Chapter 328 - A Different Name

"Hey, why are you still chatting there?" The driver noticed that the other hadn't brought Liu Xiaodan yet. However, the other officer didn't know what to do. In the end, Liu Xiaodan just walked in with his hands still holding onto Guangru that he was carrying. 

The young man noticed the shock in the driver's eyes. "My naughty little brother scared your friend. Don't worry, I won't do anything strange in the police station."

The driver had no choice but to walk him to the detention room. What Liu Xiaodan didn't realize was that… it was the same police station that Hung Guangjian and Officer Yu worked in. He was already walking inside when he put the two places together in his head. It was strange to actually visit the same police station for seemingly unrelated events. Moreover, it was the police station that took him to prison.

The papers on one officer's hands dropped to the floor when he saw Liu Xiaodan walking in with a child in his arms. They had all heard what happened in that court hearing. 

Perhaps it was old news to Liu Xiaodan who had lived through a nightmare in Cherry Med, but it was still one of the most terrifying and shocking things in the history of their police records. Some wouldn't forget about it in weeks, what more of police officers?

Hung Guangjian was going to clock out that late night when he spotted a glimpse of that young man. He also froze in his spot since he had already seen how real the ghosts who got near that walking abyssal portal were. For Liu Xiaodan to be kept in a detention room again, Hung Guangjian should certainly know what he was in for.

"What's up with him?" The detective walked casually and ignored the terror in the eyes of his officers. He could relate to them so he didn't pay attention to their shock anymore.

"He was strolling the streets this late, and then the place we found him was a spot of strange things. The whole parking space and the covered building were destroyed." The driver heard the question and relayed the information he was giving the other. "He's too far from home so we want someone to pick him up. I don't feel good having someone like him in the streets."

"So you place him here with us instead?" One officer couldn't help but blame the ignoramus for his terror. Not feel good having Liu Xiaodan away from them? Really?

Hung Guangjian only laughed at the banter before him. He cleared his throat and asked, "Can I speak with him? It's not like he's involved in something tonight, right? It's not an interrogation. Just want to know what he was doing out here… like why did he sign up for release?"

He murmured the last part while he received a shrug from others. As long as everything was recorded, there shouldn't be anything wrong with speaking with an ex-convict. Hung Guangjian then walked to the detention room and stared at Liu Xiaodan who was only spacing out until he entered the room.

"Liu Xiaodan, we meet again." Hung Guangjian sat down and gave a good look at the boy. What was strange was that it didn't even look like this man had spent a week in prison. Did even prison time fail to change him?

"Hello, Detective Hung." Liu Xiaodan smiled at the detective instead. "What do you need from me?"

…

It was already past midnight, but Wu Qianqian was still sitting on the porch of their house. She was holding onto written doc.u.ments that were just delivered to their house earlier. It was the signed and verified copy of the release orders that were both signed by Director Sun and Judge Wen. It even had the evaluation record of Liu Xiaodan during the days he spent in the mental facility.

She perused the contents as she reread mostly everything. Actually, Wu Qianqian knew that this evaluation might be forged just to make the judge sign it. She couldn't believe that her son wasn't changed after everything that had happened to him. It was different here at home, but out there, he was still the same kind yet aloof boy that she raised? That didn't seem right even if Wu Qianqian would prefer it that way.

Moreover, she was also holding onto the doc.u.ments noting Liu Xiaodan's submitted name change forms. It had been approved by the needed parties—even the police admitted to the valid reason. Even though he would still be monitored heavily when it came to reports and such, they didn't want to rob him of the chance to change. He had served prison time and was secluded in an asylum.

The hardest part was his name. Wu Xiaodan sounded like she officially made him carry the burden of her blood.

"Starting from tomorrow… when he walks in that testing center, he will be responding to a different name. One that had been tainted by the sins of my father, the greed of my mother… and the uselessness of me." Wu Qianqian only looked down at the papers one last time before folding them and sniffing to contain her tears. "Xiaodan… how can I fail you so badly?"

"Xiao Qian?" Liu Li was shocked to find the wife here. He was even surprised not to find her next to him in bed when he woke up from the call on his phone. He then stepped down to sit on the same steps as Wu Qianqian did. "The police station called earlier. They said that Xiaodan got in trouble so I had to pick him up. It was nothing serious though, they said."

She then turned to him. "He did? What happened?"

Liu Li only shook his head. "He was taking a walk and ended up in a problematic place. Since he's too far from where he should—our house, I have to pick him up. Even if he's already an a.d.u.l.t himself, his records made it important for a much older a.d.u.l.t to process things for him. Hmph, do they think our Xiaodan is so stupid?"

After hearing about it, Wu Qianqian felt like there was some kind of relief in her. Still, her son was in a police station yet again. She should pick him up as well. "I'll come with you."

The ears of the supposed sleeping Shanhu perked all of a sudden. She suddenly begged to be let out, causing Wu Qianqian to realize that someone wanted to come with them. Even if she didn't want to bring Shanhu, she still took the black dog. She wondered why Lanlu didn't come with her.

The white dog only glanced at the commotion and just continued sleeping on their expensive dog bed.

At the police station, Hung Guangjian and Liu Xiaodan were having a strange chat. The young man was sharing his story while in Wangguan, and it was quite consistent with the movies. Just that… Liu Xiaodan avoided things like his actual involvement with Cheng Hei and the gang.