Chapter 42

Recently, An Xiaohai has sensed something unusual in the prison, and he’s well aware that this shift is directed specifically at him. The other inmates seem to avoid him—even Hu Jianming and Yang Bo keep their interactions to a minimum unless necessary. An Xiaohai suspects this might be due to Xu Tianyou’s influence.

“Hopefully, I can enjoy some peace,” he thought, although he dared not let his guard down. While Xu Tianyou might intimidate people in the underworld, An Xiaohai understood that his enemies weren’t exclusively from that realm, so he couldn’t afford to be careless.

One night, unable to sleep, An Xiaohai tossed and turned, feeling inexplicably uneasy.

“Prisoner An Xiaohai, get up! Now!” The iron door to his cell was banged on loudly—it was the young prison guard responsible for monitoring their block.

An Xiaohai scrambled to his feet, quickly straightening his clothes.

“Come with me,” the guard said, opening the iron door and motioning him forward. An Xiaohai, although curious, refrained from asking questions and silently followed the guard to the interrogation area.

As the door to the interrogation room opened, he was surprised to see Wang Tiejun inside, along with a woman beside him, her face mostly concealed behind a tight mask. But An Xiaohai immediately recognized her: the beautiful officer Xia Jing whom he had met once before.

The atmosphere felt ominous.

An Xiaohai glanced at the camera set up in the corner of the room. This time, the red light on the camera was on, indicating that it was recording. This wasn’t an unofficial meeting—it was a formal interrogation.

The young guard sat An Xiaohai down in the interrogation chair, secured him with handcuffs, saluted Wang Tiejun, and left.

Wang Tiejun stared at An Xiaohai in silence, which An Xiaohai returned with equal silence, aware that anything he said here would be on record.

“Name.”

“An Xiaohai.”

“Age.”

“Nineteen.”

Xia Jing began the formal questioning, her cool voice carrying an edge of severity. An Xiaohai remained calm on the outside but couldn’t shake the discomfort gnawing at him. This was his second experience of a formal interrogation—the first was at the police station after he was initially detained for assault. This time, however, felt distinctly different.

“An Xiaohai, be honest with us. What’s your relationship with Xu Tianyou?”

“What kind of relationship could we have? We’re just inmates in the same prison.”

“Is it really that simple?”

“Just that simple.”

“I’d advise you to be honest, An Xiaohai. If you two are just regular inmates, why would Xu Tianyou arrange to have your house set on fire?”

“What?” An Xiaohai’s face went pale with shock. Instinctively, he tried to stand, but the handcuffs held him firmly in place.

“Calm down, An Xiaohai,” Wang Tiejun finally spoke. “Xu Tianyou’s people set your house on fire—not Pan Zhuangzhuang’s—but this is serious. It endangered lives and public safety. So tell us the truth. What’s your conflict with Xu Tianyou? Without honesty, there’s little we can do to help you.”

An Xiaohai’s heart pounded. His first thought was that Xu Tianyou had targeted his family’s current home—he knew where they lived. But Wang Tiejun’s clarification made him realize his mistake.

This must have been Xu Tianyou’s scheme—to both validate the animosity between him and An Xiaohai and provide An with a measure of revenge. After all, that house had been legally transferred to Zhou Tie’s family. An Xiaohai had no idea if any of them were harmed.

“What are you thinking, An Xiaohai? Speak up!” Xia Jing’s crisp voice jolted him back to reality.

“How would I know? I’m only now hearing about this from you,” An Xiaohai replied, trying to maintain his prior agitation, taking deep breaths to calm himself, then covering his face with his hands.

Xia Jing glanced at Wang Tiejun. Though she was fresh out of the academy, this interrogation seemed to make her uneasy. Her initial impression of An Xiaohai had been that he was unusually calm for his age, seemingly impenetrable. But now, his panic and distress looked all too genuine.

Wang Tiejun was unfazed, waiting for An Xiaohai to settle down before continuing his questions.

Naturally, An Xiaohai revealed nothing, giving only vague responses or inquiries about his family’s well-being. Finally, Wang Tiejun grew impatient and ended the formal questioning.

“Xia, go wait outside. I need to ask him a few things privately.”

“Yes, sir!” Xia Jing stood up and quickly left the room.

Once she was gone, Wang Tiejun walked over to the camera, switched off the recording, and turned back to An Xiaohai.

“So, An Xiaohai, not enjoying being interrogated?”

“Not at all,” An Xiaohai replied with a long exhale.

“I didn’t think so,” Wang Tiejun agreed, sighing. “But An Xiaohai, remember this: arson is a serious crime with grave consequences. Since this incident centers on you, the interrogation was unavoidable. But maybe this experience will help you grasp a few important points:

“First, people like Xu Tianyou, drug dealers, are utterly ruthless. Don’t hold any illusions about them. If you have ties with him, I strongly advise you to be honest.

“Second, this should be a wake-up call, showing you just how depraved the enemies you may face in the future can be. Do you still think it’s fair to involve your two friends?”

“I’m sorry, Captain Wang,” An Xiaohai said. “I need some time to process this.”

“Take all the time you need. I’ll leave you here for another ten minutes before someone comes to take you back. I’ll leave the cuffs on so you can take a moment to truly feel what it’s like to be interrogated like this.”

As he left, Wang Tiejun patted An Xiaohai on the shoulder.

“Captain Wang… my family—”

“They’re under 24-hour protection, so don’t worry.”

“Thank you, Captain.”

“No need to thank me. Like you said when we first met, I’m a police officer. Protecting lives and property is my duty. I won’t forget that.”

With that, Wang Tiejun left. An Xiaohai kept his head in his hands, feigning distress. He had to keep up the act—who knew if Wang Tiejun or someone else might still be watching from somewhere out of sight.

Damn it…

“Xu Tianyou, I really owe you one for this.”