Chapter Seventy: Can You Make Yourself Clear?

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“What… what’s wrong with him? Why is he yelling so loudly, like he’s in a lot of pain!”

On the pedestrian street, Bai Zhijun looked in bewilderment at a man in a baseball cap curled up on the ground, clutching his crotch and howling in agony.

“I… I don’t know either! I just hit him, but only a little, really lightly,” Yang Qing replied, his face blank with confusion and a hint of panic. He honestly hadn’t used much force.

The story went like this…

An hour earlier, Yang Qing and Bai Zhijun had gone to find Bai Dazhu, catching him just as he and his crew were about to head off to work. They persuaded them to take the day off and rest, and return to work tomorrow. Yang Qing also called Wang Ming, explained the situation, took the day off on behalf of Bai Dazhu and his friends, and invited Wang Ming to visit their home the next afternoon.

With that settled, Yang Qing and Bai Zhijun, at loose ends, decided to stroll through town and pick up some groceries before heading home to cook. But as soon as they reached the pedestrian street, a shrill scream split the air.

Moments later, Yang Qing saw a man in a baseball cap clutching a woman’s handbag, running toward him at full tilt.

On instinct—truly, just instinct—Yang Qing swung his jacket at the man’s face as he came within half a meter.

Immediately, the man crashed to the ground, bounced up, and then collapsed again, curling up and screaming in pain.

…And that’s how things ended up like this.

Yang Qing felt completely innocent. He really hadn’t hit the guy hard.

“Lightly!” Bai Zhijun was speechless. “You swung your jacket in a full arc right into his face, and you call that light? I swear…”

“Ahem, I was just startled, you know? It was a reflex, not on purpose,” Yang Qing mumbled awkwardly.

Bai Zhijun: …

“Thank you… thank you so much!” At that moment, a woman with red lipstick, carrying her high heels, rushed over to thank Yang Qing and Bai Zhijun profusely.

“Ah, it’s nothing. Miss, you’d better check your bag and make sure nothing’s missing. If everything’s there, we should hurry up and get this guy to a hospital,” Bai Zhijun said, rubbing his temples. Looking at the man still howling on the ground and at Yang Qing’s helpless expression, he couldn’t help but grumble inwardly.

Talk about bad luck! As if misfortune had opened the door and invited itself in. What a mess—what should have been a good deed catching a thief had somehow turned into an accident!

“Sigh, I’ll just call an ambulance,” Yang Qing said, a little shaken by how pale the man’s face had turned from the pain. He fished out his phone, ready to dial.

“Wait!” The woman suddenly spoke up. “He… he’s not… not really injured, just in pain, that’s all.”

“Uh!” Yang Qing froze, and Bai Zhijun was taken aback as well.

“Miss, you can’t just say that. In pain but not injured? Don’t worry, we’re the ones who did this—if there are medical bills, we’ll cover them,” Bai Zhijun said, baring his teeth in frustration.

“No… no, big brother, that’s not what I mean,” the woman stammered, her face flushing as she pointed to the spot covered by her handbag earlier.

“He… he was probably poked by that,” she said.

“Hm?” Bai Zhijun and Yang Qing looked over curiously and saw, not far from the man, a smooth, upright iron rod, as thick as a finger and more than ten centimeters tall.

The two of them glanced at the rod, then at the man clutching his crotch and wailing, then at the woman, their eyes full of confusion.

“He… he got poked there? Is it really that painful?” Yang Qing asked.

“Poked… poked…” The woman’s face was so red it seemed about to drip blood. She stammered for a long while, unable to finish.

“Where exactly? Just say it,” Yang Qing pressed. “Forget it, I’ll just call the ambulance.”

“There’s really no need!” the woman cried. “He’s just in pain—it’ll pass soon.”

“Really?” Bai Zhijun was surprised by her insistence and looked at Yang Qing in confusion.

The two men exchanged bewildered looks, while the woman, unable to meet their eyes, blushed and walked over to the man, whose cries had quieted somewhat. Her face suddenly hardened as she scowled, “Stop howling! Keep it up and I’ll send you to the hospital first, then straight to the police station!”

Instantly, as if by magic, the man fell silent, looking up at her with tear-filled eyes.

“See? He’s fine—you don’t need to call an ambulance,” the woman told them with a smile.

Bai Zhijun: ヽ(￣д￣;)ノ

Yang Qing: …

Miss, isn’t this… a threat?

He’s a thief, of course he’s afraid of the police! And you’re actually using that to threaten him! Didn’t you see him holding back his tears?

“Let’s not make a scene. Let’s take him to the hospital first, then to the police station,” Yang Qing said helplessly.

“No… I… I’m not going… to the hospital.” Before Yang Qing had even finished, the man staggered painfully to his feet, hunched over and speaking in broken gasps. His face twisted in agony, he turned to the woman and pleaded, “I… I won’t go… to the hospital. You… you really… really won’t… won’t call the police?”

“Yes,” the woman nodded. “As long as you don’t insist on going to the hospital, I won’t call the police. And…”

She glanced meaningfully at the spot the man was clutching and chuckled softly, “You really don’t need a hospital, do you?”

“Yes… yes,” the man gasped, nodding.

The woman smiled gently. “Pain is normal, especially when it’s your first time. Just go home and rest—you’ll be fine. Now, hurry up and go.”

And so, under the bewildered and astonished gazes of Yang Qing and Bai Zhijun, the man hobbled away, hunched over.

“He… he’s just leaving? You’re really not calling the police?” Yang Qing was completely thrown by this bizarre turn of events, struggling to process it.

“Yes, everyone has their struggles. Let’s give him another chance. Besides, he’s already learned a very painful lesson,” the woman said with a quiet sigh of relief when she saw Yang Qing wasn’t insisting on involving the police. She smiled again, “Thank you both, once more.”

“Oh, no need,” Yang Qing said, waving his hand. He looked at her seriously. “You’re really not calling the police?”

“There’s no need, really. Thank you. I’ll be going now. Goodbye.”

The woman walked away, leaving Yang Qing even more perplexed. What kind of situation was this? But since even the victim had left, there was nothing more he could do.

“Let’s go,” Bai Zhijun said irritably. “They’re all gone, what are you still worrying for? Next time, try to use less force if you get involved in something like this! Lucky for us he didn’t want to go to the hospital—otherwise…”

Yang Qing looked at his jacket and sighed in relief, muttering, “Yeah, I’ll be gentler next time.”

Bai Zhijun: …

Didn’t you just say you barely used any force? Talk about saying one thing and doing another!

“Ring ring ring…”

As he grumbled inwardly, his phone suddenly rang. He glanced at the screen and immediately broke into a broad smile.

“Hello, Lingyue? What makes you think of calling your big brother today?”

“What! You’re in Yangcheng? And your train arrives in an hour? You… why are you coming here…”

More than ten minutes later, Bai Zhijun hung up. Yang Qing, seeing his smile gone, asked curiously, “Who was that?”

Bai Zhijun sighed. “My younger sister. She’s coming to Yangcheng, and she’ll be here in an hour.”

“Wait, you have a sister? How come I never heard about her? Is she… your real sister?”

Bai Zhijun rolled his eyes. “We have the same mother—what do you think?”

Yang Qing: “…If your real sister’s coming, what are you worried about?”

“How could I not worry? She just graduated from college and instead of going home, she’s coming straight here!” Bai Zhijun sighed again. “What’s she going to do here? Sure, she only went to a junior college, but if she keeps studying, she could take the civil service exams. Coming here… sigh…”

Bai Zhijun sighed again, and Yang Qing fell silent for a moment before smiling. “Everyone has their own path. You don’t need to worry so much. Young people have their own ideas. And since she’s here, she can keep preparing for exams—nothing stopping her.”

“That’s true!” Bai Zhijun’s smile returned. “Come on, let’s go pick her up!”

“Aren’t you going to call your wife and let her know?”

“No need! I’ll give her and the kid a surprise. Xiaobai really likes her aunt.”

“Heh… Surprise? Just don’t let it turn into a shock—when your wife finds out…”

“What are you saying! Who are you looking down on, huh?”

“Haha… I’ll make a couple extra dishes tonight—give our sister a proper welcome!”

“You bet!”