The Whole Family Together
As Lü Yi stepped out of the apartment building, the afternoon sun was somewhat dazzling.
He stood in the open space in front of the building, slowly pulled a crumpled pack of cigarettes from his pocket, shook one out and put it in his mouth, then took out a plastic lighter, lit it with a "snap," took a deep drag, let the smoke swirl in his lungs, and then slowly exhaled.
His face was expressionless, showing neither the satisfaction of hitting someone nor the tension of getting into trouble. He simply leaned leisurely against the wall, as if waiting for a friend.
Not long after, the piercing sound of police sirens grew louder as a police car pulled up in front of the building. Three police officers got out of the car, clearly having received an emergency call.
Almost simultaneously, the middle-aged woman, one hand covering her still throbbing face where the nosebleed had barely stopped, and the other pulling her grandson, whose face was equally swollen and whose eyes were glazed, rushed out of the building entrance. Upon seeing the police, she seemed to be instantly electrified; the fear and pleas for mercy she had shown in front of Lü Yi vanished without a trace, replaced by an even more surging surge of grievance and anger.
"Officers! You've finally arrived!!" Her voice was hoarse and choked with tears as she rushed to the lead officer, her finger sharply pointing at Lü Yi, who was leaning against the wall smoking. "It's him! It's this thug! This bully! Committing violence in broad daylight! Look what he did to my grandson and me!! My face! My nose! Ouch, my bones must be broken! And my grandson, how could he do this to such a small child! He's utterly heartless!!"
While crying and wailing, she tried to show the police the clear shoe print and remaining bloodstains on her face. When she got agitated, she sat down on the ground and pounded the ground with her hands, staging her familiar tantrum. She also launched into a full-scale "greeting" of Lü Yi's ancestors, using vulgar and offensive language.
Lü Yi showed no reaction to the shrew's performance. He even took another puff of his cigarette with interest, a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth, still wearing that enigmatic smile, as if he were watching a street farce that had nothing to do with him.
The veteran police officer leading the team, surnamed Zhang, was very experienced. He frowned as soon as he saw the scene. He first signaled to his colleagues to calm down the middle-aged woman who was agitated and ready to pounce on Lü Yi at any moment, so as to control the situation and prevent the conflict from escalating further.
"Calm down! Don't argue! We're here to resolve this!" Officer Zhang's voice was loud and clear, carrying an undeniable authority that temporarily quelled the situation. He then began questioning each person individually.
The middle-aged woman immediately began her performance, embellishing and distorting the facts. In her story, she and her grandson became completely innocent victims, simply standing normally in the elevator when Lü Yi and Lin Feng (she also pointed out the one who "coldly" left) inexplicably started a fight. Then Lü Yi went berserk and brutally beat them, an elderly woman and child, and no matter how much she begged for mercy, it was useless—it was utterly outrageous. She wept bitterly, demanding severe punishment for the perpetrators and reiterating the demand for 200,000 yuan in compensation, threatening to put Lü Yi in jail for life if it wasn't paid a cent less.
Lü Yi remained silent throughout, simply smiling, neither admitting nor denying, as if the middle-aged woman were accusing someone else.
Officer Zhang, with years of experience in handling cases, naturally wouldn't just listen to one side of the story. He calmed the incessantly talking middle-aged woman down and immediately contacted the building's property management, requesting access to the elevator's surveillance footage.
The surveillance video revealed the truth. From the boy repeatedly kicking and shoving Lin Feng, to the middle-aged woman's unreasonable protection and insults, to Lin Feng's departure, to Lü Yi's sudden attack, and the subsequent one-sided, arguably violent "punishment," the entire process was crystal clear.
After reviewing the surveillance footage, Officer Zhang had a basic understanding of the situation. He first called the middle-aged woman aside and said in a serious tone, "Ma'am, we understand what happened. First of all, it was your child who repeatedly provoked and kicked people first. As a parent, you not only failed to stop and educate him, but also spoke rudely to him, which in itself carries a great deal of responsibility."
The middle-aged woman immediately objected and was about to retort when Officer Zhang raised his hand to stop her and continued speaking to Lü Yi:
"Young man, you hit someone, and you hit them hard, which is definitely wrong. Look, this lady and her grandson are indeed injured. Although it may not seem like minor injuries at first glance, if the other party keeps bringing this up, they could charge you with disorderly conduct, which would be trouble for you, since you did start the fight, and it happened in a public place."
Having a criminal record will affect your future work and life. What I mean is, do you think we could offer some compensation, mediate a settlement, and settle the matter to avoid future trouble? What do you think?
This is based on experience and is intended to quickly quell the incident.
Before Lü Yi could speak, the middle-aged woman shrieked, "Mediation? You think a little money will settle things? No way! Two hundred thousand! If it's not a penny less, I'll sue him until he goes to jail! Officers, you can't side with him! Did he give you some kind of bribe?!"
Her words immediately darkened the expression of even the young policeman taking notes. Officer Zhang frowned, patiently continuing his efforts, "Ma'am, we've all seen your injuries; they're not exactly serious. Asking for 200,000 is unrealistic. That young man doesn't look wealthy either. Could we perhaps compromise and negotiate a reasonable amount?"
"No refund! It's 200,000! No money? Don't lay a hand on me! If you lay a hand on me, you'll pay the price!" The middle-aged woman stood with her hands on her hips, spitting as she spoke, her attitude extremely aggressive. She then made a move to sit on the ground, "Oh dear, do I want to die? The police and the people who beat me up are in cahoots..."
Officer Zhang felt a throbbing pain in his temples. Dealing with such a unreasonable and stubborn person was truly impossible to reason with. He sighed and looked at Lü Yi again. Lü Yi still looked completely unconcerned, and even blatantly raised a middle finger at the incessantly chattering middle-aged woman.
Just as Officer Zhang was at his wit's end, feeling that the mediation had reached a stalemate, a series of hurried footsteps and an angry roar came from the side:
"Mom! Xiaobao! Who the hell did this?! Anyone who dares to touch my mom and my son! I'll fucking kill him!"
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a burly, bald-headed middle-aged man with a thick gold chain around his neck and a fierce-looking face rushing over angrily. He was Sun Qiang, the son of the middle-aged woman who had rushed back after receiving a phone call.
When Sun Qiang arrived at the scene, seeing the shoe prints and bloodstains on his mother's face, and his son's swollen cheeks, his eyes instantly reddened. Without regard for anything else, he roared, "Who is it?! Step forward!"
A police officer quickly stepped forward to stop him. "Calm down! We are police officers! We are handling this!"
After being stopped by the police, Sun Qiang calmed down a bit, but after learning the "situation" from his mother (naturally, a version embellished by her), he immediately glared at Lü Yi Lü Yi, pointed his finger at her nose, and unleashed a torrent of vulgarities.
"You little bastard! You're tired of living, aren't you? You dare touch my family? Two hundred thousand! If it's not a penny less, I'll break your leg! Damn it, if I don't make sure you spend a few years in jail today, I'll change my surname to yours!"
He was aggressive, trying to intimidate Lü Yi with his fierce appearance and words.
Despite the bald man's insults and threats, Lü Yi's smile remained unchanged. He didn't even look at the police officers, and strolled over to Sun Qiang, the bald man who was spitting everywhere, as if taking a walk.
Everyone was watching him, wondering what he was up to. Officer Zhang instinctively wanted to speak up and stop him.
But it was too late.
Lü Yi walked up to Sun Qiang, and while the latter was still shouting insults, without warning, she raised her arm, the movement so fast it almost left a blur—
"Smack!!!"
A resounding slap, delivered with all its might, landed squarely on Sun Qiang's fleshy face!
The sound was so loud that it instantly silenced the surroundings.
Sun Qiang's head jerked to the side from the slap, his gold chain swung wildly, and five clear finger marks instantly appeared on his face. Completely stunned, he covered his face, staring at Lü Yi in disbelief. He never expected that the other party would dare to lay a hand on him even with the police present!
The middle-aged woman was also stunned, her mouth agape, forgetting to cry out.
Even the police officers were stunned. From the moment they arrived, apart from giving the middle finger, Lü Yi had remained relatively "calm." Who could have imagined he would suddenly pull such a stunt?
Lü Yi flicked his wrist, looked at the bald man stunned by his slap, then at the dumbfounded middle-aged woman and the terrified little boy, and a smile of immense satisfaction, even a hint of smugness, appeared on his face. He let out a long sigh, as if he had accomplished some important task, and said in a relaxed and cheerful tone:
"That feels good. A family should always be together."
The scene was deathly silent.
Seeing the completely out-of-control scene, the veteran police Officer Zhang, who was leading the charge, helplessly slapped his forehead, making a soft "smack" sound. He wearily waved his hand and said to his colleague beside him:
"Alright, that's enough talk. Take them all back to the station and we'll mediate slowly!"