Chapter 8: Local Police Station

When Su Ran rushed to the police station, the first thing she saw was Su Han. His head was lowered, and he was leaning against a corner wall.

The teenager was wearing ragged clothing. He was dirty from top to bottom. His hair was a bit messy too. However, the cold and merciless look on his face - had he inherited that from his unknown father or was it from a gene mutation - made him look less like a bedraggled puppy.

Noticing that someone was looking at him, Su Han accurately pinpointed that position and looked over. The moment that he saw that his observer was Su Ran, a flash of rarely seen surprise and barely perceptible panic appeared over his stubborn and calm face.

However, Su Han quickly wiped the emotions off his face and lowered his head.

"Are you Su Han's guardian?"

"Yes."

"She isn't."

Hearing that question, Su Han and Su Ran answered at the same time.

"She's not my guardian. I don't recognize that woman," Su Han coldly said. There was undisguised rejection in his eyes.

The police officer glanced at Su Han and said, "This looks right."

"Officer, may I ask about the dispute you mentioned on the phone..."

Before the police officer could speak, a burly man in his fifties jumped up. Pointing at Su Han, he angrily said, "What dispute? Your son clearly stole money from my store when he was working there. He started a fight too."

However, the moment the hot pot restaurant owner saw Su Ran turning around, he was stunned.

OMG, if he hadn't just heard this woman and the police officer speaking, he would have thought she was a celebrity.

However, the hot pot restaurant owner's attention quickly returned to his financial loss. He aggressively strode over and loomed over Su Ran.

"Sit down! This is the police station. If you have something to say, say it properly," the police officer berated.

The hot pot restaurant owner immediately stopped blustering and sat back down.

The hot pot restaurant owner coughed to clear his throat, then he said, "Here's what happened. I had $500 stored in the store's cabinet. Before I had time to deposit the money in the bank, the money disappeared. That kid stole the money."

Su Han had been silent this entire time, but when he heard the word "stole", he shouted, "I didn't steal!" The glare he cast at the man was so chilly that the restaurant owner actually shivered.

"Y-you, you brat. Try to stare at me again. We're at the police station. Don't you dare act up here." Soon after, he pointed at Su Ran and said, "Are you this brat's mom? Tell me how you're going to fix this."

"He said he didn't steal it."

"He said? Are his words proof? Where's your evidence? I'm saying he stole my money!"

Su Ran furrowed her brow. Looking up, she retorted, "Then, do you have proof?"

This type of quarreling was really annoying, ah. It really made her miss her adorable, little assistants that would have handled this for her.

"I don't have evidence, but..."

"Since you don't have evidence, who gave you the courage to act as if justice is on your side?"

"Also, Su Han is a minor. What is he doing in your restaurant?"

"He.... He looked pitiful and didn't have a place to stay, so I let him stay in my restaurant!"

"Officer, really, I was just giving this kid a place to live."

"Are you saying you're a philanthropist?"

"You! You! Fine, I'll just consider myself unlucky that someone stole my money. But, you can't weasel out of the fact that he broke stuff in my restaurant. There's a video recording in my restaurant."

"He broke stuff in your shop and you already beat him up too, right?" When Su Han had raised his head earlier, Su Ran saw that Su Han wasn't just dirty. The corners of his lips and eyes and his forehead were bruised.

Even if she hadn't given birth to this son, seeing that previously handsome face full of bruises, Su Ran would feel distressed for him.

"That's considered injured? A few of my employees are lying in the hospital right now because of him! Are you going to try to weasel out of responsibility after your son hits other people?" The hot pot restaurant owner jumped out of his seat again.

"Isn't this just a matter of money? What are you getting so excited for?"

"Right, it is just a matter of money. Tell me, how much do you plan on paying me in compensation."

"I'm broke." When Su Ran said those words, the police officer almost cracked a smile. How could she say that she was broke with such self-confidence and boldness?

Even Su Han had to press his lips together more forcefully after he heard her reply.

When the police officer was calling to inform his guardian, he hadn't thought that woman, who had never showed him any concern, would actually come.

However, not only had she come, she was arguing with his boss.

He did believe her when she said that she was broke. After all, with the speed that this woman spent her money...

When they came out of the police station, Su Ran was holding Su Han's hand. Once again, Su Han flung her hand off.

"I didn't need you to come here," Su Han said coldly. He twisted his face away to hide his awkwardness.

No matter how mature Su Han was, he was just a preteen. He didn't know what to do right now. He hadn't expected that Su Ran would come to help him and protect him.

Today's Su Ran truly surprised him.

Su Han had never seen Su Ran like this before. Wait no, that's wrong. At that rich person's party at Dongshan Court, Su Ran had been like this too. She had been even stronger on that day too.

Su Han suddenly thought of something else, and his expression became bad again.

"Hey, I'm leaving."

"Wait a minute, where are you going to go?"

"Or, better question, where are you planning to live?" Su Ran stared at Su Han as she asked that question.

"None of your business." After a pause, Su Han added, "I'll figure it out myself."

"Is your plan to go to the grilled skewer shop on the right of the hot post restaurant? Or the stationshery shop to the left of the restaurant?"

"..."

"Come on, come home with me. No matter how bad it is, it'll still be better than sleeping on the streets," Su Ran said.

On the way out of the police station, the police officer had given her a lecture on how parents should have a sense of responsibility, rebellious children needed love and care, and other related topics. Su Ran agreed with his sentiments. She felt obligated to fulfill her role as an instant mom.

Perhaps, her actions now would help the villain blacken less in the future. Every little bit helped.

After hesitating, Su Han said, "I won't use your money or touch your stuff."

"En, okay, let's go."

As this plastic mother and son pair, who didn't have any familial affection or fond memories of each other, walked together, an awkward silence grew.

Just when Su Ran thought they were going to walk back in awkward silence the entire way, she heard Su Han somewhat stiffly say,"I didn't steal his money.

"En." Su Ran confidently nodded.

"I'm telling the truth!"

"I know. You wouldn't do that." Su Ran's tone was very certain.

At the very least, in another decade, he would become a big villain that could even cause trouble for the Song's. Even if he was only a kid right now, he wouldn't sink so low as to steal this little bit of money.

Although he didn't know about Su Ran's unspoken thoughts and thought it was beneath his dignity to care about this woman's confidence in him, he couldn't help the brightening in his eyes when he heard her words.

"So you believe me?"

"You wouldn't steal that $500." Su Ran nodded. Yeah, he wouldn't. Even if he was going to steal something, it would be a big heist.

...

"Also..."

"Hmm?"

"There isn't a stationery shop to the left of the restaurant or a grilled skewer shop on the right."

"Ah? Then what's there?"

"Looks like a ramen restaurant."

"Is the food good there?"

"Don't know." He added, "I haven't eaten there."

"Let's go there sometime then." In her original world, her little assistants like to drag her outside and visit various shops. They were probably worried she would get sick from her staying at home all the time.

"En." It was a quiet, short sound that seemed as if it had come from his throat.

If she wasn't more sensitive to sounds than the average person and hadn't gotten used to Su Han's pronunciation, Su Ran might have thought he was ignoring her.

They lapsed back into an awkward silence until they arrived at their rented home.

Su Han deeply furrowed his brow when he saw the large words written in red paint on the door.

"You borrowed money again?

Ah haha.

Should she say no one knew their mother better than their own children, or was it simply because the original owner had done this so many times that Su Han was already used to it?

Faced with Su Han's rhetorical question that he had said with such conviction, Su Ran suddenly felt a bit flustered.

"It's an old debt," Su Ran said.

Su Ran had tried to remove the paint on the door in the morning, but she hadn't succeeded and could only leave it like this.

Who knows, maybe those people would come again before she repaid the loan and paint on her door again. So, it would be a waste of effort to clean it up until she paid back the debt.

"Oh," Su Han quietly said. A flash of disgust appeared in his eyes when he looked at the doorway. At the same time, there was also a trace of disappointment.

This woman had always been like this.

For the very first time, Su Han couldn't resist asking, "How much money do you owe?"

"Er, not much." A couple tens of thousand-ish.

"I'll return that money soon. You're just a kid. You don't have to worry about so much," Su Ran said. She took a key out of her bag and unlocked the door. "Come on, let's go in."

Before leaving home, Su Han had lived in this narrow and dark apartment for a long time. There had been heaps of shoes, clothes, and makeup everywhere. The apartment was a terrible mess. And so, he didn't have good expectations when returning home.

If his brain hadn't short-circuited earlier, Su Han wouldn't have thought coming back here would be any better than living on the streets.

However, when Su Ran opened the door, Su Han didn't see the messy apartment in his memories.

The apartment layout was still familiar, but the appearance was completely different.

In the past, the apartment was cluttered with Su Ran's numerous belongings. But now, he couldn't see any of her stuff laying around, which revealed the full view of the few furniture in the living room.

Had their home been robbed? This was Su Han's first response.

However, the large piles of takeout boxes, used tissues, and remains of makeup were also gone.

The newspapers that had been taped to the windows to block the light had been ripped off, which allowed the sunlight to enter the apartment. The windows had been wiped, and the floor had been swept. The table was spotlessly clean.

And so, Su Han's second response was that this home had become clean.

It wasn't just clean. It wouldn't be an overstatement to say it felt spacious.

In the past, there weren't even many daily necessities in the apartment other than the clothing and makeup. After Su Ran had tossed away those items without a second thought, this place didn't even look occupied.

And yet, this barren room that was empty of personal effects gave Su Han a feeling of warmth that he had never felt before.

"Where's your stuff?"

"Threw them away."

"..." Why was she even more wasteful than before? Su Han furrowed his brow.

Not noticing the cold shoulder from Su Han, Su Ran walked into the kitchen and asked, "You probably didn't eat anything in the police station this afternoon, right? What do you want to eat? Noodles or rice?"

"Rice," Su Han instinctively replied.

"Let's eat noodles instead."

"Then why did you ask me?" Su Han was a bit angry. He hadn't even wanted to eat her food.

"Just used to making conversation, so I asked. But, there's no rice." Besides, she didn't even know how to cook rice.

"Whatever."

A while later, Su Ran came out of the kitchen. "Doesn't look like there's noodles either."

She was used to her assistants stocking her kitchen for her. For a moment, she had forgotten that the original owner hadn't used the kitchen in several years.

"..."

"You should order delivery." He could make do with eating her leftovers. That's how it had been in the past.

"Let's go out to eat a big meal."

"Do you have money?"

He wouldn't forget that at the police station this afternoon, after they had come to an agreement of $200 in compensation, this woman still haggled for a long time until she got it lowered to $167.50.

"Let's get delivery then." The original owner only had $900 left in her wallet. There really wasn't much left after she paid the credit card bill, the rent, and the utilities.

"Never mind, let's go order something. I'll treat you." Su Han stood up and glanced at Su Ran scornfully."

He still had $120 left from working at the hot pot restaurant. He would just treat it as paying her back part of the $167.50.