Smile Code (Lost Laughter) 失笑 - Zhu Le 祖乐

29

If you're not justified, don't spare the enemy.

In the TV shows, when someone gets taken to the police station, they are often seen squatting, holding their heads in a corner, as if it's the first stage of punishment. But when you're actually arrested, you realize the mediation room is warm and bright, with a musty smell, like an old house. The police in the interrogation room aren't as fierce as you'd expect. Pointing at the three young men who had been drinking and flirting, one officer said, "You drank so much, aren't you afraid of ending up in a detention center when you sober up?"

"Big brother, it's a misunderstanding. We just wanted to add her on WeChat, how did it turn into a fight?"

Lu Ming was still adjusting his cufflinks, speaking little but with emotion: "Threatening a girl's privacy, adding her on WeChat-what's the point? To harass her?"

The police officer gestured for Lu Ming to be quiet.

Gu Yi sat in a position where she could see the computer screen. Outside the small recording screen, she could clearly see the folder categories-network fraud, provoking trouble, home robbery... She was busy absorbing materials and brainstorming jokes when the officer shot her a glare: "What are you doing? Move further away."

"I'm a stand-up comedian..." Gu Yi mumbled.

"I told you to move," the officer snapped.

Gu Yi obediently scooted her chair back. Guan Xingxin was lost in thought, her first time at the police station, with a pitiful expression of a victim. She was trembling as she spoke. Lu Ming draped his coat over her shoulders, his hand leaving her before pulling her close to his chest to help her with the statement. The troublemaker spoke again with a mocking tone: "Please, stop pretending. Didn't you sleep with a married man?"

The police officer glanced at Guan Xingxin and pointed his pen at Lu Ming: "Put your fists down, it's your turn."

Gu Yi's phone wasn't confiscated. She still hadn't replied to Xu Guanrui's message. He had shared a song, "Moon River," and cautiously asked, "So, when you said you're in unrequited love at ounce, what kind of person are you referring to?"

She clenched her phone, her nose tingling at the thought of Liang Daiwen. Even though she had a friend to go through this difficult time with, the feeling of "losing freedom" and "shame" was overwhelming. It was only two or three months, but when she was vulnerable, Liang Daiwen was always there. Now, loneliness was exposed in the air, making her panic. Without anyone to care for her, what she had thought was strength was just a naked confrontation with solitude.

Guan Xingxin murmured, "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"It's because of me that the fight escalated. If I get a criminal record... it's enough for only me to be dirty."

"Don't say that."

"Recently, I went to ounce to find Yu Dule. The wooden stairs to the second floor were long, and I wore light shoes. Halfway up, I had the mischievous thought to scare him. There were people talking upstairs. One said, 'The woman you like is known for sleeping with others, and she's also a live-streamer who accepts tips. Doesn't that disgust you? It must, right?' I just reached the second floor when Yu Dule, with his back to me, was smoking. He replied, 'What does that have to do with me?' The man laughed for a long time, and I quickly retreated down the stairs... You can never completely forget an 'incident,' right?"

By 3 a.m., everyone in the room was exhausted. After the police had completed the questioning and injury verification, each word in the mediation was worth money. The shop owner had probably been troubled by such incidents more than once, and the compensation would be based on that. Gu Yi felt sorry for Lu Ming, his mouth swollen from the fight, and he ended up owing more. The three young men with yellow hair refused the mediation, insisting that Lu Ming should pay for the damages first. The police said, "Then we'll proceed with the case. Everyone go to the detention center. You'll still have to mediate afterward. Think it over."