Even as he stepped into the police station, Sheng Lin suspected that some other “Xia Yiyang” with the exact same name had gotten into trouble. After all, the young master he knew was the most well-behaved kid imaginable—a little clever, a little pampered, and definitely not the type to get into a fistfight that landed him in police custody.
The officer in charge of the case was a young man, his uniform crisp and new, suggesting he hadn’t been on the job long. When he saw Sheng Lin, he couldn’t help but steal several glances at him before asking hesitantly, “Have we met before?”
Sheng Lin replied, “My ice jelly shop is right at the entrance of Rongda. Maybe you stopped by after work.”
“Rongda… Rongda…” The young officer tapped the peaked cap on his head. “I remember now! We played basketball together!”
“…?”
The officer gestured excitedly. “Rongda and our police academy had a friendly match last year. I was the forward, and you were guarding me! I jumped up like this—” He mimed a shooting motion on the spot. “—and then you smacked my ball right down. Then I tried to get around you like this—” He mimed a dribbling move. “—and you cut me off again! Hey, you stole the ball from me twice in a row. I was so mad I couldn’t sleep for three months!”
“…So should I say sorry now?” Sheng Lin genuinely had no memory of this former opponent, but to avoid provoking the guy he’d beaten, he decided to apologize anyway.
“What sorry? Let’s play again sometime!” The young officer was quite familiar. “My surname is Xiang, like ‘sunflower’—just call me Xiao Xiang. What’s your name?”
“Sheng Lin.” Sheng Lin reminded him, “Officer Xiang, I’m here to pick up Xia Yiyang.”
“Oh right, almost forgot the main thing.” Officer Xiang led him through the long office area toward the mediation room in the back. “I can’t believe Xiao Xia works for you. What a small world, right? I handled Xiao Xia’s last case too, and now I’m handling this one.”
Sheng Lin caught a key word: “Last case?”
“Telecom fraud.” Officer Xiang chattered as they walked. “He’s too young, no life experience at all, way too trusting. Last time, one phone call from a scammer and all his money was gone. This time, some stranger at the hostel started calling him ‘brother,’ built up trust, and then started finding all kinds of excuses to borrow money…”
Hearing this, Sheng Lin immediately pictured the yellow-haired young man. Xia Yiyang had just arrived in Rongcheng, and aside from Wen Sen, he didn’t have any other friends.
“This is actually a very common scam, targeting soft-hearted, easygoing students like him.” Officer Xiang sighed. “The scammer plays the long game—first they borrow small amounts, a hundred, two hundred, and they pay back promptly, even adding a little extra interest on purpose.
Then suddenly, an ’emergency’ pops up—they hit someone with their car, their girlfriend needs an abortion, a parent is seriously ill—something big, with a large sum required urgently. The victim, thinking of their friendship and the scammer’s good repayment record, empties their wallet to help… and then gets blocked and never sees them again.
By the time the victim reports it, they find out the scammer’s name, age, background—everything is fake. There’s no way to catch them.”
The more Sheng Lin listened, the more he regretted not forcing Xia Yiyang to stay away from that punk.
“Did Xia Yiyang fight him today because the guy refused to pay him back?”
“Not exactly.” Officer Xiang changed tack. “The kid’s actually pretty sharp. When the scammer asked for money the last time, he sensed something was off and didn’t lend it. This morning, Xia Yiyang pretended to leave the hostel, then doubled back and caught the scammer red-handed, trying to break into his locker and steal his stuff. That’s when they started fighting—”
Sheng Lin blurted out, “—Did he win?”
Officer Xiang: “?”
Sheng Lin cleared his throat and said seriously, “I mean, he’s way too reckless, going after a scammer all by himself. Does he think he’s Superman? What if he got hurt? I’m definitely going to give him a good scolding when we get back.”
Officer Xiang nodded. “That’s right~ Catching bad guys is our job. Kids shouldn’t take such risks, okay?”
Soon, they arrived outside the mediation room.
The moment the door was pushed open, Sheng Lin’s eyes swept the room, and in the next second, they landed on that familiar figure.
The boy’s face had a few scrapes and bruises—a bandage on his chin, a purple patch at the corner of his mouth. Thankfully, those beautiful eyes were uninjured. His right hand, wrapped in gauze, rested obediently on his knee, while his unharmed left hand propped up his head, which bobbed slightly as he dozed off, like a chick pecking at rice.
He looked utterly pitiful—and utterly infuriating.
“Xia Yiyang,” Officer Xiang called out to him. “Wake up. Someone’s here to pick you up.”
The boy jolted awake, blinking with the dazed eyes of someone just roused from sleep, and looked over, his gaze meeting Sheng Lin’s in a confused collision.
The man walked over in silence, stopping beside him. He looked down at the small purplish bruises on his face for a long moment, then couldn’t help raising his hand, pressing the back of it gently against the boy’s cheek.
“…Eh?” Xia Yiyang looked up at him but didn’t pull away from his touch.
Sheng Lin didn’t explain. He withdrew his hand, turned to Officer Xiang outside the mediation room, and asked, “Officer Xiang, can I take him now? This fight won’t have any lasting consequences for him, will it?”
“Take him, take him. He’s the victim—this isn’t classified as a brawl, so it won’t affect him at all.” Officer Xiang turned to Xia Yiyang and said earnestly, “Xiao Xia, I get that you hate scammers, but don’t be so impulsive next time. What if he’d been carrying a weapon?”
Xia Yiyang quietly defended himself: “A scammer who only does petty theft like that doesn’t have the guts to actually hurt anyone.”
Sheng Lin shot him a cold glance. “You have a mouth, but right now you can pretend to be mute.”
Xia Yiyang: “…Fine.”
Pouty lip.jpg
After they signed a few more pages of case statements at the police station, Sheng Lin finally managed to escort the young master out in one piece.
Before they left, Xia Yiyang asked Officer Xiang, “Since Wen Sen’s been arrested, will he be sentenced?”
“Wen Sen? …Oh, you mean the suspect.” Officer Xiang paused for a few seconds before deciding to tell the truth. “Probably, but not because of your case. In your case, he paid back all the money he borrowed from you, so it doesn’t constitute a crime. And even though you caught him attempting theft, you’d already moved all your valuable electronics out beforehand, and there was only three hundred yuan in cash in your locker—not a large amount either. What’s really going to affect his case is that he stole an electric scooter.”
“An electric scooter?”
Officer Xiang: “Yes, according to his own confession, the e-bike he’s been riding is stolen. After he finishes busking every day, if his earnings aren’t good, he ‘works overtime’ by stealing e-bikes and selling them off.”
“!!!” Xia Yiyang felt sick just thinking about how he’d ridden on stolen goods more than once.
He’d always thought he worked hard every day, but Wen Sen was the real “hard worker”—busking, scamming people, stealing e-bikes—three jobs at once. What a multi-talented treasure of a guy.
……
The sunlight was just as lovely today, spilling over the steps in front of the police station, just like the day Xia Yiyang had come to file his last report.
The difference was that last time he’d left in tears, and this time he hadn’t shed a single one—even though his face was banged up, the young master was staying strong!
“Boss, thank you for coming to get me.” Xia Yiyang gave Sheng Lin a polite bow and said earnestly, “I interrupted your business, didn’t I?”
Sheng Lin didn’t answer that question. Instead, he changed the subject and asked, “Where are you planning to stay next?”
“Stay?” Xia Yiyang replied cluelessly. “I’m still staying where I am now…”
Sheng Lin sighed. “How can you be so naive? You caught a scammer at the hostel, fought with him, and ended up at the police station. Do you really think the hostel owner will still let you stay?”
“Why wouldn’t they?” Xia Yiyang was shocked. “It’s not my fault!”
“But from the hostel’s perspective, you’re the one who caused the trouble.” Sheng Lin said. “Besides, hostels are full of all kinds of people with complicated relationships. What if your next roommate turns out to be a second Wen Sen?”
Xia Yiyang: “…”
A flicker of bewilderment passed through his eyes—clearly, he had no idea where to go next.
Half a month ago, the young master had moved from a hotel to a hostel—a huge step down. Despite all the inconveniences, he’d put up with it for the low price. Now that the hostel was off the table, he couldn’t exactly buy a tent and camp out in People’s Park, could he!
Xia Yiyang murmured, “But where am I supposed to live?”
He’d been talking to himself, but unexpectedly, Sheng Lin responded: “—At my place.”
“???”
“The loft above the ice jelly shop—it’s about the same size as the store below.” The man said. “I won’t charge you, and I don’t have a hobby of stealing e-bikes.”
Xia Yiyang: “…Boss, are you joking?”
Sheng Lin shot back: “Do I look like someone who jokes?”
Well… no, he really didn’t.
But living with his boss? Xia Yiyang had never imagined that.
Still, Sheng Lin’s proposal was the only solution for Xia Yiyang, who was short on cash and starved for a sense of security.
—The young master had already put up with an eight-person bunk room at a hostel. Living with his boss couldn’t be that much worse, right?
————————
Whoop whoop, the young master is finally moving into the boss’s place!!
The happy (?) cohabitation life is about to begin!!
————
Yiyang is a very, very well-behaved kid. He lacks life experience and wariness of others, and he’s got a bit of a spoiled streak—but he’s not stupid.
At first, Wen Sen had him fooled. Even when certain things about their “friendship” made him uncomfortable, he told himself he was overthinking it and that he shouldn’t judge people through tinted glasses. But soon enough, he woke up and realized that real friendship shouldn’t be like that.
Luckily, that chapter is behind him now. From here on out, the young master can relax and enjoy himself!
His new roommate won’t cheat him out of his money, nor will he go stealing e-bikes. [laughing-crying][laughing-crying]
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