Free Web NovelChapter 38: Chapter 38: The Relief Food Has Arrived
Jiang Li looked away, her gaze falling on Wu Ming.
"This thing is so strange," Wu Ming said, staring at the object in her hand, completely baffled. It clearly seemed like a cursed item, yet it also felt remarkably docile.
Wu Ming scratched her head. ’Maybe my skills really aren’t good enough.’ "Jiang Li, how about I take it back and show it to my master?"
Jiang Li frowned. ’If Qiao Siyuan and Chen Xiufang find out I don’t have it with me, they’ll probably just cook up some other scheme.’
"Wu Ming, can I give it to you a bit later?"
’I’ll deal with Qiao Siyuan first.’
"Okay." Wu Ming took a piece of red cloth from her pocket and rewrapped it for her, making it look a bit nicer.
Jiang Li took it. From the interrogation room next door, she could hear the sounds of Guo Xue Mei and Luo Mingsheng arguing.
"Officer, this is unreasonable! We really didn’t know about the things An’an did."
Luo Mingsheng scowled at Huo Qing and the others. ’If we get sent to prison, the Luo Family will be completely ruined.’
Huo Qing roared, "How are you any different from Zhang Zihang? Guo Xue Mei, Luo Anan gave birth at home. You didn’t just know about it, you even helped procure the equipment!
"Luo Mingsheng, you turned a blind eye, secretly helping Zhang Zihang satisfy all of Luo Anan’s twisted fantasies.
"And our investigation revealed that years ago, you killed several innocent children under the guise of adoption!"
Huo Qing slammed the evidence they had found onto the table in front of Luo Mingsheng. ’In the end, not a single person in this family is clean.’
Luo Mingsheng stared in panic at the old photos and documents on the table.
He couldn’t help but resent Luo Anan. ’If she had just been a little more restrained, the police would have never dug up all that old dirt from years ago.’
Luo Anan looked at her parents in shock. She had always thought they were completely in the dark. It turned out they had known all along.
"Why? You knew I was doing something wrong, so why didn’t you stop me?!"
Tears streamed down Luo Anan’s face as she looked at Luo Mingsheng. Growing up, she got whatever she wanted. He had kept her by his side since she was a child.
"When I was six or seven, you were already having me dissect mice and frogs. After I grew up, you never paid any attention to me, so my ideas just got more and more dangerous."
"If you had just disciplined me properly, I wouldn’t have ended up like this!"
Luo Mingsheng ignored Luo Anan, looking at Guo Xue Mei instead. "I told you we should have had another child, but you refused to listen."
Guo Xue Mei’s face twisted with humiliation. ’Was it that I didn’t want to? I couldn’t!’
Not long after giving birth to Luo Anan, she had a hysterectomy.
’Every time I was in the clinic and saw the blissful smiles on the faces of new mothers, it was like a knife to the heart.’
’When I found out about Luo Anan’s idea, I didn’t stop her. I had to admit, she was daring enough, and exceptionally talented in this area.’
’I held on to a sliver of hope, thinking that if she succeeded, maybe a transplant would be possible for me, too. I could experience the joy of being a mother again.’
’I just never thought that in the end, the beautiful dream would be shattered.’
Seeing the family turn on each other, Huo Qing had them taken away.
Huo Qing came out and saw Jiang Li still waiting. He walked over to her with a serious expression. "Jiang Li, I apologize for my earlier mistrust.
"If... if a situation like this happens again, I hope you’ll be proactive and call the police. Of course, if you’d like to stay here, that’s fine too.
"I’ve already had a room cleared out for you. Here’s the key."
Huo Qing handed her the key. He wasn’t an idiot. ’Since Jiang Li really has such incredible abilities, I have to seize this opportunity.’
Lu Xingye, who had followed him out, watched Huo Qing’s maneuver and the corner of his mouth twitched.
’I have to hand it to him,’ he thought. ’When it comes to this, Huo Qing is even more thorough than Zhou Tiancheng—offering her a room right in the station.’
"Oh... well, thank you."
Jiang Li didn’t stand on ceremony and took the key. She would feel safer living at the police station.
"Don’t mention it." Huo Qing smiled. He then recalled the matter Zhou Tiancheng had asked him to investigate and looked at Jiang Li. "Miss Jiang, I hear the dispute with your ex-boyfriend is still unresolved.
"Do you need any help with that?"
"No, that’s alright. Thank you, Officer Huo. I’ll be heading back now. I’ll contact you if anything else comes up."
Jiang Li pocketed the key and turned to leave.
Lu Xingye hurried after her. "Jiang Li, Sister Qinghe asked you to call her back when you have a moment. She has something important to tell you."
"Okay." Jiang Li nodded and left by herself.
Lu Xingye watched her retreating figure and scratched his head with a helpless sigh. ’So much for offering her a ride. Oh well.’
Once she was a good distance away, Jiang Li found a bench and called Ji Qinghe back.
Someone picked up almost immediately.
"Hello? Jiang Li, how are you doing over there? Are you settling in okay?"
"I’m doing well, Officer Ji. Officer Lu said you needed to talk to me about something."
"That’s right. You helped us with a few major cases, didn’t you? Well, the reward money has been approved. If you give me an account number, I’ll have someone transfer it to you."
Jiang Li’s jaw dropped in surprise. "There’s reward money?"
"Of course there is." Ji Qinghe chuckled, then lowered her voice. "If you get the chance, you should check out the wanted posters on the official website. The bounties on those are pretty hefty too."
Jiang Li’s eyes lit up. ’Why didn’t I think of that?’
"Okay, thank you, Officer Ji. I’ll take a look later."
"Ahem, Jiang Li, if you find anything good, don’t forget about us, okay?" Ji Qinghe laughed. She’d heard that in just the few short days since arriving in B City, Jiang Li had already helped solve another major case.
’I really wish I could keep her in my pocket,’ she thought. ’If I could, I’d be a shoo-in for Officer of the Year.’
Zhou Tiancheng watched the subtle expression on Ji Qinghe’s face and sighed with resignation.
"Okay, don’t worry, Officer Ji. I definitely won’t forget you."
"Alright, I’ll let you go then. Keep in touch!"
Ji Qinghe hung up. When she turned around and saw Zhou Tiancheng standing behind her, she let out a small huff.
"Qinghe, when are we getting engaged?" Zhou Tiancheng asked, looking at her with pleading eyes. "It’s been so many years, from college until now. Aren’t you going to make an honest man out of me?"
A blush crept across Ji Qinghe’s fair cheeks. She stepped forward and clapped a hand over his mouth. "Zhou Tiancheng, are you out of your mind? We’re at work!"
Ji Qinghe let go of him. "Fine, have our parents pick a date. I’ll have to give Jiang Li a heads-up."
"Deal." A grin spread across Zhou Tiancheng’s face.
After hanging up, Jiang Li sent her bank account number to Ji Qinghe.
’I can’t believe there’s a reward,’ she thought. ’Now I don’t have to worry about ending up homeless.’
On the way back, Jiang Li looked up the wanted posters Ji Qinghe had mentioned. A-list fugitives were worth 100,000 each, with special cases going as high as 200,000.
B-list bounties ranged from 10,000 to 50,000, and local task force bounties ranged from a few thousand to several hundred thousand, with some special cases worth up to 300,000.
Jiang Li’s mouth fell slightly open in astonishment. ’With money like this, who needs to paint?’
She immediately thought of Wu Ming and quickly sent her a message: [Wu Ming, interested in a partnership?]
