Chapter 18: Ye Gongmin's Confidence

Even the overweight nerd was dumbfounded when the poised woman flashed her police badge, waving his hands frantically, “I don’t know this guy, there’s nothing going on between us.”

But that didn’t matter; the female officer pointed at his nose and said, “I know you’re not deeply involved, but the two things you bought are likely stolen goods, and you paid a hefty sum in cash. These are all evidence, so you’ll have to come down to the station and explain yourself.”

Now, whether the police invited him or not, the nerd had no choice but to go along, since both the money and the graphics cards would be confiscated as evidence—at least one of which belonged to him, and it was no small sum.

For now, they hadn't been locked up yet. Da Min and the nerd sat side by side on a bench, waiting to be questioned.

The nerd didn’t curse or complain, but instead eyed Xiao Ma warily, afraid to speak, convinced now that Xiao Ma was a criminal.

Xiao Ma felt utterly miserable inside and actually hoped the nerd would start ranting at him. Unfortunately, the nerd just sat there timidly, barely perched on the edge of the bench, not even daring to look his way. This only made Xiao Ma look more suspicious, which would surely worsen the police’s attitude during questioning.

Nerds might be losers outside, but their character works in their favor at the station. They’re the least troublesome segment of society; the police instinctively protect them and regard the people who scare them as the real bad guys. It’s almost a law of nature.

“Can’t you at least insult me a little? And why are you sitting so far away—move closer,” Xiao Ma said to him.

The nerd inched even farther away, now sitting on barely half the bench.

Xiao Ma felt doomed.

Just then, the female officer, sleeves rolled up over her button-down shirt, came over and scolded, “So cocky! Do your family know what you’re like? Little punk, why are you scaring him? What did the fat guy ever do to you? You’re in here because you broke the law, not because of him.”

Xiao Ma looked at her meekly, saying nothing.

She was strikingly beautiful, with a haircut that was considered rebellious for women—a close-cropped “bayberry style,” as it was colloquially called. It made her look cool.

Her figure was impressive too, but not in the way of a yoga enthusiast; rather, she had the physique of a woman who did a lot of cardio and weight training.

She set down her teacup, sat, and undid another button on her shirt, rolling her neck so that her joints cracked audibly. This only made Xiao Ma feel a chill in his heart.

“Officer, why did you arrest me?” he asked.

She wasn’t aggressive, but calmly scribbled a few notes with her pen.

But Xiao Ma thought she was just putting on an act. He was sure she was the brash type—after all, she’d smacked him on the back of the head. Yet he couldn’t even file a complaint: judging from her style, she was clearly the popular star officer of this precinct, and no one would punish her over some “nobody” even if there was proof.

That’s the reality, a fact of life. Only if the officer was some ostracized nerd would she be easy to bully.

In short, complaints against nerds usually succeed, but complaints against popular officers like her only get you into more trouble—like being hassled over your ID.

So, under this strange logic, Xiao Ma decided to behave.

The female officer seemed pleased with his compliant attitude, set her pen down, and said, “This isn’t a big deal. Once I wrap up your case, my crackdown quota will be met.”

Xiao Ma remained silent.

She continued, “If you want to know, I’ll explain. This morning, before I reached the station, I was driving and saw a Lamborghini speeding recklessly. It even cut me off.”

She paused, then said, “It’s not really my business, and honestly, I didn’t want to get involved, but I have a bit of road rage. Then I noticed a traffic police squad car, lights flashing in pursuit, and guessed they were after the Lamborghini.”

“I don’t know what the traffic cops were thinking—maybe they didn’t call for backup, and they ended up taking the wrong road,” the officer continued. “I took a different route in my unmarked car and found the Lamborghini parked. What I’m telling you should sound familiar. Want to hear the rest?”

At this point, Xiao Ma started to feel uneasy.

The poised officer went on, “I saw you get out of the car and have a heated argument with the woman inside. Given that the traffic cops were chasing you in an unusual way, I figured you’d broken the law, and I was already in a bad mood. So, to put it simply, I decided to make things tough for you both. But, of course, I can’t be everywhere at once, so I chose to follow the Lamborghini instead of you.”

“I followed the Lamborghini to the Haihao Building and found the owner—she’s quite famous, Ni Feihong, you know her, right?” The officer took a sip of tea and continued, “Ni Feihong claimed she barely knew you. She said you’d driven her car without permission and scared her half to death.”

At this, Xiao Ma was shocked. “Damn, that woman’s burning the bridge after crossing. Did she say I kidnapped her? If not, how could she absolve herself of responsibility?”

He immediately got a smack on the back of the head.

The officer said coldly, “Watch your mouth.”

Seeing Xiao Ma settle down, she continued, “Don’t get so worked up. I had the same question, so I asked Ni Feihong directly if it was a kidnapping. She said no, but insisted you drove recklessly without permission and put her in danger. She also told me the complex you live in, but not the exact address.”

“I had nothing else going on, and that area falls under our jurisdiction, so I decided to take a look. When I arrived, I saw you skulking around in front of a residence.”

The officer added, “I wouldn’t say you looked like a thief, but ‘skulking’ seems accurate.”

Xiao Ma quickly asked, “Officer, did you see anyone else doing anything over there?”

She frowned and shook her head, “I was too far away to see clearly, but I did notice a group of people moving things. Then I saw you go into that residence. Since you used a key, I wasn’t sure what was going on, so I didn’t intervene but kept following you. You were still acting all nervous and jumpy, like a thief.”

She pointed at the fat guy, “Then I saw you making a suspicious transaction with him, involving items of considerable value. As a police officer, don’t you think I had good reason to bring you in for questioning?”

“But you really didn’t,” Xiao Ma began, standing his ground.

The officer looked annoyed, picking up the evidence bag containing the two graphics cards. “What are these? Just these little things cost over ten thousand? What are you two up to?”

The nerd and Xiao Ma exchanged uneasy glances.

Xiao Ma tried to explain, but she cut him off, “You, shut up—I don’t trust you. Fatty, you explain.”

The nerd, exasperated, took out his phone and pulled up an e-commerce site, giving her a brief explanation. The officer’s cheeks flushed slightly.

“So, do you see your mistake now?” Xiao Ma said with a mischievous look.

She was even more irritated and slapped the table, “Trying to scare me? Even if they’re not contraband, you still look suspicious of stealing high-value property.”

Xiao Ma couldn’t help feeling a little intimidated by her.

She continued, “I do have a bit of a temper, but don’t even think about filing a complaint. You need to do a few things: First, convince me these graphics cards are yours. Second, convince me you didn’t commit burglary. I’ll need to see your property deed or lease, or at least have someone from building management vouch for you. Third, if you complete the above, I’ll let you go. And as a little favor, I won’t refer you to the traffic police squad. I’m already bending the rules, you know.”

Ma Weimin was momentarily stunned; he couldn’t really accuse her of being unreasonable. The problem was, he could hardly meet any of her requirements.

At this point, the nerd interjected on Xiao Ma’s behalf, “He’s got the invoice for the graphics cards—he already transferred them to me.”

He showed the electronic invoice on his phone to the officer, who checked the tax number and found it was legitimate; the two cards were not black market goods, but had been properly bought and taxed.

Still, she frowned, “The invoice is in the name of Chen Xiao, not you, Ma Weimin. If you can give me Chen Xiao’s phone number and I can reach her to confirm, that’ll settle it.”

Unfortunately, although Xiao Ma provided the number, the officer couldn’t reach Chen Xiao—her phone was switched off.

The officer had to set the matter aside for now and moved on, “Next question: having a key doesn’t prove you live there. Do you have a lease? Or does anyone from building management know you?”

“Uh…”

Xiao Ma didn’t know anyone from management, and the lease was in Tao Zi’s name. Unfortunately, Tao Zi had also been kidnapped, and her phone was unreachable.