Chapter 88: Perhaps the First Time They Met, Jian Ruochen Already Stole His Heart

Chapter 88: Perhaps Jian Ruochen Got Under His Skin at Their First Meeting

Jian Ruochen was startled by the sudden change in attitude, his carefully rehearsed persuasive speech stuck in his throat.

No wonder he could become the First Mate.

He really knows how to play the situation!

Guan Yingjun lowered his gun and looked at the bottle of gold pellets. "You know nothing? Then where did this come from?"

The First Mate smiled obsequiously. "Did you drop this, sir?"

Jian Ruochen: ...So flattering?

Guan Yingjun twitched his lips, put the item into an evidence bag, and tilted his chin slightly. "Bring the ship to a stop."

The cargo ship docked again.

Police waiting on the boarding ladder rushed aboard.

The First Mate glanced at Guan Yingjun, who remained unmoved, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

They say the West Kowloon Major Crimes Unit police are honest and incorruptible, but it seems that's not entirely true.

Hmph, anyway, those gold pellets weren't his to begin with—parting with them is a small price to pay for safety.

Jian Ruochen hesitated, then cast a sympathetic glance at the smug First Mate.

Immediately, Guan Yingjun stepped forward, pulled out handcuffs, and snapped them onto the First Mate's wrist. "Attempted bribery of a police officer—offense of bribery."

He waved to the officers who had just boarded. "Someone, take him away."

The First Mate was still dazed as he was dragged out of the bridge. It wasn't until he reached the deck that he came to his senses and struggled violently. "You took the gold! You already took it!"

"Even if I were guilty, doesn't that make you guilty too?"

The backup from nearby precincts turned their heads in unison, gaping in disbelief at Guan Yingjun.

Detective Guan taking bribes?

Impossible!

Guan Yingjun produced the evidence bag containing the glass bottle.

The precinct officers: "..."

Everyone looked at the First Mate with growing confusion.

Who uses an evidence bag to take bribes?

Is he planning to arrest himself?

"Move!" The young officer assigned to escort the First Mate led him off the ship, while the others surrounded the entire cargo vessel.

Chen Yunchuan stepped out from the crowd.

Today, she wore a pair of high-top Martens boots, their heels clicking authoritatively on the deck. Her ponytail was tied high, giving her a commanding and vigorous appearance—time hadn't touched her.

Jian Ruochen then realized that Pier 8 fell under the jurisdiction of Sham Shui Po. The reason support arrived so quickly was that Lin Yazhi had called Chen Yunchuan, who was nearby.

The sky was dusk-filled, but the cargo ship was brightly lit. The police, armed with guns in their right hands and flashlights in their left, stood at the ready.

Chen Yunchuan reached out, took the loudspeaker handed by her subordinate, and passed it to Jian Ruochen. "Issue the warning."

·

Inside the container on top of the cargo ship.

Jiang Hanyu curled up in a corner, clutching the bundle he carried with him.

A sharp, familiar voice came from not far away:

"Attention, everyone inside! You are surrounded. Give yourselves up!"

He covered his ears, but Jian Ruochen's voice seemed to echo relentlessly in his mind.

His whole body ached, as if with needle-like pain—perhaps he hadn't fully healed from surgery... Jiang Hanyu's vision darkened, and the pain in his heart left him dazed.

The sea wind was strong, almost shaking the top container, making the world sway.

Jiang Hanyu gulped for air, his mouth wide open.

Why? Why won't they let him go?

He had been trying so hard to escape!

Why won't Jian Ruochen cut him some slack? During the first three years after being recognized by the family, hadn't Jian Ruochen always acted the fool, the good older brother trying to fit in?

Why has everything changed...

Jiang Hanyu muffled his sobs with his hand. He struggled to breathe but didn't dare make a sound.

He heard some people leaving the containers below.

·

The would-be stowaways raised their hands and walked toward the police, their legs trembling under the circle of gun barrels, nearly buckling at the knees. "Officer... I... we just wanted to go to the mainland to do some business."

Chen Yunchuan: "Save your story for the station. Take them away."

Jian Ruochen made the announcement twice, and Guan Yingjun fired a warning shot into the air. More than a dozen people gradually emerged from the containers, but there was no trace of Jiang Hanyu.

The remaining officers behind Chen Yunchuan asked, "Maybe he's not here?"

Guan Yingjun: "Impossible. He has no other options."

He looked at Chen Yunchuan. "Ma'am Chen."

Chen Yunchuan nodded and raised her hand. "Search container by container."

The loudspeaker was still on.

These three cold words clearly reached Jiang Hanyu's ears.

He clutched his bundle tighter, utterly panicked.

Jiang Hanyu walked to the opening at the back of the container, pushed the door open a crack, and before he could see clearly, a flashlight beam swept over the area.

Startled, he quickly ducked down, trembling and huddled into a ball. Only then did he finally see the scene outside clearly.

The port was brightly lit.

A few lamps hung on the gangway.

A beam of light happened to fall right where Jian Ruochen was standing.

It illuminated Jian Ruochen, making him appear dazzling and radiant.

Jiang Hanyu’s throat tightened, and he clenched his jaw.

Over the past four months, he had lost his dearly loved distant cousin Jiang Yongyan, lost his adoptive father Jiang Mingshan—who, though he used him as a pawn, still treated him well—lost most of his wealth, lost his fiancé, and lost his glamorous, popular social standing.

But what about Jian Ruochen?

He had everything!

Jian Ruochen had inherited a massive fortune, had a house manager who loved him with unconditional devotion like a father and a friend, and a man who could protect him and loved him wholeheartedly.

That was no poor policeman—he was actually the nephew of Commissioner of Police Lei Jinwen!

If he had known Guan Yingjun’s identity, he would have long since…

Jiang Hanyu stared intensely at the scene.

He saw that tall, straight-postured, handsome man reach out and pluck a red plastic strip—used for tying cargo—from Jian Ruochen’s wind-tousled hair, smooth down his disheveled locks, and then tuck that red plastic strip into his pocket.

The gesture was tender, completely at odds with that face.

As Jiang Hanyu listened to the police’s disciplined yet urgent, increasingly close footsteps, he wondered: Had Lu Qian ever tenderly fixed his hair like that?

No.

Lu Qian’s touches were lust-filled, sweet as honey, but if he was even slightly displeased, that honey would turn to poison.

He envied the current Jian Ruochen so much.

Envious and jealous.

He had schemed for so long precisely because he feared that one day Jian Ruochen would climb above him, feared others would point at him and mock—look, a fake will always be a fake.

Never able to compare to the real thing.

"Bang—"

The topmost container was suddenly kicked open, and the flashlight beam illuminated Jiang Hanyu’s tear-stained face hidden in the darkness.

The police officer was stunned for a moment, then turned and shouted, "Found him!"

Jiang Hanyu let out a bitter laugh, actually tossing the bag full of cash and gold in his hands, and while the police were distracted, he reached out to grab the officer’s service pistol.

But he never exercised, was small in stature, had intentionally maintained his figure to suit Lu Qian’s beauty standards, and hadn’t built much muscle. The moment he reached out, he was kicked to the ground by the police.

In the darkness, Jiang Hanyu’s mouth hit the container floor, and blood trickled out.

Completely humiliated, he was completely powerless.

Five minutes later.

The officers brought Jiang Hanyu before Guan Yingjun and Jian Ruochen.

As soon as Jiang Hanyu opened his mouth, it filled with blood from the fall.

He stared at Jian Ruochen, resentful and bewildered, "Why didn’t you come up to get me yourself?"

If it had been Jian Ruochen, he definitely wouldn’t have been so passive—he would have had a fighting chance.

He could have fought him.

Jian Ruochen lifted his eyelids slightly, "I’m a consultant. With so many officers on duty at the station, why would I steal the credit?"

Jiang Hanyu sneered, "You just didn’t want to do the grunt work, and you make it sound so high-minded."

Even the uniformed officer detaining Jiang Hanyu found this line of reasoning absurd.

He explained incredulously, "When we make an arrest, we naturally get credit in the report."

That meant commendations and bonuses.

If Little God of Wealth yielded it to them, that was a sign of his generosity.

Besides,

"Could arresting you even be considered 'grunt work' for us?"

They hadn’t even fired a shot.

Jiang Hanyu was utterly mortified.

He could hardly keep his balance, could only stare at Jian Ruochen, his head spinning, not even knowing what he was saying anymore, "You went this far just to suppress me, didn’t you? Jiang Mingshan knew you were his biological son but didn’t acknowledge you, didn’t add you to the family registry—so you took revenge, got him sentenced to the death penalty! Didn’t you!"

Guan Yingjun frowned, glanced at the officers present, and moved to intervene, but Jian Ruochen stopped him.

Jiang Hanyu could see nothing now; in his vision, Jian Ruochen had become a twisted bronze idol, eyes wide with anger, pale and twisted.

The more afraid he became, the more he ranted hysterically, mechanically opening his mouth:

"You got close to this policeman because of his status too, right! Once he liked you, you used him to get into the Police Force, then sentenced Lu Qian to the death penalty, and next you’ll sentence me to the death penalty! Isn’t that right?"

The officers from Sham Shui Po Police Station had been about to call it a night, but hearing this, they stopped in their tracks, faces full of disbelief.

No way! Little God of Wealth has so much money.

Forget using some lowly Senior Inspector from West Kowloon.

If he really threw his money around, he could be appointed directly to the government administration.

Did he really think 100 billion in cash was chump change?

And deliberately getting close to Detective Guan? The last person who tried that is already in prison.

·

It wasn’t until Jiang Hanyu reached the part about the death penalty that his rationality gradually returned. Meeting Jian Ruochen’s icy gaze, he finally started trembling, "Why didn’t you stop me? Wait… did you actually think that way?"

The uniformed officer detaining Jiang Hanyu thought it was bad luck and let go of his hold.

Unable to steady himself, Jiang Hanyu swayed and suddenly knelt before Jian Ruochen.

His face pale, his pupils dilating wildly then contracting abruptly, his nose flaring, lips trembling, he wanted to stand but couldn’t, could only kneel awkwardly as he looked up at Jian Ruochen, "Brother… *gege*, I was wrong, I wasn't thinking straight just now, I didn’t really mean to say those things about you… I was just so scared…"

"He choked out, 'Brother, I know you've always been soft-hearted and kind. Please save me... I don't want to die.'"

Jian Ruochen studied him for a beat before saying, "First of all, I am not your brother."

He lowered his gaze, looking straight into Jiang Hanyu's eyes. "Jiang Mingshan and I had a paternity test done once, and the result showed no genetic relation."

Jiang Hanyu shook his head, his mouth hanging open.

No, there was.

He had seen that test report.

Jiang Mingshan had intended to keep it for a while, but at the time, he was head over heels for Lu Qian, and after some whining and carrying on, Jiang Mingshan tossed the document into the fireplace.

Burned it.

Now, Jiang Mingshan had been executed a month ago. Whether Jian Ruochen was truly Jiang Mingshan's child had become a secret buried with the dead in the eyes of the public.

Jiang Hanyu suddenly realized that everything that had happened was ultimately his own doing.

His way out had all been severed by his own hands, bit by bit.

Jian Ruochen spoke level-headed and matter-of-fact, "Secondly, Jiang Mingshan was sentenced to death because of the sheer number of crimes he committed. The police only have the power to investigate and prosecute; they cannot decide life and death. It was the judge who sentenced Jiang Mingshan to death, not me."

As for...

"As for the deliberate approach," Guan Yingjun stepped forward, "I was the one who invited Jian Ruochen to serve as a consultant. And he had many options."

Jian Ruochen was actually very suited for politics.

If he had followed the normal graduation process, he would have quickly risen to heights beyond what beat cops could ever reach.

Guan Yingjun lowered his eyes and thought.

It was only because Jian Ruochen was young, still green, and had just inherited his inheritance that he hadn't fully realized there was a shortcut into the upper echelons through politics.

That was why he could keep him.

If, on the day they met, he hadn't been called by his aunt to help at the Sham Shui Po Police Station after work, hadn't run into Jian Ruochen, or had been more stubborn and pushed harder for answers—

Then none of what followed would have happened.

He had ulterior motives when he asked Jian Ruochen to stay.

Perhaps, from the moment they met, Jian Ruochen had slammed into his heart like a shooting star.

Guan Yingjun crouched down, looking into Jiang Hanyu's wide-eyed panic and disbelief, and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "If anyone deliberately got close, it was me."

Jiang Hanyu suddenly couldn't hear anything.

He looked up, pleading on autopilot, "Jian Ruochen, I don't want to die..."

Jian Ruochen suddenly remembered the one who was dumped at Pier Eight.

Right here, the same place.

It seemed as though the shoe was on the other foot.

He looked down at the person kneeling on the deck. "Jiang Hanyu, neither financial crimes nor espionage are capital offenses in Hong Kong. At most, you'll get life in prison."

Jian Ruochen said softly, "Unless you've done something else... like *Preludin*."

As those four words fell, Jian Ruochen's gaze locked tightly on Jiang Hanyu's face.

When people hear key information in such out-of-context phrases, their knee-jerk reactions are most intuitive and hardest to conceal.

There was no need to wait for the interrogation room; this was the best opportunity to get answers.