Jin Luo saw that they had finished their phone call and said in a deep voice, "I need to take him back to the police station first."
Yun Manman nodded repeatedly, "Can you manage? Do you want Yin Qian to go with you?"
Jin Luo frowned as he lifted the dazed Han Chao, saying, "No need, I just contacted my colleague. He's driving over to pick me up."
"As for you, you'll need to come in later to make a statement. It's best to bring along the person you were just talking to."
Yun Manman naturally agreed, "Alright."
Just as he was about to leave the store, Jin Luo seemed to remember something. He stopped and turned back to Yun Manman, saying, "Don't forget about the Spirit Power Test this Saturday."
Yun Manman was taken aback, as if suddenly remembering that was indeed a thing.
Kashida had regular free Spirit Power Tests, making it convenient for beastmen to get tested and for the country to gather statistics.
She watched as Jin Luo escorted Han Chao into the police car and sped away.
Belatedly, she wondered if this counted as attempting to commit a crime but coincidentally running into a police officer.
Yun Manman finished making the day's desserts with an uneasy mind, then left the store in Yin Qian's care before heading out with her little snake to the police station to give her statement.
Yin Qian, the god of weight, had now learned how to make drinks. As long as he had an electronic scale and standard weights, he could make drinks identical to Yun Manman's.
He was also proficient in packaging and taking orders. Yun Manman instructed him to contact her if anything came up.
It was fine for Yun Manman to leave for a short while.
She would try to return as soon as possible.
Yin Qian, left behind in the store, felt a bit at a loss.
What about his bodyguard duties?
But his apprentice work was also important.
After much internal struggle, he repeatedly urged Yun Manman to contact him if anything happened.
Lu Qi, nestled in Yun Manman's shoulder bag, poked his head out to look at Yin Qian, nodding up and down.
Don't worry, little furball, I'll protect this fragile feline beastman.
Yin Qian naturally saw the little snake's seemingly solemn appearance and was utterly confused.
Is this snake having a seizure? Or is it dancing?
This wasn't Yun Manman's first time at the police station.
She had been here once before when she was slandered by an internet celebrity.
Jin Zhiqiang, passing by the entrance with a stack of files, saw Yun Manman come in and his eyes lit up. He enthusiastically ushered her inside, "Oh, Manager Yun is here! Come in, have a seat!"
His enthusiasm made Yun Manman feel right at home.
The golden tail behind Jin Zhiqiang wagged rapidly, making Yun Manman almost hallucinate a big golden retriever with its tongue out, head tilted, and a silly smile.
"You're the only beastman who's come to the police station twice in a month since I started working here! It's so rare."
"Would you like some water?"
Yun Manman pouted, looking annoyed, "No, thanks. I'm here to give a statement to Jin Luo."
Hmph, rare! As if she wanted to come here.
What rotten luck.
So Jin Zhiqiang led Yun Manman to the interview room with a grin, where Yuan Qing was already inside giving her statement.
Yuan Qing was talking to Jin Luo when she saw Yun Manman come in. She immediately stood up and walked over to Yun Manman.
She held Yun Manman's hand and looked her up and down, sighing in relief when she saw she wasn't hurt.
"You scared me to death. I'm so glad you're okay."
Her delicate and sharp eyebrows were filled with anger and confusion. "Why would Han Chao do such a thing? It's like he lost his mind."
Yun Manman patted the back of her hand. "It's okay, it's okay. He's been arrested."
Jin Luo then took Yun Manman's statement as well.
The cow-cat was surprisingly focused and serious when working, without the playfulness he showed when interacting with Yun Manman.
The form-fitting police uniform accentuated his tall and slender figure, giving him a strangely ascetic air.
Yun Manman couldn't help but steal a few extra glances.
Ah, a cat-eared man in uniform! How had she never noticed before how slim Jin Luo's waist was?
As the statement-taking was nearing its end, a cat-eared police officer walked in.
He glanced at Yuan Qing a few times, then bent down to speak to Jin Luo, "Han Chao is refusing to cooperate. He says he wants to see Miss Yuan to apologize to her."
Jin Luo slowly furrowed his brow.
The evidence was conclusive, and Han Chao's confession wasn't really necessary anymore.
But of course, having it would be better.
It was also possible he was trying to negotiate for a suspended sentence.
Yun Manman quickly looked at Yuan Qing, only to see her deep in thought.
In truth, she didn't want Yuan Qing to meet this crazy scumbag anymore.
What apology? Remorse that comes only when facing the gallows is as useless as an expired can of food.
It stinks and serves no purpose, and might even be poisonous.
But she wasn't Yuan Qing, and didn't know what she was thinking inside.
She also couldn't make the choice for her.
Yuan Qing was silent for a few seconds, then looked up and said, "I can go."
Yun Manman shook her hand, her tone firm, "I'll go with you."
"Alright," Yuan Qing smiled faintly.
The two girls walked into the interrogation room hand in hand.
The air conditioning inside the room was running at full blast, and a wave of cold air hit them as soon as they entered.
Goosebumps rose on Yun Manman's arms.
She secretly surveyed her surroundings.
The interrogation room was spacious and brightly lit, as if no evil could hide in this place.
The walls on all sides were made of some kind of silver metal, without a single visible seam.
It looked cold yet gave a strong sense of security.
Apart from the surveillance cameras in the four corners, there were no other facilities or decorations to be seen.
Han Chao was locked in a chair in the center of the vast interrogation room.
Two police officers were sitting in chairs in front of Han Chao, talking in low voices. When they saw the girls enter, they nodded to them and then left the interrogation room.
With a soft sound of the door closing, only the three of them remained in the room.
Han Chao kept his head down, his bangs hiding his eyes, making his expression unclear.
Yuan Qing also seemed lost in thought and didn't speak.
For a moment, no one said anything, and it was extremely quiet.
Finally, Yun Manman couldn't help but shift in her seat, and the chair made a harsh "creak" sound, breaking the deathly silence.
Yun Manman: ? What? Are the chairs in your police station of such poor quality?
Han Chao seemed startled by the sound, suddenly shuddering.
He raised his head and squinted, as if he had just noticed Yuan Qing, and his expression suddenly began to contort.
Yun Manman watched as his face changed like a quick-change performance, cycling through expressions of confusion, excitement, regret, and anger, before finally settling on a gentle smile.
"Qingqing, I had my reasons for being with Bai Cha. She tricked me, saying she could help us make money, that we'd be rich and successful in the future."
"I did it all for our future."
"Qingqing, I really still love you. If only you'd be a little gentler, smile at me a bit more."
"I've done a lot of wrong things before, and I hope you can forgive me. But I really did it all for you!"
"Qingqing..."
Yuan Qing seemed to see the Han Chao from when they were still together.
Back then, he also used this gentle tone, calling her "Qingqing" while saying everything was for her own good.
In her naivety, she had blindly trusted him.
Yun Manman looked at the fake smile on Han Chao's face and felt utterly disgusted.
Wasn't this textbook scumbag PUA tactics?
She looked at her friend with sympathy, realizing that this was how she had lost herself in every single one of these sentences before.
How conflicted and painful that must have been.
Yuan Qing was in a daze for a moment, then looked at Han Chao with clear eyes. "Then why did you use my money to buy gifts for Bai Cha?"
Han Chao replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "Isn't your money my money? You gave it to me willingly to use, I didn't force you, did I?"
Yuan Qing and Yun Manman's faces went blank for a moment.
What a disgusting PUA man and kept boy!
Yuan Qing also felt that coming to see him was a complete waste of time.
She had thought she might be able to record him saying "sorry" to her, so she could play it back to him repeatedly when visiting him in prison, to torment him.
But up to now, Han Chao hadn't said "sorry" even once.
Utterly disappointed, Yuan Qing stood up, pulling Yun Manman with her. "Let's go. This is a waste of time."
Then she said to Han Chao, "You just go to prison and work the sewing machine obediently!"
Seeing them about to leave, Han Chao, as if some nerve had snapped, dragged his chair forward despite the tight handcuffs.
He was emotionally agitated, roaring, "Don't you dare leave!"
Seeing Yuan Qing leaving without looking back, the veins on his forehead bulged out, his face turned red, and his pupils took on an abnormal crimson hue.
"Tomboy! Yuan Qing! Don't you dare leave! I'll kill you!"
Jin Luo, watching from the second floor of the interrogation room through the window, saw Han Chao suddenly go berserk. He frowned deeply, about to tell the police officer beside him to restrain Han Chao.
A police officer rushed over, his expression anxious as he said to Jin Luo: "Traces of an inducing agent were found in Han Chao's blood test!"
Jin Luo's pupils constricted instantly. This was bad!