Chapter Ninety-Four: Xue Tian'ai's Achilles' Heel

The moment the woman pushed the door open and stepped inside, Xue Tian’ai was instantly covered in invisible black lines. Damn it! Was China really that big and Beiyang City really that small? Why did he keep running into her no matter where he went?

The one who entered was none other than Shen Xinyi, dressed in plainclothes on duty. A few minutes earlier, she had still been in the police car. Under her repeated urging, the vehicle had rushed to the scene at top speed.

After arriving, Shen Xinyi quickly sealed off the area. She was about to have the tactical snipers take position and organize her words so she could negotiate with the robbers inside KFC.

But before she could finish any of that, a dull burst of gunfire came from inside KFC.

Her heart jumped. What happened? Why had the robbers opened fire? Could it be that they had discovered the police and were ready to take desperate measures?

She hurriedly took out a pocket telescope and looked through the transparent glass of KFC into the shop, but she could not make out anything clearly.

Then, once again, she heard gunfire from inside. Her nerves tightened immediately. She had been a police officer for some time, but she had never encountered a situation like this before.

“Where are the special police? Haven’t they arrived yet?” Shen Xinyi asked anxiously of the officer beside her, then picked up her walkie-talkie and asked, “And the snipers, can you see what is happening inside now?”

“Report, Captain Shen, we still can’t see anything happening inside KFC!” came the reply. “Captain Shen, the special police are almost here! They’ll be here any moment!”

Shen Xinyi’s brow furrowed tighter and tighter. Her mind was filled with one question after another: what could she do, what should she do, how could she help the innocent people inside KFC? How could she protect the hostages currently threatened by the robbers?

“What did you say? ... All right, all right, I understand!” At that moment, the officer beside Shen Xinyi answered a phone call. After hanging up, he hurriedly turned to her and said anxiously, “Captain Shen! The four robbers inside... seem to have been taken care of by a customer!”

“What?!!” Shen Xinyi was naturally stunned. The four armed robbers had been dealt with by a customer? How was that possible? Could it be that there was a master among the diners today who had simply decided to do a good deed on the way?

Still, Shen Xinyi asked, “Are you sure this isn’t false information?”

“It’s absolutely true. Headquarters just received a fresh emergency call from a customer inside, and they also connected to the KFC surveillance cameras through the network and checked the situation inside. There’s no way it could be wrong.” Even the officer who first heard the news had felt as though he were listening to something out of a storybook.

“All right, I understand. I’ll go in and check the situation first.” Hearing that the robbers had been neutralized, Shen Xinyi finally let out a faint breath of relief. At the very least, everyone inside KFC was safe for now.

She hurried to the entrance of KFC and pushed the door open. The moment she stepped inside, she saw the four robbers, already knocked unconscious, stacked at the doorway like a pile of fallen dominoes. Each of them seemed to have injuries on their bodies, and scattered around them were fragments of firearms.

Shen Xinyi lifted her head and took a deep breath, preparing to reassure the people in KFC, and then she saw Xue Tian’ai looking at her with a face full of “despair.”

She froze. She had never expected to see Xue Tian’ai inside KFC as well... Then a strange thought rose in her mind: could it be that the customer who subdued the robbers was Xue Tian’ai?

So Shen Xinyi started walking toward him. At the same time, many police officers entered from outside. When they saw the four robbers at the door, they were also greatly shocked, but quickly recovered themselves, rushed over, and handcuffed the four unconscious men. Some of the officers also began comforting the various people in the shop.

Seeing Shen Xinyi walking toward him, Xue Tian’ai knew the little female officer had recognized him, so he gently patted Qin Mengxue, who was in his arms, and Cen An’an, who was clinging to his arm, and then withdrew himself from between the two women.

“Hi, Officer Shen. At last you police are here. Those four robbers were really fierce just now. They scared me half to death!” Xue Tian’ai lifted a hand in greeting.

“Xue Tian’ai, why is it always you wherever I go?” Because she wasn’t wearing a uniform, Shen Xinyi’s manner had become a little more casual.

She came to stand in front of Xue Tian’ai, glanced lightly at the two women beside him, then looked at the bloodstains on his clothes and said, “Those four robbers should have been dealt with by you. Come with me to the police station.”

“It wasn’t me. How could it have been me? Those four robbers had guns! Do I not want to live?” Xue Tian’ai hurriedly waved his hands and shook his head emphatically.

“And, Officer Shen... since you police are here and the robbers have already been taken care of, if there’s nothing else, we’ll head off first...”

“No! You must come with me!” Shen Xinyi grabbed Xue Tian’ai by the arm and said through clenched teeth. This man truly had far too many suspicious points. This time she was determined to get everything out in the open.

“Hey, what kind of tone is that toward my brother-in-law? Do you even know that my brother-in-law just saved everyone here?” Cen An’an was unhappy at once. What gave this woman the right to speak to her brother-in-law in such an overbearing way? “And who are you?”

Good grief, goodness gracious... Was his little sister-in-law professionally trained to tear him down? He had only just said that the four robbers were not taken care of by him, and the very next second his sister-in-law was saying that he had saved everyone here... How had her IQ gotten her into Jiangnan Academy? Could it be that...

Could it be that Jiangnan Academy had sent her to Eastern University Academy as an exchange student precisely because her intelligence was not quite up to standard?

“I’m a police officer! There are many suspicious points in this matter, and I need to question him! Besides, you just said yourself that he saved everyone here, so no matter what, he has to come with me today!” Shen Xinyi replied, a little irritated herself after hearing the words brother-in-law.

“You’re not secretly interested in my brother-in-law, are you?” Cen An’an shot back without backing down.

“What kind of blind fool would take a fancy to this thing? Pah, pah, pah!” Shen Xinyi hurriedly shook her head and strongly denied it.

“I’m that blind fool. Officer Shen, if you insist on taking my husband away, then please give me a proper reason!” At that moment, Qin Mengxue, who had been hiding behind Xue Tian’ai, finally stepped forward as well and said, looking at Shen Xinyi with open disdain.

In that instant, Qin Mengxue returned to the formidable bearing of a powerful woman from the business world.

Xue Tian’ai was on the verge of collapsing. Darling, do you think things here aren’t chaotic enough already? Why are you joining in too? Was his wife and little sister-in-law going to take turns dismantling him like this?

Fortunately, by now many of the customers inside KFC had already been moved out by the police, and hardly anyone was paying attention to their corner.

“You are Qin Mengxue?” Shen Xinyi’s eyes widened as she looked at Qin Mengxue in utter disbelief. Of course she knew Qin Mengxue. She was one of the two most dazzling women in all of Beiyang City. Wait... Qin Mengxue had just said the word husband?

“Yes. I am Qin Mengxue, the blind fool in your words just now. I am also the wife of the man you are currently holding.” Qin Mengxue had originally not intended to step forward, but after hearing Shen Xinyi say, “What kind of blind fool would take a fancy to this thing,” she instantly became furious. What did she mean, blind? What did she mean, this thing?

“Oh, I’m sorry, Miss Qin. Please forgive my rudeness just now. I only wanted to invite your husband to make a statement. I didn’t mean anything by it at all.” Shen Xinyi was also stunned by Qin Mengxue’s words. Not his girlfriend, but his wife? Qin Mengxue was married? And to this guy?

“Is this how police invite people now? If that’s your idea of an invitation, then I’m sorry, but I refuse on my husband’s behalf.” Qin Mengxue reached out her delicate hand, pulled Xue Tian’ai over, and stood between him and Shen Xinyi, her lovely face covered in frost.

“Right, I agree with my sister’s view too! My brother-in-law clearly helped you police out, so why are you acting so smug? If you want to invite someone, then do it properly. With my brother-in-law’s status, shouldn’t you at least send a stretched Rolls-Royce or something?” Cen An’an had sounded forceful enough at first, but the moment the last sentence came out of her mouth, all that momentum collapsed at once.

Suddenly getting hit from both sides, Shen Xinyi’s expression was also rather unpleasant. Every word the two women said was sharp, except perhaps for the little girl’s final remark, and every line seemed to be aimed straight at her.

Xue Tian’ai, hiding behind the two women, felt both moved and faintly like spitting blood. Though their fierce defense of him filled his heart with warmth...

Wasn’t this a little too fiery? And his little sister-in-law, oh please... say a little less, would you?

“Officer Shen, there really isn’t much to say here. You can see that the four robbers have already been arrested by you people... Could you let me leave now?” Xue Tian’ai decided he had better speak for himself, or who knew what extra nonsense Qin Mengxue and Cen An’an might blurt out next.

Shen Xinyi’s expression had not improved since just now, but then she suddenly seemed to remember something. A sly smile appeared on her face. She did not reply directly to Qin Mengxue or Cen An’an, but instead looked past the two women at Xue Tian’ai and said only one word.

“Bar.”

Xue Tian’ai froze the moment he heard it, then seemed to think of something as well. His expression turned a little unnatural.

“Hm? What bar? Hey, hey, stop changing the subject. Right now we’re talking about your attitude as a police officer! Don’t think that inviting us to a bar will solve the problem!” Cen An’an was also a little confused by Shen Xinyi’s sudden remark.

“Cough, the bar...” Shen Xinyi cleared her throat and continued to look at the somewhat dumbfounded Xue Tian’ai. The teasing smile at the corner of her lips grew even wider.

She refused to believe that Xue Tian’ai would not come with her. Since Qin Mengxue was Xue Tian’ai’s wife, then the woman who had been at the bar with Xue Tian’ai last time was very likely his lover, or some kind of mistress. In other words, this was one of the handles Shen Xinyi had on Xue Tian’ai at the moment.

“Ah! Cough, cough, cough. Mengxue, An’an, don’t get too worked up. In truth, as citizens, we should cooperate with the police’s work. And this is only a statement. I’ll go make one, all right? Officer Shen?” At this point Xue Tian’ai slowly stepped out from behind the two women, forcing out a wry smile.

Seeing Xue Tian’ai soften, Shen Xinyi was delighted. Looks like she had gambled correctly. That woman from last time she drank with Xue Tian’ai definitely had something fishy going on.

“Then, Mr. Xue, I’ll wish us a pleasant cooperation in advance.” Shen Xinyi said triumphantly, snapping her fingers.

“Xue Tian’ai...” Qin Mengxue gripped his arm and asked worriedly.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry.”

Damn it all, if he didn’t go, that would be when trouble really came. For a moment, Xue Tian’ai felt that familiar ache again...

(This bar refers to the events in Chapters Forty-Six through Forty-Nine.)