Chapter 7: The Price of Growing Up

The streets were in a state of utter chaos at that moment, and the entire process from the taxi going out of control to Luo Xuan's leaping tackle to save the person took only a few seconds.

She could almost feel the warm breath falling on her face from his rapid breathing. Still shaken, Li Sishi stared wide-eyed, and the first thing she saw was a pair of extremely bright eyes so close to hers.

At this distance, one can vaguely catch a glimpse of its true form, hidden beneath external obscurities.

It must be said that while this Eastern-style eyebrow shaping and eye enhancement can withstand close scrutiny, it inevitably loses some of its dazzling appeal once it is slightly concealed, like a bright pearl or jade covered in dust, from which no one can recognize its true meaning.

"You're alright..."

Before the question could be finished, a sharp shout came from behind: "Hands up, head down, stand up!"

Seeing Luo Xuan being caught by a patrolman who caught up from behind, Li Sishi suddenly realized that she and her cousin had been deluding themselves: it turned out that the police hadn't been fooled by their little tricks at all.

The reason why the two officers abandoned Luo Xuan earlier was that they knew there were other people following closely behind, so they chose to chase after the guys running in the lead first.

After obediently pulling Luo Xuan, who was covering his head with his hands, to the sidewalk railing and locking him in, and confirming that Li Sishi had only twisted her leg, the patrol officer called for backup from his colleagues while rushing back to the chaotic road to act as a temporary traffic controller.

"Thank you," Li Sishi said softly to the person beside her, while frowning as she checked the injury.

The person locked to the side remained silent for a while before speaking, "No, I should be the one thanking you."

When the coolness of the specially made silver bracelet jolted Luo Xuan out of his daze, he was shocked to realize how foolish and ignorant his actions had been.

No matter how much he argues with his parents, quarrels three times a day, or wastes his youth with his friends who have no future plans, it's all a small matter. But once a criminal record is left in his life, it can cut off many paths in the future.

It was only at this moment that he began to feel fear and regret.

Once such an emotion arises, it instantly spreads to every part of the body, making one feel as if they have fallen into an ice cave, even in the sweltering summer heat.

Fortunately, the two patrol officers who ran off to patrol didn't catch up with his brother—which was good news for him.

This is the greatest comfort amidst misfortune.

"Cousin, how are you?" Zhou Huiguang wanted to turn back, but Li Sishi was afraid that he would encounter the same situation as her in such a chaotic place, so she kept waving at him from the sidewalk. At least she managed to calm him down and slowly walk over following the traffic directions.

"It shouldn't be anything serious, just a sprain..." Li Sishi carefully examined her injury and replied.

During her time working at the TV station in her previous life, she was said to have the privilege of being a top three beauty pageant contestant, debuting as the lead actress in small productions or an important supporting actress in big productions. However, the entertainment industry in Hong Kong is quite down-to-earth. Even big stars with extraordinary status in the industry often rely on their own efforts, let alone newcomers like her who have just entered the industry.

Especially when filming action scenes, if it's a minor injury like a fall or bump that isn't life-threatening, I'll just apply some medicine, grit my teeth, and keep going. I won't slow down the whole crew's progress just because of you.

Even though Li Sishi was considered one of the most spoiled and pampered girls in the industry back then because of the scheming scumbag's favor, she only occasionally received preferential treatment from some nice-natured or sycophantic minor directors. If it were one of those tyrannical directors on set, not only would she not get a break, but she would also be publicly insulted about her entire family on the spot, which would be the least of her worries...

After showing concern for his cousin, Zhou Huiguang took the opportunity, while the ambulance was still waiting, to go and say a few words to his "good older brother" Luo Xuan.

On the way to the hospital for examination in the ambulance, Li Sishi looked at Zhou Huiguang with a complicated expression and couldn't help but ask, "What did you say to him?"

So much so that he maintained that expression the whole way?

"I...I promised Brother Lok I wouldn't tell!" Zhou Huiguang, lost in his own world, was startled.

I don't believe it.

There's a saying that there's no such thing as a bad name, only a bad fate. Just considering that Zhou Huiguang sounds like "talking everywhere," Li Sishi definitely didn't believe he could keep any secrets. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

Seeing Li Sishi's sincere expression, Zhou Huiguang gritted his teeth, realizing that his strong urge to confide couldn't keep the secret. So, after looking around to make sure no one could hear, he carefully leaned close to Li Sishi's ear and said, "Didn't those two officers fail to catch anyone else? So... Brother Lok thinks this was caused by him, so he's going to take the blame and admit that he's the one who stabbed someone."

After listening attentively to Zhou Huiguang's explanation of the whole story, Li Sishi nodded slightly: It turned out that when Zhou Huiguang went to the karaoke bar to return Luo Xuan's keys...

I accidentally bumped into a big man and spilled my drink all over him.

After Luo Xuan came to help pay compensation and apologize, the big man was about to leave when one of Luo Xuan's friends suddenly started talking behind his back, saying that the big man was only after money...

People who are out in the world care about their reputation. They're not afraid of being rude, but they're afraid of being rude.

Feeling insulted, the burly man and his group, including Luo Xuan, escalated their argument in the karaoke room to a fight in the back alley.

As for Zhou Huiguang, whom Luo Xuan had sent away early after discovering something was wrong, he went to report the incident to the police after some internal struggle.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Huiguang, who was worried that Luo Xuan would suffer a loss, returned with the patrolling police officers. Besides seeing Luo Xuan keeping watch outside from afar, he also saw Luo Xuan's friend suddenly pull out a small fruit knife he had taken from the karaoke bar after realizing that his side was at a disadvantage, and draw blood from the opposing side.

His shout at that time was not only to stop the actions of both sides, but also to remind Luo Xuan, who was keeping watch, to run quickly.

Seeing Zhou Huiguang's moved expression as he repeatedly praised Luo Xuan for his loyalty and righteousness, Li Sishi lowered her eyes and said nothing more.

What's both funny and sad is that her little cousin truly lived up to his name, "Zhou Huiguang," and in a short period of time afterward, he spread the rumor that Luo Xuan had been framed for being loyal to his brother throughout the surrounding community.

In this way, everyone knew that there was a simpleton in the next block who was acting as a lookout for his brother, but he was too slow to run away. Everyone else in the fight escaped, but he, the lookout, didn't get away. He even thought he was incredibly loyal and took all the blame, eventually getting himself arrested...

While many naive youngsters might think this shows loyalty and a willingness to take the blame rather than expose their brothers, the seasoned veterans of Liaojie see it as sheer folly.

In the gang, taking the blame for someone else earns you a resettlement allowance. This foolish kid, however, has ruined his own future and caused his parents to suffer as well. They're already quite old and still have to run around for this troublesome fool.

Of course, Zhou Huiguang was also frequently disciplined by his parents at home, especially Liang Shao'e, who almost broke one of her rattan canes.

She already disliked Zhou Huiguang's frivolous behavior outside, and now it had implicated her niece, whom she considered a future college student—even though Li Sishi had been examined at the hospital and confirmed to have only a sprain with no other problems, Liang Shao'e still felt that this could affect Li Sishi's academic performance. Furthermore, her own son had been dragged into a street fight and injured.

The case was so infuriating.

However, Liang Shao'e is also a person with a strong sense of right and wrong and a bit of chivalry. She feels disappointed in Zhou Huiguang, the char siu she raised, but she also feels a bit of gratitude and regret towards Luo Xuan, who saved Li Sishi.

"You're so young, and you're already going in there. The road ahead won't be easy." Liaojie is known for being a mixed bag, and naturally there are many people who have reformed and are ready to fight for tomorrow, so Liang Shao'e doesn't have much prejudice against these kinds of people.

Liang Shao'e even helped Luo's parents with their own little schemes: after all, the person who would eventually call the police was their own son.

The fundamental reason why Zhou Huiguang's "crime did not warrant death" in the Zhou family was that, despite his shady dealings outside, he never participated in such matters and even dared to stop and report them.

It's not beyond redemption yet.

As for Luo Xuan, this silly but not inherently bad guy, who clearly showed remorse after discovering his parents' efforts for him, there is still hope for him.

Most importantly, to prevent Zhou Huiguang from being resented by those who escaped, she, as his mother, had to help him clean up the mess and come up with a win-win solution.

Those people didn't dare to visit Luo Xuan for quite some time, so Zhou Huiguang could contact him regularly during this period. Ideally, Zhou Huiguang should act as Luo Xuan's "representative" for the year to suppress those people's ulterior motives; and Luo Xuan, who knew his mistake, could also serve as a negative example for Zhou Huiguang.

Anyway, since losing his most respected "Lok Brother", Zhou Huiguang has recently lost his usual desire to go out and fool around. He has been studying diligently at school lately.

After the trial, thanks to the efforts of the Zhou and Luo families and Luo Xuan's relatively good attitude in admitting his mistakes, he was undoubtedly sentenced to a year and a half in the Mingjing Correctional Institution.

Hearing that it was Mingjing, the officials all breathed a sigh of relief: the local correctional facilities are divided into high, medium and low levels of security. Compared with the high and medium levels, the low level of security mainly detains juvenile offenders with minor crimes, and they can also work and receive re-education at the same time.

Therefore, compared to the medium-to-high security correctional facilities commonly known as "prisons" such as those located in places like Hongzhu, Mingjing, which has low security, is more often referred to as a "re-education center".

On the day Luo Xuan went in, Li Sishi was also taken by the Zhou family to see him off.

It has to be said that Luo Xuan, who hadn't had much rest during this period and had his hair cut into a standard buzz cut, was quite exhausted.

He looked even more haggard and thin, and even more unremarkable.

He accepted Zhou Jiaxian's thanks with trepidation, then looked at Zhou Huiguang and whispered to him, "Tell them to take good care of my girlfriend. I will do my best and try to get out as soon as possible."

Upon hearing this, Li Sishi felt as if she could see the vibrant green of spring returning to the earth from his pitifully short head of hair...

Unfortunately, it's useless for her to say anything now. She should pay more attention to him in the future and try her best to persuade him not to fight to vent his heartbreak, lest he end up getting punished more severely.

This can be considered as repaying his life-saving grace.

Watching Luo Xuan being led away by the correctional officers, Li Sishi let out a long, very soft breath.

After this experience, it seems that the thick fog in her heart has been dispelled by this ambiguous experience. To be honest, the reason she joined this incident in a daze was because, at that moment, she really felt that Luo Xuan was very much like herself in her past life.

They were equally self-righteous, equally unwilling to listen to advice, and equally filled with regret.

But he will eventually rise again from this life's many setbacks; and it is time for me to learn to let go of the negative energy from my past life and embrace this fortunate rebirth.

And... it may be a completely new life.

Just as Li Sishi was standing aside, thinking about how to learn from her mistakes and lay a good foundation for her new life, Zhou Jiaxian noticed that her daughter was in a daze and immediately asked with concern, "What's wrong, Sishi?"

"Oh... I suddenly remembered, my cousin ran quite fast the other day. Maybe he could work on his athletic abilities." Li Sishi changed the subject, "I think I heard our PE teacher, Mr. Lin, mention in class that some schools recruit a lot of students with special talents, especially those with athletic abilities..."

Liang Shao'e's eyes lit up. On the way back, she asked Li Sishi a lot of questions. Then she started to discuss with her husband that they would find some free time to ask the teachers at the school for information about this matter.

In response, Zhou Huiguang, who claimed to have temporarily "lost his life goals," changed his previous talkative style and let his parents discuss his future path: "Whatever."

Anyway, he can't get into the preparatory course based on his grades alone. His parents are discussing another way out, but they don't want him to study the books he dislikes the most, so it doesn't matter.

"You'll understand when you grow up that your mother and I are only doing this for your own good."

Zhou Jiayun said earnestly.

After returning home, Li Sishi looked at Zhou Huichang's silent appearance and asked with some concern, "What's wrong? Are you unhappy about Ah Lok's matter, just like Guangzai?"

After all, Luo Xuan and Zhou Huichang have been working together for a long time, so it's normal for her to feel unhappy.

Zhou Huichang nodded, then shook her head: "It's true that I'm a little unhappy, but Lok's current situation is his own doing, so it's not appropriate for us outsiders to say too much..."

"The main problem is that without Lok's help, I don't know how to sell my 'works' anymore—do I really have to find a place to set up a stall at night?"

Zhou Huichang, who finally remembered that her biggest source of income had been cut off by this accident, was quite disappointed, both in her expression and her mood.

Li Sishi patted her hand reassuringly: "Or, we can try another new way to earn pocket money."

If all goes well, they might earn even more than Zhou Huichang did before...