"Fuck!"
Xia Lei suddenly smashed his fist against the wall.
The pain from his knuckles cleared his head a little.
He regretted it. He shouldn’t have been so impulsive and gone to the police. He shouldn’t have so readily trusted that hypocritical face. Now, the evidence was sure to be destroyed, and he’d been frad for dical insurance fraud.
A rustling sound ca from under the hard plank bed. A cockroach crawled out from the shadows, swaggered across the floor, and squeezed through the gap under the iron door.
Xia Lei suddenly envied that cockroach.
He felt his life was now worse than a cockroach’s.
His thoughts turned to his wife.
’If I really die from a "sudden illness," how will she manage on her own with our child?’
’The mortgage isn’t even paid off yet.’
Just as his thoughts were running wild, footsteps suddenly echoed from the end of the hallway, growing closer until they stopped right outside his door.
Xia Lei’s body went rigid, and his heart began to pound. ’Who would co at this hour?’
’A surprise interrogation?’
’No, they don’t interrogate people in the middle of the night.’
’Could it be... like in the movies?’
He panicked even more.
The sound of a key turning in the lock was piercingly loud in the silence.
Xia Lei instinctively shrank back.
His whole body was ramrod straight.
The door opened, and the light from the hallway was so bright it made him squint.
Once his eyes adjusted, he was surprised to see Officer Zhang standing in the doorway.
Only, he wasn’t the sa as he’d been during the day.
During the day, Officer Zhang had worn a stony expression and promised to deal with them severely.
But now, the officer’s face was wreathed in smiles, and he appeared incredibly friendly.
"Mr. Xia, you’ve been wronged!"
Officer Zhang strode over and personally helped him up. "We’ve taken care of all the paperwork. You can go ho now."
"Huh?"
Xia Lei, clearly having expected the worst, instinctively recoiled. "Wh-what do you an?"
"A misunderstanding! It’s all a misunderstanding!"
Officer Zhang said with a smile, "Your case wasn’t serious. You can go ho."
It finally dawned on Xia Lei.
He didn’t know why they had changed their tune, but perhaps soone had put pressure on them.
Regardless, it seed he and Song Qiang were safe for now.
But Xia Lei wasn’t ready to let it go. He couldn’t help but ask, "What about my case? My kidney is gone..."
Officer Zhang acted as if he had just rembered. "Oh, that’s right. I have so good news for you. Dr. Xu from City Second Hospital was just arrested for corruption and bribery. He’s facing prosecution and prison ti. You must be happy to hear that."
"What?"
Xia Lei was both shocked and overjoyed.
’That demon has been arrested! This is great!’
But then, he sensed sothing was wrong.
’They only arrested one person?’
’And the charge is just corruption and bribery?’
’That’s not right...’
"Officer Zhang..."
Xia Lei began to voice his doubts.
Officer Zhang didn’t explain. Instead, he changed the subject. "You’ll receive compensation. A few hundred thousand, probably."
Xia Lei was even more confused. "On what grounds am I being compensated?"
’Dr. Xu’s cri was corruption and bribery, but I wasn’t involved in any of that. The grounds for compensation don’t make any sense.’
The smile on Officer Zhang’s face slowly vanished. He took a step forward until his lips were almost at Xia Lei’s ear and lowered his voice to a whisper. "Mr. Xia, soone took the fall, and you’re getting compensation. What more do you want? Will you only be satisfied when everyone involved dies a horrible death?"
He took half a step back, the smile returning to his face. "But if it really cos to that, do you think you’ll be able to stay... alive?"
His words were like a bucket of cold water dumped over Xia Lei’s head.
He opened his mouth, but no sound ca out.
"Mr. Song is already waiting for you by the entrance."
Officer Zhang made a gesture of invitation. "We’ve also notified your wife. She should be here soon. I’m sure you want to be reunited with your family as soon as possible. After all, the most important thing is for a family to live a safe and peaceful life."
The hallway lights were ashen, like frost.
Xia Lei chanically followed Officer Zhang.
When they reached the main hall, the officers who worked there during the day had long since gone ho.
The hall was empty.
Only one officer was on duty, and Song Qiang was there as well.
He was shivering, dressed only in thin clothes.
"Sign this, and you can both leave."
Officer Zhang smilingly produced a docunt. It stated that they had fraudulently used a dical insurance card and should have been detained, but seeing as it was their first offense, they were being released after a reprimand.
Xia Lei and Song Qiang exchanged a look. Without a word, they obediently signed their nas.
Officer Zhang’s smile broadened. He personally escorted the two of them outside. "Take care now. If you can’t get a cab, I can have soone give you a ride."
Neither of them said a word.
Once outside, a taxi pulled up in front of them.
A middle-aged woman rushed out of the car and threw her arms around Xia Lei, tears streaming down her face. "You scared to death! They suddenly called and said you were suspected of fraud... I... I..."
Xia Lei gently patted his wife’s back, his gaze drifting over her shoulder to a lit window on the second floor of the police station.
Officer Zhang was standing there, watching them.
When he saw Xia Lei looking, Officer Zhang even smiled and waved.
Xia Lei pulled his gaze away and comforted his wife, "It’s okay now. It was all a misunderstanding."
The three of them got into the taxi in silence.
They went to Song Qiang’s ho first.
After they arrived, Xia Lei said apologetically, "Old Song, I’m sorry. You got dragged into this because of ."
Song Qiang waved a hand weakly. "We’re brothers, don’t ntion it. We’re lucky we’re getting out of this without a criminal record. Just chalk it up to experience... But... what are you going to do?"
Xia Lei gave a bitter smile. "What else can I do? They’re too powerful. We can’t fight them."
His wife, still in the dark about what had happened, looked completely baffled.
Xia Lei explained everything.
His wife was both shocked and furious.
They had gone too far.
But anger was one thing; they were still powerless.
A heavy silence fell over them.
"By the way..."
Xia Lei rembered sothing and asked his wife, "Did you ask anyone for help to get us out?"
His wife shook her head with a bitter smile. "What connections do we have? I wouldn’t even know who to ask."
Xia Lei was completely baffled. "Then why did they suddenly change their attitude?"
Song Qiang reminded him, "Didn’t you say it was Doctor Li’s idea? Could he have helped?"
Xia Lei thought for a mont. "I doubt it... He’s just a clinic doctor. How could he have that much pull?"
His wife said, "Why don’t you go ask him tomorrow? You can also get so dicine from him to help you recover."
Xia Lei nodded in agreent.
If nothing else, he was in complete awe of Doctor Li’s dical skills.
"Old Song, it’s getting late, so we’ll head ho. I’ll treat you to a al on Saturday to help you get over the shock."
"You don’t have to do that."
...
[Today’s Intelligence: Strongly Fragrant Dry Rice Pills. Ingredients: ... thod: ... Note: Can be preserved for long periods after production and requires fewer ingredients for a better effect.]
「The next morning.」
It was only after seeing the refreshed intelligence that Li Xu had a sudden realization.
He had been so busy lately.
He’d almost forgotten about the anorexia-treating rice he was growing on Tang Mountain.
It was now late autumn.
It should be ready for harvest.
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