Chapter 199: Still Getting the Certificate

Chapter 199: Chapter 199: Still Getting the CertificateThe cigarette butt dropped onto Li Yifei’s pants, causing him to yelp in surprise as he frantically flicked it away, but a hole had already burned through his pants, and it seemed the skin underneath was scalded too, the burning pain intense. However, not even this could halt Li Yifei’s astonishment as his eyes widened and he stuttered, "Officer Lin, you’re not joking, right?"

Lin Qiong stared straight into Li Yifei’s eyes, clenched her teeth and said, "You heard me right, we’re getting married."

Li Yifei hastily shook off Lin Qiong’s arm and leaped towards the door, crying out in panic, "Officer Lin, I can’t play along with you, this is too much, my heart can’t take it!"

Lin Qiong made a quick dash to catch up, tried to grab Li Yifei’s arm without success, and in a moment of desperation, she stretched out both arms, hugging Li Yifei’s waist from behind, urgently saying, "You can’t leave."

Li Yifei stumbled, grabbed the anti-theft door handle, and pulled forcefully, exclaiming, "Officer Lin, have mercy on me, I have a girlfriend, I can’t marry you."

"You have no choice, you must marry me," Lin Qiong said firmly as she clung to Li Yifei, afraid that he would run away, dragging her towards the door like a koala.

"No, no! I really can’t get married," Li Yifei yelled, both of them in a tug of war, it seemed he was using all his might.

"It’s a fake marriage, what are you afraid of?" Lin Qiong, in her haste just now, had finally managed to restrain Li Yifei and at last made herself clear.

"What?" The struggle instantly drained from Li Yifei as he exclaimed loudly, "We’re not getting really married?"

"That’s right!" Lin Qiong replied firmly.

Li Yifei let all his strength fade away and let out a long sigh of relief, saying, "You really scared me to death, why didn’t you make it clear sooner? I thought I was running into a female bandit trying to make me her captive husband."

Lin Qiong almost choked with anger at Li Yifei’s words. After all, as Mile City’s famed female officer and the darling of the Public Security System with numerous young men pursuing her, she had never accepted anyone. And now, having offered to marry Li Yifei, this guy was actually terrified; was she really that scary?

"Alright, alright, let go of me now, I’m sweating bullets here," Li Yifei said, wiping his forehead as if he’d just dodged a bullet.

Lin Qiong let go of Li Yifei, and as he turned around, she said fiercely, "Am I that scary?"

Li Yifei gave a forced laugh and replied, "No, you’re not!"

"Then why did you react so strongly just now?" Lin Qiong’s gaze was intense as she watched Li Yifei, ready to teach him a lesson if his answer didn’t satisfy her.

Li Yifei sensed the danger and quickly said, "Officer Lin, you’re so beautiful, truly like a blossoming police flower of Mile City. Normally, in my eyes, you’re like the stars in the sky, the sunset on the horizon, the moon in the water, all there for my admiration but out of reach. Suddenly you drop such news, and honestly, I couldn’t handle it. How could I be worthy to marry you? That would be sacrilege to the goddess in my heart."

The usually stern expression on Lin Qiong’s face flushed a deep red at this unexpected praise. She spat at Li Yifei and chided, "Stop spouting nonsense. I’m here to discuss serious matters with you. Sit down and behave yourself."

Li Yifei chuckled nervously and promptly sat down properly on the couch. As Lin Qiong sat beside him, her face flushed again before she said, "My parents should have a million, but they said that the money is for my wedding. If I don’t get married, they definitely won’t give it to me, which is why I have no choice but to stage a fake marriage with you to get the money from them."

"What?" Li Yifei’s eyes widened, then shook his head like a wind-up drum, saying urgently, "No, no, that won’t do. You’re a police officer, and this is fraud! If it was just deceiving your parents, it might be somewhat excusable. As an officer, you could get away with it in the end, but I would be doomed! If pursued, that million would definitely be considered a huge amount of fraud. I could end up locked away for ten or eight years. No way, no way."

Lin Qiong huffed, "It’s not that serious. This money will be used to solve a case, and it’s not like we won’t return it later; how could it be considered fraud? Besides, my parents aren’t that kind of people. Once the affair is resolved, I’ll explain to them, and they’ll definitely understand, so you don’t need to worry at all."

"Really?" Li Yifei looked at Lin Qiong skeptically.

Lin Qiong nodded emphatically, "Of course it’s true. Why would I harm you if you’re helping me? And I’m still a police officer; why would I commit a crime knowing the law?"

"This... I still feel like this plan isn’t very reliable. Even if we say we’re getting married, don’t we need to have a wedding? Aren’t there other things we need to prepare for? Otherwise, how would your parents ever believe it?"

"This..." Lin Qiong was again unsure of what to do. She couldn’t just take Li Yifei home and tell her parents they were married. Setting aside whether they would believe it, even if they did, they would be furious. Getting married was a big deal that her parents had always been looking forward to; they’d always said they wanted to throw a big wedding, inviting all relatives and friends to celebrate.

Li Yifei greatly admired Lin Qiong’s wild and ingenious ideas, but also found them absurd, shaking his head he said, "So this idea won’t work, think of something else."

Lin Qiong slumped back dejectedly, "I’m out of ideas, do you have any?"

Li Yifei flicked his cigarette butt into the cup he had used for water earlier and, stroking his chin, said, "Aren’t you a police officer, and a deputy director at that? It shouldn’t be a problem for you to accept a little benefit fee, right? Especially from places like entertainment plazas. With you standing there as the deputy director and naming your price, they’d have to pay."

Lin Qiong’s eyes widened, "Wouldn’t that be taking bribes?"

"If it’s taking bribes, then just take them, anyway the money is going to a good cause."

"No way!" Lin Qiong didn’t even have to think before shaking her head in denial, emphatically stating, "I would never do such a thing. If I took their dirty money, then I would certainly have to work for them, and would I still be a police officer? To solve one case, but to condone even more criminal activity, absolutely not."

"Alright, alright, if it’s not acceptable, then no need to get so worked up," Li Yifei rolled his eyes and said, "Since this won’t work, then I’m out of ideas."

Lin Qiong didn’t say anything; Li Yifei had no choice but to light another cigarette, and as he finished smoking, Lin Qiong was still there in thought, not saying anything. Li Yifei then stood up and said, "Officer Lin, you should think of some other solutions. I have things to attend to at home, I have to go first. When you come up with something, give me a call, and I’ll definitely come help you."

Lin Qiong still didn’t react, and Li Yifei shrugged his shoulders, preparing to leave, but just as he reached the door, Lin Qiong suddenly shouted out loud, startling Li Yifei enough to stop in his tracks.

"Officer Lin, did you come up with a solution?" Turning around, Li Yifei asked with a puzzled look at Lin Qiong.

Lin Qiong went straight up to Li Yifei’s face and said, "My solution is you still marry me, and we go ahead with a wedding as my parents want. Then they will give me the money."

Li Yifei felt Lin Qiong’s plan hadn’t changed, and he said in confusion, "Isn’t that the same thing?"

Lin Qiong faced Li Yifei’s gaze and said, "It’s different. We were thinking of a fake marriage before, so there were so many problems. Now, we’re talking about a real marriage, and naturally, these problems won’t be problems anymore."

"What?" Li Yifei roared, even more surprised than the first time Lin Qiong proposed marriage; his expression was indescribably brilliant.

Lin Qiong, with her arms crossed and not a hint of jest on her face, said, "You heard me right, I mean it for real. We’re going to register and get a marriage certificate."

"Register, get a certificate? Have you lost your mind?" Li Yifei began to seriously question Lin Qiong’s mental health.

"Only this way, my parents will truly believe I’m getting married and give me the money. Only then can we proceed with the next step of our work."

Li Yifei’s eyes bulged as he swallowed hard, "Sister, for the sake of a case, there’s no need to go to such extremes, right?"

However, Lin Qiong seemed relaxed as she said, "There’s nothing to it, we can just get divorced after the case is closed, and then return the money to my parents. With such high divorce rates nowadays, getting a divorce is really no big deal; you don’t have to worry."

Li Yifei immediately cried out loudly, "What do you mean, don’t worry? You’re doing this for a case, but what about me? Without doing anything wrong, I’m turned into a divorcee; how am I supposed to explain it to my girlfriend, and what about my future marriage?"

Lin Qiong suddenly fell silent. She had only thought about how to deal with her own difficulties and had not considered Li Yifei at all. Now that Li Yifei brought it up, she realized the impact this would have on him, especially as a police officer, she knew full well that if they got married, it would definitely be discovered by any future partner of Li Yifei’s. For a man his age to be a divorcee without any good reason, it was likely that no woman would accept him.

At that moment, Li Yifei said, "Officer Lin, I thought it was just a fake marriage and I could help you out, but you’re actually serious, then I really can’t play along with you."

Seeing Li Yifei looking so scared, Lin Qiong suddenly got upset, glaring at him fiercely, "Fine, I promise you, if your girlfriend doesn’t accept it, then I won’t divorce you, and I’ll be your real wife."

"Gah!" Li Yifei was utterly petrified!