Chapter 13

Deputy Wang shook his head and lowered his voice, "Liu Zi, let me be frank with you: Deputy Zhang has instructed us to help Old Zhao Six, but we don't have to get ourselves involved in this mess. Remember this: we are just responsible for mediation. Whether they reach an agreement or not is up to them. How much they agree to compensate is their business, and we don't interfere. If they can't reach an agreement, then we finish the mediation and ask them to leave. If they want to make a fuss, let them sue in court; we don't care."

Hearing the leader set the boundaries, Liu Biyun felt a weight lifted off his shoulders. He also lowered his voice, "But will Er Bazi agree to this?"

"I talked to Zhao Six, and he said it's no problem. He just wants us to help scare them a bit. Whether he gets money or not doesn't matter."

"Hey, that's strange. Zhao Six is usually so tough, but he's being so reasonable this time. What's his motive?"

Deputy Wang spread his hands, "I'm not Zhao Six, how would I know what he's thinking? He's just making a fuss, that's all!"

Xu Yan, who was in the police station office, naturally wouldn't know about the subtle relationship between the police and the gangsters. He was just sitting there, doing nothing, lost in thought.

The young police officer surnamed Liu came in a few times, each time asking, "Xiao Xu, have you thought it over? Are you going to pay the compensation?"

"I don't have any money," Xu Yan always answered firmly—when he said this, his voice was weak, and cold sweat ran down his back. In his hand was a black plastic bag containing several bundles of RMB, exactly 46,000 yuan. If the police were to ask curiously, "What's in that black bag? Let me see!" his lie would be immediately exposed.

But fortunately, Liu Biyun didn't do that. Hearing Xu Yan say he had no money, he nodded, as if he had expected this answer. He didn't press further but instead started chatting casually with Xu Yan, asking about his university life, whether he had a girlfriend, how the school cafeteria food was, and what his major was—his questions were varied and endless.

At first, Xu Yan was very cautious: wasn't this how it was always shown on TV? The wise and brave police officers would lull the criminals into a false sense of security, finding their weaknesses in seemingly unrelated conversations, and ultimately breaking their psychological defenses. Now, this young police officer was chatting with him in a similar way. Could he have the same intention?

But as the conversation went on, Xu Yan realized that things weren't as he had imagined. Liu's questions became more scattered and less relevant. Now, he was enthusiastically asking about the football team at Shudu University, boasting about how he was the forward on the police school team, how he dominated the field, sweeping through all the neighboring universities, and how the girls would scream in admiration when he stepped onto the field, and how he had so many admirers that he didn't know what to do with them...

Even Xu Yan, with his lack of social experience, could see that the police officer had no ulterior motives; he was just chatting and boasting. It was clear that he was just going through the motions, not really intending to handle the dispute. Eventually, Xu Yan couldn't hold back and asked, "Officer Liu, how should I handle the matter with Zhao Six?"

"How should you handle it? We are handling it, aren't we? Do you think I'm just sitting here with you for fun? This is mediation!"

"You're just bullshitting," Xu Yan thought to himself, but he didn't say it. He nodded woodenly, "Oh, we're mediating..."

Officer Liu's lips curled into a sly smile, "Yes, Zhao Six wants 50,000 yuan, and you say you have no money to pay. There's such a big gap between you two, how can you reach an agreement? I can't just sell your organs, can I? I'm doing serious and detailed ideological work with you. I'm not in a hurry, why are you? Oh, where were we just now?"

"Talking about your girlfriend in college..."

"Right, right! There was a girl who liked me, but I liked another girl in her dorm. It was so difficult for me. I had to hide it from one and not hurt the other, walking a tightrope... Women are really a pain in the ass!"

This Liu Biyun was a real talker. He talked about his college days, his elementary school days, his graduation, and even boasted about how he had disarmed two knife-wielding robbers with his bare hands. As they chatted, Xu Yan relaxed and started to chat along, feeling that this police officer was just like one of his dorm mates, except for the uniform.

The only thing that dampened the mood was when the middle-aged police officer would occasionally knock on the door and ask, "Liu Zi, how's the mediation going?"

At such times, Officer Liu would immediately wipe the smile off his face, sit up straight, and sternly scold Xu Yan, "Why don't you understand? Don't you realize the seriousness of the situation? You have damaged someone else's property, and the consequences are serious. You could be held legally responsible, and in severe cases, even criminally responsible! Do you understand what criminal responsibility means? It means going to jail—Report to Chief Wang, I'm still working on this guy. He knows he's wrong, but he's just unwilling to pay. I'm educating him properly!"

"Oh, hurry up then, the boss is waiting for the result."

"This guy is so stubborn, but don't worry, I'll step up my efforts!"

After the middle-aged police officer left, Liu Biyun let out a "huh" and leaned back in his chair, saying earnestly, "Where was I just now?"

"You were talking about how precious college life is..."

"Oh, right, right, little brother, college life is just four years, but it feels long and short at the same time. It flies by before you know it, and you don't even have time to savor it. I've been there, and I was once a college student, but every time I think about those years, I feel like I wasted a lot of time. There were many things I should have done, many girls I should have dated..." Liu Biyun hesitated, then sighed, "I feel like I wasted my college years!"

Xu Yan couldn't help but interject, "Officer Liu, I feel that although college life is only four years, it leaves a deep impression on your life. During these years, you not only learn knowledge but also shape your way of thinking, your temperament, and your worldview and values—I think this is very true."

Liu Biyun snapped his fingers, "Yes, that's right." He praised, "You said it well. Students from prestigious universities are different. They are much better than us who paid to go to police school. By the way, which department in your school has the most beautiful girls now?"

At this point, even if Xu Yan was naive, he could see the police officer's protective intentions. He tentatively asked, "Officer, what does the leadership think about my case? Is it very serious?"

Officer Liu Liu Biyun looked deeply at Xu Yan and said slowly, "Your case is serious, of course. According to the law, damaging someone else's property should be compensated, but you have no money. What can I do? I can't force you to sell your organs to pay, can I? Do you understand?"

As he said the last sentence, Liu Biyun emphasized it and stared into Xu Yan's eyes. Seeing his meaningful gaze, Xu Yan suddenly understood. The other party wasn't asking but hinting: since he had said he had no money, he should stick to it.

Xu Yan subconsciously said, "Thank you, I understand..."

Before he could finish, the other party stopped him with a look. Liu Biyun stretched and yawned, "Before we know it, it's noon. I'll go eat first. You can stay here and think about it. Don't worry, everything will be resolved."

Although Liu Biyun said this, Xu Yan didn't expect the matter to drag on for so long. Seeing his firm attitude, Liu Biyun felt "there was nothing he could do with this guy" and reported to the leadership. Then, the middle-aged police officer took over, interrogating Xu Yan—his attitude was much harsher than Liu Biyun's, sternly threatening to detain or even criminally detain "the criminal who damaged someone else's property," saying, "I'll lock you up for half a month!" If it weren't for Liu Biyun's earlier preparation, Xu Yan would have been scared. Now, he gritted his teeth and stuck to one sentence: "I have no money!"

Seeing that the guy was stubborn and wouldn't budge, Deputy Wang also found it difficult to handle, but he wasn't in a hurry—after all, the higher-ups just wanted to scare these two guys, not necessarily make them pay. By showing up, he had fulfilled his duty.

The mediation dragged on until nightfall—after lunch, the police knew that the two college students were stubborn and wouldn't pay, but since the higher-ups had given orders, they had to keep them there longer, even if the matter wasn't resolved, to show that they had done their best.

After lunch, Deputy Wang and Officer Liu Biyun went out on duty and didn't return. Xu Yan was left alone in the office. The other police officers knew he was involved in a civil dispute and didn't pay him any attention. Xu Yan saw many interesting things.

For example, a couple fighting, a car accident, a fake invoice vendor. What impressed Xu Yan the most was a thief who was brought to the police station by the crowd, handcuffed and locked to an iron rack on the wall—Xu Yan finally understood what the iron racks on the wall were for. The position of the iron rack was at waist level, so the thief couldn't stand straight or squat, and could only half-squat, looking very uncomfortable. No one paid attention to him, and he was left there for about five or six hours, facing Xu Yan. Seeing that Xu Yan could sit freely on a chair, the thief's eyes were full of envy.

Being unexpectedly detained in the police station for a whole day, Xu Yan initially felt very indignant, but seeing the thief handcuffed to the wall, he suddenly felt that being able to sit freely was still a blessing—life is all about comparison! Honestly, if it weren't for the dispute making Xu Yan anxious, sitting in the police station and experiencing life would have been quite an interesting experience.

As night fell, the police officers went to the canteen to get their meals, and Xu Yan's stomach was growling. He wondered if he would be left without dinner, but two police officers came in, and it was Deputy Wang and Liu Biyun. Both were drenched in sweat and looked exhausted, clearly from a difficult duty.

Seeing Xu Yan still there, the two police officers were surprised—Xu Yan could see that they had forgotten about him.

Liu Biyun scratched his head, "Chief Wang, ah, I almost forgot, this guy is still here. Chief Wang, after all this fuss, shouldn't we have a conclusion?"

On their way back from the duty, they had encountered a street robbery and chased the robber for three streets before catching him. They were exhausted, and Chief Wang had no interest in dealing with the messy matter. He scolded Xu Yan and then announced, "Since you two can't reach an agreement, we won't mediate anymore. You can go home and discuss it yourselves. If you can't reach an agreement, you can sue in court—go home now."

Hearing this, Xu Yan was overjoyed. He stood up, bowed slightly to the two police officers, and said sincerely, "Thank you, officers, for your trouble."

This gratitude was genuinely heartfelt. Although Xu Yan didn't understand the whole story, he could see that the thug Zhao Six had some background, and Officer Liu Biyun, while speaking officially, was protecting him. From this, Xu Yan could guess that the police were under pressure, and the outcome was still fortunate for him.

Liu Biyun took Xu Yan downstairs, and in the first-floor hall, Xu Yan saw Liu Yang, the fat guy. He had also been released, looking confused and sleepy, as if he had just been woken up. Xu Yan couldn't figure out how he had spent the past few hours.

Liu Biyun led the two out of the police station, and Xu Yan thanked him again. Liu Biyun waved his hand, "You understand the situation, so there's no need to thank me. You know, in this uniform, we often have to do things we don't want to. Just understand our difficulties and don't blame us. That's it, go have dinner, I still have to take a statement from the thief."

Thus, Xu Yan and Liu Yang entered the police station in a daze and left in a daze. As the night deepened and the lights came on, they looked back at the sign of the Chang'an Road Police Station in Xinjiang District, both feeling a sense of reflection: this was indeed a memorable experience.

After being hungry all day, they had no mood to go shopping and found a small restaurant on the street to eat. During the meal, they talked about the day's events, both feeling confused: Zhao Six had gone to great lengths to frame them and get them into the police station, presumably with some ulterior motive. But after all the fuss, the matter ended without resolution—this whole thing was so bizarre and hard to fathom.