Lin Lan remembered that in the early eighties, police-blue trousers paired with a white shirt were all the rage. For a time, that was the go-to outfit you'd see everywhere on the streets.
She turned her head and saw the woman from next door standing at her gate, craning her neck to peek over. The moment she spotted Lin Lan, the woman spun around with a flick of her hips and scurried back into her own yard.
When the old woman saw Liu Jinbao arrive with a police officer, she turned and said, "Lin Lan, don't be afraid. Ding Bang is home today. I'll go get him. They're colleagues, so it'll be easier to sort this out."
'Ding Bang... Yang Dingbang.' As Lin Lan heard the name, something clicked in her mind. "Auntie, is your Ding Bang on the criminal investigation team?"
The old woman, now in the middle of the dirt road, turned back and nodded proudly. "He is! My Ding Bang was a scout in the army. After he was discharged, he joined the criminal investigation team. He's the captain, even."
'Yang Dingbang, captain of the criminal investigation team!' Lin Lan suddenly remembered the novel she'd been reading right before she arrived here, a book called *Law and Love*. It mentioned a criminal investigator named Yang Dingbang whose cousin lived diagonally across from his family's ancestral home. And his cousin's wife was also named Lin Lan.
Not long after Yang Dingbang's cousin had drunkenly fallen into the water and drowned, Yang Dingbang returned home to visit his grandmother. As he passed his late cousin's house, his sister-in-law called him over to help move something. But then, she accused him of making improper advances and demanded he marry her.
If he refused, she threatened to go to the Public Security Bureau and accuse him of being a "hooligan." But Yang Dingbang would rather go to jail than marry her.
In this era, a person's reputation was more important than their life. As soon as the Public Security Bureau heard the rumors, they suspended Yang Dingbang and placed him under investigation. His grandmother was furious, going everywhere to proclaim his innocence.
She had just read to that point when she received the photos of Liu Jianguo and his mistress's family. She never found out what happened next in the story.
'Oh my god! Don't tell me I've transmigrated into *that* Lin Lan from the book.'
Lin Lan stood frozen to the spot.
Liu Jinbao arrived at Lin Lan's gate with the police officer. Seeing her just standing there, dazed, he assumed she was scared stiff.
He sneered at her triumphantly. "You bitch! A widow and her brat, refusing to pay your debts and now you dare try to kill someone? You just wait, I'll get you."
The police officer snapped, "Liu Jinbao, keep your mouth clean."
Douzi glared at Liu Jinbao and clenched his little fists. "Officer, he's a bad guy! He's bullying my mommy!"
Lin Lan patted Douzi's back comfortingly. She glanced at the square-jawed police officer. "Don't be afraid. The officer has sharp eyes. He won't frame an innocent person, and he won't let a guilty one go free."
"Right! The officer catches bad guys."
Hearing Lin Lan say this, the officer couldn't maintain his stern expression. "Ma'am, I'm Officer Wang He from the Xingmian Town police station. Liu Jinbao filed a report claiming you refuse to pay a debt and that you injured him with a knife. Is that what happened?"
Lin Lan remained perfectly calm. "Mr. Wang, whether or not there's an unpaid debt still needs to be determined. It is true that I injured Liu Jinbao with a knife. But there was a reason. An hour ago, Liu Jinbao brought two hoodlums and broke into my home. I was only defending myself."
She turned and pointed to the broken latch on the ground and the left half of the gate hanging crookedly from its frame. "Mr. Wang, I have a cold and was resting at home. I was asleep when a loud BANG and a torrent of vulgar shouting woke me up."
"I panicked, grabbed a kitchen knife, and ran into the yard to see Liu Jinbao and two other men breaking in after kicking down my gate. They were spewing filth and looked like they were about to attack me. I'm a woman here all by myself. In my terror, I used the knife to wound him."
Wang He glanced at Lin Lan. Her eyes were rimmed with red, but her expression was composed, and she spoke with perfect clarity. Following her gesture, he saw the broken latch on the ground and the teetering gate panel.
He turned back to Liu Jinbao. "You reported that you were here to collect a debt, that Lin Lan refused to pay, and that she attacked you with a knife for no reason. So what's the story with the gate?"
Liu Jinbao grew anxious. "Mr. Wang, don't listen to her lies—"
Wang He cut him off. "Liu Jinbao, collecting a debt is one thing, but kicking down someone's gate and forcing your way into their home? You think you're in the right?!"
The old woman returned with Yang Dingbang in tow. "Officer, I personally saw Liu Jinbao run out of that yard with those two delinquents, Zhang Hua and Ye Gang."
"You—" Liu Jinbao's beady eyes widened in a glare, but he choked on his words when he saw Yang Dingbang.
When Wang He saw Yang Dingbang, he smiled, stepped forward, and extended his right hand. "Captain Yang, hello! You live around here?"
"Hello." Yang Dingbang smiled and shook his hand, then pointed to the bamboo grove diagonally across from them. "My grandmother lives in there."
Lin Lan saw that Yang Dingbang was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight. He was tall and slender, with a commanding presence. He had sharp, slanted brows, and his narrow, dark eyes held a piercing gaze. His lips were thin and pressed, his features angular and well-defined. The police uniform he wore only enhanced his distinguished air.
'He's exactly as he was described in the book,' she thought.
The old woman pointed at Liu Jinbao. "Ding Bang, you need to tell this officer. Lin Lan is a young widow, and Liu San here is always causing trouble for her, all because his uncle is some kind of leader."
Yang Dingbang patted his grandmother's hand. "Grandma, don't worry. Mr. Wang will get to the bottom of this."
"Don't worry, ma'am, I will investigate this thoroughly," Wang He said, then looked at Yang Dingbang. "Captain Yang, Liu Jinbao came to the station to file a report, so I came to investigate the scene. I have a clear picture of what happened now. I still need to take Comrade Lin Lan back to the station to give a formal statement."
Yang Dingbang nodded and glanced at Lin Lan. "Sister-in-law, do you need me to go with you to the station and help explain things?"
Lin Lan shook her head. "No, it's fine. You rarely get to come back and see your grandmother. I can go by myself."
Yang Dingbang glanced at her again. He felt that this Lin Lan was different from before; she seemed much more level-headed.
He pointed at the broken gate and said to Wang He, "Mr. Wang, you saw it yourself. Liu Jinbao broke the gate. He needs to pay for the damage he caused."
Wang He nodded. "Of course. Damaged property must be compensated."
Liu Jinbao cursed his bad luck under his breath.
Lin Lan led Douzi over to the old woman. "Auntie, could I trouble you to watch Douzi for me a little while longer?"
The old woman took Douzi's hand. "Go on! Find out if this debt is real or not. Then he won't be able to keep bringing those delinquents around to bother you."
Liu Jinbao glared at her, annoyed. "Hey, old woman, you shouldn't say that. I was kind enough to lend money to Yang Guangming. He's dead, but his wife and child are still here, so of course I have to come collect. She's the one who won't pay what's owed. You think she's in the right?"
The old woman pointed at Liu Jinbao. "Liu San, I dare you to show us the IOU!"
Liu Jinbao slapped his pants pocket. "The IOU is right here in my pocket. And I'm not afraid to tell you, Yang Guangming himself told me to come find Lin Lan! He owed me money, said I could take his wife to cover his gambling debts!" 'Shit, I almost said too much.'
The old woman was stunned speechless. "..."
Lin Lan felt like she'd been struck by lightning. "Yang Guangming wasn't a monster. How could he do something like that?"
Yang Dingbang stared at Liu Jinbao. "You claim Yang Guangming told you to go to Lin Lan. Do you have any proof?"