Phone.
‘I’m going to report you to your superior about your misconduct,’ Tan Pan Ting said.
‘Impressive,’ Gu Jiao Wen said. ‘Even after being locked up for a day, your motor mouth still runs.’
Tan Pan Ting looked suspiciously at the take away containers of food Gu Jiao Wen put on the table.
‘Eat,’ Gu Jiao Wen said.
‘Get rid of it,’ Tan Pan Ting said. ‘I’m not going to eat the chicken dishes you bought. I don’t know how you contaminated the chicken.’
‘Are you saying you don’t eat your kind?’ Gu Jiao Wen asked.
‘Are you calling me a hooker again?’ Tan Pan Ting asked.
‘Are you admitting you’re a hooker?’ Gu Jiao Wen asked.
‘At least I’m human,’ Tan Pan Ting said. ‘Unlike you who treat innocent people inhumanely.’
‘Are you going to eat?’ Gu Jiao Wen asked.
‘No,’ Tan Pan Ting said.
Gu Jiao Wen opened a container, picked up his chopsticks and ate.
Tan Pan Ting looked at a wall, but the grilled chicken aromas woke up her tastebuds.
‘If you’re done eating the chicken dishes you contaminated then let me out of here,’ Tan Pan Ting said.
Gu Jiao Wen leisurely wiped his mouth.
‘I’ll free you on one condition,’ Gu Jiao Wen said. ‘Eat your dinner, and I’ll free you.’
‘I don’t want to eat,’ Tan Pan Ting said. ‘I’m thirsty. I want water.’
Tan Pan Ting’s throat was dry from cursing the stinky cops.
Gu Jiao Wen went to get a gla.s.s of water for Tan Pan Ting. After he returned, she struggled to drink the gla.s.s of water with her cuffed hands.
‘Can I go now?’ Tan Pan Ting asked.
‘Eat your dinner then you can go,’ Gu Jiao Wen said.
‘Do you expect me to eat like this for you to mock me?’ Tan Pan Ting asked.
Gu Jiao Wen and Tan Pan Ting had a silent battle to see who would surrender first.
A long time later, Tan Pan Ting couldn’t stand the silence anymore.
‘Give back my bag,’ Tan Pan Ting said.
‘Eat first,’ Gu Jiao Wen said.
‘OK,’ Tan Pan Ting said. ‘I’m happy to not waste food.’
Tan Pan Ting ate half of her dinner portion in a few mouthfuls because she was hungry.
‘I’m done,’ Tan Pan Ting said.
‘Not yet,’ Gu Jiao Wen said. ‘It’s a crime to waste food.’
‘Tell me your name and position so I can report you to your superior,’ Tan Pan Ting said.
Gu Jiao Wen took out a key, and he unlocked Tan Pan Ting’s handcuffs.
‘Go upstairs and you’ll see a photo of me on the wall in one of the corridors,’ Gu Jiao Wen said. ‘Near my photo is the phone number of who you can call to place a complaint about any cops at this police station.’
Tan Pan Ting walked upstairs. She wandered around the maze of corridors for a long time. She couldn’t find the photo of the man she wanted to kill, but she found the phone number of who to call to report a cop for misconduct.
Tan Pan Ting memorised the phone number, and she called the number using one of the cops’ office phones.
‘h.e.l.lo,’ Tan Pan Ting greeted. ‘I want to file a complaint about one of the cops at this police station…’
‘What did the cop do to you?’ Gu Jiao Wen asked.
Tan Pan Ting slammed down the phone. She turned around, and glared at Gu Jiao Wen.
‘Who are you?’ Tan Pan Ting asked.
Tan Pan Ting couldn’t believe the cop she wanted to report was responsible for processing complaints against cops at his police station.
‘Gu Jiao Wen,’ Gu Jiao Wen said. He pa.s.sed Tan Pan Ting her bag. ‘You’re free to go.’
‘You!’ Tan Pan Ting said. ‘If you value your reputation then don’t let me see your face again.’
Tan Pan Ting wasn’t crazy enough to stay and converse with Mr Mental when she was free to go. She s.n.a.t.c.hed her bag, and stormed out of the police station.
End of Chapters Twenty-Two to Twenty-Four