It wasn't that they found it hard to believe, but in this day and age, when good people get scammed after doing good deeds, could there still be heroes who would willingly stand up for justice?
There were, of course, but few, very few, not ordinary people, ones you'd hardly meet.
"The wallet is not mine. It belongs to a girl at the bus stop. You should go find her," Carolline Ruiz told the police officer. Only then did she think to thank the first person who appeared. Turning her head, she saw Bryan Hawkins and was stunned, "It's you?"
The words "how come" never left Carolline's lips.
"You guys can take her back first. This is my number. Her name is Carolline Ruiz, a student of Medical School. If you need to take a statement, you can call me anytime. For now, I'll take her to the hospital to clean up her wounds."
At this moment, both sides of Carolline's face were swollen, and some places even broke skin. It was obvious how ruthless the man had been, hitting such a delicate girl with such heavy hands. Bryan felt filled with anger and hatred just thinking about it.
As he led Carolline away, he couldn't resist kicking the man on the ground who had been restrained. The man howled in pain once more.
The two police officers tacitly pretended not to have seen it.
"Wait, Carolline. Do you know the person involved? Maybe you could return the wallet for us," one police officer thought of something as he stepped forward.
"I'm sorry, I don't know her." Carolline apologized.
Bryan shook his head again after listening. He really didn't know how to describe the silly girl in front of him.
At this moment, Bryan's phone rang. It was Matilda Ferguson calling him. He quickly answered, "Hello."
"Bryan, I'm sorry, but I won't be able to have dinner with you tonight. Our class has a get-together. I apologize." On the other side of the phone came Matilda Ferguson's soft voice.
"It's okay. Let's do it another day." Bryan didn't mind. Having a beautiful girlfriend who danced exceptionally well always made it harder to schedule with her because unexpected situations would often arise.
"Go on your date, I can take a cab home by myself." Carolline's head remained lowered, but Bryan thought she was worried about other people seeing her battered face.
Without making any further guesses, he spoke quietly, "Since I'm helping, I'll take you to the hospital. I don't have a habit of leaving things unfinished."
No explanation of his date was offered, as it was his own business. Bryan didn't think it was necessary to mention it.
Carolline did not ask, she silently got in the back seat. Bryan didn't say anything and started driving, "Do you have a preferred hospital?"
"Let's go to People Hospital." Her father worked in the Surgical Department. All her childhood scars were taken care of by him.
"Before trying to be a hero, you should weigh your own strength. Knowing how to call the police is good enough. As a young girl, don't show off your strength. You have to know there was more than one of them." Bryan shuddered at the thought that if he hadn't met her today, or if the police hadn't come so fast, she would have been facing five men with evil intentions. How would she have managed?
Although Bryan had not known Carolline for a long time, she seemed to be fierce. If a disaster really happened, he thought she would probably choose to fight to the bitter end.
So, he couldn't help but offer some advice.
"So in cases like this, should we just shrink back like cowards and ignore it? Wouldn't that leave the whole society, the whole country, at the mercy of these criminals?" Carolline understood that Bryan meant well, but she couldn't help but argue. On the other hand, she had to admit that Bryan's words made sense.
She could hardly believe what she had seen earlier. Even though she had shouted loudly, none of her so-called classmates, who were college students and the potential backbone of the country, had been willing to chase and help out when faced with such a situation.
Thinking about it was indeed discouraging.
"Is a reputation more important than life?" Bryan was almost amused by Carolline, especially as she raised her battered, swollen, and bleeding face in defiance. It was just too absurd.
"I remember my junior high school teacher once said, 'It's better to die standing than to live kneeling.'" Carolline borrowed someone else's words to answer Bryan's question about choice.
"Ha..." Bryan chuckled softly, sighing at the naive child before him who had yet to experience the world.
Many years later, whenever Bryan thought back on Carolline's words, he'd inadvertently extend a helping hand even when he didn't want to meddle. Even with street beggars, whom he initially didn't believe due to numerous media reports, he eventually couldn't help but give them some change.
Because Carolline said that even if they were fake, what you were giving wasn't foolishness but your own good heart. Good deeds would bring good karma, and there was no doubt about that. Moreover, she believed that there must be people who really needed help, so one shouldn't overlook them just because of the presence of scammers.
Perhaps it was for this reason that during his times of despair, he allowed her to approach him while he kept every other stranger at bay.