Volume One, Chapter Five: The Clash at the Police Station

The bank was crowded when they arrived. Zhang Weimin took a number, and he and Liu Fangfang sat on a bench to wait for their turn. Liu Fangfang had been calculating all along how to survive the ordeal of the day.

Finally, their number was called. Liu Fangfang took the passbook to the counter, with Zhang Weimin standing right behind her.

"How can I help you today?"

"I want to withdraw money. Fifty thousand!"

"Doesn't the passbook have fifty-five thousand in it? Withdraw it all!" Zhang Weimin growled at Liu Fangfang.

"Can't you leave me five thousand?" Liu Fangfang looked at Zhang Weimin with a pathetic expression.

"No! That money has absolutely nothing to do with you!" Zhang Weimin continued to growl.

The bank teller sensed something was wrong and asked, "Sir, what is your relationship to this lady?"

Zhang Weimin replied, "Oh, I'm her husband. I'm just here with her to withdraw the money."

At that moment, as if possessed by a dramatic impulse, Liu Fangfang suddenly slapped the glass of the teller window and screamed, "Help! He’s trying to kill me! He’s trying to rob me! Help!"

Her shout silenced the bustling bank lobby. A few seconds later, the dozens of people waiting for service reacted. Someone else yelled, "Bank robbery! Run!"

The crowd in the lobby stampeded toward the exit like headless flies; some of the more timid ones were practically crawling and stumbling in their haste. Inside the counter, the staff were terrified and immediately hit the alarm button. Two security guards in the lobby drew their rubber batons and charged toward Zhang Weimin.

There is no need to elaborate on the details; Zhang Weimin was pinned to the floor by the guards, and the local police arrived shortly after to take him away in handcuffs.

At the police station, a typical local precinct usually handles minor public order offenses: neighborhood disputes, fistfights, petty theft, or burglary. Occasionally, a highway robbery would be considered a major case. Today, however, they had a bank robbery—a major crime they hadn't seen in years.

Consequently, Zhang Weimin received special attention. He was placed in a solitary holding cell, and he was being interrogated by the station chief himself rather than an ordinary officer. Zhang Weimin was shackled to an interrogation chair in a room with padded walls, the chair bolted firmly to the floor.

As the interrogation began, the chief looked at the middle-aged man before him, puzzled, and asked the officer on duty:

"He tried to rob a bank all by himself?"

The officer replied, "There was a woman involved, too. It’s said to be his wife."

The chief chuckled, "Are there really still 'Bonnie and Clyde' types robbing banks these days?"

The officer explained, "No, it’s that the woman reported to the bank that this man forced her to go there to withdraw money and intended to commit a robbery."

The chief turned to Zhang Weimin and asked, "Come clean. Why did you attempt to rob the bank? This is a serious felony! You're looking at a minimum of ten years!"

Zhang Weimin was both furious and amused. "Officer, do I look like a bank robber to you? I was just there with my wife to withdraw our money. Think about it—who goes to rob a bank empty-handed?"

"Be serious! Stop smirking!" The officer slammed his hand on the table.

The chief also felt something was off and asked the officer, "Where is the woman?"

"She's in the next interrogation room giving her statement."

"Good, I'll go have a look."

The chief entered the other room, where a male and a female officer were taking Liu Fangfang's statement. He picked up the document, read it for a moment, and asked Liu Fangfang, "What is your relationship with that man?"

"We are a married couple, but we were planning to go get a divorce today."

"Since you are a married couple, why did you tell the bank staff that he was going to kill you and rob you?"

Liu Fangfang panicked slightly. "Officer, he really was going to kill me! He almost choked me to death at home. He forced me to go to the bank to withdraw the money, and after that, he was going to force me to go get a divorce..."

The chief grew more confused the more he heard. "What kind of mess is this? You say he tried to choke you and used violence. Do you have any evidence? Are there any injuries on your body?"

"Injuries? No... but he really said he was going to kill me." Liu Fangfang touched her body, feeling no pain anywhere.

"It’s normal for couples to argue and occasionally say extreme things, but that doesn't prove he had any real motive to kill you. Furthermore, you caused a panic in the bank by shouting about a robbery. That is a violation of the Public Security Administration Punishments Law!"

Liu Fangfang didn't care about that; she only cared about how many days Zhang Weimin would be locked up. Even if it was just one day, it would give her a chance to run off with the money.

"Officer, does that mean Zhang Weimin isn't being charged with robbery? And since he said he would kill me, how many days will he be detained for that?"

"It doesn't look like robbery, so he won't be held for that. However, the scene you caused at the bank could definitely get you detained for a few days."

"What?" Liu Fangfang collapsed in her chair like a deflated balloon.

Just then, the officer who had been interrogating Zhang Weimin entered. "Chief, Zhang Weimin wants to file a report. He claims his wife committed adultery and conspired with someone else to murder him."

The chief felt like his head was going to explode. He tapped his forehead and sighed, "What a mess. This is the first time I’ve seen a couple where both sides want to send the other to prison."

Hearing this, Liu Fangfang panicked. She knew her accusation against Zhang Weimin was completely fabricated, but Zhang Weimin’s accusation against her was the truth. She knew that in such cases, it was his word against hers, and as long as she refused to admit it, there was nothing they could do to her.

The officer continued, "Zhang Weimin says he has evidence!"

The chief looked up. "Oh? Now this is getting interesting. I'll go have a look."

Liu Fangfang’s heart sank even further. *What kind of evidence could he possibly have?*

The chief and the officer returned to the interrogation room where Zhang Weimin was being held.

"Zhang Weimin, I hope you'll be honest. State the facts. Don't make things up if you don't have proof. This is a police station; you are legally responsible for every word you say!" the officer said sternly.

Zhang Weimin was silent for a moment, thinking to himself: *It has come to this. In for a penny, in for a pound. Being soft-hearted toward vicious people is just being cruel to oneself.*

"Officer, I am now officially filing a report. Liu Fangfang committed adultery with Zhou Changzheng, the union chairman at our factory. They conspired to murder me to collect the factory’s death benefits. Furthermore, the factory director, Liu Guobin, had his brother-in-law, Ma Dali, drive a vehicle without a license, which resulted in me being hit and becoming a vegetable. Liu Guobin had his driver, Hou Eryong, take the blame for Ma Dali, and they fraudulently claimed the insurance money. Ma Dali is still at large!"

The officer recorded everything Zhang Weimin said, word for word. Looking at the report, the chief realized this case was no less serious than a bank robbery.

"Zhang Weimin, do you have evidence for these claims? If not, none of this will hold up, and you will be held legally responsible for making a false accusation. Do you understand?"

"Officer, I have the evidence. The evidence is at my home!"