Chapter Nineteen: A Robbery

Chapter Nineteen: Committed a Robbery

Usually, informants do their best to stay out of sight, but this time, the old lady not only didn’t mind, she even volunteered to take the lead. This left An Changpu and Qin Ruonan uncertain how to react, so they simply followed silently behind her as she led them out the door, winding through several turns into another alley next door.

“Auntie, didn’t you say the child might be in your neighbor’s house?” After a few twists and turns, An Changpu grew impatient and tugged at the old lady, wanting to get to the bottom of things.

The old lady jerked her arm out of his grasp and shot him a disgruntled glare. “Just because we don’t live in the same alley, we’re not neighbors? Then what—so in your city, if you don’t live across the hall, you’re not neighbors either?”

An Changpu frowned, surprised by her sharp retort. But given her age, gender, and the current situation, it was impossible for him to argue back, so he pressed his lips together and said nothing, continuing to follow her.

“Auntie, where’s the breakfast stall you buy from in the morning?” Qin Ruonan asked casually.

“There! Right over there!” The old lady didn’t think much of the question, paused, and pointed back. “We just passed it—don’t turn left, turn right, and it’s the first house at the end! Their soy milk is especially thick, and the fried dough sticks are really crispy! But it’s no use asking now—they only sell tofu during the day.”

Qin Ruonan quickly calculated in her mind and realized that the old lady’s route home after buying breakfast couldn’t possibly pass through the area they were walking through now. To come this way would require a deliberate detour, so her claim of accidentally hearing a child crying while returning from buying breakfast was clearly a fabrication.

She hesitated, then probed, “Auntie, do you and this Zhang family have any conflicts?”

Hearing this, the old lady stiffened but didn’t stop walking or turn her head. “You’re a police officer—what’s more important, poking into people’s petty quarrels or finding the child?”

“This old lady is really something!” An Changpu muttered to Qin Ruonan. As long as you went along with her, she was fine, but if you said anything that hit a sore spot, she was quick to snap back, not giving an inch. Clearly, she was no pushover.

Before long, the old lady brought them to a house. She hadn’t even stopped at the door before she impatiently balled her fist and pounded on the thin sheet-metal door, making it shudder and sending a shower of rust from the seams. She quickly pulled her hand back and brushed off her sleeve.

“I’m coming, I’m coming! Stop banging!” came a voice from inside. Soon, the door opened, and a man in his sixties poked his head out. He first saw the unfamiliar faces of An Changpu and Qin Ruonan, then spotted the old lady leading the way. His brow furrowed as he blocked the doorway with his hands on his hips. “What are you doing here? Go on, get out! You’re not welcome in my house!”

“How funny! Since when do I need your welcome to come here? Move aside! I’ve brought the police with me today for official business!” The old lady was just as stubborn, refusing to back down at all.

“So what if you brought the police? They can’t just barge into private homes without permission! You’re nothing but a fox relying on the tiger’s might! No, that’s too much credit—you’re just a monkey playing king when the tiger’s away!”

“Cut the nonsense. Are you going to let us in or not?”

“No!”

The back-and-forth bickering made it clear to An Changpu and Qin Ruonan that these two families had not just a conflict, but a long-standing feud.

Seeing the situation escalating, An Changpu realized he had to step in. He quickly moved forward, placing the old lady behind him, worried that the heated words might soon turn into a physical fight.

“Please, let’s all calm down. Uncle Zhang, correct? Pardon the interruption, we’re with the Major Crimes Unit of C City’s Public Security Bureau. We’d like to ask for your cooperation in investigating a few matters,” An Changpu said, shielding the old lady and addressing the man at the door.

Uncle Zhang was still fuming from the argument and glared at An Changpu. “Say what you need to say.”

“What’s the point of talking? You’re hiding a boy of about ten in your house! That child isn’t yours! I heard it myself this morning—the child was crying so miserably from the abuse! You can’t hide it anymore!” the old lady interjected from behind An Changpu, firing off her accusation like a machine gun.

Qin Ruonan wanted to stop her but couldn’t exactly cover her mouth, inwardly groaning. If An Changpu had planned to use another reason to get inside, that possibility was now gone thanks to the old lady’s outburst.

Sure enough, Uncle Zhang was taken aback, then straightened up and blocked the door even more firmly. “Don’t listen to that crazy old woman’s nonsense! You can’t make baseless accusations without evidence! I know my rights!”

“Knowing the law means you’re breaking it knowingly! That makes it even worse!”

“You say I’m guilty and I am? Who do you think you are?”

Just as the argument reached a stalemate and An Changpu was wondering how to make progress, a sudden turn came—the commotion at the door must have disturbed someone inside, because a child’s loud wail rang out from within. The sound was unmistakably that of a young boy.

At this, everyone’s expression changed. Uncle Zhang looked tense, the old lady triumphant, and both An Changpu and Qin Ruonan grew serious.

“Uncle Zhang, please let us come in and take a look,” An Changpu said diplomatically, but had already taken matters into his own hands, guiding Uncle Zhang by the shoulders and gently pushing him aside. Qin Ruonan followed into the courtyard, and the old lady hurried in after them.

Inside the courtyard, Uncle Zhang was now too nervous to react. An Changpu and Qin Ruonan wasted no time, pushed open the door, and saw at once a boy sitting on the bed with his back to the door, sobbing loudly. He was wearing the same jacket described in the missing person notice for Fang Wan. Opposite him sat a plump old woman, holding a half-burnt, still-smoking matchstick.

The plump old woman was stunned by the sudden intrusion, momentarily frozen and unsure whether to hold onto or drop the matchstick.

After some explanation, An Changpu and Qin Ruonan finally untangled the truth. Uncle Zhang and his wife had no children of their own. The boy was Mrs. Zhang's sister’s grandson, who was suffering from mumps and unable to attend school. Mrs. Zhang, though not highly educated, had inherited a family remedy: using red-hot matchsticks to press acupuncture points, which was said to be especially effective for mumps. With no children at home and plenty of free time, her sister had sent her grandson over for this therapy and to recover.

As for the old lady who provided the tip, her grudge with the Zhangs went back many years, all the way to the Cultural Revolution. The two families had never gotten along; every encounter ended in a quarrel.

“Well, this is a classic case of suspecting your neighbor of stealing an axe! Because the families don’t get along, a tiny clue is blown out of proportion and we end up on a wild goose chase.” On the way back, An Changpu couldn’t help but laugh at the farce. “The worst part is, just when we thought we had a lead, it all fell apart. That’s even more disappointing than having no clue at all.”

Qin Ruonan sighed, feeling much the same. But at this point, what more could be said? They didn’t dare disregard any possibility, so wasted trips like these were inevitable.

For now, they could only hope things went better on Zhuang Quan’s end.

When they returned to No. 8 Middle School and entered the office of the discipline department, they found the director standing by the desk, phone in hand. Seeing An Changpu and Qin Ruonan, he immediately put down the receiver and hurried over.

“I was just about to call you! We’ve found Zhuang Quan! I’ll leave the office to you—talk to him here,” the director said, stepping out and quietly closing the door behind him.

Only then did An Changpu and Qin Ruonan notice Zhuang Quan sitting by the window in the corner. Just as on the surveillance footage, he was a sturdy, dark-skinned boy, his clothes seemingly unchanged from the video. He sat with one leg crossed over the other, an arm propped on the windowsill, wearing an expression that was hard to read—somewhere between rebellious and mocking.

“Zhuang Quan, I won’t beat around the bush,” An Changpu said, taking a seat in front of the boy. “A few days ago, you sold a phone to a second-hand shop, didn’t you? Now, tell me honestly—where did you get it?” He handed over a diagram of the phone model.

Zhuang Quan glanced at the diagram and didn’t bother to reach for it, curling his lip disdainfully. “You say you won’t beat around the bush, but you ask dumb questions like that? Where else could I get it? I robbed someone for it!”

Thanks to the votes from the son of Master Zall and He Si’s fans! Three bows! Your votes made my cold medicine go down easier!

Chapter Nineteen: Committed a Robbery

*Highly recommended*