A female colleague who'd come along leaned close to Chen Qin, patted his shoulder, and whispered, "Captain Chen, what do we do? Can we still take him away?"
"How should I know? Another damned assignment."
He sighed and went on, "Back at the academy I used to dream that once I hit the streets I'd fight society's scum, defend the people—maybe even save a beauty and get a heroic scar."
"Turns out real work is… none of that. Just endless chicken-feed: midnight couple fights I have to referee, aunties brawling on the sidewalk I have to separate—damn. Years as a Beat Cop, the most action was nabbing a couple pickpockets. Otherwise it's mediate, mediate, mediate—drunks, market squabbles, neighbor spats."
"Day after day of this garbage. Finally made captain, and here we are again. Rich folks got nothing better to do than brawl—why not just eat, drink, be merry? Now HQ dumps the dirty work on me, using me as their gun. Sometimes I think I'm just not cut out for this; it's exhausting."
Seeing him rant, the female colleague gave him a sympathetic glance. "Sigh—dream versus reality. I've got a feeling we're working overtime tonight."
Captain Chen ruffled his hair in frustration and groaned, "Life's ten percent joy, ninety percent 'tough luck.' Fate's cruel. Let me make a call first…"
"Heh-heh, hang in there—milk tea's on me tonight." She beamed him a smile of encouragement.
The call brought no answers; given the sensitivity, everyone had kicked it upstairs. Now they could only wait.
When Chen Qin hurried back from the call, Jiang Cheng and Qi Yuan had already fired up Honor of Kings, making his eyelid twitch.
With the Injury Report still pending, Jiang Cheng would at worst be tagged Excessive Self-defense; Grievous Assault wasn't set in stone.
He wasn't a suspect yet and retained citizen rights—so playing on his phone wasn't illegal.
Still, who could game at a time like this?
Chen Qin's years of experience told him such calm meant either reckless stupidity or solid backing.
Judging by Jiang Cheng's manner, definitely not the former.
Qi Yuan hadn't wanted to play, but Jiang Cheng's composure proved contagious.
"So?" Qi Yuan looked up at Chen Qin.
Chen gave a wry smile. "It's been reported, Young Master Qi. I reviewed the footage: although Jiang Cheng didn't throw the first punch, he kept hitting after the threat was gone. It's not all on him, but since Young Master Wang is injured, the outcome hinges on his attitude. If the injury's minor and he accepts mediation, we're fine—there is a way out."
Chen's words were veiled, yet the signal was clear: whether this dies down depends on Wang Hao.
He'd shown no obvious bias, which surprised Jiang Cheng.
Qi Yuan's frown remained; of course he knew the stakes.
The fear was Wang Hao refusing to let it go.
With Qi Yuan involved, Chen could do little even if he wanted to.
At worst he'd earn a "poor performer" label.
They might even hand the case to someone else.
Better than being the fall guy.
He had zero interest in climbing the ladder.
Keeping his current rank was enough.
Chen waved a hand. "Rest assured, no falsification."
"Qi Yuan, what pressure are you putting on him? Trying to use the back door?"
"Wang Hao, are you nuts? Who's the one that always uses the back door?"
Watching them bicker again, Chen Qin watched the show, while others whispered.
All feared tonight's fallout might hit their families' businesses.
Though usually close to Qi Yuan, everyone knew Qi Yuan and Wang Hao would never truly clash.
And today, some newcomer actually laid hands on Wang Hao—and even beat him until he looked like a pig's head.
It left them all fuming; if their families found out they'd been on the scene, they'd probably be scolded half to death.
Although Han Anning shared their fear of being dragged into the mess, she was also worried about Jiang Cheng.
After all, she'd just started admiring his driving skills; she didn't want him thrown in jail already.
Wang Congcong, however, ignored the whispering around him and dialed the lawyer he knew best.
Wang Hao might have backing, but Wang Congcong wasn't afraid; though they rarely clashed, helping Jiang Cheng any further was out of the question.
This was only his second meeting with Jiang Cheng; if they hadn't hit it off, Congcong wouldn't have called a lawyer for him at all.
Meanwhile, Chen Qin was still waiting for instructions when a middle-aged noblewoman toting a crocodile Hermès bag click-clacked toward them on ear-piercing heels.
Behind her strode several Bodyguards in black suits.
The instant Wang Hao saw the woman he sprang up: "Mom, what are you doing here?"
Seeing her son's bruised and swollen face, the Middle-aged Woman gasped in distress.
"Haor, are you alright? Which bastard dared to hit you like this?"
Wang Hao shot Jiang Cheng an embarrassed glance and muttered, "How did you find out?"
"How could I not? You've grown wings, huh? Bullied and you don't tell Mommy?"
"Mom, it's nothing. Why bother you?"
Wang Hao looked away, mortified; moments ago he'd been mocking Jiang Cheng for calling his parents.
Now his own mother had shown up.
Since childhood, the slightest scratch and Mom would rush to the scene to defend him.
Eventually he realized everyone called him a mama's boy behind his back.
So as he grew up he tried to keep such scenes from happening.
Yet this time she'd still found out.
"You're so beaten up I almost didn't recognize you, and you call it nothing? Does someone have to die before it counts as something?"
With that, her sharp gaze swept across the three of them and locked onto Jiang Cheng.
Seeing Jiang Cheng still gaming without a care, the Middle-aged Woman's anger flared.
"You're Jiang Cheng, aren't you?"
Jiang Cheng glanced up; the features were much like Wang Hao's, but her face was all spite and meanness.
Qi Yuan leaned close and whispered, "Wang Hao's mother, Lin Lan."
Chen Qin's head throbbed the moment this unexpected visitor appeared.
He'd known he couldn't dodge this scene.
Chen Qin hurried forward: "Madam Wang, what brings you here?"
Lin Lan pointed at Jiang Cheng. "Why shouldn't I come? If I didn't, I'd never know you handle cases like this—my precious son beaten to a pulp while he's here playing games! You two, beat him hard for me—how dare he hit my boy like that!"
The moment she finished, the two men behind her surged forward.
Chen Qin quickly stepped in to block them.
Qi Yuan rose and shouted, "What do you think you're doing? These are all Beat Cops here!"
"Kid of the Qi family, get out of my way. I'll settle with you later; today you're spared," Lin Lan snarled.
Jiang Cheng looked at the Middle-aged Woman's arrogant manner—exactly like Wang Hao's—and couldn't help laughing. "A family indeed—do you really think all of Shanghai is yours?"
Lin Lan sneered. "Maybe not all of Shanghai, but more than enough to deal with a country bumpkin like you."
"Oh? Then show me how you plan to deal with me." Jiang Cheng stayed calm and unruffled.
Chen Qin quickly intervened. "Madam Wang, please calm down—violence isn't appropriate."
Lin Lan frowned at Jiang Cheng's unruffled look. She hadn't actually come to strike him; she knew where to draw the line. Open violence would give others a handle against her, and there were plenty of ways to finish Jiang Cheng off in the dark.