How much is your son worth?

Early that morning, before the Zhannan District police station officially opened for work, a taxi pulled up outside the criminal investigations building.

Father Wu pushed open the door and climbed out with his wife, cursing all the while. "Fuck, I said he'd get himself into trouble sooner or later. And now look! Just like I said-that idiot wouldn't even know if someone sold him out."

"What exactly happened? How did our son get mixed up in someone's death?" Mother Wu asked worriedly as she followed him.

"How the fuck should I know?" Father Wu's eyes were red with anger as he walked into the building with his hands behind his back.

In the lobby, two officers on duty had just changed their clothes and were getting ready to go home.

"I'm looking for that officer named Yang. What floor is he on?" Father Wu asked them in a booming voice.

Before he had finished speaking, Uncle Yang, who had been chatting with someone on the ground floor, came over with a smile. "You're Wu Shixiong's father, right?"

"Yes." Seeing the other man offer his hand, Father Wu shook it. "What happened to my boy?!"

"He... he's all right." Uncle Yang paused, then took him by the arm. "Here's the thing. We'll need to take him back to the Police Bureau in a bit. Come on, buddy. Let's talk outside."

The suggestion to talk outside caught Father Wu off guard. He looked at Uncle Yang and asked, "Where are we going to talk?"

"Just come outside first," Uncle Yang said with a smile.

Though Father Wu and Mother Wu were puzzled, they followed him out of the building.

"Here's the situation. Someone else was involved in this case," Uncle Yang said quietly, handing Father Wu a cigarette. "His parents would like to talk to you."

"What do I have to talk to them about? Did my son commit a crime?" Father Wu asked cautiously.

"They're involved in the same case. It'll help to have a chat first," Uncle Yang replied vaguely, then waved toward someone nearby. "Buddy, talk to them first. Come find me when you're done."

"But...!" Father Wu was confused and wanted to press him.

Uncle Yang smiled and patted his shoulder. "I'm right here. What could happen? Listen to me. Talk to him first, and then we'll discuss the case. Don't worry. Your son isn't in any serious trouble."

As they spoke, Tang Baiqing's Father drove up, stopped by the roadside, and opened the door.

Father Wu hesitated, but he could only follow the investigator's instructions. He got into the car with his wife.

Only Tang Baiqing's Father and his driver were in the car now. Everyone else had already left.

"Drive a little farther away. I want to have a talk with this gentleman," Tang Baiqing's Father instructed from the middle row.

"Sure," the driver replied, taking the wheel and driving off.

Five minutes later, the car stopped in the parking lot of a large supermarket. Knowing to give them privacy, the driver got out for a smoke.

"What do you want to talk about?" Father Wu asked bluntly.

Tang Baiqing's Father turned to him. "You have three children, and you live on Earth House Street?"

Father Wu froze for a moment. "What about it?"

"My son's in the coast guard. He's only in his early thirties. If nothing goes wrong, he can become a squadron commander before thirty-five. By forty, reaching full division-director or deputy bureau-chief rank shouldn't be a problem." With a grave expression, Tang Baiqing's Father took out a pack of cigarettes and offered Father Wu one.

"What are you getting at?" Father Wu refused it.

"The woman who died was only hit once. She'd also injected drugs before she died, so she wasn't clearheaded." Holding the cigarette, Tang Baiqing's Father stared hard at Wu Shixiong's parents. "This case could be treated as self-defense or negligent homicide. As you've seen, I have some friends at the Police Bureau. So whoever takes the blame won't get too heavy a sentence. Somewhere over three years and under ten should be about right. If the suspect has an intellectual disability and a mental illness, the sentence will be even shorter."

By now, Father Wu had a rough idea of what he meant. "What the fuck are you trying to do? Get me to sell my son?"

"Can we discuss it?" Tang Baiqing's Father asked.

"Discuss your fucking ass!" Father Wu reached for the car door.

"Fifty thousand for every year he serves!" Tang Baiqing's Father called out.

Father Wu's hand was already on the door handle. Hearing the offer, he replied coldly, "If I give you fifty thousand, will you sell your son?"

"I don't need fifty thousand. But you do!" Tang Baiqing's Father lit his cigarette.

Father Wu said nothing and pulled the door open.

Smack!

Tang Baiqing's Father grabbed his arm.

"Fucking let go of me!" Father Wu was getting agitated.

Holding him with his right hand, Tang Baiqing's Father stared into his face. With the cigarette between his lips, he turned and used his left hand to lift a white cloth lying in the aisle by the rear seats.

Swish!

The white cloth came away, exposing a black plastic bag stuffed with money right in front of Wu Shixiong's father.

Rain fell outside, and the car's interior was dim, yet the money in the bag seemed to give off a light of its own.

"A hundred thousand for every year he serves! You get something tangible, and I save my son's future. How about it?" Tang Baiqing's Father asked.

Wu Shixiong's father held the door handle, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"Listen, my friend. Your son has an intellectual disability. Even if he spent twenty-four hours a day receiving cargo for people at sea, he might not earn a hundred thousand in half a lifetime of work," Tang Baiqing's Father said hoarsely. "Wouldn't getting some money out of this be more practical?"

Ten minutes or so later, the car returned to the entrance of the investigations building. Father Wu and Mother Wu got out, their faces filled with conflicting emotions.

"Finished talking?" Uncle Yang asked with a smile.

Father Wu stood motionless, looking at him.

In the lobby, Su Tianyu leaned toward an officer and asked, "Can we see Wu Shixiong now?"

"No."

"...He doesn't really have anything to do with the case, does he?" Su Tianyu asked, puzzled.

"You still can't see him. Go wait outside," the officer replied impatiently.

Su Tianyu glanced at him and asked no more questions. Turning to Bai Hongbo, he said, "Come on. Let's go outside first."

"This is fucking weird. Why can't we see a witness?" Bai Hongbo cursed in frustration. "Fuck. That's what these low-level types are like. Give them a scrap of authority and they act like kings."

Everyone found it strange, but calling in favors just to arrange a visit hardly seemed worth it, so Su Tianyu and the others returned to the car outside to wait.

On the third floor, in an interview room.

Big Bear yawned, picking his nose out of boredom.

Clunk!

The door opened, and Uncle Yang walked in with Father Wu and Mother Wu.

"Have your talk," Uncle Yang said, then turned and left.

In the surveillance room, an officer switched off the cameras in every interview room and wrote in the logbook: Morning shift, surveillance maintenance.

Inside the interview room, Big Bear stared at his parents, dumbfounded. "You... what are you doing here?"

Father Wu looked at him with blank eyes and, for a moment, gave no answer.

Mother Wu's eyes were red. She turned her head away.

"...Son!" Father Wu bent down and sat in a chair. Rubbing his face hard, he said in a trembling voice, "...Could... could you take the blame for them in this case?"

For the first time since he could remember, Wu Shixiong heard his father call him "son." Before this, it had always been "idiot," "the youngest," or something like that.