Release that Man

It had been many years since Cedrick got himself involved in small thefts. The main point was that there were so many thieves, and with Cedrick’s experience, even if he felt like it, he would not have been noticed, much less caught.

Other than the few cars that he stole when he started his career, Cedrick had kept his target on items with more reputation to them… In other words, the type that would get him on the newspaper to raise his name and professional reputation.

A race car? Ha ha… The best race car had no political or cultural meaning. After he was caught, he would at most be slapped with a normal criminal charge. The most important thing was that there was a phenomenon in China called ‘settling in private’. What? The value of theft was already larger than a normal criminal case and the defendant could not rescind the case?

Dealing with that was too simple. They could just say that it was just a joke or that they mistook each other’s keys. There were all sorts of reasons in the world. If one said it was a criminal case, another could say that it was a misunderstanding.

Fine, fine! If the citizen did not bring the case to court, then the police would not continue the investigation. That was something that everyone knew. Nowadays, even a car accident could be settled privately, much less a car theft.

Just like that, when the agents considered the gentleman’s background and the value of the item that was stolen, they naturally lost confidence in the result that the ‘gentleman would be extradited from China’…

After the silence permeated for a while, finally someone broke the silence.

“Sh*t! This is why I hate the relationship-based culture in China!”

The others looked at each other, and then they all sighed together. There was no way they could play happily with the Chinese government!

…

The quick road barricade, the four police cars that blocked the road, the officers that arrived soon with flashlights, batons, and handcuffs, the traffic police that was watching him closely…

Five minutes ago, when there were police sirens coming from behind him, Cedrick felt like the day had slipped from his fingers. First, why were there such high-quality racers in such a small town? Indeed, the group that had been chasing him. They should be normal citizens, but their racing skill was better than the man who had one of his feet in the dark circle… It was one thing for them to stick so close to him—after all, Cedrick was already considering giving up the car already.

But to Cedrick’s surprise, the local police force soon joined in the chase, and they were obviously not stopping the cars that went over the speed limit… This was because the race cars behind him were not influenced at all. Obviously, they were working together with the police… So, the conclusion was that they were all chasing after Cedrick. The local force plus official force!

In the end, Cedrick was blocked—this ending was not surprising. Until the moment Cedrick was dragged out from the car, he still did not know what was happening—who are these people?

Then he was taken to the police station, interviewed, and beaten up… No wait, before he was beaten up, Anthony arrived at the scene with a particularly handsome man and an okay-handsome but unapproachable man. Cedrick was so touched.

…

“Xiao Ye?” Yao Zhixing’s raised fist was stopped by Brother Shuang. He turned to look and released his fist after a shock. “What’s wrong?”

Ye Shuang looked at Cedrick, who still looked so confused, and massaged her brows. “This kid followed my partner into the country. You can consider them acquaintances.”

Cedrick did not know Chinese that well, and even though he had not seen Brother Shuang, the man had arrived with Anthony and helped him from being punched, so he decided quickly that Ye Shuang was on his side. He quickly said, “I just wanted to borrow his car, please help me explain. If the man is not satisfied, I’m willing to pay for compensation!”

Then I’ll go and steal it back when I have time… with interest!

Sh*t! China was not as soft as they said! The government collusion was more obvious than the US! At least in America, no one dares to collude so openly before the public!

Han Chu walked forward with a calm expression. He looked at Cedrick and then at Yao Zhixing. “This man is still useful; you can punch him later.”

Yao Zhixing looked at this and that before sighing. “…Tsk!”

Han Chu continued like he could not see the dark expression on the man’s face. “By the way, tell the police superintendent to not record today’s case. He has a dark history.”

“Hey!” Yao Zhixing’s mood worsened. “Don’t push it! It’s one thing you want me to forget about it, but now you want me to help him escape the crime?”

He might have said that, but Yao Zhixing still took out his phone to make the call. Han Chu was too lazy to reply. He rolled his eyes and ignored Yao Zhixing.

The interested Anthony sat down across from Cedrick and leaned on the table. He asked with a smile, “What do you think? I’ve checked your history, you shouldn’t have experienced anything like today before, right?”

Cedrick lifted the handcuff weakly and sighed. “The police training here is really not bad. If you want to find out, how about you try it yourself?”

Anthony smiled and leaned back. He crossed his legs and wiggled back and forth out of boredom. “I don’t think so. I prefer to watch from the side.”

Cedrick looked at Anthony and then moved his gaze to the other two who came with him. “Are they your partners as well?”

When he saw the man who had been so angry earlier take out his phone, Cedrick knew some kind of compromise had been made. It was due to a personal favor or some exchange of benefits. Regardless, since Cedrick did not know what they had said, naturally, he did not ask to follow up on these unimportant details. He was more curious about Anthony’s situation though—he was able to bring someone to help him in such short notice. This meant that Anthony had a much better life than he thought in China.

The bored Anthony held the table and tapped his fingers rhythmically on it.

“We were waiting for you to come have lunch with us at home, and we ended up seeing you on the television…” Then he whistled. “Honestly, I’m impressed that you managed to get so famous on your first day here.”

Can you not bring that up again‽ Cedrick calmed down and asked, “When can I leave here?”

By then, Yao Zhixing had finished the call. He turned around and answered rudely in English, “I’ve called the superintendent. Later, someone will be here to unlock your cuffs… F*ck! Xiao Han, you’re really not a good buddy! When my car was stolen, Xiao Shuang helped me beat the car thieves up, and not only did you guys stop me from teaching the thief a lesson, you even asked me to help clear his name… Why is there such a difference between people‽”

The last sentence was naturally said in Chinese.

Han Chu’s eyes silently moved to Brother Shuang. Brother Shuang coughed and apologized, “The situation this time is rather special. The man has a unique career, and he didn’t know who the car’s owner is. This is just a misunderstanding… If you still don’t feel good, how about we ask him to apologize?”

“There’s no need for an apology.” Yao Zhixing waved his hands. “If you’re being serious, let me lock him up for a few days. I swear not to touch him, but at least let me punish him somehow.”

Brother Shuang thought about it seriously. “Can’t do that. If he has a criminal record, the FBI might use this chance to start an investigation and then come after the guy. A small crime would become a big crime, and then he’ll be summoned back to his country. Either he’ll end up working for them or spend the rest of his life behind bars…”

Yao Zhixing was silent. “So, my only option is to stomach this grievance?”

Brother Shuang thought about it again. “If you really want to, you can still beat him up, but that has to wait until we leave this place first.”

Yao Zhixing really did not know what to say. Earlier, it was fine to beat up the man, even if he continued the beating when Cedrick was in jail, but now that he knew this was someone Han Chu and Brother Shuang needed, of course, he would not raise his fist. On top of that, there seemed to be some cooperative relationship between them, or else they would not have arrived so soon.

Thinking about that, Yao Zhixing was feeling regretful. If he had known this, he would not have run the procedure and waited for the reporters to arrive. He would have beaten the man up at the scene and then left after he felt good enough…

Knowing Yao Zhixing was burning, Han Chu added more fuel to the fire. “You don’t need to give me face. Punch him if you want to.”

Since he knew they were friends, how could he do that?

Soon, the police arrived. The important people had been informed, and since Yao Zhixing, the victim, did not want to drag the case out and everyone there knew about the connection involved, Cedrick was allowed to leave on the spot.

The criminal record? What record? It was just a misunderstanding! The man had been released so how could there be a criminal record?

Ten minutes later, Cedrick was shoved into the car Brother Shuang drove. Yao Zhixing left as well. Due to all that had happened that day, he decided to meet up with Brother Shuang and the rest on another day.

Han Chu took shotgun, and Anthony sat next to Cedrick in the back. Once the car started, Anthony happily opened a website for Cedrick to see. He acted like he was bored and just wanted to talk. “See, I told you you’re famous!”

Cedrick leaned in to look. Sh*t! The news has reached the FBI already?