Chi Wan gave Chi Yuanshan a look, then wiped away her tears and went up to them. "Officers, you're finally here! I was so scared, boohoohoo..."
One of the older policemen comforted her, "There there, young lady. Don't cry, it's all right now. You're the one who called us, right? What exactly happened here?"
"I... I recorded a video, boohoohoo... Please, watch it first. You'll understand once you see it. It was terrifying! I was so scared, boohoohoo..."
Chi Wan, ordinarily a sweet and delicate-looking young woman, was now crying her eyes out. She looked so pitiful that anyone would assume she had suffered a terrible injustice.
Not to mention her injured father standing beside her, the look on his face showing that her tears were breaking his heart.
Even though Chi Yuanshan knew Chi Wan was exaggerating her tears a little, the thought of her facing Liu Dali and his pack of shameless animals all alone before he arrived was too much. He couldn't help but pull her shoulder into his embrace, his voice choked with emotion. "My dear Wanwan, it's all Daddy's fault. I should have come to get you sooner!"
"If these animals had really hurt you, I'd give my life to get revenge for you!"
The officer cleared his throat, pretending not to have heard Chi Yuanshan's dangerous remark. He took the miniature camera from Chi Wan, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
As if guessing the officer's thoughts, Chi Wan wiped the tears from her face. She leaned against Chi Yuanshan's chest, and though her voice was still choked with sobs, she explained with perfect clarity, "We had a falling out with them before over our fruit trees. They even came and poisoned them in the middle of the night."
"I was worried they might try to pull another dirty trick, so I bought a miniature camera to install at home. I just didn't expect to be coming home late tonight and get cornered by them on the way. If my dad hadn't come for me, I... I... boohoohoo..."
The officer hadn't realized there was prior history between the groups, but Chi Wan's explanation was perfectly plausible. He cleared his throat again, his tone softening. "Don't be afraid, young lady. We'll protect you. As long as you've secured the evidence, we will make sure not a single one of these criminals gets away with it!"
Lying on the ground, Liu Dali, Monkey, and the others wanted to protest. 'Aren't *we* the ones who are more seriously hurt?!'
But when they heard Chi Wan's clear voice—the same voice that had announced she was recording them on her phone before—their world went dark.
'Why is this little blondie so obsessed with taking videos?! And how does she get away with it every single time!'
'Liu Dali was used to running roughshod over everyone, but even he knew the rules: what happens in the village, stays in the village. Minor incidents could be smoothed over. But a video recording changed everything. His only saving grace was that they hadn't actually *done* anything to her. It was just verbal harassment, at most.'
Realizing this, his arrogance returned. He craned his neck and said, "Officer, we were just joking around with the kid. See? We didn't actually do anything."
Hearing this, Monkey and the others immediately caught on. "Yeah, that's right!" they chimed in. "We just saw the young lady waiting for a ride by herself and were worried she was scared, so we went to keep her company. We didn't do anything to her. It was her dad who rushed over and started beating us up."
The officer ignored the scoundrels' claims and said grimly, "You can explain the 'specifics' down at the station."
With that, he took everyone back to the police station.
On the way, Chi Wan called Song Yinghe to tell her she was safe. She didn't go into detail, only saying that she'd had a run-in with Liu Dali and his cronies and that they were all being taken to the police station.
Even though both Chi Wan and Chi Yuanshan insisted they were fine, Song Yinghe was frantic. She ended up contacting the village chief and asking him to go to the police station with her.
The village chief had already been tearing his hair out trying to figure out how to persuade Professor Zhang to move forward with building the experimental base in the village. Now, hearing what Song Yinghe said, he felt like the sky was falling all over again.
Cursing Liu Dali and his gang under his breath, he rushed to pick up Song Yinghe, and they hurried to the station together.
By the time they arrived, the families of Liu Dali and his men had also been summoned.
The two groups were facing off. Before the police could even say a word, Liu Dali's wife, Xu Cuifen, pointed a finger at Chi Wan, who had just finished giving her statement, and started screaming. "You little slut! So the city folk didn't fall for your act, and you came back to the village to seduce men, is that it?! I'm going to tear that pretty face of yours to shreds!"
Chi Wan had long been mentally prepared for this family's shamelessness. But Song Yinghe, having heard the full story of what happened, was like an enraged lioness. She shoved Xu Cuifen aside as the woman lunged for Chi Wan. Too furious even to curse, she just pointed a finger in Xu Cuifen's face. "Our family will never settle this! You just get ready to see Liu Dali and his friends in prison!"
Xu Cuifen looked ready to resort to her usual theatrics—crying, screaming, and making a general scene—but this was the police station. Two officers grabbed the wailing woman and said coldly, "Keep it up, and we'll detain you too!"
Xu Cuifen was only brave when bullying the weak; she knew to behave in front of the police. All she could do was wail, "My Dali was framed! How could he possibly make a move on that little blondie? It must be that damn girl who seduced him! Just look at her! You can tell she's no good! You have to get justice for our Dali!"
As Xu Cuifen wailed, the other families joined in, all clamoring at once about how their boys had been wronged.
Chi Wan watched them coldly. 'Birds of a feather really do flock together,' she thought. 'Liu Dali, his cronies, and their families—they're all cut from the same rotten cloth.'
The village chief felt these people were a complete disgrace to the village. 'But what can I do,' he thought, 'I still have to try and smooth this over. If this scandal gets out, our village's shot at the "Model Village" award this year is finished.'
He instinctively looked toward Chi Yuanshan's family. In his mind, as long as the victims didn't press the issue, everything could be negotiated.
Unfortunately for him, he failed to understand that this time, Liu Dali and his friends had crossed a line they couldn't uncross. They had picked a fight with the wrong people.
Chi Yuanshan showed the village chief no deference whatsoever. "Village Chief, I told you earlier today. I was willing to let the past go, but they never should have gone after Wanwan! Do you have any idea what would have happened if I'd gotten there any later?!"
"This time, they must go to prison. Otherwise, I'll take this case to every level of government until they do!"
The village chief was getting annoyed now, too. He grabbed Chi Yuanshan's wrist and hissed, "Do you have to cause trouble for me at a time like this? The girl is fine, isn't she? We're all from the same village. We have to see each other every day. Do you really have to blow this all out of proportion?!"
Chi Yuanshan's eyes went red with anger at his words.
He yanked his arm free from the village chief's grasp. "What do you mean Wanwan is fine?! Who do you think is really causing trouble here, huh?! I don't care who tries to talk me down today, it won't work!"
Chi Yuanshan was still too much of a gentleman, but Chi Wan, being of a younger generation, wasn't about to take this lying down.
She stepped up beside Chi Yuanshan and addressed the village chief, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Mr. Village Chief, is Liu Dali a relative of yours? You seem awfully protective of him. Are you aware of what his actions constitute? Poisoning, premeditated retaliation, public disturbance, and attempted rape! These are crimes, not minor trifles that can be negotiated away."
"Instead of trying to persuade us, perhaps you should go persuade *them*—to be on their best behavior in prison!"