Chapter 10 — I Can't Be Patient Anymore

The male police officer asked, his voice cold.

“It's someone else's property.”

The mother-in-law burst into tears again, this time really crying, tears and nose running down her face, without any dignity left.

“I was wrong… comrade police, I was wrong… I pay back… I sell everything and pay back… don't arrest me… I'm old, I can't stand going to jail…”

I looked at her.

“30,000,000 yuan, what do you get in return?”

She froze for a second. Then there was a "thump" sound. Not before the police. It was before me.

"Uyen Thanh... mother was wrong... mother bows to me... please forgive me... look at Chu Minh's face... look at the love of a family... mother will be a buffalo and a horse for me in the future... please... don't let the police arrest me..."

She actually bowed her head. Forehead hit the floor. Each "clop clack" sound rang out. Chu Minh wanted to rush to pull her up, but was stopped by the police. Chu Dinh also knelt down and hugged my legs tightly.

“Sister-in-law… I beg you… Mom is old, she can't stand it… you can beat me, scold me… I'll go to jail instead of mom…”

Two children cried. The whole room was in chaos. I looked down. Someone once pointed a finger at me, saying I had "no father or mother". A person once sat on my sofa, eating melon seeds, watching my mother being swept into the trash. Kneel at my feet. But in my heart. It's just cold. So cold that I can't feel it anymore.

“Comrade police.”

I spoke up.

“Do I need to make a report now?”

The female police officer nodded.

“Please follow us back to the station.”

Then looked at Chu Minh.

“I'll go too, as a family member.”

Chu Minh looked at me. His eyes seemed to want to tear me apart. But I don't avoid it. Just calmly look back.

“Lin Uyen Thanh.”

He said every word.

“You will regret it.”

I smiled softly.

“The thing I regret most… is marrying you.”

I turned around. At the police station, we worked for three hours. I submit all the evidence. Camera video recorded the scene of the photo being smashed. Livestream video of the vase being thrown and broken. Inspection paper. Letter from my mother. Message between me and Chu Minh. One copy of each. No shortage. The police finished watching. His face became serious.

“We have a clear understanding of the situation.”

The policewoman said.

"Based on the initial steps, this act belongs to the crime of intentionally destroying property with a particularly large value, which constitutes a criminal offense. We will file a case and transfer the file to the procuracy."

“So… will my mother go to jail?”

Chu Minh quickly asked.

“It depends on the attitude and the circumstances.”

"If compensation is actively compensated and accepted by the victim, it can be mitigated. But with 30,000,000 yuan... compensation is very difficult."

"We will pay! We will definitely pay!"

Chu Minh almost screamed.

"Houses, cars... we sold them all! How much is there to pay?"

“It is a civil matter between you and the victim.”

Police said.

“Currently, we need to apply coercive measures to the suspect.”

“Coercion?”

Chu Minh's face turned pale.

“What… is it?”

“Criminal detention.”

"Impossible!"

Chu Minh jumped up.

“My mother is old, in poor health, and cannot be held!”

“This is the rule.”

The police did not change their faces.

"We will conduct a medical examination. If you do not meet the conditions for detention, you can consider bail, but you must pay a bond and commit to cooperate."

"How much money? We pay!"

“According to the nature of the case, the temporary estimate is 500,000 yuan.”

500,000 yuan. Chu Minh's face turned white. They don't have it. His salary is 20,000 yuan a month, just paid Just returned the car. Mother-in-law's pension is 3,000 yuan. Chu Dinh has no income. 500,000 yuan to them... is an abyss.

“I… I borrowed…”

Chu Minh's voice trembled.

“Give me 24 hours.”

Police said.

“If it's not enough, we will transfer it to the detention center.”

Get out of the station. It was dark. Chu Minh helped her mother-in-law, she could barely stand. Chu Dinh walked behind, still crying. Go ahead. Don't turn around.

“Lin Uyen Thanh.”

Chu Minh called. I stopped.

“Let's talk.”

His voice was hoarse.

“Talk about… compensation.”

He stepped forward, his eyes bloodshot.

"30,000,000 yuan... we can't pay it back. Selling all the house and car, scraping it all, we can only get about 3,000,000 yuan. The rest... can we pay it off in installments? I'll write a debt note and pay you for the rest of my life."

I turned back to look at him.

“Zhu Ming, your whole life… is it worth 27,000,000 yuan?”

I looked straight at him, my voice calm and cold. Chu Minh choked, his lips moved but he couldn't say a word, his eyes wavered as if for the first time he was pulled out of the world he always thought was right.

“Also, the one who broke it was your mother, not you.”

I turned my eyes to my mother-in-law, each word clear.