"Officer, it's just a dog that was killed—do you really need to take it this far?" Wei Mingzhe's voice trembled slightly.
"A dog is considered private property. Killing someone else's dog counts as intentional destruction of personal property. We're simply enforcing the law."
"I just couldn't swallow this anger. That woman Li Weina has gone too far," Wei Mingzhe said through gritted teeth.
"Li Weina falsely reported the incident too, which is a crime. I'll handle her situation as well," Han Bin said.
"Really? How will you deal with her?" Wei Mingzhe pressed.
"Take care of your own problems first," Han Bin replied coldly.
Wei Mingzhe fell silent for a moment. "If I confess, can you guarantee I won't be detained?"
"As long as your attitude is cooperative and you admit your wrongdoing, it shouldn't be a big issue. I'll do my best for you."
Wei Mingzhe took a deep breath. "Fine, I admit it. I killed the dog."
Han Bin nodded. Wei Mingzhe admitting guilt made things easier and allowed for a more lenient resolution.
Though bitter, Wei Mingzhe gave in and, in hopes of reaching a settlement, went to apologize to Li Weina.
Li Weina wasn't easy to deal with either. She pointed at him and shouted a stream of insults.
"Enough! We're here to resolve this issue, not to hear you curse people," Han Bin snapped.
"Li Weina, tell us how you want to settle this," Officer Cui Hao mediated.
"He killed my dog, so he needs to pay," Li Weina said, arms crossed.
"How much?"
"Twenty thousand yuan."
"That's ridiculous! How can a poodle be worth 20,000?" Wei Mingzhe argued.
"Our dog Zai Zai ate the best dog food, had toys, deworming meds, vaccines, a cage, snacks, vet visits—raising him wasn't easy. Add up the cost over the years," she counted on her fingers.
"Besides, I treated him like family. There's emotional value too."
"What do you say, Wei Mingzhe?"
"Her dog sent my mom to the hospital, and they never paid for her medical bills. Shouldn't I be compensated too?"
"Is that true?" Han Bin asked.
"I had it checked. The local police station tried to mediate several times," Cui Hao said helplessly.
In such disputes, the police can only mediate. If mediation fails, it has to go to court.
"How much was your mom's hospital bill?"
"Close to 20,000 yuan."
"You're exaggerating. She was only in the hospital for a few days," Li Weina scoffed.
"You say your dog cost 20,000—are you saying a person's life is worth less than a dog's?" Wei Mingzhe spat.
"Why didn't you pay compensation for his mom's medical bills?" Han Bin asked.
"I had no money. If he wants it, he can sue me," Li Weina said with an indifferent attitude.
"You're completely unreasonable!" Wei Mingzhe was furious.
"Enough arguing. We're here to resolve the matter," Cui Hao intervened.
"This whole thing started because of the dog. The dog is now dead, and the compensation amounts are similar. Let's just call it even—mutual compensation."
"Fine by me," said Wei Mingzhe.
He knew the chances of getting that money were slim. At least killing the dog gave him some satisfaction.
"Officer, I can let the compensation go, but my Zai Zai is dead. You can't let him die in vain!" Li Weina insisted.
"What do you want?"
She pointed at Wei Mingzhe. "He must be detained."
"Detention isn't up to you. It depends on the nature of the case, the attitude of the suspect, and whether there's compensation. The police will make that call," Han Bin explained.
Wei Mingzhe sighed in relief and gave Han Bin a grateful look.
Money can be earned again. As long as he didn't go to jail, it was all fine.
"So what, my Zai Zai died for nothing?"
"You should've paid compensation earlier. None of this would've happened!"
"How was I supposed to know he'd be so cruel?" Li Weina began crying again, though it was clearly fake.
Han Bin was getting impatient. "I've resolved the dog issue and found the culprit. Now let's deal with your issue."
"My issue? What did I do?" she asked, confused.
"You made a false police report."
"But he really did kill my dog!"
"We're criminal police. We protect citizens, not pets. What you did counts as filing a false report," said Officer Li Hui, who had been annoyed with her for a while.
"Fine, I admit fault. How much is the fine?"
"You think this is about money?" Han Bin scoffed coldly. "Cuff her. She's going to be detained."
"Detained? You can't detain me!" she yelled in panic.
"According to Article 25 of the Public Security Administration Punishment Law, a false police report can result in five to ten days of detention and/or a fine up to 500 yuan. If the offense is minor, it's up to five days or a fine," Han Bin stated.
"Officer, I won't do it again. Please, just let me off this time?" Li Weina begged, tearful.
"Cui, she's yours to deal with."
"No problem. Once she's inside, she'll quiet down," Cui Hao chuckled. He'd dealt with her kind plenty of times.
Meanwhile, the other residents stood by watching and chatting.
"Wow, she called the police and ended up getting arrested herself."
"She made a big fuss for nothing. Could've just asked the neighborhood police to mediate. Why bring in detectives?"
"Maybe now the neighborhood will finally quiet down."
"That young officer's really sharp. Fast and efficient."
"He usually handles murder cases. A dog-killing case like this? Easy."
Solving cases has a golden window—miss it, and evidence disappears fast.
When there's an active case, criminal police work nonstop.
Even a 30-day deadline means long hours and overtime.
But when there's no case? Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays are fair game for rest.
Zeng Ping had already posted the weekend duty schedule in the group: Zhao Ming on Saturday, Tian Li on Sunday.
Han Bin was lucky—no case meant a full weekend off. He was overjoyed.
He decided to sleep in and wake up naturally the next morning.
The next morning, 9 a.m.
Ding-dong… The doorbell rang, waking Han Bin from a deep sleep.
"Damn it," he muttered, rubbing his head.
He couldn't figure out who'd be ringing the bell this early.
His mom, Wang Huifang, often came by, but she never rang the bell.
Who could it be?
"Hold on! Stop ringing!" Han Bin shouted groggily, pulled on his clothes, and shuffled to the door.
Peeking through the peephole, he saw a familiar face.
Opening the door, he grumbled, "What the hell are you doing here so early?"
"You're still in bed?" Li Hui asked.
"It's my one day off—I just wanted to sleep in, and now you've ruined it."
"I'm not here for you. I moved nearby a few days ago, and I haven't had a chance to visit your parents because of the case. I'm off today, so I came by."
Li Hui held three items: fruit, yogurt, and farm eggs.
"You've got the wrong place. My parents live in unit 601."
"So you're living alone?" Li Hui looked surprised.
"I'm a criminal cop. I come and go at odd hours. I didn't want to disturb them."
"Like I'm not a cop too?" Li Hui chuckled. "You've got such a big place all to yourself—pretty extravagant."
"Have a seat. I'll go wash up and take you downstairs."
Han Bin yawned.
"You're stingy. When I was looking for a place to rent, why didn't you say I could stay here? Would've saved money. The space is just sitting here anyway."
"Li Hui, we're coworkers. We already see each other all day. Living together too? That's pushing it," Han Bin laughed.
"Yeah, true," Li Hui mumbled.
"Distance makes the heart grow fonder, my man."
After freshening up, Han Bin took Li Hui to his parents' place.
Upon hearing he was Han Bin's colleague, Han Weidong and Wang Huifang warmly welcomed Li Hui.
Since Han Bin was off, his mom had already bought a lot of groceries—perfect for having a guest.
After some small talk, Li Hui played chess with Han Weidong while Han Bin helped in the kitchen.
From the kitchen, he could hear his dad sharing old stories from his days as a detective.
Han Bin peeked out and saw Li Hui listening intently, occasionally asking questions.
It was like Zhou Yu beating Huang Gai—both parties perfectly content.
(End of Chapter)