Eating Melons in the Police Station

Chapter 12

Little Tong, leading her older sister, swaggered out of the interrogation room and strolled into the adjacent room. Rao Shishi was inside mediating and glanced at them, signaling them to keep quiet. They stood at the doorway, craning their necks to see what was happening.

Inside, a young couple was arguing. The woman yelled at the man, "What happened to all your boasting when you were chasing me? You said your family owned a mine, you were the only son, and your conditions were top-notch. If it weren't for you getting caught drunk driving by the traffic police last night, I wouldn't have known your car was rented and you don't even have a driver's license."

The man also raised his voice in defense, "I do have a license!"

The woman sneered, "Oh, a motorcycle license counts as a license now?"

Rao Shishi intervened, "It's wrong that he lied to you, but you can't hit him either. You hit him on the back of the head with a frying pan. Luckily, the hospital check-up showed nothing serious. If you had caused any harm, you could have ended up in jail, you know?"

After saying this, Rao Shishi felt something was off. She pointed at the man and asked, "If you don't have a license, how did the rental car company rent you the car?"

The man hesitated, "The owner of the car rental is my friend."

Rao Shishi, "Alright, your friend is also responsible. Give me your friend's phone number."

The man, "Actually, my friend works at the car rental. His boss doesn't know about this. Officer, can you let this slide? If this gets out, my friend will definitely lose his job."

The woman screamed, "Ah~~~! Can you even tell one truth?"

Little Tong and her sister squatted down, chewing on milk tablets, their ears perked up. Gossip made them glow, and the sister temporarily forgot her own sorrows, her eyes shining as she enjoyed the drama.

Until Little Wang found them and pulled the sister back into harsh reality with one sentence, "Wan Huidan, your parents are here."

The sister, who had been doubling her joy a second ago, instantly turned sullen and followed Little Wang back to the previous interrogation room.

Little Tong also got up from the ground and ran in after them.

Inside the interrogation room sat a middle-aged couple. As soon as they entered, the man rushed over angrily, raising his hand to slap his daughter, but Little Wang quickly intercepted him.

"This is a police station, you can't hit people here. If you do, I'll have to cuff you," Little Wang, who usually seemed quite mild-mannered, was authoritative when handling cases.

Hearing this, the middle-aged man didn't dare to continue, but he still pointed at his daughter and shouted, "You ranked last in your grade in the final exams, and your teacher called suggesting you repeat the year. I don't even know where to put my face. How dare you try to jump into the sea? I feel like jumping myself!"

Wan Huidan was also emotional, shouting back at her father, "I just can't study, I can't do it at all. Why don't you just kill me? Kill me and have another child, will you? Please, just let me go!"

Little Wang knocked on the table, "Quiet, everyone quiet down."

Little Tong climbed onto the chair next to Wan Huidan and reached out to wipe her tears with her sleeve, "Don't cry, don't be sad."

Wan Huidan thought about how even a stranger's child cared for her, while her parents were always cold, as if her only value was in her studies. If she did well, they were pleased; if not, they were harsh, even abusive. The more she thought about it, the sadder she became.

After everyone had calmed down a bit, Little Wang asked Wan Huidan, "What made you want to end your life?"

Wan Huidan sobbed, "I already told you."

"Say it again in front of your parents."

"My grades are bad, I ranked last in my grade. Yesterday, my homeroom teacher called and suggested I repeat the year. My parents called me a disgrace and told me to die, so I went to die."

"You'd rather die than study hard. You're just not trying. I don't believe you can't do well if you really put in the effort," Father Wan angrily scolded her.

Little Wang nodded and then turned to Father Wan, "You're her father, right? What's your education level?"

"What does my education level have to do with this?"

Little Wang knocked on the table again, "I'm the officer handling this case. Answer the question truthfully."

Father Wan's voice lowered, not as arrogant as before, "I... I dropped out of middle school."

"So, elementary school level."

Father Wan, "......"

Little Wang then turned to Mother Wan, "And you, what's your education level?"

Mother Wan seemed to wake from a dream, hurriedly replying, "I graduated from middle school."

"But didn't go to high school."

"Yes, I didn't."

Little Wang looked back at Wan Huidan, "And you, what's your education level?"

"I'm in my first year of high school."

Little Wang's gaze swept over the parents' faces, then after a moment of silence, asked, "So, you two, who aren't exactly scholars yourselves, want to raise a top student, is that it?"

Mother Wan remained silent, her head bowed, somewhat ashamed.

Father Wan continued to argue, "It's precisely because we didn't have much education that we know how hard it is out there. That's why we want her to study hard."

"Right, even though you're average yourselves, it doesn't stop you from hoping your daughter will soar."

Little Wang said half-jokingly, half-seriously, "She's already the most educated person in your family. You could say she's fulfilled your wish."

Father Wan wiped the sweat from his forehead, "Officer, please don't joke about this. If she hears this, she'll be even less willing to study. I want her to go all the way to a master's or doctorate, to become someone respected, like a professor, a doctor, or a great lawyer."

Wan Huidan said coldly, "That's your dream, not mine."

Little Wang asked again, "Then, Wan Huidan, what is your dream?"

"I want to draw, to become a comic artist."

At this, her father's blood pressure seemed to spike, and his voice rose several decibels, "Drawing? Is that a proper career? I think you just want to play, using drawing as an excuse to avoid studying."

"Did you have me just to control me? If I, as an independent person, can't even have my own interests and dreams, then I'd rather die."

Wan Huidan started crying again, "Officer, you don't need to persuade me. You don't know how suffocating my life is. I feel like I'm a living, breathing person, but they treat me like a machine, supposed to follow a set path. If that's the case, I'll just give this life back to them, and we can all be free."

Well, after all that persuasion, they were back to square one.

Little Wang changed his approach, saying to Wan Huidan, "If you want to be an artist, you can't just say it. I ask you, do you have any talent in drawing? Or what efforts have you made to achieve your dream?"

Father Wan snorted, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair, "She's got nothing. All she does is play on her phone or computer. She just doesn't want to study."

Wan Huidan pulled out her phone and started scrolling through it, her head down.

"Officer, look at her. When she's upset, all she does is play on her phone. It's like she doesn't even hear you when you talk to her. No manners at all."

After saying this and seeing no one respond, Father Wan turned his criticism towards Mother Wan, "I don't know how you've been raising her. I work outside to earn money, never making you work a day, just so you can take care of our daughter and help her succeed. Look at what you've turned her into."

"Enough, we're in front of the officer," Mother Wan sighed, turning her gaze away and noticing the little girl sitting next to Wan Huidan. She smiled kindly at her.

Little Tong quickly smiled back and immediately dug out a milk tablet from her bag, "Want one?"

Mother Wan waved her hand, "No, thank you, dear. You eat it."

She murmured softly, "When Dan Dan was her age, all we wanted was for her to grow up healthy. How did we end up here?"

Her voice was neither too loud nor too soft, as if talking to herself, but just loud enough for everyone in the interrogation room to hear.

For a while, the room fell into silence.

After a long pause, Father Wan broke the silence, "But we can't just watch her waste her days. We discipline her for her own good."

Wan Huidan tossed her phone onto the table, "These are all the illustrations I drew. I posted them online, and a home decor brand reached out to commission a set of original hand-drawn works from me. They offered me 80,000 yuan. Once I get that money, I can sign up for the art studio."

Little Wang picked up the phone and took a look. On the screen was a collection of anime-style illustrations. He didn’t know much about art, but the colors were vibrant and lively, and the characters in the drawings looked vivid and heartwarming.

He pushed the phone over to Father Wan, "Take a look."

Father Wan was secretly astonished that someone was willing to pay 80,000 yuan for Wan Huidan’s work—it was almost equivalent to his annual income. But the dignity and authority of being the head of the family didn’t allow him to show any weakness.

He glanced at it dismissively, "Hmph, childish. If you’re going to paint, you should do ink wash or meticulous brushwork—that’s what real masters do. What you’re drawing is just a cartoon at best."

Little Tong craned her neck to peek at the phone screen. Catching a glimpse of the images, she pulled back, her eyes filled with admiration, "Wow, Sister, you can draw cartoons!"

Wan Huidan gave a soft "Mmm."

Her emotions were mixed at that moment. On one hand, she felt a small sense of satisfaction at proving her parents wrong, but on the other, she felt a pang of disappointment. She knew that no matter how well she drew, in her parents’ eyes, it would always be seen as frivolous. They would never stop belittling her.

"Sister, can you draw Peppa Pig?" Little Tong asked, her face cupped in her hands as she looked up at Wan Huidan with sparkling eyes.

Wan Huidan glanced at her silent parents and replied defiantly, "Of course I can."

Little Tong gave Wan Huidan two thumbs up, "Sister, you’re super amazing. You’re a 100-point sister!"

Mother Wan, witnessing this scene, finally couldn’t hold back her tears, "Back when you were in fifth grade, you said you wanted to learn how to draw. I took you to the youth center to sign up, but your father found out and scolded you for wasting money. He forced me to take you back and get a refund. I thought you had given up on drawing long ago. I never imagined you’d stick with it until now. You’re incredible, and I’m so proud of you."

Expecting another round of criticism and dismissal, Wan Huidan had already braced herself, but this response left her completely unprepared.

Mother Wan walked over and hugged Wan Huidan, "From now on, I’ll support your drawing. If your father doesn’t support you, I’ll go out and work to earn money myself to support you. If he still interferes, I’ll divorce him."

Hearing this, Father Wan stood up from his chair, looking somewhat awkward, "I didn’t say I’d oppose it. Since our child has such talent, she should pursue it if she wants to."

Wan Huidan was both crying and laughing, "You promised this in front of the police. You can’t go back on your word later."

Father Wan added, "But if you come in last place in your exams, that’s still not acceptable. I’ve heard that art schools have academic requirements too."

"I only fell behind in my studies because I was focused on finishing the commission for that brand. I’ll catch up later."

Seeing the family reconcile, Little Wang also breathed a sigh of relief, "Families should sit down and talk things out properly. Once you communicate, everything will be fine. Wan Huidan, from now on, don’t do anything extreme. You’re still young, and you have endless possibilities ahead of you. If you run into problems in the future, ask the police for help. You can come to the station to talk to us, or if you don’t want to, you can chat with Little Tong. Don’t let yourself spiral into negativity, understand?"

Father Wan chimed in, "Exactly, listen to what the officer is saying."

Little Wang turned to Father Wan, his tone shifting slightly, "In this matter, the parents’ issues are much bigger than hers. Why didn’t she want to communicate with you? Is it because you’re usually too strict and controlling? You’re first-time parents, but you were once children too. Would you have wanted parents like yourselves?"

Mother Wan remained silent, while the more diplomatic Father Wan nodded repeatedly in agreement.

"Your child has such a remarkable talent for drawing, and she’s achieved so much without your support. That’s truly impressive. Go home and celebrate this with her."

As the Wan family of three left, Little Tong looked up at Little Wang with her big eyes, "Little Wang, you were kind of cool today."

"Ah?" Little Wang scratched his head, humbly replying, "Haha, no one’s ever called me cool before."

The child nodded honestly, "Yeah, you were pretty average before."