The Favored Heiress
Chapter 679: Let Her Have Enough Fun Before Coming Out

Chapter 679: Chapter 679: Let Her Have Enough Fun Before Coming Out

Surveillance room.

The deputy director rubbed his temples with one hand on his hip, sighing continuously as he looked at Li Qiao through the one-way mirror, utterly at a loss.

It was clear he had mounted a tiger and found it difficult to dismount.

One of the officers stepped forward tentatively, "Deputy director, what shall we do next?"

The deputy director glanced at him irritably, "What else can we do? Go, start the procedure, and prepare the statement."

The officer let out an "ah", "Are we really going to interrogate her? She is the girlfriend of the Young Master of the Shang Family..."

"No matter whose girlfriend she is, cooperating with an investigation is a citizen’s duty." The deputy director narrowed his eyes, as if in thought, "Moreover... since he hasn’t come personally, he probably isn’t taking this seriously. Carry on as instructed, and I’ll take responsibility if anything happens."

The officers exchanged glances. With the deputy director’s assurance, they felt a sigh of relief.

In the next room, two officers pushed the door open and entered.

They sat down opposite Li Qiao, one after another, flipping open the record book. Hiding their astonishment beneath a serious demeanor, they asked in an official manner, "Name."

Li Qiao continued to play her game, glancing at them and responding, "Li Qiao, female, twenty-two, unemployed."

Officer: "..."

They had been worried about her lack of cooperation, but now it seemed... she was too cooperative.

The officer in charge of the records noted down her basic information, while the other laid out some photos of the burned buildings in the Cultural Garden in front of her, "Do you recognize this place?"

Li Qiao placed her phone on the table, propped her forehead with her hand, and looked over briefly, her tone indifferent, "Cultural Garden."

The officer straightened up and pointed at the photos with a finger, "What were you doing at the Cultural Garden yesterday?"

Li Qiao pursed her lips and leaned back in her chair, "Visiting."

The officer instinctively retorted, "If you were just visiting, don’t you know the rules of the Cultural Garden?"

"I don’t."

After an awkward silence, the officer scrutinized Li Qiao carefully, "Then tell us, why did you enter these residential buildings yesterday?"

Li Qiao grew a bit impatient, frowning slightly, her tone deepening, "Visiting!"

The officer met her pitch-black eyes and felt an unexplainable tightness in his chest, swallowing hard, "Visitors are not allowed in these areas. What was your real purpose in going there?"

Li Qiao leaned against the back of her chair with a frosty expression, remaining silent and casually staring at the officer.

This was supposed to be a cooperative questioning session for the investigation, but the officer’s attitude was more like an interrogation.

After a moment, she leaned forward, resting her hands on the edge of the table and tapping the surface, "If you want to ask whether I set the fire intentionally, you can just say so."

The officer frowned, "Ms. Li Qiao, we hope you will cooperate with our investigation. Several buildings in the Cultural Garden caught fire the night after your departure, we now have reason to believe..."

"We? Who are we?" Li Qiao interrupted.

"You and Sha..." The officer cut himself off mid-sentence, shutting up on his own accord.

He wouldn’t dare to openly mention Shang Shaoyan’s name, not even if he had several guts.

Li Qiao laughed lightly, tilting her head to glance at the one-way mirror, "Elder Ming came by earlier, didn’t he? From what he implied, someone needs to compensate for the loss of that land, right?"

The two officers were first stunned, then their eyes filled with alarm.

The surveillance room behind the one-way mirror was exceptionally soundproof. How could she know Elder Ming had been there?

At that moment, Li Qiao’s expression was defiant, her scoff cold, "You’re trying to forcibly pin the crime on me and then take advantage of the situation to get me to compensate, aren’t you?"

The officer was caught off guard and temporarily lost his strategy for response.

Li Qiao fiddled with the photos on the table, "If I don’t admit to anything today, are you planning to detain me?"

The officer curled his fingers, "We are handling this impartially. As long as you confess..."

"There is no witness or evidence, the reason for detention should be... non-cooperation with the investigation."

At this moment, the roles of the two parties seemed to have changed.

Li Qiao went from being questioned to the one asking questions, and every sentence she spoke was indeed an order the officers had received.

Since the incident occurred, Shang’s had made no moves.

She had already been in the interrogation room for an hour, and the situation outside remained calm and quiet.

Based on their many years of investigative experience, Li Qiao probably wasn’t important to Shang’s.

Elder Ming’s demands were reasonable, and the police station was naturally expected to provide an explanation.

The local government had been applying pressure all along, so one could only say that Li Qiao was unlucky.

The officer responsible for recording pressed the communicator by his ear, listened to the instructions from inside, exchanged glances with the person next to him, then announced the conclusion, "The fire in the Cultural Garden is directly related to you, and you are responsible for compensating all losses at market value."

Li Qiao nodded in understanding, slowly stood up.

Seeing this, the officer’s gaze turned sharp, his body on guard, "What are you trying to do? This is an interrogation room, sit down."

"Let’s go to the detention room then." Li Qiao picked up her phone smoothly, "The Ming family certainly doesn’t deserve compensation from me."

Officer: "..."

This was nothing short of Waterloo for their interrogation careers.

Li Qiao walked towards the door on her own, and hearing the two officers getting up, she turned back, her expression calm and jovial, "Do I need to hand in my phone?"

The officer mechanically nodded, "Electronic devices are forbidden in the detention room."

"Oh, then I’ll make a call to my lawyer." Li Qiao leaned lazily against the door with her shoulder and dialed a number she knew by heart; the call was instantly picked up.

Shang Yu’s voice was still tense and low, "How is it going?"

"They’re detaining me. Them asking for compensation is probably a dream." Li Qiao tilted her mouth innocently.

The man enunciated each word, "How much are they asking for?"

Li Qiao moved the phone away from her ear and glanced at the stupefied officer, "The compensation amount?"

"We, we haven’t calculated it yet."

Li Qiao shrugged her shoulders, "The Ming family’s efficiency really is slow."

Officer: "..." Are you sure you’re on the phone with a lawyer?

Li Qiao crossed her right leg over her left leg, blinking, "I’m going to the detention room first. Remember to pick up Mo Jue, her flight is at eleven."

After hanging up, she tossed the phone on the table and made a pout towards the door, "Aren’t you leaving?"

The two case officers had never seen someone so eager to enter the detention room.

...

Meanwhile, Shang Yu, who was in the old mansion’s tea room, turned his head and called out, "Luoyu."

The waiting Luoyu immediately pushed the door open, "Boss?"

"Qiaoqiao is in the detention room, find someone to bring her a cellphone."

Luoyu nodded his head, "I’ll see to it right away."

Shang Zonghai glanced at the somber-faced Shang Yu, poured a cup of clear tea, and handed it to him, "You don’t need to be so nervous. Everyone has seen the girl’s capabilities. Not to mention a precinct police station like Parma, even if it were the Tribal Chief’s Mansion, I believe she could come and go freely."

"Even if I have confidence in her, that’s no excuse for your neglect." The man took a sip from the teacup, but the gloom in his brows and eyes didn’t change at all.

Shang Zonghai shook his head with a chuckle, "You are worrying too much. A place like the precinct police station that’s not even presentable, is it worth my personal intervention? Coincidentally, the girl herself wanted to go in, so let her have her fun until she’s ready to come out, what’s wrong with that?"