10. Too much concern leads to confusion
Zeng Xiasheng ran to the corner of the alley. Just as the shattered glass shards came into view, he saw Tang Sizhuo looking back in panic and heard her yell, "In the store!"
He was stunned, and almost instantly understood what she meant. His body reacted before his brain, and he turned around and ran back.
The security in the urban village wasn't great; there weren't any serious incidents, but petty theft was rampant. Chen Tianhao spread the word that his brother had been sentenced to over a decade in prison, and everyone around him knew Zeng Xiasheng had committed a serious crime. As a result, no one dared to mess with them, and even the occasional empty shop wasn't a big deal.
However, since Tang Sizhu had this reaction, she must have her reasons.
Zeng Xiasheng ran back quickly and ran into a short man who was sneaking out of the store by lifting the door curtain.
That hideous face continued to magnify in Zeng Xiasheng's vision, sending a surge of rage racing through him, with nowhere to vent. He couldn't tell whether it was the rage of having his peace disturbed, or the frustration of having his tranquility shattered. Zeng Xiasheng rushed over, grabbed the man by the collar, and threw him to the ground.
"You fucking stole it for me?!"
The man hit his head on the concrete floor, cracking it and screaming in pain. Zeng Xiasheng, even more annoyed, pressed his knee firmly against the man's chest and raised his hand to punch him in the face.
“Don’t hit anyone!”
Tang Sizhu also ran back. She hadn't rested well in the past few days and was already weak. Running back and forth in high heels almost took her life. She couldn't run any further and she panted, holding her waist and barely moved to the door of the store.
Zeng Xiasheng clenched his teeth and glared at the man who was struggling on the ground. He didn't hit him with his fist, but he didn't lower his swung arm.
"Don't hit them... just catch them. That'll be a big help."
Tang Sizhuo walked closer, placed his slightly trembling fingertips on the tense muscles on his back, gently stroked them, then wrapped his fist with his soft palm and slowly pressed his arm down.
She had done this routine so many times that she was so familiar with it that even after not seeing him for ten years, she could still clearly sense when Zeng Xiasheng's energy was running low. She had never been afraid of him, and she didn't understand why other children were afraid of him. He was obviously such an easy person to comfort, and he only needed a little warmth to calm down his temper.
Zeng Xiasheng took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Then he stood up and, without a word, grabbed the man by the collar and carried him into the store like a little chicken. As he was dragging him, the man's hand loosened and something fell to the floor tiles at the door with a thud.
Tang Sizhu bent down to pick it up and found that it was an adapter with the chip still inserted in it.
Her intuition was always accurate. As soon as she noticed her car had been smashed, she had a vague suspicion that Liu Dong was behind this. It was either a threat or a diversion. But that didn't make sense—the alley was narrow, and there was no way he could have smashed the car and then circled back. There had to be an accomplice. Even the nude photo threat was just a private dispute; why would such a big deal be necessary?
Tang Sizhuo stood outside the shop, calming herself for a moment before looking at the chip in her hand. Zeng Xiasheng had been so careful when removing it; it must have been quite fragile. She wondered if it had been damaged. If the data couldn't be fully restored... She pondered for a moment, sighed helplessly, then straightened up, closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths, and then, donning a half-smiled professional mask, she lifted the curtain and walked into the shop.
As Zeng Xiasheng dragged the man inside, she saw that her computer had also been knocked over and fell off the workbench. Zeng Xiasheng had already picked it up for her and was repeatedly trying to turn it on, but the shattered screen wouldn't light up. He had tied the man's arms and legs with rope and thrown him into a corner.
"I just bought a new computer last month, and it's broken already."
Zeng Xiasheng paused as he was trying to connect the power cord. He lowered his eyes and whispered, "I'm sorry."
"I have someone else to apologize to."
Tang Sizhuo looked at the man opposite him. He probably only had a superficial wound on his head and the bleeding had stopped, but his face was covered in blood mixed with the dust from his rubbing against the concrete floor, making it dirty.
"This is the latest model. I bought the top-of-the-line model, which cost over 24,000 yuan. It not only meets the standards for public security punishment, but also the standards for criminal prosecution."
Hearing her words, the man trembled all over and opened his mouth to argue, but Tang Sizhuo didn't give him room to speak.
"Of course, we can also go through a civil settlement. You can pay me some money and be done with it. But you need to tell me first. What did Liu Dong tell you about me? Why were you so scared that you smashed my computer like this?"
"Who the hell threw your computer?! Damn you—"
Zeng Xiasheng grabbed the screwdriver at hand and threw it at him, "Watch your mouth!"
Tang Sizhuo reached out to stop it, but failed. The screwdriver hit the man's face and almost poked his eye.
The man was still frightened and dared not say a word. He huddled in the corner, staring at Tang Sizhuo viciously.
Tang Sizhuo opened her mouth, unable to think of what to say. The gloom she had felt in the past few days seemed to be swept away by Zeng Xiasheng's thoughtless defense. She could even feel Zeng Xiasheng moving closer to her because of the curses and threats he was forced to swallow.
"If you really didn't know, you wouldn't have come and smashed my computer."
"None of your computer business! He just asked me to come and see if I could get—"
The man realized she was trying to trick him and stopped abruptly, but Tang Sizhuo had already gotten what she wanted. She turned off the recording on her phone and called the police.
About ten minutes later, two policemen came over, one was about forty years old, and the other was younger and looked like he had just started working.
The leading male police officer walked into the room and took a look around, his eyes falling on the man with a bleeding head, but he should have seen at a glance that the injury was not serious, so he did not ask his partner to call an ambulance.
He showed his ID. "I'm Liu Jie from the local police station. Who called the police? What happened?"
"Me." Tang Sizhuo stepped forward and handed his ID card and lawyer's license to the other party. "My car window and computer were smashed. I suspect he wanted to steal evidence from a case I had. I can't rule out the possibility of other more serious criminal offenses."
Listening that this wasn't a minor dispute that could be handled here, Liu Jie nodded and turned back to signal the young police officer, "Take the man up to the car and return to the station to take a statement."
After saying that, Liu Jie looked at Zeng Xiasheng again, sizing him up and down. Zeng Xiasheng's black clothes were stained with the man's blood during his movements, but it was not obvious, only slightly darker than the surrounding fabric.
However, this did not escape Liu Jie's eyes.
"You hit that person?"
"He wasn't beaten." Tang Sizhuo said immediately, "He fell when I caught him."
Liu Jie didn't respond, and his expression was obviously more serious than when he spoke to her just now.
"Give me your ID card. Everyone present must register."
Zeng Xiasheng hesitated for a moment, then pulled his ID card from his pocket and handed it to him. Liu Jie pressed it against the ID card reader. With a beep, the screen lit up. He glanced down, frowning. When he looked up again, his gaze was cold and stern.
"Do you have a criminal record?"
"Um."
Zeng Xiasheng's eyes fell on the machine in his hand. There was no such equipment when he was imprisoned. This was the first time he saw it. He didn't know how much information popped up from it, telling about his unbearable past.
"Why are you here? What's your relationship with her? Did you cause the injuries on that person?"
The scrutiny in his words suggested he was treating Zeng Xiasheng as another suspect, or perhaps he had a more sinister agenda, a plot to trick the reporter into a pig-killing scheme and defraud her of her money and sex. Liu Jie had been a grassroots police officer in this area for twenty years, and he had seen too many such hopeless individuals.
Tang Sizhu had never expected that calling the police would have this consequence. After being stunned for a moment, she squeezed in between the two of them and blocked Zeng Xiasheng behind her.
"Officer Liu, I'm the victim, and he's the one who bravely came to my aid. Why are you talking to him like that?"
Liu Jie glanced at her indifferently, as if mocking her youthful naiveté and inexperience with the world, and chuckled, "He's the best."
He returned the ID card to Zeng Xiasheng and tilted his head to signal him, "You also get in the car and go to the police station to take a statement."
Zeng Xiasheng didn't say anything. He seemed to return to his submissive behavior pattern in front of the police. He put his ID card away, locked the rolling shutter door, and got into the police car.
Tang Sizhuo made up an excuse, saying she would go there later, and as soon as the police car left, she immediately called Lin Feng. Lin Feng had told her in the afternoon that he was on duty today and was probably busy. She called five times before she was finally connected.
"You're such an ancestor! I just sat down on the stool and the photos were taken, so there's no need to be so anxious—"
"Help me, Zeng Xiasheng has been taken to the police station."
"What did he do?"
What did he do?
Even Lin Feng asked her what he did?
The anger that had been building up in Tang Sizhuo's heart suddenly exploded, and he practically screamed, "What do you mean, what did he do? Can't he just not do anything? Why does everyone think this of him?"
By the end of her words, she was choking with sobs. She knew she shouldn't vent her anger on Lin Feng, but the burning pain was unbearable. Why didn't she send Zeng Xiasheng away before calling the police? Why didn't she consider that he wouldn't want to see the police before calling the police? Why didn't she stop him before he threw the man to the ground?
He finally had a job that could support himself and a safe house the size of a palm. He finally could live a life with friends and no worries. But she made him fall into the humiliation of being scrutinized, suspected, and speculated.
"No, I'm sorry, that's not what I meant. I meant, oh—" Lin Feng was incoherent. "That's not what I meant. If I thought there was something wrong with him, would I help you investigate the case? It's a murder case. I advised you to stay away from him a long time ago."
Tang Sizhuo took a deep breath and struggled to calm herself. She had to prioritize matters and had no extra energy to devote to her emotions. After a moment's silence, she apologized to Lin Feng and briefly explained the situation.
"All the car windows are broken? How much is the computer?"
"Most of it was broken. The computer cost just over 10,000 yuan, but I tried to scam him out of 20,000 yuan."
"That's great." Lin Feng smiled, trying to calm her down. "Is that person's head broken? Are there any other injuries?"
"It's just his head, and it should be just a superficial injury. He was trying to run, and Zeng Xiasheng pulled him, so he fell." Tang Sizhuo hesitated for a few seconds, and finally said honestly, "He was cursing at me, and Zeng Xiasheng hit him with a screwdriver, almost poking his eye, but in fact there was no injury. This matter can be big or small, I don't care whether it's a heroic act or not. If there is any compensation, I will pay it-"
"I smashed a computer worth over 10,000 yuan, and you're still going to pay him back. You're such a jerk." Lin Feng deliberately joked, gently comforting her, "It's okay. Old policemen are a bit stubborn and can't tolerate any sand in their eyes. It's not like he really did anything wrong. I'll just go and say hello for you."
Lin Feng's words made Tang Sizhuo feel relieved. "Thank you."
"Take a taxi to the police station to pick him up. Be careful recently." Lin Feng thought she was funny. "You are too concerned. If this was your client, you would have solved it yourself. But because it's him, you don't dare to argue, for fear of angering the police and really locking him up for two days."
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