Chapter 14: I Said Answer the Phone (Patreon)

Gusttave pressed both hands to his cheeks, and instead of backing down, he only grinned wider. "They say a slap is a kiss and a scolding is love — you two beauties sure know how to hit."

[Kiana Kaslana: This guy's a lost cause, right? Absolutely hopeless, right?!]

[Keqing: Shameless! Utterly shameless!]

[Elysia: Oh my, such dedication is almost touching, isn't it?]

Feixiao and Belle finally snapped out of their daze and shouted in unison, "You bastard—"

Before they could finish, the front door of Gusttave's home was kicked open.

A squad of well-trained Public Security Bureau officers stormed in, armed to the teeth.

"Public Security Bureau, on official business! Everyone down, hands on your heads, don't move!"

[Arataki Itto: What in the world is going on here?]

The chat group soon cleared up the confusion for everyone.

Gusttave's performance had looked so genuine that a passerby outside the courtyard had mistaken it for some young master forcing himself on innocent girls, and had rushed straight to the Public Security Bureau to report it.

The report had traveled up the chain fast.

After all, the crackdown had only just ended, and now this kind of incident had happened again — especially a case occurring right in the capital, right under the feet of the Daoist of Great Peace!

[Silver Wolf: Not only did it happen right under the Daoist of Great Peace's own feet — it was the Daoist of Great Peace himself who did it.]

[Serval: Looking at it that way, this is honestly kind of hellish.]

The Public Security Bureau had immediately dispatched elite officers to make the arrest, which was how the current scene had come about.

"In broad daylight, under clear skies, you dare abduct innocent women and molest them in public, right here in the capital!" the captain barked, drawing his blade and leveling it straight at Gusttave, his tone righteous and severe. "Committing a crime the moment the crackdown ends — you have no respect at all for the laws of the Way of Great Peace! Seize him!"

By now Gusttave had a clear handprint on his left cheek and a red welt from a folding fan across his right, with two struggling young women still held tight in his arms — the very picture of a spoiled young master forcing himself on innocent girls.

The officers behind the captain stepped forward at once, handcuffs already at the ready.

Gusttave: "..."

He slowly let go of the bristling Feixiao and the dazed Belle, raised a hand to touch the handprint on his cheek, and his mouth twitched uncontrollably.

Wait — he hadn't even finished his little romantic maneuver yet. How had he already summoned the law enforcement squad?

Feixiao finally shook off her daze from the forced kiss, and at the sight of this scene her fox ears shot bolt upright with a snap, her fur bristling instantly. "Hey, hey, hey! What do you think you're doing? Who's an innocent woman here? Who got molested?"

Belle nodded along just as fast, her pink ponytail whipping back and forth. "Exactly, exactly! We were willing! Mind your own business!"

Wise hurried forward a step and explained gently, "Officers, this is a misunderstanding — all a misunderstanding. We know the Daoist personally. We were only fooling around just now..."

Tingyun fanned herself, hiding her lips behind the folding fan, the mirth in her eyes barely contained. "Oh dear, officer, do be careful not to wrong an innocent man. This gentleman and I are quite fond of each other — this is hardly a case of abducting innocent women."

Only Huohuo remained frozen in place, her cheeks flushed so red they looked ready to bleed, her fingers clutching the hem of her fox-fur robe. She couldn't get out a single complete sentence, could only keep her head bowed, the very tips of her ears tinged pink.

In over a hundred years of life, this was the first time she had ever felt so utterly at a loss.

[March 7th: Hahahahaha, help! What an iconic scene! The playboy's crash-and-burn just escalated into a full law enforcement raid!]

[Silver Wolf: Suggested headline: Shocking! Transmigrator surnamed Wang caught red-handed and arrested by his own Public Security Bureau for indecent conduct!]

[Hu Tao: This Director laughed so hard she dropped her Wangsheng Funeral Parlor contract! Committing a crime right after the crackdown — good catch, excellent catch!]

[Kiana Kaslana: Hahahaha, serves him right! That's what he gets for kissing people everywhere! Caught red-handed at last!]

[Raiden Mei: ...His conduct is far too frivolous. He really does deserve a lesson.]

[Keqing: Serves him right! Behaving so recklessly and shamelessly — he needs to be properly disciplined!]

[Zhongli: Flaunting oneself so openly eventually leads to embarrassment. Call it cause and effect.]

[Wise: Honestly, if I were the passerby, I'd have called it in too.]

[Lycaon: Any normal person would choose to report it to the authorities.]

The captain in the courtyard clearly didn't buy any of it. His gaze swept across every face before finally settling on Huohuo, whose own face was flushed red while she said nothing at all.

Look at this girl — head bowed, too frightened to speak, ears burning red. Clearly she'd been bullied into terrified silence!

"There's no need to be afraid, miss! Under the Way of Great Peace, the law is fair, and with us here, no one can force you into anything!" the captain said gently, trying to comfort Huohuo, before turning back to Gusttave with an even fiercer glare. "Still trying to talk your way out of it? Look how frightened this girl is — she can't even speak! Take him away!"

Two officers stepped forward at once, ready to cuff Gusttave.

"Wait!" Gusttave raised a hand, stopping them. "Let me make a call."

He then pulled out a communication talisman and dialed the Superintendent-General of the Ministry of Public Security.

As head of the Ministry, the Superintendent-General was the highest authority over the capital's Public Security Bureau.

After briefly explaining the situation, Gusttave handed the communication talisman to the squad captain. "It's for the Superintendent-General."

The captain froze for a moment, not understanding what he meant.

He simply replied by the book. "I'm sorry, the Superintendent-General's line is confidential, it can't just be..."

Gusttave cut him off. "I'm telling you to answer the Superintendent-General's call."

The captain's hand froze for an instant as he took the communication talisman.

He glanced down at the encrypted channel number on the screen — the Superintendent-General's own dedicated line. There was no faking that.

"Hello? This is Tie Shan, Superintendent-General of the Ministry of Public Security," came a robust voice from the other end. "Who is this?"

Years ago, Tie Shan had captured Jin Renfeng, and between his unwavering integrity and his knack for flexible judgment, he had earned Gusttave's favor, rising to Superintendent-General within just a few years.

The captain snapped instinctively to attention. "Reporting, Superintendent-General! This is Zhang Zheng, captain of the Public Security Bureau's Third Action Squad, currently carrying out an arrest operation!"

Tie Shan said gently, "Captain Zhang, this is really all a misunderstanding. The man you're trying to arrest hasn't harassed any women. It's just a bit of drama between young lovers. Pull your squad back now."

In a tone that plainly said don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong, kid, the Superintendent-General was informing him that the playboy in front of him — arms full of women, face covered in handprints — was simply "in the middle of romance."

Zhang Zheng looked at Gusttave.

A handprint on the left cheek, a fan-welt on the right, and that I'm-a-scoundrel-what-are-you-going-to-do-about-it grin still hanging on his lips.

Behind him, the five young women wore all manner of expressions — one bristling with fury, one blushing, one hiding her face behind a fan, and one too frightened to even lift her head.

This was supposedly "romance"?

[Kiana Kaslana: The captain's expression is killing me! His whole face just screams 'do you think I'm blind'.jpg]

[Belle (Zenless Zone Zero): If it were me, I wouldn't believe it either! This is clearly a scene of abducting innocent women!]

[Kaeya: Suggest the captain hold firm to his professional integrity and not buckle under pressure from above (dog-head emoji).]

[Author's Note: Mid-Autumn Reading Festival! Recharge 100 and get 500 VIP Coupons free! Grab it now (Event period: September 25 to September 27).]