My wife and I are both time travelers.

Chapter 47 Farce
Without saying a word, the middle-aged policeman walked into the house. In terms of height, Zhou Jiye was much more burly than the other man, but the other man's status was different, so Zhou Jiye did not dare to stop him and quickly stepped back to make way.

The attic was small; you could see everything clearly from the doorway. Lin Ying, already dressed, stood by the bed, watching this scene in surprise.

"Are you Lin Ying?" the middle-aged policeman asked sternly.

"Hello comrade, I am Lin Ying. May I ask why you are here so late...?" Lin Ying asked calmly.

"We received a report from the public that unidentified people from out of town are illegally residing here," the middle-aged policeman said, softening his tone slightly as he saw that Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying were not showing any extreme reactions.

"Report?" Lin Ying's eyes widened in disbelief, then her gaze turned to Aunt Wang and her family standing behind the police.

"Aunt Wang, what do you mean by this? My husband and I have always been very polite to you, and we've been staying here for more than just a day or two. When did we become people of unknown identity? You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say such things!"

“Yes, Aunt Wang, you’ve gone too far!” Zhou Jiye said indignantly, “All we did was tell you today that we weren’t renting this place anymore, how could you do this? You even brought the police here! Aunt Wang, put your hand on your heart and tell me, what have my husband and I done to wrong you these past few months?”

At this point, Zhou Jiye poured out his grievances to the two policemen: "Officers, you be the judge, where in the world is there any logic in making a baseless report without any reason for someone not renting a place?"

"We, the police, will investigate the facts. You can't turn white into black, and black into white!" the young policeman who accompanied the middle-aged man said sternly. Then, before Zhou Jiye could explain, he asked directly, "You say you're a couple? Where's your marriage certificate? Let me see it!"

"Yes, yes, yes! Please wait a moment." Zhou Jiye nodded repeatedly. Lin Ying, who was standing next to him, turned around and found their marriage certificate in the bedside table. She handed it to Zhou Jiye first, and then Zhou Jiye handed it to the policeman.

After taking the certificate, the policeman examined it under the light in the room. It did indeed have the names Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying written on it. However, when he noticed the address and official seal on the marriage certificate, he frowned slightly and then handed the marriage certificate to the middle-aged policeman.

The middle-aged policeman took it and glanced at it. His expression was similar to that of the younger policeman. His tone immediately became stern: "You two are a married couple, that's fine, but this marriage certificate isn't from this city. How do you explain that?"

"Comrade, shouldn't this marriage certificate be valid nationwide? It can't be that a marriage certificate issued in other places is invalid in Shanghai, right?" Zhou Jiye scratched his head and asked.

"Answer what I ask! Stop talking nonsense!" The young policeman glared at him, his tone very rude.

"How else can this be explained?" Zhou Jiye spread his hands helplessly and said, "We got married in another city, so of course we got our marriage certificate from that place!"

"Heh, good that you admit it." The middle-aged policeman smiled faintly and waved his hand: "Take him away!"

As the young policeman was about to grab Zhou Jiye, Zhou Jiye instinctively took a step back to avoid him. Fearing that the policeman would misunderstand, he half-raised his hands and shouted innocently, "Police officers, what do you mean by this? Our marriage certificate wasn't issued in this city, is that illegal? What right do you have to arrest me?"

"On what grounds? On the grounds that you're not locals, that you're illegally staying in this city as outsiders, and that you're even renting local housing privately. Oh, and I heard you two are doing small business in Shanghai? One of you sells chickens at the market, and the other sells tea eggs at the cinema upstairs? Hah, just for that, our police have the right to arrest you!"

"What!" Lin Ying exclaimed, and quickly said, "Comrade, isn't there some misunderstanding?"

"Misunderstanding? No misunderstanding. We received a report, and the marriage certificate you produced proves it. What else do you have to say?" the young policeman said bluntly, then pointed at Zhou Jiye: "Behave yourself! Don't make me resort to any methods!"

At this moment, Lin Ying had an incredulous expression, but then her gaze fell on Aunt Wang's family behind her, and she suddenly realized what was going on.

"Comrade, is what you're talking about the report you just mentioned?"

"What? Is there a problem?" the young policeman asked with a sneer.

"This is a huge problem!" Lin Ying said, looking aggrieved and indignant. "Officer, according to the report, does it mean that my husband and I have suspicious identities and are out-of-towners illegally staying and renting a house in this city?"

"That's right!"

"Hehe, officers, think about it. If this is our situation, why would Aunt Wang, the whistleblower, rent the house to us? Doesn't she know that doing so is also illegal? Besides, go and ask around the neighborhood. We've been living here for several months now. If there were any problems, we would have reported them long ago. Why wait until today?"

"Aunt Wang, you've really gone too far! We just told you today that we wouldn't rent your house anymore, right? Even so, you can't do this! What kind of behavior is this, making baseless accusations? Are you trying to get us killed?" Lin Ying's words startled the two police officers. Upon closer inspection, they realized there was something strange about it that they hadn't thought of before.

Logically speaking, if their identities were questionable, Aunt Wang shouldn't have rented the house to them in the first place. Yet Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying have been living there for months; why report them now instead of earlier? Could there be some hidden story?
Considering what Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying said earlier, it seems that the young couple was preparing to terminate the lease, and they may have even had an argument with the landlady, Aunt Wang, over the lease termination, which is why Aunt Wang got angry and went to the police station to report them.

"It's not that I didn't report it before! I was just misled by you!"

Aunt Wang was quick-witted; she realized this as soon as Lin Ying finished speaking. If she admitted that she was after the rent, then Aunt Wang's actions were indeed problematic and illegal, though not serious enough to warrant serious reprimand.

In her moment of impulsiveness, Aunt Wang hadn't thought of this, but now that she realized the situation was not right, she hurriedly tried to find an excuse to explain herself.

"Aunt Wang, your story is full of holes, do you think the police will believe you?" Lin Ying said bluntly, "If we had only been here a few days, that excuse might have been plausible, but we've been here for so long, and you're only now thinking of reporting us? What were you doing before? You're trying to fool me!"

The two policemen exchanged a glance, both sensing something was amiss. They knew that even if there was a problem, it was likely a conflict between the landlord and tenant. Moreover, as police officers, they were used to dealing with countless family squabbles at their station, and based on their experience, they could roughly guess what Aunt Wang was thinking and doing.

"One thing at a time. Whoever made the mistake must bear the consequences." The middle-aged policeman, being experienced, said this seriously, then turned to Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying and said sternly, "We will handle your problem, and if the Wang family's problem is true, we will handle it as well!"

Upon hearing this, Aunt Wang, who had been smug, instantly changed her expression. Even her husband, son, and daughter-in-law looked grim. If it were discovered that she had been harboring illegal outsiders in the city for the sake of rent, and if they were to dig up the fact that she had been extorting money from them, things could get really messy.

Thinking of this, Aunt Wang's husband glared at his wife, giving her a look that said, "Look what you've done."

Aunt Wang was filled with regret at this moment. How could she have forgotten all this? Now things had gotten out of control, and what she had done was no different from killing a thousand enemies while injuring eight hundred of her own.

"Alright, enough with the nonsense. You two, come with us right now!" The middle-aged policeman pointed at Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying.

"Leave? Why should we leave? We haven't broken any laws!" Zhou Jiye said innocently.

"Yes! Why are you leaving?" Lin Ying echoed.

"What else could it be? We've made it so clear before, are you still pretending to be stupid? Let me tell you, pretending to be stupid won't fool you. It's either yes or no, and just because you're not local residents, we have the right to take you away!"

"Ah!" Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying looked at each other, and then Lin Ying burst out laughing.

"What are you laughing at! Grinning like that? Be serious!" The young policeman couldn't help but sternly reprimand him.

"I'm so sorry, I'm really so sorry..." Lin Ying was struggling to hold back her laughter, her face turning red. She waved her hands repeatedly and said, "Officers, why would you think we're not from this city?"

"Isn't this the evidence?" the police officer retorted, holding up their marriage certificate.

"Just this?" Lin Ying was even more amused. Zhou Jiye, standing to the side, also looked like he couldn't hold back his laughter. The two exchanged a glance, and Zhou Jiye nodded to Lin Ying. Lin Ying told the police to wait a moment, then turned around and took out a small booklet from the bedside table, handing it over directly.

The middle-aged policeman didn't know what they had brought. He subconsciously took it and was stunned when he saw the cover. He then quickly opened it to see the contents. After seeing the household registration information and the photos attached to it, the middle-aged policeman's face turned dark.

Taking a deep breath, the middle-aged policeman's gaze swept over Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying, then he silently handed the household registration booklet to the young policeman next to him for a look. After the young policeman finished reading it, he was also dumbfounded, and the two of them didn't know what to say for a moment.

"Why didn't you say so earlier that you were locals?"

"You didn't even ask!" Lin Ying said, feeling wronged, while Zhou Jiye, standing beside her, also looked innocent.

The middle-aged policeman, suppressing his anger, turned around and glared at the Wang family members behind him. He had really made a fool of himself today, and he was losing face. The whole mess was caused by the Wang family; if they hadn't made that false report, why would he have been out in the middle of the night when he was supposed to be on duty at the station?
Without saying a word, the middle-aged policeman shoved the household registration book and marriage certificate into Zhou Jiye's hands, told the younger policeman to stop, and the two turned and left.

(End of this chapter)