Then let the witch offer her loyalty

Yang Jie then looked at Wang Hui and said indifferently, "You should go back too. I'll handle things here."

Wang Hui stood there without leaving, responding in a businesslike tone: "Captain Yang, this involves a bureau officer causing personal injury to the public. This is a very serious and egregious incident, and I cannot leave."

Yang Jie shouted, "Zhou Yan, you just said that you were the one who did it, right?"

Zhou Yan crouched on the ground, covering his head, and looked at Yang Jie through his arms, nodding cautiously.

Yang Jie snorted coldly and said to Wang Hui, "The witch's trouble is an internal matter of our Bureau. It's not under your jurisdiction as judges. Go back to where you came from."

Wang Hui frowned, unable to refute, and could only leave unwillingly.

Yang Jie then said to Chen Moxin, "Let's end today's family meeting here. Take Zhou Yan back to the detention area and report this matter to the supervisor. Punish him as appropriate."

Chen Moxin nodded, walked over, took Zhou Yan's small hand, helped her up from the ground, and escorted her away from the scene.

Zhou Haiwei watched Chen Moxin and Zhou Yan's retreating figures, muttering under his breath. It was unclear what he was cursing, but it certainly wasn't anything pleasant.

He went into the meeting room and picked up the banknotes that had just fallen on the floor, one by one.

Yang Jie looked at Zhou Haiwei, who was bending down to pick up the money, and said with disdain, "Zhou Haiwei, I'm not trying to criticize you, but you're almost forty years old and you're still so irresponsible. All you do is eat, drink, gamble, and whore. You even take away the labor subsidies that your daughter worked so hard to earn."

"Do you know why Zhou Yan always causes trouble in the containment area? It's because she's afraid of you, afraid of seeing you."

"If she is sent back to the general detention area because of good behavior, then according to the regulations, family visits will not be once a month, but once a week."

"So she deliberately causes trouble every few days in order to lock herself in the restricted area and reduce the number of times she sees you."

Zhou Haiwei coughed up a mouthful of blood and spat it on the ground. He tilted his head with a roguish air and said, "Why are you telling me all this? My dead girlfriend wasn't up to par. I wanted a boy, but she gave birth to a girl instead. So don't blame me for being rude to her."

Yang Jie said coldly, "Since you hate Zhou Yan so much, why don't you just give up custody? Our bureau can take care of her. That way you'll be more at ease, and she'll be more at ease too."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Haiwei revealed a sly smile: "Heh, you wish. We've raised them to this size, and now that they can earn money and work, you think we're just going to give them away for free? You're really trying to take advantage of me."

He held the stack of banknotes, waved it at Yang Jie, and said in a defiant tone, "I can live off this daughter for the rest of my life."

...

[Task progress update]

[Current Stage Task: Complete 3 things that will move Zhou Yan (1/3)]

Chen Moxin accompanied Zhou Yan on the way back to the strictly controlled area, with a semi-transparent system panel appearing before their eyes.

This notification popped up when he was beating up Zhou Haiwei.

After more than ten days of hard work, we have finally made progress.

For a child like Zhou Yan who is emotionally closed off, simply being nice to her won't help.

Because she has developed a protective mechanism in her heart, if you are nice to her, she will instinctively avoid this friendliness. The nicer you are to her, the further away she will stay from you.

Yang Jie is a good example.

He often accompanied Zhou Yan to meet with his family, and he would also help cover for Zhou Yan when he got into trouble.

But Zhou Yan remained indifferent to him, referring to him as "Old Yang Jie" repeatedly.

So instead of just being nice to her all the time, it's better to let her get used to your kindness first, and then suddenly create a crisis so that she feels like she's about to lose you.

Psychologically speaking, this is called the abandoned cat effect. A cat that has been abandoned will behave particularly well when it is picked up again because it is afraid of being abandoned again.

Chen Moxin hit Zhou Haiwei just now, which made Zhou Yan feel that Chen Moxin was standing up for her and that she might have to leave the Bureau.

Zhou Yan realized this and hurriedly stepped forward to take the blame, fearing that Chen Moxin, who had always been good to him, was really going to leave.

In the end, Zhou Yan was just good with words. He always told people that he was an ungrateful wretch, but he wasn't wicked at all and was still grateful in his heart.

Now that things have been settled and the matter is over, Zhou Yan felt a little more at ease and returned to her usual indifferent demeanor.

The two arrived at the entrance of the shelter. Without turning her head, Zhou Yan said, "Go back. Don't argue with my dad anymore. You can't get away with it."

Without saying a word, Chen Moxin kicked Zhou Yan without warning.

"Thump." Zhou Yan was caught off guard and fell face-first into the mud.

She stood there dumbfounded at first, then anger flashed across her face, and she jumped up and kicked Chen Moxin's knee: "Are you crazy?! Why did you kick me?!"

Chen Moxin clapped her hands.

"You've got a temper, haven't you? I thought you were just someone who would take a beating without fighting back. I'm just wondering, when your dad hit you, why didn't you have the guts to kick him back?"

"Nonsense, how can they be the same?"

"Why is it different?"

"That's my dad! How could I possibly kick my dad?!"

"What?!" Chen Moxin's expression changed instantly. "What kind of rubbish is this?!"

"Your dad hits you, but have I ever hit you?"

"I bring you food every day, but has your dad ever brought you anything?"

"Is your dad even one-tenth as good to you as I am to you?"

"Kicking him is not allowed, but kicking me is allowed, right?! Does being a good person mean being ridden on?!"

Zhou Yan opened and closed his mouth, his face turning red, but he didn't know what to say. In the end, he simply closed the door and said, "...I can't be bothered with you."

Chen Moxin, unlike her usual easygoing self, kicked the door open and pinned Zhou Yan to the bed.

"What are you doing?! Let go of me!"

Zhou Yan struggled desperately, trying to kick Chen Moxin away, but ended up having his calf grabbed instead.

Without saying a word, Chen Moxin stripped Zhou Yan of all his shoes and socks.

"Are you crazy?!"

Chen Moxin took Zhou Yan's white socks, pulled out the hundred-yuan bill hidden inside, and sneered, "Hiding money on the side? And you lied to your dad that you only earned seven hundred this month?"

When the hidden money was taken, Zhou Yan became furious and rushed over barefoot, yelling, "Give me back my money!"

Chen Moxin pushed her away.

Zhou Yan lunged forward and grabbed Chen Moxin's hand, glaring at him with resentment, shouting, "Give it back! That's my money! Give it back!!!"

Chen Moxin pressed her forehead and forcefully pushed her onto the bed.

He held the money and waved it at Zhou Yan: "Now you know how to feel bad? You know this is money you worked so hard to earn?"

“I’m taking this money today, consider it a lesson for you.”

"And listen to me carefully, from now on, I'll give you two choices regarding the money you earn from work."

"Or I can just confiscate it and consider it repayment for the things I bought for you these past few days."

"Either you keep it for yourself, or use it to buy snacks or extra meals. I don't care where you spend the money, but it can only be spent on yourself."

Upon hearing these words, Zhou Yan seemed to realize something, his irritable emotions calmed down slightly, and he looked at Chen Moxin with a complicated expression.

"at last..."

Chen Moxin pointed to the wall behind her bed: "That tile is loose, there must be a lot of food hidden inside, right?"

Zhou Yan's expression changed, and he became extremely flustered, like a mouse whose burrow had been disturbed. He hurriedly sat back down to block the spot Chen Moxin was pointing at.

Her eyes were helpless and pleading as she stared at Chen Moxin.

"Still hoarding food, just like a little mouse."

Chen Moxin gave a short laugh, her tone completely devoid of any hint of joking.

"Listen carefully, if I find out in the future that you've contributed even a single dollar of your hard-earned money to that rotten father—"

"I'll immediately notify the supervisors and have them destroy your grain depot, you little rat."

Seeing that Zhou Yan remained silent, Chen Moxin raised her voice: "Did you hear me?!"

Zhou Yan wiped the corner of her eye with the back of her hand, pursed her lips, and nodded gently.

[Task progress update]

[Current Stage Task: Complete 3 things that will move Zhou Yan (2/3)]

Upon seeing the notification that popped up, Chen Moxin revealed a subtle smile.

Sure enough, Zhou Yan is very perceptive and can sense the unspoken meaning and good intentions behind other people's words.

To get along with someone who is emotionally scarred, you can't just be gentle or just tough; you have to use a combination of both.

The gentle approach was intended to close the distance between them and prevent her from suddenly being startled and running away.

The reason for his insistence was to break through the protective shell that served as a means to truly touch her heart.

The first task is more than halfway done.

Chen Moxin handed over the banknotes: "Here, take them back."

Zhou Yan looked at him with a somewhat aggrieved expression: "Didn't you say you were going to take it..."

Chen Moxin curled her lip: "This money was taken out of your socks, it stinks, you can keep it yourself."

Zhou Yan's face immediately turned red, her slender toes tapping incessantly on the floor as she said somewhat angrily, "I change my socks every day, so they don't smell!"

"is it?"

Chen Moxin brought the banknote close to her nose and smelled it.

"Oh, it does smell good."

"You..." Zhou Yan felt his vision go black and his blood pressure spike.

...

When Chen Moxin returned to his office, news of his beating up Zhou Haiwei had already spread.

This matter is indeed serious in theory.

It is no small matter for public officials to assault ordinary citizens.

But this only applies to regular operators.

Witch hunters are all treasures; the department has to protect them with their lives.

As long as it's not a matter of principle like defecting to the enemy or betraying one's country, the Bureau won't say anything if the witch hunter is a little willful in her daily life.

When Yang Jie beat Zhou Haiwei three times, sending him from the outpatient clinic to the emergency room, he only got a written self-criticism and a two-month salary deduction.

So the atmosphere in the office was not tense at all; everyone was even joking with Chen Moxin.

"Brother Chen, you're amazing! Scum like Zhou Haiwei deserves to be taught a lesson. I admire you more and more!"

"Well said, Zhongguo. Then you can write my self-criticism this time."

"He actually hit a little girl. Luckily I wasn't there at the time, otherwise I would have liked to punch him too."

"Lei Lie, you should just give up. If you throw one punch at him, you'll be begging him not to die."

"Waaaaah, Brother Chen is so awesome! When will he ever get furious for me too?"

"Mio, what's wrong with you these days, acting crazy every single day?"

While the others chatted and laughed, Wang Hui sat sullenly at his workstation.

He had previously compiled this matter into a report and quickly submitted it to his superiors, requesting that Chen Moxin, the witch hunter who had violated the rules, be suspended from her duties pending investigation.

Not long after, his boss Yan Yong called and immediately said, "Are you an idiot?"

Yan Yong's point is that witch hunters are rarer than pandas, there are only so many of them, and suspending someone for such a trivial matter will only lead to you stepping in when illegal psychic attacks occur.

Anyway, he gave me a severe scolding, telling me that if I had nothing to do, I should bite a lighter.

This greatly frustrated Wang Hui.

"I'm going to find out something from you..."

Watching Chen Moxin interact intimately with Luo Lingyou, Wang Hui thought to himself.

After everyone finished enjoying the festivities, they all went back to their work.

Chen Moxin reviewed Zhou Yan's personal file, silently pondering how to do the last thing to move Zhou Yan.

Most of the old methods are no longer effective.

He stood up for Zhou Yan for the first time that morning, beating up Zhou Haiwei, which made her feel that she had someone to protect her, and she was moved by that.

Calling Zhou Haiwei over and beating him up again would definitely not have the same effect.