Seeing his pained expression, Lin Chen felt a pang of sorrow.
"Brother, I never expected you to encounter something like this."
Lin Chen poured Xu Jie another full glass of wine.
He was drinking at a restaurant not far from the police station, and he must have been feeling extremely conflicted.
He then helped analyze the situation:
"Your situation is easy to handle. It just depends on how good your relationship is with your friends. For example, if it were a family member in trouble, you would definitely stand on their side and do your best to protect them."
Xu Jie paused for a moment. If it were his own parents, he definitely wouldn't be so conflicted.
But now it's Lucy, a wife who doesn't have much affection for him.
Moreover, not long ago, her family went to the hospital demanding money, which angered her grandfather to death.
His parents are now extremely anxious and are telling him to ask Lucy for five thousand dollars in compensation, or they will divorce him immediately.
Lucy's stance was neither to divorce nor to pay compensation.
What does his grandfather's death have to do with them?
The two families had a very tense argument over money.
He now understood that Lucy's marriage to him was merely a stopgap measure to prevent him from exposing her whereabouts.
She didn't love him at all.
His parents' pressure and Lucy's indifference led him to consider reporting them.
If things are exposed and Lucy is arrested, he will be guilty of harboring a criminal.
Hearing Lin Chen say that, he felt like he was a real jerk.
He actually wanted to report his own wife.
Seeing that Lin Chen was listening attentively, Xu Jie subtly revealed many details.
Lin Chen felt increasingly uneasy as he listened, and subtly inquired about his friend's workplace and name.
Caught off guard, Xu Jie told him that the person's name was Lucy and that she worked at a trading company.
Lin Chen was struck dumb, as if by lightning.
Based on what Xu Jie said, there is a high probability that Lucy was the arsonist, and Xu Jie was also in the know.
A powerful sense of happiness washed over him.
His face remained calm and composed.
He absolutely could not show the slightest excitement, lest Xu Jie see through his act.
"Brother, after saying all that, I still have to remind you. Failing to report something you know is a crime, and you can't carry that burden for the rest of your life, can you?"
"Besides, I could tell from what I just heard that your friend isn't very nice to you. A good friend would go to great lengths for you, but a bad friend will only leave you waiting to be stabbed in the back." Lin Chen changed his tone.
Xu Jie was completely bewildered. What should he do?
......
A few hours ago, Lucy arrived at the company, but Jiang Ning was nowhere to be seen.
“You don’t know, Jiang Ning’s husband called Jack and said he wanted to take the day off. But it wasn’t a day off; he was taken away by the police. She’s involved in the arson case.”
A colleague was gossiping.
Lucy couldn't hide the smile on her face anymore.
"I never expected that someone who looks harmless would commit arson for an order. You really can't judge a book by its cover."
Upon hearing this, Xu Yan's face darkened considerably.
“Lucy, don’t make things up without evidence. Defaming someone is a crime.”
"Don't try to scare me. I didn't say anything wrong. Didn't she go to the police station?" Lucy said, hands on her hips, showing no fear.
My gossipy colleague also gloated:
“The police came to my house with the leftover cotton yarn from the fire scene and asked me if I had seen it. I could only answer truthfully that Jiang Ning used that kind of rag, there’s no mistake.”
Xu Yan stood up abruptly, glaring at her angrily:
"To convict someone simply because they used the same rag is absurd. Luckily, you weren't brought before the judicial authorities, or who knows how many wrongful convictions you would have made. It's true that Jiang Ning used a cotton rag, but in such a large city, it's not impossible that others did as well."
Even if it really is hers, isn't there a possibility that someone else might have used her rag to commit a crime?
The man pursed his lips and fell silent, looking unconvinced.
She was in another group and was Xu Yan's competitor.
They thought they had finally managed to strike back at them, but instead, they were left speechless by their rebuttal.
Lucy panicked after hearing her words.
The police aren't stupid; they'll definitely verify the evidence from multiple sources.
Lucy felt a wave of fear as she thought about the big argument she had with Xu Jie the night before.
She decided to find Xu Jie as soon as possible and beg him for help.
Meanwhile, Jiaojiao and Tongtong arrived at the kindergarten under Gao Baoliang's escort.
At the door, Jiaojiao, who was clinging to his neck, asked him when Mom would come to pick them up and why Dad wasn't there.
Gao Baoliang coaxed her:
"They'll come after school."
Tongtong had sensed something was wrong early on and looked at Gao Baoliang suspiciously.
“Uncle Baoliang, if you don’t tell us the truth, I’ll tell Aunt Mengjiao about how you leave your socks lying around and how you don’t like washing your feet.”
Gao Baoliang felt a lump in his throat; this kid really knew how to get to his weak spot.
He had to tell them about Jiang Ning being called in for questioning by the police.
Upon hearing this, Jiaojiao's eyes immediately welled up with tears, and she buried her face in Gao Baoliang's chest, pouting.
"Mom isn't a bad person, they must have arrested the wrong person."
Tongtong, however, acted like a little adult and told her to shut up:
“What’s the use of crying? Let’s go home and get the bibs we used when we were kids, and then go to the police station.”
He already had an idea.
Gao Baoliang knew that he was a man of strong will and that he couldn't be stopped, so he had no choice but to cooperate obediently.
After returning home, he asked Wang Xiufen to bring out all the used bibs in the house, and he took them with Gao Baoliang to the police station.
When he arrived at the police station, he went directly to the officer who had interrogated his mother and showed him the bib.
"Uncle, it seems a bit hasty for you to invite my mother over based solely on a bib. My mother used my bib as a rag; anyone around her could easily access something like that, so how can it be used as evidence?"
The policeman was stunned at first, then squatted down and explained to him with a smile:
"Little friend, we've considered your situation. We called your mother over just for a routine inquiry; it doesn't mean she did anything wrong!"
Furthermore, our investigation has confirmed that your mother was not the one who set the fire that night. She is currently processing the necessary paperwork and will be out soon. You can wait on that chair over there.
Tongtong's serious little face broke into a smile: "Really? Thank you, Uncle."
He obediently sat down in the chair.
Gao Baoliang exclaimed that it was amazing.
This little guy's dignified and composed demeanor is truly remarkable; I wonder who he takes after.
While they waited quietly, Lin Chen helped Xu Jie into the police station and hurriedly found the police.
"Officer, this officer has something to report to you about a fire."
The police took it seriously and told them to go to the interrogation room inside.
Just then, Lucy, who had been peering out the door, rushed out and hugged Xu Jie's leg.
“Ah Jie, come back with me. I’ll agree to your request and give you five thousand yuan. We won’t get a divorce.”
Xu Jie, his eyes glazed over with drunkenness, looked her up and down. "Who are you?"
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