“I got it!”
Zhang Fan clutched Wang Zekai’s phone in her hand, quickly rummaged through her bag with the other, pulled out a tissue, wiped the grime off the phone, and handed it back to him.
“There might still be some odor, and it could have water damage. Don’t use it for now—take it to after-sales service and have them deal with it!”
“I really owe you one!”
Wang Zekai took the phone, tenderness in his eyes. “The phone is secondary—the main thing is all the photos stored inside.”
[Ding!]
[Quest objective completed: two-fifths!]
Listening to the System’s notification chime in her mind, Zhang Fan curved her lips—an unexpected pleasant surprise.
She still needed to help three more people, and then the per-second subsidy would reach four yuan.
She looked at Wang Zekai, her smile natural. “It was nothing. Even without me, you would’ve managed. I’m heading off—see you tomorrow!”
Zhang Fan took Da Huang’s leash, ready to leave, but unexpectedly the usually quiet Da Huang suddenly bolted, nearly pulling her off balance.
“Woof! Woof!”
Da Huang barked, struggling hard to break free from Zhang Fan’s hold. Not far away, a large mongrel was attacking a child and an elderly person. Screams rang out, but no one dared rush forward to help.
Da Huang charged in, biting down on the large dog’s neck and tearing at it with all its might. Unfortunately, the size and strength gap was too great—it was quickly flung aside and faced a counterattack.
“Da Huang!”
Zhang Fan panicked. She didn’t know where the courage came from, but she swung her bag and struck at the big dog. Yet no matter how she hit it, the large dog kept its jaws clamped on Da Huang and refused to let go.
“Zhang Fan, watch out for rabies!” Wang Zekai caught up, searching everywhere for a tool, but couldn’t find anything in time.
“Awoo! Awoo!” Da Huang’s agonized howls made everyone’s hearts clench.
In that moment, a streamer’s words came to Zhang Fan’s mind. Steeling herself, she pulled out a pen and, aiming at the spot beneath the large dog’s tail, shoved it forcefully into its rectum.
Instantly, the large dog released its bite and tucked its tail, trying to flee.
“Clang! Clang! Clang clang!”
Several metallic crashes rang out. Zhang Fan turned and saw a young man in a white T-shirt swinging a fire extinguisher, bringing it down on the large dog’s head again and again until it could no longer move.
She had no time to look at anything else. Da Huang lay on the ground, blood flowing steadily. “Can someone tell me where the nearest animal hospital is?”
The crowd of onlookers held up their phones, filming, but not a single person answered her question.
“Check on the people first—the old man fainted from fright!”
“The kid looks bitten too, right?”
“Has anyone called the police or an ambulance?”
“Who’d dare call? Whoever calls has to pay, don’t they?”
“…”
The voices were chaotic, but no one cared about Da Huang, who had bravely saved lives and was now barely clinging to life.
“I found one—it’s here!” Zhang Fan located it on her phone and turned to Wang Zekai. “Please, can you drive me and Da Huang to the animal hospital!”
Her face was frantic with urgency, but Wang Zekai hesitated. “My car seems to be having problems—it won’t start…”
“How could that be? Just now it was…”
Zhang Fan looked at his expression and understood.
It wasn’t that the car was broken—it was that the moment the car moved, he’d be pressured by public opinion to also save the elderly person and the child. He was afraid of taking responsibility, and even more afraid that whether it was the dog or the people, if they died in his car, it would be bad luck.
“Use mine!”
The young man in white took off his T-shirt and wrapped Da Huang in it, then looked at Zhang Fan. “You open the navigation and lead the way, hurry!”
“Oh!”
Zhang Fan gave Wang Zekai one last look, then said nothing more. She had no right to blame anyone.
The two of them hadn’t even left with the dog in their arms when gossip rose behind them. “Hey, in this day and age, someone has a car and doesn’t take a person to the hospital first, but saves a dog first!”
“A dog is like a son, so of course its life is more important than others’!”
The young man’s hurried steps paused. He turned his head and shouted loudly, “I already called 120. It’ll be here within three minutes. You have time to criticize others, but what are you doing just standing there yourselves?”
After saying that, he walked forward without looking back, and Zhang Fan followed closely behind him.
Before long, they arrived at a motorcycle.
“Dare to ride?”
“Dare!”
Zhang Fan nodded firmly.
After a roar of the motorcycle, Zhang Fan held Da Huang, and the young man, bare-chested, rode the motorcycle past the crowd of onlookers.
The crowd’s mouths hung open, but one by one they all fell silent.
When they arrived at the pet hospital, the doctor urgently stopped Da Huang’s bleeding and treated it. Through the glass of the operating room, Zhang Fan was extremely anxious and completely failed to notice that the young man was using his phone to film her.
“The dog’s body isn’t in very good condition. It was already malnourished, and with the heavy bleeding, it may need to stay in the hospital for observation for a while.”
“Will it die?”
“We’ll do our best. Please don’t worry too much.”
The doctor’s reassurance did not put Zhang Fan at ease. She was somewhat sad, somewhat at a loss. Mechanically, she filled out the forms, paid the fees, and did not know what to do next.
“It’s okay!”
The young man patted her shoulder. “Dogs have very strong healing abilities. I looked just now, and no vital organs were damaged. The doctor said to keep it for observation just to be on the safe side. There’s no need to be too afraid!”
“Really?” Zhang Fan’s eyes were red. She didn’t know why, but she had suddenly become fragile.
“Of course!” The young man smiled with pursed lips. “Now, can you consider me?”
He gestured at his own body with his hand. “Will others think I’m a hooligan?”
Zhang Fan looked at his eight-pack abs and smooth contours. Just as she was about to wonder, she suddenly remembered that he had given her his clothes to wrap the dog in!
“Oh… sorry!”
She ran over somewhat flustered and said a few words to the doctor, then pulled the young man along. “I’ll compensate you for the clothes!”
“I’m afraid just buying clothes won’t be enough, right?”
The young man’s pants and back were covered in blood, and it looked somewhat shocking. She herself was not much better. Her clothes, pants, and bag were stained everywhere.
In this state, probably no clothing store would let them try on clothes, right?
Zhang Fan bit her lip, thinking of a proper solution. Outside the door was a bustling commercial street, with colorful neon lights flashing, flickering before her eyes through the glass.
“I know. Let’s go!”
She led the young man, under others’ strange gazes, to the bathhouse in the mall. It was a leisure-style venue that offered bathing, massage, rest, dining, and shopping.
Zhang Fan handed him the wristband. “You can take a nice bath. Later we’ll meet at the shopping section. Of course, if you’re in a hurry, you can go choose by yourself, and I’ll pay the bill!”
“You don’t even know who I am, and you’re not afraid I’ll extort you?”
The young man glanced at the price list—this place wasn’t cheap, and the shopping area even sold jade and jadeite.
“I trust your character!” Zhang Fan leaned closer to the young man and lowered her voice: “And I also trust how fast the surveillance cameras can crack a case!”
She smiled slightly and extended her right hand: “Thanks for your help today. My name is Zhang Fan!”
The man was taken aback for a moment, then reached out and shook her hand: “You’re welcome. I’m Jiang Ke!”
“Mind exchanging numbers?” Zhang Fan raised an eyebrow and waved her phone.