Director Liu spoke persuasively, "Why bother? He's not even your real cousin, is he? I checked—you were adopted from an orphanage by your parents, with no real relatives. That man's background is suspicious, and there's likely something shady going on. I couldn't find any records on him at the police station, and he doesn't have an ID. This has already caught the police's attention. If you keep being stubborn, I'm afraid they'll keep digging, and I can't guarantee what they might uncover."
Gu Qiqi remained unmoved, still shaking her head. "I only have one condition: let my cousin out."
Director Liu grew irritated. "Why are you such an obstinate student?"
Gu Qiqi bit her lip and fell silent.
Director Liu stormed off.
The next day, the same female police officer interrogated Qiqi. She was shocked by the transformation Qiqi had undergone overnight—the lively, spirited girl had suddenly changed drastically. Her face was pale, her eyes sunken, and she barely spoke. Her gaze was vacant, as if she had lost her soul. She did whatever she was told, like a puppet on strings.
A wave of sympathy washed over the female officer. She gently told Qiqi that someone had come to see her.
A flicker of light passed through Qiqi's eyes, as if she had suddenly come back to life. "Who?"
"Your neighbor, Jin Xiangyu."
It was Chairman Jin who had come to see her. Qiqi grew excited and rushed to the iron bars.
After meeting Jin Xiangyu, Qiqi learned that the neighbors already knew she and Rong Yi had been taken away by the city management officers. They had jointly written a petition demanding the police station release them, but the station had suppressed it, citing Qiqi and Rong Yi's assault on the police. In the end, Jin Xiangyu couldn't stand by and used her own money and connections to find a familiar contact at the police station, securing a chance to see Qiqi.
"Sister Jin, thank you for coming to see me..." Qiqi said from the bottom of her heart.
Jin Xiangyu's eyes were red-rimmed. "Qiqi, take care of yourself. Look at you—just two days in, and you're already this haggard. Don't worry, we'll keep trying to find a way to get you and Rong Yi out."
Qiqi clung to this lifeline. "Sister Jin, since you can come see me, can you visit my cousin? He's locked up in the Harmony Psychiatric Hospital. I'm so afraid something will happen to him."
Jin Xiangyu's face fell. "I already tried, pulled some strings, but the hospital refused to budge. They said Rong Yi has violent tendencies and is a dangerous person, and no visits are allowed until the evaluation results come out. I didn't get to see him either."
The flame in Qiqi's eyes died out again.
Jin Xiangyu couldn't bear it and reminded her, "Qiqi, do you have any friends who can help you? We're doing our best, but an extra friend means another path, right? Give me their number, and I'll go find them."
Qiqi slapped her forehead. Her mind, after two days of turmoil, had become stiff and unresponsive. The first person she thought of was Zhuang Ruotong—that one had dirt on Bureau Chief Qian and Xia Liu. If it were exposed, would it draw society's and the media's attention? With public pressure, the Meilin Garden project would stall. If the new project couldn't proceed, the demolition would naturally stop. If the demolition stopped, Director Liu's detention of her and Rong Yi would lose its purpose. Yes, this plan could work.
With that in mind, she gave Jin Xiangyu Zhuang Ruotong's number and asked her to find a way to notify Zhuang Ruotong to come to her rescue. Qiqi was certain that if Zhuang Ruotong knew she was in trouble, she wouldn't stand idly by. Besides, last time Rong Yi got into trouble, it was Zhuang's father who helped. Maybe Zhuang's father had connections at the police station and could find another way to get Rong Yi out.