Waiting for Lin Yinghui to be taken away by the police, as he walked away, Mr. Xu finally breathed a sigh of relief, already covered in cold sweat.
The crowd had dispersed by this time, and Mr. Xu had no concerns, spat towards Lin Yinghuiās back, "Tell them nothing, the filthy hooligan is just waiting to go to prison."
After speaking, he relaxed and walked away with his beer belly.
When delivering meals yesterday, Lin Yinghui seemed to suggest heād come to the shop today to see if it could reopen.
Aunt Gui arrived at the store early in the morning but didnāt see Lin Yinghui. Just as she was getting anxious, the people from the supply and marketing cooperative next door said, "Auntie, didnāt you see? Your bossās son was just taken away by the police."
Aunt Gui was surprised, "Who?"
"The one who works at the government office." The people at the supply and marketing cooperative had seen Lin Yinghui. He often stayed at the store during their gatherings.
This is a serious matter; Aunt Gui hurriedly closed the shop and rushed to the hospital.
"Hongmei, Hongmei, something terrible happened!"
At this time, Liang Hongmei had just seen off the doctor doing the rounds and was giving instructions, talking with the newly arrived Zhang Shuhua when she heard Aunt Gui rushing over disruptively.
"What happened? Did the Industrial and Commercial Bureau smash our shop again?" Liang Hongmeiās first reaction was that something happened at the store again.
"No, itās Ah Hui."
"What happened to Ah Hui?" Didnāt he just leave? He shouldāve just arrived at the Industrial and Commercial Bureau.
"Ah Hui was taken away by the police, saying he was accused of kidnapping someoneās daughter."
"What?" Liang Hongmei faltered and almost collapsed to the ground. If Zhang Shuhua and Aunt Gui hadnāt been there to support her, she wouldnāt have recovered for a while.
"I need to go and see. Shuhua, help take care here. Iāll go to the police station with Aunt Gui."
"Alright, Aunt Liang, you better hurry. Iāll take care of things here."
"Aunt Liang, Iām okay now. You should hurry over and check it out." Xiao Gu was lying in bed, just feeling anxious.
Liang Hongmei was now in an urgent panic, wondering how her son could possibly be accused of kidnapping someoneās daughter. He was clear in his own mind that he would never do such a thing.
....
In the office, Ye Qing lazily propped her chin, imagining Lin Yinghuiās ordeal at the police station.
She chuckled twice in satisfaction.
Coincidentally, after receiving Lin Yinghuiās leave request today, she received an unexpected call.
"Hello comrade, is Lin Yinghui in your department?" The voice on the other end started with this.
Ye Qing was already worried about the hot pot restaurant, and hearing this surprised her. She asked, "Yes, comrade, do you need anything from him?"
"No, I need to find your leader to complain about him. Iām reporting he kidnapped my daughter."
Ye Qingās mood switched instantly, and she laughed, asking, "What exactly is this matter about?"
On the other end, Li Suolan explained how Lin Yinghui kept the truth from them and tricked her daughter into registering their marriage.
Ye Qing nearly burst into loud laughter, thinking it was a stroke of luck for her.
"Auntie, donāt get upset. Comrade Lin Yinghui usually performs outstandingly at our unit and is an upright person, not as you described. However, I will report what youāve said to our leaders. If it turns out as you say, we will send someone to handle it. However, I still suggest you directly call our local police station to report it. If such a thing has happened, the police can arrest him directly. Auntie... I have the contact number of our police station here, why donāt I provide it to you?"
"This young comrade thought thoroughly, thank you. May I know your surname?" Li Suolan found this comradeās suggestion excellent and wondered why she hadnāt thought of it.
"My humble surname is Li. Auntie can just call me Xiao Li."
After hanging up the phone, Ye Qing laughed heartily behind her colleaguesā backs, expressing her extreme joy.
Before long, Ye Qing remembered something and quickly called Mei Langchi.
"Whatās up? Iām in training now. Havenāt I told you not to call when Iām training?" His phone had been quite busy these days.
Ye Qingās original joyful mood was brought down by Mei Langchiās impatience, but she didnāt mind, and instead said, "Today, someone reported Han Yiās brother-in-law of being lecherous, and he should be at the police station now."
Mei Langchi immediately understood and replied, "Iāll handle this."
"Alright, Iāll hang up now. You carry on." Ye Qing hung up the phone proficiently.
Over there, after hanging up the phone, Mei Langchi sat in the office, pondering for a moment before picking up the phone and dialing out.
....
"Comrade, I really didnāt kidnap anyoneās daughter. Do you have this wrong?" In the interrogation room, Lin Yinghui defended himself.
"Thereās no mistake; the call came from the Mu Family in Z City. They said youāve been pestering their daughter for the past two years and deceived her into losing herself. Shouldnāt you be clear if this happened?"
"Comrade, we are in a consensual relationship aiming for marriage. Itās sincere. What you are saying is impossible. If you donāt believe it, you can call their daughter Mu Qing to clarify." Only then did Lin Yinghui understand who reported him.
"We will investigate the situation you mentioned. If what you say is true, we will release you. If not, itās a serious crime, possibly leading to execution; do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand." He certainly didnāt want to throw away his youth over something that never happened.
Outside the interrogation room, a staff member walked in and whispered a few words into the leaderās ear. The leader nodded, glanced at Lin Yinghui, and then stepped out.
Just outside the interrogation room, another staff member said, "Captain, your phone."
The captain had to say to the newly arrived staff, "Let his family wait for a bit."
"Okay."
Liang Hongmei and Aunt Gui were anxiously waiting outside for over ten minutes before the leader came out.
"Leader comrade, my son isnāt that kind of person; did you catch the wrong person?" Upon seeing the leader, Liang Hongmei hurriedly stepped forward, grasping his arm urgently trying to explain.
The leader shook off Liang Hongmeiās grip in disgust and coldly said, "Whether we caught the wrong person, we will judge for ourselves. No need for family explanations. Whose family are you?"
"Lin Yinghui, his name is Lin Yinghui."
"Lin Yinghui?" His expression turned cold before he changed his tone, saying, "Lin Yinghui is charged with kidnapping a respectable woman and has been classified as a serious crime, to be paraded around town the day after tomorrow, then..." Before the words āexecutedā were said, Liang Hongmei cried out loudly, "No... itās not true, you must have made a mistake. My son isnāt like that. Leader comrade, please check again, please check again."
"The police station isnāt a place for your antics, hurry home."
"Comrade, canāt we at least see him?" Aunt Gui quickly pulled Liang Hongmei aside and asked.
"You canāt see him. Go now. Donāt obstruct our work."
"Comrade, comrade, please let us see our child; weāre begging you, we at least need to know who reported this!"
"You canāt meet now; our police station has regulations prohibiting close family meetings. The purpose is to prevent collusion or destruction of evidence. If you want to meet, find a lawyer. A lawyer can meet him."
"Whatās a lawyer?" Aunt Gui simply couldnāt understand their jargon, still asking out loud, causing the surrounding staff to chuckle slightly.
Making the two women stand there like fools, Liang Hongmei felt a sense of desolation. She desperately hoped for a man to stand up and shield her and her children.
If Guozhi were here, he would definitely know what to do.
Clearly, now they were not allowed to meet, or even ask who made the report.
Liang Hongmei suddenly felt powerless.
The leader seemed unwilling to entangle with them and had already strode away.