"Uh, Officer, please wait a moment."
Reminded, Aunt Zhou snapped out of her shock and hurried after Song Qiao.
"Young man, how about we settle this? You don't have to compensate me, and we'll call it even, okay?"
Zhou Hongyu's eyes pleaded with him.
She knew what awaited her if Song Qiao could produce evidence of her mistreating the elderly.
"Settle?"
Song Qiao looked her up and down with a mocking smile, his expression sarcastic.
"Don't you think it's a bit late to be talking about settling now?"
Aunt Zhou's face froze, a flash of venom in her eyes before she put on a pitiful smile and looked at Xia Yuqing.
She knew Xia Yuqing was soft-hearted. It was Xia Yuqing who had first agreed to let her go, which was why Song Qiao hadn't pursued it further.
"Don't even think about settling."
Xia Yuqing rolled her eyes at Aunt Zhou, her gaze filled with contempt.
Though kind and soft-hearted, she wasn't a saint. After Aunt Zhou's capricious behavior, the lesson she had just received had left her completely disillusioned.
"We gave you a chance, and you didn't cherish it."
Xia Yuqing said, then took her husband's hand and walked into the police station.
Song Qiao smiled knowingly. His objective had been achieved. Perhaps this incident would prompt his wife to change her attitude towards people.
After all, not everyone was as kind-hearted as her.
"Officer, you really don't want to settle?"
Lu Ming followed behind, asking with confusion.
It seemed that Song Qiao's side was at a disadvantage, yet they refused to settle even without compensation. This made him even more curious.
He thought for a moment and couldn't help but advise Song Qiao, "I still suggest you try to resolve this privately. After all, you were the one who hit her. If she really presses charges, you might not escape consequences."
"Besides, if you can settle this privately, it'll make our job easier too."
He patted Song Qiao on the shoulder, hoping he would seriously consider it.
"Officer, we..."
Xia Yuqing was about to say something when Song Qiao suddenly waved his hand, interrupting her.
"Officer, do you have any video playback equipment here?"
Song Qiao then took out the DV from his bag, removed the memory card, and handed it to Lu Ming.
Lu Ming was surprised. He hadn't expected the other party to have video evidence. He thought for a moment and said, "Yes, we do. Please wait a moment, I'll go check."
With that, he turned and left the interrogation room.
"Honey, did you really back up the video?"
After the police officer left, Xia Yuqing asked with some worry.
"Of course. When Zhou Hongyu begged us to delete the video, I was already on guard."
Song Qiao gave her a light smile and said calmly.
"It's all my fault. I shouldn't have been so soft-hearted back then. Otherwise, we wouldn't have gotten into so much trouble."
Xia Yuqing lowered her head, feeling a little self-reproachful.
"Hey, wife, how can this be your fault?"
Song Qiao gently held his wife's hands and continued,
"It was Zhou Hongyu who twisted the facts and was so fickle."
"However, from now on, you must be more cautious when dealing with people. Otherwise, these kinds of things will likely happen often."
Xia Yuqing had now left her original job and joined a department that required constant interaction with people, which had always made Song Qiao uneasy. Therefore, he seized this opportunity to let Xia Yuqing understand the wickedness of human nature.
After hearing Song Qiao's words, Xia Yuqing was silent for a moment and nodded vigorously.
Just then, Lu Ming rushed in from outside, his face filled with anger.
As soon as he entered, he couldn't help but curse,
"Damn it, how could there be such a vicious and malicious woman? How could she do such a thing?"
He then looked at Song Qiao and said resentfully,
"Young man, we've watched the video. Although I'm a police officer and shouldn't let personal feelings interfere with the case,"
"I have to say, you hit her too lightly. If this scoundrel fell into my hands, I wouldn't let her off without losing a layer of skin."
Song Qiao smiled faintly at Lu Ming and said nothing more.
He felt a strong admiration for this straightforward and honest police officer.
"Young man, what are your plans..."
Seeing that Song Qiao remained silent, Lu Ming tentatively asked him.
"Just follow the legal procedure. I did slap her twice, and I'm willing to compensate for medical expenses. As for the specific details, I will have my lawyer negotiate with Zhou Hongyu."
Song Qiao said indifferently.
Lu Ming's heart jolted. He couldn't help but regard this young man with more respect. Song Qiao clearly understood the legal aspects, which explained his calm demeanor.
"Alright, then according to the law, we will temporarily detain Zhou Hongyu."
"You can go back now. As for the medical expenses, we will notify you by phone once the medical report is out."
Song Qiao nodded with satisfaction. After thanking Lu Ming, he took his wife and left the police station.
As soon as they stepped out, his mother-in-law called.
"Xiao Song, how did it go? Does that Aunt Zhou have any problems?"
She had been waiting in the car for two full hours without any news and was naturally worried.
Song Qiao was silent for a moment, then recounted the entire incident to his mother-in-law.
The nanny was, after all, hired by his mother-in-law's brother, so this matter still needed an explanation.
"What? She actually abused the elderly and then tried to extort us? This viper-hearted bitch."
The more the mother-in-law listened, the angrier she became, finally erupting in curses.
...
When Song Qiao and his wife returned to their grandmother's house, their maternal uncle had already returned from outside.
He had received the news from a neighbor and was waiting for Song Qiao with a dark expression.
Over the years, he had also heard about Song Qiao's gambling addiction, which had left him with a very poor impression of him.
"I don't mind you and Yuqing visiting Grandma, but why did you have to cause such a big problem as soon as you arrived?"
As Xia Yuqing was about to explain, Song Qiao stopped her and said to his uncle,
"Uncle, I've already fired Aunt Zhou. She's currently being detained by the police."
"What? Who do you think you are? I hired the nanny, and you have no right to fire her."
The uncle snorted and looked at Song Qiao with disdain.
"This is not your home. You owe me an explanation for this matter."
Song Qiao took a deep breath, forcefully calmed himself, and said coldly,
"Fine, you want an explanation? Then I'll give you one."