VIP Volume, Chapter 085: Innocence

The police car reached the gate of the convalescent home in a hurry. Two officers climbed out, one tall and one short. The moment they saw Ye Xiaoxuan, the shorter one moved to slap handcuffs on him without another word.

Ye Xiaoxuan stepped back and shouted at him, “What do you think you’re doing?”

The taller officer reached behind his waist with his right hand and cried, “Oh? Thinking of resisting arrest?”

Ye Xiaoxuan glared at him and asked, “Resisting arrest? What law have I broken?”

The shorter officer frowned. “You little punk, you were caught red-handed stealing and you still won’t confess?”

Jin Daya raised his hand again to slap him, but Ye Xiaoxuan shot him a furious look, seized his wrist, and cursed, “Try touching me again, you son of a bitch!”

Meeting Ye Xiaoxuan’s bloodshot eyes, Jin Daya involuntarily shrank his neck and took a step back. Then, glancing at the officers beside him, he found his courage again, drew himself up, and said, “What’s that? You still dare to act wild in front of the police?”

Ye Xiaoxuan pointed at his nose and said, “I’ll say it again: I’m not a thief! On what grounds do you call me one? Did you see me steal your things? And you two officers—why are you arresting someone without even asking a question? Just because he said it, you believe him? Then I can say he’s the thief!”

Jin Daya cursed under his breath and said, “I saw you steal my stuff with my own eyes. You still want to deny it? Besides, who looks more like a thief, if not you? You’re no good. I followed you downstairs!”

Ye Xiaoxuan was nearly driven mad with rage. Pointing at him, he snapped, “You looked at me and decided I’m no good, so you can pin theft on me? If I don’t like the look of you, I could say you’re a murderer! You followed me downstairs? I walked down from the twelfth floor and never saw anyone behind me. You say you followed me?”

The short officer, hearing this, immediately seemed to have found evidence and asked Ye Xiaoxuan, “What were you doing on the twelfth floor?”

Ye Xiaoxuan roared, “My wife is staying there for convalescence!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, everyone burst into laughter. Even the two officers wore looks of scornful amusement.

Jin Daya sneered and pointed at him. “You? Your wife is up there? Do you know how expensive this place is? Can you even afford it?”

Ye Xiaoxuan was about to argue when Jin Daya waved him off. “I’m not wasting words with you. Hand over what you stole, then run if you’ve got the guts. If not, come quietly with the police and spend some time at the station!”

Ye Xiaoxuan shouted back furiously, “What thing am I supposed to hand over? What did I take from you?”

Jin Daya held up his fingers one by one and said, “I found the necklace in the corridor, and the wallet and phone are still on you! I chased you all the way down. You definitely haven’t had time to throw them away!”

Ye Xiaoxuan was so angry he laughed. He barked at Jin Daya, “I’ve never used a wallet in my life! I’ve seen a phone before, but I can’t afford one!”

The short officer said impatiently from the side, “Enough with the nonsense. Take everything out of your pockets for inspection!”

Suppressing his anger, Ye Xiaoxuan said, “Take it out, then. I’m not scared of you...” He stopped halfway through, suddenly frozen.

Today he had withdrawn one hundred thousand from the bank. More than fifty thousand had gone toward transferring the car title, nearly ten thousand had been spent on things, and the hospitalization fee included a twenty-thousand deposit. Right now, there were still twenty thousand in his pockets.

And there was also a brand-new phone.

Seeing his dazed expression, the two officers and Jin Daya immediately closed in, surrounding Ye Xiaoxuan as they shouted, “What’s in your pockets? Hurry up and take it out!”

Ye Xiaoxuan did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Too much money really did bring too much trouble. He was so used to having no more than ten yuan in pocket money that now, with several tens of thousands stuffed inside, he had simply forgotten it the moment he was accused.

“Quick, take it out!” The tall officer even swung his right hand back and rested it on his waist, watching Ye Xiaoxuan tensely.

Though not short, this fellow either had the cowardice of a mouse or had watched too many Hong Kong and Taiwanese cop-and-gangster films. He kept clutching behind his back at the slightest provocation, and no one knew whether he was reaching for a gun or suffering from hemorrhoids.

Jin Daya simply thrust his arm into Ye Xiaoxuan’s trouser pocket and pulled out a huge handful of colorful banknotes.

“Look, this is the money he stole from me!” Jin Daya’s eyes lit up. He grabbed a fistful and stuffed it into his own pocket, but the short officer seized his wrist and said, “Don’t jump to conclusions yet. This is still stolen property. How much did you lose?”

Reluctantly, Jin Daya took the money out and placed it on the ground. “Almost three thousand!” But with Ye Xiaoxuan’s pockets emptied, even he was stunned. This amount was far more than three thousand.

Jin Daya said with righteous indignation, “No wonder this kid went to the twelfth floor, stealing as he walked! Who here lost money?”

The onlookers shouted one after another:

“I lost two thousand!”

“I’m missing five thousand!”

“They’re all mine. I lost fifty thousand!”

“Go to hell, that pile doesn’t even reach fifty thousand!”

Ye Xiaoxuan’s face turned livid with rage. Pointing at the money, he said, “All of this is mine. I just withdrew it at noon!”

“And this?” The short officer held up a brand-new phone. “Yours too? You use a phone of this quality?”

Jin Daya said, “This damn thing is the one I lost! You thief, caught red-handed now, and you still want to deny it!”

Ye Xiaoxuan was already too angry to speak.

Was there anything more stifling than this? Was there anyone more wronged than he was?

The short officer took out the handcuffs and said, “What do you have to say now? Come with us.”

Ye Xiaoxuan had nothing to say, because he no longer knew how to explain himself. Nearly a hundred people were present, yet not one could prove his innocence.

Ring-ring-ring!

His phone suddenly rang. Jin Dasha froze, then immediately smiled. “My wife is calling me!”

After answering, he had only asked a couple of questions when he froze again and asked into the phone, “Who are you looking for? Ye Xiaoxuan? Why am I holding his phone? This...”

Jin Daya’s expression changed. He took the phone away from his ear and looked it over again and again, growing increasingly awkward. With great care, he handed it back to Ye Xiaoxuan and said, “They’re looking for you. This phone seems a bit newer than mine...”

The two officers’ expressions also changed. They lowered their voices and cursed at Jin Daya, “Were you even looking properly?!”

Ye Xiaoxuan snatched the phone back and shoved it into the short officer’s hand. “If you have questions, ask them. Ask whether this phone is mine, whether this money is mine! You can also ask the reception desk whether my wife is staying on the twelfth floor!”

After a while, the short officer awkwardly returned the phone to Ye Xiaoxuan and said, “Sorry. A misunderstanding.”

The tall officer nodded as well. “Yes, you should have explained yourself.”

Jin Daya muttered from the side, “You should have said something too. With that much money on you, and dressed like that...”

“Misunderstanding your mother, explain your father! Dressed like this just to play the old fool to your face!” Ye Xiaoxuan was completely enraged. He kicked Jin Daya hard in the stomach, then swung his arm wide and slapped him more than a dozen times, left and right, until his face rang.