From the middle-aged woman crying thief to demanding a body search, and then finally asking for compensation for emotional distress, all of it was clearly a plot she had designed in advance.
She took advantage of a distraction to slip the cell phone into Su Ya's backpack and then yelled to catch the thief; after that, everything completely fell under her control.
This was obviously a frame-up, an accusation, and then a demand for compensation!
It must be said that the middle-aged woman's tricks are deep, her low-end scam played out elegantly.
Ordinary people, when faced with such a situation, under intimidation and public accusation and humiliation, would likely choose to swallow the loss and honestly pay up.
Presumably, the cash in her bag was the result of having succeeded in this scam elsewhere, money she had tricked out of others, right?
Thinking this, Chen Feng no longer hesitated and walked directly towards the middle-aged woman and Su Ya.
Although he did not consider himself a good person, since he had encountered this situation, he felt he should intervene...
At the same time, the middle-aged woman was continuing to threaten and intimidate Su Ya.
"Little girl, how about it? The auntie truly means well for you. Otherwise, once your classmates, teachers, and family find out you're a thief, how will they look at you?" the middle-aged woman said, patting Su Ya on the shoulder with a seemingly heartfelt tone.
She acted as if she really had Su Ya's best interests at heart.
"I... I don't have money!" Su Ya said softly, biting her lower lip and bowing her head.
"What? No money!" Upon hearing this, the middle-aged woman immediately grew anxious, her face darkening as she shouted, "Who doesn't carry a few hundred yuan these days? Fine, if you don't toast, you'll have to drink a forfeit! Let's go to the police station then!"
Having said that, the middle-aged woman turned and shouted to the bus driver, "Driver, pull over; I'm taking this thief to the police station!"
The bus driver nodded upon hearing this and was about to step on the brakes.
"Just wait a moment!"
And at that moment, a clear voice resounded inside the bus.
Everyone turned in surprise toward the direction from which the voice had come,
Only to see a young man dressed in a black short-sleeved shirt and tattered camouflage pants making his way through the crowd.
The young man had neat, short hair and a sharp, starry-eyed look, his brows revealing an attractive and captivating charm—the sunny handsome type.
And this sunny handsome guy was Chen Feng.
"Who are you?" the middle-aged woman asked, frowning at Chen Feng as he made his way through the crowd.
"Me? I'm her friend," Chen Feng said, pointing at Su Ya and smiling.
"Ah?" Su Ya was taken aback since she did not know Chen Feng at all.
Although many men typically tried to hit on her in this manner, what was the timing now? She was being accused of theft; how could there possibly be a man trying to hit on her? Everyone else would be avoiding her, not approaching.
Hence she was very puzzled and prepared to ask for clarification.
However, before Su Ya could speak, Chen Feng gestured with his hand, stopping her, "Don't talk just yet, listen to me!"
After speaking, Chen Feng did not give Su Ya a chance to respond and turned his head again toward the middle-aged woman, smiling and saying, "Ma'am, do you think there is any room for negotiation in this matter?"
"No!" The middle-aged woman shook her head resolutely, then said, "Right now, your friend only has two choices: either compensate me five hundred yuan, or I will take her to the police station and let everyone know she's a thief, and make everyone despise and loathe her!"
The middle-aged woman's actual goal was to get the five hundred yuan; as for taking Su Ya to the police station, that was not what she wanted to see, because if it came to that, she would end up with nothing.
So, she tried to describe the consequences of being sent to the police station more severely, in order to scare Su Ya into obediently paying the money.
Chen Feng had a very thorough understanding of what the middle-aged woman was thinking, so after hearing what she said, he did not panic at all.
But Su Ya did not know any of this; after hearing the middle-aged woman's words, her face turned even paler with fright, and her whole body started to tremble uncontrollably.
Seeing this, Chen Feng felt a surge of pity, gently patted Su Ya on the shoulder, then turned to the middle-aged woman with a smile and said, "Ma'am, I understand everything you've said, but the truth is she really does not have any money. However, as her friend, for the sake of her future, I should help her out with this five hundred yuan!"
"Really?" The middle-aged woman perked up at this, a hint of joy flashing in her eyes.
Chen Feng caught this expression, thereby becoming even surer of his own thoughts.
"Of course it's true!" Chen Feng curved his lips and nodded.
"Then hurry up and give me the money. As long as you pay, I will absolutely let her go!" The middle-aged woman stretched out her hand, eager to get paid.
"Ma'am, don't rush, let me finish talking," Chen Feng said with an amused smile, then continued, "What I mean is, as her friend, I should cover this five hundred yuan for her. But, I'm worried that if she gets off scot-free this time, what if she steals again next time? So, she must learn a profound lesson this time! I've decided to call the police myself and let them take my friend away. This way, you won't have to trouble yourself by taking her to the station!"
Having said this, Chen Feng did not hesitate to pull out his phone, ready to dial the emergency number.
At this, the middle-aged woman was completely flabbergasted. What kind of friend is this? Who calls the police on their own friend? Isn't that a bit too harsh?
Not only was the middle-aged woman stunned, but so was Su Ya.
At first, when she heard Chen Feng was going to pay the five hundred yuan for her, she thought Chen Feng was there to help her, and she felt grateful toward him. But she never expected Chen Feng to actually call the police on her. This dashed the glimmer of hope she had just ignited.
And naturally, Chen Feng became the person in her eyes who was kicking her when she was down!
Chen Feng was quick with his actions; he had dialed the emergency number in no time and was about to make the call.
Seeing this, the middle-aged woman could not care about anything else and quickly grabbed Chen Feng, pleading, "Young man, Ma'am knows you're doing this for your friend's good, but Ma'am agrees to settle this matter privately. So just go back and teach your friend a good lesson, don't bother the police, okay?"
"No, Ma'am, I must uphold justice today, irrespective of our relationships! Although she is my friend, I can't condone her behavior; I must let the police take her away!" Chen Feng said with an air of righteousness.
After speaking, Chen Feng leaned in close to the middle-aged woman's ear and continued in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Moreover, once the police arrive, I believe they'd be quite interested in the contents of your handbag too!"
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged woman's face changed drastically, and she asked with a trembling voice, "What... what do you mean? I don't understand!"
"Enough, stop pretending! I'm giving you two choices: one, tell everyone on the bus right now that this young lady is not a thief. Or two, have a nice chat with the police when they arrive. It's your choice!" Chen Feng's tone was icy.
"Who exactly are you?" The middle-aged woman realized at this point that Chen Feng's identity was not simple. She had been in this line of work for so long and had never been identified on the spot before, but Chen Feng had managed it, which she found astonishing.
"I don't have time to talk nonsense with you. You have three seconds to decide, otherwise, I'll make the choice for you," Chen Feng said coldly.
"I choose one!" The middle-aged woman did not dare hesitate any longer and made her choice immediately.
She took a deep breath and then turned to the passengers on the bus, shouting loudly, "I'm sorry everyone, I misjudged this young lady, she's not a thief, it was all a misunderstanding!"