Chapter Six: Why Should There Be Compensation

Inside the Wu City Police Department.

Jiang Yingying and Shen Xiaoqing sat anxiously in the waiting area.

Meanwhile, in the interrogation room, Lin Jian was questioning Qin Tian about the specifics of what had happened.

“Captain Lin, I’ve explained this countless times already. There really was an old lady who ran the red light, and I hit the brakes hard to avoid her.”

Qin Tian let out a sigh, looking helpless.

“Besides, don’t you find it odd? Suddenly, so many reporters showed up. It’s hard not to suspect this whole incident was deliberately orchestrated to target the Jiang family,” he added.

“While it is odd that a group of reporters appeared so suddenly, there’s no evidence to prove you slammed on the brakes to avoid a jaywalker,” Lin Jian replied. “And even if you claim someone set you and the Jiang family up, who would believe it without proof? Everything needs evidence.”

Lin Jian himself felt something was off, but he was bound by procedure. If Qin Tian couldn’t provide proof that he braked to avoid a jaywalker, all the blame would fall on him.

“Have you checked the car? Is there any GPS tracking or anything like that? If they managed to orchestrate this accident, they must have known our whereabouts,” Qin Tian asked.

“It’s been checked—nothing,” Lin Jian answered.

Qin Tian frowned. If there was no tracker, then how did these people in the shadows manage to set up the accident?

“Captain Lin, could you get a sketch artist? I can describe the old lady’s appearance. As long as you find her, the truth will come out,” Qin Tian said.

“Alright.” Lin Jian thought for a moment. Abiding by the principle of avoiding wrongful convictions, and also to protect Qin Tian’s rights, he called for a sketch artist.

Soon, the sketch artist stared at his own drawing, bewildered by what he had produced.

The thing on the paper barely looked human.

“Young man, are you sure this is the old lady you swerved to avoid?” the sketch artist asked, puzzled.

“Yes! Is it done? Let me see,” Qin Tian nodded, confident in his extraordinary memory.

“Here you go.” The artist glanced at Lin Jian, got his nod, and turned the drawing to face Qin Tian.

“What the hell is this?” Qin Tian jumped back in shock.

The figure in the drawing looked just like a chimpanzee—unbelievably ugly.

“So, what you avoided was actually a chimpanzee?” Lin Jian tilted his head, eyeing Qin Tian with suspicion.

“No, that’s not right! That’s not how she looked!” Qin Tian protested, flustered. His memory couldn’t be wrong—perhaps he hadn’t described her well enough.

“Give me the pad. I’ll draw it myself!” Qin Tian insisted.

Lin Jian signaled with his eyes, and the sketch artist handed over the pencil and pad.

A short while later, a much more human-like face emerged—a wrinkled old woman whose skin looked like the bark of an ancient tree.

“Take it to the database for comparison,” Lin Jian ordered.

Before long, a police officer entered, holding a report and looking unsettled.

“Captain Lin, we have the results, but…”

“But what?” Lin Jian took the report and glanced at it. His eyes widened in an instant.

“She’s dead? And only died yesterday?” Lin Jian exclaimed in shock.

“What? Dead? How is that possible?” Qin Tian was just as stunned.

Could it be that he’d seen a ghost today?

Outside the police station, a swarm of reporters had gathered. The arrival of a black business van sent a fresh wave of excitement through the crowd.

It was Jiang Tianxiang’s car—he had arrived.

“Mr. Jiang, what do you think of your daughter’s disregard for traffic laws?” a reporter asked.

“Mr. Jiang, is your daughter just as unruly at home?” another reporter pressed, with an infuriating bluntness.

“Mr. Jiang, do you plan to use your wealth to sweep this incident under the rug?” yet another asked.

These questions were obviously calculated to put Jiang Tianxiang on the spot and make things difficult for him.

With his bodyguards, Jiang Tianxiang forced his way through the throng and reached the police station entrance, but paused as if lost in thought.

Then he turned to face the reporters directly, his gaze sharp as a blade. “I, Jiang Tianxiang, am not at the point of collapse yet. Even a dying camel is bigger than a horse. I warn certain people: don’t stoop to such shameless tricks in the shadows!”

With those words, Jiang Tianxiang turned and walked into the station, leaving the reporters staring at each other in confusion.

“Dad!” Seeing him enter, Jiang Yingying immediately leapt up and ran over.

“Are you all alright? Where’s Qin Tian?” Jiang Tianxiang looked his daughter over and asked.

“Uncle Jiang, we’re fine. Please, you have to help Qin Tian. We really did get rear-ended because we were trying to avoid a jaywalker. It wasn’t illegal parking,” Shen Xiaoqing pleaded.

“I’ve got the gist of the situation. I’m already having people work on it,” Jiang Tianxiang replied.

Both Jiang Yingying and Shen Xiaoqing breathed a sigh of relief. With his influence, resolving this matter shouldn’t be too hard—the only question was how to settle it most appropriately.

“Wait! Slow down!”

In the interrogation room, Qin Tian, holding Lin Jian’s phone, was watching the dashcam footage from the four young men’s car over and over.

“Look, Qin Tian, I have a pretty good temper, but you’re really testing my patience. I do believe you’re innocent, but the facts are right here. Based on this dashcam footage, you did park illegally,” Lin Jian said, shaking his head. Qin Tian had watched this video dozens of times already.

“Stop! Captain Lin, let me show you something! Something that can clear my name!” Qin Tian’s lips curled into a confident smile, unbothered by Lin Jian’s annoyance.

“What is it?” Lin Jian asked, puzzled.

“Look here! See that car that passed by? At that speed, its dashcam might have caught the old lady running the red light. If we’re lucky, it might even have captured the whole sequence of me slamming on the brakes!” Qin Tian explained.

Lin Jian was momentarily stunned—they really had overlooked that. There were no security cameras at the intersection, but they could reconstruct the truth from other vehicles’ dashcams!

“Xiao Wu, contact the owner of Wu A·24QQ1 immediately,” Lin Jian ordered, mobilizing the department to collect footage from all nearby vehicles in hopes of piecing together the whole truth.

“You might as well just admit fault and pay up! Still trying to talk your way out of it? You think money makes you untouchable?” In the lobby, the four youths looked at Jiang Tianxiang and the others with open provocation.

Shen Xiaoqing, furious, was just about to retort when another voice interrupted.

“Pay? Why should we pay? I think it’s more appropriate to take you to court,” Qin Tian said as he walked out of the interrogation room.

“Hmph! Acting like nothing happened even after what you did. Just wait till you’re convicted—you’ll get what’s coming to you!” the four young men sneered at him.

“Oh, really?” Qin Tian replied, a playful smile on his lips.