Nightmare Assault

“Don’t be scared. You’re safe now.” The policewoman with the ponytail poured a glass of warm water for Jiang Cheng. However, the latter didn’t take it. He was shivering on the couch. He hugged his knees, and his eyes flickered with anxiousness. Seeing this, the woman sighed. She placed the glass lightly on the coffee table.

“You are safe now.” The woman was very gentle as if afraid of triggering the young man, “What happened here? Who are they? Why would they want to harm you?” She paused before placing her hand over Jiang Cheng’s arms. Jiang Cheng trembled so hard. She couldn’t imagine the mental trauma that the young man had been subjected to.

After her patient consolation, Jiang Cheng slowly walked out of his trauma. He was still timid because he didn’t dare to look at Chen Xiaomeng’s group. He took a glance at them and quickly looked away. Then, he lowered his head again. His thin body shivered even harder.

“If you don’t tell us anything, these people might find an opening and escape from the judgement of the law.” The tone of the woman was much better for Jiang Cheng than when she dealt with Chen Xiaomeng. So far, Chen Xiaomeng’s group had said nothing. This was especially true for Chen Xiaomeng, who only stared daggers at Jiang Cheng.

The policewoman was startled. She lowered her head and realised the cowardly young man had placed his hand on hers. He rubbed them slowly. Normally, she’d respond immediately with a smack. However, at that moment, she felt relieved. This meant that… the young man had started to accept her. And it was she who helped him walk out of the trauma. He was still young and deserved a better life…

“Beautiful sister,” Jiang Cheng raised his head. His voice was soft and gentle. However, his words stunned her, “Actually, they are not bad people. They are Xia Meng’s family, and Xia Meng…” Jiang Cheng pressed his lips. His eyes revealed a strange feeling. There was shyness and cowardice. Perhaps even guilt about the past.

A few seconds later, it dawned on the policewoman. She blinked at Jiang Cheng and then turned to look at the pissed Chen Xiaomeng. “Is… she your girlfriend?” She asked. The young man and young woman matched each other in the presence and looks. This added a different meaning to this case. Hatred born from love.

“You misunderstand. It’s not like that.” Jiang Cheng seemed to see through the woman’s thoughts. He quickly clarified, “We don’t really know each other. One night, we joined a mutual’s party and had too much to drink…” At this point, Jiang Cheng paused. His cheeks reddened. His eyes looked around nervously. The room silenced.

The two officers who were recording Chen Xiaomeng’s information and inspecting the room stopped their work. They turned and looked at the shy Jiang Cheng and the pale Chen Xiaomeng. The officers were young. They looked at each other and saw the understanding in each other’s eyes.

Chen Xiaomeng’s face was drained of blood. Her lips trembled. If not for the middle-aged man holding her back, she would have lost control already.

The policewoman had a brief idea based on the gathered information. This case was due to the ‘romantic’ altercation between Jiang Cheng and Xia Meng. They did something under the influence of alcohol. After some failed communications, things escalated to this state.

“Sister Wei,” An officer walked over with a bag. “Captain Liu called us to hurry up. We have more people missing in the north of the city. They are running low on manpower.”

“Got it.” The woman closed her book. “Have you taken everything?”

“They are all here.” The man tapped his bag. “Brother Liu has the others. He’s taking down the car plates outside.”

“Watch over them. We’ll depart soon.”

“Okay.”

“By the way,” The woman turned to Jiang Cheng, “You need to come with us. We still have some questions for you.”

“Of course,” Jiang Cheng stood up weakly. He looked like he’d lean on the policewoman, “Beautiful sister, can I travel in your car?” He blinked.

“Why?” The woman asked.

“I feel safer with you by my side.”

“Hmm… Okay.”

On the way, the situation was different from what Jiang Cheng had imagined. The young officer drove the car, and the policewoman sat in the passenger’s seat. In the back, other than Jiang Cheng, there were two tanned and very serious… male officers. They squeezed Jiang Cheng between them. Due to their large size, Jiang Cheng could barely move.

Even so, he tried to look at the policewoman, “Beautiful sister, I think the incident today is a misunderstanding. Can you not punish them too much?”

The policewoman closed her blue book. She looked at Jiang Cheng as if to say she didn’t expect him to be so kind. “We can’t decide that,” The woman sighed, “But they should be charged quite heavily considering they came armed with guns.”

“Little brother, don’t be too innocent,” The young driver turned the car into the left path. He said, “This is not a crime of passion. They came premeditated. In their cars…”

The policeman who sat to the left of Jiang Cheng coughed. The young officer instantly shut up. The atmosphere changed.

“Do you use your mouth to drive?” The policewoman’s tone became severe. It was completely different from before. The new officer was so scared that he shrunk his neck.

“If not, shut your mouth,” The woman ended.