Part Two, Chapter Two
"Don't move!" I pointed at them and shouted. A thought struck me; I remembered my red driver's license was in my pocket, so I quickly pulled it out, tossed it aside, and then stuffed it back in. While everyone was still confused, I adopted a high-pitched voice, like the one on CCTV's evening news, and shouted, "Nobody move! I'm from the Third Public Security Bureau. Anyone who dares to move can forget about the New Year!"
I called myself "Police Division Three" because I thought it would be more believable than saying I was "Police Division Thirty-Three," and it would also be easier to say it. These guys, looking rather dazed, were actually genuinely intimidated by me for a moment. Before they could react, I pointed at the young man and several other young men and said, "Take off their belts and tie their hands!" The young man, who had been so boisterous just moments before, was now either stunned or too engrossed in watching, standing there motionless, staring blankly. Despite the freezing winter, I was sweating profusely. I had only intimidated them with my momentary aura. Once they realized I was alone, plus this half-idiot next to me, let alone Police Division Three, even if they were from the National Security Bureau, they could melt me down. I shoved the young man on the back: "Go!" Only then did he seem to react, and he rushed forward with his hands tied. Seeing someone take the lead, the other men also stood up abruptly. Those people had already been silenced by my shout, and seeing the current agitated crowd, they involuntarily retreated towards the front of the car.
Surprisingly, the leader of this group was that old man with the distinctly rural look. He seemed to suddenly wake up, lunging forward and brandishing a knife at the driver. In just five seconds, he forced the driver to stop the car and open the door. With a wave of his hand, the rest of the men, as if waking from a dream, scrambled out of the car. Meanwhile, the heroes inside hadn't even had a chance to touch their clothes.
"Go after them! Kill a few of those bastards!" The heroes, as if suddenly possessed, unleashed their masculine hormones, raising their arms and shouting under the young man's lead, ready to give chase. I quickly grabbed the young man and urgently said to the driver, who was frozen in fear, "Close the door! Drive!"
I didn't breathe a sigh of relief until the car started moving again, and I plopped down in my seat, almost collapsing.
"Why don't you arrest them?! You're a police officer!" the young man asked me indignantly.
"That's right!"
"Hmph, they're scared like this themselves and they still need them to protect us? What kind of people are we paying taxes to support?!" The carriage immediately erupted in a cacophony of voices, a collective attack on me. Strangely, this time everyone knew how to speak in Mandarin that I could understand perfectly well. I have to admire how the quality of our country's taxpayers is truly getting higher and higher.
I couldn't be bothered with those righteous voices; I just felt dizzy. I don't know if it was because I was too tense just now, but suddenly a large gush of blood gushed out from my lower body like a dam breaking. My vision became a little blurry, so I quickly leaned my head back in the chair and took deep breaths.
Seeing that I didn't say anything, they got even more excited: "You think it's okay to just stay silent? Write down her badge number and expose her on Oriental Horizon!"
"Yes, let the people of the whole country see the true face of the so-called public security!"
"No wonder people always say that the police and criminals are in cahoots!"
The young man still had some conscience. He stopped a few angry young men who were about to snatch my "police ID" and said sadly, "Never mind, let her take it out herself. She really did help us just now!"
"Help us? Knowing it was a scam, why didn't she speak up sooner? I almost fell for it. I only realized she was a bunch of scammers after you told me! She doesn't even have a shred of basic sense of justice! We can't let her get away with this!"
Even the last vestige of sorrow vanished from my heart, replaced only by numbness and indifference. I don't know whether the justice these people talk about is square or flat, or whether conscience resides in the front or the back. I only feel utterly exhausted and utterly cold.
I didn't have the energy to argue with them anymore, so I slowly took out my driver's license and said to the crowd, "This is my 'police ID'."
Someone snatched it away, glanced at it, and shouted, "It's not a police ID, it's a driver's license! Are you trying to fool us because we can't read?" He then threw it on the ground, causing an uproar among the crowd.
I picked up my driver's license from the ground and said coldly, "I'm not a police officer, so of course I don't have a police ID." I put the license in my pocket, closed my eyes, and didn't want to say another word. My back ached so badly it felt like it was about to break; even if they rushed at me and tore me apart, I was resigned to my fate.
The carriage fell silent. Everyone seemed to have been gathering their strength for a long time, ready to unleash a punch, only to find that their opponent was dead before the fight even began. The match was over. Everyone felt unsatisfied and returned to their seats. Finally, all that could be heard was the sound of the car moving away. My head felt a little clearer, and I felt slightly more comfortable.
"I'm sorry! Oh, I should say thank you, I..." the young man next to him said somewhat hesitantly.
"Shh—" I interrupted him, indicating that I just wanted to sleep. I couldn't muster the energy to accept anyone's apology or gratitude; either way, it was just their emotional need, and had nothing to do with me. I didn't feel particularly angry or wronged either. My only wish right now was to get to the beach as soon as possible, find a big, soft bed to properly rest my exhausted, aching muscles and my heart, which had calcified from blood loss and lost all feeling of pain.
Part Two, Chapter Three
After a long and arduous journey, we finally arrived in Shantou, then had to transfer to a minibus to the pier to wait for the ferry to the island. The bus was packed; it shouldn't have gotten any more passengers when it was already full, but the minibus driver kept pushing and shoving, shouting, "Going to the pier? There are seats! There are seats!" By the time passengers finally boarded and realized there were no seats, they had already bought tickets and couldn't get off, so they had to stand there helplessly. Then three or four more people boarded, including an elderly woman who was trembling and being shoved into the bus by the driver. She finally managed to find a spot next to my seat, clinging precariously to the back of my chair and swaying with the bus. In the past, I would have stood up and given her my seat long ago. But now, I just glanced at her indifferently and no longer felt her presence. Her helpless eyes and heavy breathing couldn't stir any emotion or unease in me. I suddenly felt that I had changed; my heart was beating like a cold, hard piece of metal.
Upon arriving at the pier, I bought a ticket for the next ferry, but still had to wait an hour. The wind was strong, the sky was overcast, and thick, dark clouds hung on the horizon. I figured that probably only a lunatic like me would come to the beach in this weather. I pulled my coat tighter, hoping to conserve the little warmth I had left; my mouth was trembling from the cold. I really hadn't expected it to be this cold. Turning my head, I was surprised to find the young man from the long-distance bus following me a meter or two behind, guarding the scattered luggage. Seeing me, a blush rose on his face, and he gave me a somewhat embarrassed smile. What was this guy up to?! Was he stalking me?! There was no reason for it!
After a slight hesitation, I walked towards him, my face as stern as Huang Shiren, the rent collector: "Why are you following me?!" I pointed at his nose and cursed fiercely, finally finding a place to vent my pent-up anger.
"I, I, I actually..." The young man was startled by me and was too guilty to speak.
"What do you mean, 'you'? Let me tell you, I've seen plenty of people like you. Tell me! What's your name? What do you do? What are you up to by following me?! If you dare to tell me even a single lie, just try it!" I interrupted him impatiently.
"I, I, my name is Zhou Dezhong. I work at a computer mall in Guangzhou. I didn't follow you, I really didn't follow you! My home is on an island! I swear! I'm going home!"
"You should have said so earlier!" I sighed and loosened my grip on his collar, thinking with a hint of disdain: How come this man has no guts at all?
"Sister, you don't look too well. Would you like to go to the dockside restaurant and order something hot to eat?"
"Listen up, first of all, I'm not your older sister! Secondly, from now on, you're not allowed to come within three meters of me, or I'll beat you until your head turns into a pig's head!" I felt like he was a fly, buzzing around in front of me no matter how much I chased him, which annoyed me to no end.
Perhaps my expression was too serious, because Zhou Dezhong, dragging several large bags, retreated far away as if fleeing and found a seat.
I checked my watch; the ferry was still over forty minutes away. I pulled my coat tighter and sat down on the nearest bench. I hadn't eaten much lunch on the way here, and it was all digested by now. Mentioning it to that silly boy made me realize I was actually a little hungry. But my stomach felt cold, and the blood kept flowing, leaving me with no taste. Maybe something hot would help. Thinking of getting a drink, I stood up, and suddenly everything blurred before my eyes, and I fell to the ground.
"Big sister, big sister!" I opened my eyes and found myself lying on the ground. Zhou Dezhong, that persistent ghost, was shaking me anxiously and calling out, spitting all over my face. I quickly pushed him away and sat up on my own.
"Are you alright, big sister?" This idiot still stubbornly used that grating address. If I still had the strength, I would definitely draw my sword and slash him down to the groin, turning him into Sima Qian.
"It's okay, it's okay, I'll just go get something hot to drink." I knew I had just lost too much blood and had low blood sugar.
"I'll help you!" Zhou Dezhong grabbed my elbow, and with his other hand deftly took his pile of bags and one of my travel bags, and walked towards the restaurant without saying another word. I really didn't have the strength to argue with him anymore, so I could only let him go.
When we arrived at the restaurant, I ordered a hot milk tea, and Zhou Dezhong ordered a plate of char siu rice. Seeing my curious gaze, he blushed again and stammered an explanation, saying he hadn't dared to get off the bus to eat because he had to watch the luggage. Then, he immediately and generously insisted on paying the bill. I regretted it a little; I should have ordered an extra French toast if I'd known he was treating us.
When the food arrived, he plopped down on it like someone who hadn't seen food for centuries and had just been released. In an instant, all I could hear was the smacking and popping of food in his mouth, shattering all my efforts to ignore it. All my willpower turned into a single impulse: to nail his mouth to the table! But he was oblivious, continuing to chatter on and on about everyday things while eating. I felt much warmer and my strength had returned. Just as I was about to make up an excuse to leave, he suddenly said, "My second sister is a manager at the biggest resort on the island. If you come, I can get her to give you a discount on your rent!"
That one sentence was enough to keep my butt firmly planted in my chair: "How much discount can I get?"
"Um, I'm not too sure either." He seemed a little embarrassed and stammered under my bright gaze. Seeing that I immediately lost interest, he quickly added, "But at least they can all be 50% off."
"50% off!" I started to feel that my journey hadn't been too unlucky after all.
Finally, we arrived on the island. Without even taking a deep breath, the salty sea breeze enveloped me, and the crisp air refreshed me from head to toe. The sea was right next to the road, with natural reefs standing tall, but the water wasn't the azure blue of summer; instead, it was a murky yellow. The wind was still strong, feeling like knives on my face, and the temperature here definitely felt much lower than in the city.
Zhou Dezhong was really a good friend; he didn't even go home, but went straight with me to visit his second sister at the "largest resort on the island." Initially, I had absolutely no expectations of this "largest resort on the island," thinking it would just be a larger rural inn. I never imagined that such an island would have such a large-scale villa complex, complete with tennis courts and a swimming pool! That's amazing!
And we were lucky; his second sister happened to be there. There really weren't many customers this time of year, and the bright lobby felt rather deserted. Just a moment later, when I saw a very capable-looking young woman in a well-fitting work uniform walking towards us with a clear purpose, I asked Zhou Dezhong incredulously, "Is this your second sister?"
“Yes, my biological second sister.” Having encountered the same question many times, Zhou Dezhong quickly replied, a smug look on his face.