Chapter 479

An Jing shot Zhou Andong a furious glare, then pulled out her ID from her bag: "This is my ID."

The two plainclothes officers took it, glanced at each other, and didn't believe for a second that the vendor had robbed anyone—but Zhou Andong's words were flawless, leaving them with no recourse, and they no longer wanted to get involved.

"This isn't our jurisdiction. I'll notify the police station right away and send officers over. But you two must not fight again, or you'll face harsher punishment."

"Fine!" Zhou Andong smiled, pointing at the vendor. "If he runs, don't blame me for taking action."

The plainclothes officers returned An Jing's ID and told the vendor: "Wait for the police to handle this. If you try to run, you'll never clear your name."

The vendor sneered: "He beat me so badly I'm internally injured—my whole body aches. I need to go to the hospital."

The two plainclothes officers said nothing more and turned to leave.

The little girl's face was pale, her lips tightly pressed, clinging to An Jing's thigh—clearly terrified.

An Jing's heart ached; she bent down and picked up the girl: "Don't be afraid. Sister Jing is here—no one can bully you. The police will be here soon, and they'll take the bad guy away."

The girl clung tightly to An Jing's neck: "I'm not afraid!"

Zhou Andong ruffled the girl's hair, affectionately saying: "That's right—you even dare to catch snakes. Why fear one bad guy?"

At that moment, two police officers—one tall, one short—quickly jogged over: "Who are the parties involved?"

"Me!" Zhou Andong said. "This is the robber."

The tall officer glared: "Watch your language. Whether he's a robber isn't up to you—or me—it's up to the law."

"I saw him rob someone," an old man walked over, pointing at the vendor. "It was him."

"Old bastard!" the vendor roared. "I'll kill you!"

"Another charge!" Zhou Andong said. "In front of police officers, you threatened and intimidated a witness—said you'd kill him. That's extremely vile and must be severely punished."

Hearing Zhou Andong's words, the officers' hearts jolted. Seeing the vendor about to speak again, they both shouted at once.

"Shut up!"

The vendor flinched, shot a vicious glare at the old man, and fell silent.

The short officer sized up Zhou Andong: "Come with us to the police station."

"Fine!" Zhou Andong said. "But he's a criminal—why isn't he in handcuffs?"

The tall officer coldly replied: "I don't need you telling me how to do my job."

"Alright!" Zhou Andong nodded with a smile, turning to the old man who had stepped forward to testify: "Let's go, old man."

The tall officer said: "We're handling your case. Why is he coming? He's not a party."

"He's a witness!" Zhou Andong said. "If you won't let witnesses come, what are you trying to do?"

The tall officer opened his mouth to argue, but the short officer waved him off: "Let's go!"

"I'll testify too—it was him who robbed!" A young man ran over.

"I'll testify!"

"Me too!"

"I saw it—he robbed!"

Suddenly, over a dozen people rushed forward, pointing at the vendor and accusing him of robbery.

Zhou Andong was genuinely surprised. He scanned the crowd and suddenly realized—they were all nearby vendors. It clicked.

This guy must've bullied people constantly. Now that someone had stood up, they all came out to kick him while he was down.

The two officers were stunned. They felt the situation slipping out of control—the pressure surged.

"Then all of you come with us," the short officer said.

"I'm coming too!" An Jing set the little girl down and hurried after them.

Yuan Yuan Liying's face was full of worry. Zhou Xiao picked up the little girl and placed her on his lap: "Don't worry. With your son's current status, there won't be any problems."

Yuan Yuan Liying sighed: "We came out for a pleasant outing—how did we end up in this mess?"

Zhou Zhou Anqin smiled. Though she was worried too, she could never show it in front of her parents.

"Relax. Since you were little, when have you ever seen my brother get the worse of it?"

Zhou Andong, An Jing, and the witnesses arrived at the police station.

As the vendor opened his mouth to speak to the chief, the short officer kicked him hard in the buttocks: "From now on, we ask, you answer. We don't ask, you keep your mouth shut."

Zhou Andong saw this, a faint, almost invisible smirk curling at his lips.

Someone who dares pull this kind of scam here—extorting outsiders—must have some backing. Otherwise, he'd have been thrown in jail long ago.

The chief looked young, maybe thirty-seven or thirty-eight: "What happened?"

The short officer recounted the events. The chief gave Zhou Andong a cold look: "Separate statements."

Then he pointed at Zhou Andong and told a nearby officer: "Bring him to me. I'll interrogate him personally."

Zhou Andong's eyes narrowed. He spoke coldly: "Officer, watch your words. I'm the victim, not the criminal. I suspect you have some connection to this criminal—possibly even bribery. You must recuse yourself. After my statement, I'll report you to your superiors."

The chief sneered: "Do as you like. But right now, you'll answer my questions."

Zhou Andong smiled: "Where is this? Is this the heart of the nation? The main artery? And you dare pull this? You've got balls."

The chief didn't even look at Zhou Andong—he turned and walked away: "Bring him to me."

Meanwhile, the vendor sat off to the side, legs crossed, lighting a cigarette.

Zhou Andong glanced at the vendor, then at the witnesses. Their faces showed no surprise—they'd clearly expected this outcome.

Yet they still came. Clearly, none of them were cowards. Otherwise, they wouldn't have shown up.

"Hurry up!" One officer shoved Zhou Andong.

"What are you doing?" An Jing snapped. "Can't you speak properly?"

An Jing's bearing, combined with her Beijing accent, instantly made the officer rein himself in.

"Hurry!"

Zhou Andong said to An Jing: "Wait here for me."

"I'm going to make a call," An Jing said coldly. "These people are outrageous."

Zhou Andong chuckled softly: "Everywhere has this kind of thing. Every place has these parasites. But here? It really surprises me—and hurts me."

An Jing said: "Where there's sunlight, there's shadow."

The chief, who had already left the main office, came back: "What are you dawdling for? Move!"

Zhou Andong patted An Jing's shoulder: "Someone who burns incense isn't necessarily good. Someone begging isn't necessarily poor. Someone who agrees with you isn't necessarily kind. Someone wearing clothes isn't necessarily human."