FI CH64: The Surveillance Association Enforces the Law!

On the receipt, it was written: Two craft cups, purchased.

The time of issue was this afternoon.

The surroundings fell silent.

Song Jin’an’s eyes widened in disbelief. He was speechless for a long moment. “You…”

Lin Su shook the receipt. “This is a gift I bought for my friend. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He looked at the completely stunned Song Jin’an and pointed out, “Especially you, young master—”

“How did you immediately say he ‘took’ it?”

“I… I thought it was…”

Song Jin’an’s mouth opened and closed, his face a mixture of green and red. Quickly, he glanced at the equally stunned Zhou Li. “Mainly, Zhou didn’t explain just now either.”

Lin Su glanced at Zhou Li. “He did me a small favor, so I gave him a gift as thanks.”

He said shyly, “My partner is too prone to jealousy, so I asked my senior to keep it a secret.”

A multitude of gazes instantly shifted to He Zhenling.

He Zhenling, “…”

Zhou Li immediately reacted. “Right, I was afraid that if I suddenly said it, Mr. He would misunderstand.”

He Zhenling, with a cold face, seemed to let out a scoff. His gaze landed, seemingly without focus, on the person beside him.

Lin Su pursed his lips, his eyes fixed forward.

The crowd’s gazes dispersed. “Hah, I was wondering what was going on. You should have just said so.” “No one said he stole it at the beginning. It was after the young master of the Song family said it that…”

“Yeah, he’s the one who threw the accusation first…”

The sounds of discussion came from all around.

Song Jin’an’s face turned ashen, and he clenched his hands. He didn’t understand why things had turned out this way. Why did Lin Su have a receipt… was it made in response to his setup? To overturn the narrative, he would have to prove that Lin Su got the receipt later—

But Boss Jin had already said that the surveillance cameras were all “destroyed.”

At this point, even that group of rich kids had quieted down, no one making another peep.

Lin Su put the receipt away and reminded him, “Aren’t you going to keep looking for your ‘watch,’ young master?”

He smiled at the now-recovered Song Jin’an. “If you don’t find it, remember to apologize and ‘compensate’ everyone.”

Song Jin’an’s lips trembled. “I…”

Xuenima watched the show: [Heh, tried to steal a chicken but ended up losing a pot of rice.]

“Let’s not talk about the watch for now.”

Hua Xi suddenly stood up. “The matter of you three ‘convicting’ someone with just a few words, you should at least apologize first!”

She swept her gaze over Song Jin’an and the two rich kids, then looked at Jin Yongwen.

Zhou Li also stood there ramrod straight, with absolutely no intention of letting them off the hook.

Song Jin’an stiffened and said through clenched teeth, “…I misunderstood.” The two rich kids looked embarrassed. “We didn’t say you ‘took’ it… just that on the phone…”

“Tsk,” a sound interrupted.

Jin Yongwen, still carrying a bit of dissatisfaction from his failed frame-up, stood there shamelessly. “So he didn’t steal it. What’s the big deal? What, you want me to apologize?”

Hua Xi was filled with righteous indignation. “You…” Just as she was about to speak, she was pulled back by Zhou Li.

Seeing their indignant but speechless expressions, Jin Yongwen became even more smug. “Truth be told, you bunch of poor students should be thanking me for being able to get on this kind of luxury cruise.”

He smiled arrogantly. “Come on, say ‘thank you’ and let me hear it. Students from a prestigious university, you can’t be this ungrateful, can you?”

The students before him all glared, holding back their anger.

Just as Jin Yongwen was feeling pleased with himself, a familiar voice suddenly rang out:

“They should thank you?”

Lin Su looked over with a half-smile. “Shouldn’t you be kowtowing and begging them for forgiveness, Boss Jin?”

Jin Yongwen’s face turned ugly. “What do you mean?”

“I asked you just now, are you sure the surveillance cameras are ‘broken’?”

Jin Yongwen was taken aback.

Before he could react, someone in the crowd suddenly exclaimed, “Who are those people!?”

Everyone followed the line of sight.

The cruise ship was approaching the pier, and the scene on the shore came into clear view. An empty space had been cleared outside the pier. People in Surveillance Association uniforms stood in the wind, their uniforms fluttering, all armed at the waist.

A circle of onlookers had gathered around.

Jin Yongwen didn’t recognize the Surveillance Association, but he had a bad feeling. His face changed, and he turned and shouted, “Where are the guards!? What are these people doing—”

The deck immediately fell into chaos:

“What’s going on!”

“Did someone commit a crime? What law enforcement department is this?”

…

However, no matter how panicked they were, there was nowhere to run.

The cruise ship quickly docked. As soon as the gangway was lowered, members of the Surveillance Association surged onto the deck!

Jin Yongwen was immediately apprehended and shouted in panic, “What are you doing!? Who let you—”

The female Celestial Master Yin Lin strode through the crowd in her long boots, walked up to He Zhenling, and handed him a Tang-style sword:

“President.”

He Zhenling took it with one hand and hung it at his waist.

Under Jin Yongwen’s stunned gaze, he produced his credentials, his voice cold:

“Surveillance Association, enforcing the law.”

The surroundings fell silent for a moment, everyone’s faces filled with shock.

He Zhenling’s gaze swept over the frozen crowd, landing on the faces of the few from that afternoon. “Take these few away directly. The others will be investigated and interrogated first.”

The few panicked and were immediately apprehended!

They hadn’t even recovered from this sudden turn of events before they were all taken away by the Surveillance Association personnel:

“Wait, why are you arresting us!”

“Do you know who I am—”

His words were cut off as his arm was twisted, and he let out a miserable scream. “Ah!!” The association member’s face was impassive. “You can explain all that when you get to the interrogation room.”

…

For a while, the deck was a scene of arrests and searches.

That group of rich kids, who had grown up smoothly with a silver spoon, had never seen a scene like this. They were all scared into silence, shrinking to the side to lower their presence.

Song Jin’an, for some reason, shivered with guilt and fear.

Lin Su glanced over lightly: Hmm…

He withdrew his gaze, just in time to see a subordinate finish reporting to He Zhenling and nod. The subordinate then looked at him, nodded as well, and retreated.

Lin Su, “?”

He turned to look at He Zhenling.

He Zhenling looked forward, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “What are you looking at?”

Lin Su leaned closer. “Why did your subordinate greet me?”

The person before him was silent for a few seconds, then lowered his eyes, as if chuckling. “…You’re asking the obvious.”

“…” Lin Su’s heart skipped a beat: Oh my.

He pressed his lips together and quietly turned his head away: Xuenima, why does he talk so ambiguously?

Xuenima stood on the railing, watching the show: [Heh heh, asking the obvious.]

Lin Su: …

He turned his head away again, sweetly. “Sigh.”

Before long, the deck was cleared.

The maiden voyage of the “Sea Dream” lasted three days, and the upper-class passengers were cuffed as soon as they got off the ship. This kind of event was simply unheard of. Besides the crowd of onlookers, many media outlets had also shown up.

Perhaps arrangements had been made in advance, as the media avoided the upper deck and only frantically snapped pictures of the group led by Jin Yongwen.

The crowd was abuzz with discussion:

“That’s the owner of that cruise ship.”

“I heard he was engaged in illegal activities on the cruise and was arrested as soon as he got off.”

“There were even teenagers on the ship. People like him should be locked up!”

…

Lin Su regretfully withdrew his gaze.

At this point, almost only the rich kids and university students were left on the deck, along with a few of the Surveillance Association’s subordinates waiting on the side. He Zhenling, with his sword back at his waist, had an even sharper aura.

For a moment, neither group dared to make a sound.

Lin Su turned his head, glanced at Song Jin’an shrinking in the back, and smiled. “We were interrupted by some miscellaneous matters. Young Master Song, shall we continue looking for your watch?”

Song Jin’an was startled and stammered for two seconds, “N-No need.” He avoided his gaze. “Everyone was frightened. Let’s just forget it.”

Lin Su feigned surprise. “Isn’t it your very important, 30 million watch?”

Song Jin’an was choked for words. “It’s fine…”

Lin Su shook his head. “You’re fine, but the rest of the students can’t just be left under a cloud of suspicion, right? The supervisors are right here. Men check men, women check women. Let’s get this sorted out.”

Before Song Jin’an could speak, He Zhenling raised a hand.

Yin Lin and a male member stepped forward, their faces impartial. “Let’s just check everyone present.”

The words were stuck in his throat.

Everyone’s suitcases were moved over for inspection without distinction.

The rich kids didn’t seem to care. They were waiting on the side, chatting idly, when they noticed Song Jin’an’s face was unusually pale. Tao Ze sized him up for a couple of seconds. “What’s wrong with you? Are you not feeling well?”

Just as he said that, a voice called out, “Found it.”

The male member dragged Song Jin’an’s suitcase over, holding a watch in his hand. “Is this it?”

The rich kids were all stunned and turned their heads.

Song Jin’an tried to look natural and said in surprise, “Ah, yes… was it found in my suitcase?”

The association member said coolly, “Yes.”

Song Jin’an said apologetically, “I probably put it in there myself and forgot.”

Although he said that, the expressions of several people around him had already become strange. It was only out of consideration for his status that they ultimately said nothing. The students were different. Several voices spoke up directly:

“You had it on you, yet you made us open our bags.”

“Now you can apologize and compensate us!”

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Song Jin’an’s face burned. “…I misunderstood. I’ll compensate you.”

He took out his phone as he spoke.

Lin Su spoke up, “Young Master Song is so rich. You wouldn’t be trying to get away with just a few dozen or a hundred yuan, would you?” He offered a suggestion, “Everyone wants some good luck. How about 888?”

The students were a little surprised! They looked over.

Song Jin’an’s head snapped up. He stared for two seconds, then finally endured it to quell the matter. “…Fine, 888 then.”

Lin Su, “Remember to add a note: ‘voluntary gift’.”

Song Jin’an, “…”

He gritted his teeth. “…Fine.”

The wonderful sound of money transfers rang out for a long time.

After the transfers were done, Song Jin’an looked at his remaining balance and fell silent.

The students, however, were quite happy.

Zhou Li, refreshed and invigorated, closed his suitcase. Suddenly thinking of something, he leaned close to Lin Su and whispered, “By the way, I haven’t thanked you yet for saving me, junior. I’ll transfer you the money for the cups.”

Lin Su said, “No need. Go back and give one to Pei Jin as a souvenir for him.”

Zhou Li, “Oh, right.”

He had just whispered a few sentences when a voice came from the side. “We can disembark now.”

Lifting his head, he saw He Zhenling’s gaze directed at the pier.

As Jin Yongwen and the others were taken away, the media and onlookers had gradually dispersed. There weren’t many people lingering around now.

Zhou Li instantly and keenly sprang away, nodding. “I’m going.”

Lin Su, “…”

He looked at He Zhenling and sighed.

He Zhenling’s expression seemed unchanged. He gestured to the subordinate beside him, who then led the two groups of young people off the ship.

The group returned to the pier and went their separate ways.

The rich kids all had private cars to pick them up. The students were preparing to take a group bus to the airport.

Lin Su and He Zhenling were still standing on the deck.

His gaze fell on the bustling crowd below, and a voice came from beside him:

“What are your plans?”

Lin Su retracted his gaze. “I’ve said it before, ‘what I plan to do depends entirely on what the person involved does.’ This ‘person involved,’ of course, also includes Song Jin’an.”

He Zhenling turned to him. Lin Su shook his head and said:

“I originally wanted to wait until Zhou Li met his parents, but now it seems there’s no need.”

After he finished speaking, a bamboo brush appeared in his hand.

He held the brush between his fingers and brought it down.

The cuffs of his sleeves fluttered. The trajectory of fate intertwined in his eyes for an instant—

Two seconds, and he retracted the brush.

His profile was clear and handsome against the cloudy sky.

Then he closed his eyes and thump, fell onto He Zhenling. Lin Su buried his head. “Aiya, how did I overdraw my energy again. So dizzy…”

Beside him, “…”

“…Hah.” A laugh came from above, followed by a hand wrapping around his arm. It paused for two seconds, then slid down gently to his waist. He Zhenling turned his head away and pulled him closer into his arms.

Lin Su: =u=

He rubbed his face: Little He really is shameless.

[Xuenima you have called is not in service. Hiding.]

Below, the crowd was bustling.

The bus to the airport was still a quarter of an hour away.

The students chatted while waiting. Hua Xi and the others were still talking about the recent windfall. Amid their happiness, they didn’t forget to tell Zhou Li:

“You keep this money as living expenses. Don’t give it to your dad.”

Zhou Li scratched his head. “Mm… Before some things are cleared up, I won’t give him any more money.”

“Huh? What things?”

“Nothing.”

As he was speaking, he suddenly felt thirsty. “I’m going to buy a bottle of water. Do you guys want anything?”

“No thanks, you go ahead. We’ll watch your luggage.”

Zhou Li nodded and turned to go to the supermarket.

…

By the side of the bustling street, a private car was parked.

One could tell its value from the model alone.

The windows were tinted. In the back seat sat a couple in their forties.

The man was tall with a handsome face.

The woman wore a pear-blossom long dress, looking young, with a scholarly air that also had a hint of heroic spirit.

Song Xiaotian was still in his formal suit. He turned his head and asked, “Have you sent Xiao An a message?”

Shao Lan said, “I have. I said we’re waiting for him here.”

After she said that, she pressed a hand to her heart and smiled. “I don’t know why, but my heart has been palpitating ever since we got here.”

Song Xiaotian asked, “Did you not sleep well? Well, you can lean on your husband’s shoulder.”

“Get away.”

Shao Lan gave him a light slap and turned to look out the window.

Pedestrians came and went on the roadside.

Suddenly, a figure crossed the road. A handsome profile flashed past the car window.

Shao Lan’s heart suddenly leaped!

She was stunned for two seconds, then turned and pushed the door open to get out.

That figure had already disappeared into the vast crowd. She stood there, dazed.

A voice came from the car, “My lady?”

Shao Lan came back to her senses, got back into the car, still thinking about the face that had flashed by in that instant.

Song Xiaotian sized her up. “What’s wrong?”

Shao Lan said, “I just saw a young man…”

Song Xiaotian glanced sideways and smoothed his hair. “Is he as handsome as me?”

But as he said it, he saw Shao Lan’s expression was a little strange. “…As- as handsome as you.”

Song Xiaotian, “?”

__

Author’s Note:

Shao Lan (gesturing): He’s really “exactly” as handsome.

Su: =u=

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