The Sangtang Town where Lv Zhong lives is about twenty miles from Yan City, and it takes half an hour to get to the city by bus.
After hastily buying a cup of soy milk and a few steamed buns for breakfast at a shop outside his residential complex, Lv Zhong saw that the number 8 bus had arrived at the station.
Yan City is located in the southern part of Xiangnan Province, and generally speaking, the temperature is suitable. But the weather this year has been unusual. Winter came earlier and was even colder than usual.
However, Sangtang Town is very close to Yan City and is a major agricultural town. Despite the cold, many farmers travel to Yan city every morning to sell their crops. Moreover, with the approach of the end of the year, the number of people buying goods for the Spring Festival is increasing by the day.
Lv Zhong, with his laptop bag on his back, squeezed onto the number 8 bus, only to realize that the bus was already overcrowded.
There were too many people on the bus, all pushing against each other, which Lv Zhong was not used to. Moreover, as they traveled, more and more people squeezed onto the bus. The entire carriage became even more crowded and oppressive. It was obvious that the bus was now seriously overloaded.
Although everyone understood that the serious overload of the bus posed a significant safety risk, this was a common situation in China, and no one had anything to say about it.
Lv Zhong held onto the handrail, calmly looking out the window. His mind was also immersed in the memories of Lv Yue, immersed in the fascinating mysteries of this place…
"Wh-where is my wallet? That's the money my mother needs for her treatment, if any kind-hearted person found it, please return it to me…" Suddenly, a young girl with a pretty face screamed in the carriage, launching into a mournful cry.
The girl's cry startled everyone in the carriage. Almost everyone reached out to check their own wallets or money bags immediately. Once they had confirmed that their own wallets were safe, they calmed down. They glanced around, trying to guess which of the people around them might be the thief.
Everyone on the bus knew that it was the peak of the year-end rush to the city, and that the buses were almost always full. This presented the perfect opportunity for thieves. As long as their own wallets were safe, they didn't care about the girl's stolen wallet.
Lv Zhong was also awakened by the girl's crying. He frowned and looked to see where the noise was coming from.
The girl was about sixteen or seventeen, petite, around 1.55 meters tall. She had a pretty face and looked quite innocent. However, her eyes were unusually big. Now, they were full of tears, projecting a despair that sent chills down one's spine.
To Lv Zhong's surprise, he actually knew this girl, and she was his classmate.
The girl's name was Yan Yan, and she seemed to come from Sangtang Town too. However, Lv Zhong didn't know her very well. In fact, he didn't know most of his classmates well because apart from his closest friends, he hardly talked to anyone in class.
"Young lady, don't worry. Try to think clearly, are you sure you lost your wallet on this bus?" An old lady beside Yan Yan couldn't help but ask.
"That's right, maybe you just forgot to bring your wallet with you. This is also possible! My daughter also has this habit of forgetting things..." agreed a man in his forties.
But Yan Yan's face was extremely pale, and she said helplessly: "I'm sure I lost my wallet on the bus. Ten minutes ago, I specifically checked my wallet. But now it's gone. Wh-wh..."
Thinking of her mother waiting in the hospital for money for treatment, and how the hard-earned money her father made from selling vegetables was lost on her watch, Yan Yan felt a heart-wrenching pain.
Yan Yan had originally been quite happy yesterday. She scored a decent 617 points on the end-of-semester city-wide unified exam. Although this was not as good as Leng Mei's 696 points, she was ranked seventh in her class and thirteenth in her school. This score was not enough to get into Huaqing or Yanjing University, but it was sufficient for Xiangnan University. Therefore, she was very happy when she brought her transcript home. But she didn't expect her mother to faint in their vegetable field early this morning and be rushed to the hospital in critical condition. In their hurry, Yan Yan's father hadn't brought enough money to the hospital, so Yan Yan had to rush to the hospital later with several thousand yuan. As someone with little experience in society, Yan Yan felt very uncomfortable carrying so much money. But this attracted the attention of a thief in the bus who stole the life-saving money.
"What color is your wallet? What are its distinguishing features? How much money was in it?"
As Yan Yan was sinking into despair, a gentle voice asked next to her ear.
Upon hearing the question, Yan Yan subconsciously responded: "My wallet is orange, rectangular shaped with a silver metal frame on the outside. Inside was my ID card and 4843 yuan..."
Once she finished speaking, she wiped away her tears and realized to her surprise that the person who asked the question was her classmate Lv Zhong.
Indeed, it was Lv Zhong who had spoken. He had a particular dislike for thieves who stole students' belongings. Moreover, Yan Yan was his classmate, and her family was clearly not very well off. The fact that the thief targeted Yan Yan was absolutely despicable!
After hearing Yan Yan's description, Lv Zhong nodded slightly and activated the Heavenly Eye - the Micro Yin-Yang Eye in his forehead.
Although this was Lv Zhong's third eye, and he could feel it himself, nobody else could detect its existence!
As the [Micro Yin-Yang Eye] activated, the first of its three functions, the penetrating gaze, began to work.
In a very short span of time, Lv Zhong noticed that the orange wallet was in possession of a scholarly looking man in his thirties wearing glasses. On the surface, this man seemed quite refined and respectable, but his disguise couldn't fool Lv Zhong's penetrating gaze. Moreover, this man was stealthily increasing the distance between himself and Yan Yan.
Lv Zhong's eyes narrowed and he pushed his way over to the man, clamping a hand down on the man's arm. Despite it being winter and the man wearing thick clothes, Lv Zhong's right hand firmly grasped him.
"Hand it over!" Lv Zhong stared at the man and said flatly.
"What? What are you talking about?" The man was annoyed and shouted indignantly, "Are you trying to rob me?"
"Don't play the thief crying thief. Give me the red wallet, or I will have to take you to the police station." Lv Zhong looked solemn and tightened his grip on the man's arm.
"Ah..." The man cried out in pain, "Let...let go, let the fuck go of me... let go..."
At this time, Yan Yan pushed her way over, glaring angrily at the man. She asked Lv Zhong, "Lv... Lv Zhong, did... did he steal... steal my wallet?"
"Exactly!" Lv Zhong nodded affirmation.
"I... I stole this bitch's wallet?" The man seemed to be burning with rage and screamed again, "Do you have any evidence? If not, don't blame me for being unkind."
"This…" Yan Yan was suddenly at a loss for words, and she turned to look at Lv Zhong helplessly.
Seeing Yan Yan's reaction, the man immediately became arrogant. There was a cunning gleam in his eyes as he loudly challenged, "Come on, search me if you dare. But if you don't find your wallet, I'll call the cops."
"I..." When faced with the ideathe man want her to search his body, Yan Yan hesitated.
All the while, she was unaware that the man was tricking her due to her inexperience. Which young lady could muster the audacity to frisk a man? And the young man attempting to help her out was also a student, would he dare to search the man?
Analysing the situation, the man began to feel slightly smug!
Many in the carriage, however, were alert to the situation. It was clear that the man was the thief who stole Yan Yan's wallet. But these "aware folks" dared not voice their thoughts.
"Hmm, utterly shameless!" Lv Zhong snorted coldly, swung his left hand and slapped the man on the face, then with his right hand holding onto the man's arm, he twisted it backwards, forcing the man to bend over. With that, the man's jacket rode uphis body due to the movement, revealing an orange-red wallet tucked near the waistband of his trousers, secured with a belt.
At this moment, everything was clear to everyone!
After retrieving the wallet from the man's back, Lv Zhong handed it to Yan Yan and said, "Check to see if anything's missing."
Yan Yan excitedly grasped the wallet, her delicate hands turning slightly pale from gripping it too tightly. Not feeling any discomfort, she gave Lv Zhong a grateful look before opening the wallet to inspect its contents.
"Lv Zhong, thank you. Not a penny is missing." Yan Yan lifted her head happily, expressing her thanks to Lv Zhong. Her large eyes were watery and overwhelmed. Today's incident was an unforgettable experience for her.
"You're welcome." Lv Zhong looked at the cornered man and asked Yan Yan, "The No. 8 bus will pass by Zhengxiong District Police Station. Shall we turn him into the police?"
As for this petty thief, Lv Zhong had no intention of letting him off the hook.
The man's face turned pale upon hearing this and he quickly pleaded, "Ah, no...please don't! Bro, sis, I won't do it again. Please don't send me to the station. The New Year is almost here, and I have old folks and kids to take care of. I only did this out of desperation. I beg you to spare me this once..."
"This..." Yan Yan hesitated; she was indeed swayed by the man's plea. More importantly, she was anxious to get to the hospital and didn't want to delay any further.
Lv Zhong felt exasperated. Since even the victim didn't want to report the theft to the police, why should he, an outsider, go to such lengths?
"Forget it, I also don't want to waste time. I'll let you off this time. But, if I ever catch you stealing again, I won't be as lenient!" Lv Zhong released the man and coldly ordered, "Off you go."
The man stood up, rubbed his arm, threw Lv Zhong and Yan Yan one last menacing look, but said nothing. He had the driver stop the bus and then got off.
Watching the public bus slowly roll away, the man took out his mobile phone and sent a text message: "Xiao Qi, keep a close eye on that guy..."
PS: In our hometown, Hengyang, there are many thieves, especially during Spring Festival. I myself was a victim of theft three times. I recall the worst time was when I was in my sophomore year; I was on a bus to Changsha and lost more than 1500 yuan. That was all the red packet money I had received for Spring Festival.
At the time, I suspected it was the man standing behind me. He had even invited me to search him. However, I was too naive back then and too shy to frisk him. That man got off at the very next stop. A few days ago, I witnessed a pickpocket on a bus, which prompted me to write this chapter down.
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