Chapter 35: Out
“Tell me, what happened?”
Old Gu led the two into the mediation room. The others, including Wang Zijun, let Qin Hao handle it, while Old Gu held a pen and a folder, glancing between the two. “Who’s going first?”
“It was just a fight. I struck first because he insulted me,” Xu Qing leaned back in the chair, picking at his nails.
“Go into more detail.”
“Well, let him speak,” Xu Qing shrugged.
“……”
Old Gu turned to Liang Zi, sitting across from him. “You go ahead, tell us the specific details.”
“It was just a joke at first... just joking...” Liang Zi started, “Then he hit me. I didn’t even know it was coming, I was suddenly struck.”
“……”“……”
Old Gu put down his pen and looked at both of them, then turned back to Liang Zi. “What do you mean by ‘details’? What kind of joke? What did you say? What did he say in return? And which part led to the fight? How did he strike? How did you react? Got it?”
“Uh……”
Liang Zi froze for a moment.
“What are you spacing out for? Just say what happened, no need to think so hard!” Old Gu was getting impatient, glancing at Xu Qing, who looked unaffected. He added, “How about you go first?”
“I’ll go, I’ll go.” Liang Zi hesitated for a moment, then continued, “At first, I just wanted to offer him a drink. But he didn’t want to drink, so I didn’t force him…”
Liang Zi went on, adding more unnecessary details. Xu Qing just sat across from him, silently listening, his ears attentive to any noise from outside. His concern wasn’t about Jiang He’s black household status but her original identity.
If her black household status was exposed, it didn’t matter—she hadn’t committed any crimes. Even if there were issues, they were from over a thousand years ago, with no relation to the present. What worried him was the uncontrollable factors. If Jiang He was familiar with the situation, it would be fine. Even if she came to the police station voluntarily, admitting to her black household status, there wouldn’t be much to it. But it was too early for that. If there was any misunderstanding, it would be hard to fix.
“Is that so?”
After Liang Zi finished speaking, Old Gu turned to Xu Qing. “You tell us.”
“Roughly the same, except the beginning was wrong. He was insulting me, and that’s when I made my move.”
Xu Qing readily admitted it, asserting that Liang Zi had provoked him first, pointing at his face. “Then we got into a fight.”
“I was just joking,” Liang Zi insisted.
“There’s a limit to jokes.”
Old Gu ignored him. Everyone would defend themselves in the most beneficial way, and many fights started from jokes. But once fists were thrown, could it still be called a joke?
Old Gu stood up and glanced at the door, where Qin Hao had already finished. The two of them checked the statements. After getting a rough idea, Old Gu sat back down. “How do you want to resolve this?”
“Huh?” Liang Zi was confused again. “Are you not going to arrest him? What do you mean by ‘how do we resolve this’? I demand he be detained.”
“This is mutual fighting,” Xu Qing sneered.
“He hit me first.”
“Did I not fall down myself?” Xu Qing raised an eyebrow.
“……”
“If you think your injury is serious, go for a medical examination,” Old Gu glanced at them. “In the end, detention and compensation will depend on the situation… Where are you injured?” He picked up the materials and asked, “Your stomach?”
Liang Zi lifted his shirt and checked. There were only red marks on his stomach, so a medical exam probably wouldn’t show much.
“You can either reflect and reconcile, or both be detained, or you can get a medical check.” Xu Qing continued to pick at his nails. He didn’t think they would both be detained, as Liang Zi had a job and had to go to work.
“Why are you so familiar with this?” Old Gu glanced at him.
“……”
Liang Zi opened his mouth but said nothing. It seemed he didn’t have many options. Reconcile? Be detained? Get checked for injuries?
“Damn!”
He was beaten up and still thought he could be detained. But now it was mutual fighting?
“He hit me first!” Liang Zi still wasn’t giving up.
“He’ll pay five hundred, you’ll pay two hundred. He’ll be detained for eight days, and you’ll be detained for five days.” Old Gu closed the folder and stood up, not wanting to waste any more time. “Choose, or go get your injuries examined. You can also sue him with a lawyer.”
“……”
“And you?” Old Gu turned to Xu Qing, who looked much worse, his face covered in blood.
“Let him decide.”
“Do you accept the mediation?” Old Gu turned back to Liang Zi.
……
……
By the time everything was settled, it was nearly 1 a.m.
Jiang He squatted outside the police station, quietly waiting for Xu Qing to come out. Wang Zijun didn’t leave either, sighing heavily.
Xu Qing came out of the police station bathroom after washing his face, and Qin Hao was standing nearby.
“Should I take you back? Your sister is still waiting outside.”
“Aren’t you off-duty? It’s late…” Xu Qing started but was interrupted by Qin Hao, who suddenly covered his mouth, forcing him to step away. “What’s going on?”
“Don’t talk here,” Qin Hao said seriously.
“Talk?” Xu Qing thought for a moment. “You mean, it’s late… Let go. I won’t say anything. What’s your problem?”
“You don’t understand.”
Qin Hao mysteriously shook his head. “Let’s go. I’ll take you back.”
“No need, we’ll take a taxi. Where are they?” Xu Qing waved his hand to refuse.
“Outside the main gate. They wouldn’t even come in to wait… I feel like your sister is acting a little strange.”
“She’s not strange.”
Xu Qing stopped him, “Go back now. I’ll take a taxi. It’s unlucky out here at night.”
“Be careful.”
Qin Hao gave a final warning but didn’t insist, watching Xu Qing walk out the door before turning back to the office.
That girl really seemed a bit dazed…
“How long have you been waiting?”
As soon as Xu Qing stepped outside, he saw the two of them. He wanted to ask about Jiang He’s situation, but with Wang Zijun nearby, it wasn’t convenient to speak, so he directly signaled for them to go ahead and grab a taxi.
“Hey, look at the trouble today…” Wang Zijun shook his head.
“Tell me about it. Next time, we’ll find an opportunity to beat him again.”
“……”
Wang Zijun didn’t respond, stopping at the curb to wait for a taxi. He glanced at Jiang He beside Xu Qing and suddenly felt a little out of place.
“Is she your sister or your girlfriend?”
“Neither.”
“Then why did you say she was your girlfriend at the KTV?”
“That was just to make you let go. I needed to hit that guy a few more times,” Xu Qing shrugged. “Otherwise, would you have let go?”
“…… Damn.” Wang Zijun felt extremely awkward.
Jiang He hesitated, glancing at Wang Zijun before finally holding back.
Taxis were scarce at this time of night. The three of them waited for a while but didn’t see a single empty car. The night breeze was blowing, and Xu Qing’s clothes were a bit thin. He pulled his jacket tighter.
“If it were before, you’d have taken off your jacket and draped it over the girl,” Wang Zijun noticed Xu Qing’s actions, then turned to glance at Jiang He, who was dressed even more lightly.
“She’s not cold,” Xu Qing didn’t think someone trained in martial arts would be bothered by this little wind.
“Yeah, I’m not cold,” Jiang He nodded.
“You guys…” Wang Zijun was speechless, deciding to keep quiet.
He couldn’t figure out what their relationship was.
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