It was ten in the morning, and the drizzle that had been falling all night finally stopped. The air after the rain carried a refreshing scent of special earthiness. The streets were bustling with the usual traffic, and life in Pinggang seemed to flow as steadily as ever.
Saturday had arrived, and Xiao Zihan and his group of six were ready to explore the scenic spots in Pinggang. Walking along the main streets of Pinggang, surrounded by unique high-rise buildings and occasionally passing by attractive young girls, Xiao Zihan and his friends felt a sense of ease, their steps becoming lighter, and their expressions more relaxed.
"Xiaofeng, tell me why you chose the teaching profession," Xiao Zihan said casually, though he had already prepared several possible reasons in his mind.
Unexpectedly, Wu Xiaofeng turned to look at Xiao Zihan, sighed deeply, and said, "Becoming a teacher wasn't a voluntary choice; it was a last resort."
Xiao Zihan sensed a tinge of melancholy in his words, and all the preconceived reasons vanished from his mind. He remembered the first time he met Wu Xiaofeng, full of vigor and confidence. Now, the situation seemed to have reversed, and Wu Xiaofeng had lost some of his former boldness, replaced by a hint of maturity.
Perhaps he has encountered setbacks, Xiao Zihan thought, the only reason he could think of. However, as Wu Xiaofeng didn't directly reveal it, Xiao Zihan refrained from probing further, simply saying with a smile, "Xiaofeng, are you trying to give me a riddle? Hehe, I'm not particularly good at solving puzzles; I can't figure it out." Then he turned to Yuezeming and the other four, giving them a look as if to say, "Now it's your turn to guess."
Yuezeming lowered his head, pondered for a moment, and shook it, indicating that he didn't know. Hu Weimin didn't bother to think and averted his gaze, while the other two sighed in admiration.
At this moment, from a nearby alley, a cry rang out, "Help! Someone is robbing me! Help! Someone is robbing me!"
Xiao Zihan and the others turned their heads towards the direction of the alley. A man in his forties was running towards them from the depths of the alley.
Before anyone could decide whether to play the role of righteous individuals and draw their swords to help, Hu Weimin had already taken the lead, rushing out a few steps and standing at the entrance of the alley, blocking the robber's path.
The robber, seeing his way blocked in front and being pursued from behind, unexpectedly stopped. Could it be that he knew he couldn't escape?
Xiao Zihan and the others were puzzled, but when they looked at the person chasing from behind, they found it was a woman in her forties, carrying a basket and gasping for breath.
As she ran up to the man, she grabbed his clothes and shouted, "What are you doing, robbing my eggs? Do you think I'm easy to bully?"
"Who robbed your eggs? I was just buying eggs peacefully, and you yelled 'robbery.' I have to ask you what's going on." The middle-aged man declared boldly. Judging by his appearance, he didn't look like a robber.
At this point, the surrounding area was filled with people pointing and discussing. Xiao Zihan and his friends, standing at the front, were also among the crowd.
Hu Weimin walked up to the middle-aged man and said, "You say you didn't rob anything. But when someone shouts 'robbery,' why did you run?"
The man responded, "I didn't run because I robbed something. I was just buying eggs here, and suddenly this lady started yelling 'robbery.' I have no idea what's going on."
At this moment, the people around began to join in, asking questions and expressing their doubts. Wu Xiaofeng and the others were curious, glancing at each other but not intervening for the time being. The situation seemed to be more of a misunderstanding than an actual robbery.
The middle-aged man put on a very innocent look, shrugged off the middle-aged woman's hand, and walked to the edge of the crowd. Pointing at the middle-aged woman, he said, "How would I know? I was buying eggs from her. I took two, gave her fifty cents, turned around, and walked away. I didn't expect her to suddenly yell 'robbery.' I thought someone was about to rob me. If I didn't run, I would be waiting for someone to rob me, right?"
The surrounding crowd reacted with disapproval upon hearing this, realizing it was a simple misunderstanding. Everyone turned their gazes towards the middle-aged woman, questioning why she would shout "robbery."
The middle-aged woman, finding herself in the spotlight, revealed a triumphant expression on her face. She said, "Have you all bought eggs before? How much is one egg?"
The crowd immediately responded with varying answers, "28 cents," "30 cents," "31 cents." Not a single person mentioned "25 cents." After everyone finished stating their prices, they finally realized that the middle-aged man hadn't given enough money for the eggs. However, the middle-aged woman had blown the situation out of proportion, causing a disturbance. People began to think that she might be disturbing public order.
The middle-aged man and woman continued to argue over trivial matters, resulting in a chorus of disapproval from the crowd. The commotion eventually dispersed.
Xiao Zihan saw the other five preparing to leave and called them back. He approached the middle-aged couple, who were still discussing the right and wrong, and whispered, "Uncle, Auntie, you've performed enough drama, earned quite a bit of money. Now, return my friend's wallet, and you can take the rest."
The middle-aged man and woman were both stunned, exchanging glances and revealing shock in each other's eyes. They had committed such acts several times, using different methods each time, but had never been discovered. Unexpectedly, this time, they encountered someone with sharp eyes. They couldn't run immediately; fleeing would expose everything.
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The middle-aged man chuckled, rubbed his hands together, and said, "I didn't expect my brother's eyesight to be so good. Hehe, I'll return your friend's wallet right away. Since my brother gave me a way out just now, I hope you can continue to keep my secret and leave me with some means to make a living. I thank you for this, and in the future, if my brother needs help, I, Yan Tiannong, will definitely lend a hand."
For some reason, he generously revealed his name. After saying this, he found himself in a daze, turning to look at the middle-aged woman with a somewhat guilty expression.
Xiao Zihan scrutinized the middle-aged man, slightly shorter than himself, with a straight nose, thin lips, elongated eyes, and wrinkles on his face indicating past handsomeness. Surprisingly, he shared the same surname as Mei Er. "Yan Tiannong?" Xiao Zihan suddenly remembered that Mei Er had mentioned her father's name, Yan Tiannong. Could it be such a coincidence?
Xiao Zihan shifted his gaze to the middle-aged woman behind Yan Tiannong, feeling that although she appeared somewhat aged, her bust and curves were prominent, exuding a charming aura. Imagining her in her youth, she must have been a captivating beauty. Looking at her narrow, watery eyes, she resembled Mei Er quite a lot.
Pointing at the middle-aged woman, Xiao Zihan confidently said, "Your name wouldn't happen to be Duan Jiaojiao, right?"
The middle-aged woman, shocked, exclaimed, "How did you know?"
With this statement, Xiao Zihan confirmed that the couple in front of him were Mei Er's parents, his future father-in-law and mother-in-law. Mei Er had mentioned that her parents divorced due to mutual accusations of extramarital affairs and had both left, each going their own way. Now, they unexpectedly reunited and engaged in theft.
While Xiao Zihan was pondering this, Mei Er's father and mother had already exchanged glances, mouthing two words, "Police." They sprinted away, running as fast as people in their forties could, which was surprisingly not slower than that of young men. Xiao Zihan couldn't help but pursue.
As soon as he lifted his foot to take a step, someone suddenly dashed past him, moving like an arrow leaving the bow, directly chasing after Mei Er's parents.
In the blink of an eye, that person caught up with Mei Er's parents. Springing into the air, they delivered two flying kicks.
Mei Er's parents, entirely focused on running for their lives, were oblivious to what was happening behind them. They didn't have the chance to dodge the flying kicks. With two muffled thuds, Mei Er's parents sailed through the air in a flat trajectory, landing on the ground and struggling to get up. It seemed they had been kicked quite severely.
The above passage translates to English as follows:
The middle-aged man put on a very innocent look, shrugged off the middle-aged woman's hand, and walked to the edge of the crowd. Pointing at the middle-aged woman, he said, "How would I know? I was buying eggs from her. I took two, gave her fifty cents, turned around, and walked away. I didn't expect her to suddenly yell 'robbery.' I thought someone was about to rob me. If I didn't run, I would be waiting for someone to rob me, right?"
The surrounding crowd reacted with disapproval upon hearing this, realizing it was a simple misunderstanding. Everyone turned their gazes towards the middle-aged woman, questioning why she would shout "robbery."
The middle-aged woman, finding herself in the spotlight, revealed a triumphant expression on her face. She said, "Have you all bought eggs before? How much is one egg?"
The crowd immediately responded with varying answers, "28 cents," "30 cents," "31 cents." Not a single person mentioned "25 cents." After everyone finished stating their prices, they finally realized that the middle-aged man hadn't given enough money for the eggs. However, the middle-aged woman had blown the situation out of proportion, causing a disturbance. People began to think that she might be disturbing public order.
The middle-aged man and woman continued to argue over trivial matters, resulting in a chorus of disapproval from the crowd. The commotion eventually dispersed.
Xiao Zihan saw the other five preparing to leave and called them back. He approached the middle-aged couple, who were still discussing the right and wrong, and whispered, "Uncle, Auntie, you've performed enough drama, earned quite a bit of money. Now, return my friend's wallet, and you can take the rest."
The middle-aged man and woman were both stunned, exchanging glances and revealing shock in each other's eyes. They had committed such acts several times, using different methods each time, but had never been discovered. Unexpectedly, this time, they encountered someone with sharp eyes. They couldn't run immediately; fleeing would expose everything.
The middle-aged man chuckled, rubbed his hands together, and said, "I didn't expect my brother's eyesight to be so good. Hehe, I'll return your friend's wallet right away. Since my brother gave me a way out just now, I hope you can continue to keep my secret and leave me with some means to make a living. I thank you for this, and in the future, if my brother needs help, I, Yan Tiannong, will definitely lend a hand."
For some reason, he generously revealed his name. After saying this, he found himself in a daze, turning to look at the middle-aged woman with a somewhat guilty expression.
Xiao Zihan scrutinized the middle-aged man, slightly shorter than himself, with a straight nose, thin lips, elongated eyes, and wrinkles on his face indicating past handsomeness. Surprisingly, he shared the same surname as Mei Er. "Yan Tiannong?" Xiao Zihan suddenly remembered that Mei Er had mentioned her father's name, Yan Tiannong. Could it be such a coincidence?
Xiao Zihan shifted his gaze to the middle-aged woman behind Yan Tiannong, feeling that although she appeared somewhat aged, her bust and curves were prominent, exuding a charming aura. Imagining her in her youth, she must have been a captivating beauty. Looking at her narrow, watery eyes, she resembled Mei Er quite a lot.
Pointing at the middle-aged woman, Xiao Zihan confidently said, "Your name wouldn't happen to be Duan Jiaojiao, right?"
The middle-aged woman, shocked, exclaimed, "How did you know?"
With this statement, Xiao Zihan confirmed that the couple in front of him were Mei Er's parents, his future father-in-law and mother-in-law. Mei Er had mentioned that her parents divorced due to mutual accusations of extramarital affairs and had both left, each going their own way. Now, they unexpectedly reunited and engaged in theft.
While Xiao Zihan was pondering this, Mei Er's father and mother had already exchanged glances, mouthing two words, "Police." They sprinted away, running as fast as people in their forties could, which was surprisingly not slower than that of young men. Xiao Zihan couldn't help but pursue.
As soon as he lifted his foot to take a step, someone suddenly dashed past him, moving like an arrow leaving the bow, directly chasing after Mei Er's parents.
In the blink of an eye, that person caught up with Mei Er's parents. Springing into the air, they delivered two flying kicks.
Mei Er's parents, entirely focused on running for their lives, were oblivious to what was happening behind them. They didn't have the chance to dodge the flying kicks. With two muffled thuds, Mei Er's parents sailed through the air in a flat trajectory, landing on the ground and struggling to get up. It seemed they had been kicked quite severely.
Xiao Zihan widened his eyes, marveling at the astonishing scene before him. Someone possessed such incredible speed, surpassing him by more than a step. It was incredible, truly incredible. Could this be the legendary martial arts master?
Suddenly, it struck him that the two people kicked into the air were none other than his future father-in-law and mother-in-law. He hurriedly ran to their side, expressing genuine concern, "Are you two okay?" After all, they were his future in-laws. Despite their questionable background, Xiao Zihan still had to show them some respect.
At this moment, Mei Er's mother, with a face full of resentment, blamed Mei Er's father, "It's all your fault, you talk too much. Why couldn't you keep quiet? Now, we're in big trouble. Oh, my delicate waist, it hurts so much." Suddenly noticing Xiao Zihan approaching and asking if they were okay, she immediately shifted her anger towards him, saying, "Do I look fine to you? Let someone kick you and see how it feels. What nonsense are you spouting there?"
Mei Er's father, Yan Tiannong, nervously nudged Mei Er's mother, Duan Jiaojiao's arm, whispering, "What are you doing? How dare you curse at the police? Are you tired of living?"
Duan Jiaojiao's face suddenly froze, realizing her mistake. She immediately lowered her voice and said to Xiao Zihan, "Ah—don't mind my big mouth, officer. I wasn't talking about you; I was talking about this old thing." She pointed at Yan Tiannong and pleaded, "We really didn't mean to steal your friend's wallet. Spare us this time, and I'll do anything to repay you. Please, officer." After speaking, she even threw a seductive look at Xiao Zihan.
Xiao Zihan, realizing that the two mistook him for a police officer, couldn't help but cry and laugh inside. Remembering the first time he met Mei Er and she mistook him for a police officer, he didn't expect that even in front of Mei Er's parents, he would still be taken for a cop. Was he really that much like a police officer?
Just as he was about to explain to the two, a righteous and stern voice came from behind, "Under the vast heavens, you two dare to commit crimes openly. If you don't surrender yourselves to justice, then I, Lin, won't bear this surname anymore."
Xiao Zihan was suddenly dumbfounded. What was this person talking about? This wasn't some dynasty from five hundred years ago. Turning around to look, the speaker was the person who had used the extraordinary footwork and flying kicks. This person stood upright and firm like a towering pine, exuding a heroic spirit. After delivering an impassioned speech, there was an air of boldness and ambition, reminiscent of the main character, Cao Yunpiao, from the popular historical drama "The First Detective of the Capital" that aired recently. Yes, the more he looked, the more identical they seemed.