Second floor of the library.
There was chaos near the door of the public restroom.
An elderly person wearing fine clothes held a crying and noisy 5 or 6 year old child in her arms, trying to soothe him. Her eyes were cold as she looked ahead, “Darling, be good.”
“No!” The little boy struggled and cried, “Grandma! He pushed me!”
The old grandma looked at the red swelling on the boy’s head dotingly. She gave her bodyguard beside her a cold look.
The bodyguard immediately understood and lifted up Jiang He who was squatting to the side, “Which family are you from? Where are your parents? Are you blind? You pushed our young master to the ground!”
“Grandma, I want his watch!” Seeing Jiang He being lifted, the little boy finally stopped crying and laughed, “His watch glows.”
Without the old woman having to remind him, the bodyguard immediately went to snatch Jiang He’s watch.
Jiang He, who had been silent after suddenly being lifted up, suddenly struggled violently.
While making strange sounds from his mouth, he bit the bodyguard’s wrist.
The bodyguard did not expect him to be so strong and was caught off guard. He got bitten, “Little beast!”
He hurriedly pinched Jiang He’s neck to make him let go, then fiercely grabbed his wrist. He respectfully handed it to the little boy.
“What are you guys doing?” Lu Xiaohan and Yang Lin, who heard the sounds, came over.
Lu Xiaohan immediately called Bai Lian.
Without saying anything, Yang Lin ran over wanting to stop the burly bodyguard.
The old woman looked up and down at Yang Lin and Lu Xiaohan.
Yang Lin’s hair almost covered her entire face. She wore the most ordinary school uniform and gave off a gloomy aura.
The old woman quickly withdrew her gaze, indifferent to them.
Seeing that her grandson couldn’t take off Jiang He’s watch, the old grandma went over to help forcibly take it off Jiang He.
As soon as Bai Lian went upstairs, she saw Jiang He being held by the neck by a man. He kept kicking the man and made strange sounds from his mouth. It was obvious he was on the verge of an emotional breakdown.
Yang Lin and Lu Xiaohan tried to snatch Jiang He but were easily blocked by the man.
An old woman was forcibly taking off Jiang He’s watch. Jiang He’s wrist was already red.
“Bang!”
She directly kicked the man onto the floor.
Then she reached out to take Jiang He.
Jiang He’s whole body trembled. His eyes were almost out of focus. He just kept shivering.
His neck was red and swollen, and so was his wrist.
“Sis—” As soon as Ma Kun came upstairs, Bai Lian put Jiang He in his hands.
Then she turned around and viciously stomped on the man’s chest!
Ma Kun could clearly hear two “cracks”, the sound of ribs breaking.
Bai Lian’s gaze slowly turned to the old lady.
She narrowed her eyes and slowly walked over, the corners of her lips curving up into a smile. Like a female ghost walking over a sea of corpses.
The old lady held her grandson and retreated involuntarily when she met her icy cold eyes.
“Ah.” Bai Lian’s gaze fixed on the black watch in her other hand. Her almond eyes narrowed slightly. She directly grabbed the old lady by the collar, viciously grabbed her neck with one hand, and leisurely took the watch back with the other.
“You, you …” The old lady was suddenly lifted up and found it a little hard to breathe. She spoke in fright, “You, how dare you! Do you know who my son-in-law is …”
Bai Lian’s fingers gradually tightened.
Lu Xiaohan finally reacted. She got up from the floor and grabbed Bai Lian’s hand, shaking her head at her: “Ah Lian!”
Bai Lian lowered her eyes to stare at the old lady for a long time before finally loosening her grip just as she was about to suffocate.
The old lady fell to the ground, clutching her throat and coughing non-stop.
Bai Lian turned to look at Jiang He.
Jiang He was still trembling. She placed a hand on Jiang He’s pulse and held him with the other. Her long eyelashes drooped slightly, and her overly delicate face was shrouded in gloom.
Ma Kun looked coldly at the old lady’s group and lowered his voice, “Sis, should I …”
He made a light slash across his neck.
“What are you thinking about?” Bai Lian checked that Jiang He was a little stressed. She glanced at Ma Kun and said breezily, “Rule of law.”
Ma Kun: “…”
He didn’t know why, but it was kind of funny hearing his sister say that.
“Alright,” Ma Kun didn’t care. “Call me again if there’s trouble. My godfather doesn’t need to make a move for such small matters.”
“Ah Lian.” Lu Xiaohan didn’t hear Bai Lian and Ma Kun’s conversation. She just looked at the old lady worriedly, “That person doesn’t seem to be an ordinary person …”
Ma Kun scratched his head, “Oh?”
He couldn’t see that at all.
**
The librarian who had just pretended not to see Jiang He being grabbed previously finally called security to maintain order after seeing the old lady’s side at a disadvantage. “Mrs. Li, are you alright?!”
They helped the old woman up.
“Looking to die!” The old lady was helped to stand up with her frightened grandson next to her. She looked in Bai Lian’s direction with a hoarse and vicious voice, “What are you stunned for! Call the police!”
The police soon took everyone involved to the station.
Bai Lian brought Jiang He and was very cooperative the whole time.
In the police car, Jiang He kept trembling with his head in Bai Lian’s lap. Bai Lian slowly patted his back.
“Contact information for guardians.” The police officer had a small notebook to register details.
Jiang He still had his head in Bai Lian’s lap.
Bai Lian narrowed her eyes. The remnants of ferocity still lingered in her pupils as she lazily sat there in her ruqun1.
She gave Ji Shaogun’s number.
Ji Hengnian was too old. Bai Lian didn’t want to bother him to travel this far.
The police officer nodded and turned his head to get someone to contact the number. Then he immediately asked the next question, “Why did you hit them?”
The fair-skinned girl sat in the black police car with her whole face shrouded in shadows. Her half-closed eyes were extremely gloomy. Her over-delicate features made her look like a ghost or demon that had wandered over casually. Not knowing much about the incident, she flatly said, “They made the first move and snatched the watch.”
The watch had already been taken by the police as evidence.
Everything went very smoothly.
It was simply the easiest suspect the officer had ever questioned. He sighed, “In any case, hitting people is wrong. If there’s an issue, you can come find us. The status of the person you hit might not be good to offend.”
He couldn’t imagine how this seemingly well-behaved girl in front of him managed to beat the bodyguard into that state.
But the next second after he finished that thought, the officer was drenched in cold sweat. He suddenly realized—
From the moment this girl got in the car, he had almost been led by her the whole time!
He had even been trying to defend her just now.
This was a big taboo for a policeman. He suddenly looked at Bai Lian, feeling chills rushing from the soles of his feet.
Even when facing those highly intelligent criminals in the past, he had never felt this way!
Ji Shaogun had just finished a tutoring session with a student preparing for an arts entrance exam.
Today, Bai Lian and Ji Hengnian were coming over for dinner so he and Shen Qing were at the market buying groceries.
After being together for so long, Ji Shaogun had also learned about Bai Lian’s favorite dishes from Ji Hengnian.
“How strange.” Hearing these dishes, Shen Qing was surprised instead, “I thought she would like Beijing cuisine. Didn’t expect her to still like Hunan cuisine.”
She remembered that the first time Bai Lian came over for dinner, she had cooked Beijing cuisine.
No wonder Bai Lian barely ate a few bites.
“Ah Lian is from Hunan too.” Ji Shaogun was unhappy with how Shen Qing said that.
His phone in his pocket rang.
Ji Shaogun picked up some vegetables with one hand to help Shen Qing choose while answering the call with the other, “Hello.”
The other side said something.
“What?” Ji Shaogun suddenly looked up. He put down the vegetables in his hand.
Seeing Ji Shaogun’s reaction, Shen Qing also felt a jolt in her heart, reminding her of a few years ago, “What’s wrong?”
She quickly put down the vegetables to follow him.
“The police station.” Ji Shaogun had no time to explain and directly walked towards the market entrance to get a taxi with Shen Qing to go to the police station.
**
At the police station.
The old lady and her grandson were well settled in the reception room.
When Ji Shaogun and Shen Qing arrived, the police had just finished taking statements.
“Ah Lian?” Seeing Bai Lian unharmed, Ji Shaogun heaved a huge sigh of relief, “What exactly happened?”
Jiang He still had his head lowered.
Ji Shaogun saw Bai Lian half-hugging Jiang He and recognized him as her friend.
Bai Lian’s phone had been confiscated by the police. She looked up at Ji Shaogun, rubbed her nose, and admitted her mistake, “I beat someone up.”
“You beat someone up?” Shen Qing looked at the beautiful-browed Bai Lian. Her eyebrows were knitted as she quickly turned to say to the policeman, “Mr. Policeman, you can’t wrongly accuse someone! Look at this child, does she look like someone who would beat others up?”
She spoke loudly, sounding a bit like a unreasonable shrew.
She had already forgotten that the first time Bai Lian came to the house, she had said that Bai Lian was a prodigal who only knew how to eat, drink and have fun.
The police officers were stunned into silence by her unreasonable shout.
Bai Lian blinked innocently at the side.
It was good, good. She wasn’t that good at beating people up either.
The other party only had one, two, three broken ribs at most.
Shen Qing and Ji Shaogun were brought out by the police officer.
Bai Lian went back to sit on the chair, one hand propping her chin, the other slowly patting Jiang He’s back, lazily saying, “Why haven’t you recovered yet? If we wait any longer, Xiao Ma will blow this place up.”
Outside.
Shen Qing was still chattering incessantly with the police officer.
Ji Shaogun frowned, feeling like this matter was not simple.
The police officer brought Ji Shaogun to the rest area to meet with the old lady. Seeing that Ji Shaogun looked calm, he reminded in a serious tone, “It’s best if you two ask each other for forgiveness.”
Bai Lian was still a student and Jiang He currently had a stress response. They separated both parties.
At the end of the corridor was the rest area.
It was the old lady from before and her grandson.
As soon as the police officer opened the door to the rest area, Shen Qing felt the unusual atmosphere inside.
“Director,” the police officer who opened the door was very respectful. “I’ve brought them.”
The director didn’t reply. He was accompanying the old lady with a smile, “Mrs. Li, don’t worry. I will handle this impartially.”
Mrs. Li held her grandson.
If Bai Lian was here, she would certainly have seen—
The watch that was taken as “evidence” was currently being fiddled with by the little boy.
Upon seeing Shen Qing and Ji Shaogun, Old Lady Li’s sharp eyebrows swept over them. She slammed her teacup down, “Why did you bring them here?”
Shen Qing, who had still been blustering earlier, changed her expression as soon as she heard the police call the person inside “Director”. She didn’t dare to say another word.
When facing ordinary policemen, she still dared to speak loudly. But directors and such were not people that ordinary citizens could usually meet, only seeing them occasionally on the news.
She subconsciously grabbed Ji Shaogun’s clothes.
“Didn’t you hear what Mrs. Li said?” The director didn’t look at Ji Shaogun and Shen Qing, glancing at the police officer instead, “Why haven’t you taken them away yet?”
The police officer quickly brought the two people out.
“Po-Police comrade …” Shen Qing’s voice was nervous.
“Auntie,” the police officer glanced at Shen Qing, speaking seriously, “I don’t think you understand this matter clearly yet. Do you know who your niece hit?”
Shen Qing was stunned.
“You know of the Chen family right?” The police officer looked at Shen Qing and Ji Shaogun, sighing again, “Why make things difficult? Over a watch, yet it’s escalated to this point. She clearly wants to pursue this to the end. You’d best prepare yourselves.”
In all of Hunan Province, who didn’t know of the two big families, the Chen family and Ren family.
“Ji-Ji Shaogun,” Shen Qing grabbed Ji Shaogun’s sleeve, stuttering as she spoke, “Call your younger brother …”
In this kind of situation now, ordinary people like them definitely couldn’t interfere.
It seemed…
They could only find the Ren family now.
The police officer who was about to leave halted his footsteps when he heard Shen Qing’s words.
He looked at Ji Shaogun and Shen Qing in surprise. These two also had backing?
The rest area door opened.
Old Lady Li came out holding her grandson.
Her grandson held Jiang He’s watch in his hand. The watch screen lit up with a blue light, flashing silently. It was a call.
No one picked up.
Then it quickly went dark.
At the same time, Bai Lian’s confiscated phone also started vibrating.
But no one present noticed.
The little boy held the watch in one hand and made a finger gun at Ji Shaogun and Shen Qing in the other, arrogantly pretending to shoot.
Old Lady Li had evidently also heard what Shen Qing said to Ji Shaogun.
She almost sneered.
Everyone in Hunan knew that Chen Gang was her son-in-law, and her grandson Chen Zhuo would attend Jiangjing University in the future.
Especially Chen Gang. He had been in high spirits in Hunan this past month, with even Ren Qian having to curry favor with him when seeing him!
“You want to make a call?” Old Lady Li put her grandson down. She looked at Ji Shaogun and Shen Qing, one hand touching her own neck, seemingly still able to feel the suffocating sensation when Bai Lian grabbed her neck. Her voice was hoarse and malicious, “Go ahead and call whoever you want. I’ll say it outright. I will absolutely not let this matter go today regardless of who you call over, even if you invite Ren Qian and the Ren family over!”
- Traditional garment worn by women from the Han dynastry. Referenced in previous chapters as well. ↩︎
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