The middle-aged police officer pulled over the only chair in the hospital room and sat down imposingly. He went through the usual procedure, asking for names, genders, ages, home addresses... and the details of what had happened.
Qin Ze recounted the events from beginning to end. Bao Bao ground her teeth in fury, while the middle-aged couple kept shouting, yet the officer did nothing to stop them. After Qin Ze finished his halting account, the officer waved a hand, signaling for silence.
"This is quite clear. A fight between young people is a civil matter, not a criminal case," the middle-aged officer said calmly as he organized the documents. "It would be best for both sides to settle this privately. Our Police Station can coordinate. Whoever should pay compensation pays compensation, whoever should cover medical expenses covers medical expenses. If this blows up, both sides will bear responsibility and may face criminal liability."
The old man frowned but said nothing. He knew a little about the law. These days, unless someone had specifically studied law, who could make sense of all those messy regulations? Take self-defense, for example—damn it, even judges themselves could not always figure it out.
Did Qin Ze's actions count as self-defense, or excessive self-defense?
So, getting some compensation was not entirely unacceptable.
But then the middle-aged officer said to the old man, "Let's not discuss compensation for now. First, go settle the injured party's hospitalization and medical expenses."
The woman had clearly come prepared. She immediately handed over a bill and said imperiously, "The hospital asked us to pay five thousand yuan in advance. Transfer that money to me first. After that, you can go pay my son's medical bills yourself. By the way, Alipay or WeChat?"
"Alipay my ass." Bao Bao cursed outright. She was about to explode with rage.
The old man's face darkened. "Police comrade, what do you mean by this?"
Their son had clearly been stabbed, yet they were being asked to cover the attacker's medical bills?
The middle-aged officer frowned. "What do you mean, what do I mean? Your son injured someone. He could be held criminally liable. Do you want him going to prison at such a young age? I'm doing this for your own good."
"Wow, thanks so much." Bao Bao sneered. "What kind of mediation is this? The other side can beat people without committing a crime? My brother is the victim."
"That's not for you to decide. You're family, of course you'll side with your own brother," the middle-aged officer said righteously.
The middle-aged couple chimed in, "You say your brother is the victim, so he is? Do you have evidence? Show us the evidence. Our son was beaten by him too. Let me tell you, a broken nose is a minor injury. You won't pay, right? Fine. We'll have your brother thrown into the station."
Bao Bao shouted, "There are surveillance cameras outside the internet café. Aren't you police going to check the footage?"
"How the police handle a case is none of your business." The middle-aged officer became angry, his voice carrying a warning. "If you accept mediation, hurry up and pay the medical bills. If you refuse compensation, then wait to squat in a cell. Decide for yourselves."
"Look at this little slut, all dressed up like a seductress. You can tell she's no good. No wonder she raised a little thug who beats people. Brother, hurry up and lock them up," the middle-aged woman urged.
"Just try it." Bao Bao glared fiercely, like a little hen on full alert. If a weasel dared come near, she would fight it to the death.
The old man's face was filled with anger. "Police comrade, we will not accept this kind of mediation. We'll see each other in court."
One look at the old man's expression told Qin Ze that he was truly furious.
The old man was indeed boiling with rage. This officer was obviously taking sides. He had put on a show of taking notes without even getting the facts straight, then directly "convicted" Qin Ze and demanded that he pay.
Qin Ze felt that if he could move, he would already have rolled up his sleeves and hit someone. The middle-aged officer before him was clearly related to that couple, using his status as a police officer to twist black into white. Every other word was about detaining him. An ordinary person really might have been intimidated. Commoners did not fight officials, because officials controlled the resources and power. If they said you were black, you were black; even white could be called black.
He had been stabbed for nothing, and now the old man had to pay the attacker's medical bills.
Qin Ze took a deep breath. "Police comrade, you're their relative, aren't you?"
The middle-aged officer snorted, tacitly admitting it.
Qin Ze threatened, "Don't think being a police officer makes you so impressive. We can report you."
Before the middle-aged officer could speak, his sister sneered. "Go ahead. Who's stopping you?"
Bao Bao ground her teeth in rage.
The old man kept silent with a grim face.
Qin Ze said flatly, "Your nephew started trouble and stabbed me, but as a People's Police officer, can you really face your conscience?"
"Conscience?" The middle-aged officer, Wang Guomin, gave a scornful laugh. "Don't give me that. My nephew stabbed you in self-defense. Several people involved can testify for him. Do you have witnesses? Stop talking nonsense. You won't pay, right? Just wait. Tomorrow, I'll have someone send you into the station. I wear this uniform—do you think I can't deal with the likes of you?"
Bao Bao bit her lip, trembling with anger as she snapped, "We have surveillance footage. Don't think you can deny it."
"What a joke. You think surveillance footage is evidence you can view whenever you want?" Wang Guomin could not even be bothered to maintain his police officer act anymore. He said to his sister, "Let's go to the Police Station and file a case right now. Tomorrow, we'll sue them for Intentional Injury Crime."
"You bunch of peasants, I have plenty of ways to play you to death." Wang Guomin arrogantly pointed at Bao Bao, then Qin Ze, and walked out of the hospital room without looking back.
Not long afterward, when Qin's mother returned to the hospital room carrying a bag of food, she saw her daughter sitting on the sofa wiping tears away, her lovely face cried into a Painted Cat. Her son sat beside her, comforting her. The head of the household stood by the window, silently smoking.
"What happened? I was only gone for a little while." Qin's mom was utterly confused. She rubbed Bao Bao's head. "You're already twenty-five, and you're still crying."
"Mom..." Bao Bao burst into tears and wrapped her arms around her mother's waist.
Qin Ze thought, If she added, 'Bao Bao feels wronged, Bao Bao is suffering inside,' it would be perfect.
The old man sighed and explained what had just happened.
Qin's mom gritted her teeth in fury and said hatefully, "Tomorrow, we'll sue them. I refuse to believe some petty police officer can turn the world upside down."
Bao Bao sniffled. "He's a squad captain, not some ordinary beat cop."
"So what if he's a squad captain? We're not afraid of him either." Qin's mom patted her daughter's shoulder, then looked at her calm son and inexplicably sighed to herself. She had never treated them differently, so why were the siblings so different? The older sister acted more like the younger one, while the younger brother acted more like the older brother.
If Qin Ze had known what his old mom was thinking, he would have indignantly leaped up and shouted, "Heavens!"
What did she mean, she had never treated them differently?
The Qin family's child-rearing principle: the daughter was biological, while the son came free with a phone top-up.
In another hospital room, Shi Qifeng lay on his bed. He had just undergone surgery to reset his nasal bones. The anesthetic had not worn off yet, so he did not feel much pain, though his nose was wrapped in gauze and his face felt stiff.
When his parents and Uncle returned to the room, he immediately asked, "How did it go?"
The middle-aged woman's anger flared at once. She cursed, "That family is stubborn as hell. They even said they want to take us to court. They should take a look at who they are first."
The middle-aged officer, Wang Guomin, snorted. "They won't give up until they see the coffin."
Shi Qifeng said hatefully, "Uncle, I want that brat in prison."
Wang Guomin shot him a glare. "Criminal lawsuits are troublesome. The internet café's surveillance footage has already been taken to the Police Station. If you want to sue, the procuratorate will examine the footage. It's still uncertain who will win or lose."
The middle-aged woman said, "Brother, your nephew was beaten into this state. I can't swallow this anger."
Wang Guomin nodded. "I'll handle this. It won't be that easy if they want to sue. The Police Station won't give them the chance. In a few days, I'll detain that brat. By then, they'll naturally come begging at our door."
He knew this game well. The longer it dragged on, the better their odds became. Criminal proceedings had to go through the Police Station, and he controlled that hurdle. He had plenty of ways to play them to death.
"You were in danger this time too. If you had stabbed someone to death, even I couldn't protect you." Wang Guomin tapped his nephew with a finger. "Luckily, you were injured too. We can completely frame this as a civil dispute. Then Uncle can help you get another round of compensation."
Shi Qifeng beamed. "Thanks, Uncle."
The middle-aged couple smiled as well.
Shi Qifeng had caused plenty of trouble in his uncle's little territory. Whenever he got into fights and picked quarrels, he lost more often than he won. If he won, he would symbolically spend some time in the Police Station, then walk out unharmed, with no record and no criminal liability. If he lost, he could demand compensation with perfect justification.
Wang Guomin was completely confident. He had cleaned up after his nephew more times than he could count. As long as things did not get too big, he was confident he could suppress them. As for reports, complaints, administrative reconsideration, or taking it to the procuratorate, he was not worried in the slightest. Some things were said that way, and some rules were written that way, but no one should take them seriously.
There were plenty of people who petitioned the authorities. How many of them ever succeeded?
Before you continue