Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 42 Night Shift
Zhang Yun was sincere, and his expression seemed to have been relieved of a great burden. He sat up straight in the interrogation chair.

He has already confessed to his illegal activities.

Chen Shu called Li Chaoyang over, and the two of them documented the case in the interrogation room.

The case is very simple.

According to Zhang Yun's statement, he went to the toilet around 10 a.m. this morning and saw a Vivo phone left on the windowsill. He looked around and, seeing no one nearby, impulsively stole the phone.

He first put his phone down beside him and took it back to his room. Later, he heard the girl next door shouting in the hallway and realized that she might call the police. Also, his house was small, and his wife and children were always there.

He found it difficult to hide his phone.

Feeling guilty, he took the phone downstairs and hid it in an abandoned mailbox on the first floor, planning to take it out to sell to a mobile phone shop after dinner when he went out for a walk under the pretext of doing so.

While Li Chaoyang was checking and printing the transcript, Chen Shu went to the duty room to get two glasses of water. He placed one glass in front of Li Chaoyang and took the other glass to Zhang Yun, handing it to him.

“Zhang Yun, don’t be nervous. I estimate that the price bureau’s valuation of this phone will definitely not exceed 3000 yuan, or even less than 2000 yuan.”

In that case, this is just an administrative case. I'll consider it a voluntary surrender, and you'll only need to sit in there for three days before you can be released.

"Having eaten in the detention center, you can brag about it for a while when you go out drinking. Just consider it broadening your horizons."

Zhang Yun nodded, flattered, and accepted the disposable water cup. His tense nerves relaxed considerably. "Thank you, officer. As soon as my son and his wife return to their hometown, I will come here immediately to accept the government's punishment."

Chen Shu smiled and said, "Sure. If something really comes up, it's okay to be a few days late."

Zhang Yun quickly put down his water glass and waved his hands frantically, "No, no, I'll be right there as soon as I put them on the bullet train."

Chen Shu nodded and returned to the interrogation table to sit in his seat.

A short while later, Li Chaoyang finished checking the transcript and printed it out. He took the A4-sized transcript to Zhang Yun and placed it on the small square table in front of the interrogation chair.

"Zhang Yun, read the transcript yourself. If there are no problems, sign your name at the bottom of each page. On the last page, copy this sentence."

"No need to look, no need to look, I'll sign it right now."

"We absolutely have to see this!"

"Okay, okay, I'll take a look."

Zhang Yun picked up the record on the small square table and quickly skimmed through it. Then, he took the pen from Li Chaoyang and quickly signed and copied the sentences.

"Read this sentence to yourself."

“I have read the above transcript, and it matches what I said.”

"Press your index finger. Here, here, here."

"Okay okay."

Zhang Yun was very cooperative.

Nighttime, at the entrance of Zhongshan Police Station.

Zeng Hong, Chen Shu, and Li Chaoyang, the three-person duty team, stood on the steps at the entrance, watching Zhu Chaoran and Zhang Yun leave, turning back every three steps.

“This is against the rules,” Zeng Hong said expressionlessly from the steps.

Chen Shu nodded and agreed, "It does not comply with the regulations."

"What about the publicity and reporting for the final stage of Operation Summer Breeze?" Zeng Hong frowned. Chen Shu shook his head and said thoughtfully, "Let's delay it and wait for Operation Autumn Breeze? I'll give you another quota then!"

"If the Legal Affairs Brigade conducts a spot check and someone gets caught, who gets the points deducted?" Zeng Hong asked, glancing around with a sidelong glance.

Everyone fell silent instantly, and no one dared to speak.

Li Chaoyang coughed and changed the subject: "After Zhu Chaoran returns from delivering the phone, shall we go to 'Old Couple's BBQ' for a late-night snack?"

Chen Shu felt a little guilty for not meeting the administrative detention quota he had promised Zeng Hong, and consequently, the station's publicity and reporting on him also stopped.

Seeing Li Chaoyang's coordinated attack coming his way, he immediately reacted: "If you don't have a barbecue in the summer, you've wasted your life! Tonight it's on me! Everything's perfectly arranged! All done in one go!"

Zeng Hong gave a heavy "humph!" without saying anything, then turned and went back to the office building.

The remaining two looked at each other and then laughed together.

"Senior brother, you've caused trouble on your first day back at work after sick leave. You truly live up to your reputation as the 'Teaching Nemesis'." Li Chaoyang clasped his hands together, looking quite serious.

"That's because we get along well! Do you see other institute leaders getting this kind of treatment?" Chen Shu said dismissively.

“That’s because they’re all avoiding you.” Li Chaoyang gestured towards the office building. “During the time you were on sick leave, Instructor Zeng didn’t arrange for any other police officers to take your shifts. He filled in for you himself.”

“I know what he’s like.” Chen Shu glanced at the instructor’s office on the third floor of the office building, where the lights were still on, and felt grateful.

Li Chaoyang followed Chen Shu's gaze and murmured, "I remember when I first came to the station, Instructor Zeng patted me on the shoulder and told me that the police station was the best place in the bureau to train people, and that I would grow up quickly here. Instructor Zeng was right. After working in the station for two years, I look like I've aged ten years."

Chen Shu laughed and said, "Someone like you, who is single in a different city and lives at the workplace, is practically overflowing with buffs. You're not exactly the dream girl that their leaders see."

“I guess this is called D_BUFF.” Li Chaoyang was a little frustrated, but then a thought struck him. “By the way, senior brother, since Zhang Yun had already admitted to the case, why did you let him go in the end?”

"Where did you let him go? He'll have to come back and stay for a few more days. This is called house arrest!"

After saying that, Chen Shu chuckled to himself. You can't just make up an excuse like that.

Residential surveillance refers to a coercive method by which public security organs, people's procuratorates, and people's courts order arrested criminal suspects or defendants not to leave a designated area for a certain period of time and monitor their movements.

Zhang Yun clearly does not fit the bill.

Li Chaoyang stroked his chin and said seriously, "This afternoon I responded to a call regarding a close contact of a confirmed case of COVID-19. Although the individual was taken to a safe place for isolation on the spot, it's clear that the epidemic prevention situation in our jurisdiction is currently very complex."

Chen Shu added with a smile, "To prevent a large-scale outbreak of the epidemic in the law enforcement unit or detention center, I suggest that those who have recently violated the law be quarantined at home for a period of time. We will then follow up and observe them."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

Chen Shu reached into his pocket and found it empty. He then remembered that he had given all his cigarettes to Zhu Chaoran that afternoon.

Li Chaoyang, standing to the side, understood, took out his cigarettes and handed them to Chen Shu, lit one, and then lit one for himself as well.

Chen Shu picked up a cigarette, slowly brought it to his lips, took a deep drag, and held it for a long time before exhaling.

Smoke rose in swirls from his fingertips, and two points of light flickered in the darkness.

He looked in the direction where Zhu Chaoran and Zhang Yun had just left and said in a deep voice, "I think that as police officers, besides fighting crime, it is even more important for us to protect the people behind the cases. Zhang Yun is certainly guilty and deserves to be punished, but his two children are innocent."

He paused for a moment, as if he were thinking of those two little ones with their bright eyes from that morning:
“They should not have had a father who committed theft during their childhood.”

(End of this chapter)