Chapter 782: Jing Si Is Mistaken for a Human Trafficker (3)

Qin Mei rubbed her face in frustration. She regretted not having said anything to Jie Jingchen. And what was with him, anyway? Getting mistaken for someone and not even trying to defend himself? ‘What is that mouth of his for? Just for eating?’

“Fourth Aunt, was Fourth Uncle taken away by human traffickers?” Jie Duo asked.

The corner of Qin Mei’s mouth twitched. She looked at Jie Duo, at a complete loss for words. How was she supposed to answer? ‘Should I tell her that her Fourth Uncle wasn’t kidnapped *by* a human trafficker, but was arrested *as* a human trafficker by the Public Security officers?’

“Fourth Aunt, don’t worry. Fourth Uncle is super strong. The traffickers are no match for him.” Jie Duo’s little finger fiddled with Qin Mei’s palm.

Qin Mei’s expression faltered for a moment before she managed a smile for Jie Duo. “You’re right, your Fourth Uncle is very strong. Come on, let’s go find him.”

“Fourth Aunt, do you know where the traffickers took Fourth Uncle?” Jie Duo asked with an innocent face.

“I do,” Qin Mei nodded.

“Should we tell my dad?” Jie Duo asked. In her heart, her dad was also very capable and impressive.

“Hmm.” Qin Mei thought for a moment, then said with a smile, “Not for now.”

Jie Jingchen being mistaken for a human trafficker while staking out a women’s restroom was more than a little disgraceful. The fewer people who knew about this, the better.

“Then let’s hurry,” Jie Duo said, tugging on Qin Mei.

“Hold on, walking is too slow. We’ll take the bicycle.” Qin Mei stopped Jie Duo and pointed to the bike nearby.

Jie Duo glanced at the bicycle. “Fourth Aunt, I remember Fourth Uncle has the key. Do you have it?”

“No.” Qin Mei shook her head.

“Then how do we unlock it?” Jie Duo asked.

Qin Mei squatted in front of the bicycle and took out a silver needle. “With this.”

‘If Jie Jingchen can pick a lock with a piece of wire, I can definitely do it with a silver needle.’

Qin Mei was highly vigilant. She wasn’t comfortable with Jie Duo squatting next to her, so she had the girl squat in front of her, where she could keep her in sight. Only then did she feel at ease.

She and Jie Jingchen had brought Jie Duo out today. With Jie Jingchen arrested, it was up to her to protect the little girl.

This was one of the “flowers of the motherland.” If a bad guy hurt her, forget Shen Qing going insane—Qin Mei herself would spend the rest of her life racked with guilt.

Qin Mei fiddled with the lock for a long time. Sweat beaded on her forehead, but she still couldn’t get it open.

Jie Duo was very sweet. She took a handkerchief from the small satchel she was carrying and wiped the sweat from Qin Mei’s forehead.

“You’re such a good girl, sweetie.” Qin Mei found herself liking the little one more and more. ‘Daughters really are their mother’s little padded jackets.’

“Fourth Aunt, don’t rush. Take your time,” Jie Duo said in her soft, sweet voice, which soothed Qin Mei’s heart.

For the sake of her pride and to maintain her image in the little girl’s eyes, she was going to beat this lock today.

She wouldn’t stop until she got it open.

As it turned out, this kind of lockpicking required both talent and skill. Qin Mei had neither. ‘Becoming a master lockpicker is hard!’

Even Qin Mei herself was losing patience and considering whether to give up, when suddenly…

“What are you doing?” a voice, dripping with righteous indignation, rang out.

After fiddling around for so long, Qin Mei had finally attracted attention. Someone full of righteous spirit had stepped forward to rid the public of a menace.

Qin Mei jumped, startled. The silver needle she’d been using on the lock fell to the ground. Before she could pick it up, a frightened Jie Duo threw herself into her arms.

“Keep your voice down! Look how you’ve scared my child.” Qin Mei shot the man a reproachful glare, gently patting Jie Duo’s back. She soothed her, “Don’t be afraid, sweetie. He’s not a bad guy. And even if he is, I can take him down.”

“Me, a bad guy? That’s rich. You’re the bike thief here,” the man scolded, accusing Qin Mei of making a false counter-accusation.

Being mistaken for a bike thief, Qin Mei didn’t rush to explain. She focused on comforting Jie Duo. ‘The bicycle doesn’t matter, and neither does my reputation. Jie Duo’s feelings are what’s important.’

“Bringing your daughter along to steal a bike? Is this how you raise your child? The world is really going to the dogs! Your own thieving skills are terrible, yet you want to train your daughter to be a master thief?” The man’s face was full of contempt. He’d been watching her for a while. Her fumbling attempts at picking the lock were so painful to watch he felt anxious, and he’d almost been tempted to go over and help.

‘This thief is an idiot,’ he thought. ‘How heavy can a bicycle be? Couldn’t she just carry it away? She had to copy others and try to pick the lock with a needle. Other people fiddle with it a few times and succeed. She’s been at it forever and gotten nowhere. I really want to tell her to go home, practice her skills, and then come back out to show them off.’

If the little girl hadn’t been so scared by him that she’d burrowed into the woman’s arms, he would have suspected she’d stolen the child, too.

“Comrade, you’ve misunderstood. This is my bicycle,” Qin Mei explained.

“Yours? Who are you kidding? This is clearly a man’s bike. I swear, are you all beauty and no brains? If you’re going to steal a bike, you should at least steal a woman’s model. Are you stealing a man’s bike to take home for your husband to ride?” the man said scornfully.

“This *is* my husband’s bicycle,” Qin Mei said.

“And where is your husband?” a righteous-looking auntie from the crowd of onlookers stepped forward to demand.

“…” Qin Mei was speechless.

‘My husband was arrested as a human trafficker and taken to the Public Security Bureau. Can I really say that out loud? Of course not.’

Hiding in Qin Mei’s arms, Jie Duo said timidly, “This is my Fourth Uncle’s bicycle.”

The man had a sudden realization. “Now I get why she brought her daughter along to steal a bike. It’s to use her as a cover!”

‘Cover, my ass!’ Qin Mei desperately wanted to curse. “This is my husband’s bike.”

“Still trying to argue? How can you prove it?” someone asked.

The crowd began to whisper among themselves, pointing fingers at Qin Mei.

Their words were crude and harsh. It was grating for Qin Mei to hear, and afraid of traumatizing Jie Duo, she covered the girl’s little ears. Her chest heaved with her turbulent emotions.

The man suddenly walked toward her. Qin Mei’s brow furrowed, and she instantly became alert. ‘If he dares to touch me, I’ll cripple him.’

The man stopped, with the bicycle still between them. He bent down, picked up the silver needle Qin Mei had dropped, and dangled it in front of her face. “Going to prove it with this?”

Qin Mei said nothing. The silver needle would only prove she was a bike thief.

“Comrade, do you have the key?” someone asked kindly. Seeing Qin Mei with a child, looking so beautiful, with such a cute little girl, they just couldn’t associate her with a thief.

This person had just joined the crowd out of curiosity, but the man had witnessed the entire “theft” and was almost certain that the mother and daughter were bike thieves.

Qin Mei remained silent. ‘If I had the key, would I be trying to pick the lock with a silver needle like Jie Jingchen?’

When Jie Jingchen picked locks with a thin wire, he made it look so easy. She never expected it to be this hard. It really was a case of “looks easy until you try it.”

“Look at her! She obviously doesn’t have a key,” someone jeered.

“Tch. If she had a key, would she be using a lock-picking tool?” someone scoffed contemptuously.

“A bike thief! She’s a bike thief! My new bike got stolen after I’d only ridden it a few times! These people have no conscience! Bike thieves are just like human traffickers—they should all be punished by the public!”

“Right, right! Report her to the Public Security Bureau!”

“She’s a repeat offender, too! Definitely report her!”

The crowd, with everyone shouting their own opinions, alerted the comrades with the red armbands. Qin Mei and Jie Duo were shut in a small, dark room to wait for the Public Security officers to come take them away.

Qin Mei stopped trying to explain and cooperated fully. After all, her goal was to get to the Public Security Bureau. How she got there didn’t matter.

Gao Yang got the news and ran into Jie Jinghun on the way. Thinking that Jie Jingchen was his younger brother, Gao Yang invited him to come along.

After the statement was taken, Gao Yang led Jie Jingchen out and handed him over to Jie Jinghun.

As they walked out of the Public Security substation, Gao Yang and Jie Jinghun could no longer hold back and began to mercilessly mock Jie Jingchen.

“Bro, you’re really something else. A human trafficker… HAHAHAHA…” Gao Yang clapped Jie Jingchen on the shoulder, laughing his head off.

Jie Jingchen shot him a look as sharp as a blade, making Gao Yang shudder and reflexively jump a step away, out of Jie Jingchen’s reach.

“Jing Si, what happened? How did you get mistaken for a human trafficker?” Jie Jinghun, who usually had strong self-control, was laughing at Jie Jingchen with rare abandon.