Police officer Chen Shu.

Zhongshan Police Station, interrogation room.

Xu Long looked anxious and seemed to be running in a panic.

Chen Shu pulled over a plastic stool from the corner of the room and sat down next to Xu Long: "You know in your heart whether you actually raped that woman or not."

Xu Long was about to say he didn't know, but meeting the policeman's deep gaze and hearing the disdain in his tone, he swallowed his words.

He forced a smile that looked more like a grimace: "Officer, I paid her back later."

Chen Shu took out his phone, opened NetEase News, found a news article titled "Prostitute Sues Client for Rape, Client Sentenced," and showed it to Xu Long.

Then I opened Zhihu and searched around. I found an answer from a lawyer who was verified by his real name. He pointed to a sentence in the answer: "Even if you pay compensation after committing a crime, it will not change the nature of the case. It is just a mitigating circumstance."

"Did you understand?" Chen Shu put away his phone and said with a smile.

Xu Long was a little stunned: "Officer, I didn't use a gun, I paid the money."

"The client paid, but the prostitute refused halfway through, so he still ended up in bed! Haha, this isn't something you can just decide."

Chen Shu narrowed his eyes and continued, "Tsk tsk, you were drunk back then, and you did so many interesting things! When the judge was sentencing you, did he believe what you said or the surveillance video?"

Xu Long didn't speak, his eyes no longer darting around, but staring straight at the corner of the wall.

Chen Shu held up two fingers: "You have two options now. One, deny it to the death. That's fine, we have video footage anyway. If what you say doesn't match the video, that will be an aggravating circumstance in court. Two, admit it, and if you're nice, you can sit in the jail for a little less time and get out sooner."

The interrogation room fell silent.

Xu Long recalled the news and articles he had just read, and then thought about his inappropriate actions in the elevator surveillance video. Finally, he lowered his head.

"Officer, I'll do whatever you say."

Chen Shu returned to the interrogation table and sat down, saying in a deep voice, "Very good. From now on, you will answer whatever I say."

"Eh."

......

Zhongshan Police Station, second floor security office

Li Meng held Xu Long's statement, which trembled loudly, and pressed him aggressively: "Secretary Chen, you are suspected of inducing a confession."

"What do you know about coerced confessions? Whether or not you're coercing a confession isn't up to you to decide!"

Chen Shu laughed. "You were the one shouting 'arrest people!' all the time, and now you're protecting the prisoner and making baseless accusations. I'm asking you, what exactly are you here for?"

Li Meng frowned, flipping through the case file, and said, "I'm telling you something serious, the way you're conducting the interrogation is definitely wrong. Besides, it's obvious this case can't be approved for arrest."

Look here and here, both of them say they negotiated and made a deal in the elevator, and the woman later accepted the money from the other party. Oh right, even though she left the money at the hotel, she still accepted it at the time.

Next, she refused to cooperate with us to go to the hospital to have the gold leaf extracted, and finally even asked to drop the case? Does she think this is child's play?

Li Meng picked up Xu Long's statement again: "Just looking at this statement, you've made it look like a complete confession from a convicted criminal. Tell me, how can you handle a case like this?"

The person who reported the crime stopped reporting it, but the suspect confessed. Your investigation is contradictory; aren't you shooting yourself in the foot?

Chen Shu did not answer Li Meng's question because he knew in his heart that what she said was true.

Seeing that Chen Shu had fallen silent, Li Meng stopped talking and just sat to one side, absentmindedly flipping through the case files.

After a long while, Chen Shu raised his head and looked at the oath of the people's police printed on the wall. He straightened his expression and said, "When we handle cases, we cannot be restrained by fear of the procuratorate returning the case for further investigation or not approving an arrest. We cannot simply refuse to file a case just because the person who reported the case says so."

Li Meng walked up to Chen Shu and said, "You should know in your heart that the prosecutor's office definitely won't approve this case. If it's returned, it'll look bad for everyone. Now that the complainant has said they're withdrawing the case, we can just go along with it. Why are you creating trouble for yourself?"

Chen Shu turned around, looked seriously into Li Meng's eyes, and said in a deep voice with seriousness: "You, Li Meng, are solving cases for the sake of solving cases. If you can't solve a case or it is returned for further investigation, you will stop doing it."

"I, Chen Shu, only seek the truth and act with a clear conscience when handling cases. I don't concern myself with, nor can I interfere with, the affairs of the procuratorate and the court. Whether they return the case or not, it's fine; I will continue my investigation."

"So, you're going to detain Xu Long?"

"Criminal detention."

Chen Shu calmly uttered two words and walked out of the office.

......

Office of the Legal Affairs Brigade, Zhengming District Public Security Bureau

Mr. Li, who was in charge of reviewing the case files, looked at the two young police officers standing in front of him, hesitated for a long time, but still didn't say anything.

One of the policemen, with dark skin, stepped forward: "Mr. Li, why won't you approve it?"

Master Li took off his glasses and picked up a fine cloth to wipe them clean. "Secretary Chen, this case can't be approved. It's been almost 24 hours since the report was filed, why haven't they collected the gold leaf yet? This is direct evidence."

Chen Shu stared intently at Master Li: "You approve it first, and I promise to bring the gold leaf over tomorrow morning."

Master Li ignored him: "Let me be blunt. There are still some problems with your case. Even if you bring Jin Ye here, it won't make a difference."

Chen Shu pulled out Xu Long's interrogation record: "The suspect has confessed."

Master Li spread his hands towards Chen Shu: "The written record is not accepted as direct evidence. In the final analysis, it all boils down to one word: difficult."

After saying that, he clenched his outstretched hand and pointed to the side: "Li Meng, why did you come along too? Is this also a case from your Criminal Investigation Department?"

Although Mr. Li is a police officer, as a veteran of the pre-trial investigation team of the Legal Affairs Brigade, he did not give the young deputy captain of the Criminal Investigation Brigade the slightest bit of face.

Li Meng quickly stepped forward and said with a forced smile, "Master Li, I just came to take a look, just a look."

Master Li rolled his eyes, then turned to Chen Shu and said seriously, "To be honest, well, the procuratorate will probably drop this case. I know you don't care about personal honor, but if this case is dropped, it won't just be your problem; our entire branch will suffer as well."

For the Dongzhou Public Security Bureau, the review of cases returned by the procuratorate is a crucial assessment item in the legal performance evaluation of its subordinate branches.

Chen Shu produced a photo showing "Xu Long forcibly dragging Liu Wanying out of the elevator, with Liu Wanying desperately clinging to the elevator door," and argued forcefully: "This is clearly rape to me. On what grounds has the prosecutor's office returned the case for further investigation?"

Master Li waved his hand: "We need to see the entire chain of evidence."

Chen Shu lowered his hands and said expressionlessly, "Comrade Li, please approve."

Looking at the determined young policeman in front of him, Master Li patiently continued to explain, "We have to follow procedures when handling cases, there's no way around it. Even if you drive me to my death, it won't do any good. In cases of rape, criminal detention is the bare minimum, and Jin Ye is already the bare minimum."

Chen Shu immediately said, "Alright, it's settled then! I'll bring the gold leaf over, and you can approve it!"

Master Li was taken aback for a moment, then nodded.

Chen Shu turned around and left the office with a "snap," and Li Meng awkwardly greeted Master Li before hurriedly following him out.

After the two men left, the veteran police officer, who had been observing coldly the whole time and was sitting opposite Mr. Li, said, "Old Li, even with Jin Ye, it's not easy to report this case for arrest. Were you influenced by that guy?"

Master Li didn't answer. He put on his clean glasses, looked at the open office door, and asked with a smile:

"Hey, Mao! Don't you think this kid looks exactly like me when I was young?"