Downstairs, the police had already arrived. It was an old policeman in his fifties and a young constable with a fresh - faced look, seemingly an intern.
Xu Qingqing briefly recounted the incident to them.
When the old policeman heard that what Xu Qingqing had lost was an expensive hairpin, he immediately showed an excited look and said to the young constable,
"Great! We've been dealing with trivial family matters every day. Finally, we can handle a major case!"
"Yeah, Master!" The young apprentice also wore a look of joy on his face.
Since Penglang Island was not only under the jurisdiction of the police but also had a patrol team hired by the Lu family to prevent tourists from causing trouble, most of the police's work was taken over by the patrol team. The police only needed to show up for the verdicts.
Xu Qingqing, standing to one side, didn't know what to say when she saw the two policemen looking so elated.
She, the victim, was still standing here. Was it really appropriate for them to be so happy about getting to solve a major case?
Thinking this way, Xu Qingqing coughed loudly to remind the two policemen that she was still here.
Only then did the two policemen react and quickly restrain the smiles on their faces.
The old policeman even put on a serious and solemn look and scolded his young apprentice.
"Her things were stolen, and you're still smiling. Didn't I teach you to have empathy?"
Then the old policeman patted his chest at Xu Qingqing with confidence.
"Miss Xu, you can rest assured and leave this matter to me. I will definitely find out the truth."
After saying that, the old policeman asked everyone to bring down their luggage. While they were carrying the luggage downstairs, the old policeman also asked the young constable to follow them to prevent them from hiding things privately.
Zhou Qianqian had already packed all her luggage. With difficulty, she carried it downstairs. When she reached the living room, she opened the suitcase and laid it out in front of everyone, with a touch of arrogance on her face.
"I didn't steal it. Even if you rummage through this suitcase, you won't find anything!"
After saying that, Zhou Qianqian angrily stood to one side.
The old policeman put on the disposable gloves he carried with him and started rummaging. As he took out the clothes, a lip gloss wrapped in the clothes was pulled out.
The lip gloss flew out with the clothes the old policeman threw and landed on the ground. Zhou Qianqian, who had been looking sullen, suddenly looked panicked. She subconsciously wanted to go over and pick up the lip gloss.
"This is my thing..."
"You're lying!"
Qin Hongying was quicker than her. She snatched the lip gloss first.
This lip gloss was a new product of a niche brand that she liked very much. Since the quantity of the lip gloss was limited, she had stocked up a lot of them. Unexpectedly, Zhou Qianqian had stolen one.
"This is my favorite lip gloss. You thief!"
Qin Hongying held up the lip gloss and rushed in front of Zhou Qianqian. The lip gloss in her hand almost poked Zhou Qianqian's face.
"It's mine! Can't I buy it if I like it?" Zhou Qianqian refused to admit it. She gritted her teeth and continued to lie. Her hands hanging by her sides nervously tugged at her clothes.
Hearing Zhou Qianqian's words, Qin Hongying sneered angrily and pressed on aggressively.
"You said you bought it. Then let me ask you, what's the brand of this lip gloss, who's the designer, and can you accurately tell me the name of the color of this lip gloss?"
Qin Hongying was certain that Zhou Qianqian didn't know any of these. The brand of this lip gloss was a foreign one, and the designer was a young person who had only recently become famous.
Moreover, all the inscriptions on the lip gloss bottle were in Italian, and the name was also an unexpected one. Only those who had a deep understanding could tell.
Zhou Qianqian was stumped by Qin Hongying's questions. Under the gazes of everyone, she wished she could find a hole to crawl into.
Her fingers tugged at her clothes so hard that the clothes were almost torn to pieces, which was enough to prove how flustered Zhou Qianqian was at the moment.
But Zhou Qianqian still refused to admit it and stubbornly made an excuse.
"I just randomly bought it on Maiduoduo. Since it was a clearance sale, the store didn't mark what you mentioned."
Saying that, Zhou Qianqian reached out her hand to snatch the lip gloss back from Qin Hongying. Qin Hongying dodged, making Zhou Qianqian miss.
Qin Hongying unleashed the powerful aura of a female powerhouse. She directly showed the bottom of the lip gloss.
"Since I bought a lot, the designer Daniel engraved my Chinese initials on the bottom of the lip gloss."
As Qin Hongying said, she showed the bottom of the lip gloss to the others. There was indeed a small capital 'Q' protruding at the bottom, which exactly corresponded to Qin Hongying's surname 'Qin'.
"If you don't believe me, the bottoms of my other lip glosses also have the letter 'Q'. I can show them to you. I can even find the purchase records."
Qin Hongying's well - reasoned words convinced everyone. Zhou Qianqian hung her head with an ugly expression. Her long hair covered most of her face.
At first, Aunt Zhou asked her to go to Qin Hongying's room to help get something. She accidentally saw the lip gloss on the dressing table.
Because she liked the design of the lip gloss so much and there were many of the same kind, Zhou Qianqian thought Qin Hongying wouldn't notice, so she secretly took one.
Qin Hongying never expected that there was a thief in her house and was completely unaware of all this. If the old policeman hadn't rummaged it out today, she might never have known.
When Aunt Zhou, who had finished packing her luggage in the room on the first floor, came out and heard that her daughter had really stolen something, she was instantly stunned.
Aunt Zhou's eyes were full of disbelief. She threw down the suitcase in her hand and rushed in front of Zhou Qianqian. Her face was ashen as she loudly questioned,
"Did you really steal this? You're getting bolder and bolder. Didn't I teach you not to steal things?"
"Have you forgotten all of this?"
Zhou Qianqian kept her head down and said nothing, as if she could escape this disaster as long as she remained silent.
Qin Hongying sneered on one side, "Sure enough, like mother, like daughter."
"It seems I have to carefully check my expenses over the years to see if you, as a mother, have also done something in the kitchen!"
"Let's settle all the old and new scores together!"
Hearing these words, Aunt Zhou trembled. She already had the stigma of drugging Qin Hongying on her back.
If Qin Hongying found out that she had stolen things from the kitchen... her sin would be even greater!
Aunt Zhou quickly opened her mouth to defend herself, "Madam, I've never taken anything from the kitchen. You must believe me!"
After being drugged, Qin Hongying no longer believed her and spoke harshly.
"Your daughter has only been here for a few days and already dares to steal my lip gloss. You've been with me for so many years. You must be even more reckless."
"I can't trust you guys!"
Saying that, Qin Hongying pointed at Aunt Zhou and her daughter and insisted to the old policeman,
"Sir, I don't think we need to search the luggage of others anymore. The hairpin that was lost in our family must have been stolen by these two women!"
Aunt Zhou, who had been wrongly accused, was immediately panicked and scared. Seeing that Zhou Qianqian kept her head down and didn't say a word...