Chapter 3183: Chunshu Lane's Bitter Summer 25

Jin Chen stood in front of the desk, holding an opened wallet in his hand, and repeatedly checked that his savings card had not fallen into the cabinet.

The older brother is still here, Jin Chen tries to calm himself, but he hadn't taken his medicine originally, and now he can't calm down at all; he walks straight through the living room, bypassing Jin Xiumei's frantic obstruction, and heads toward Zhang Kaille hiding behind Xu Hong.

He reached out, grabbed Zhang Kaille's occiput, and dragged him toward the balcony.

Zhang Kaille was more than one round fatter than Jin Chen, at least thirty or forty pounds heavier, yet under Jin Chen's grip he couldn't struggle at all.

He was pulled by his hair, stumbling forward, a howl squeezed from his throat, sharp and piercing; in an instant his head was pressed against the balcony railing, the iron railing already warm in the morning sun, touching the skin on his face, Zhang Kaille shouted in fright, his voice changing tone.

"Mom!! Mom!!"

Xu Hong let out an even sharper cry, "Jin Chen!! Let him go! Let him go!"

She rushed over to pull Jin Chen, but Jin Chen didn't look back, only pressed Zhang Kaille down a little more; Xu Hong dared not move, standing a few steps away, stamping her feet in anxiety.

Zhang Kaille kept shouting, "A madman is killing! A madman is killing!"

Many elderly men and women out for a morning stroll below heard the commotion, looked up, and saw a fat boy pressed against the railing on the third-floor balcony, half his body protruding; they were instantly drawn over, gathering in small groups, heads tilted, pointing and commenting.

Jin Xiumei rushed out of the living room, her face ashen, shouting Jin Chen's name, "Jin Chen! Let go! Let go quickly! What are you doing!"

Zhang Yue also ran out of the room, her slippers flapping; standing at the living room doorway, seeing the scene on the balcony, her face turned pale, she opened her mouth but made no sound.

Jin Chen kept a cold face, still careful not to let Zhang Kaille's struggling knock over the potted plant he had placed on the balcony.

He shifted his weight, pressing Zhang Kaille to the other side, and said to Xu Hong in the living room, "He stole my savings card; taking it without asking counts as theft."

Zhang Kaille still stubborn, voice trembling, his short legs kicking twice in the air, "I didn't take it! You're talking nonsense!"

Jin Chen pressed him down a little more; the view from the third floor was clear, he could see the crowd gathered below, Zhang Kaille's toes almost lifting off the ground, frightened, tears and snot streamed down together, he stopped being stubborn and burst into loud sobs.

Chenshu tidied the scattered practice papers in Jin Chen's room, put them on the desk, then came out, holding his phone.

"Officer, I want to report a case: a burglary occurred at Building 3, Old Cotton Mill, Chunshu Lane."

Jin Xiumei almost couldn't catch her breath.

She lunged forward to snatch Chenshu's phone, her voice urgent and panicked, "Don't call the police! Don't call the police! Who are you… you…! You can't meddle in our family affairs!"

Chenshu sidestepped her, moving the phone farther away, "You don't care about Xiao Chen's grievance, but I have to."

Jin Chen lifted Zhang Kaille by the neck and threw him back into the living room; he lay on the floor, face deathly pale, lips trembling, not daring to make a sound.

——

The police station is not far from Chunshu Lane, and the officers arrived quickly.

When two police officers entered Building 3, the neighbors downstairs had not yet dispersed; seeing the police arrive, they stepped back a few paces, making way.

The police went upstairs, saw the room of the burglary in disarray, and immediately took everyone present back for questioning. A crowd of people streamed downstairs. Xu Hong led the way, holding Zhang Kaille's arm, her face still streaked with tears, but she was already whispering an explanation to the officers.

Before getting into the police car, Chenshu noticed the gathered neighbors, had a change of mind, and approached a relatively familiar older woman.

"Auntie Wang, Jin Chen's belongings were stolen by relatives of the Zhang family, the rooms were smashed; I can't put my mind at ease and want to go check, could you please see if my home's door is locked tight? I came out in a hurry, afraid I might have forgotten."

Upon hearing this, Auntie Wang immediately understood, patted Chenshu's arm, and assured, "Don't worry, I'll go keep an eye on it for you."

Now the neighbors who had previously been unaware of what was happening realized it wasn't Jin Chen having a fit—his household had been robbed.

After the police car left, those who had been saying Jin Chen's mental illness had flared up gradually changed their tone.

"That child has always been pitiful; his parents died early, and even at his aunt's house nobody knows how much suffering he endured."

"You could say that, do you still remember the incident with the dog? That too was a wrongful accusation against him……"

——

Interrogation room.

Zhang Kaille is only sixteen; he couldn't withstand police questioning, and soon trembled as he confessed.

In the middle of the night he wanted to play on the computer, found Jin Chen's computer wouldn't start, lagging terribly, and in anger smashed it. After smashing the computer he was still unsatisfied, so he flung out the drawer's contents in a mess.

And the savings card that Jin Chen had lost was indeed found in Zhang Kaille's pants pocket.

Xu Hong still defended from the side, "Officer! It's not theft, it's not theft! They're just worthless things, all our own relatives……"

Jin Xiumei also chimed in, "Yeah yeah, they're all relatives."

The police instead grew more suspicious: "If they're relatives, why would they still steal things?"

Jin Chen no longer held hope for familial affection, so he wouldn't, as before, suppress his anger to ease Jin Xiumei's mind; he said, "It's not worthless."

He looked solemnly at the police, "The savings card holds the money I've saved over these years—ninety-six thousand five hundred, already reaching the threshold for a theft conviction."

Upon hearing that number, Zhang Kaille's face went white, then he flushed red with anger and shouted, "Their family's belongings and money are mine! My uncle said so!"

Xu Hong's face changed, she sharply cut him off, "Shut up!"

Jin Xiumei looked at Jin Chen in disbelief, "You… where did you get all this money?"

Chenshu observed their attitudes, then suddenly asked Zhang Kaille, "How do you know Jin Chen's card has money?"

Zhang Kaille opened his mouth, about to speak, but Xu Hong forcefully cut him off, "Enough enough! Kids don't understand; just let him apologize! We're all family, why make such a fuss!"

At that moment, Zhang Jianguo finally came rushing over.

He wore a wrinkled shirt, drenched in sweat, as if he had just run from somewhere; upon entering, the first thing he did was worry whether Zhang Kaille had been frightened, bending over to pat his back, "How is it, Kaille, have you been scared?"

Zhang Kaille immediately found his backer, pointing at Jin Chen and tattling, "Uncle! This madman wants to put me in jail!"

After hearing the full story, Zhang Jianguo's face shifted several times, then upon learning that Jin Chen's card held over ninety thousand, he immediately flew into a rage.

"Impossible! Officer! I suspect he stole our family's money! He's a mentally ill person who never attended college—how could he possibly earn so much?"

He then turned to scold Chenshu, "Why are you meddling in trivial matters! Call the police! What police!"

Jin Chen, gloomy and icy, blocked Chenshu behind him, faced Zhang Jianguo head-on, locking eyes, and emphasized each word.

"My money is all earned by myself; I can let the police investigate."

Jin Chen's attitude was firm, "We'll go through legal proceedings; I won't settle."

Given the amount involved, and with Zhang Kaille caught in the act, the police lawfully detained him.

Xu Hong shouted outside for half a while, crying while cursing Jin Chen for lacking conscience; Zhang Jianguo had no choice but to sign the record.

Jin Xiumei was blamed by Zhang Jianguo, feeling both downcast and resentful.

She watched Jin Chen walk out from inside, followed a few steps behind him, her face full of weariness, she clenched her fists, wanting to hit her own chest: "Jin Chen!!! Are you trying to tear this family apart?! Kai Le is only sixteen—how can she bear this injustice, being detained?"

Jin Chen lifted his eyes again to look at Jin Xiu Mei, "Then am I allowed to suffer injustice? Do I deserve this, Aunt?"

Jin Xiu Mei's lips trembled, but after a moment she couldn't utter a word.

Chenshu sighed.

He didn't want to stay here any longer, he took hold of Jin Chen's wrist, "Xiao Chen, let's go."