When the police saw Carlos McKen's resolute attitude, they knew that things were not going to end well today.
He winked at a few young people, but his teammates were completely oblivious. They were still smug and even a little provocative.
There was no other way; everyone had to go to the police station together. Fearing someone might skip, everyone registered and was required to be at the station within an hour. The officers drove away, leaving only Carlos McKen's car, so everyone decided to walk.
Carlos McCann was driving. He glanced at the girl in the rearview mirror, her face ashen. "You were too impulsive. Drawing a gun won't do you any good. You need to know you're abroad."
Zhang Hongmei didn't regret the act itself, but rather regretted suggesting they sell steamed buns. She decided to stick to her studies from now on.
Upon arriving at the police station, someone informed Chief Carlos McKen of his arrival, and the chief personally came out to greet him.
The two shook hands and then discussed what had happened in hushed tones.
Once everyone had arrived at the police station, the three officers were called into the office. They all looked rather grim when they came out.
Zhang Hongmei found the verdict acceptable. The perpetrator was ordered to pay Han Guangtai 200 yuan for medical expenses and 60 yuan worth of steamed buns as compensation. He also apologized to all the international students in person.
Zhang Hongmei knew in her heart that this was the only way. Although she didn't care about the money, what else could she do? Should she fight back?
Zhang Hongmei remained silent, her mood quite low. Everyone was silent as they sat around in the living room. Zhao Tiancheng returned with Han Guangtai in his car.
When Han Guangtai came in, everyone stood up. "It's nothing serious, just a superficial injury."
Zhao Tiancheng nodded, which put everyone at ease.
Jiang Mingyan sat there with her head down, not saying a word. Only when Han Guangtai came in did she stand up, and only after hearing that Han Guangtai was alright did she let out a long sigh of relief.
At this point, Shen Yunfang called everyone to go eat. It was already past nine o'clock, and everyone was hungry.
"Hongmei, would you like to eat something else?"
Zhang Hongmei shook her head, having no appetite, and leaned back on the sofa, thinking about what had happened that day.
“Hongmei, you don’t need to be like this. This is nothing. That’s how we Chinese are here. Today, Carlos McCann is here. Otherwise, as that police officer said, it would just be swept under the rug.” Zhao Tiancheng saw that Zhang Hongmei was not in a good mood and comforted her.
"I know, I regret it now. Why did I not take it to heart when I knew it was unstable, and why did I disregard my compatriots because of my own preferences? They have their faults, but I shouldn't deny them."
Thankfully, nothing bad happened today, or I would have regretted it for the rest of my life. Uncle Zhao, I think I was too arrogant. Who am I? Why should everyone follow my path?
"Hongmei, you're getting stuck on this. Like you said, who are you? Why do you take on everything yourself?"
Zhang Hongmei's shoulders slumped. Yes, who was she?
At this point, everyone returned to the living room and sat down.
Jiang Mingyan stood in the middle and said, "Today's events all started because of me. I always felt that selling steamed buns was easier than making them, so I made a scene, and everyone agreed that I should go sell steamed buns."
Everything was going smoothly until those people said some lewd things to me. I couldn't control myself and got into a fight with them.
They were trying to drag me away, but Han Guangtai stepped forward and saved me.
"Han Guangtai, thank you, and thank you everyone for your continued understanding. Every time something happens, it's because of me. No one has abandoned me; I've dragged everyone down." Jiang Mingyan finished speaking and bowed deeply.
Everyone was at a loss for words. It was impossible not to resent Jiang Mingyan, but it hadn't reached the point of being unforgivable.
Zhang Hongmei stood up and said, "I also apologize to everyone. I shouldn't have suggested that everyone sell steamed buns. I knew the situation was unstable, but I didn't take it seriously. It almost caused an irreparable disaster."
Because of what happened last time, I'm a little disgusted with you all, but do I do everything right? Am I someone that everyone likes?
You wanted to be self-reliant, but I didn't fight for it for you. I was afraid you would cause more trouble, so I wanted to push you out. I forgot my original intention.
I'm sorry, this will never happen again. I can't say your problems are my problems, but if anything happens while we're abroad, I will absolutely not stand idly by. Come to me, and I will do anything I can to help.
After Zhang Hongmei finished speaking, she sat down. Everyone looked at each other, and Kong Yushun spoke up, "You did nothing wrong. Now that we've talked it out, let's let it go. Through this incident, we should be more united. Everyone has their own little thoughts, but from now on, everyone should remember that we are a whole."
Everyone agreed, and the matter was considered closed. Zhang Hongmei was in low spirits, so she went back to her room after seeing everyone off.
She actually thought about it for a long time, but in the end she didn't tell them to stop selling steamed buns.
Having a beginning and an end is a kind of training in itself.
He told Zhang Shouyi everything that had happened that day, including the incident of pulling out a gun.
"Brother Zhang, do you think I've become too arrogant and don't know my own limitations?" Zhang Hongmei asked Zhang Shouyi at the end.
After listening to the recording, Zhang Shouyi was furious. These people were troublemakers, always causing problems and making things difficult for his wife.
After gently comforting his young daughter, he called over the leaders of the people who had recommended her for the overseas trip and gave them a dressing down. Of course, he couldn't say that it was because the people they recommended had gotten into trouble; he just said that they had misjudged people.
When I got home that night, I played the recording for Gu Chuanming, but the unscrupulous elder laughed and said, "They are the people of my Gu family. They have guts. What are we afraid of if we pull out a gun? They should see blood."
After listening, Zhang Shouyi shook his head. He really didn't dare let his son teach him in the future, lest he raise a troublemaker.
After Carlos and his daughter Annie returned home, Annie nestled in her father's arms. "Is my sister unhappy? Even her smile when she came back looked so ugly."
"Yes, Miss Zhang is very unhappy today, but it's definitely not because of you, so don't worry."
"I know, I'm very worried about my sister."
Carlos McKen stroked his daughter's soft hair. "Miss Zhang is very strong. You'll see tomorrow morning if you don't believe me. She'll definitely still be practicing Tai Chi. And she'll definitely apologize to you for neglecting you."
Anne nodded. Her sister would definitely do what her father said.
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