Chapter 135: Completely Unrelated

Chapter 135: Chapter 135: Completely Unrelated

"I’ll go get my mom! Right now!"

With that, she took off running, her heart pounding in her chest.

’It’s over, it’s over! He’s a criminal detective—one more look and he’ll see right through me!’

The moment Yi Haoran pushed open the door and entered, Ruan Yongxing tensed up like a coiled spring, staring at him intently.

But Yi Haoran completely ignored his defensive posture, flipping open a small notebook and reading from it.

"Ruan Yongxing. Forty-seven. Boiler operator at the materials plant. Married, with one daughter, currently twenty years old. Graduated from a vocational high school last year and now works as a clerk in the auto parts district..."

Ruan Yongxing frowned the moment he saw Yi Haoran was in plainclothes.

"Who are you?"

"My surname is Jiang. From the criminal investigation division."

Yi Haoran answered crisply.

Ruan Yongxing’s expression darkened.

’What criminal detective?’

’This is, at worst, a squabble over a fistfight. It’s a matter for the local beat cops. What gives you the right to interfere?’

He scoffed.

"Did the Shen Family send you?"

"The Shen Family?"

Yi Haoran tilted his head.

"Which Shen family? The West River Shen Family? The Tiannan Shen Family? Or Shen the Sixth’s family, the one living in the alley behind the chemical plant?"

Ruan Yongxing thought, ’Well, well. He’s putting on a pretty good act.’

He immediately put on a pained expression.

"Yao Yuzhen and I were doing a bit of business together when her son suddenly rushed out and started throwing punches without a word! You see this...?"

"It’s all black and blue, and still swollen!"

Yi Haoran actually leaned in closer and poked the bruise with his finger.

"OW! That hurts! It really hurts!"

Ruan Yongxing grimaced and sucked in a sharp breath.

Yi Haoran pulled his hand back, wiped it on his pants twice, and put on a sincere expression.

"Oh, sorry about that. I was a bit rough. Didn’t realize you were so delicate."

Ruan Yongxing: "..."

Yi Haoran added with a cheerful laugh.

"But don’t worry, the skin isn’t broken, and your bones are perfectly solid. It’ll fade in three or four days, and be gone completely in a week at most."

"Just roll a warm, hard-boiled egg over it every day. It’ll improve circulation and break up the bruising. You won’t even need to take time off work."

He shook his head as he spoke.

"A thousand yuan? That’s way too steep! Thirty yuan can buy you forty catties of eggs. You could eat half and roll the other half on your face, and you still wouldn’t run out by the Lunar New Year."

"What do you think? Sound good?"

Ruan Yongxing felt a lump of anger stuck in his chest, and his face flushed red.

All he could think about was that long string of zeros in the Shen Family’s bankbook.

’Thirty yuan?’

’Is he treating me like a beggar?’

"Don’t even think about it!"

His voice suddenly shot up.

"I’m the one who got hit! Why should I only get thirty? Are you playing me for a fool?"

The words had barely left his mouth when Yao Yuzhen came storming in, her high heels CLACK-CLACK-CLACKING on the floor.

Seeing his flushed face, she assumed he was being bullied and immediately turned to frown at Yi Haoran.

"Yi Haoran..."

"Hey, Ma’am, I’m all ears! Please, go ahead!"

His tone was light and cheerful.

Yao Yuzhen muttered to herself, ’Why does this young man’s way of speaking sound so... odd?’

But now really wasn’t the time to bicker.

"You’re a public servant. Is it appropriate for you to act so aggressively toward an ordinary citizen?"

Yi Haoran: "...Ma’am, aggressive?"

He let out a laugh and waved his hand dismissively.

"Whoa, I can’t take credit for that. I haven’t laid a finger on anyone. I’m purely here to mediate."

"A thousand yuan? Ma’am, do you even believe what you’re saying?"

Just as he finished speaking, a police officer’s voice came from the doorway.

"Captain Yi, they’re here!"

He gave Yao Yuzhen a slight nod and turned to walk out.

Shen Rongjing was already standing at the end of the hallway.

Shen Shuangshuang was huddled in the corner of a long bench, her head lowered, not making a sound.

Shen Rongjing paid her no mind, his gaze fixed on the doorway.

Yi Haoran walked over in a few quick strides and rapidly summarized the situation.

"Xiao Dan probably got muddle-headed and wasn’t thinking straight. It’s a small matter."

Shen Rongjing didn’t even lift his gaze.

"Where is Rong Dan?"

Yi Haoran snapped his fingers and had an auxiliary officer lead the way.

When the two of them pushed the door open and entered the room, Shen Rongdan was slumped in a chair, staring blankly at the ceiling.

"KNOCK, KNOCK."

Shen Rongjing gently rapped twice on the half-open door.

Shen Rongdan jolted, instinctively turning his head away. He quickly wiped his eyes with his sleeve before turning back, his voice hoarse.

"Bro..."

He looked up and saw Yi Haoran, paused for a moment, and his eyes lit up.

"Yi Haoran? What are you doing here?"

Without a word, Yi Haoran reached out and gave him a light smack on the back of the head.

"Who are you calling by their full name? Have some respect for your elders! According to our seniority, you should call me Brother Haoran!"

Shen Rongdan slapped his hand away and rolled his eyes dramatically.

"Get lost! I only have one older brother, and his last name is Shen!"

Yi Haoran was about to turn and leave when he caught sight of a red mark on Shen Rongdan’s left cheek. He stopped immediately, grabbed his chin, tilted it up, and leaned in to get a closer look.

"Who did this?"

"That guy?"

"Fuck..."

Just as a flame of anger ignited in him, Shen Rongdan drooped his head.

"My mom."

The color instantly drained from Shen Rongjing’s face, his expression turning icy.

"Did she just hit you?"

Shen Rongdan nodded.

Shen Rongjing immediately turned to Yi Haoran.

"Thirty yuan. No negotiation."

Yi Haoran nodded once.

"Done. You take him and go. I’ll wrap things up here."

He paused, then added.

"And, uh... your mother?"

Shen Rongjing was direct.

"My dad and my mom can’t live together anymore. She moved out last week."

Yi Haoran: "...Huh?"

"A divorce?"

"Your dad and your mom?"

"Is it because of that guy?"

His brow furrowed into a knot.

Shen Rongjing had called him over precisely to quell Yao Yuzhen’s aggressive streak.

But no matter how furious he was, his mother was still his mother.

He knew perfectly well which lines could be crossed and which couldn’t.

So when he heard the question, he just shook his head.

"Not even remotely related."

Yi Haoran’s brow relaxed.

"Alright, then you should take Xiao Dan home to rest."

"How about I have my mom ask yours out for tea? To talk things over?"

"They’re not young anymore. If they really want to separate, then let them. They’ve probably already thought it through."

Shen Rongjing waved his hand dismissively.

"They made the decision themselves. Why should we get in their way?"

The moment Yi Haoran heard that, he immediately shut up, obediently holding his tongue.

Shen Rongjing turned his head and called to his younger brother.

"Rong Dan, let’s go home."

Shen Rongdan stood up, casually patted Yi Haoran on the shoulder twice, and then followed his older brother out.

Yi Haoran quickly caught up, slinging an arm firmly around Shen Rongdan’s shoulders.

"Give me a heads-up next time you’re back! My treat, we’ll get some good food, have a real celebration!"

"Hey, come to think of it, how long has it been since we last saw each other?"

Shen Rongdan shot him a sideways glance and sneered.

"Stop trying to act so familiar! Who said you’re my older brother? You’re even younger than my actual brother!"

Yi Haoran nodded, not the least bit fazed.

"Right, right, right, I’m younger than your brother, but I’m still older than you!"

"Come on, let me hear you call me ’brother’! Hurry up!"

His eyes lit up as his old habit resurfaced—he’d always loved teasing Shen Rongdan into calling him ’brother’.

But Shen Rongdan never bought it, always calling him "Yi Haoran" with practiced ease.

Yi Haoran wasn’t annoyed, just cheerfully persisted, waiting for that one word: ’brother’.

As for Shen Rongdan?

He paid him no mind.

But even though the kid was disobedient, the elders still doted on him and protected him.

The three of them had just rounded the corner of the hallway when they ran right into Yao Yuzhen.

She was just coming out of the adjacent interrogation room.

Her face tightened instantly when she saw Shen Rongdan standing next to Yi Haoran.

"Yi Haoran, just where do you think you’re taking him?"

She didn’t even glance at Shen Rongjing, who was walking in the very front, pretending not to see him.

She had no desire to speak to Shen Rongjing, and he, in turn, made no effort to approach her.

Ever since this whole incident with Shen Rongdan blew up, any lingering hope Shen Rongjing might have had was completely extinguished.