Arriving at the police station, the police officer followed the protocol and asked about the incident. During the questioning, Ying Ni frowned and scolded Huang Mao in a fit of rage, as if she wanted to tear him apart.

Due to her overreaction, the questioning target was changed to Chen An.

Ying Ni sat on a chair not far away, sulking.

After a while, she began to assess the damage to her Hermes bag.

The front of the bag had two scratches, with the lower left corner peeling, and a long scratch near the metal hardware, as long as a little finger. The most concerning thing was that the metal part had also been damaged.

In this situation, she would either have to pay a high price to get it repaired at the store, or directly take a price cut.

Anyway, it couldn’t be sold for the original price anymore.

The harsh white light was cold and piercing. She hugged her arms and stared blankly at the floor, like a dull statue.

Footsteps approached, and Ying Ni lifted her eyelids, asking in a muffled voice, “Has the case been filed?”

Chen An stopped, looked back, and said, “Waiting for his guardian.”

Ying Ni frowned, emphasizing her lack of understanding.

Chen An explained, “Minors must have a guardian present during questioning.”

Upon hearing this, Ying Ni glanced over at Huang Mao, who was standing nearby, and sneered, “He looks really old.”

Her voice was loud enough for Huang Mao, who was standing right next to them, to hear. He lifted his eyelids and gave her a quick glance.

Chen An stepped aside, blocking their view.

Ying Ni grabbed his arm and pushed him aside, angrily asking, “What are you staring at?”

Huang Mao looked away sheepishly but sneered, “Tsk—”

Ying Ni, furious and looking for an outlet to release her anger, snapped, pointing at his nose, “You dare tsk again?”

“Hey hey hey,” a police officer heard the commotion and walked over quickly with a thermos cup in hand, “No shouting in the police station.” He turned to Huang Mao, warning, “Behave yourself!”

Ying Ni kept her gaze fixed on Huang Mao, as though she wanted to kill him with her eyes, and asked, “Do you know how many years you get for robbery?”

Upon hearing this, the police officer paused for half a second before putting down his thermos cup and forced a smile, “The kid doesn’t understand. When his guardian arrives, we’ll have him pay for the damages, scold him a little, and take him home for some education. The school and community will keep an eye on him.”

Ying Ni stared at the officer in disbelief, “What did you say?”

Take him home? Supervise him? Did she hear that correctly? This was a robbery!

The officer said, “It’s not a big deal. How about a reconciliation?”

Ah. Another one of those “connections.”

No wonder they pulled Huang Mao aside earlier; she thought they were reprimanding him, but it seemed like they were teaching him how to escape responsibility.

“You’re the police, you know better than I do. If forcibly taking someone else’s property is not robbery, what is it? Even if he’s a minor, he’s definitely over sixteen. If you don’t file the case, I’ll report it to the higher authorities. If they don’t act, I’ll go to the prosecutor’s office,” Ying Ni looked at the officer and mimicked his smile, but her smile was filled with coldness. “I’m telling you right now, not only do I want him to pay, I want him in jail.”

Huang Mao bit his lip, and the officer tried to pull Ying Ni out of the police station to talk. Ying Ni pulled her arm away from him.

The officer sighed and explained that Huang Mao’s parents were both dead, leaving only a paralyzed grandfather and a disabled older brother. He usually behaved well, and the robbery was to get medicine for his grandfather. It was a last resort.

Ying Ni crossed her arms, her attitude cold: “What does that have to do with me?”

“The criminal record will ruin his life,” the officer said, “Look, how much is your bag? I’ll pay for it.”

Ying Ni turned away, unwilling to talk to him.

“Be magnanimous and let him off. He’ll definitely—”

Ying Ni turned back, “Shut up.”

Another officer passed by and overheard, scolding, “Can you speak properly?”

Ying Ni looked at him, “You shut up.”

The officers had never encountered such an arrogant person. They furrowed their brows and pointed toward the door, “This is the police station! Stop yelling! If you keep yelling, I’ll throw you out!”

Ying Ni was so furious that her scalp tingled. She was about to rush over to argue with the officer when Chen An grabbed her arm and yanked her back.

“Calm down.”

Ying Ni shot him a sideways glance.

Now you know how to play the good cop and mediate. Where was that earlier?

The officers were standing by, silent like wooden posts.

Ying Ni glared at them coldly.

“Sit down first,” Chen An, a tall man, placed a hand on her shoulder, his fingers gripping like iron clamps, forcing her back into the chair.

Ying Ni tried to push him off, but he pressed her down firmly, his strength like a mountain on her shoulder.

The pressure made her freeze, only able to express her anger through her breathing.

Chen An freed one hand, picked up her phone from beside the chair, and placed it in her palm. He asked, “Did you bring headphones?”

Ying Ni was confused. He continued, “If you have them, listen to some music. If not, watch a video. I’ll go negotiate. I won’t stop you from throwing a tantrum if we don’t settle in ten minutes.”

His voice was low but soothing, like he’d given her a few calming pills.

Ying Ni pursed her lips, staring blankly at Chen An walking with the officer toward the door.

The night outside was dark. They hadn’t walked far when they stopped. Half of Chen An’s side profile was hidden. The insects outside hummed in the background, the greyish floor stretching long shadows.

Chen An was someone who had built his career to such a height that a small police station didn’t matter. But still, she felt that he wasn’t the type of person who would use his status to push others around.

After all, from the time they met at a reunion to him picking her up on the street and even coming out from the office to return her earring, his behavior was calm and laid-back, no different from an ordinary person.

It was only when hearing classmates’ envious and admiring words, riding in his expensive car, or passing by the multi-billion-dollar office building that she would have a brief feeling—

Chen An was someone who stood at the pinnacle.

A person ordinary people could only look up to.

Ying Ni leaned forward, craning her neck to see what Chen An was talking about.

However, she heard nothing, only suddenly being caught in the act by Chen An as he turned around. Their eyes met, and Ying Ni quickly lowered her eyelids, pretending to be on her phone.

After half a second, she took a sneaky glance, raising her eyes again.

The officer who had been advocating for Huang Mao earlier was now talking and laughing with Chen An. Their expressions seemed far more relaxed than earlier.

Ying Ni’s heart sank.

Could it be that they had agreed to reconcile?

They walked to the far end. Chen An spoke with Huang Mao for a couple of minutes, blocking her view with his broad back. Ying Ni couldn’t see his expression and had no idea what happened.

Soon, Chen An walked back toward her, glanced at Huang Mao and said, “He—”

Ying Ni couldn’t wait and interrupted, “I don’t want to hear it.”

Chen An stood in front of her, the shadow from his body casting over her. His voice was darker than before, “I just said one word, do you know what I was going to say?”

What else could it be but another sob story about Huang Mao’s poor, struggling family?

He built his career from nothing, so he sympathized. But what did that have to do with her? Ying Ni let out a snort from her nose.

“I don’t know, and I don’t want to know.”

She stood up, but before she could steady herself, she was pushed back down.

Ying Ni exploded with anger, jumping up again, but Chen An forcefully pressed her back, so her butt stayed glued to the seat. She could only shoot him cold, invisible daggers with her eyes.

He acted as if he didn’t see them, uninterested, and even kindly handed her a bottle of water, which seemed to have come from nowhere.

“Your throat is dry, drink some water to soothe it.”

“I don’t care, I’m not drinking,” Ying Ni was at her limit. “Just tell me if the case can be filed.”

Chen An twisted open the bottle and handed it to her. “Of course, it can.”

Can? Ying Ni thought she heard wrong and slapped the bottle away. “What did you just say to him?”

Chen An closed the bottle again and handed it back to her. “Nothing.”

Ying Ni wasn’t the type to pry into every detail, but it seemed like he had dropped some hints, like maybe he knew someone higher up in the police. He didn’t explain, so she didn’t ask further.

At this point, someone called them over to take a statement. Ying Ni went first, her high heels clicking loudly on the floor.

Chen An sat down holding the bottle of water.