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Chapter 73: I Am Not Hated at All

It turned out that his girlfriend’s boss had been making her do illegal accounts all along.

After the scandal broke, the boss fled and the girlfriend took the fall.

The girlfriend was sentenced to 20 years.

She told Xu Ke to marry someone else.

Xu Ke refused and said he would wait for her.

Knowing how stubborn Xu Ke was, the girlfriend nodded heavily through her tears.

One day Xu Ke received news that his girlfriend had died.

Supposedly a fight among female inmates had dragged her in.

Yet it also seemed that she had deliberately walked into it.

Heaven seemed to enjoy teasing Xu Ke; pain barely cooled before numbness set in.

Misfortunes never come singly… the momentary respite ended when his mother’s condition suddenly worsened.

Xu Ke dropped out to work because the school would no longer give him another leave of absence.

He hid the dropout from his mother for a while, but staying at her side and never going to class soon aroused her suspicion.

The secret could not stay hidden, and his mother found out.

She caused no further fuss and merely asked when Xu Ke would marry his girlfriend.

Xu Ke froze, no longer able to keep up the act before his mother.

After his girlfriend’s death he cried for the first time, sobbing for 3 straight days until his eyes swelled like peaches.

His mother dared not ask what had happened and simply assumed the girlfriend had dumped her mama’s boy of a son.

Xu Ke did not drown in sorrow because his mother still needed him.

One day his mother told Xu Ke that she wanted to eat red-braised pork.

Xu Ke was rarely this happy, for after dialysis his mother often hurt all over and needed sleeping pills to rest.

She had not had an appetite for far too long.

Xu Ke cheerfully bought pork belly, only to return home and discover…

His mother had taken sleeping pills and killed herself.

He was left in wordless silence.

“After that, Xu Ke developed bipolar disorder.”

Jiang Chaoyun let out a long sigh and said, “That is everything we know about Xu Ke’s past, and as for why he later became involved in this case, we have no idea.”

“So we would like you to cook a meal of red-braised pork for him; maybe after tasting your dish he will be willing to talk.”

Lu Li stared blankly for a long time, a lump seeming to block his throat; he tried to cough but brought up nothing and instead felt even heavier inside.

Xu Ke felt like another version of himself in this world.

The only difference was that Xu Ke had been far less fortunate.

“I’ll do it,” Lu Li said in a muffled voice.

Lu Li had always thought fate treated him unfairly, yet after hearing Xu Ke’s story he realized his own life was not so bad.

At least he still had Lu Yao.

“You really are willing to help us?” Jiang Chaoyun asked, her expression much softer.

“I’m helping Xu Ke,” Lu Li corrected, frowning slightly, “and if he confesses, can you reduce his sentence?”

“Of course,” Jiang Chaoyun smiled, “he was merely a pawn and has not committed any grave crime yet; as long as he tells us everything and gives up his handler, we can definitely fight for leniency.”

Jiang Chaoyun lifted her hand and pointed at the police cruiser not far away. “Let’s go; I’ll take you back to the station.”

“Okay.” Lu Li’s brows finally relaxed.

He followed Jiang Chaoyun into the back seat of the car and was surprised to see Shi Chen behind the wheel.

“Want some water?” Jiang Chaoyun offered him a bottle of purified water.

Lu Li shook his head, so she twisted off the cap and drank it herself.

The moment Shi Chen saw Lu Li climb in, he raised his brows and laughed, “Yo, I thought someone as petty as you wouldn’t show.”

Lu Li’s face remained blank as he stared at him through the rear-view mirror without blinking.

Shi Chen’s brows knit and his lips jutted; he turned sideways and barked, “What the hell are you staring at, kid?”

Lu Li fixed his gaze on him and said, “Can’t you tell? I’m staring at the thing called you.”

“You punk!” A vein bulged on Shi Chen’s forehead.

“Why get so angry?” Lu Li asked curiously, cupping his chin. “Didn’t Aunt Flo just leave? Is Uncle PMS here already?”

“Pff!”

Jiang Chaoyun, who was drinking water, spat the whole mouthful onto Shi Chen’s turned face.

“S-sorry!” She hastily set the bottle down and handed Shi Chen some tissues.

Wiping his face, Shi Chen snorted at Lu Li, “You’d better stay clean, kid, or one day you’ll land in my hands and regret it.”

Lu Li put on a mock-scared look. “No way, Officer Shi holds grudges too? That’s petty.”

Shi Chen’s mouth twitched and he was about to retort when Jiang Chaoyun coughed twice to cut them off. “All right, business first. You two are star-crossed, so keep it down.”

Shi Chen snorted heavily; he was magnanimous and would never stoop to bicker with a mere high-schooler…

“Hmph, this is so infuriating!”

Two seconds later the more he thought about it, the angrier he grew, and he glared at Lu Li through the mirror.

Jiang Chaoyun did not know whether to laugh or cry; Shi Chen was in his 30s yet as childish as a kid.

She shook her head and said to Lu Li, “Lu Li, Shi Chen just has a rotten temper; not many in the precinct like him, so bear with it.”

Lu Li nodded solemnly. “I can see that; it must be tough on the officers who have to work with him.”

“You brat!” Shi Chen gripped the steering wheel in fury.

He shot Jiang Chaoyun a fierce glare. “Nonsense, my colleagues clearly like me; I’m not hated at all!”

Seeing how serious he was, Jiang Chaoyun froze, her valiant face stiff. “So… you’ve always thought that?”

Shi Chen was speechless.

“Pfft!”

Lu Li quickly covered his mouth and said solemnly, “I’ve been professionally trained not to laugh, but I couldn’t hold it this time.”

Shi Chen remained silent.

“Fasten your seatbelts!” Shi Chen growled, stomping on the gas and sulking all the way to the station.

When they arrived, they did not go straight to Xu Ke but headed to the station cafeteria first.

“If his red-braised pork doesn’t work, I’ll settle accounts with him,” Shi Chen grunted at Jiang Chaoyun.

Jiang Chaoyun merely shook her head; she also felt that using Lu Li was a desperate gamble, and while it would be great if it worked, chances were it would not.

Had the Mingyue Group not been pressing and their superiors not applying such pressure, no one would have resorted to this last-ditch move.

In the cafeteria the chubby station chef was prepping lunch; seeing them enter, he chuckled, “Captain Shi, what brings a busy man like you to the kitchen?”

“We’ve got business.” Shi Chen raised his chin and pointed at Lu Li. “Step aside and let this kid cook a pot of red-braised pork.”

“I can make red-braised pork too… why let this little lad do it?” the chef asked in confusion.

Shi Chen rolled his eyes. “None of your concern… just do as you’re told and quit yakking.”

“Well…” The chef shot him a sideways glance, crossed his arms, and said angrily, “If you put it that way, then I won’t budge.”

Jiang Chaoyun sighed softly. “See, I told you, people always dislike you.”

Shi Chen craned his neck. “That’s not true; it’s this cook who has a bad temper…”

Lu Li gave a light laugh, stepped forward, and said to the chef, “Uncle, may I borrow the stove?”

The chef nodded and stepped aside.

Lu Li glanced at Shi Chen without comment.

Shi Chen stayed mute.

“You’d better cook properly, kid! If it tastes bad, I’ll make you pay!”

Shi Chen flailed his arms in exasperation.

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