Chapter Text
"Lu Dashan, you are under arrest for extortion and blackmail!"
The man protest vehemently, but neither of the officers who'd burst into the shoddy little apartment, currently holding him down, relented. What they did fail at was to consider the small, white haired child watching it all unfold with wide eyes.
They didn't notice him until he bolted for the door. In a different timeline, maybe it would've been just the two of them. Perhaps the universe had chosen a different path in life, however, for there were three officers at the scene.
"Li, stop the kid!" one of the officers shouted, and the officer reached out to grab the fleeing child. He missed his opportunity by millimeters, but rather than let him run, he started to chase after him.
Officer Xiao Li chased the child through the city for what felt like hours, refusing to give up. Considering the kid was most likely Lu Dashan's adoptive child, he was a potential witness. But, first and foremost, he was a child.
A seemingly very, very scared child who might get hurt if he didn't intervene.
When he finally managed to catch up, the kid was crouching by a railway station. A sign was shoddily placed nearby, proclaiming "Don't pile things onto the tracks". He wondered if Lu Dashan's kid had made it.
He approached slowly, as if moving towards a hurt animal. Or a skittish one. But the boy was simply kneeling there, panting and shaking.
Most likely, they'd put him into the system. Xiao Li hated the thought- clearly, it could fail. Considering the boy ended up with someone like Lu Dashan.
Slowly, he approached the boy. Paused when grey eyes turned on him. "Go away" the boy croaked, shuffling away from him. "I.. I have to wait for him. He worries when... when I don't show up and I promised-"
Xiao Li raised his hands slowly. "Okay," he said, as steadily as he could while his mind ran through a hundred and one horrible scenarios, "may I wait with you, though?"
The boy stared, eyes eventually averting back to the ground. Posture small and hunched, looking so terribly exhausted and resigned. Finally, after what felt like ages, he nodded silently.
That was how the officer found himself sitting at a train station that no train stopped at anymore with a small, quivering child. It was a bit of an odd meeting spot, since trains still passed through despite no longer stopping here.
Perhaps that was why he met with whoever they were waiting for here. The kid wasn't talk-active in the slightest, not even glancing at him when he asked him about his friend. He promised to wait with him regardless.
They waited well until morning, and despite his exhaustion, Xiao Li refused to sleep. Refraining from doing anything beyond informing his coworkers that he was handling the situation via text when the boy eventually fell asleep next to him.
... and perhaps he put his jacket over him as a blanket. The kid looked like a strong breeze might knock him over, and his clothes were looking far too thin to keep him warm.
Part of him couldn't help but think of how... defeated he'd looked. As if he expected Xiao Li to go back on his word, maybe. So he stayed awake, keeping an eye out for the kid's friend.
At one point, something rustled on the other side of the train station. When he turned to look, one held out over the kid's head in case it was something or someone dangerous, he found himself facing what looked like a person.
Tall, just close enough to the light to be vaguely visible as a human, yet too far in the shadows for their face or any defining features to be visible.
Unsettled, the officer squinted at the figure. They seemed to be just... staring at the both of them. Their head lowered in a way that made him think that the shadow was looking more at the boy than Xiao Li.
"Are you his friend?" he called over carefully, hand wandering to the flashlight clipped to his belt, eyes darting to the child sleeping next to him to check if he'd woken him by accident.
He received no response. In fact, when he looked back to where the person had been, the spot was empty. As if no one had been there in the first place.
Slowly, Xiao Li got to his feet. Unsettled by how quickly the person had vanished.
He hated stepping away from the kid when he wasn't even awake to warn him, but he needed to check if the person was still there. Looked over the edge of the train station's platform with his flashlight, and found nothing.
The kid didn't stir, but he was still there and unharmed when Xiao Li turned around to him.
The sun rose, and the kid with it. His stomach grumbling, yet he made no move to do anything but carefully fold Xiao Li's jacket and hold it out in silence.
"Are you hungry?" the officer asked, exhaustion weighing down on him. He needed a coffee. Or several. He hadn't stayed up this late since he finished school years ago. Even with cases taking long into the night he usually got at least a bit of sleep.
The boy shook his head, looking nearly frantic. The way he shrunk back looking frankly concerning to Xiao Li. He couldn't help but wonder what caused such a strong reaction, but refrained from asking.
With a sigh, he pulled out his phone. Typed a message to his newest coworker. Once that was done, he glanced to the boy again. Watched him curl in on himself, clutching at his stomach with a look that screamed empty.
Just how badly had Lu Dashan treated this child?
They silently watched the birds hopping along the tracks until Wang Juan joined them. The younger officer holding a small box. Even from a distance Xiao Li could smell his coffee, silently rejoicing.
The dark haired woman took a seat next to him after quietly greeting the boy, raising a brow when he remained turned towards the sign with his knees drawn to his chest. Xiao Li could only shrug helplessly, taking his coffee and breakfast from the box before sliding it next to the child.
"Eat up, kids your age shouldn't go without breakfast" he murmured, keeping his tone as gentle as he could. Watched the boy hesitate and glance at him distrustfully. He only nodded towards the food and what he presumed to be hot chocolate. "I doubt whoever you're waiting for would be happy if you don't eat, right?"
That seemed to do the trick. The sandwich was gone in not even two minutes. Maybe he should've asked Wang Juan to bring more food.
Wang Juan left eventually to go to work, quietly asking what she should tell their superior. In the early afternoon, she briefly showed up to drop off lunch.
It was evening, the sun setting, when Xiao Li decided that it was time to put his foot down. They'd waited twenty-four hours. No one, aside from that strange person and Wang Juan, had appeared.
And he was still unsure if the first hadn't been a hallucination.
"I don't think your friend is coming, kid" he told him quietly, watched as the boy lowered his gaze to stare at the ground. "C'mon... I'll buy you some proper, warm food and you can sleep in an actual bed tonight, okay? The floor isn't good to sleep on"
Unsettlingly quiet, the boy rose to his feet. Made no move to protest or argue, simply accepted his fate. Xiao Li didn't like how accepting the kid was of... everything, but there was nothing he could do but stick to his word.
They received odd stares at the small fast food restaurant he picked, one person going as far as to ask if the boy was feeling safe. With a tired sigh, Xiao Li flashed his badge. He didn't like how quickly the person scurried off, as if being an officer really meant that someone was harmless.
As it was, he deemed it to be for the best and made sure to order whatever the kid seemed interested in.
He wasn't quite sure if he should feel sad or amused at how big the child's eyes went when he saw which food was meant for only him.
Sad, he decided when the kid only hesitantly took a bite or two before absolutely decimating his portion once he realized that Xiao Li wasn't kidding.
No child should eat like they'd been starved.
"Xiao Li" he finally offered, when the kid seemed to relax a little. Watched big grey eyes stare at him. "That's my name"
For a moment, he thought the boy would stay silent. Then, with his head lowered, the boy hesitantly spoke up: "I'm... Lu Guang"
The officer smiled gently. "It's nice to meet you, Lu Guang" he said, and debated with himself whether he should keep things light or if he should delve into work.
He didn't need to think long, however: "What's going to happen to me now?" Lu Guang questioned, tone quiet and nervous.
You'll most likely end up in the system again, Xiao Li thought, and the mere idea physically hurt. Clearly, the system already went badly for the boy. They'd already failed him once.
"We're going to take your statement at the station," he explained instead, took a sip of his coffee, "since you most likely can tell us the most about Lu Dashan. You'll most likely be examined by a doctor too"
The last bit, truthfully, was for Xiao Li's peace of mind.
Lu Guang didn't look healthy at all, in his opinion. Pale and thin in a way that rubbed him the wrong way, still holding tightly onto a childhood photo of himself for reasons the officer couldn't fathom.
He only received a slow, tired nod in response. Yet more silent acceptance, and he couldn't help but wonder just what had led to him being so quiet.
~
Lu Guang ended up choosing to get everything over with first, and he couldn't help but think that the boy might be a people pleaser.
It made sense.
Though for now, he could only wait while the child was in the doctor's office.
Qian Jin joined him in the waiting area eventually, staring at the door with an unreadable expression. "Never seen you do this much overtime" his coworker finally commented, his tone neutral.
Tiredly, Xiao Li sent him a flat look. "I'm aware" was the only thing he offered dryly, gaze darting back to the door. "You did the questioning?"
His coworker shook his head. "No, Captain Zhang did" he frowned slightly. "I'm surprised you didn't watch it, with how long you spent keeping an eye on the kid"
Xiao Li sighed. "Chief asked me to relay everything, couldn't" he admitted. "What did I miss?"
He watched Qian Jin frown. "Well, Lu Dashan's list of crimes got extended, for one. He's getting charged for child abuse too, now" he said, and Xiao Li felt physically ill despite having expected that. "Captain asked if Lu Dashan ever hurt him. Kid said only when he failed"
Silently, he wondered what 'failing' meant. Alas, Qian Jin barreled on: "He mentioned getting locked in a closet too. Apparently, he assumed getting beaten and locked up for days on end when messing up was normal"
This poor kid... Xiao Li glanced to the door, heart heavy. "They'll put him in the system" he muttered, unable to imagine that the boy would have an easy time there. Not when he'd been placed with Lu Dashan before.
"Where else is he supposed to go?"