Hong Kong film: The cop backs down, the ladies beg me to check his license.

Gandhi's wife stared at him for a few seconds, then her shoulders slumped. "...You won." Her voice was low, as if squeezed from her throat.

Yuan Haoyun winked to the side. Cheng Silin walked over with her notebook, pulled out another chair, sat down, and began to write. There were no female officers in their team, nor in Lu Qichang's and Lin Haotian's; they were all men. When interrogating female suspects, especially those involving personal relationships, having a female officer present made things easier and prevented the atmosphere from becoming too tense.

Cheng Silin began asking questions, his voice low but clear and organized. Gandhi's wife was clearly overwhelmed by the thought of "what would happen if Gandhi found out." After a few words, she would nervously look up and ask, "Officer, you'll definitely be able to arrest Gandhi, right?" Or, "Officer, you promise you won't let Gandhi know about me, right? Please..."

Back and forth. Cheng Silin had to take notes while simultaneously comforting her and getting her to finish speaking. After quite a while, she finally managed to get the cause and effect, the time and place, all sorted out. When she finally got her to sign the statement, her hand trembled violently, and her signature was crooked and messy. After signing, she looked at Cheng Silin pleadingly with her eyes full of apology.

Cheng Silin closed the notebook, looking at her with mixed feelings. She despised people who betrayed their marriages, but the other woman's current state of panic made it difficult for her to harden her heart. "If only you had known this would happen," she finally said, her tone not harsh. "Don't worry, we handle cases carefully and won't involve innocent people."

Gandhi's wife was extremely grateful and almost knelt down.

After seeing Yuan Haoyun and his group off, the door closed, and the room fell silent. Gandhi's wife slumped on the sofa, staring at the ceiling. Cheng Silin's last words suddenly echoed in her mind: "It won't involve innocent people."

So, am I... considered "irrelevant"?

She sat up abruptly, a deeper chill creeping up from the soles of her feet.

---

On the way back, Cheng Silin was still seething with anger. "This kind of person deserves to suffer the consequences! Either don't get married, or you'll end up messing around outside..." she said, glancing at Yuan Haoyun who was driving.

Yuan Haoyun stared intently at the road ahead and didn't reply.

"Why are you speaking so loudly?" Cheng Silin suddenly asked.

Yuan Haoyun turned to look at her, bewildered. "Did I...did I just say something?"

Cheng Silin was also stunned for a moment, turned her head to look out the window, and remained silent. Only the hum of the engine could be heard in the car.

Back at the police station, Lu Qichang had already arranged for the five leaders of the Ni family to be settled separately. Seeing the statement in Cheng Silin's hand, Lu Qichang's eyes lit up: "Thank you so much, Officer Cheng, you've been a great help."

Cheng Silin nodded quietly and handed over the transcript. Yuan Haoyun watched from the side, wanting to laugh a little. Silin's "quiet" demeanor was quite convincing.

Lu Qichang and Yuan Haoyun walked to the side. "Division of labor?" Lu Qichang asked.

"I'm going to talk to Guoliang about life." Yuan Haoyun flexed his wrists.

Lu Qichang thought for a moment: "Alright. After you've dealt with Guoliang, you can also give Hei Gui a piece of your mind on the way. Our men have already sneaked into his warehouse where he's hiding his goods and taken photos; the photos will be sent over soon."

Yuan Haoyun was a little surprised: "The warehouse has been found? Then why not just take action against it?"

Lu Qichang pulled him a few steps away and lowered his voice: "The clue about the warehouse was obtained by the big sir through 'that person's' channels." "That person" refers to Ye Tian. "The man is under close surveillance, and the warehouse can't escape either. As for Blackie, let him catch his breath for now. The primary goal now is to completely destroy the Ni family, without alerting them."

Yuan Haoyun nodded, but his lips twitched slightly, a hint of resentment in his voice: "We police officers have to rely on... on outsiders to hand us the knife to take down the Ni family. It's quite frustrating to think about."

Lu Qichang's expression stiffened slightly, and he patted Yuan Haoyun's arm: "Say less. 'That person' has a clean record; he's a concerned citizen." Seeing that Yuan Haoyun still had the same expression, he added, "Think about that check."

Yuan Haoyun fell silent.

When Ye Tian delivered the check, he made his intentions very clear: it was a "bonus" from Tung Sing, originating from the reward offered for the murder of the Sai B family. The implication behind this was chilling! Tung Sing had committed the crime against Sai B's family, and they wanted to frame him. Ye Tian promptly donated the check to the police foundation. But this wasn't just a donation; it was a silent urging, or rather, a warning: if the police don't quickly resolve the Ni family issue, I'll expand this "bounty" system throughout the underworld. Then the Ni family will be finished, and the entire underworld will descend into chaos, a bloodbath.

That's a situation the police absolutely don't want to see. Their job is to deter crime and maintain order, not to ignite a powder keg.

Yuan Haoyun let out a long sigh, as if trying to release the pent-up frustration. "As long as we share the same goal, that's fine. Let's get to work."

The two said no more and went to their respective interrogation rooms.

---

When Yuan Haoyun pushed open the door to Guoliang's room, Guoliang had his feet propped up high on the table, soles of his shoes pointing towards the door, humming a cheesy version of "The Universe's Edge" off-key, looking every bit the seasoned veteran. He went to the police station more often than he went home, and his files were stacked almost as high as the table; he had long since stopped taking these "invitations for tea" seriously.

"Officer," Guoliang glanced sideways at Yuan Haoyun, his feet still planted, "is it illegal for me to have hot pot with a few old friends?"

Yuan Haoyun sat down opposite him, sighed, and his expression was surprisingly sincere: "Guoliang, I invited you here for your own good."

Guoliang scoffed as if he'd heard the biggest joke in the world: "Sir, we don't seem to have much of a relationship, do we? Playing this game? You've got the wrong person. I won't say a word until my lawyer arrives." He then deliberately turned his face away.

"You don't have to tell me, just listen." Yuan Haoyun wasn't in a hurry and began to speak slowly and deliberately, "The Saturday that Ni Kun died was supposed to be the day you paid the Ni family your dues. Gandhi led the way in not wanting to pay, and you and Blackie thought it made sense, so you also called for not paying. And what happened? Ni Yongxiao made a few phone calls, and one by one you turned around and sold Gandhi out..."

Guoliang abruptly pulled his crossed legs back, sat up straight, and the playful smile on his face vanished: "Officer! Don't talk nonsense! What do you mean by the Ni family paying off debts? I don't know anything about that! I need to wait for my lawyer!"

Yuan Haoyun shrugged, pulled a stack of photos from a folder, and tossed them onto the table. "Do you think Gandhi would be willing to sit down and wait for your lawyer to explain things to him if he saw these?"

Guoliang's gaze fell on the photos, and his pupils suddenly contracted. His fingers trembled slightly as he picked up the top one, and after just one glance, his head went blank. The photo was very clear, with the background showing the entrance of a hotel in Macau, and he and Gandhi's wife standing side by side, very close.

"This...this is a misunderstanding!" Guoliang chuckled dryly, his mind racing. "We were in Macau, bumped into each other by chance, and just hung out together..."

"Traveling together, huh?" Yuan Haoyun spoke for him, his tone tinged with a hint of mockery. "After all, we didn't get any bed photos, did we?"

Guoliang choked, his face turning red and then white.

Yuan Haoyun leaned forward, his arms braced against the edge of the table. His tall stature created a powerful, imposing presence. "If we show the photos to Gandhi, do you think he'd believe it's a 'misunderstanding'?" His voice wasn't loud, but every word struck Guoliang like a hammer blow.

Guoliang was speechless. Putting himself in his wife's shoes, if he saw her like that with another man… his Adam's apple bobbed.

"We're the police, we speak with evidence." Yuan Haoyun seemed understanding, and tossed him another document. "So, we've completed the evidence for you."

Guoliang trembled as he opened the book, but after reading only a few lines, he felt as if his bones had been removed, and he slumped into his chair. It was Gandhi's wife's statement, so detailed that it sent chills down his spine.

Yuan Haoyun straightened up, looking down at him, his face devoid of any warmth. "Two paths. One, we release you now, and we release Gandhi as well. But before Gandhi goes home, he will 'accidentally' see these photos and this statement. Two, become a tainted witness for the police, testifying against Gandhi and Ni Yongxiao. The path is here; choose for yourself."

Yuan Haoyun didn't wait for his answer and turned to leave. He knew what Guoliang would choose.

---

Pushing open the door to another interrogation room, the black man immediately looked over warily. He had a fierce face and dark skin, and his eyes were filled with suspicion. "Officer Yuan, isn't it against protocol to 'invite' us all here for no reason?"

Yuan Haoyun didn't respond, but pulled up a chair and sat down, as if chatting casually: "It seems that all five of you from the Ni family love hot pot? We've taken you all down this time, but we don't plan to interrogate Gandhi and Wen Zheng."

The black man squinted and didn't say anything.