After the 99th Confession, The Cold School Beauty’s Personality Collapsed - Chapter 113:

Chapter 113: Bounty Hunter:

The middle-aged woman froze, staring at the tablet screen that refused to unlock.

Seeing her struggle, one of the policemen frowned and asked, “Is there a problem?”

“Maybe I entered the wrong password,” she stammered awkwardly. “Let me try again…”

She frantically continued entering the password, but no matter how many times she tried, the tablet remained locked. Eventually, the screen disabled itself due to too many failed attempts.

Now, the woman was completely at a loss. Holding the tablet helplessly, her face turned from green to pale, disbelief evident in her expression.

The crowd around her began murmuring, their voices laced with amusement as they watched the scene unfold.

“Look at that—the screen locked itself.”

“Too many wrong attempts. Classic.”

“You know what that means? It’s not her tablet!”

“Wow, I actually thought she was telling the truth. Turns out she’s just trying to scam these girls!”

“Using someone else’s tablet to extort their money? That’s bold.”

“This is some next-level con artistry. An ‘empty glove, white wolf’ move if I’ve ever seen one.”

“She really showed her hand, and it wasn’t pretty!”

The unexpected turn of events amused the crowd, many shaking their heads or laughing quietly. Even Hao Meng and Shi Yulu, initially tense and worried, were stunned. Slowly, realization dawned on them, and they exchanged shocked glances with Qin Luo.

At first, they had doubted his argument, thinking it was just clever rhetoric. But now it seemed he had been right all along. The tablet truly didn’t belong to the woman.

The two policemen also exchanged looks, their gazes shifting to Qin Luo with a mix of surprise and curiosity.

One officer turned to the woman and asked sternly, “Are you sure this tablet is yours?”

“It’s mine! It’s really mine!” she insisted.

“Then why can’t you unlock it?”

“I… I don’t know… It’s definitely my password. Why isn’t it working?”

Anxiously, she waited for the five-minute lockout period to pass so she could try again. But as her eyes fell on the desktop background, confusion struck her.

The background image was different—this was the default setting from when the device was first purchased. Was this really not her tablet?

No, it had to be hers! When she took the tablet from the two girls earlier, everything was fine—the background was familiar, and she could access it without issue. So why had everything changed in such a short time?

Her mind raced, and then it clicked.

There was only one other person who had touched the tablet since then—Qin Luo. He must have tampered with the settings while holding the tablet earlier!

With this thought, her anger flared. She glared at Qin Luo, her voice trembling with indignation. “You changed the settings on my tablet!”

The crowd turned to Qin Luo, curious about her accusation.

Qin Luo raised his hands innocently. “You say I did it? Do you have proof?”

“You’re the only one who touched it!” she snapped. “You must have done something while you were holding it. Don’t deny it!”

Qin Luo chuckled. “I held your tablet for two or three minutes at most. And after the police arrived, I placed it back on the desk. Do you really think I could change the settings without knowing the password? Do you think I’m some kind of super hacker?”

His calm reasoning made the crowd nod in agreement.

Though Qin Luo had briefly held the tablet, it was only for a few minutes. Without the password, changing the settings was impossible. Even the idea of a super hacker accomplishing such a feat in that time seemed absurd.

The middle-aged woman faltered, her confidence crumbling. Even she couldn’t deny the logic of his argument.

The murmurs of the crowd grew louder, their gazes filled with disdain and disbelief. Even the policemen appeared skeptical of her claims now.

Realizing she was losing, the woman muttered, “Forget it. This is bad luck for me. I’m not going to argue anymore!”

She quickly turned and tried to leave, almost breaking into a run as though escaping.

But the officers were faster. In just a few steps, they blocked her path.

“Sorry,” one said firmly, “but you can’t leave until this matter is resolved. We also need to confirm the true owner of this tablet. You won’t be taking it with you.”

“This is clearly my tablet!” she screamed. “Why can’t I leave with it? You’re all in this together! Bullying a weak woman like me!”

Her theatrics escalated as she dropped to the floor, rolling around and wailing in a pitiful display.

But the officers were unfazed. They quickly restrained her and said to Qin Luo, Hao Meng, and Shi Yulu, “We need all of you to come with us to the station.”

Hearing this, Hao Meng and Shi Yulu grew uneasy and instinctively moved closer to Qin Luo, their expressions pleading for reassurance.

“Don’t worry,” Qin Luo said softly, his tone calm and steady.

Those four simple words, spoken with quiet confidence, had an almost magical effect. The girls felt a wave of calm wash over them, their fears momentarily soothed.

The police station wasn’t far, and the group arrived quickly.

Interestingly, many of the officers there recognized Qin Luo. His striking appearance and his visit just days ago made him memorable.

The officers exchanged subtle glances, clearly wondering why this young man had returned so soon. Had he gotten into trouble again?

A police captain, who held a higher rank, approached with a knowing smile on his face. “Boy, what trouble have you gotten yourself into this time?” he asked, half-teasing.

Qin Luo responded with a dry laugh. “I’m a good citizen, I swear.”

The captain smirked but said nothing, signaling the two officers to brief him on the situation. After listening to the details, he turned his attention to the middle-aged woman, who had been dramatically wailing and rolling around just moments earlier.

Interestingly, the woman’s demeanor had completely changed. Fear had replaced her earlier aggression, and she now looked panicked. She even began pleading with Shi Yulu and Hao Meng, suggesting they resolve the matter peacefully. She offered compensation, as long as they didn’t escalate the situation further.

However, her overly submissive behavior only raised suspicions. The captain narrowed his eyes and studied her carefully. “You seem familiar,” he said thoughtfully.

The woman flinched and stammered, “I-I think you’re mistaken. Maybe you’ve seen someone who looks like me. We’ve never met before!”

“Is that so?” The captain’s tone was casual, but he whispered something to one of the officers beside him.

The officer gave the woman a sharp glance before walking away. A few moments later, he returned and signaled for the middle-aged woman to be taken away.

Qin Luo, Shi Yulu, and Hao Meng exchanged puzzled looks. 

“What’s going on?” Shi Yulu whispered.

The captain gestured for them to sit and explained, “This isn’t her first time pulling something like this. She’s done it several times before, and her methods are always the same.”

The three listened intently as the captain continued, “She targets high-end places, carrying a tablet with a broken camera. She leaves it in a conspicuous spot, hoping someone will find it and try to return it. That’s when she shows up and accuses them of breaking it, demanding compensation. The amount she asks for isn’t huge, so most people, especially young and inexperienced ones, prefer to pay and avoid conflict.”

The captain sighed. “She’s managed to extort quite a bit of money this way. While no one has officially reported her before, I came across her case by chance and kept an eye out. I didn’t expect her to get caught today. It’s thanks to you three.”

Hao Meng and Shi Yulu’s eyes widened in astonishment. Even Qin Luo looked momentarily taken aback. After a brief silence, he asked tentatively, “Is there… a reward?”

The captain blinked in surprise. “A reward?”

Qin Luo nodded. “Yes, isn’t there usually a bounty for reporting criminals? And shouldn’t it be higher if we helped catch one? We almost lost 260,000 yuan to her scam. It’s only fair, right?”

Shi Yulu, catching on, chimed in, “That’s right! 260,000 yuan! That’s how much she tried to take!”

Qin Luo nodded. “Exactly. A large sum like that deserves a decent reward, doesn’t it?”

Hao Meng and Shi Yulu exchanged glances, their expressions a mix of disbelief and amusement. 

What had started as a stressful ordeal now seemed like it might turn into an unexpected windfall.

The captain, on the other hand, pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly at a loss for words. He turned to Shi Yulu and asked, “You’re just a college student. Why on earth are you carrying so much cash around?”

Shi Yulu explained sheepishly, “There was a limit on mobile payments earlier, so I withdrew some cash. The 260,000 yuan is what’s left.”

The captain’s eyes widened. “The rest? How much cash did you withdraw in total?”

He looked back and forth between Qin Luo and Shi Yulu, a mix of disbelief and exasperation on his face. “What is the world coming to? A few days ago, I dealt with a young man bailed out by the vice president of a major bank. Now I’m meeting a girl casually carrying six-figure sums in cash. Do all of you run in the same circles?”

After a moment of silence, the captain sighed and said, “There’s a reward, but don’t get your hopes up. This woman isn’t on any official wanted list, and her crimes, while serious, aren’t severe enough to warrant a large bounty. At best, we can give you a small token of appreciation.”

Hao Meng’s eyes lit up. “500,000 yuan? A million?”

The captain stared at her, dumbfounded. “What kind of numbers are those?”

Hao Meng scratched her head. “I saw online that someone got half a million yuan for reporting foreign spies in a chat group. Can’t we get something similar?”

“Of course not!” the captain snapped. “That was for espionage. This woman is just a con artist. The two aren’t even remotely comparable!”

After calming himself with a sip of tea, the captain continued, “You’ll each receive 500 yuan. In addition, the station will send you a certificate of commendation.”

“500 yuan? Really?” Shi Yulu and Hao Meng exclaimed in unison, their faces lighting up with excitement.

The captain, taken aback by their enthusiasm, asked, “You’re walking around with tens of thousands of yuan, but you’re excited about 500?”

Shi Yulu smiled brightly. “This is the first money I’ve ever earned by myself. It means a lot!”

The captain massaged his temples, clearly exhausted by their energy. “Fine. The certificate will be sent to your address. We’ll need one address to send it to.”

Hao Meng and Shi Yulu turned to Qin Luo, their eyes sparkling.

Qin Luo waved them off. “Don’t look at me. I don’t want it. You can keep it.”

Shi Yulu blinked in disbelief. “But it’s a certificate! Are you sure you don’t want it?”

Hao Meng added, “Yeah, it’s not just any certificate. It’s from the police! You might never get another one like it in your life!”

Qin Luo sighed, his expression mirroring the captain’s. He glanced at the captain, who gave him a look of mutual understanding. Without saying another word, the two men shared a moment of silent resignation, both thinking the same thing: These young people are something else.