"Name, age, place of origin!" In the interrogation room, Captain Ma did not personally conduct the questioning. Instead, he sat to the side, discussing something with his cousin, Ma Renzha, leaving the task to a junior plainclothes officer. The officer, having already been instructed to deal harshly with the suspect, naturally showed no courtesy in his tone.
"I think the young master Ma over there knows better than I do," Xiang Ri replied lightly, casting a sidelong glance at Ma Renzha. His words carried a subtle weight, and they were not without truth—after all, Ma Renzha had attended high school with "him," making him far more familiar with the person Xiang Ri now inhabited.
"Behave yourself!" The plainclothes officer snapped, his anger rising. Yet, he had encountered such defiant types before; as a policeman, one inevitably ran into all manner of troublemakers.
Typically, those with such arrogance had either powerful connections or substantial personal strength. However, the bespectacled student before him clearly fell into neither category. That this seemingly ordinary individual dared to challenge him only stoked the officer's irritation, prompting him to roll up his sleeves, ready to strike.
"Hold it!" Ma Tianhao suddenly intervened, his gaze shifting to Xiang Ri, who sat across from him nonchalantly, handcuffs gleaming on his wrists. Feigning civility, Ma Tianhao said, "Xiang Ri, for the sake of our past as classmates, I'll give you one more chance. Just agree, and—"
A rapid knock at the door cut him off. "Open the door! Don't do anything reckless, Captain Ma!"
"Captain, it's Xiao Wu," one of Ma's loyal subordinates informed him before the captain himself could respond.
"Ignore him," the burly man waved dismissively, his tone dripping with disdain. A minor figure like Xiao Wu was beneath his notice. "Probably here to beg for mercy. If he doesn't want to do his job, I'll kick him out of the precinct!"
His expression turned vicious as he spat out the words, though he refrained from naming "him" outright. Everyone present knew he was referring to the hapless officer outside.
With the interruption over, Ma Tianhao returned to the matter at hand. "Xiang Ri, this is your last chance. Think it over carefully—otherwise, you'll be the one to suffer."
"How many 'last chances' do you have, exactly?" Xiang Ri retorted, his face laced with mockery. Now that he was already at the precinct, there was no need to hold back. Though puzzled as to why a certain female officer hadn't arrived yet, he saw no harm in teaching these scumbags a lesson.
"If you want me to suffer, go ahead and try. Don't hold back." He shrugged nonchalantly, a taunting smirk playing on his lips.
He had long wanted to deal with this group but had refrained from acting to provoke them first. After all, this was his wife's precinct—he couldn't make things difficult for her. Assaulting a police officer was no small matter. But if they made the first move, he'd have the moral high ground to fight back.
Sure enough, his brazen attitude enraged the group. Ma Tianhao nearly lashed out with a kick, but his cousin stopped him. "Tianhao, why the rush? Use a book to cushion the blows first."
With that, Ma Long signaled to one of his men, who promptly fetched a large phone book.
"Big Brother, you're always so thorough," Ma Tianhao said with a sinister grin. He understood his cousin's intentions perfectly—using the book as a cushion would leave no visible injuries, making it impossible for a medical examination to detect anything later. Even if things went south, they'd have plausible deniability.
Grabbing the hefty book, Ma Tianhao positioned it against Xiang Ri's chest, preparing to strike.
But before he could act, a louder, more forceful knock sounded at the door, accompanied by what seemed like the noise of someone ramming it.
"Xiao Wu, are you trying to rebel?" Ma Long roared, his voice filled with fury. To him, this was an unforgivable humiliation. How could someone dare to challenge his authority after just a few days away? The audacity was beyond belief.
Then, a cold, commanding voice from outside froze him in place. "Ma Long, open the door. Now!"
"Chief Tie?" Ma Long froze for a moment, but quickly snapped back to his senses. He immediately stopped his cousin, Ma Tianhao, just as he was about to strike. "Tianhao, hold it! The chief is here." With that, he hurriedly moved to open the door.
Before he could touch the handle, however, the door was flung open with great force. A crowd of officers stormed in, led by a stunning and composed female officer.
Caught off guard by the sudden intrusion, Ma Tianhao was in the act of removing the phone book pressed against Xiang Ri's chest. The scene was laid bare for all the officers to see.
In that moment, it was clear to everyone what had transpired. The method of using a phone book to cushion blows was far from novel; some had even gone as far as substituting fists and feet with hammers. However, one had to be cautious about the target. The person they had apprehended was no ordinary suspect but someone with ties to their superior.
Should any harm come to him, the entire precinct would face the consequences. This realization filled them with dread, and they silently cursed the reckless fools responsible. They could only hope the situation hadn't escalated too far—if it had, they could only pray for divine intervention.
Their fears were misplaced, though. Xiang Ri had not only anticipated their aggression but had even planned his retaliation. His strategy, however, was interrupted by the officers' untimely arrival. Of course, one couldn't entirely blame them—his disheveled appearance had misled everyone, concealing the extraordinary strength he possessed.
Even Tie Wan momentarily forgot his capabilities in her rush to reach his side. She quickly examined him, her voice tinged with concern. "Xiang Ri, are you alright?" Her hands moved instinctively, patting him down to check for injuries.
"I'm fine," Xiang Ri assured her, unwilling to let her worry. He gently clasped her hands as they hovered over his chest, her concern evident. "It's a good thing you arrived in time, or else I might have…" He let the sentence trail off, but the implication was clear to everyone present.
As Tie Wan's eyes fell on the delicate "bracelet" around his wrist and the thickly bandaged right hand, where faint red stains seeped through the white gauze, her expression darkened.
She turned to Ma Long, her gaze icy. "Captain Ma, what exactly is going on here?" Without waiting for an answer, she instructed Xiao Wu to unlock Xiang Ri's handcuffs.
Ma Long shrank under her gaze. In that moment, he no longer cared about the ambiguous relationship between the young man and his superior—it was plain that their bond was anything but ordinary. Even the flicker of jealousy in his heart was quickly suppressed as he stammered, "Chief Tie, please listen to me. It's like this…"
Though nervous, he clung to his pretext of "assault and injury," hoping to escape punishment. With the supposed victim present as a witness, he felt marginally more secure.
Unfortunately for Ma Long, his plan overlooked the storm brewing in Tie Wan's heart. Assault and injury? Even if that were true, what gave them the right to arrest someone without her approval, bring him in, and subject him to such brutality? This was nothing short of a vile act of revenge.
Her gaze flickered to the man nearby with a cast on his leg. She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by a young officer who burst into the room, breathless and pale.
"Ch-Chief Tie," he stammered. "Out…outside, there's…there's a crowd of people!"