Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
After the firemen had opened the elevator doors, Yan Beicheng had seen the tears on Lin Chu’s face. He was too afraid to imagine how scared she must have felt when she was trapped in the dark elevator.
It was like Lin Chu could tell what Yan Beicheng was feeling right then. She reached over and held Yan Beicheng’s hand.
She took his hands in hers and slowly warmed them with her palms. It made him feel reassured and it assured Lin Chu as well.
Not long after, the phone in her handbag rang.
Lin Chu unwillingly let go of Yan Beicheng’s hands. She planned to continue holding them after picking up the call.
She took out her phone from her handbag and saw that it was a string of strange numbers.
She answered the call, “Hello.”
“Chu Chu, it’s me, Jinxi.” Jinxi was holding on to the handset of the black public telephone that was installed in the school.
The handset was big. It was equivalent to two of his little face. It took a lot for his little hand to hold on to it.
Most of the students in the lower form do not have cellphones and the teachers do not encourage students to bring them to school. It would distract the student easily in class. Instead, the schools installed public phones and distributed a free phone card to every student. All the students needed to do was to reload the cards with money so they would be able to contact their families at home.
“Jinxi, I’m so sorry. We’re on the way to your school now. The elevator in my office malfunctioned and I got trapped in there,” Lin Chu quickly explained.
Before Lin Chu could finish her explanation, Mo Jinxi asked anxiously, “Are you okay? Are you hurt? Have you gone to the hospital for a check-up?”
Lin Chu was touched. Mo Jinxi was more concerned over her condition at this time. He did not even think about his situation.
Lin Chu replied, “Your Uncle Yan was also worried about me, so we went for a check-up at a nearby hospital. I’m okay. I’m so sorry to be late because of this.”
“It’s fine, as long as you are okay. I’ve already informed the teacher and it’s okay if you don’t come. Chu Chu, go home and take a rest,” Mo Jinxi held on to the handset as he said.
“I’m fine. According to the check-up results, I’m doing well. Don’t worry about me. I’m about to reach your school. I can see the rooftop of your class building,” Lin Chu said as she looked to the front.
Mo Jinxi went to the school entrance to wait for Lin Chu after hanging up.
Coincidentally, the boys who had surrounded Mo Jinxi and said many nasty words to him had just met their parents and were leaving to go home.
They saw Mo Jinxi waiting alone in front of the school’s entrance.
A slightly plump boy, who had on a wrinkled, red scarf, suddenly ran up to him from behind and knocked into him on purpose.
Mo Jinxi did not see him coming and could not avoid the sudden knock. He lost his balance and stumbled forward a few steps before steadying himself.
He turned back and saw who it was. Mo Jinxi’s lips pressed tightly together before he frowned and asked, “Hu Yidong, what are you doing?!”
Hu Yidong lifted his hands with dirty fingernails and pulled down the wrinkled red scarf, which was now dirty and black, from his neck. He held it in his hands while waving it about.
“Didn’t you say that someone was here to attend your parent-teacher meeting? Where is that person?” Hu Yidong looked at the school’s entrance exaggeratedly from left to right.
“I just gave them a call. They’re about to arrive,” Mo Jinxi said with a grim face.
Hu Yidong leaned towards Mo Jinxi dramatically and said to him, “Yeah right! I think you’re lying! There’s no one coming for your parent-teacher meeting. You’re just afraid that you will be made fun of, so you lied!”
Another boy was next to Hu Yidong. He was smaller in size and slightly darker. He jumped about like a skinny monkey and made faces at Mo Jinxi. The boy had his thumb pointed at the side of his head while the other four of his fingers were opened up like a fan as he pretended they were pig’s ears.
“Liar! Liar! Oh oh oh oh, liar! Mo Jinxi is a liar, Mo Jinxi is a liar!” The dark, skinny boy jumped about as he teased.
Another skinny boy who was slightly taller, but much fairer, followed suit and said, “Mo Jinxi has no father and no mother, he is also a liar!”
Hu Yidong’s belly rumbled with laughter as he pointed at Mo Jinxi and accused, “He learned to lie because he has no parents to teach him any manners. He’s a bad kid! A bad kid! He’s learning to lie at a young age and has no parents to educate him! Bad kid!”
“I’m not! I’m not lying!” Mo Jinxi’s face flushed red as he shouted at them with his hands clenched tightly in a fist.
The three boys booed at him. “You are lying. You’re a wild child with no parents! Your dad doesn’t want you and neither does your mum! Oh oh, abandoned by your dad and not wanted by your mum!”
Mo Jinxi was so angry that tears started swimming in his eyes, but he was too stubborn to let them fall down his face. His little fists clasped tight.
There were still students around the school. They were walking toward his direction but all they did was just glance. No one made any attempt to stop the boys.
“What nonsense are you talking about?!” A stern voice shouted.
Mo Jinxi looked over and his eyes brightened. His eyes were now open wide, which was why he could no longer hold in his tears. They flowed freely from his eyes.
Lin Chu walked toward them in big strides and held Mo Jinxi protectively in her arms, “I’m sorry we’re late.”
The three boys started to fluster upon seeing that someone was here to stand up for Mo Jinxi. They stood there without moving. Their eyes darted around nervously with a look of panic on their faces.
Yan Beicheng joined them quickly as he looked at the three boys coldly.
The three boys trembled together. They had never been given that look before. Yan Beicheng was a terrifying sight to them. They wondered if he was about to beat them up.
“The three of you!” Lin Chu looked at them furiously. She was not about to forgive them so easily just because they were young.
Being young was not an excuse for hurting others!
“The three of you are students who have been to school, not some child who knows nothing. Hasn’t the teacher ever taught you to care for your classmates? Didn’t they teach you to have manners? Do your parents know what sort of terrible things you have been saying to your classmates? Haven’t they taught you not to hurt others so casually? Jinxi has people around him who love him, just like the three of you do. What right do you have to bully him?” Lin Chu was so angry that she sounded rather stern than she usually was.
She did not think there was a need to speak to them nicely just because they were children.
Lin Chu was also not about to readily forgive them for causing such hurt this easily.
Yan Ningbai was the same age as they were, but he had never looked down on the children in the orphanage nor said anything hurtful since the first day he got to know them there.
He had even saved up his allowance to buy a few sets of good stationery and books for the children in the orphanage whenever he bought himself some.
Lin Chu did not think that it should be an excuse for the children to act this way just because they were young because she had Yan Ningbai to compare them with.
The two skinny boys were scared stiff and were unable to say another word. Hu Yidong shouted rudely, “This… This has got nothing to do with you! Busybody!”
He ran off after shouting the words.
Yan Beicheng was not about to let him off that easily for daring to shout rudely at Lin Chu. He reached out and caught Hu Yidong by the collar easily. He grabbed his arms so Hu Yidong could not make his escape.
Mo Jinxi was worried that Lin Chu would stress herself from the anger. He looked up anxiously at her from her side. His little hand was gently placed on Lin Chu’s protruding belly. He was silently comforting her.
Lin Chu lowered her head and gave Mo Jinxi a gentle smile to calm his anxiousness. She assured him, “I’m fine.”
Mo Jinxi nodded but the expression on his little face said that he was not convinced. He was still apprehensive about it.
Yan Beicheng grabbed Hu Yidong with one hand, and the other caught on to the skinny little boy. He was slightly regretting not getting Shao Huai to drive them here. They could have caught the third boy.
Hu Yidong looked like the main bully. He had been bullying students in the school and acted like the school’s triad leader. He bullied boys in his class who looked easy to deal with but did not dare to touch any of the school athletes. He was the typical scoundrel who feared the strong and preyed on the weak.
However, he was still a force to reckon with and was quite terrifying. The girls in his class stayed as far away from him as possible.
Hu Yidong was used to getting anything he wanted. Now that he was caught by Yan Beicheng, he flared his teeth and tried to kick and hit Yan Beicheng, using all four of his limbs. “Let me go! You let me go now! I’m warning you to let me go, otherwise, I’ll beat you up!”
Yan Beicheng listened to his pathetic threats and snickered. He reached over with his long arm. Hu Yidong’s limbs were short and if one added all four together, it was still shorter than Yan Beicheng’s arm.
No matter how hard Hu Yidong attacked with everything he has, he was still attacking the air. He could not reach Yan Beicheng at all.
Lin Chu was not worried about Yan Beicheng as she saw that Hu Yidong could not harm him at all.
She lowered her head to ask Mo Jinxi, “Were these the same boys who said terrible things to you when they thought no one was coming to attend your parent-teacher meeting?”
Mo Jinxi was feeling okay until Lin Chu mentioned this. The little boy started to get upset as his eyes and nose turned red. His lips pressed tight together as he looked a little deflated.
He nodded slowly but did not raise his head.
Lin Chu did not need to say another word. Yan Beicheng already knew what she meant. “Let’s go. We’ll take all three of these children to meet their class teacher and ask her about this. The teachers here need to take charge when something like this happens at school. We’ll take the opportunity to meet their parents too. We’ll need to ask them if they know that their children are doing this at school.”
It could be because of his physicality that the skinny boy did not fight back as hard as Hu Yidong did. He had been acting all high and mighty when Hu Yidong was around but the moment he was caught by Yan Beicheng, he started to cower. He stayed silent with a panic look on his face as Yan Beicheng held on to him.
When he heard what Yan Beicheng said, he shouted in fear, “No! I don’t want to go! I don’t want to!”
Yan Beicheng refused to let him go. The child was so scared that he cried. “I don’t want to go! Let me go, I don’t want to go!”
Yan Beicheng looked at him coldly. “So, now you’re scared. Weren’t you something else when you were bullying another person? You were brave enough to be a bully but not brave enough to take responsibility? I’d like to see how your family teach you manners. Stop crying! People might think that I’m bullying a child.”
“I’m not going! Please, I beg you. I don’t want to go. Sob sob sob! I won’t do it anymore! I’ll never bully anyone again. Don’t tell the teacher! Sob sob sob sob!” The child begged as he cried.
The taller, skinny child who had not been caught by Yan Beicheng saw the whole thing. He craned his neck towards them and shouted, “We were right to say that he had no parents because it’s true! It’s no use for you to tell my mother about this. My mother told me not to play with him. He has no parents to teach him any manners. Who knows how does he usually acts? I shouldn’t learn anything bad from him!”
The tall, skinny boy shouted indignantly. It made Lin Chu so mad that she pulled Mo Jinxi protectively in her arms and quickly covered his ears to prevent him from hearing the words.
“Yes, you’ve learned great manners at home. I’ve yet to hear Jinxi say anything against you. Instead, you’re here saying all sorts of terrible things to Jinxi. I don’t want to say anything more to you. Since your mother was the one who told you all that, then I’ll go talk to your mother about this!” Lin Chu said as she released her hands from Jinxi’s ears.
She held Mo Jinxi’s hands and said, “Jinxi, let’s go.”
The tall, skinny boy quickly ran away from the school entrance without turning back. No matter how formidable Yan Beicheng was, he only had a pair of hands. He might have caught Hu Yidong and the smaller, skinny boy but he could not do anything to stop the tall, skinny boy.
Lin Chu naturally could not give chase, but she had not expected Mo Jinxi to chase the tall, skinny boy.
However, that boy was taller than Mo Jinxi and had longer legs. Mo Jinxi ran with all his might but still could not catch up to him. He clenched his teeth and refused to give up. He looked up at that moment only to see that boy run into a man in front.
That man seemed to be stopping the tall, skinny boy on purpose by letting the boy run straight into him.
When the boy knocked into the man, he grabbed the boy by the arms.
Mo Jinxi ran over and stopped as he caught his breath. He looked up. Now that he was standing in front of the man, he looked taller. He was about the same height as Yan Beicheng.
The tall, skinny boy twisted his arms around to escape, but he could not get away from the man’s grasp. “Let me go!”
The man looked at the tall, skinny boy coldly, and then toward Mo Jinxi.
For some reason, Mo Jinxi felt that this man had a similar aura to Yan Beicheng. He was wearing a big, black coat that reached his knees. Inside the coat was a police uniform that was covered by his cardigan. It was difficult to determine his ranking within the police force. Naturally, Mo Jinxi could not tell his ranking as well.
All Mo Jinxi knew was that his police uniform made this man look especially respectful. It looked good on him and he had a righteous look on him.
The man was good-looking and did not necessarily lose out to Yan Beicheng. Since he was a policeman, Mo Jinxi was not afraid of him. He did not do anything wrong, so there was nothing to be afraid of. Children have a natural respect for those in uniform, and it made Mo Jinxi a little nervous. He lifted his head and looked at the policeman with his clear, bright eyes.
“I’m taking him to see the teacher,” Mo Jinxi said while looking up.
The man nodded and said, “I saw everything. Since you are unable to grab hold of him, I’ll help you take him to your class teacher.”
Mo Jinxi smiled in surprise. Even though his eyes and nose were red, he was in much better spirits than before. Mo Jinxi’s little dimple could even be seen on one side of his face. It was a great feeling.
The man looked stunned as if it suddenly reminded him of something. He was a little dazed. Even though he did not smile, but his eyes were smiling and warm. He held on to the tall, skinny boy and said to Mo Jinxi, “Let’s go.”
Lin Chu and Yan Beicheng were quite stunned to see Mo Jinxi return with a policeman.
Mo Jinxi explained excitedly, “Xu Mingmin ran into this policeman when he escaped. So, the policeman helped catch him back here.”
Mo Jinxi’s dimple could be seen while he was making his explanation. He looked at the beaten and crestfallen Xu Mingmin and said, “Policemen are here to catch bad people.”
Young children were usually taken care of by their grandparents. Whenever the children were naughty, these elderlies would usually love to warn them with the same threat. “I’ll get the policemen to arrest you if you aren’t obedient!”
Xu Mingmin did not expect to be caught by the police today. He cried on the spot. “I’m… I’m not a bad guy! Don’t arrest me! Don’t arrest me! Sob sob sob sob, mummy!”
Mo Jingsheng glanced over coldly, “Continue crying and I’ll take you to the police station.”
Xu Mingmin immediately quietened and did not dare to cry anymore.
Lin Chu found it even more surprising that Yan Beicheng knew this policeman.
She saw Yan Beicheng smile as he greeted, “I did not expect to see you here.”
“I was just tidying up a case and was walking by to buy a bottle of water. Who knew I would bump into you?” There was a small smile on Mo Jingsheng’s face.
Lin Chu watched as she figured Mo Jingsheng to be a cold person. It must not be easy to get him to smile like this.
Yan Beicheng introduced him to Lin Chu, “This is my friend, Mo Jingsheng.”
He looked at Mo Jingsheng in his uniform as he made the introduction. He smiled and continued, “Everyone calls him District Office Mo. If I remember correctly, your ranking now is Second Lieutenant.”
Mo Jingsheng nodded slightly in acknowledgment.
Lin Chu had not expected for Mo Jingsheng to have a senior ranking at the district level. He looked about 34 to 35 years old. He must come from an extraordinary background. Besides, if Yan Beicheng could call him a friend, he must be a somebody.
