Chapter 180

The veteran police officer originally thought that Su Ruo, a young girl, would confess if he just scared her a little; he didn't expect Su Ruo to be so difficult.

He angrily slammed the table and said: 'You don't need to quibble; since we brought you here, we have evidence.'

'I'm asking you now: where exactly were you and who were you with between 2 and 4 a. m. last night?'

Upon hearing this, Su Ruo adjusted her posture, smiled, and said: 'You don't know? After our warehouse caught fire yesterday, we went to the police station to report it, and then we stayed there assisting with the investigation until this morning when we left.'

After saying that, Su Ruo slapped her forehead, suddenly realizing, and said: 'Oh, it's because my Clothing Factory is in Chengxi, so yesterday we went to the Chengxi Police Substation, while you are the east city police substation; since we're not in the same place, that's why you didn't know!'

'But everything I said is true; the on-duty officers at the Chengxi Police Substation yesterday can vouch for me—you'll know as soon as you ask.'

Su Ruo spoke with a completely frank expression, showing no sign of lying; the veteran police officer stared at her with sharp eyes, seeing that she was an extremely smart girl, with no reason to lie about something that could be easily verified.

At this moment, the police officer in charge of interrogating Li Zhaodi and Bai Xinya also reported that the interrogation results were exactly the same as Su Ruo's.

'Leniency for confession, severity for resistance—you'd better tell the truth.' The veteran police officer threw down those words, turned and left; he needed to go communicate with Li Furén about the current situation.

Su Ruo watched him leave with a smile on her face.

As soon as the veteran police officer left the interrogation room, he immediately had his subordinates go to the Chengxi Police Station to clarify the situation.

Then he turned and entered the room where Li Furén was; upon seeing him, Li Furén immediately said: 'How did the interrogation go? Did they confess? Damn it, those few sluts—I have to make them rot in jail this time.'

A flash of disgust crossed the veteran police officer's face; if it weren't for the people behind Li Furén, he wouldn't bother with someone like Li Furén at all, but even though he was furious inside, he had to endure it.

The veteran police officer repeated the interrogation results; upon hearing them, Li Furén became agitated, immediately slammed the table, stood up from his seat, and said: 'This can't be!'

The veteran police officer said: 'Based on my experience, I judge that she is not lying, and moreover, they could not possibly lie about something that can be easily verified.'

Li Furén knew the veteran police officer was correct, but he was unwilling to just let Su Ruo go.

Li Furén's business had always gone smoothly over the years; he was only ever the one bullying others, but now a young girl had dared to bully him—how could he possibly swallow this insult?

Li Furén's anger had nowhere to go, and he immediately shouted: 'Even if they didn't set the fire themselves, they must have ordered it—are you all useless? You can't even handle a few girls! If they won't confess, you won't use tactics to make them confess!'

Being scolded like that, the veteran police officer's face immediately darkened, but he had to suppress his anger and explained: 'Bringing people in for interrogation without any evidence is against regulations to begin with.'

'Now they all have solid alibis; we have no reason to keep them detained, and certainly no right to extract a confession through torture.'

Li Furén instantly became even more furious; he kicked the chair beside him hard and shouted angrily:

'You damn well don't need to lecture me with big principles; I'm putting my foot down today—if I don't get the result I want from this matter, you'll be stuck as a deputy captain for life, never hoping to rise.'

Upon hearing those words, the veteran police officer's face flushed between green and purple; he had lived his whole life diligently, yet now he was being threatened by a petty thug.

Just as he was about to lose control, the door suddenly knocked; the junior officer sent to investigate at the Chengxi Police Substation returned, and together with him came Zhou Feng.

As soon as the junior officer returned, he immediately informed the veteran police officer: the on-duty officer at the Chengxi Police Substation said that last night Su Ruo and the others had spent the whole night in the substation crying and wailing, demanding they uncover the truth and catch the arsonist, keeping them up all night.

The on-duty officer, annoyed beyond endurance, had a particularly deep impression of this matter, explicitly stating that Su Ruo and her companions definitely had no time to commit the crime.

The veteran police officer's face darkened; if that were true, they had no reason to continue detaining Su Ruo and the others, but if they just released them like that, Li Furén would certainly not let it go—thinking of this, the veteran police officer felt a huge headache.

At that moment, Zhou Feng spoke up: 'Hello, I'm Zhou Feng from the ** department; I heard you detained my wife and her friends today, so I came specially to inquire about the situation.'

Zhou Feng heard from the surrounding neighbors as soon as he got off work that his wife and Su Ruo's group had been taken away by the police bureau; upon hearing the news, he immediately rushed over.

After learning Zhou Feng's identity, the veteran police officer's face grew even graver; this was also someone he could not afford to offend.

The veteran police officer had originally planned to first detain Su Ruo and the others for a while—this would both appease Li Furén and give his superiors an explanation—but now it seems impossible.

The veteran police officer immediately composed himself and said to Zhou Feng: 'It's all a misunderstanding; we also acted on a public report, which is why we brought your wife and her friends to the police bureau for questioning—we didn't detain them.'

Zhou Feng paid no heed to the veteran police officer's overture, still keeping a stern face, and said: 'Then have you now clarified the investigation? When can I have my wife released?'

The veteran police officer immediately replied respectfully: 'The investigation is already clear; it's all a misunderstanding—your wife just needs to sign her name and leave a fingerprint, and she can go.'

Zhou Feng still kept a stern face and said: 'I don't know who exactly made that report, but arresting people without any evidence will cause great trouble for the public.'

The veteran police officer quickly responded: 'Yes, yes, yes; we will definitely improve in the future.'

With Zhou Feng intervening, Su Ruo and the other two were quickly released; Su Ruo and Bai Xinya were fine, but Li Zhaodi was obviously frightened, her legs going weak as she walked out.

Upon seeing Su Ruo, Li Zhaodi almost burst into tears; Su Ruo hurriedly comforted her, saying it was all right.

Li Zhaodi sniffled, feeling useless; it seemed she would have to keep studying under her master to better herself.

The veteran police officer and the officers in charge of the arrests all apologized to Su Ruo and the others: 'It's all a misunderstanding; we were just doing our duty—please don't take it to heart.'

Su Ruo responded politely on the surface, but inside she felt indifferent; if it weren't for Zhou Feng today, she thought leaving would not be easy.

Li Furén stood by the window, watching their retreating backs, his eyes filled with sinister coldness; he would definitely not let this matter go so easily.

Su Ruo keenly caught Li Furén's gaze; she turned her eyes to meet his, the corner of her mouth lifting in a cold arc—she wasn't at all afraid of his retaliation; she was afraid he wouldn't come.