Chapter 27: King in the Game

Binhai City Public Security Bureau

Qin Ruo, handcuffed, sat in the dimly lit interrogation room that resembled a haunted house.

In front of him sat Lin Yan'er, who looked at the nonchalant Qin Ruo and sighed, "Qin Ruo, can’t you stay out of trouble for once? The person you hit this time has a significant background. He’s a department head at Binhai University, and one of his relatives is a well-known lawyer. They’re planning to sue you."

Qin Ruo shrugged indifferently, "Let them sue!"

"Damn it, my cousin and I are worried about you, and you’re acting like this? How disappointing! Assaulting someone means fifteen days in detention. Are you tired of living in your villa and looking to switch to a detention cell for a change?" Lin Yan'er said sharply.

"Yeah, I’ve been so lonely in the villa, it’s unbearable. Every day, I think about you at the police station. Why else do you think I got into a fight and didn’t run? Isn’t it just to see you?" Qin Ruo said with a pitiful expression, deliberately widening his eyes to gauge Lin Yan'er's reaction.

"I’m speechless!" Lin Yan'er was sweating. If anyone else had done or said something like this, she wouldn’t have believed it. But with Qin Ruo, she did!

Who could predict what outrageous thing this man might do? Getting into a fight just to see her at the police station wasn’t surprising at all.

"What are you trying to do? If you wanted to see me, couldn’t you just call me after work? Why go through all this?" Lin Yan'er said, visibly angry, though deep down, she felt a sweet warmth from Qin Ruo’s words.

Qin Ruo laughed, "Haha, everything I just said was a joke!"

"Go to hell!" Lin Yan'er felt a surge of frustration. She gave Qin Ruo a cold look and said, "Don’t you know how much Dai Keni cares about you right now? And you’re still acting so carefree and irresponsible!"

"So, what now? Is your bureau chief here?" Qin Ruo asked.

Lin Yan'er rolled her eyes at him and said, "You think you can rely on the chief to get out of this? He’s gone to a meeting in the provincial capital. He’s not here!"

"Yan'er, then I guess big brother has no choice but to go to detention. You’ll come visit me, right?" Qin Ruo’s eyes were filled with deep emotion.

Outside, Dai Keni wore an anxious expression. Seeing Lin Yan'er step out of the interrogation room, she hurried over and asked, "Yan'er, how’s Qin Ruo doing?"

Lin Yan'er pouted unhappily, "He’s hopeless, not taking anything seriously!"

"Sigh, you know his personality. This whole thing is ultimately because of me. If I’m the reason he ends up in jail, I’ll blame myself for the rest of my life!" Dai Keni’s eyes were red, clearly overwhelmed with guilt.

"Alright, sis, don’t worry. Qin Ruo won’t go to prison. He just hit someone. It’s just fifteen days in detention and some medical compensation," Lin Yan'er reassured her.

"That’s a relief," Dai Keni visibly relaxed.

Soon after, Qin Ruo arrived at his new ‘home’—the Binhai Detention Center!

The detention center wasn’t like a prison. The people inside had committed minor offenses, but it was still a place of state punishment. Going in without enduring some hardship was impossible.

"Qin Ruo, this is your cell!" a police officer said coldly, pointing to a cell.

"Thanks, officer," Qin Ruo said with an exaggerated show of gratitude before reverting to his usual lazy demeanor.

Upon entering, he noticed a few young men with tattoos playing cards. When they saw Qin Ruo, they put down their cards. One of them asked coldly, "Hey, kid, you’re new here, right? What did you do?"

Typically, veteran inmates asked new prisoners these questions. If it was something like theft, fraud, or corruption, they were looked down upon and had the lowest status in detention, often bullied. But those who committed assault or murder held a much higher status.

Especially murderers—if they ended up in prison, almost no one dared to mess with them.

Qin Ruo lazily lay down on his assigned bunk and said, "None of your business!"

Hearing Qin Ruo’s words, the three inmates were instantly filled with anger. Though they hadn’t committed major crimes, they were frequent visitors to the detention center, coming in five or six times a year.

They usually held a high status in detention, with even the police and others giving them some face. Yet this kid was so arrogant. It seemed they had to teach him a lesson!

One of the men, with a green dragon tattoo on his arm, said, "You guys, give him a beating. This bastard dares to act so cocky on my turf. Is he looking for death?"

"Yes, boss!" Two underlings nodded and walked toward Qin Ruo.

"Kid, when you come to detention, you’ve got to learn a lesson. Today, we’ll teach you one on behalf of the police!" one of the inmates said.

"Why waste words on him? Just hit him!" the other added.

Without another word, the two raised their fists and swung at Qin Ruo. With his eyes closed, Qin Ruo suddenly opened them, a glint flashing through as he struck like lightning, firmly grabbing their fists.

The two inmates were shocked. Their fists felt as if they were clamped in a vise, completely immobile, unable to exert any strength.

"Heh, with this little strength, you think you can mess with me? Courting death!" Qin Ruo kicked each of them, sending them flying.

The two inmates clutched their stomachs and scrambled back to their boss, who looked horrified. This kid was terrifying! His two underlings were taken down in an instant, knocked back before he could even see what happened.

The boss, lacking any backbone, ran over and knelt before Qin Ruo, saying, "Big brother, I’m Li Wenlong. From now on, you’re my boss!"

"Boss!" The two underlings also knelt down.

Qin Ruo sat up, looking at the three kneeling before him, and said, "Hmm, not bad. You’re quick to adapt. What did you do before this?"

"Big brother, we used to collect protection fees!" Li Wenlong admitted, though he felt a bit ashamed of the profession.

"Protection fees, huh? Not bad. But can you fight?" Qin Ruo asked in return.

"We can fight, absolutely! I can take on several people at once!" Li Wenlong stood up and swung his fists to demonstrate, but seeing Qin Ruo’s expression, he quickly knelt back down respectfully.

"Alright, once you’re out, follow me. Be security guards at my restaurant. I’ll pay each of you five thousand a month!" Qin Ruo said.

Hearing Qin Ruo’s words, the three were stunned. Qin Ruo, a bit puzzled, added, "Is five thousand too little? How about six thousand then?"

Their expressions remained one of utter shock. Qin Ruo scratched his head, "Six thousand still too little? Seven thousand then. Seven thousand is definitely not low!"

The three dropped to their knees again, kowtowing repeatedly, "Big brother, from now on, you’re truly our boss! Our savior, a living bodhisattva! Five thousand is enough. We don’t want more. If we can earn five thousand a month as security guards, why would we keep collecting protection fees? We’ve been in here five or six times this year alone!"

Qin Ruo smiled and nodded, "Good."

"May I ask your honorable surname, big brother?" Li Wenlong asked cautiously.

"My surname is Qin. I run a restaurant business," Qin Ruo replied.

In the detention center, Qin Ruo enjoyed quite a comfortable treatment. Meanwhile, Liu Hu and Xia Fei Xuan returned to the villa, exhausted.

They had spent an entire day finally recruiting a few skilled chefs.

Just as Xia Fei Xuan lay down on the sofa, she received a call from Lin Yan'er.

"I understand," Xia Fei Xuan said as she hung up, her face full of frustration.

"What’s wrong, Xiao Xia?" Liu Hu, noticing her poor expression, asked curiously.

"Big Brother Liu Hu, Qin Ruo has been sent to detention. This guy is such a headache," Xia Fei Xuan said.

"Damn, detention? With Qin Ruo’s strength, leaving a place like that is as easy as walking out of a kindergarten. What do you plan to do?" Liu Hu asked.

"What else can I do? I’ll go ask Yan'er to get Qin Ruo released as soon as possible," Xia Fei Xuan replied.

Shortly after, there was a knock at the door. Xia Fei Xuan, still in a bad mood, opened it.

Seeing Dai Keni standing there, her face lit up with joy, "Sister Keni, you’re finally here! I’ve missed you so much. Come in!"

Dai Keni, carrying two red suitcases, entered the villa. She set the suitcases aside and sat on the sofa, saying, "Xia, have you heard about Qin Ruo?"

"Yes, Yan'er just called me," Xia Fei Xuan replied.

Dai Keni sighed, "This matter with Qin Ruo is partly my fault."

"Sister, what exactly happened?" Xia Fei Xuan asked.

So Dai Keni explained the whole story. When Xia Fei Xuan heard that a sleazy department head at the university had tried to hit on Dai Keni and was subsequently kicked and beaten up by their landlord, she suddenly felt that Qin Ruo’s image had grown taller in her eyes!

"Good for him! That kind of scum deserved a beating!" Xia Fei Xuan waved her small fist, fully approving of Qin Ruo’s actions.

"That’s why I feel so guilty about this. It’s because of me that Qin Ruo ended up in detention," Dai Keni said, her eyes red, clearly having cried before coming over.

"It’s okay, sister. Don’t worry about the landlord. He’ll be fine," Xia Fei Xuan comforted Dai Keni.

Dai Keni still felt deeply guilty, asking, "Do you have any way to get Qin Ruo out early?"

Liu Hu shook his head, "If Qin Ruo wants to get out, let alone a detention center, even a maximum-security prison wouldn’t hold him. It’s up to him. We shouldn’t interfere."

Hearing Liu Hu’s words, Xia Fei Xuan and Dai Keni exchanged a glance and decided to visit Qin Ruo at the detention center.

Meanwhile, back in Qin Ruo’s cell, he was lounging on the bed like a lord, utterly relaxed from head to toe. His three new underlings were massaging his shoulders and legs, while Lin Yan'er, standing outside the cell, was peeling grapes for him with an annoyed expression.

"Big brother, you’re just too awesome! You’ve even managed to win over the police beauty Lin Yan'er, getting her to peel grapes for you. We’re on our knees in admiration!" Li Wenlong said, utterly shocked to see the most beautiful officer in the station, Lin Yan'er, serving Qin Ruo. Words couldn’t describe his astonishment.

All these years, he felt like he’d been living a worthless life.

What could be more promising than following a boss like this?

Absolutely nothing!

Qin Ruo leisurely raised his hand, picked up a grape, and popped it into his mouth. Looking at Lin Yan'er, he said, "Yan'er, don’t tire yourself out. Seeing you like this makes my heart ache!"