An hour later, Lin Gang hurried to the Qindao sub-bureau.
As he entered the Office of Team Two, his eyes immediately locked onto Wang Haidong, and he gave him a fierce glare.
"Officer, I'm Lin Gang, the one who found the phone."
"Sit down."
"Thank you."
"Where's my phone? Give it back!" Wang Haidong shouted.
"You sit too. Let's get the facts straight first," Han Bin waved his hand.
"What's there to say, officer? He stole my phone and tried to extort money from me!" Wang Haidong snapped.
"Officer, that's nonsense! I really did just find the phone!" Lin Gang quickly defended himself.
"Tell me what happened, Lin Gang," Han Bin said calmly, preferring to hear both sides before drawing conclusions.
"I'm a Didi (ride-hailing) driver. Passengers sometimes drop things. He was in my car, and the phone must've fallen onto the back seat."
"Since you found the phone, why didn't you return it? Why did you ask for money?" Li Hui asked.
"I swear I didn't try to extort him! I'm an honest working man!" Lin Gang looked offended, as if his integrity had been insulted.
"Calm down. Just tell the truth."
"When I noticed the phone, he'd already gotten out. I had no idea where he was," Lin Gang recalled.
"Later, while I was driving another customer, the phone rang. He claimed it was his and asked me to return it. But I had a fare at the time—I couldn't just stop and go deliver it to him."
Li Hui pressed, "Then why didn't you return it after your ride?"
"I had just dropped someone off at the airport when he called again and demanded I bring the phone over immediately. I said fine, I can bring it, but it's out of my way—you'll need to cover the round-trip fare, 200 yuan."
"Out of your way? You could've just picked up another fare heading in my direction!" Wang Haidong said sarcastically.
"You think it's that easy to find a fare going exactly where you want?" Lin Gang retorted.
"Enough! What happened next?"
"He refused to pay the 200. I told him I couldn't help him then, and he should come get it himself. That's when he lost it—said there's GPS on the phone, and if I didn't deliver it, he'd say it was stolen and report it to the police."
Lin Gang snorted, "I didn't take it seriously and just hung up."
"Is that how it happened?" Han Bin turned to Wang Haidong.
"No! He later said it's such a nice phone that even 500 yuan wouldn't be too much. Said if I didn't pay, he'd just toss the phone down a sewer to keep things 'quiet.' That's when I called the police!"
"I was just talking in anger," Lin Gang said. "I was irritated! I picked up his phone, didn't even get a thank you, and then I'm supposed to pay for gas and lost time to return it? Come on."
Han Bin now had a general idea of the situation. "Wang Haidong, if he refused to deliver it, why didn't you just go get it yourself?"
"I'm not from around here. I don't know this place at all! He gave an address, but I had no clue where that was!" Wang Haidong said helplessly.
"So you filed a false police report," Li Hui scolded.
"I didn't! I really thought my phone had been stolen and that I was being blackmailed. If he gave it back, I was ready to drop the case!"
"You think the police station is your house? You can just open and close cases at will?" Han Bin scoffed.
"I… I just wanted my phone back."
"Where's the phone?" Han Bin held out his hand.
Lin Gang quickly took out the phone and handed it over. "Here you go."
Han Bin gave it a shake. "This yours?"
"Yes, yes!" Wang Haidong reached to take it.
"You say it's yours? Prove it. Password?"
"1524."
Han Bin entered the password. The phone unlocked.
"See? It's mine!" Wang Haidong said.
"I'll check. If the phone proves your identity, we'll give it to you." Han Bin began flipping through the photo gallery.
"You can check my WeChat—there are pictures of me," Wang Haidong offered.
Han Bin ignored him and kept looking through the gallery—then made an unexpected discovery.
Photos—pink, white, red—shots under women's skirts.
Han Bin's face darkened as he scrolled further.
Wang Haidong looked nervous. "Officer, it really is my phone. Please return it."
Smack! Han Bin slammed the phone on the table. "What's this?"
"Those… those are just downloads from the internet! I was just looking!"
Han Bin clicked on a video. It was taken at an escalator, filming under a woman's skirt. After she got on the escalator, the camera tilted and captured Wang Haidong's face.
He grinned and said, "Hehe, pink is my favorite. Gonna enjoy that tonight."
"This wasn't downloaded, was it?" Han Bin asked coldly.
"You pervert, I hate scumbags like you!" Li Hui shouted.
"That's the Taylor Mall in Qindao! I recognize it!" Lin Gang cursed.
"This bastard came all the way to our city to film up skirts! If I'd caught him, I'd have beat him senseless!"
"Watch your language. This is the police station."
"Right, sorry. Habit," Lin Gang muttered, slapping his own mouth.
"Anyway, we've confirmed this is your phone," Han Bin said, then his tone shifted:
"According to the Public Security Administration Punishment Law, anyone caught peeping, secretly photographing, eavesdropping, or spreading other people's privacy can be detained for up to 5 days or fined up to 500 yuan. For more serious cases, it's 5 to 10 days' detention, possibly with a fine."
Wang Haidong pleaded, "Officer, it's my first time in Qindao on vacation. Please give me a break. I'm willing to pay the fine, just don't lock me up!"
Li Hui patted him on the shoulder. "Come on, I'll take you somewhere else to finish your 'vacation.'"
Wang Haidong slumped like a wilted eggplant. He knew this was shameful and couldn't argue anymore.
"Serves you right—over 200 yuan and now you're screwed," Lin Gang spat.
Han Bin looked at him. "So you wasted a trip and gas. Still want the fare?"
"Nope. I don't care about the money anymore. Just feels good to see him get what he deserves. That's worth more than 200 yuan," Lin Gang grinned.
"In the future, explain calmly to passengers. Don't talk so aggressively," Han Bin advised.
"Got it. I'll be more careful."
"Go on then," Han Bin said.
"Thanks!" Lin Gang nodded and hummed a tune as he left the office.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations, Officer 577533. You've resolved a civilian dispute and apprehended a voyeur.Merit Points +1]
Han Bin smiled. Not bad—earning merit points right from the office!
(End of Chapter)