Chapter Fifteen: Case Closed

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Upon hearing this, Mrs. Huo’s face darkened with anxiety. “Comrade, my son is definitely being wronged! How could he possibly do such a thing? Doesn’t Ruan Tang bear any responsibility at all?”

Whether she believed it or not, her loyalty was clearly with Huo Shancheng, after all, he was her own son, born after ten months of pregnancy. Ruan Tang was an outsider; naturally, she sought to drag Ruan Tang down.

“Mom, stop talking. Go call Jia Mei,” Huo Shancheng interrupted, rubbing his temples with a face full of frustration.

Hearing this, Mrs. Huo fell silent, though her expression and gaze remained full of resentment toward Ruan Tang.

Ruan Tang remained unflinched, letting Mrs. Huo glare at her.

Mrs. Huo’s face grew grim as she borrowed the phone at the police station and dialed the number of Village Chief Huo’s home.

The call was quickly answered, and Mrs. Huo asked Village Chief Huo to tell Huo Jia Mei to bring the watch and hurry to the police station on her bike.

On the other end, Village Chief Huo hesitated. He had just seen Huo Jia Mei riding her bike to school and informed Mrs. Huo of this.

Only then did Mrs. Huo realize it was Monday. She turned to Huo Shancheng and said, “Jia Mei has gone to school and isn’t home.”

Nearby, Ruan Tang raised an eyebrow. “I don’t care about that. You’d better return the watch soon. If it’s lost, you’ll have to pay. That watch is worth one hundred eighty yuan, not a penny less.”

Mrs. Huo couldn’t help but curse angrily, “Can’t even watch a watch properly, and you blame us?”

Ruan Tang smiled faintly, undeterred. “I can put my watch wherever I want. Do you think a lifeless object can walk on its own to your son’s hands? It’s not like I begged you to steal it!”

Officer Chen coughed lightly. “Comrade Ruan, since the founding of the nation, no more spirits.”

Ruan Tang immediately raised her eyebrows at Mrs. Huo. “See, even Captain Chen says no spirits since the founding of the nation. How can you still argue?”

Mrs. Huo was silenced by the retort. Huo Shancheng, with a guilty conscience, had stolen the watch and even beaten the child. He deserved to be detained.

Filled with resentment, she looked at Huo Shancheng. “Should I go back and get it?”

Huo Shancheng frowned and looked toward Captain Chen. “No one’s home. The watch is at home. Maybe I should go back first?”

At this moment, though full of regret, he mostly wanted to escape responsibility. But thinking of the consequences of evading it, he hesitated.

Captain Chen nodded. “Xiao Tao, take him to the village.”

Officer Tao immediately straightened up. “Yes.”

He then took Huo Shancheng back to the village.

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Upon entering the house, when they found the drawer where the watch should have been was empty, Huo Shancheng’s face instantly turned pale.

The watch was gone!

Almost immediately, he thought of the consequences of losing stolen goods.

Officer Tao, never leaving his side, saw it too and sneered, “Looks like your village really does have some things hidden inside. It hasn’t been long, and the watch is already gone.”

Huo Shancheng moved his lips, his face pale, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead as his mind raced.

Impossible! No one knew when I put the watch down!

Unless someone was after the watch, searched his room thoroughly, and found it last.

He couldn’t think of who it could be, his expression growing darker.

Officer Tao coldly said, “Enough. No stolen goods found, come back with me. Captain Chen will handle your case according to regulations.”

Huo Shancheng shivered all over, his mind dulled. He could only follow Officer Tao back to the police station in a daze.

Inside the station, Ruan Tang was drinking tea, Huo Qingqing was quietly eating snacks, and Mrs. Huo wiped her tears helplessly.

Huo Shancheng’s face was pale. Officer Tao nodded to Captain Chen. “The stolen goods are missing.”

Ruan Tang’s brow twitched as she turned to look at Huo Shancheng, already suspecting the truth.

She guessed correctly: it was probably Huo Jia Mei who had stolen it.

In the story, Huo Jia Mei was much like her brother Huo Shancheng—dirty hands, vain, always jealous of others, thinking everyone owed her something.

With this in mind, Ruan Tang calmly said, “Then just prepare to pay me back.”

She was not one to suffer losses. Since she couldn’t get the watch back, then they would pay.

Mrs. Huo was stunned. “Cheng’er?”

Huo Shancheng gritted his teeth, his face dark. “Don’t push me too far, Ruan Tang! Maybe you had someone steal the watch back to trick us into paying!”

Ruan Tang smiled wryly. “Why would I do that? Such a waste of time, effort, and money. Isn’t it better to calmly wait for the police to get justice for me?”

Huo Shancheng clenched his teeth, not daring to speak. Insulting public officials could lead to more days in detention, which he did not want.

Seeing how things had developed, Captain Chen calmly flipped through the records. “Then Huo Shancheng will be detained for ten days according to the law and fined ten yuan. He must also repay Comrade Ruan Tang one hundred eighty yuan. The repayment period will be decided by Comrade Ruan Tang.”

Ruan Tang nodded. “Two years should be enough. If after two years you still can’t pay, I’ll keep suing you. I have plenty of energy and means.”

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Huo Shancheng’s face darkened. “One hundred eighty yuan in two years? What do you take us for?”

Ruan Tang crossed her arms leisurely. “Well, I didn’t ask you to steal my watch back then!”

In other words, he had only himself to blame, yet he still complained. Some children are beyond teaching.

The case was settled. After signing the record, Huo Shancheng was detained.

Mrs. Huo looked at her son behind the bars, tears brimming. “Son, I’m going home first—”

She had paid the ten yuan herself, and it hurt her deeply.

Huo Shancheng’s eyes also welled up. “Mom, tell Lin Hui to bring some good food to see me tomorrow!”

He had heard the food in detention was terrible. He certainly didn’t want to eat that pig slop.

Mrs. Huo nodded and then left.

At this moment, Ruan Tang was already outside the police station. She shook Captain Chen’s hand with a broad smile. “Captain Chen, your fair enforcement of the law reassures us common folks.”

Captain Chen cleared his throat and said, “It’s what I’m supposed to do.”

He then glanced at Huo Qingqing, who was quietly playing with a toy, his gaze softening. “I have a daughter about your daughter’s age, named Chen Xuanyuan.”

Ruan Tang was a bit surprised but smiled warmly. “Have you thought about which elementary school to enroll her in?”

She had just been pondering where to send Huo Qingqing after seeing her drawings yesterday.

Now that Captain Chen had appeared, with a daughter about the same age as Huo Qingqing, it was a timely blessing.

She trusted a policeman’s judgment.

Captain Chen smiled. “My wife wants to enroll her in City No. 1 Elementary School. I heard the conditions there are quite good, so I just follow her lead.”

Ruan Tang made a mental note, nodding. “That’s great. I was thinking of applying there too. Then the two girls can be classmates!”

Captain Chen smiled faintly. “Xuanyuan is a bit mischievous. I’m often at my wit’s end. Your Qingqing seems calm and steady. I think she can handle her well. That’s good.”

Ruan Tang chuckled softly. “That couldn’t be better.”