Knows the Rules

Zhou Yuan grew anxious at once. He wanted to argue that the temporary visas had also been issued by the police station near the school.

These students had only just arrived in Moscow and were still handling all kinds of paperwork. There was no way they could get their official landing visas so quickly. What right did he have to say these temporary visas were useless?

But he had no ability to express all that in Russian. It was far too complicated...

So, sweating anxiously, he could only repeat, "They're students who just arrived in Moscow. They haven't received their visas yet."

Clearly, those words had no persuasive power. Or rather, that gray-uniformed cop knew perfectly well what was going on. He was just looking for an excuse to deliberately make trouble.

So, the gray-uniformed cop closed the few passports in his hand without returning them to Wang Ye and the others. With a wave of his hand, he said, "You lot, come with me."

With that, he turned and headed toward a minibus with its police lights flashing.

He was planning to send Wang Ye and the others to the station...

Zhou Yuan was completely at a loss. He had never dealt with anything like this before and had no idea what to do.

Flustered, he said, "You guys... I... I'll contact someone in a moment... Right, has the teacher who brought you here left? Does any of you know his phone number?"

Faced with something like this, Zhou Yuan had no idea who to contact.

What, contact the embassy?

Don't kid around. This was 2001. Chinese people living abroad in those years all understood...

In fact, the proper thing to do was contact the school's foreign affairs office and have the school communicate with the police.

Under normal circumstances, the police would give the school that courtesy. After all, they were university students and received some preferential treatment.

Besides, if this matter truly blew up, the police would definitely be the ones in the wrong. They would have no defense, and it would not sound good either...

The only reason they were making things difficult for Wang Ye and the others now was because they knew these students had just arrived in Moscow and could not speak the language!

After all, contacting the school required sufficient language ability to explain the situation clearly.

Xiaoyun, Wang Dan, and the other girls were even more frightened, tears nearly falling from their eyes.

In a foreign country, being locked up in a police station—just thinking about it was terrifying.

Even Liu Xiaojie and the other boys had gone pale. They were still students and had never experienced anything like this.

The only one who remained calm was Wang Ye.

He sighed. In his previous life, he had studied and lived in Moscow for several years and had encountered plenty of similar situations. He had not expected to run into one again this time.

As for how to resolve this matter, Wang Ye had plenty of experience...

Seeing everyone panic, he waved his hand and said, "Don't worry. It's nothing serious. This is easy to solve."

Everyone immediately looked at him. Zhou Yuan asked skeptically, "Wang Ye, don't joke around. This is urgent!"

Of course, he did not believe Wang Ye. He himself had been here for half a year and still did not know how to handle something like this.

Wang Ye had only been here for a few days. How could he possibly know how to deal with it!

Wang Ye said unhurriedly, "I'll go talk to him. It may cost a little money. There are eight of us, so two thousand rubles in total should do it. Is everyone willing to pay?"

Based on his experience and his Russian proficiency, Wang Ye estimated that two thousand rubles would be enough to settle the matter.

If they really got into the police van and were taken to the station, then waited for the police to contact the school and for the school to bail them out, they might not have to spend any money. But being stuck in a small dark room for most of the day, or even overnight, would not be worth it at all...

So, when faced with something like this, the simplest solution was to pay it off!

Although being "extorted" like this felt awful, what else could they do? This was someone else's territory!

Unless your status and strength were greater than his, you could only lower your head and face reality.

Hearing that they only needed to pay two hundred and fifty rubles each to avoid getting into the police van and going to the station, everyone nodded repeatedly.

It was not much money, only about ten U.S. dollars. It hurt a little, but compared with getting into the police van and sitting in a cell, it really was not much.

Once Wang Ye saw that everyone agreed, he turned and quickly caught up with the gray-uniformed cop leading the way. In a serious tone, he said:

"Comrade, I do not believe taking us students to the station is the correct choice.

According to the relevant provisions of the visa law, temporary visas issued by police stations affiliated with legitimate state universities also have legal validity.

If you do not recognize these temporary visas, I will immediately call the number listed on them and have your colleagues come speak with you.

In addition, I will contact the staff of the school's foreign affairs office and have them speak with your superior.

By the way, which police station are you from? Please show me your work identification.

Oh, and while you were walking ahead just now, it seemed that something fell out of your pocket. Here, this..."

As he spoke, Wang Ye held something in his hand and offered it over. Only a small white corner was visible.

The gray-uniformed cop froze for a moment and stopped walking. He looked at Wang Ye, his expression none too pleasant.

Naturally, he knew all the things Wang Ye had said. He simply had not expected this Chinese student to know the ropes as well...

Of course, so what if he knew?

If he truly wanted to make trouble, he had plenty of excuses. For example, he could claim he suspected the temporary visas were fake...

He could still take them all to the station, lock them up for half a day first, and slowly contact people to verify it afterward.

It would merely be more troublesome for him, and he would not get any benefit out of it.

Just as he was about to say something, he noticed the grayish-white corner of the item in Wang Ye's outstretched hand. He was all too familiar with it!

He froze again, then smiled. Without hesitation, he reached out and took it. "Oh? Then that must be what I dropped."

He took it and swiftly glanced down. Four grayish-brown banknotes, each bearing Peter the Great smiling at him!

Five-hundred-ruble bills!

Four of them made two thousand rubles. The "price" was reasonable—not too much, but not exactly little either.

He nodded and gave Wang Ye an approving look. This Chinese international student was impressive. Not only did he speak good Russian, but he was also "considerate" and understood the "rules"!

He pulled out Wang Ye and the others' passports from his pocket and said sternly, "When you're carrying temporary visas, it's best not to wander around, especially near the big market. It's very chaotic here. All right, you can go now. I'll give you a card. If you run into my colleagues again, show them the card and they'll understand. But it's only valid for today!"

As he spoke, he pulled a small white card from his shirt pocket. A large blue stamp, presumably from their police station, was printed on it.

Then he signed it with a ballpoint pen, wrote down the date, and handed it to Wang Ye.

This was probably a "pass" bought for two thousand rubles. After all, they had their own "professional ethics"...