["I'm just at the cinema near our home, I can walk back, no need for you."]
Nian Suian replied to Gu Zhijing, saying she went out to watch a movie, and hadn't gone far, just to the nearby cinema where she could stroll back home.
Gu Zhijing: [I'm about to finish class, wait for me a bit!]
[Alright, alright, I'll wait for you.] Nian Suian looked at the two large bags of practice books and test papers in her hands, agreeing to wait for Gu Zhijing to arrive. These things were so heavy, and since they were bought for Gu Zhijing anyway, it would be perfect to let him come and carry them himself.
There happened to be a coffee shop on the roadside, with a row of tables and chairs set up at the entrance, only a few people sitting there. Nian Suian decided to go into the shop and order a dessert, planning to sit outside to eat while waiting. Unfortunately, the shop only had coffee for drinks, so she didn't order anything to drink.
As soon as class ended, Gu Zhijing packed his bag and ran out. Being freshmen who had just come up from middle school, the students weren't used to evening self-study yet. They were all the same – as soon as the bell started to ring, everyone had their bags packed, and the teachers turned a blind eye.
Qu Zizhou called out to him, "Zhijing, aren't you coming back with me?"
"Uh, my dad's having the driver pick me up, so I won't be riding in your car anymore." Originally, after entering high school, Gu Junxing had stopped having the family driver pick up Gu Zhijing every day, letting him take the bus or subway on his own. But he didn't want to squeeze into the subway, so he often rode in Qu Zizhou's car, since it was on the way anyway.
"Oh, has your dad come to his senses and stopped 'training' you?" Chu Mingyan chimed in. They all knew that Gu Zhijing's father had always been very strict with him, so they had all felt sorry for Gu Zhijing before. Occasionally, when his pocket money was cut, the group of brothers would help him out a bit.
"Whatever he thinks, I'll enjoy it while I can. I've got to go now, I have something to do." Gu Zhijing didn't know when his dad had changed his mind again, but for now, he'd take the driver's ride, and if later they stopped picking him up, he'd just hitch a ride again.
"Uncle, don't go straight home later, go to the cinema near our house... outside entrance number three," Gu Zhijing instructed the driver after getting in the car.
"Alright."
"Uncle, are you new? I haven't seen you before," Gu Zhijing only realized after getting in the car that the driver wasn't the usual one; he hadn't seen this driver before.
"Yes, I just started today. My name is Gao Feng, and I'll be responsible for taking you to and from school from now on."
Gu Zhijing hadn't expected his dad to assign him a dedicated driver. Was this for real? He felt a bit overwhelmed now.
"Just for me alone?"
"Yes, young master."
Gu Zhijing wondered to himself: What's going on? Has Dad discovered he's lost his ability to have more children, so he's decided to be nicer to me, his only remaining offspring?
Gu Zhijing's school wasn't far from home, so they quickly arrived at the cinema. Before Gu Zhijing could figure out what was happening, the driver had already parked the car and opened the door for him.
"Gao Uncle, wait here for a bit, I'm going to find my stepmom."
After instructing the driver, Gu Zhijing headed towards the place Nian Suian had told him about.
"You filthy whore, don't be so ungrateful. Dressed like that late at night, aren't you just out here selling yourself? Stop acting all high and mighty!"
Gu Zhijing heard the voice and turned to look, seeing a middle-aged man with a big belly grabbing a girl's hand, trying to drag her away.
Just as Gu Zhijing was debating whether to play the hero or call the police, he took a few steps closer and saw the bag the woman was carrying. His eyes widened instantly.
Holy crap!
Forgetting about calling 110, Gu Zhijing rushed over and kicked the man, shouting, "Go to hell! How dare you harass her!"
The man was quite big, but because he had been drinking, he was unsteady on his feet. Combined with Gu Zhijing's sudden attack, he was knocked to the ground.
Gu Zhijing turned around, but saw an unfamiliar face looking scared and thanking him. Only then did he realize he had mistaken the person's identity. He remembered Nian Suian had a similar bag, and this woman's height and hairstyle were similar to Nian Suian's, so he had mistaken her for Nian Suian.
At this moment, the man who had been kicked to the ground came to his senses and started cursing.
"F*ck your mother, you little bastard, how dare you interfere!" He got up, ready to hit Gu Zhijing.
Gu Zhijing wasn't very good at fighting, except for a semester of Taekwondo his father had sent him to learn when he was young. But he was agile enough to dodge the man's attack and even managed to get behind him and give him another kick.
"How dare you curse my mother!"
Nian Suian had finished her whole piece of cake and still hadn't seen Gu Zhijing arrive, even though he had said on WeChat ten minutes ago that he would be there soon. She decided to stand up and look around.
Just as she turned the corner, she heard people saying there was a fight ahead. She followed the crowd forward and saw Gu Zhijing kicking someone.
"Zhijing!"
Seeing the man about to grab Gu Zhijing again, Nian Suian rushed forward, dumping all the test papers she had bought for Gu Zhijing onto the man. Taking advantage of his surprise, she gave his knee a hard kick. The girl who had originally been harassed and scared now reacted, running over to slap the man twice.
"How dare you harass me, I'll beat you to death!" she said, then started hitting him with her bag.
As the crowd of onlookers grew larger, the police finally arrived at the scene. After quickly dispersing the crowd, the police separated the four people. Unable to immediately tell who was with whom, and seeing one person in a school uniform, the police decided to take all four of them back to the station.
"Officer! This man was harassing me, you should handcuff him!" the girl exclaimed.
"Hey, officer, look at how I've been beaten!" The man pointed at his face, indicating that he was the one who had been hit and was the victim.
"We were just being good Samaritans, we can cooperate with giving statements," Nian Suian said, pointing to herself and Gu Zhijing.
Gu Zhijing added, "That's right, I saw this creep harassing this girl, so I stepped in to help."
"Whatever the reason, we'll sort it out at the station," the officer replied.
The driver, having waited outside for a long time without seeing the two return, went in to look for them. What he saw was Gu Zhijing and Nian Suian being led into a police car by officers.
The driver had been driving all his life and had never dealt with any police other than traffic officers. Seeing this scene, he panicked and quickly took out his phone to call Butler Su and explain the situation. After the call, he followed the police car in his own vehicle. Gao Feng was terrified, thinking he never expected to encounter such a situation on his first day of work.
Butler Su was startled when he received the driver's call saying that the young master and madam had been taken away by the police for unknown reasons.
He hurriedly went to the study to find Gu Junxing.
"Sir, something's happened! The young master and madam have been taken away by the police!"