Chapter 67.1 – A Little Angel’s Crash Course on Criminal Law (I)
Chapter 67.1 – A Little Angel’s Crash Course on Criminal Law (I)
Hao Jian obviously hadn’t expected Zhao Cheng to suddenly show up—let alone with so many reinforcements. The three of them were no match for his people, especially since they hadn’t come prepared to fight.
The round-faced thug stepped forward. “Hey, what’s the deal? We just came to chat with a pretty girl—no reason to get all violent.”
Hao Jian jumped in, “Yeah, we’re looking for Xia Mian. What’s it to you, Zhao Cheng?”
The scrawny guy piped up as well, “Why not let this beauty decide? Maybe she’d rather come with us. Then you’d be playing hero for nothing, wouldn’t ya?”
As he spoke, he gave Xia Mian a lecherous look. “What do you say, beauty? Want to come have a little private chat with us brothers?” He glanced around the room with a suggestive grin. “Or should we chat right here in front of all your classmates?”
Xia Mian stood up, casually toying with the Walkman in her hand. Her voice was icy. “We can talk right here. Unlike some people, I’ve got nothing to hide.”
Hao Jian gave a sly grin. “Bold, aren’t you? Since you’re so open, why not tell everyone how you landed in juvie?”
A low murmur rippled through the room. Quite a few students turned to glance at Tian Xueya, now unsure who had been telling the truth.
“Sure,” Xia Mian tilted her head. “That’ll give me a chance to trace the source of the rumors. Just now, Tian Xueya claimed that she was close with you and heard about my ‘history’ from you. So I’d like to know—who did you hear it from?”
Tian Xueya had just breathed a sigh of relief when she was caught completely off guard by Xia Mian’s sharp remark. Her heart leaped into her throat. As one of the well-known pretty girls in her grade, she had definitely had her own run-in with Hao Jian before.
Sure enough, Hao Jian turned to her with a grin and tossed her a wink. “Oh? Tian Xueya, you are also in this class? We sure are close, aren’t we? How about coming with us too?”
Tian Xueya went pale with fear, her whole body trembling as she stumbled backward. “No! I’m not going!” she cried, then spun around and collapsed onto her desk, burying her head in her arms, refusing to look up again.
Hao Jian didn’t seem to care—she wasn’t their main target tonight. But the contrast just made Xia Mian seem even more interesting. “Xia Mian,” he called again, “I was trying to save you some face. You sure you want to do this here?”
“I’m sure,” Xia Mian replied coldly. “Just spit it out right here and now. If you don’t, you’re a damn dog.”
Her sharp response took him off guard. He faltered for a moment before sneering, “Looks like you don’t know when to quit.” Then he turned to the class. “Hey, want to know why this little beauty landed in juvie? Isn’t it obvious?”
His gaze lingered on her chest before he shot a lewd look at his two buddies. “Come on, just look at her—clinging to every guy she sees. What other reason could there be?”
In this pre-digital era where most kids were raised in conservative homes and couples rarely even held hands in public, most high schoolers still had pretty innocent minds. They could tell these guys were being crude but didn’t fully catch the meaning behind Hao Jian’s words.
But from the front of the classroom came a sudden, startled gasp. Everyone turned to Tian Xueya, who was blushing furiously, staring at Xia Mian like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
Her reaction tipped off the others. One by one, they turned to look at Xia Mian, eyes wide with disbelief.
Xia Mian remained completely unfazed. Narrowing her eyes, she said again, “Explain it clearly. What exactly did I ‘serve time’ for?”
“Prostitution, obviously!” The round-faced thug couldn’t care less about their back and forth. Having spent years in the underworld, he was far more direct than Hao Jian.
He sneered, “Girls like you? I’ve seen plenty. Look all sweet and pure, but once those clothes come off…”
“You son of a b**h!” Zhao Cheng couldn’t take it anymore. He stormed forward, grabbed the thug by the collar, and punched him hard. “Talk shit again, I dare you!”
Sun Yuexin whirled on the stunned Tian Xueya, jabbing a finger at her. “These are your friends too, huh, Tian Xueya? No wonder you know so much!”
Tian Xueya’s eyes welled up with tears at once, looking extremely wronged, but Sun Yuexin had no time for her now.
Zhao Cheng had the round-faced thug pinned and was raining punches on him, but when the scrawny one saw the others getting ready to jump in, he quickly shouted, “Xia Mian, if you don’t want us spreading all your dirty little secrets everywhere, you’d better make them stop! Otherwise, I promise—you won’t dare to show your face in Yan City ever again!”
Zhao Cheng hesitated, caught in a bind. Xia Mian frowned and said, “Enough. Don’t hit him anymore.”
Zhao Cheng shoved the thug away angrily. The man staggered backward—right in front of Xia Mian. Thinking she was scared now, he rubbed his aching face and, furious at the beating he’d taken, reached out to grab her.
“Fucking slut, don’t know what’s good for you. You’re coming with me!”
Xia Mian nimbly dodged aside. “Why the hell should I go with you? Where are you trying to take me?”
Hao Jian, seeming to enjoy the cat-and-mouse game, circled around with a grin. “To King, of course! It’s a new nightclub we opened in Longcheng. It’s very lively there—you sure would love it!”
Zhao Cheng and the boys he brought formed a protective barrier around Xia Mian. She darted left and right—none of the three could lay a hand on her.
“You bastards! I’m not going anywhere with you!”
The round-faced thug sneered, “You better think this through, little beauty. Play nice and we might actually treat you well. Otherwise, tomorrow the whole school’s gonna know you’re a whore—let’s see how long you last…”
Xia Mian abruptly stopped. She waved off Zhao Cheng and his buddies and looked straight at the man. “And what does ‘treat me well’ mean?”
The scrawny one, thinking they had caught Xia Mian’s weakness, stopped the other one and switched to play good cop. “Oh, plenty of perks, of course. You’ll be the top dog at school. We’ll even cover your living expenses—how does fifty a month sound?”
Xia Mian countered, “And why should I believe you?”
“Ever heard the name Qiao Jianyu?” Hao Jian said smugly. “He’s our boss. One word from his grandpa, and the top dogs of Longcheng District will run groveling. So—what do you say?”
As he spoke, he lunged at her, hand reaching out with clear intent.
The round-faced thug made a sudden move too, trying to block her escape.
“Xia Mian!”
“Xia Mian, watch out!”
Zhao Cheng, Sun Yuexin, and Li Lizhen rushed forward in panic—only to see her calmly raise an arm and swing it with practiced ease.
Hao Jian let out a sudden shriek, clutching his head as he staggered painfully. Before anyone could process what just happened, Xia Mian spun around, and the round-faced thug who was charging at her let out a similar cry of pain, his footsteps wobbling just like Hao Jian’s, before collapsing to the ground with a heavy thud.
“X-Xia Mian…” Zhao Cheng stared, stunned, at the blood trickling down from the two men’s temples.
The scrawny one belatedly realized the situation had gone south and turned to flee, but Xia Mian shouted, “Zhao Cheng, don’t just stand there! Block him—don’t let him get away!”
On reflex, Zhao Cheng and the other guys jumped into action, six of them pinning the scrawny thug to the floor.
Only then did Xia Mian seem to realize what she’d done. Startled, she dropped the brick in her hand—which landed squarely on the scrawny thug’s nose. Blood gushed immediately.
Everyone stared at her in shock.
Xia Mian looked just as shaken, sniffing and whimpering, “That was so scary… they’re so mean, I was terrified…”
“Ahhh—he’s bleeding! What do we do?” She flailed a bit like she had no idea how to handle the situation.
Everyone else: “…”
Wasn’t it you who did all this? We’re scared too!
Zhao Cheng, suddenly worried things had escalated too far, said quickly, “Should we take them to the hospital?”
“Don’t move them,” Xia Mian said urgently. “Head injuries can be dangerous—a small mistake could be fatal. We need to call an ambulance.”
She shot a glance at the groggy Hao Jian and added, “Keep them still. If they move and make things worse, I might get blamed for attempted murder.”
Sun Yuexin winced. “Don’t scare us!”
Li Lizhen asked, “What should we do now?”
“Relax. They’ll be fine—maybe just mild concussions at worst.” Xia Mian pulled out her phone and dialed 110. “Hello, police? We need help here.”
“There are gang members trespassing at Yan University Affiliated High. They tried to coerce a female student into prostitution at a nightclub.”
“…”
“Yes, three of them. During the struggle, they were accidentally injured. Should we call an ambulance?”
“…”
“High school division, that’s correct. We’re in Class 1-3. Please hurry, Mr. Officer. We’re all really scared.”
After she hung up, she patted her chest and let out a long sigh of relief. “All good now. Keep an eye on them until the police arrive.”
Everyone stood frozen, dumbfounded by the series of events.
The scrawny thug, still bleeding from the nose, had regained enough clarity to panic at the mention of police. He started struggling. “Xia Mian, Miss Xia, I’m sorry! We were wrong! We didn’t mean anything by it—just wanted to make friends!”
“If you’re not interested, fine! We won’t bother you again, I swear!”
“No, no,” Xia Mian replied with a trembling voice, “if you keep spreading rumors about me, I won’t be able to keep studying here. I trust the police more than I trust you.”
The more confident he’d been earlier, the more regretful he was now. This girl looks so delicate—but damn, she was ruthless when it came down to it!
Xia Mian added with concern, “Please hold all three of them down tightly. If they run off and come back for revenge, we’re all in trouble.”
The boys in Xia Mian’s class had never faced anything like this before and immediately snapped into high alert. Usually, just the mention of gangsters, thugs, or gangs made them uneasy—now they were pinning actual ones to the ground! What a thrill!
As for Zhao Cheng and the others, they had always thought of themselves as gutsy, coming from military families—but compared to Xia Mian? She was on a whole different level. What she just did was so cool and wild!