Chapter 38: The Money-Stealing Incident from the Original Story

Chapter 38: Chapter 38: The Money-Stealing Incident from the Original Story

Zhao Shumei was stunned!

She had been counting on the police to serve justice—or better yet, to arrest Nan Zhi!

But as it turned out, they didn’t believe for a second that Nan Zhi was trying to murder someone!

As for Nan Zhi, she simply raised a hand to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Her sleeve slid down, revealing a slender wrist so thin it was practically just bone, making her look frail enough to be blown away by a gust of wind.

She said slowly,

"Their child used a dog to bully my son. When I went to confront them about it, they turned the tables on me. It made me angry, so I grabbed a cleaver... but I never thought about killing anyone."

After listening to her, the officers first glanced at the frail, well-behaved Nan Yi.

Then they looked at the sturdy and fierce-looking Lei Xiaopang.

A look of understanding dawned on their faces.

"So that’s what happened!"

They had thought it was a genuine case of assault with a knife!

It turned out to be just a fight between kids that escalated into a dispute between their parents!

This sort of thing was all too common!

Of course, they still had to do some mediating.

The older officer began his practiced admonishment:

"If you have a disagreement, you should resolve it calmly. How can you cause a scene like this in the middle of the street? It sets a terrible example..."

The younger officer, however, kept glancing at Nan Yi with a puzzled expression.

Then, as if remembering something, he leaned in and whispered a few words into the older officer’s ear.

The older officer’s memory was jogged as well.

"Oh, so it’s the little guy who caught that thief the other day!"

His colleague had told him about it!

His colleague had been incredibly impressed with the boy, even lamenting that the police force would need a criminal investigator with his kind of talent in the future!

Naturally, this gave him a good impression of Nan Yi.

And he became even more convinced of what Nan Zhi had said.

When Zhao Shumei saw that the police were preparing to de-escalate, her mind buzzed and blood rushed to her head!

"It was her! She’s the one who attacked us! This is attempted murder in broad daylight! Why aren’t you arresting her? Lock her up!"

Zhao Shumei shrieked and thrashed about like a madwoman, even trying to lunge forward and claw at Nan Zhi’s face!

Fu Chao quickly stepped in front of Nan Zhi to shield her.

Nan Zhi took the cue and shrank behind Fu Chao, her brow furrowed slightly.

Confusion, bewilderment, helplessness...

It formed a stark contrast to the hysterical Zhao Shumei!

The officers had to step in and stop her.

"What do you think you’re doing? Daring to attack someone right in front of us?"

Zhao Shumei was crying and screaming, and in the middle of her tirade, she suddenly yelled:

"Are you siding with her just because that little bitch is pretty?! All men are exactly the same!"

The officers’ faces went pale with fury!

Lei Yougang finally couldn’t take it anymore and swiftly clapped a hand over Zhao Shumei’s mouth.

"Sorry about that, my wife is just livid... but she’s not lying! That woman threw a cleaver at us and damaged our sign! Everyone around here saw it!"

The officers first looked at the sign.

The gash was clean, and it did look like it was made by a blade.

So they asked the onlookers nearby:

"Is that what happened?"

A group of neighboring shopkeepers who were watching the commotion looked hesitant to speak.

Just then, the man who had brandished a stick to rescue Lei Xiaopang—only to be yelled at by Zhao Shumei for his trouble—stepped forward and scoffed.

"They had a little spat, but it wasn’t nearly as dramatic as this couple is making it out to be. What’s all this about a knife? Boss Nan is so thin and frail, do you really think she could overpower Lei Yougang?"

Then others started chiming in—

"Exactly, it was just a minor squabble."

"Exchanging a few harsh words is one thing, but trying to get someone arrested? That’s going too far."

"So it’s okay for your son to bully others, but people aren’t allowed to stand up for themselves?"

"Their kid, Xiaopang, is always stirring up trouble everywhere. He’s so annoying! It’s about time someone taught him a lesson!"

"..."

Of all the people in the crowd, they either remained silent or spoke up in Nan Zhi’s defense.

Not a single person sided with the couple!

The officers felt the truth had come to light and were getting ready to wrap things up.

Lei Yougang’s expression, however, gradually darkened.

He suddenly raised his voice.

"Forget about the knife... what about the stolen money?"

Everyone turned to look at Lei Yougang.

Nan Zhi frowned, a bad feeling creeping over her.

Sure enough, the next second, Lei Yougang pointed at Nan Yi.

"My son, Xiaopang, doesn’t just bully people for no reason. It’s because that brat stole our family’s money first!"

"I didn’t!"

Nan Yi shouted in protest.

He clenched his small hands into tight fists, his chest heaving with ragged breaths. He was clearly furious!

Lei Yougang sighed dramatically.

"I wasn’t going to say anything. I figured he’s young, and it wouldn’t do to blow this out of proportion... But now my family has been pushed this far. We can’t endure it any longer!"

With that, Lei Yougang launched into a sob story, recounting how he had encountered Nan Yi at noon, how the boy had supposedly picked up his wallet, and how his own son, Lei Xiaopang, had discovered this and chased after Nan Yi to get the money back!

He told the story with great animation and emotion, letting out a mournful sigh every now and then.

He made it sound as if he were heartbroken to see a once-good child fall so far!

"...Getting the wallet back should have been the end of it. My son has had a bad temper since he was little, and he chased the boy and hit him a couple of times, so we were in the wrong, too. But when we got home, we found that 1,000 was missing! 1,000! We work from dawn till dusk at our stall—do you have any idea how hard we have to work to earn that kind of money?!"

The people in the crowd exchanged uncertain glances.

"Impossible! Nan Yi isn’t that kind of kid!"

Fu Chao denied it emphatically!

Dozens of eyes turned to him.

Fu Chao was wearing a baseball cap and dressed inconspicuously. Even if some people found him familiar, they wouldn’t recognize that he was Fu Chao.

So an officer asked him:

"Who are you? The boy’s father?"

Fu Chao certainly couldn’t say yes to that!

He thought for a moment and chose a more suitable relationship:

"I’m... his mother’s brother!"

"So you’re his uncle?"

"Ah, um, I guess so."

Fu Chao reluctantly admitted.

The officer gave him a couple of suspicious glances, finding his stammering rather questionable.

Fu Chao grew anxious, knowing that stepping forward wasn’t the best choice.

He urged Nan Zhi:

"Why aren’t you saying anything at a time like this? Don’t tell me... you actually believe them?"

He kept his voice low, so theoretically, only he and Nan Zhi should have heard him.

But Nan Yi was standing close and had sharp ears, and those few words struck him like a physical blow.

’She... doesn’t believe me?’

Nan Yi’s little face instantly went deathly pale!

His small body felt as if it had been plunged into an icy cavern, and he trembled uncontrollably.

It was so shocking that scenes from his past began to flash before his eyes like a movie...

"No."

Nan Zhi’s expression darkened slightly as she denied it.

’How could I possibly suspect Nan Yi of stealing money?’

She just felt that the situation seemed eerily familiar.

It was as if...

This event was in the original novel!

The Tactician memories Nan Zhi had received were incomplete, and that included the contents of the original novel.

So at first, she hadn’t thought much of it.

It wasn’t until Lei Yougang uttered the two words "stole money" that Nan Zhi jolted, and the memory came flooding back—

In the original novel, the great villain, Nan Yi, had lived in an orphanage ever since his mother passed away.

When he was four and a half, his handsome looks got him selected by a minor celebrity to participate in a reality show featuring children.

It was there that Nan Yi met the male and female leads of the story.

And it was here that the misfortunes of his entire life began.

And the turning point in his fate...

...was when Nan Yi was caught stealing someone’s money during the filming of the show!