Justice.”
Eradicate what evil? The evil of bullying the weak and breaking the law.
Uphold what justice? Justice where good is rewarded and evil is punished!
…
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