Chapter Fifteen: The Ruthless Figure

Chapter Fifteen: A Tough Character

On the way back to the police station, Qin Ruonan was driving, while An Changpu and Guan Heshun sat together in the back seat. The recent chase had exhausted all three; none of them wanted to speak. Guan Heshun stumbled badly when An Changpu suddenly reached over and tripped him, adding bruises and embarrassment to his fatigue. Neither An Changpu nor Qin Ruonan had the energy to inquire why Guan Heshun had fled like a madman earlier. Apart from the routine identification before pulling him into the car, they decided to wait until they reached the police station to question him.

Upon arrival, Qin Ruonan parked downstairs. An Changpu first helped the still-dazed Guan Heshun upstairs. Mo Dou was startled to see An Changpu supporting a dark, gaunt man who barely had the strength to walk, sweating profusely. He quickly came over to assist.

“What’s going on?” Mo Dou asked in surprise.

“I want to know that myself,” An Changpu replied, pointing to Guan Heshun, who was supported on either side by Mo Dou and himself. “He’s an associate of Cui Lidong, one of ‘the guys on the street.’ We just wanted to talk to him about Cui Lidong’s situation. But before we could even say a word or identify ourselves, he bolted like a scared rabbit. We chased him for a long time before finally catching up.”

“A guilty conscience makes a thief run!” Mo Dou glanced at Guan Heshun with disdain.

“Help me take him to the interrogation room. I have some matters to handle here,” An Changpu instructed.

Mo Dou nodded and began escorting Guan Heshun toward the interrogation room. An Changpu sat down at his desk, planning to investigate Guan Heshun’s background. Although it was still unclear why Guan Heshun fled at the sight of them, claiming to be a “big boss” suggested he was no ordinary character. No one knew how many skeletons he had in his closet, how deeply he was involved with Cui Lidong, or whether he had any connection to the Song Chengliang case if Cui Lidong was indeed a suspect. These questions required answers.

An Changpu retrieved Guan Heshun’s file from the system. Just a brief scan made it clear why Guan Heshun had panicked like a frightened animal.

Guan Heshun’s criminal record was even more extensive than Cui Lidong’s. His crimes spanned various locations around his registered residence, extending to neighboring towns. From gathering crowds to causing disturbances to intentional injury, this 35-year-old man seemed never to have intended to lead a lawful life since adulthood. Recently, he was wanted by the police station over a hundred kilometers from City C for a serious assault case.

Interestingly, the victim he had wounded was also a notorious local thug, so the case was classified as “black-on-black” violence—a gang fight over territorial control involving weapons.

It was likely the reason Guan Heshun bolted when he saw An Changpu and Qin Ruonan.

After An Changpu finished the background check, he went to the interrogation room to check on Guan Heshun, just as Qin Ruonan arrived, still panting heavily.

“Why did you park for so long?” An Changpu asked quietly at the door.

“Nothing. Did you ask him why he ran?” Qin Ruonan’s breathing was still uneven. She didn’t answer An Changpu’s question directly but instead turned it around, asking about his findings.

“Not yet, but I pretty much already know,” An Changpu said, handing Qin Ruonan the printed background information on Guan Heshun.

Qin Ruonan quickly skimmed the details, her understanding deepening.

“By the way, Tao Yinyin came looking for you. She’s waiting at the office,” Qin Ruonan said while reading.

“No problem. Let’s handle this first; she can wait,” An Changpu replied, staying focused.

The two sat opposite Guan Heshun, who had calmed down but still looked exhausted, sweat on his brow not yet dried.

“You two are relentless!” Guan Heshun glared at them irritably. His numerous prior stints in detention centers had made him less worried about his current predicament. “Why so desperate? I nearly lost half my life running! Do you get paid by the piece here or something?”

An Changpu chuckled and retorted, “If you hadn’t run so hard, would we have had to chase you for so long? If you’re tired, blame your own reckless actions!”

“Can’t be the same! My situation’s different from yours!” Guan Heshun rolled his eyes, dismissing An Changpu’s words.

“You used to hang out in the area and seriously injured another gang leader, right? I heard he’s still in the hospital. You really don’t hold back, ‘big boss!’” An Changpu said sarcastically.

“Am I supposed to be gentle? If I didn’t hit him, he’d hit me. If anyone’s lying in the hospital, it should be me! Those guys have no shame—always saying street matters should be settled on the street; if you can’t win, call the cops! What a joke!” Guan Heshun said angrily, spitting to the side.

After venting his frustration, he looked at the two and asked, “When are you planning to transfer me back?”

Judging by his tone, he thought they had come for him solely because of the armed fight incident.

“Transfer arrangements depend on when we coordinate with the local police station,” An Changpu said, then paused, watching Guan Heshun freeze in place. He continued, “We actually just wanted to talk about Cui Lidong. But you didn’t even wait for us to identify ourselves—just ran like a thief. In a way, you helped out some colleagues from another city.”

Upon hearing this, Guan Heshun slapped himself hard across the face, teeth clenched, cursing his own bad luck. “I’m really cursed! How did I end up tangled with Cui Lidong? And at the critical moment, I act like an idiot!”

Rubbing his reddening cheek, he asked with a snarl, “What kind of trouble did that kid Cui Lidong get into?”

“Why are you so sure he caused the trouble, not that he was the victim?” Qin Ruonan didn’t answer his question but countered with one of her own.

“That’s obvious. Who is Cui Lidong? He’s a tough one! No ordinary thug would dare mess with him unless they’re even tougher. But if it’s a gang beating him up, then who knows,” Guan Heshun answered half-heartedly, showing no concern for Cui Lidong’s safety.

“How long have you known Cui Lidong?”

“We’ve been running around together since middle school. How long do you think?” Guan Heshun sneered, as if Qin Ruonan’s question was foolish.

“So you two are pretty close?” An Changpu concluded on Guan Heshun’s behalf.

“Don’t be ridiculous! He’s a decent guy now. I’m no good; I could never hang with him!” Guan Heshun scoffed.

“What do you mean? You’re at this stage now—there’s no point putting on airs or staying tight-lipped, right?” An Changpu urged him to be forthcoming rather than just answering questions passively. “You didn’t live in City C before. Why come here suddenly? And why have you been looking for Cui Lidong so often?”

“You already know—I cut someone up back where I was. I never thought that shameless bastard would call the cops. I was mainly afraid of retaliation, so I came here to lay low. I wanted to join up with Cui Lidong’s crew. Who knew that kid lost his mind and turned straight, talking all about living honestly! Ha! What a joke! As the saying goes, the dragon begets dragons, the phoenix begets phoenixes, and the mouse’s son knows how to dig holes! And he still wants to be a good person?!” Guan Heshun spat again, clenching his teeth, clearly furious at Cui Lidong’s change.

“It’s never too late to change,” Qin Ruonan remarked.

Guan Heshun rolled his eyes at her impatiently. “You don’t know what kind of man his old man was! Or what kind of scum Cui Lidong used to be! If you knew what he was like before, you’d probably slap yourself too, just like I did!”

“Well then, tell us—what was Cui Lidong like before?” An Changpu encouraged him to continue.

“He always carried a steel pipe in his waistband. He’d smash a beer bottle on anyone’s head just for looking at him wrong. When he was in middle school, he dated a girl from the neighboring vocational high school. Later, we heard she already had a boyfriend there. You know what he did? He brought us over, surrounded the guy, didn’t even need us to help. He told the guy, ‘If you want to fight me for my girl, you better have some backbone.’ Then he smashed two wooden chairs over that guy’s back until the chairs broke. The vocational school’s security finally came over and broke it up.”

Qin Ruonan and An Changpu hadn’t heard the full story before, but they knew the outcome: Cui Lidong was sent to a special school for reform because of that assault.

“He was forcibly transferred, right?” Guan Heshun continued. “One day he came to see us with his hand bandaged. We thought he got beaten up at that lousy school. But he said no—his teacher nagged him so much he got fed up and punched a glass window. The glass broke, and he had to get twelve stitches in his hand. How can a guy like that ever straighten out? Don’t make me laugh!”