"Song Qiao, you son of a bitch, you dared to set a trap for me!" Duan Kun, seeing no hope of escape, began to curse Song Qiao.
Song Qiao sneered, ignoring him completely, and let Duan Kun yell.
A few police officers followed the sound and burst into the room, then saw the scene before them.
"Officer, quick, save me." Seeing the police arrive, Song Qiao immediately let go of Duan Kun's wrist and squatted on the ground, clutching his head.
Qi Yun, watching from the side, twitched his lips, thinking that Song Qiao must have graduated from a film academy, otherwise, how could his acting be so brilliant?
The police officers, seeing the situation in the room, seemed to understand something. They quickly stepped forward and subdued the violent Duan Kun.
Then they continued to ask, "Who called the police?"
"It was me." Qi Yun, now fully embracing his acting skills, quickly raised his hand like a primary school student, looking quite comical.
The leading police officer sized up Qi Yun, frowned, and asked,
"Tell us, what exactly happened?"
"They set a trap to harm me. The injury on that man's head was self-inflicted, intended to frame me."
Duan Kun bared his teeth at Song Qiao, speaking to the police who were holding him, trying to argue his case.
"Shut up, we didn't ask you."
The officer controlling him yanked him back and forced him to the ground.
"Officers, my brother and I partnered to open a snack shop. This Duan Kun saw our business was good and came to extort us, demanding 30,000 yuan for protection fees."
"We finally scraped together 30,000 yuan today, but he increased the amount. My brother couldn't produce it, so he beat my brother severely."
Qi Yun, having been fed the story by Song Qiao, narrated it to the police with a runny nose and teary eyes, crying his heart out.
"Alright, stop crying for now."
"I ask you, where is the money you brought?"
The police, perhaps finding Qi Yun's act a bit too deliberate, got straight to the point.
"It's in that man's bag, exactly 30,000 yuan," Song Qiao quickly added, pointing to the bag in Duan Kun's hand.
Duan Kun then realized that he was still holding their money.
His heart sank. He dropped the bag and pleaded loudly, "I'm being framed! They gave me this money willingly."
This statement confirmed his involvement in collecting protection fees.
The leading police officer gestured to his colleague, who immediately stepped forward and opened the bag.
Three neat stacks of red banknotes were immediately revealed to everyone. Duan Kun's face turned ashen.
The act of collecting protection fees, with its criminal undertones, was enough to land him in jail for two years.
"Okay, we have a general understanding of the situation. Please, two of you, send one to the police station to give a statement."
"Rest assured, if the matter is true, we will deliver justice for you."
Seeing this, Song Qiao was fairly certain of the outcome. He quickly thanked the officers.
"My brother is injured and needs to go to the hospital. I'll take him to the hospital first and then go back to the station with you to give a statement," Qi Yun said, looking worriedly at Song Qiao, whose wound was still bleeding.
The police officers didn't say anything further. Giving a statement was not something they needed to force upon the injured Song Qiao.
"Song Qiao, you wait and see! When I get out, I'll kill your whole family!" Duan Kun roared at Song Qiao as he was being led away, his eyes filled with venom.
Song Qiao completely ignored his threat, gave him a dismissive glance, and turned to go to the hospital.
...
Upon hearing the news of Song Qiao's injury, Xia Yuqing was so shocked she almost fainted. She immediately put down her work and rushed to the hospital by taxi.
"Song Qiao, how are you? Was it that Duan Kun and his gang?"
As soon as she entered the ward, Xia Yuqing saw Song Qiao's bandaged head and rushed to his side, asking with concern.
"Wife, I'm fine. It's just a minor scratch," Song Qiao said, his heart warming. He forced a smile at Xia Yuqing, enduring the pain in his head.
"Your forehead is already swollen, and you say you're fine."
As she spoke, she carefully examined Song Qiao's body, more meticulously than a doctor, fearing that he might be hiding other injuries.
"Ahem."
"I say, sister-in-law, Brother Song only has a minor superficial injury, you don't need to check so thoroughly."
Qi Yun coughed from the side, reminding her.
Xia Yuqing then realized that there was an outsider in the room. She blushed deeply and looked up to see that it was Qi Yun, the "big brother" from that day. Her brow furrowed, and she shot Song Qiao a reproachful glance.
"I knew you were out fooling around all day. If something really happened to you, how would your daughter and I live?"
Song Qiao was greatly embarrassed. He touched his head and said, "I'm fine now. I can be discharged and go home."
He really didn't want Qi Yun to witness this awkward scene.
As if to spite Song Qiao, Xia Yuqing said indignantly, "Since you still know you have a home, then go back if you want."
Saying this, she grabbed Song Qiao's arm and prepared to leave.
"Brother Song, I'll be going then. The police are still waiting for me to give a statement," Qi Yun said, bidding farewell to Song Qiao now that he had someone to look after him.
When Xia Yuqing heard Qi Yun mention the police station, her face suddenly changed, and she looked at Song Qiao with immense disappointment.
Song Qiao felt helpless. Qi Yun was really poking a sore spot.
Xia Yuqing's biggest worry was Song Qiao getting into trouble with the law. Hearing that the matter had escalated to the police station, she was likely to unleash her fury on him again.
As expected, the moment Qi Yun left, Xia Yuqing's pent-up anger erupted.
"Song Qiao, didn't I tell you to stay away from these people? Why don't you ever listen?"
"Can't you just focus on doing business properly? Why do you have to get involved in the underworld?"
Seeing his wife's distressed look, Song Qiao couldn't help but shake his head helplessly. His wife had always been simple and kind-hearted.
She would never know that in this world, there was no absolute black and white. Any business that grew to a certain scale would inevitably come into contact with people from the underworld.
This was an unavoidable phenomenon in society today. Even Song Qiao, as a reborn prodigy, had no power to change this fact.
On the way home, no matter how much Song Qiao apologized, Xia Yuqing pouted and ignored him, as if she were sulking.