Chapter 19: Restoring Your Innocence The snow-white, exquisite parts were generously touched by the man…
Before Chen Mian could stop him, the man in front of her had already taken off her shoes and socks.
Chen Mian felt a little uncomfortable as her snow-white, delicate body was held in the man's large, strong hands. She shrank her toes uncomfortably, feeling a slight itch in her heart, as if a feather had brushed against it.
"Your foot is fine. Just try not to walk for the next few days," Ji Yu said, gently massaging Chen Mian's ankle.
Chen Mian hummed in agreement, then explained in a low voice, "I went out for a walk last night because the snoring in the tent was too loud and I couldn't sleep..."
Chen Mian pursed her lips, looking aggrieved: "When I got near the warehouse, I heard a strange noise that startled me."
"I mustered up my courage and looked around, but I didn't see anything, so I quickly ran back."
Ji Yu helped her put her shoes and socks back on, clapped her hands, stood up, and said, "I believe you."
Seeing this, Chen Mian also tried to get up, but he pressed her back down to sit, saying, "You stay here quietly for a while, I'll come back to pick you up when I'm done."
Chen Mian didn't understand what "picking her up" meant. Was she going to be taken to the police station for questioning? She sat there somewhat uneasy, her mind a jumble of thoughts.
Ji Yu had already walked over to his colleague on the other side. Kalikiz, who was also wearing a police uniform, nudged him with his shoulder and teased, "Your girlfriend?"
Ji Yu frowned: "My sister."
Upon hearing this, Kalikiz raised his hands in surrender and said, "Okay, okay, I misspoke."
He secretly scoffed, thinking, "Nobody would believe this is your sister. You're an only child, where would you get a sister?"
The two first obtained the complete list of pickers from Ayili, and then called over two other colleagues to take statements from them one by one to see if anyone could provide more clues.
Ji Yu and Kalikzi went to check the various traces inside and outside the warehouse. It was impossible for just one or two people to transport two thousand catties of cotton overnight; there would definitely be trucks waiting outside to pick them up.
Ji Yu went around to the back of the warehouse and found a small path that looked newly opened up. The cotton plants on both sides of the path were standing crookedly.
He walked out along the path, and outside was the windbreak forest on the edge of the farm, with a gap of about two meters cut out by human hands.
Upon closer inspection, a few cotton wadding pieces were still stuck to it, and a few thin nylon threads at the sharp point fluttered in the breeze. Several flat cotton balls were also scattered on the gravel road, as if someone had stepped on them.
Ji Yu stepped forward, picked up a clump of cotton, and examined it closely. Hidden within the grayish-black cotton clump were several black cotton seeds, indicating it was long-staple cotton.
Based on what Ayili said earlier, the cotton in the warehouse was waiting for a second screening before it could be sold. This was probably caused by the thieves accidentally scratching and dropping it while they were moving it in a hurry.
On the other side, Kalikiz, who had just come out of the warehouse, habitually looked around at the commotion and caught a glimpse of a picker looking furtively behind the warehouse.
Kalikiz strode forward, grabbed his collar, pulled him out, and demanded, "What are you looking at?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Erhu stammered, "No... I didn't see anything..."
Kalikiz said in a deep voice, "I didn't see anything, why are you so afraid of me?"
Wang Erhu, his back slightly hunched, replied with his head down, "I'm just a little timid."
Having circled back along the path behind the warehouse, Ji Yu looked at the scene before her, exchanged a glance with Kalikzi, and slyly said, "That hole behind the farm, it must have taken you quite a bit of time, right?"
Wang Erhu stammered, "No...it didn't take many days." As soon as he finished speaking, his eyes narrowed, realizing that he had said the wrong thing.
He rubbed his hands together, and his right foot was also quietly shuffling on the ground, with a hint of panic in his eyes.
Ji Yu continued, "I see you're quite bold, stealing someone's things and still daring to stay here."
Wang Erhu suddenly turned around and darted into the crowd to try to escape, but was caught by Ji Yu, who was chasing closely behind.
He was still struggling desperately, turning around and punching Ji Yu in the face with his right fist, while secretly trying to trip the man with his feet, but Ji Yu countered and pressed him to the ground.
Wang Erhu struggled face down, his face covered in dust, but he still yelled, "I haven't done anything wrong, why are you arresting me?"
Ji Yu braced his right knee against Wang Erhu's legs, grabbed his hair with his other hand, lifted his head, and sneered, "Just because you're stupid."
After saying that, he took out a pair of handcuffs from his uniform, cuffed his hands behind his back, and lifted him up. "Let's go, take us to find your accomplices."
Ji Yu called his other colleagues and prepared to drive together to arrest Wang Erhu's other accomplices. Before leaving, he specifically asked Ayili to take care of Chen Mian for a while, and that he would pick her up in the evening.
Ayili teased: I told you they were on the verge of a relationship.
Upon hearing this, Chen Mian blushed slightly and lowered her head with a shy smile. She was going to trouble Officer Ji again, and then silently prayed that Ji Yu could catch the real culprit as soon as possible and clear her name.
On the way, Wang Erhu still refused to reveal the hiding place of his accomplices, but Ji Yu had already followed the tire tracks on the road and driven the police car towards the city.
Ji Yu glanced at the rearview mirror, staring at Wang Erhu's hunched posture in the back seat, and thought of the theft gang case she had been investigating recently.
According to the latest investigation, the gang consists of four people, all of whom speak with a Sichuan accent, and one of them is hunchbacked.
Ji Yu tapped the steering wheel a few times with his right hand, and Kalikzi, who was sitting in the back seat, tacitly cooperated with him.
Ji Yu: "We already know all the things your gang has done recently. If you redeem yourself now, you can save a few years in prison."
Kalikiz chimed in, "Our Comrade Ji is a veteran who just came back from the army. Dealing with small fry like you is a piece of cake for him."
Ji Yu said in a deep voice, "I know you're not the real boss. It's not too late to turn yourself in, otherwise, with your brains..."
Ji Yu paused deliberately for a moment, glanced at him in the rearview mirror, and then continued.
"When your boss gets caught and everything is pinned on you, you probably won't even be able to say a few words in rebuttal."
Wang Erhu clasped his hands behind his back, rubbing them incessantly. He kept his head turned towards the car window, remaining silent, but there was a struggle in his eyes.
In a courtyard in the southern suburbs, Wang Dahu and two other brothers were picking cotton seeds from the cotton plants, occasionally sneezing from the cotton fluff floating in the air.
Wang Dahu frowned: "Damn it, that coward Second Brother actually dared to lie to me!"
"They said it was all top-quality cotton, and this is it? I have to pick it all out myself."
Another tall, thin man was also cursing, "It's all that Liu's fault. He said he could only buy cotton with seeds at half price. Boss, we should sell them and run, things are getting a bit tense lately."
Upon hearing this, Wang Dahu spat and said, "Of course I knew to run! It's just that my second brother left a gold watch at the farm. We have to wait for him to come back!"
After saying that, he clapped his hands, tugged at the cotton stuck to his clothes, and said, "Stop messing around, pack it back first, set off tonight, and sell it in other cities later."
In the car, after a long struggle, Wang Erhu finally relented and turned to ask, "Officer, if I tell you, will it really count as me turning myself in?"
Ji Yu nodded in agreement: "Of course, we keep our word."
Wang Erhu recounted the location of his accomplices' hiding place in detail, then turned his head away and silently gazed at the fleeting shadows of trees outside the window, lost in thought.
Kalikzi, sitting in the back row, couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at Ji Yu. "Not bad, bro."
A faint smile appeared on Ji Yu's face. If all went well, the case could finally be solved, and he wouldn't have to keep staking out the location every day anymore.
Recently, the municipal bureau has been short-staffed, so they have been temporarily transferring him there to help out, which has prevented him from taking good care of his family.
My comrade's girlfriends all ran away from home, and he sprained his ankle again today. If Chen Mubai finds out, he'll think it's because he didn't treat her well.
In the evening, Ji Yu came out of the interrogation room to get a drink of water. When she saw that it was already very late, she quickly told her superior that she had an urgent matter at home and had to go back.
Kalikiz was left behind to continue interrogating Wang Dahu and others with his superiors. These men had committed a series of crimes in Urumqi within six months, initially stealing small items such as handbags from residential buildings.
Once they got bolder, they started stealing large items like tables and chairs, seeking thrills and a sense of accomplishment.
Among the group, Wang Dahu had served as a reconnaissance soldier for two years and had a strong sense of counter-surveillance. They had never been able to capture him, and he had even completely disappeared some time ago.
Unexpectedly, they delivered themselves to our doorstep this time. No one knows where they got a truck from, but they pulled off a big heist.
At Ayili's home, Chen Mianmian was sitting in the living room watching TV.
Taking advantage of her current inability to move around, Ayili and her daughter-in-law carried her back to their home.
He claimed, "This is a task assigned to me by the police, so I can't be careless."
Chen Mian had no choice but to accept this enthusiastic arrangement. She had sprained her ankle once when she was a child and knew that she couldn't be stubborn at this time. She could only wait until she recovered before thanking everyone in turn.
Half an hour later, Ji Yu arrived.
As soon as he entered the room, he didn't exchange more than a few words with Ayili before walking straight up to Chen Mian, kneeling slightly, and lifting her up in his arms.
Chen Mian was startled and struggled to get down.
Ji Yu frowned and said in a deep voice, "Behave yourself, or you'll fall down again."
Chen Mian looked at his slightly displeased expression, but dared not speak out. She could only obediently raise her hand and put it around the man's neck.
After placing Chen Mian in the passenger seat, Ji Yu remained silent and drove the car without saying a word.
Chen Mian looked at the scenery along the road and felt something was wrong. This didn't seem to be the road to the city, nor the road back to the cotton farm.
Chen Mian asked in confusion, "Brother Ji, where are you taking me?"
Ji Yu: "I took you to be sold..."
Chen Mian was shocked: "?"
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Author's note: Thank you for your support, everyone! *bows*
Also, I'd like to recommend some of Tao Nai's other books to you kids.
1. "Whose Good Kid Brings Their Parents to Work?": A double "wife-chasing" scenario, with a scheming ex-boyfriend and a cheerful childhood sweetheart competing for her affections (lol).
2. "A Cat Runs a Kindergarten in a Military Compound," featuring a proud and picky cat with a heart...
The story of Little Cotton Brother: A gentle cat god versus a kind pine tree that loves to tease cats;
3. "After the Female Lead of the Customized Novel is Bound to the Check-in System", with the same background as Little Cotton but a transmigration version, a silly and refreshing novel.
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