The early spring night was bitterly cold.
The chill wind poured down my throat, making me cover my mouth and cough softly.
Frowning, I stared at Yan Dong, who was locked in a standoff right in front of me.
My other hand was already slowly groping for the phone in my pocket.
The correct move at a time like this would be to call the police, but I had a feeling that the moment I pulled out my phone, that Qian Jiangche guy would smash it to pieces.
I’d rushed in on a hot-headed impulse without even a backup plan.
But that stubborn ass Yan Dong, did he actually think I had called the police?
Given how showy he was, chances were… he really did.
Because right now, Yan Dong was turning his face toward me, winking at me furiously.
I could only shake my head helplessly.
In that instant, I saw the muscles at the corner of Yan Dong’s eye twitch with effort.
“How’s it feel, huh? Playing cool and acting tough, feels good, doesn’t it?”
Qian Jiangche’s face bulged with veins as he clenched his thick fists.
His bulging biceps strained against his clothes, and beyond his fury, there was a clear disdain for Yan Dong.
“Just wonder if you’ll still be this cocky when you’re crawling out of here.”
Yan Dong was silent for a moment before he suddenly put on that ridiculous look he always had when begging me to take the blame for him: “No need to get so hotheaded, Master Qian. We live in a civilized society now, right? We should handle things politely, with a little class, yeah?”
Qian Jiangche wasn’t about to waste pleasantries on Yan Dong.
He just let out a cold laugh and kicked aside the helmet at his feet.
“Alright then, since you know what’s what, I won’t waste words. Which hand threw that helmet just now? I’ll break it, and you can get lost.”
“Pfft. Big guy, what, did you trade in your brain for all that muscle? Didn’t I say it already? This chick—this young master has her back.”
“Talking to you really is a fucking waste of time.”
Clearly out of patience, Qian Jiangche was just about to lunge when Yan Dong suddenly shook his head.
“Brother Qian, mind repeating what you just said? About who you were gonna take nudes of? The girl behind me? And the other girl too?”
“So what if I did? Smashing up your arm in the process is your own damn fault!”
The moment Qian Jiangche said that, Yan Dong straightened up, his expression returning to its usual cocky arrogance, even clicking his tongue a few times.
“Old, Qian, ah”
That deliberately drawn-out tone, soaked in that familiar cedarwood scent, drifted over to me and made me instinctively hold my breath.
Over the past two months, every time he used that teasing tone, he was either pulling some prank or causing a disaster.
“Look at you, all grown up, and still doing shady shit like this?” he said, casually kicking the already ruined food delivery box.
“You know what pisses this young master off most? First, someone interrupting my joyride. Second, some bastard showing off in front of me.”
He jerked his chin toward the red blinking lights reflected on the convenience store’s glass wall in the distance.
The scent of cedarwood mixed with the rust in the alley brushed past my nose.
“This alley might not have surveillance, but the convenience store entrance has four wide-angle cameras.”
Qian Jiangche’s hand holding the USB stick paused slightly.
“You think I’d fall for some crap like that…”
“Yo, Old Qian, you been watching too many American movies? Think all cops are dumbasses?”
Yan Dong sneered, cutting him off.
Then he squatted down and started measuring the radius of the spilled soup.
“Want me to teach you how to destroy the evidence chain? First, the convenience store cameras aren’t connected to the internet. You could sneak in after midnight when no one’s around—need to erase about 20 minutes of footage. As for the victim’s arm and neck? Both got your fingerprints. And there’s still fragments of your skin caught under her nails…”
“Of course, you could knock us out first and then take your time wiping the evidence,” Yan Dong said, his expression gradually darkening.
“Oh right, Xiao Qian—did you forget that the delivery app has a real-time GPS tracking function? What’s your plan for that? And what about the helmet camera that uploads footage straight to the cloud? It just so happened to record your little criminal confession a moment ago.”
Yan Dong reached into the divider layer of the delivery box and pulled out a wrinkled receipt: “This order’s for Tianhe Law Firm… oh, that’d be Attorney Chen—the one who put a molester behind bars for seven years last year.”
He slowly peeled off the black glove on his right hand and took out his phone, snapping multiple angles of the food spilled on the ground.
The camera flash cast a cold gleam on the red ribbon of the jasmine hair tie on my head.
“Lin Yunxia, tell him how many years Attorney Chen would give for this kind of case.”
I swallowed the metallic taste in my throat and kept my voice as steady as always: “Article 49 of the Public Security Administration Punishment Law—disseminating threats involving private images, minimum fifteen days of detention. Article 43—assault, up to ten days.”
But when my scarf slipped down and the bruises on my neck hit the cold air, I couldn’t help but cough softly again.
“If the injuries qualify as minor injuries, it could be prosecuted under the Criminal Law for provoking trouble—up to five years. For insult, it’s three years…”
Yan Dong stood up, checked the photos on his phone, and then waved the screen in front of him: “Hey, think this through. You can either beat me up now and have Attorney Chen throw you in prison for a few years, or listen to my terms.”
“Wh-what do you want?”
Qian Jiangche was already drenched in cold sweat.
Though he tried to keep up a calm front, the trembling in his voice betrayed the panic he was feeling.
“The USB drive,” Yan Dong’s voice came down like a judge’s gavel—cold and absolute.
“You—do you think I’m stupid? Hand you the USB?”
Yan Dong sighed and didn’t respond right away. Instead, he carefully grabbed my wrist and frowned as he examined the horrifying bruises on my arm.
“You’re in no position to negotiate.”
He suddenly turned his face toward him, the mockery in his tone completely gone, leaving behind only a chilling edge.
“You hear me—scum?”
In the end, Qian Jiangche gritted his teeth and tossed the USB drive at Yan Dong’s feet.
Just as he was about to slink away, Yan Dong called him back again: “Who said you could leave?”
“Y-you’re going too far. If you push me, I-I’ll kill—”
“If you dare touch me today, I guarantee your whole family disappears tomorrow. Want to find out if I’m bluffing?”
Yan Dong’s toe pinned down the USB drive.
The look on his face was so cold it sent chills down my spine.
And I knew better than anyone that he wasn’t joking.
In his eyes, Qian Jiangche was no different from me—just an ant he could crush at will.
“Now, compensate my girl for what she lost.”
“Order’s overdue,” Yan Dong said as he raised a finger.
“Delivery box damaged, emotional distress, medical expenses, and Attorney Chen’s food.”
He finally opened his palm in front of Qian Jiangche, holding up five fingers.
“F-five… hundred?”
“Five thousand! What, did I speak too softly?”
“N-no, five thousand it is.”
Qian Jiangche meekly completed the transfer and ran off in a panic, terrified of wasting even another second in this godforsaken alley with Yan Dong.
Once that guy’s figure completely vanished into the darkness, Yan Dong casually tossed the USB drive to Zhao Qinghe—who, the moment she caught it, suddenly broke into tears.
Yan Dong didn’t pay any attention to Zhao Qinghe, who was crouched down crying.
Instead, he bent over to pick up the black helmet on the ground and wiped the dust off it with his sleeve.
Then he turned toward me with his usual mocking expression.
“Hey, Lin, did you get scared stupid?”
“Not really.”
I answered casually as I rewrapped my scarf around my neck to cover the red marks.
“I thought you were so scared you forgot to call the cops.”
“I wasn’t thinking that far ahead.”
I lowered my gaze, noticing the slight tremble in Yan Dong’s right pinky.
From this angle, I could see a small wound—probably from throwing the helmet in a hurry.
“Didn’t Young Master also forget to call the police?”
“Who would’ve thought the usually reliable Housekeeper Lin would get all hot-headed at a critical moment.”
He snorted dismissively, the smug look on his face growing even more obnoxious.
“Good thing this young master thinks fast. That move just now was called an IQ crush.”
I ignored his bragging and silently lifted his right hand to examine his pinky closely.
“What’s this, Housekeeper Lin confessing on her first day?”
Yan Dong’s words were infuriating as always, but he didn’t pull his hand away and just let me check the wound.
“If I were confessing, I’d ask if Young Master could stop throwing trash all over the house.”
There was indeed a shallow cut on the inside of his slender pinky.
It wasn’t serious, but it was in a spot that would get rubbed a lot.
“That might be a little tough. If I don’t make a mess, wouldn’t you have nothing to do, Housekeeper Lin?”
“Thank you, Young Master, for thinking so much about my workload.”
I pulled a band-aid from my pocket and carefully wrapped it around his injured finger.
Then I looked up and met his mischievous grin with a blank face.
“If possible, next time try not to throw things so hard. I’d be really touched if they actually landed in the trash can.”
But just as I let go of his hand, Yan Dong suddenly raised his left hand and tapped my forehead lightly with the helmet—just like he had when tying my hair earlier that day.
“Housekeeper Lin should also check her skinny arms and legs before meddling next time. After all, you’re a… girl now.”
Yan Dong deliberately emphasized the word “girl,” like he was mocking me on purpose.
He’s always like this—sometimes it’s impossible to figure out what’s going on in that head of his.
“Thanks for the concern, Young Master. I’ll never forget your glorious display of legal extortion today.”
“Nothing but shit from your mouth.”
He curled his lip and carefully wiped the camera lens hidden on the helmet with his sleeve.
“Enough chatter. I’ve got more riding to do.”
“Wait.”
I turned and ran over to my scooter, pulling out a thermos half-filled with jasmine tea and handed it to him.
“I brewed this myself. If you don’t mind, drink it on the way. Also, I already transferred the 4900 to you.”
“Is this… a bribe for your employer?”
He raised an eyebrow and gave the thermos a little shake.
“No. Just a thank-you to the kind citizen Mr. Yan who happened to pass by.”
“Lin Yunxia, didn’t know you could talk like a normal person.”
“You too, Young Master. Can’t believe you actually did something decent.”
He chuckled softly, put on his helmet, and disappeared into the night.
As the roar of the black motorcycle faded into the distance, the situation had, against all odds, been resolved smoothly.
Now all that was left was to comfort the still-crying class monitor.
Can’t deny it—I totally brought this trouble on myself…