Chapter 346 282: You're from Jiao University, Too?

"You think I'm not trying to let him go?" Xue Rui turned to the side, showing Gu Muxue his predicament.

The man had grabbed his wrist and was now skillfully tying a red string around it.

Xue Rui shook his head again and again. It was only 2014, and security at the train station wasn't particularly strict. 'To think someone would brazenly run a scam right out in the open like this.'

These people would hold up a "charity donation" box, flash some sort of ID, and tell a sob story. They'd prey on people's sympathy to "solicit donations," pestering them for money without even a pleasant expression. They'd start by shoving a worthless trinket into your hands, making it awkward for you to refuse.

Take the male university student up ahead, who was just putting his wallet away. Whether it was due to a lack of life experience or being too thin-skinned to say no, his wallet was now twenty yuan lighter.

'Damn, these people have some nerve,' Xue Rui thought. 'Twenty yuan is enough to buy three pounds of pork these days.'

"Muxue, don't fall for it." Xue Rui calmly untied the red string and placed it back in the man's hand.

The young woman blinked blankly. She understood what Xue Rui meant, but she still held out the hundred-yuan bill and whispered, "But he even showed me his disability card..."

'He pointed to his mouth and ears right away and even made those babbling noises. It's just so heartbreaking.'

"So what if it is real?" Xue Rui said, snatching the bill from Gu Muxue's hand. The man, who had been ready to take the money, was left completely dumbfounded.

He was happy to tip servers for their work, but he would never give a single cent to someone looking for a handout.

Nearby, the male student who had just "donated" scratched his head. He paused to watch for a moment longer. 'It seems like that guy is saying the deaf-mute man is a fraud.'

Qin Wanqing had come out a bit earlier. She had been about to donate as well, but her father had talked her out of it. She shot her father a look of displeasure before turning to the male student who had just donated, giving him a smiling nod.

The male student chuckled, a goofy grin spreading across his face.

In truth, he'd had his own suspicions, especially after hearing the girl's father call the man a fraud. But he couldn't stand being pestered, so he had chosen to pay up just to make the problem go away. 'But now,' he thought, 'it feels like the money wasn't wasted after all. A pretty girl actually smiled at me.'

"Wanqing, we should ask that young man to join us later," Qin Wanqing's father said. "Aren't you two from the same university? The school bus is full, so we're taking a taxi. We can give him a ride."

"Was he really going to donate a hundred yuan?" Qin Wanqing murmured, her eyes wide with surprise.

For some reason, the male student standing nearby felt a sudden pang of discomfort, as if he had just been one-upped.

Qin Wanqing's father shook his head. 'These kids really don't have enough life experience,' he thought. 'They need to learn things the hard way. My own daughter even glared at me when I tried to warn her. Sometimes, being too helpful as a parent backfires.'

Just as he was thinking this, he saw Xue Rui stuff a crisp hundred-yuan bill into his pocket, then casually wave his hand at the scammer. "Sorry, no cash on me."

The male university student's eye twitched. 'The guy's just deaf and mute, not blind! For all we know, he can read lips. He just watched you stuff a hundred-yuan bill into your pocket, and you can still lie through your teeth like that?'

Qin Wanqing's eyes flew wide. 'What in the world is he doing?'

Her father, however, burst out laughing. "Haha! This kid's not bad. You can tell he had to grow up fast."

Xue Rui shot a grin at the sucker who had "donated." 'Honestly, if you just put on a disgusted expression from the get-go, these guys can read the room. They won't pester someone who looks like trouble.'

To be precise, they only prey on the timid.

However, perhaps because Gu Muxue pulling out that large bill had shown him an opportunity, the man didn't leave after Xue Rui's rejection. Instead, he started moving toward Gu Muxue again.

Gu Muxue flinched and took a step back. 'Why is this man so persistent?'

Xue Rui's brow furrowed. 'Why does this bastard have such a creepy look in his eyes?' he thought. 'Is he thinking about touching Muxue's hand?'

He said in a cold voice, "Muxue, are you missing a hundred yuan from your bag?"

"Yes," Gu Muxue said, blinking. 'Didn't you just take it from me?' she thought.

"I suspect he has something to do with it. Go to that police kiosk over there and get an officer. I'll keep an eye on him here." Using his height and size to his advantage, Xue Rui gripped the man's wrist tightly, his eyes fixed on him warily.

"Young man, it's probably best not to stir up trouble," Qin Wanqing's father chimed in.

People who could run scams this brazenly might have a whole gang behind them. It was best for out-of-towners like them to avoid direct conflict.

Xue Rui gave Qin Wanqing's father a calm smile. 'These types are small-time crooks,' he thought. 'It's just a matter of lax enforcement right now, not a total absence of it. In the future, pests like these will all be cleaned up.'

The male student, who had witnessed the entire exchange, was speechless. He thought Xue Rui was taking it too far. 'Isn't the hundred-yuan bill in your own pocket?'

'If they go to the police, the guy is pretending to be mute. He'll literally have no way to defend himself.'

"I'll go get the police," the male student declared, glaring at Xue Rui resentfully. 'I'll have an officer come over and sort this out.'

"Fuck! You shameless piece of shit!" When the man heard talk of the police, he couldn't take it anymore. He let out a furious curse, wrenched his hand free when Xue Rui was momentarily distracted, clutched his box, and took off running.

At the same time, the male university student who had been about to get the police also let out a surprised, "Holy shit?" Both words were whispered.