Rebirth: Saving the Lovely Girl from the Start

"Who’s Chen Tingting? Officer, you’ve got the wrong person!"

The youth, Huang Mao, panicked as the handcuffs drew near.

"You’re Eagle? A few of your buddies are already down at the station. You can all get your stories straight then," the young officer said with a smile.

"It’s about that night," Xue Rui reminded them, "with the girl, Guoguo."

It was only then that he realized he had seen Huang Mao before. ’No wonder he looked familiar.’

Xue Rui thought, ’Officer Chen is incredibly efficient!’

’Officer Chen only found out about this yesterday afternoon at the earliest, and from what that young officer implied, they arrested everyone this morning?’

With a CLICK, the handcuffs bound Eagle’s "wings."

Eagle was instantly reduced to a fledgling, his head pushed down as he was shoved into the back of the police car.

"So the mighty eagle bows its head?" Xue Rui joked.

Huang Mao was on the verge of tears. ’That girl’s father is a cop? Why didn’t she say so sooner!’

If Chen Tingting had mentioned it that night, he wouldn’t have even dared to say hello, let alone reach out and touch her face.

"Um... Officer, I haven’t done anything. Since you’re arresting him, this has nothing to do with me, right?" the crew-cut youth in the lead said with a fawning smile.

"Did you report in this month? You’re coming with us today. Move it!" the young officer barked.

"Yes, sir!" The crew-cut youth shivered and, as if by conditioned reflex, snapped to attention.

He hunched over and got into the same car as Huang Mao.

Seeing that things were going south, the other few street loiterers took the opportunity to slip away...

In reality, they hadn’t done anything, and the officers had no intention of dealing with them anyway.

But for people like them, seeing a police officer caused an inexplicable nervousness.

They had to screw up their courage just to commit petty theft, yet they fantasized about being master criminals.

Xue Rui found it rather amusing. He felt these youths were way too into their roles; it was a shame they weren’t actors.

Xue Rui followed Officer Chen into a police car.

It was a Santana, painted with a police "skin." It looked cool as hell.

The interior, however, was no different from a regular civilian car. Xue Rui was a little disappointed.

"Can’t compare to your family’s BMW 730, but it’ll have to do," Officer Chen said with a laugh.

Xue Rui replied casually, "Officer Chen, you can’t say that. This car is way cooler than a BMW."

Xue Rui was being sincere. With this look, and the way it turned heads, it was far cooler than a 730.

"Old Chen, we were driving this same car that day." The middle-aged officer’s eyes grew distant, his tone filled with regret and a hint of sorrow.

"Old Yan, don’t bring it up. It’s been over ten years. With a personality like yours, I don’t even know what to say," Officer Chen said, shaking his head with a wry smile.

"I just think it’s a damn shame. If you hadn’t been injured that day, my position now would be yours," Officer Yan said, sounding rather indignant on his behalf.

"I wouldn’t want it even if you gave it to me. You criminal investigation guys have it rough—it’s mentally draining and physically exhausting."

"What’s that supposed to mean? What do you mean, ’you criminal investigation guys’?"

...

Officer Chen and Officer Yan chatted for a long time.

Xue Rui listened from the side, analyzing the information in their conversation.

Officer Chen had also been in criminal investigation when he was younger. He was transferred to the traffic police division after suffering a serious injury.

Judging from Officer Yan’s words, Officer Chen had been very capable in his youth.

"Officer Chen."

"My name is Chen Shen. You’re about the same age as Tingting, so just call me Uncle Chen," Officer Chen interrupted.

"Okay, Uncle Chen. With a history like that, why didn’t you ever tell Chen Tingting?" Xue Rui was curious. Someone transferred due to an injury in the line of duty would have merits to their name. That would make theirs a family of honor.

"It’s not worth mentioning. I only injured my arm. The truly capable ones, they all..." Officer Chen didn’t finish, letting out a heavy sigh.

Xue Rui understood. The atmosphere in the car turned solemn, and he stopped joking around.

The oppressive atmosphere didn’t begin to dissipate until the vehicle slowly came to a stop.

"Officer, I just forgot to report in this month! I don’t deserve to be brought here, do I?" The crew-cut youth’s voice was tinged with a sob.

He had gotten into some trouble a while back and was required to report to the local police station once a month.

But today, they hadn’t brought him to the local station. Instead, it was the much more imposing and solemn Public Security Bureau building. The courtyard was full of police cars, and the sight made his legs tremble.

Xue Rui couldn’t help but chuckle. ’This guy looks big and strong, but in the end, he’s just a kid. He’s already too scared to walk straight.’

Officer Chen Shen glanced at Xue Rui in surprise. ’This kid is too mature for his age. He has the look of an elder watching a child make a fool of themselves.’

"Let’s go, let’s go. I’ve never been to a place like this," Xue Rui said, heading toward the building.

As for Huang Mao, his face was now deathly pale, completely drained of color. He was being half-carried by two young officers.

"This..." Xue Rui’s eye twitched. ’Seriously? He looks like he’s about to piss his pants.’

He couldn’t help but ask one of the young officers, "What’s with him? He looks like he’s lost the will to live."

"We gave him a little lesson on the law. Indecent assault against a woman carries a sentence of up to five years," the young officer said cheerfully.

"Hiss~" Xue Rui sucked in a sharp breath.

’That’s harsh. All he did was make a few lewd comments and touch her face...’

’This kind of thing is hard to define. If Chen Tingting insists that he got physical, and they really charge him with that, then Huang Mao’s luck has completely run out.’

"Heh, it won’t come to that. They’re just kids. Scare them a little and they confess everything. They didn’t do anything to Tingting."

Chen Shen, as if reading Xue Rui’s mind, offered an explanation.

"Got it."

Xue Rui nodded. In Chen Shen’s eyes, this was a minor issue.

Use overwhelming force to scare them, then raise the hammer high but let it fall gently. He wasn’t going to actually ruin their lives.

But they still had to suffer the consequences. A few days in detention and a good lecture were in order.

Xue Rui was like Granny Liu touring the Grand View Garden, curious about everything. But he knew his limits and didn’t go where he wasn’t supposed to.

Ultimately, however, he still ended up going through the door behind the iron bars.

Inside the interrogation room, the walls were covered in soft, anti-collision padding. Even the floor was lined with a crash mat. A line of youths with hair of various colors squatted in a corner, trembling.

Xue Rui could tell at a glance that these guys weren’t very educated. They were all completely intimidated.

"Chen Tingting is so young, how can she be considered a ’woman’? Officer, I’ve been wronged!" one of the youths said, mustering his courage.

The others nodded in agreement.

"A bunch of legal illiterates. A female is legally a woman once she turns fourteen. If she was under fourteen, your sentences would be even harsher," Xue Rui added.

The youth, Huang Mao, who was nicknamed "Eagle," looked up at Xue Rui.

"What are you looking at? He’s right," the young officer snapped.

"Xue Rui, how did you end up studying at Hedong Second Middle School?" Chen Shen clicked his tongue in wonder. The boy knew so much and was so level-headed; he didn’t seem like a bad student at all.

"Hehe, I’m just not good at studying." Xue Rui was frank, admitting it openly.

"Here, Uncle Chen, Officer Yan." Xue Rui pulled out a pack of cigarettes to pass around.

Facing everyone’s surprised and confused stares, Xue Rui laughed, "Isn’t this how it always goes in TV shows? You sit at the interrogation table, shine a lamp on them, light up a cigarette..."

"What era do you think this is? Look over there."

Officer Yan pointed to the camera in the room. He felt the public still had a lot of misconceptions about them.

In the end, Xue Rui just answered a few questions truthfully while two officers took his statement.

He felt that his "day trip" to the police station shouldn’t be like this...

It left him feeling rather underwhelmed, and he shook his head repeatedly.

"What did you think an interrogation would be like?" Chen Shen asked with a smile.

"Well, not this boring, at least. I’m getting sleepy just being here."

"Should I get you a private room?"

"That won’t be necessary."

Just then, a beautiful policewoman carrying a thermos flask walked by, catching Xue Rui’s eye.

"Oh? Ma’am, you must be the station’s ’top beauty,’ right? I saw your promotional poster by the entrance. It was gorgeous."

"Such a sweet-talker." The policewoman, Tiantian, smiled, causing the youths in the corner to sneak a peek out of the corners of their eyes.

...

Xue Rui was very talkative and chatted quite a bit with the surrounding officers.

All in all, this didn’t really count as an interrogation.

It wasn’t as formal as Xue Rui had imagined, just a matter of going through the motions to scare these idle youths.

Huang Mao had been secretly staring at Xue Rui, who was even in the mood to chat up the ’top beauty’ of the station.

He then thought of the boss he used to admire, who was scared witless in front of the police...

But in his eyes, someone like Xue Rui, who faced everything with such calm indifference—that was a true "underworld boss."

His gaze toward Xue Rui couldn’t help but fill with worship and admiration.