This time, Sun Hao didnât need to say a word; the officer nearby remarked, "He Caixia, behave yourself; this isnât the place for your nonsense. If you continue like this, everything will be handled according to the law. You should know, being allowed to meet the involved party and speak face-to-face is already leniency by the law."
Lin Chuxia looked at He Caixia with a defiant expression and directly asked the officer, "I did some calculations just now. The missing furniture and household items, including that television, amount to about two thousand yuan. If receipts are needed, I can provide them. Comrade, how long is the theft of this amount punishable for?"
"According to our countryâs law, theft over 200 yuan falls under a significant amount, punished by up to three years of imprisonment, detention, or control, plus a fine. With her amount, she could be inside for two to three years."
Hearing that she might actually serve time, He Caixia was unsettled.
"You canât do this; those are my dadâs things," she said, glancing at Lin Chuxiaâs slightly mocking gaze, then hurriedly corrected herself, "This isnât for her to decide alone. I need to see my dad. He surely wonât let me go to jail."
"He Caixia, Master wonât see you. Last time he already warned you. Since he cut ties as father and daughter, he meant it to be clean. He also said he wouldnât acknowledge you as his daughter anymore. It was you who broke Old Sir Heâs heart originally. When he was alone and miserable, you ignored him, and now, after secretly selling his stuff, you want him to plead for you? Can you have a bit of a conscience and not be so shameless?"
She stood upright and turned to Sun Hao, "Thereâs nothing more to say. Letâs handle this officially. Iâll cooperate with whatever process you need."
Before coming here, she had already made things clear to Master. If he still cherished the father-daughter relationship, this matter would pass. If he didnât want any further contact with his two daughters, Lin Chuxia would handle it.
Old Master He chose the latter, but he wanted to come along to see.
Actually, when the two daughters approached Old Master He last time, Lin Chuxia had already seen through them; they had long broken his heart.
But those two had too much nerve, and Old Master He couldnât bring himself to cut ties.
Back then, when Old Master He decided to leave An City for Yan City, aside from her pregnancy, he also wanted to stay away from those two daughters.
"No," He Caixia shouted, "Lin Chuxia, Mr. Lin, I was wrong. I canât go to jail. I had no choice. You know, my husband got laid off, and my daughter canât afford her school fees. I had no choice but to think of my dadâs house. He doesnât live there now, and itâs just sitting empty. I only sold a few pieces of furniture..."
"So youâre saying you even considered selling the house?" Lin Chuxia was almost amused with anger. "He Caixia, Iâve seen heartless people, but none as heartless as you."
He Caixia, seeing her reaction, got anxious too, "Lin Chuxia, you call me heartless, how much better are you? Youâre not even related to my dad, yet you want to be responsible for him till his end, isnât it because you have your eyes on his house? In the end, youâre no better than me. My dad just got old and confused, and you tricked him. Someday, youâll face retribution for this."
"Your dadâs house? He Caixia, do you even hear yourself? If his house is so valuable to you, why didnât you take care of him when he returned back then, but instead let an outsider like me take advantage?"
He Caixia was speechless, but the thought of prison made her cry and plead.
"I was wrong, Mr. Lin. Please donât hold it against me, considering my dadâs face, give me a break. After all, Iâm his real daughter. If you send me to jail, my dad would be heartbroken too."
But Lin Chuxia didnât want to waste her breath on her anymore and left the interrogation room with Sun Hao.
Sun Hao was also deeply scornful of He Caixiaâs behavior.
In fact, what Lin Chuxia didnât mention was that when Old Master He moved to Yan City, he had already given her the property here.
Of course, Lin Chuxia didnât want it. To her, acknowledging Old Master He as her master and taking care of him until the end was her duty as his disciple.
But Old Master He felt he hadnât passed on any skills to Lin Chuxia or stood up for her. Since Lin Chuxia bought him a place in Yan City, he thought, why not give her his limited property, so her support for him seemed more justified.
Moreover, he thought, everything he had would eventually belong to Lin Chuxia.
Lin Chuxia couldnât argue with Old Master He and agreed.
And to Lin Chuxia, it didnât matter whose name the property was under; she wouldnât be greedy for what little he had and preferred to give Old Master He some peace of mind.
Therefore, in handling this theft case, Lin Chuxia had the most say.
The two of them chatted as they walked outside until a voice called from afar, "Chuxia."
The voice was strange yet familiar, and there she saw Li Guangyuan sitting opposite an officer not far away.
Lin Chuxia gave him a serene nod, acknowledging his greeting, then continued her exit with Sun Hao.
"Chuxia, wait..."
Lin Chuxia furrowed her brow slightly.
She remembered that Li Guangyuan used to call her sister-in-law, and even though it was now known she and Lin Jiayi werenât biological sisters, he should call her by her full name, Lin Chuxia, not so intimately just Chuxia.
Sun Hao saw Li Guangyuan coming after them at the door, knowing they might have things to say, he bid Lin Chuxia farewell and left.
Lin Chuxia didnât want to have anything to do with Li Guangyuan; she didnât want anything to do with this man in her lifetime.
But then Li Guangyuan rushed a few steps forward to block her, asking with concern, "What brings you to the police station? Did something happen? If thereâs anything, you can talk to me. After all, we were family for so many years."
Lin Chuxia directly refused, "Thereâs nothing to say to you. Didnât you already divorce Lin Jiayi? Even if you hadnât, I would still have nothing to say to either of you."
Li Guangyuan didnât mind her coldness, "I know there were misunderstandings between you and your sister before. Your sister realized her mistakes long ago. Though weâre divorced now, weâre still together, selling vegetables at the night market. Chuxia, your sister said the idea to sell vegetables at the night market was from you, thinking I was suited for it. Is that true?"
He stared at Lin Chuxia without blinking.
He remembered in his dreams, their poverty was so crushing they could barely afford to eat.
When they got married, the Lin Family demanded a dowry of 300 yuan from the Li Family, worsening the Li Familyâs hardship.
It was Lin Chuxia who suggested going to the county to sell vegetables for money.