39: One word: cool!

"Did you hear that? You have no evidence, yet you falsely accuse me of stealing the dog, claiming I'm trying to scam you out of 20,000 yuan. That is textbook false accusation, isn't it?"

Ye Su realized that bringing the dog to the police station first was the best decision he could have made.

With this highly righteous young lady present, it certainly saved him a lot of trouble.

With just a few words, she elevated a civil dispute into a criminal matter, and the dog owners no longer dared to clamor recklessly.

"I don't care!" Unable to get her way, the woman started throwing a tantrum again: "That's all the money there is, and I'm taking my son home today!"

Saying that, she snatched the money from the man's hand and slammed it onto the table with a [thwack].

"Ugh..." The sound, like a roar from a throat constricted by fat, really gave Ye Su the urge to hit someone:

"You don't care? Well, guess what—I do."

Ye Su stopped paying attention to the couple and turned back to the police officer:

"Since they want to unilaterally tear up the agreement and clearly have no intention of mediating, I will be suing them both in Court. As the dog is a crucial piece of evidence in this civil dispute, can I request that the police station hold onto it for safekeeping?"

"Huh?" The police officer hadn't expected that Ye Su, who appeared so polite, would have such a tough attitude, ready to sue at the slightest disagreement. "Mr. Ye, don't be so hasty. Let's discuss this further!"

Ye Su shrugged indifferently. "Why would I be anxious? If they don't want to honor the reward advertisement, then I'll just let the Court make them."

Hearing that Ye Su was going to take this straight to Court, the man finally panicked. "Don't try to scare me! Why would the Court bother with something like this?"

"Do you really lack even the most basic legal knowledge?" Ye Su looked at the two, who only knew how to throw tantrums, with disdain.

"Look up Article 499 of the Civil Code on your phones. Once a reward advertisement is published, as long as the actor—which is me—fulfills the conditions stated in the advertisement, you, as the publishers, are legally obligated to pay me the reward."

In the past, while scrolling through videos, Ye Su had always admired those who could remain calm in a crisis and articulate their points clearly when faced with trouble.

Like that high-EQ guy on the high-speed train who, after a dispute over luggage storage, was able to logically retort even when the conductor was crying and slandering him for being unreasonable.

Now that he had done his research, it was his turn to argue his case. Standing on the high ground of the law and leaving others speechless—for Ye Su, it was one word: Satisfying!

"And let me add this: the Contract Law also stipulates that as soon as a reward advertisement is published, a contractual relationship is automatically formed between both parties."

Ye Su didn't have the exact article of the Contract Law memorized, but in this situation, that detail clearly didn't matter.

Spouting legal clauses as if he were a legal professional, Ye Su had clearly intimidated the man, who retorted with a weak, blustering tone:

"Go ahead and sue if you want! Do you have any idea how long it takes for a case to go to trial these days? At worst, we'll just drag it out and make you run back and forth forever."

"Who said I need to drag it out with you? Search it online. For this kind of civil dispute, as long as the evidence is solid, you submit the documents, wait for the hearing, and the verdict is delivered right there in Court. I'll just apply for legal aid; I won't even have to spend a cent.

And if you still refuse to pay, it doesn't matter. I can take the Court order and apply for compulsory enforcement. You'll end up paying anyway. The only difference is that it'll be a public spectacle, and everyone around you will know exactly what you've done."

Paying the price for his lack of education, the man was completely defeated, not knowing how else to retort to Ye Su.

"Mr. Xu."

Since he certainly couldn't do any "ideological work" on Ye Su, he had no choice but to start with the couple.

Between the two, the police officer undoubtedly preferred to communicate with the man:

"Mr. Ye's demands are already very clear—he just wants you to fulfill the promise made in the 'Dog Search Notice.' If this goes to Court, it'll be a huge hassle for everyone. I still suggest that both parties resolve this through mediation right now."

"How can we mediate! He's clearly trying to scam us for our money!"

"Ms. Lin, please watch your language."

Having been subjected to a barrage of screeching accusations, Ye Su felt his own anger rising:

"What do you mean I'm scamming you? You posted the 'Dog Search Notice' yourselves, and you wrote the reward amount yourselves. Have I asked for a single cent more than what you promised?"

"Brother."

Knowing he was in the wrong, the man could only hold his wife back, put on a smiling face, and try to negotiate with Ye Su in a conciliatory tone:

"We were indeed in the wrong today, and we will pay, but 20,000 yuan is really too much. Could we lower it a bit? How about 5,000 yuan?"

"Five thousand! That's so much!"

Cutting the price from 20,000 straight down to 5,000—it was a miracle Ye Su didn't curse. And hearing that woman screeching again, he had even less intention of backing down:

"If you thought 20,000 yuan was too much, why did you write that amount in the first place? I know, you didn't take it seriously. You thought nobody would actually hold you to it, that you could just brush it off and get away with it. But today, I'm holding you to it!"

Ye Su stood firmly on the moral and legal high ground, pointing at the two:

"Social trust is already declining as it is. Ask the two Comrades—aren't there more and more cases requiring mediation due to various trust disputes?

If you had walked in here and readily acknowledged the amount on the 'Dog Search Notice,' and then asked if we could negotiate a lower reward, I certainly wouldn't have had an issue with that.

But instead, you first tried to welsh on the deal, and when that didn't work, you resorted to slander. You've used every trick in the book, and only now do you want to talk reason? Well, I'm not accepting a single cent less. If worse comes to worst, we'll just go to Court."

"Brother, can't we just admit we were wrong?" The man had to keep offering ingratiating smiles. "It's just a small matter, there's no need to take it to Court."

'Can't we just admit we were wrong?' Do you even realize you're in the wrong? I don't even want to call you out on that.

"We don't have to go to Court, of course. You just need to honor the reward stated in the 'Dog Search Notice.'

Or, if you don't want to pay, that's fine too. Since you've been claiming I'm just trying to scam you out of 20,000 yuan, I'll waive the money. You just sign a statement giving up ownership of this dog and let me handle it myself—how about that?"

Ye Su certainly hadn't developed feelings for the dog just from keeping it for one night. He knew the difference between 20,000 yuan and a dog.

Ye Su was betting that the couple had feelings for the dog, especially the Snorlax who kept calling it her 'son'—she wouldn't just give it up.

What Ye Su didn't mention was that the dog actually belonged to them; he had no right to demand they give it up. In fact, if he refused to return it, he would be the one breaking the law.

Fortunately, Ye Su had just acted as if he were very knowledgeable about the law, successfully intimidating them. This made them subconsciously believe his words, and neither of them suspected that he had omitted the parts that were disadvantageous to him.