Chapter 50: Helping Others

Her mother thought for a moment, said nothing, mounted the electric bike, took a wide turn, and disappeared from my sight...

I was left to walk alone. Spotting a large tree by the roadside, an itch in my feet made me jump up and kick the trunk hard. My left foot twisted outward, and a sharp pain shot through it. When I landed, I collided with a wall, leapt up in pain, and couldn’t help but let out a low cry.

From afar came a concerned voice of a young girl: “Young master, what’s wrong?”

I turned back through the pain; wasn’t that Jinglan Wei? If not for Meili Jiang calling out, I’d never remember her name.

She wore a blue school uniform, sport shoes on her feet, and held a stick of cotton candy. She hurried over, crouched down to take a look, and asked, “What happened?”

I barely had time to answer before I pulled off my left sock to inspect closely. Half of my little toe was slightly swollen and blistered; moving it caused sharp pain. Could I not go home? Enduring the pain, I dragged my injured foot and sat on the roadside curb.

Jinglan Wei reached out to help me up and asked, “Should we tell your parents?”

If my lady found out, she’d only scold me. It was best she never knew.

I massaged and pressed the swollen spot, pinched and twisted it; some areas hurt less. Then I forced it in the opposite direction and felt a sharp pain. Stomping hard on the ground with my left foot suddenly made it feel much better. I stood and walked a bit, still a little sore, but I endured it, tapping the painful spot a few times more; miraculously, it healed!

This wasn’t an accident; I had seen my master do this before, and it really worked.

Jinglan Wei, feeling no pain and skeptical, asked, “Are you really better?”

There was still some pain, but walking would heal it completely. I had to put on a show in front of her and said, “It doesn’t hurt anymore!”

Jinglan Wei had long wanted to get closer to me. At the very least, no one dared to bully her when I was around. “Young master, since you’re fine, let’s walk around; do you want to come to my house?”

No one was home; my lady was still in the hospital. Going home alone was no fun, so I said, “I only have twelve yuan on me, and that’s not enough to buy anything.”

Jinglan Wei ate her cotton candy as she spoke, “I don’t have much either. I just bought this with my change. We’re just walking casually. My home isn’t far from here.” She pointed with her finger, “Look, past the overpass, that taller building is mine.”

I just wanted to know how many floors her building had and where exactly it was. Moving my foot a bit, I said, “Let’s go to your building, then I’ll head back.” Suddenly, a thought struck me, and I asked, “Do you know anything about Maopi Pi’s family situation?”

“I do! His family lives in the same housing complex as mine; we’re on the third floor, and his family is on the fifth.”

“What a coincidence! The other day, the school bus took him home, but the stop didn’t seem to be here.”

“How could it be here? That’s at the front. This is the back road, with the overpass.”

“So, his home isn’t far from school?”

“Just like mine. Coming from the back, you get to the overpass; no need to take a bus. It’s just a short walk to school.”

“What do his parents do for work?”

“I heard his father is an engineer at some factory. They even have a car, called a Benz, worth over 900,000 yuan!”

“And his mother?”

“She’s a sanitation worker, cleaning the streets every day!”

“That’s quite a mismatch!”

“I don’t know how they got through those times. I think sanitation workers are pretty decent; it’s just sweeping streets! Anyone can do that! I could do it too!”

We chatted as we walked, crossed the overpass, turned a corner, and entered a bustling market filled with vegetable stalls. In the crowded area, I noticed a bulletin board plastered with all sorts of rental ads. One, in particular, caught my eye.

“Hiring personal bodyguards. Interested parties, please call the number below.”

I looked left and right, thinking about how the family needed money, and wouldn’t it be good if I could earn some myself?

Jinglan Wei opposed the idea: “You actually believe ads like that? What if it’s a scam?”

Better not to say more; the more she talked, the more I wanted to prove myself. I held the phone hanging from my neck, nervously dialed the number, and after less than a minute, a woman’s unfamiliar voice came through: “Hello! Please speak.”

I hesitated, unsure how to respond, then asked, “Aren’t you hiring bodyguards? I wonder if I’m suitable?”

After a while, the woman replied, “Alright, leave your name and phone number. We need to assess visually and only hire those capable.”

Jinglan Wei was very skeptical, painting a picture of a scam: “Young master, don’t trust this! Giving your name and number may let them steal your money!”

I didn’t listen. If I had money, why would I apply? I said into the phone, “My name is Xin Zhengta, female, and this is my number.”

Soon, the other side responded warmly, “Got it. Is that the hardworking Xin?”

I honestly told them, looking forward to it. She told me to wait patiently and that they would call with news. If this was genuine, I had to remember it well.

Jinglan Wei walked with me a bit further, then entered a large courtyard and waved, “See you at school!”

I smiled at her and walked on. Seeing the road signboard with a few words, I understood. Across the highway was a bus stop; the route map showed several buses passing right by her housing complex. Walking from home, it was only about twenty minutes to school.

I hadn’t eaten yet when suddenly a woman’s shout came: “Thief! My wallet was snatched by someone ahead!”

I turned towards the sound and saw a man, about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, around 1.7 meters tall, with a woman’s hairstyle, dressed in a suit, frantically running forward.

About five or six meters behind him was a woman in her mid-thirties, chasing and shouting, while bystanders just watched without intervening.

This was strange. What era is this? Only a fool would snatch something in public nowadays! To my knowledge, no one did that anymore! What’s going on? Should I catch him and ask?

I couldn’t help but run after the wallet thief, much faster than the woman. When I was about four meters from the man, he turned a corner into a small courtyard. I hurried after him but he vanished.

The woman who was robbed followed in, looking around but finding nothing, shouting loudly, “Someone stole my wallet!” She repeated this more than ten times...

The courtyard had two exits, one at the far end. If the thief ran straight out, we would see him immediately. Instinct told me he was still inside.

The robbed woman had a round face, carefully shaped eyebrows, wore a thin sheer long coat, black stockings on her thighs, a super short jacket, high-heeled leather shoes, with a styled and dyed hairdo that matched well, giving a sunny impression.

She shouted and made a racket for a long time. People looked out from windows, some came into the courtyard to watch, and others came down the stairs — yet no one found him...

Could he have flown away? The courtyard was about three thousand square meters, all clearly visible. Where would a thief hide? I shouted loudly, “Come out! If we catch you, you’re done for!”

The robbed woman realized with so many spectators, only one could help her. After thinking, she asked, “Where exactly could he be?”

I just guessed, “Maybe near the building entrance or in a corner; he wouldn’t run toward his own home anyway.”

She shouted, “The thief is near the building entrance! Could someone upstairs please look?”

I don’t know if it helped; we couldn’t see, and whether anyone helped was unknown.

There were likely hiding spots in the courtyard. I kept shouting, “We’re searching now!” and stomped to scare him.

The robbed woman was most anxious, frantically searching near the entrance.

I followed, looking everywhere...

No one in the crowd helped; they were just spectators, which was truly baffling.

The search proved effective. The thief was near the opposite exit; he darted out in a flash. I rushed forward with five times the strength and saw him slip into another alley...

I dashed after him; an electric bike blocked my way, and then he disappeared from sight...

The robbed woman arrived too, followed by the watching crowd...

I pressed on. Every home had a security door, most tightly shut except for one. I asked about the man inside, but they didn’t know. I could only continue chasing, arriving at the alley fork filled with people coming and going. Asking several people, none knew.

Only an old man in his fifties said, “I saw a young man run into the left alley.”

Whether he lied or not, I had no choice but to pursue the left path.