Bad Blood - Chapter 4

Ding Ke couldn’t remember how she managed to escape from Li Mujin’s house. The afternoon sun scorched the downhill path, the roadside greenery swayed desperately, trying to block her way. Her feet stumbled over patches of sunlight, her ears filled with rustling sounds, her face pale and colorless, her eyes hollow and empty.

She slowly hugged her arms, gripping her elbows tightly, her palms damp with sweat, her runaway heartbeat finally calming down.

The distance from the villa to the high-rise was barely a kilometer, but Ding Ke took half an hour to walk it.

As she approached the entrance, the police had set up a cordon, the ambulance lights barely noticeable in the sunlight, perhaps because the expressions of the onlookers were too captivating.

A sea of heads and a cacophony of voices added a memorable touch to this ordinary weekend.

Zhang Miaomiao called, and Ding Ke answered. The male master was being carried out on a stretcher by medical staff, pressing a towel to his wound, the bleeding seemingly stopped.

“Ke, are you okay? My mom told me the male master at the tutoring place got his head smashed. You went for the interview today, right? What happened?” Zhang Miaomiao asked urgently.

Before Ding Ke could answer, a police officer approached her, “Ding Ke? You were the one who called the police, right?”

“Yes.”

On the other end, Zhang Miaomiao was even more anxious, “Called the police? What’s going on?”

The officer nodded, “Come with us to the station to make a statement.”

“Okay.” Ding Ke said to Zhang Miaomiao, “I’ll explain later.” She hung up and got into the police car.

Li Mujin casually took down a break-action shotgun from the second row of the display rack on the right wall, wiping the barrel as if nothing had happened. It had taken quite some effort to hang them up at home.

Collecting non-standard firearms required them to be below the standard gun specifications, with each one needing certification before they could be displayed openly like this.

Of course, he didn’t just collect them; he had real guns too, and didn’t mind showing them off, often doing so.

Firstly, he was indeed lawless, acting only based on his own willingness, setting up situations for himself, not caring about the cost, feeling satisfied was worth it, dying was just dying.

Secondly, Li Chong and Song Yazhi, two capable people, would also protect him.

The two had been in politics for many years, always involved in some shady dealings, pulling one string could affect everything, breaking bones connected to tendons, not something that could be resolved by sacrificing family for justice, only the demons they created could be worshipped by themselves.

Li Mujin, this demon, was very diligent, never doing a good deed, just like a human wiping things, he put down the cloth and called one of his “little grandsons, good sons,” first asking if the surveillance had been dealt with, then instructing him to report as a witness, claiming to have seen Ding Ke injure someone and flee.

After hanging up, he elegantly folded the microfiber cloth into a square, placed it in the toolbox, and returned the gun to the display rack.

Whether she was his Ke or not didn’t matter.

She would become one of his possessions anyway.

Zhang Miaomiao was frantic, skipping her yoga class and heading straight to the police station near Ding Ke’s home, calling her dad to ask what to do in such a situation.

Coincidentally, Yu Tai messaged her on WeChat, asking if Ding Ke was still going to her part-time job that evening. She felt overwhelmed, briefly explaining the situation and asking if he wanted to join.

Yu Tai was alarmed, “Of course! What can you two girls do? Where are you? I’ll borrow a car to pick you up!”

“I’ve already hailed a cab, I’ll bring you along. Where are you?”

“In the dormitory, meet me at the south entrance!” Yu Tai hurriedly dressed.

“Okay!”

Southeast District Police Station, interview room.

Ding Ke sat quietly, on the windowsill lay “James Carey: A Critical Reader,” its cover corners curled, looking well-read.

She only remembered it was about a scholar in communication studies, reflecting on the history of journalism. Appearing in the police station, was someone feeling reflective about current news dissemination?

As she pondered, a female officer entered, sat across from her, holding a notebook, verified her personal information, then asked, “What happened?”

Ding Ke explained truthfully, “I went for a private tutor interview, after the female master left, the male master said he wanted to keep me, offering twenty thousand a month.”

The officer chuckled, “Did you accept?”

“No.”

“You said his head was smashed by a resident of that community, did that resident leave any contact information or instructions?” The officer had heard the story at the scene but had to follow procedure.

“No, but I know which villa he lives in.”

The officer was about to ask more when another officer appeared at the door, knocking lightly on the open door. The officer turned, exchanged a glance, and as she stood up, told Ding Ke, “Wait a moment.” Then left.

When she returned, she didn’t continue the previous question, “Someone said they saw you smash the victim’s head and run away.”

Ding Ke could only think that “someone” was Li Mujin, who was shamelessly doing immoral things without fear of retribution, a rarity nationwide. She replied, “Why would I run away and then come back and call the police?”

“You might be afraid of surveillance.”

“If I injured someone, knowing there’s surveillance, and claimed someone else did it, that logic makes me seem not very smart.”

The officer stared at her for a few seconds, she seemed composed, apparently unaware that a charging pile malfunction had caused a power outage in the park, still not repaired, the automatic backup surveillance only recorded until two o’clock.

After a brief silence, Ding Ke took out her phone, played a recording, the male master’s arrogant, sleazy words filled the interview room.

The officer exhaled, relieved, “This recording saves you a lot of trouble.”

Ding Ke still had to say, “The one who injured him is Li Mujin, he helped me out, took me to his house. There was a party going on, many people, they can all testify.”

She had just finished speaking when the officer who knocked earlier returned, bringing Li Mujin with him.

Ding Ke’s eyes darkened, her lips pressed together.

Li Mujin, looking proper, sat beside her, politely continuing her words, explaining, “During a small gathering with friends, I suddenly saw this student cornered at the terrace railing, couldn’t just sit by, went over, and in the struggle accidentally injured the other party.”

When he pretended to be a gentleman, he didn’t miss a beat, his voice squeezed out clear as wind, gentle as water, not a trace of the psychopath.

So shameless, Ding Ke had nothing to say.

After understanding the situation, the officer nodded, asked Ding Ke, “So you called the police hoping we could resolve this matter?”

Ding Ke said directly, “I’m afraid that person will cause me trouble later.”

The officer understood, saying, “If anything happens again, just call the police.”

“Okay.” Ding Ke replied.

“Alright, now it’s up to that person whether to pursue it. Without this recording, it might have been difficult, but with it, he probably won’t dare to have any ideas.” The officer added, “Whether what you two said is true will have to wait until this person wakes up and we ask them.”

“Okay.”

“You can leave now, if there are any issues we’ll notify you, keep your phone accessible.”

“Alright.”

“I’ve spoken to the person taking photos at the scene, supervised them to delete any with faces. With the internet spreading so fast, better to avoid it if possible.” The officer’s inherent concern for citizens.

Ding Ke instinctively glanced at the windowsill, the book had just been flipped by the wind.

“Thank you.”

“In the future, when going to interviews at someone’s home, it’s best to bring a companion.”

“Okay.”

After finishing, Ding Ke left first.

She was afraid of Li Mujin’s entanglement, the events at his house still fresh.

But there was none.

Li Mujin’s legs were longer, naturally his strides larger, quickly catching up to her, then overtaking her, driving away.

It seemed he only came to prevent Ding Ke from slandering him. But he was Li Mujin, regardless of the truth of previous cases, disregarding laws, arrogant, was certain, voluntarily coming to the police station without a summons was indeed rare.

Very strange, but not worth dwelling on.

Descending the last step, Zhang Miaomiao and Yu Tai arrived.

Before the car even stopped, Yu Tai had already opened the door, running towards Ding Ke, so anxious he forgot his manners, grabbing her arm, checking her from head to toe, “Did that bastard hurt you!”

Zhang Miaomiao promptly approached, rescuing Ding Ke from his grip, “Did you wash your hands? Don’t touch randomly.”

Yu Tai could refrain from touching, but had to ask, “I heard Zhang Miaomiao said he got his head smashed?”

“My mom said the community group is discussing it, that guy was taken away by an ambulance.” Zhang Miaomiao added quickly, “No photos of you, don’t worry.” Then, like Yu Tai, not waiting for Ding Ke to speak, continued, “Sorry, Ke, I didn’t expect it to turn out like this. After the incident, I found out this guy wasn’t the first time he acted up, previously causing a stir on video platforms, even exposed by a girl…”

“It’s okay, unexpected things happen.” Ding Ke comforted her in return.

Zhang Miaomiao felt even more guilty, pouting, “I could have just checked the group on my mom’s phone and known, but I didn’t take it to heart, almost caused a big problem…”

Ding Ke’s tone was gentle, “Isn’t it fine now?”

Yu Tai wasn’t so easily appeased, not knowing what role to speak from, but daring to scold Zhang Miaomiao, “Look at the mess you caused!”

“I know…” Zhang Miaomiao accepted the reprimand, “And I know the previous girl also had trouble during an interview at his house, later seemed to be coerced into dropping the case with charges of extortion, even posted an apology letter online.”

Yu Tai grew more anxious, speaking bluntly without considering consequences, “Is the law meant to save civilians or to make those with money and power even more so? They sure find loopholes.”

Zhang Miaomiao waved her hand, “Don’t look at me, I’m not a qualified law student, I haven’t even understood the textbooks yet, I definitely can’t handle such morally challenging professional issues.”

Yu Tai, full of opinions, rolled up his sleeves to point fingers, but was intercepted by Ding Ke, “Thank you for your concern, if you want to go back together, let’s leave now. Don’t wait until it’s dark.”

Yu Tai’s opinion box emptied, gazing foolishly at his jasmine flower, how could she interrupt him so gently, “Alright then.”

Zhang Miaomiao saw the tall guy acting like a dog, almost gagged, “No need to be so sycophantic.”

Yu Tai’s smile vanished, glancing at her, “You say less, you criminal!”

The two bickered, flanking Ding Ke on either side as they walked towards the taxi. Near the car, Ding Ke, having not eaten all day, felt the consequences, instinctively gripping Yu Tai’s arm, her body leaning towards him.

Yu Tai felt a thunderbolt strike his head, his blood boiling.

Zhang Miaomiao’s first reaction was low blood sugar, quickly rummaging through her bag for chocolate, breaking off a piece for her.

Ding Ke couldn’t eat it, stood still for a moment, “Alright, let’s get in the car.”

Yu Tai felt time was too fleeting for the first time, “If you’re uncomfortable, we can wait a bit longer.”

Ding Ke had already let go, got into the car.

Zhang Miaomiao laughed to death, “You’re too abstract, even Miró would bow down.”

“Get lost.”

Around the corner two hundred meters east of the police station, in an SUV, Li Mujin sat in the driver’s seat, watching the taxi disappear around the bend, the image of Ding Ke gripping someone else in dizziness lingering in his mind.

Originally, he didn’t need to come this time, even if Ding Ke told the police the truth, it was just a matter of being summoned, he was familiar with it. But he remembered two years ago when Ke first met the police, nervous to the point of icy fingers, palms sweaty, so he still came.

Seeing Ding Ke sitting in the interview room, calmly recounting the events, he finally woke up from two years ago.

The person afraid of the police was gone.

His masterpiece.

How could he forget?