Chapter 2533 - 2597: Taking Statements
As soon as the words fell, Li Yifei appeared in front of him, crossing several steps in the blink of an eye. The thin policeman was startled and instinctively stepped back, finally losing his balance and falling backward. This time, the chubby policeman couldn’t catch him, and the thin policeman rolled down the stairs until he stopped at the bottom.
"What are you doing?" the chubby policeman shouted sternly.
"I didn’t touch him," Li Yifei replied casually. He indeed hadn’t touched the thin policeman; the latter fell on his own, so it’s not anyone else’s fault. The chubby policeman realized that Li Yifei was difficult to deal with; he frowned and warned, "Don’t mess around. Alright, who called for an ambulance?"
"Damn it, today I don’t believe I can’t handle you, you’ve been spoiled," muttered the thin policeman as he crawled back up, feeling dizzy from the fall, and leaned on the handrail to stand up. He looked up at Li Yifei and the others above, and charged up aggressively. Li Yifei flicked his fingers, sending a force right to the thin policeman’s knee, causing a sharp pain to shoot through him. Just halfway up, his foot softened again, and his knee slammed into the edge of the stairs. He howled in pain and again rolled down.
The chubby policeman watched with his eye twitching. He did intend to stop the thin policeman but saw him fall again, and the latter’s emotions collapsed completely, leading to a stream of profanities.
"Is this how you policemen act?"
"Alright, you don’t need to taunt like a wave anymore. No matter what you say, it won’t change anything. With the investigation unsolved, anyone could be guilty or innocent," said the chubby policeman calmly, still smiling.
An old hand, Li Yifei glanced at him and turned to the victimized woman, saying, "We’ll go back with them. Don’t worry, today I’ll fight for justice for you."
It wasn’t a plea, nor a request, but a demand — a difference in momentum and confidence. Li Yifei was determined to thoroughly investigate today, so these people would not be able to brush him off.
The victimized woman bit her lip, looking gratefully at Li Yifei.
Li Yifei and Lang Wenqin followed the chubby policeman to the station, while the others were sent to the hospital under the care of the thin policeman for treatment. After treatment, they would also be brought back to the station. But whether they would actually return, we would know then.
At the station, Li Yifei and Lang Wenqin, the latter being the victimized woman from Sichuan Province who had specially traveled to Dan City, encountered this incident. The two made statements, each explaining the events. After the statements were completed and signed, the chubby policeman finished reading them, saying with a smile, "It’s actually nothing serious. If it happened as you said, brother, I should praise you for preventing misunderstandings."
"You think this isn’t serious? You think this isn’t a misunderstanding?" Li Yifei asked with a penetrating tone, causing the chubby policeman’s smile to freeze. It took several seconds before he replied, "Being taken away doesn’t necessarily mean anything would happen."
"You’re a policeman; you must take responsibility for what you say," Li Yifei pointed at him, pulled a chair over, and sat down, saying, "As an ordinary person, I don’t feel this is a trivial matter. In a relatively safer place like a hotel, such incidents can occur—how bad has the social security in Dan City gotten? If you think this is still a minor matter, then I have nothing more to say."
"Well... it could be serious or not, what you said makes sense, but this is just your statement. We still need to wait for their treatment and return to the station for investigation."
"Haha!" Li Yifei didn’t waste breath arguing with him.
After waiting for nearly an hour, the thin policeman and another officer brought back two hooligans along with some hotel staff in a van. However, they didn’t follow Li Yifei’s instructions and only brought a few hotel staff.
As these people entered, the chubby policeman went up to greet them. The thin policeman looked at Li Yifei with hatred, grunted heavily, and pointed at Li Yifei, saying, "Stand up, how dare you sit down, you’re spoiled."
Li Yifei looked indifferently at the man, not moving. The thin policeman felt provoked and hurriedly walked over, intending to yank Li Yifei up. But just as he was about to exert force, he suddenly felt a pain in his knee, causing him to kneel a meter in front of Li Yifei, with both knees hitting the ground heavily.
Everyone in the room was taken aback, not expecting this scene to occur. The chubby policeman and several on-duty officers watched the thin policeman’s actions, feeling puzzled. What was going on? Why did he kneel in front of someone?
The thin policeman felt aggrieved; his face was distorted from the pain, but he couldn’t blame the other side. After repeatedly falling down the stairs, his knees were already injured. Just as he intended to find trouble with the other party, he experienced knee pain again and knelt before Li Yifei. Looking at Li Yifei’s mocking face, the thin policeman wished he could find a hole to hide in.
Did I forget to check the calendar today for luck? Why is everything going wrong! The thin policeman struggled to stand up, glaring at Li Yifei angrily, and shouted, "What are you laughing at? Stand up, go squat over there."
"What if I refuse?" Li Yifei maintained the same expression, making the skinny policeman feel played with. He reached out to grab Li Yifei, but was caught off guard as his knee pain returned. The same action, same posture, same sound—a "thud"—the skinny policeman knelt on the ground. His face turned a liver-like color. One shouldn’t fall at the same place twice, yet he had knelt twice within a minute, all bowing to Li Yifei, which made him feel like collapsing.
The chubby policeman couldn’t stand it anymore. He too sensed something was off. Despite the skinny policeman generally having an average relationship with him, he was pretty clever and wouldn’t usually end up in such a situation. Either it was sheer bad luck today, or there was a hidden reason. Looking at Li Yifei’s indifferent demeanor, he clicked his tongue, unable to figure out the cause. Nevertheless, pulling the man away seemed right; they were colleagues, and causing such a scene constantly wasn’t good.
He looked at Li Yifei and said plainly, "We need them to make statements. You go wait in the room across."
"Okay!" Li Yifei replied.
Li Yifei was not mistaken; while being sent to the hospital, the skinny policeman received some benefits or promises. The statements given by the two hooligans and hotel staff completely contradicted that of Li Yifei and his companion. They all claimed unanimously that Li Yifei beat others, and that the two did not hold Lang Wenqin hostage. They were merely having a verbal dispute, and Li Yifei went over and kicked them.
The testimony came from the two hooligans, the hotel manager, and the security guard who got beat up, forming a stark contrast. Both groups adamantly claimed Li Yifei was the aggressor, and they did nothing wrong.
Li Yifei heard clearly, sneering as he took out his phone to send a message. It was eleven at night, and some women of the Li family hadn’t rested. Xu Yingying had just put the child to sleep. Seeing the message, she dialed several numbers. The Li family’s businesses spread across the province, and Dan City is a relatively large city in Ning Province and a port city, so naturally, the Li family knows many people. Xu Yingying quickly sent several numbers to Li Yifei, annotated with names and positions.
Receiving the information, Li Yifei smiled. Opposite, Lang Wenqin remained anxious, not knowing what to do as an outsider, only offering constant thanks to Li Yifei.
The chubby policeman walked in, chuckled, and said, "You all might end up spending the night here; things aren’t as you claimed. The people who got beat up are all pointing you out as the troublemaker, as the perpetrator."
"Heh!" Li Yifei laughed coldly. He had heard the other side’s statements long ago and didn’t get angry now. He simply and lightly reminded the chubby policeman, saying, "I’ll advise you too: after being a cop for so many years, you know better than me what’s going on, so you should position yourself correctly."
The chubby policeman squinted his eyes and said, "Knowing a lot doesn’t necessarily mean things are that way. However, you seem familiar to me, and I don’t intend to make things difficult for you. Came over to give you a word; they probably have someone lined up over there. If you have connections, you should find someone too. Can we little officers do anything? We follow whatever the higher-ups say!"
"The little devils are tricky." Li Yifei commented. The chubby policeman opened his eyes, still not angry, shaking his head with a smile, "I’ve said it, whether you listen is up to you!"
"Who did they find?" Li Yifei asked.
The chubby policeman chuckled silently, saying, "Whether I know or not, I can’t disclose it."
"That’s reasonable. Fine, let the people they’ve found come over first!"
"Tsk, some people are just unyielding."
"Actually, I’m saying they’re not afraid of them, nor of you!"
"Hahaha, uttering such words... I have to give some respect!" The chubby policeman finished, not giving Li Yifei a chance to respond, turned around and left, slamming the door. Opposite, Lang Wenqin understood the dialogue between the two and apologetically said, "Brother, I’m sorry for causing trouble for you."
"I’ve told you, no need for thanks, nor apologies. I’m doing this not just for you. I’m trying to tell you, or many friends, that in this society, meddling isn’t always a bad thing. Meddling once might save a person’s life. If I don’t act now and let them drag you away, and you end up in trouble later, I’d feel guilty, a lifelong guilt."
"Brother!" Lang Wenqin’s tears streamed down. Li Yifei then said, "If you’re tired, go take a nap. If they don’t show up tonight, then everything will be resolved by tomorrow. If they come tonight, then no one should sleep."
Lang Wenqin naturally couldn’t grasp the meaning embedded in Li Yifei’s words. He knew himself that this was heading towards a larger confrontation. Regardless of who and what the opposition brings, Li Yifei intended to settle it.