Xiaoli clung desperately to Xiao Mandong’s sleeve, her whole body trembling. Her voice came in broken fragments.
“ Tang Guanshan came this morning... He said my brother had gone missing... that they couldn’t find him... He tried to force me to marry a cripple. He said that if I refused, he’d make sure I could never find my brother again... He said he’d keep me locked up in there until I agreed...” Her words were disjointed, but every one of them was spoken through clenched teeth.
“I... I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I slapped him, and then he hit me... A police officer who had just started his shift came in and broke up the fight... That was the only reason he stopped...”
Xiao Mandong said nothing. She first placed her fingers against Xiaoli’s wrist and took her pulse. Only after confirming that Xiaoli had suffered no internal injuries and was in no immediate danger did she finally relax a little.
She had never expected Tang Guanshan to be such a beast. How could he bring himself to hit a young woman?
Since he had gone that far, Xiao Mandong would tear away a layer of his skin in return. Xiaoli couldn’t have suffered for nothing.
Xiao Mandong took a deep breath to suppress her anger, then bent down and whispered a few words into Xiaoli’s ear.
When Xiaoli heard them, she froze for a moment. Tears still clung to her face, but a glimmer of hope appeared in her dull eyes.
“My brother... is he really all right?”
“He really is. I’ve already hidden him somewhere safe. Don’t worry.”
Xiaoli’s lips trembled. She wanted to say thank you; she wanted to say so many things, but not a single word came out.
Her tears flowed like beads from a broken string, impossible to stop.
Xiao Mandong nodded at her. Xiaoli’s entire body suddenly collapsed toward her, and Xiao Mandong caught her, slipping a pill into her mouth.
Then Xiao Mandong held Xiaoli and shouted, “Help! Someone’s dying!”
The guard at the entrance was startled by what he saw and hurried inside to report it to his superiors.
Pedestrians on the street also gathered around. More and more people came, all of them talking over one another.
At that moment, Xiao Mandong no longer cared about sparing Director Lin’s pride. When his daughter’s child had gone missing, he had gone mad with worry. Yet now, a young woman had been beaten inside the police station, and he had simply allowed her to leave without offering any explanation or even sending her to the hospital. If she had suffered internal injuries, she might well have died on the way home.
Before long, Director Lin came out with a group of people. He had never expected the person shouting for help to be Xiao Mandong.
“Mandong, what are you doing here? What happened?”
Xiao Mandong looked at Director Lin without making any accusations.
“Director Lin, this young woman was detained here yesterday. She was the one who reported the crime, not a suspect. The suspect was released, while she was kept here for an entire day and night. Then, this morning, someone assaulted her in the interrogation room and beat her this badly. I’d like to ask—how exactly is this acceptable?”
The moment she finished speaking, the crowd erupted.
“Oh, good heavens! The person who reported the crime was detained?”
“Look at all the injuries on her face. They really beat her viciously...”
“I’ve seen this girl before. She has a mentally disabled brother. What a poor thing.”
“The police beat someone? Is there any law left in this world?”
Director Lin’s face shifted from green to white as he listened to the crowd. He lowered his head to look at the injuries on Xiaoli’s face, then glanced at Xiao Mandong. After taking a deep breath, he turned and shouted at the people behind him:
“What are you waiting for? Bring the car around and take her to the hospital!”
Director Lin’s face was full of remorse.
“Mandong, don’t worry. Those bastards hid this from me and never reported it. I truly had no idea. I only found out this morning that she’d been detained improperly as well. Don’t worry—I’ll make sure this matter is dealt with severely.”
He seemed to be explaining himself to Xiao Mandong, but he was also making sure the bystanders heard him.
Director Lin turned toward the police officer who had been on duty the previous day, his teeth practically grinding with anger.
“Liu Pingchuan, you tell me. You and Zhao Hu were on duty yesterday. Which one of you beat her? Bring the person back immediately.”
Liu Pingchuan’s calves were trembling. He hurried off with Zhao Hu to find the culprit, his heart in turmoil. Improperly detaining someone was already a serious violation, and now Tang Guanshan had even dared to beat a person inside the station. Damn it...
Xiao Mandong didn’t say anything more. She knew that Director Lin had already gone as far as he could in front of so many people. After all, he was the director of the police bureau. It would not be wise to offend him too badly.
Xiao Mandong followed the police car to the hospital.
Xiaoli underwent a series of examinations. The doctors confirmed that she had suffered no internal injuries, but the bruising to her soft tissue was severe, and there was a prominent bruise on her abdomen. She was also unconscious, and the doctor suspected that she might have sustained a head injury, so they decided to keep her in the hospital for observation.
Xiaoli woke up the following day. A uniformed police officer was sitting in the hospital room.
Her heart tightened, and she instinctively began searching for Xiao Mandong. When Xiao Mandong saw that she was awake, she smiled at her.
“Don’t be afraid. This officer is just waiting for you to wake up so he can take your statement.”
Xiaoli cooperated fully. She told the police officer everything, from Tang Jing drugging her to Tang Guanshan threatening and beating her.
Just then, the hospital room door was suddenly shoved open from outside.
“Shi Xiaoli, don’t you dare talk nonsense!” Cui Lijuan’s shrill voice pierced through the room.
She then turned to the police officer.
“Comrade, she’s my daughter. We don’t want to press charges anymore. We’re withdrawing the case.”
The officer frowned and looked at her.
“And you are?”
“I’m her mother,” Cui Lijuan declared matter-of-factly. “Her stepfather treats her very well. They’ve just had a little disagreement recently. A family doesn’t hold grudges overnight, right? We’re not pursuing the matter.”
The officer’s expression darkened.
“This case has already been formally filed. It’s a public prosecution case. You can’t withdraw it just because you say so. If you want a lighter sentence, the victim can write a letter of forgiveness, but she must not conceal anything. Her statement has to be truthful.”
“Also, I’m taking her statement right now. Please leave.”
Cui Lijuan didn’t understand everything he had said, but she grasped the general meaning. Her lips trembled a few times before she turned to Shi Xiaoli.
“Shi Xiaoli, a stepfather is still a father. Hurry up and tell the police that you fell by yourself, so they’ll release your stepfather. There’s your little brother in my belly. Do you really want him to be born without a father?”
Seeing Xiaoli remain silent, simply staring at her, Cui Lijuan drew a deep breath. Then she changed her tone, forcing her eyes to redden.
“Xiaoli, please, I’m begging you... If your stepfather goes to prison, what will happen to me and the baby?”
When Xiaoli still said nothing, Cui Lijuan leaned closer and lowered her voice.
“If you let your stepfather go, I’ll make it up to you when we get home. All right?”
Cui Lijuan watched the mockery in Xiaoli’s eyes. After waiting several breaths, she finally lost control. She pointed at Shi Xiaoli’s nose and cursed:
“Fine! You’re heartless. You caused your father’s death, killed your grandmother, drove your brother insane, and now you’re here to bring ruin to me too. You little jinx!”
With that, she slammed the hospital room door and left.
Cui Lijuan’s words pierced Xiaoli’s heart like needles. She forced herself to hold back the tears that were about to fall...
