Chapter 199: A sea of confusion.
Mr. Shen cleared his throat. "Liwu, maybe we should settled this as a family."
Weifeng walked over, pleading for Manman. "Liwu, please, she is not herself. He system was robbed. She has lost all her parts in the movies she was going to be a part of. Her endorsements are also gone. Half of her fans have jumped ship. Hasn’t she suffered enough?"
Liwu turned another page. "The system thief stole her system. Her new system stole her speech, not sanity. Don’t confuse the two. A few nights in lock up will sober her up and welcome her to her new reality."
The family exchanged horrified looks. To them, Liwu’s calmness was more terrifying than Manman’s tantrum. Did this mean that if they committed a crime, she would arrest them all without hesitation? Weren’t officers of the law partial to their families? Didn’t they cover up for each other?
"She won’t go through with it." Weijun assured Weifeng.
But soon, sirens wailed outside. Six officers from the precinct entered the house, blinking at wreckage. "Detective Liwu?" One stopped and saluted.
The others did the same.
Liwu stood, closing the novel with a snap. "The suspect is restrained. The crime is domestic disturbance. Please process her."
It seemed like fantasy, until Liwu’s cuffs were replaced with those of another officer and Manman was restrained. She shrieked wordlessly, her system preventing coherent speech. The officers looked helplessly at the mayor.
Liwu’s gaze was steel. "Don’t look at him, I am your superior officer and this is my house. She ruined a genuine Ming dynasty painting from the 15th century. How much history is there? And the vases on the floor, the cheapest is 200,000 yuan. She threatened me. She bit me. Do your jobs."
The officers nodded quickly, hauling Manman out. She screamed, struggled and tried to run, but it was futile. Weifeng followed, pleading with the officers to be gentle.
Liwu followed the group to the cars, signing the paperwork with precise strokes.
Weijun, Madam Xu and Mr. Shen crowded behind her, whispering frantically, "Will the public find out about the painting?" Madam Xu asked.
Liwu handed the clipboard back to the officer. "The arrest is private. The public is not entitled to the details. But even if the details spill, how does that concern us? We did not throw the tantrum, she did. I want her to learn that if she cannot control herself, I will."
Manman was shoved into the back of the bureau SUV, her face twisting with unheard rage. Weifeng was shouting to her, "Baby, calm down. I am calling my lawyers right away. I will spend the night at the precinct with you."
Madam Xu groaned. "I gave birth to a simp!"
Liwu laughed. "If that idiot Weifeng cannot stop her, I will. Today she has smashed things, tomorrow, she will dare to set the house on fire. Why can’t he learn that indulging her is not the way to help her."
Mr. Shen shook his head. "He loves her blindly. But how is he supposed to help her?"
Liwu reached into her pocket and gave him Chief Ruoning’s business card. "Give him this card. Maybe, Manman will find help here."
****
At around 11:00 pm, Liwu closed the novel officially. She was ready to sleep. Her husband, however, was not. As soon as she turned the table lamp off, he started talking.
"I can’t believe you arrested her."
Liwu blew some air out of her mouth. "How long have you been holding that in?"
He turned her, even though he could not see her clearly in the dark. Weijun could still make out her silhouette. "I have been waiting for you to put the book down so that we could talk. Initially, I thought we would talk about barrel boy over dinner but you did not return home for dinner."
There was an accusation in his voice which made Liwu frown. Was he disappointed that she did not make it home for dinner? It wasn’t her fault. They didn’t make dinner plans. "I have a case Weijun, one that requires all of my attention."
"I am your husband, I require your attention." He replied.
She almost laughed--almost. "One of my rules after we married was about my job. You don’t interfere in my job. There could be a killer loose in the city. If catching him or her requires skipping dinner, them I have to do what I must."
Gruffly, he replied, "There is always a killer lurking somewhere in the city. I have learned this after becoming involved with you and your job. This very second, some poor soul out there is being tortured as we speak. I learned this from Linlin by the way."
"Learn less from her in future." She replied sharply.
He turned on the lamp on his side of the bed and sat up.
Liwu groaned. "Can’t we just go to sleep Sweet Rose? I have had a long day. Between barrel boy to the fight with Linlin, Jinling’s pregnancy, banging my head and your brother’s idiot girlfriend..."
"Jinling is pregnant!" He exclaimed, a little too loudly, cutting her off. "No..wait..let’s focus on your head first. What happened?"
She covered her mouth, blocking a yawn. "Bad luck. Same day, another pain." Liwu winced. "Yes, Jinling is pregnant, unfortunately."
"Is it?" He asked curiously, leaning closer to her.
Liwu nodded slowly, sadness swarming into her eyes. "Why do bad things happen to good people? She was raped in front of a crowd that didn’t help. It was recorded and put on the internet. Her reputation was smeared. Everyone will forever remember her as the woman from that incident. Now, she is pregnant. I can’t imagine what she must be going through? She came to the precinct in tears to see me.
Chief Ruoning of SVD took her case and told me to stay away from her because I can’t help her anymore. Just before then, Jinling told me she didn’t want to keep the pregnancy. When the chief asked me what decision I would make if I were in Jinling’s shoes, the first thought that came to my mind was to terminate.
I think I would have told Jinling the same thing. But when I think of the innocent life that would be taken, I am filled with guilt. What gives me the right to deny that child a chance to exist? But again, even if I have that child. Can I love it? Would I just throw it to nannies and ignore them forever?
I can’t decide. My logic is failing me. I am struggling Weijun...I feel like I am drowning in a sea of confusion and I am not even the one faced with the problem. What do I do?" She gulped for air, struggling to breathe. "What do I do?"
Weijun backed away from her, reached into the lowest drawer of the side table and pulled out a box of cigarettes. "Smoke?"
