Luo Xi stopped in her tracks, abandoning her plan to go outside and call for help.
This man really had no manners.
She leisurely set down her basket.
“So you’re the legendary exhibitionist?”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Other people become famous overnight, but you can’t even get your needle past the needle’s eye. You’ve got such a miniature little bird, but somehow there’s no bird to be found. Instead of a bird’s nest, all you’ve got left is a nest of bugs.”
It took the man quite a while to understand what she meant.
He immediately wilted, his face turning bright red.
“You… You…”
Luo Xi snorted.
“You what? Are you trying to show off your one-second performance on stage?”
It was the first time the man had encountered someone this unreasonable and tough.
He hurriedly pulled up his pants and turned around, intending to leave.
But Luo Xi had already pulled a brick out of her basket.
Just as the man was about to run past her toward the mouth of the alley, she stuck out her foot.
The man stumbled and fell forward.
Luo Xi immediately followed up, bringing the brick down hard on his head.
Bang!
The man collapsed onto the ground.
Before he could even get up, Luo Xi brought the brick down again.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three consecutive blows left the man unable to get back on his feet.
Only after seeing that he had stopped responding did Luo Xi finally stop.
Guo Yuanyuan hurried over.
“A-are you okay?”
Luo Xi’s expression stiffened slightly.
Only then did she remember that someone else was still beside her.
She might have used a little too much force just now.
She brushed the loose strands of hair away from her ear.
“I’m fine. I was just a little nervous and accidentally used too much force. I normally don’t fight.”
Guo Yuanyuan shook her head.
“Not too much at all! You’re amazing!”
Luo Xi smiled.
“How about you go report this to the police while I stay here and keep watch?”
Guo Yuanyuan was a little worried.
“But… can you handle it alone?”
Luo Xi was just about to answer when she saw Chu Yan walking over from the other end of the alley.
Guo Yuanyuan’s face lit up.
“It’s Comrade Chu!”
“Comrade Chu!” she shouted toward him.
Chu Yan looked up with slightly confused eyes.
When he saw what was happening, he was startled and hurried over.
“What happened?”
Guo Yuanyuan quickly explained.
“This man…”
For a moment, she didn’t know how to describe what had happened and stammered.
“Anyway, we need to report it. Could you go to the police station for me?”
Chu Yan shook his head.
“You go. If this man wakes up, I can still keep an eye on him.”
Guo Yuanyuan thought about it and realized he had a point.
“All right. I’ll go report it.”
After Guo Yuanyuan left, Luo Xi glanced at Chu Yan.
“Nice acting.”
Chu Yan let out a quiet “Heh.”
“Likewise.”
Luo Xi: “…”
The man groggily woke up and looked up at the two of them.
“You… you two?”
Chu Yan kicked him.
Bang.
The man immediately fell back into darkness.
The police arrived very quickly.
However, taking statements was a troublesome process, and the police still had to verify all sorts of details.
Fortunately, this man was not a first-time offender.
Several victims had already reported him before, but the police had never managed to catch him.
“Little girl, you’re pretty impressive. Have you trained before?”
Xiao Liang looked at Luo Xi with approval.
He was the director of the Zaoshan County Police Station and a retired soldier.
He had examined the man’s injuries.
Although Luo Xi’s attacks weren’t particularly precise, she had controlled her strength fairly well. At least she hadn’t beaten him into permanent disability.
Luo Xi hurriedly waved her hands.
“No, no. I’ve never trained. I was just panicking at the time because I was worried Comrade Guo was being bullied, so I…”
“As long as I don’t have to pay his medical expenses, that’s fine. I’m very poor. I don’t have anything.”
Xiao Liang couldn’t help laughing.
Then he suddenly remembered something.
“How did you happen to be carrying a brick with you?”
The corner of Luo Xi’s mouth twitched.
She decided that honesty had its limits.
“I think that as a girl, you should always have some awareness of your own safety when you go out. We shouldn’t take the initiative to hurt anyone, but we can’t just let people bully us either.”
“If Comrade Guo had brought a stick or something with her today, she wouldn’t have been so helpless when she encountered this kind of situation.”
Xiao Liang deeply agreed.
“That’s true. You have a very good sense of self-protection.”
A thoughtful look flashed across Guo Yuanyuan’s face.
“That place is rather secluded. Why were you two passing through that alley?”
Xiao Liang asked.
Guo Yuanyuan was still shaken.
“I was planning to go to my second aunt’s house. She lives in the southern part of the city, and it’s much quicker to cut through that alley.”
Luo Xi had no choice but to make something up.
“I was also planning to go south. There’s a pastry shop over there that makes really good pastries.”
Chu Yan lied just as smoothly, without even blinking.
“I was heading from the southern part of the city to the western part to buy some meat at the general store.”
Xiao Liang didn’t suspect anything.
“We’ll still need to find people and verify the details. If we need anything from you later, I hope you’ll cooperate.”
Guo Yuanyuan hurriedly nodded.
“I’ll cooperate. Absolutely.”
This was the first time she had ever been to a police station, so it was impossible not to feel nervous.
By the time they left the police station, it was already well into the afternoon.
Afraid they would miss the ox cart back to the village, the three hurried toward the big banyan tree in the county town.
“Uncle Manchang, if we don’t leave soon, it’ll be dark. Some people don’t know how to keep their word. There’s no point in waiting for them forever.”
Song Xingui sounded dissatisfied.
She had come to collect a remittance that day.
Ever since she had compensated Luo Xi with more than nine yuan, she hadn’t had much money left.
Her family wasn’t doing well either, so she hadn’t been given much money when she was sent down to the countryside.
That was why she had written home at the time and asked her mother to find a way to send her some more money.
Guo Manchang smoked his pipe.
He was smiling, but there was no real smile in his eyes.
“Let’s wait. There are still three people who haven’t arrived.”
The two educated youths were one thing, but Yuanyuan was the Party secretary’s daughter.
They were all from the same village, so naturally they had to wait for her.
Yuan Jiansi frowned.
He had also come to the county town to collect a remittance that day.
Unfortunately, his family wasn’t doing well either.
This time, his mother had only managed to scrape together twenty yuan for him.
Thinking about how tight money would be from now on filled him with frustration.
Out of habit, he raised his hand to check the time, only to realize that his wristwatch was gone.
His expression darkened even further.
Even though quite some time had passed, he still hadn’t gotten used to not having it.
“It’s too late. What if something happens to us on the way back? We can’t possibly disregard our own safety just for those few people.”
Song Xingui immediately agreed.
“Exactly. Once it gets late, you can’t even see the road properly. Besides, I heard there are wolves along the way.”
Qi Le raised his wrist and checked the time.
“It’s only after four, not even five yet. What’s the rush?”
Yuan Jiansi became even more irritated.
That watch used to belong to him.
Now it was on Qi Le’s wrist.
He had considered reporting them for engaging in illegal trading, but no one had actually seen Luo Xi and Qi Le conduct the transaction.
Qi Le could simply claim that she had given it to him.
Guo Manchang chuckled twice.
“It gets dark late these days. No need to hurry. Let’s wait another half hour. If they still haven’t arrived, we’ll leave.”
Just as he finished speaking, they saw three people approaching from a distance.
Guo Manchang put away his smoking pipe.
“There they are. See? Let’s go. Time to head back.”
Sitting on the ox cart, Luo Xi looked across at Song Xingui’s vicious glare and smiled without saying anything.
Yuan Jiansi, meanwhile, wore a deeply resentful expression, as though Luo Xi were some heartless lover who had abandoned him.
Luo Xi completely ignored him.
Inside, however, she was secretly planning when would be the best time to gouge out his eyes.
Guo Yuanyuan frowned.
The hostility these two had toward Comrade Luo was far too obvious.
She moved forward and blocked their line of sight.
“What are you looking at? Be careful, or I’ll gouge your eyes out!”
If it had been before, she wouldn’t have bothered getting involved in conflicts between the educated youths.
But Luo Xi was now her lifesaver.
This was no longer merely a matter between educated youths.
Luo Xi covered her mouth.
She had thought she had accidentally said what she was thinking out loud.
Chu Yan resisted the urge to rub his forehead.
Clearly, someone really had been thinking about gouging out other people’s eyes.
Guo Yuanyuan had only said it casually.
As for a certain someone… that was another matter entirely.