“Sister, do you know this man?” Tang Ximian asked while clutching her wound.
The woman holding the child shook her head fiercely, her eyes still frightened as she tightened her grip on the child. “No… I’ve never seen this person before!”
The police arrived quickly, first dragging the man into their vehicle, then briefly bandaging Tang Ximian’s wound. “You’re incredibly brave, comrade! You seem quite young—is your wound alright?”
“I’m fine!” Tang Ximian smiled. “It just hurts a bit. I still need to give my statement, right? Let’s go!”
“Hey, little sister!”
The woman with the child handed the vendor another five cents. “Give us some more fried dough sticks!”
“What money? Just take them!” The vendor was quite generous, directly packing ten fried dough sticks for them to carry. “Sorry your meal was interrupted!”
In the police car, the officers conducted a brief inquiry. They confirmed that none of them knew each other, meaning the man had launched a random attack!
Tang Ximian was exasperated. “A coward who only targets women!”
Was there something wrong with his head? Was he taking out his frustrations on society?
Trash!
“Comrade, what’s your name?”
Tang Ximian looked up. “Hello, I’m Tang Ximian, nineteen years old. I live in Kaoshan Village and work at the County Radio Station…”
After explaining everything clearly, the officer taking notes asked curiously, “The vendor said you reacted very quickly. How did you know this person was dangerous?”
“I didn’t know for sure. I just felt extremely uneasy when I looked at him. When he passed by me, I kept watching him. I didn’t expect him to suddenly attack, so I rushed forward!”
Tang Ximian’s words redirected everyone’s attention to the man and the few-months-old child. The officer beside them couldn’t help but kick the man again.
How could someone be so shameless, targeting such a small child? Clearly, he was a bully who picked on the weak. Why didn’t he go after the many burly men drinking and eating nearby?
“I’m going to kill all you bitches! Bitches!”
The man screamed hoarsely, his gaze at Tang Ximian as if she were his father’s murderer.
The woman holding the child whispered, “Thank you, little sister!”
“No problem.” Tang Ximian nodded slightly, her expression calm. “I say, Mr. Shoehorn Face, you’re not acting like this because your wife ran off with another man, are you?”
“Shut up! Whore!”
Tang Ximian: “…Oh my, I think I might have stumbled upon the truth!”
Police officer: “Pfft…”
After spending some time at the police station and handling all the procedures, Tang Ximian left.
As she was leaving, the woman was still profusely thanking her.
Seeing that it was getting late, Tang Ximian returned to her dorm.
Soon, the busyness of life made her forget about the incident. When Friday arrived, it was time to go home.
Before heading home, Tang Ximian bought fabric for a dress—a sky-blue material.
She planned to make it herself. Although she hadn’t done much sewing in either of her lifetimes, in her previous life, she loved dolls and had made clothes for her “daughters”!
As usual, she bought some food and daily necessities for her family before heading back. Just as she was rushing to the bus stop, a police officer on a tricycle caught up and blocked her path.
“???” She looked utterly bewildered: “Uh… Comrade Officer? What can I do for you?”
“Please wait a moment, Comrade Tang. Come back to the police station with me first, we can talk on the way!”
The officer directly took her away on his “big motorcycle.”
Tang Ximian knew she definitely hadn’t committed any crime, but what could be so urgent that the police needed to find her so quickly?
Could it be that the family of that idiot from before wanted to see her?
“It’s like this, Comrade Tang. Not long after we caught this person, we received a collaborative investigation notice from Fengqing County Police Department. This Gao Shengli murdered seven people from two families in Fengqing County. He’s a major fugitive murderer!”
The police officer didn’t hide anything and spoke truthfully: “The victims’ families take this matter very seriously. The two families pooled together two thousand yuan as a reward! But no one expected this criminal to be coincidentally cornered by you here. So we called you in to give you these two thousand yuan!”
Tang Ximian’s eyes widened into perfect circles: “How much?”
The police officer was amused by her reaction: “Two thousand!”
Gray-blue ten-yuan bills, crisp and brand new, made a thick stack.
Tang Ximian held the money, her hands trembling, completely overwhelmed.
The two officers who received her couldn’t help but admire: “You’re quite something, young comrade! So young but so brave! When all those big men were scared, you were the first to step up! You’re truly remarkable!”
“We delayed your bus schedule, so we’ll take you back and share your heroic deeds along the way!” The older officer had already gone out to start the motorcycle: “Let’s go! Ordinary people don’t even get to ride this! Make sure you keep the money safe!”
Tang Ximian beamed with joy: “Thank you! You’ve worked hard!”
On the way home, Tang Ximian chatted extensively with the older officer, who turned out to be quite amiable. While inquiring about her family situation, he handed her ten yuan: “Young lady, I didn’t realize your family was in such difficult circumstances! Buy some treats for the children!”
“No, no!” How could Tang Ximian possibly accept their money?
“Take it!” The old officer’s voice turned serious: “You’re our savior! If not for you, that criminal would have definitely caused trouble in our county!”
Tang Ximian accepted it but quietly tucked it into the back seat of his motorcycle.
Sometimes you don’t need to insist too much – achieving the purpose is enough!
When they reached the town, Tang Ximian spotted the person waiting under the tree before they even reached the location. She waved with a smile: “Uncle, you can drop me off next to that person in the blue shirt!”
“Let’s go, we’ll take both of you together!”
The old officer intended to see things through to the end, mainly because he liked Tang Ximian’s cheerful personality. After getting off to briefly explain the situation to Chu Jiangchuan, he quickly took both of them along.
Tang Ximian clung to Chu Jiangchuan’s arm, noticing his cold stare. She grinned: “Jiangchuan! Don’t be angry!”
Chu Jiangchuan, frustrated, pinched her slender waist: “Don’t you realize how young you are! Are you some kind of immortal!”
Looking at Tang Ximian’s injured arm, his heart ached with a tingling pain: “It’s my fault for being so useless, making you go through this…”
“Don’t talk nonsense.” Tang Ximian laughed, giving his arm a firm tug with her good hand. “I just wanted to save those two people at the time. This money is just an unexpected gain for me! I only translated one document this week, but earned over 380 yuan! I also did some voice-over work and got more than ten yuan, though I only have 380 left now since I spent the rest on shopping…”
“Buy whatever you like.” Chu Jiangchuan said with a smile. “I don’t have much money, but it’s enough for our family’s daily expenses!”