Don't Think You Can Defy the Odds - Chapter 20

Cui Renwang realized that the female officer’s gaze held a subtle scrutiny. She did not entirely trust them, maintaining a professional air of restrained suspicion.

Before Cui Renwang could speak, Xie Chongyang had already denied it. “No, not at all.”

Song Jinyun’s gaze remained searching. “Then why did the city bureau,”

“We suspected there might be,” Xie Chongyang said with a smile, pointing to the deposition. “Now that the investigation is clear, we found there is nothing. It is not convenient to disclose further details.”

Hearing him say this, Song Jinyun’s expression actually relaxed quite a bit. “I understand.”

Xie Chongyang finished the conversation with a smile. “Thank you for your cooperation.”

Cui Renwang glanced at him sideways. He had to admit, Xie’s face was quite useful. At the very least, he did not look like a bad person.

The two walked out of the room, and the main hall was as lively as ever.

A woman was screaming at the top of her lungs, “What exactly do you want! Do you have to see me dead before you are satisfied!”

Cui Renwang looked toward the commotion.

The glamorous woman looked like a rose with wilted petals due to her tears. She stumbled into a chair, covering her face as she broke down in loud sobs.

Standing before her was a tall boy, seemingly seventeen or eighteen years old. He wore a Western-style school uniform that clearly did not belong to a public school, watching her breakdown with a cold gaze.

The woman’s voice shifted from a shriek to a plea. She sobbed, “I beg you, Mom is begging you! Just listen for once! Even if you just wait until the college entrance exams are over! What are you trying to do by acting like this now!”

“I do not trust you,” the boy said, looking at her coldly. “You have already betrayed my trust. You told me to tell you everything and said you would help me, but then you brought me to the police station. I will not trust you again.”

“So you would rather trust outsiders than your own mother!” The woman suddenly became agitated, grabbing the boy’s shoulders and shaking him. “Outsiders might harm you! Would your mother ever harm you!”

“You think you are always right.” The boy looked down at her, his lean profile tense and stubborn. “But you never considered that your love could also hurt me. I have not done anything wrong, and my friends are not bad people. I do not need to seek help from the police. I,”

He tried to claim the right to negotiate like an adult, but the woman shook him even more frantically. “You are already a senior! Do you know what time of year it is for a senior, Li Mingxi! You insist on hanging around those shady people at a time like this,”

“Then when should I do it!” The boy, who had been suppressing his emotions, finally exploded. “What is wrong with being a senior! At worst, I will just stop going to school!”

As soon as those words were uttered, the people in the hall—those arguing over contracts, those bickering over compensation—all turned their heads at once. It was unclear who started first, but everyone began chiming in with advice. “Hey, do not be impulsive, young man! How can you not go to school!”

“Exactly! Early romance is not a big deal, but giving up your future for it is! You will regret it later!”

“If you go to university, at least you can take the civil service exam. If you do not graduate high school, you can only work manual labor! Listen to your mother.”

A police officer rushed over. “Stop making a scene! Everyone, sit back down!”

The boy named Li Mingxi was momentarily stunned by the collective passion of the crowd. However, he quickly recovered. With a look of absolute determination as if he were at war with the world, he wrenched his hand from the woman’s grasp and bolted out of the station without looking back. The woman screamed “Come back!” and chased after him.

Xie Chongyang glanced at them and was about to move forward, but Cui Renwang lightly tugged at him. Within a blink of an eye, the woman returned, looking dejected and lost.

“Oh, why are you not chasing him! It is dangerous for a child to be running around outside alone!”

“Exactly, why bring a matter of early romance to the police station? Taking care of the child should be the priority!”

“I want to report a crime.” The woman stared blankly at the ground, then suddenly screamed hysterically, “I want to report a crime! I want to report a crime!”

Xie Chongyang glanced at Cui Renwang, unsure if he had spotted a problem or was simply interested in the gossip.

“Calm down and lower your voice,” an old officer said, walking over with a frown. “What crime do you want to report?”

“I want to report a crime!” The woman shouted, unable to control her emotions. “Who was in charge of investment for Changping Street in the West District? Who approved a bar street so close to a high school!”

“You need to take that up with the municipal government,” the old officer said, speechless. “What you are talking about,”

“You cannot handle this, and you cannot handle that!” The woman was agitated. “Can you not even handle the bars letting students in! Minors are all running to the bars!”

“Children going to bars?” The old officer advised her. “Then you need to educate your child properly first.”

“How have I not educated him! I cannot control him; I cannot control him anymore!” As she spoke, she began to wail. “Arrest them! Make all those bars close down!”

“This, hey, calm down!” The old officer looked helpless. “You need evidence. If you see a minor entering a bar, call the police, and then we can handle it. Or tell us which bar staff members are in contact with them. If you just say it like that without evidence, we cannot keep that bar under constant surveillance, can we?”

“Li Huhu!” The woman said excitedly. “There is someone at a bar named Li Huhu! That one! My son goes there specifically to find her! At least arrest her!”

The following moments were a long process of information gathering and persuasion. Xie Chongyang lightly bumped into Cui Renwang and whispered, “Is there something strange?”

He noticed that Cui Renwang’s gaze toward the woman was peculiar. Everyone in the hall was more or less looking at her. Her current state was far from dignified; some gazes held pity, some held mockery, and some were purely curious.

But Cui Renwang’s gaze could actually be described as gentle.

Cui Renwang snapped out of it. “Ah, yes. Her son might have encountered a demon.”

Xie Chongyang froze for a moment. He sucked in a breath and said, “There are demons too?”

Ghosts were not enough!

Cui Renwang was very satisfied with his reaction and let out a low laugh. “Yes. It might be a fox spirit.”

“Oh!” Xie Chongyang realized. “So you are just calling names!”

“But we do not know the whole story, so let us not,”

“No.” Cui Renwang looked at him deeply. “I am talking about a real fox spirit.”

Although Xie Chongyang could not immediately find a place for demons within his scientific theoretical framework, he first asked, “Then what should we do?”

“Tell Old Zhang,” Cui Renwang said. “Tell him there might be a demon in the bar street and let him go look for it. This kind of thing usually is not too dangerous; it can be handed over to him.”

“Oh, okay.” Xie Chongyang tried to follow his logic. “So, you mean the reason this child is suddenly acting like this is the demon’s fault?”

“Hmm?” Cui Renwang reacted. “Oh, you mean the part about him not wanting to go to school? That is not necessarily the case. It is not strange for a child of that age to think of anything, is it?”

As the two walked out of the station, Song Jinyun, who had also been watching for a while, asked the old officer, “Are we not going to do anything about the bar street?”

“How?” The old officer said helplessly. “Are you going to go on a stakeout?”

Song Jinyun curled her lip and turned to go back inside.

Cui Renwang sat back in Xie Chongyang’s car, resting his head in his hand. “Is it really necessary for the two of us to come out for such a small matter?”

Xie Chongyang blinked, thinking it indeed was not necessary. However, Xie Chongyang could not betray Old Zhang’s well-intentioned efforts to get Cui out for some sun. He answered solemnly, “Before confirming there is nothing to be gained, one cannot assume it is unnecessary.”

He smiled, essentially comforting Cui Renwang. “As a police officer, you have to get used to doing futile work. Captain Lu taught me that.”

Cui Renwang was silent. He rested his head in his hand and was quiet for a while before saying, “I am not a police officer.”

Xie Chongyang replied, “But you are a special consultant for the police.”

“Fine.” Cui Renwang did not argue with him. “We are a gang now, right?”

“What do you mean, gang,” Xie Chongyang muttered. “That does not sound like good people.”

The car drove off smoothly. Cui Renwang asked, “Where are we going now?”

“The city bureau,” Xie Chongyang said with a bright smile. “If we go back now, we can still work for another hour!”

Cui Renwang was speechless. He had never seen anyone with such a great passion for work. Cui Renwang reached out and pressed his forehead. “I am very weak. Can I not go?”

“Hmm,” Xie Chongyang knitted his brows. “Then come home with me for dinner early? There is nothing much to do today, so we can get off work normally. If we go back early, we can stop by the wet market first and cook a couple more dishes.”

Cui Renwang avoided his gaze. “Then let us go to work for a while.”

Xie Chongyang said, “Huh? Is going to my house scarier than working?”

Cui Renwang looked out the car window, resting his head in his hand.

He had never been to someone else’s house.

People hold a natural fear toward certain firsts. Cui Renwang was not sure if stepping through the door of Xie Chongyang’s house would mean a fundamental change in their relationship. After all, he had never made a friend like this before.

He held degrees in philosophy and psychology; therefore, when he examined himself, he could clearly see his own issues. He would subconsciously avoid entering an intimate relationship. He had always been unwilling to take Old Zhang as his master, not because he did not want to be a Taoist, but because he had a natural fear of the master-disciple bond. This kind of relationship, which was like a non-blood kinship, was too unknown to him.

He, Old Zhang, and Xiao Tao were fellow travelers with certain similarities. They shared the same goal, so they traveled together; it would be convenient to go their separate ways after the goal was achieved. This kind of relationship was just right.

If ordinary interpersonal relationships were a net, Cui Renwang felt he was currently just floating on the net. As long as his relationships with everyone remained in a just-right state, he could stay suspended on this net forever.

He was afraid of falling into the net.

Cui Renwang took a deep breath. He looked out the window and said softly, “I need to do some mental preparation.”

Fortunately, he at least knew he could not stay suspended on the net forever. He pushed down the urge to go back on his word and held onto his seatbelt, like a small animal that wanted to run away but was forced to stay in place.

Xie Chongyang finally got an affirmative answer and immediately started smiling. “What are you afraid of? I am inviting you for dinner, not putting you in the pot. Do you want to watch a ball game after dinner? There seems to be a match tonight. If it is too late, you can just stay at my house.”

Cui Renwang said, “I suddenly remembered that I actually have something to do.”

Xie Chongyang said without hesitation, “Liar.”

Cui Renwang admitted, “Yes.”

Xie Chongyang pulled on his seatbelt. “Then you are not allowed to run. I will take you to buy some snacks after work.”

Cui Renwang closed his eyes and lay back in the seat, playing dead.