In the middle of the night.
Chen Erhu’s and Sanbing’s shouts were exceptionally loud and clear, feeling as if they could travel for a whole mile.
Because the range reached by the sound was too wide, Chen Jian was a bit unsure of their current location. He had no choice but to yell as he rushed into the front lobby: “Where are you!”
“Heading toward the courtyard gate!” Sanbing shouted back in reply.
He heard it clearly this time—it came from near the garden.
Someone had broken into the café.
The café was still some distance from the courtyard gate; one had to cross the garden. The simplest way to escape was to jump straight over the courtyard wall.
Since this person didn’t jump, it was either because their physical condition was too poor to jump, or because they had something in hand that made jumping impossible.
That vase in the café wasn’t very big, but it wasn’t something you could just stuff into a pocket and carry away either. Moreover, it was fragile; if someone wanted to carry it off, they had to put it in a bag to run.
There was no time now to contact Shan Yu and ask what to do.
Besides, Shan Yu had deliberately not told Chen Jian what his plan was.
So right now, Chen Jian didn’t need to guess what Shan Yu needed him to do; he just had to handle it according to the normal logic of catching a thief who broke into a shop.
Go catch the thief.
Snatching the baseball bat Shan Yu had left beside the front desk, Chen Jian rushed out the main door of the front lobby just in time to see a dark figure dash out the courtyard gate.
Scrambled footsteps also resounded from the staircase behind him.
At the same time, some sleepless Joyful Beans started shouting: “What happened! Is there a thief!”
If you guys had this kind of speed when assembling in the morning, Liu Dadou wouldn’t be so relieved he could die happy.
“Don’t go out!” Hu Pan shouted. “Stay inside the shop! I’ve called the police!”
They couldn’t catch up anyway.
Chen Jian rushed out the courtyard gate. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Chen Erhu and Sanbing vault over the fence from behind, following close on his heels.
The dark figure ahead was still sprinting wildly. Catching this person was far harder than chasing Chen Erhu last time.
However, Chen Erhu’s speed today was also quite astonishing, as if he had eaten poison mushrooms.
After chasing for a short distance, Chen Jian was already able to tell that this person was Chen Dahu—he was a bit broader and taller than Chen Erhu.
The moment he recognized Chen Dahu, a wave of bitterness suddenly hit his heart. If even he could recognize who it was, Chen Erhu could recognize him even more easily.
No wonder he was running as if he had gone mad.
Chen Dahu ran out of the intersection and headed straight down the empty street.
An unplated motorcycle was parked at the fork in the road ahead.
Someone was picking him up.
Once they got on the bike, they wouldn’t be able to catch them. Although Chen Jian knew there was a locator inside the vase, he didn’t even know if that thing was connected to a phone, nor whether Shan Yu had glued that thing inside for tracking or just to put on a show.
However, it didn’t matter, since he didn’t know anyway.
All he knew was that to catch a thief, they had to be caught red-handed with the loot.
“Chen Jian… Chen… Jian…” Chen Erhu behind him was sprinting with all his might. “I… let me go chase…”
Chen Jian paused. He didn’t know if it was an illusion, but he caught a tearful tone in Chen Erhu’s intermittent words.
“Let me chase… please, I’m begging you…” Chen Erhu managed to utter with difficulty once more.
Chen Jian slowed his pace. Behind him, even noisier sounds were approaching. The Joyful Bean Justice Squad had already followed them out. Among the thirty beans, eighteen were guys, and at least ten of them were tightly following behind them right now.
Chen Dahu probably never imagined in his wildest dreams that a group of such vibrant and energetic people would be staying in a guesthouse.
After Chen Jian slowed down, Chen Erhu huffed and puffed as he overtook him.
However, it was obvious that this speed wouldn’t be enough to catch up. Before his hand could reach his brother, his brother would definitely be on the bike.
Chen Jian stopped chasing forward altogether. He paused, bent over to take aim, and swung the baseball bat in his hand, throwing it out.
He didn’t have Shan Yu’s skill for fancy tricks, but hitting an object was still no problem.
The baseball bat spun through the air, skimming past Chen Erhu’s leg. Just as Chen Dahu leaped onto the back seat of the motorcycle, with a loud clang, it smashed fiercely onto the rear wheel of that motorcycle. Then, due to momentum, it spun another half circle around the right side of the wheel, getting jammed inside.
The motorcycle, which had already begun charging forward, seemed to be yanked back violently. It skidded sideways and overturned onto the ground.
Chen Dahu hadn’t even sat securely yet and fell straight onto the sidewalk. The one driving managed to extend a leg to brace himself in time, so he didn’t fall too hard. He quickly pulled up the motorcycle, straddled it, and without a moment’s hesitation, twisted the throttle, leaving Chen Dahu behind as he sped off with a roar.
“Stop running!” Chen Erhu finally caught up to his brother and pounced straight onto him.
Chen Dahu flipped over. Lying on the ground, he raised his leg and delivered a kick directly to the face of Chen Erhu, who was bending over trying to grab his arm—it landed squarely on Chen Erhu’s face.
This kick was far from light; at this angle, it could break a bridge of a nose.
Chen Erhu let out a miserable cry, covering his nose with one hand.
Yet to Chen Jian’s shock, he tenaciously reached out with his other hand and grabbed the very leg that had just kicked him.
With his ankle grabbed, Chen Dahu on the ground couldn’t get up immediately. So, leveraging Chen Erhu’s grip on him, he raised his other leg and kicked Chen Erhu in the face several more times.
Chen Jian rushed over, grabbed Chen Erhu, and yanked him backward with force, then launched a kick straight at Chen Dahu’s face.
Gritting his teeth, he cursed: “You fucking dare to hit people!”
He hadn’t been this angry originally. After all, even if he pretended not to know, he still clearly understood this was a trap set by Shan Yu for Chen Dahu, and it was enough that Chen Dahu took the bait.
However, the sheer viciousness this man displayed toward his own younger brother when his brother tried to stop him from committing a crime made it impossible for Chen Jian to hold back his temper.
Thus, he delivered another kick to Chen Dahu’s stomach.
Chen Dahu swung the bag in his hand and smashed it toward Chen Jian’s leg.
To be honest, it didn’t pack much power. In a state of anger, even if a lump of iron were smashed against him, he wouldn’t feel much, let alone just a vase.
Yes, he felt it—this was indeed the vase from the café.
At this very moment, that vase worth over ten thousand yuan was shattered.
“Ge!” Covering his face, Chen Erhu struggled desperately to break free from Sanbing’s arms holding him, wanting to pounce forward again: “If you don’t stop now, there won’t be any chance to turn back!”
Chen Jian grabbed Chen Erhu’s arm and yanked him backward once more.
With Sanbing cushioning him, the two of them landed right on their butts on the ground together.
“Fuck your mother.” Chen Dahu reached his hand into his pocket.
Chen Jian stepped to the side, picked up the baseball bat he had thrown earlier, and swung it right at Chen Dahu. Just as Chen Dahu pulled a knife out of his pocket, the bat smashed onto his arm.
The knife dropped to the ground.
Chen Jian kicked the knife away, then swung a second strike. He didn’t use too much force, simply hitting the back of Chen Dahu’s knee, causing Chen Dahu to kneel onto the ground.
“Catch him…” The Joyful Bean Justice Squad arrived at this moment.
A group of guys instantly buried Chen Dahu under a heap of bodies.
“Don’t hit him!” Liu Wu’s voice came through the gaps between people. “Just hold him down!”
I’ve already hit him, younger brother.
Chen Jian rummaged through the crowd for a long time without finding where Liu Wu was, only seeing several guys still bare-chested, and some with clothes slipped over only one sleeve—at a glance, they had all leaped straight out of bed.
Shan Yu sat in his wheelchair and swept a glance across the café; the spot where the vase was placed was empty.
The noise that had disappeared outside the courtyard was coming back now—it seemed the university students were returning victorious.
Under such chaotic circumstances, that vase was eighty to ninety percent likely to be unsalvageable.
Chen Dahu wouldn’t even be able to return the stolen goods now.
Picking a time like this, he was heading straight for prison.
“Caught him, caught him!” Hu Pan ran back from outside the courtyard. “Boss Shan, we caught him, no one was injured…”
“Mm, catching Boss Shan is pretty easy.” Shan Yu nodded, letting out a sigh of relief.
It wasn’t for Liu Wu’s sake; with such a group of young guys rushing out, it was hard for them to get hurt, not to mention Chen Jian was there too. If anyone were truly hurt, it would only be Chen Jian.
However, when the group escorted Chen Dahu back into the courtyard, Shan Yu realized he had misjudged.
The only person injured was Chen Erhu.
Both of his eyes were squeezed into slits, his nose was visibly crooked, and his lips were swollen.
Shan Yu frowned.
“The police won’t come that quickly,” Hu Pan said. “There was a dispute in the village over there last night, so they went over and haven’t made it back yet…”
“Tie him up and lock him in the utility room,” Chen Jian arranged. “Fix him to the pipe so he can’t move around recklessly. Panpan, go reassure the guests…”
“Okay.” Hu Pan nodded.
“I’ll get the first aid kit,” Zhao Fangfang walked over quickly and handed the utility room key to Chen Jian. “Erhu’s face needs to be treated first.”
“Mm.” Chen Jian responded. At this moment, a few male guests had already come downstairs, and some people were poking their heads out by the staircase railing to watch.
“Don’t open or move that bag, and that knife too—keep them as they are. That’s stolen property and evidence,” Liu Wu said. “Block off the café side with chairs so no one goes in to destroy the scene.”
“Take your classmates back to their rooms,” Chen Jian instructed Liu Wu in a low voice. “Don’t all pile up here. Tomorrow when things are settled, I’ll thank them properly.”
Tomorrow your brother will definitely still deal with you.
“No need to thank us, we didn’t really help much,” the expression Liu Wu tried hard to keep steady couldn’t suppress the excitement brimming over. He turned his head, waved to the group of guys, and lowered his voice, “Let’s go, let’s go back to our rooms so we don’t scare the other guests.”
After a brief period of chaos, the people on the first floor gradually dispersed. Chen Dahu was locked inside the utility room, handcuffed to a pipe with a U-lock.
Shan Yu turned his wheelchair and went to the dining room. Several people followed over together. Sanbing supported Chen Erhu, who could barely see the road anymore, and pulled out a chair for him to sit down.
“Disinfect it first,” Zhao Fangfang said. “Tomorrow when the community clinic opens, hurry over to have a look. The bone is eighty to ninety percent broken.”
“That vase, ninety-nine percent chance it’s shattered.” Sanbing frowned.
“It is shattered,” Chen Jian said. “Smashed into pieces against my leg.”
Shan Yu glanced at him: “Are you hurt?”
“No,” Chen Jian shook his head, glancing at Chen Erhu. “Erhu was the first to rush over…”
“Boss Shan…” Chen Erhu held his head up while Zhao Fangfang disinfected the injuries on his face. In truth, there weren’t many external injuries, just a few small cuts; it was just that his entire face was severely swollen, his nose was crooked, and one could hardly recognize him as Chen Erhu.
“Rest well in a bit, and go check on your injuries tomorrow,” Shan Yu said. “Thanks for your hard work.”
“I’m sorry, Boss Shan,” Chen Erhu said with difficulty.
“You have nothing to apologize to me for,” Shan Yu said. “You don’t need to apologize on your brother’s behalf either. He won’t feel any remorse; he is he, and you are you.”
Chen Erhu paused, suddenly taking two sharp gasps as tears welled out from the slits of his eyes.
“Don’t cry, kid,” Zhao Fangfang patted his head. “Your eyes will feel even worse in a bit.”
“Sanbing,” Shan Yu lifted his chin toward Sanbing. “Support Erhu back to the dorm to rest.”
“I’m not going,” Chen Erhu gritted his teeth. “I want to wait here for the police to come. I’m a witness.”
Several people fell silent.
“Sir, please return to your room to rest,” Hu Pan’s voice came from over by the front desk. “Everything’s fine here now. Truly sorry for disturbing your rest.”
Chen Jian looked over toward the sound and found the man from Room 102 standing by the doorway, though he didn’t know when he had gotten there.
This was his first time coming out in two days.
“Sorry, sir,” Chen Jian walked over. “Do you need a drink or a late-night snack?”
“It’s fine, no need,” the man looked toward the dining room, his hand continuously pressing buttons on his phone. “I’m just…”
If you dare post something online to smear us, I’ll destroy you!
Chen Jian looked at him.
“I’m recording my journey,” the man said.
“Mm,” Chen Jian responded. “I hope the incident with catching the thief didn’t affect you.”
“No, it was very exciting,” the man turned around to walk toward his room. “This incident shows your place is very safe. The security’s response speed was very fast, not just for show.”
“Thank you for your affirmation of our work.” Hu Pan quickly added a line to set the tone for the matter.
During the holiday period, the police at the town station were very busy and short-handed. By the time they finished resolving the dispute over in the village and drove straight to Dayin, it was already an hour later.
Sanbing and Chen Erhu were witnesses who had experienced the whole thing. In the meeting room, they described the course of events to the police: seeing someone in the café while patrolling, the person running upon seeing them, and then the collective attempt to catch the thief.
Burglary, foot-injury to a person, resisting with a knife…
“This Chen Dahu, a day like this was bound to come sooner or later…” Several officers at the station were quite familiar with Chen Dahu. “We’ll take the person back first. Please come over to make a statement as well, and if you have receipts that can prove the value of the stolen item, bring those along too.”
Chen Jian followed Shan Yu to the office, where Shan Yu handed the invoice and the certificate for the vase to Chen Jian.
“He’ll definitely be sentenced, right?” Chen Jian asked.
“It might even constitute robbery,” Shan Yu said. “Though with Chen Erhu helping to catch him, the sentence might be lighter.”
“Mm,” Chen Jian looked at him. “Was this how you planned it?”
“Having such a big group of people go out to catch a thief wasn’t in my plan,” Shan Yu said.
“Chen Erhu…” Chen Jian frowned slightly. “Do you think he’ll plead for leniency for his brother?”
“He won’t,” Shan Yu said. “No matter how foolish he is, his heart is completely broken.”
“I’ll head downstairs,” Chen Jian said. “Get some rest; if anything comes up, I’ll call you.”
“Then why the hell would I rest,” Shan Yu said.
“…It’s your shop that got robbed,” Chen Jian said. “Sleep first. Giving a statement shouldn’t be much of a problem; I’ll try my best not to call you.”
Shan Yu laughed: “Go on then, don’t keep Uncle Police waiting.”
Giving a statement was indeed not troublesome, but it took a lot of time. By the time Chen Jian and the others came out of the police station, the sky was already bright.
“Go buy a few portions of beef noodles or something,” Chen Jian instructed Sanbing. “Deliver them to the police at the station. For the sake of our situation, they haven’t rested all night. I’ll accompany Erhu to the community clinic.”
“Okay,” Sanbing nodded. “What if they won’t accept them?”
“Drop them off and run,” Chen Jian said. “Who told you to wait for them to accept?”
“Got it.” Sanbing straddled the motorcycle. “Erhu-ge, go to the clinic to have a look first.”
Chen Erhu didn’t speak, simply waving a hand at him.
Chen Jian also straddled his motorcycle, looking back at Chen Erhu: “Get on.”
“Chen Jian,” Chen Erhu sat on the back seat, speaking with some difficulty due to his swollen face. “Let me ask you something.”
“Ask.” Chen Jian started the vehicle.
“Was this matter a trap set by Shan Yu?” Chen Erhu asked.
Chen Jian’s hand twisting the throttle paused. Somewhat surprised, he tilted his head to look at Chen Erhu in the rearview mirror.
Chen Erhu actually has this kind of sharpness?
“I don’t know,” Chen Jian said. “You think he set a trap?”
“I just feel… it was very coincidental,” Chen Erhu said.
“…Why don’t you go ask him?” Chen Jian said. He really didn’t know how to answer this, nor did he know whether Chen Erhu having such thoughts would affect the progress of the case.
“No,” Chen Erhu’s voice was very low. “If it really was him, I would only thank him. It counts as saving me.”
“Chen Dahu was bound to go to prison sooner or later,” Chen Jian twisted the throttle, driving toward the community clinic.
“I have to work hard before he gets out,” Chen Erhu said. “Accumulate some experience, and strive to leave this place in the future.”
“You?” Chen Jian was stunned.
“Mm,” Chen Erhu nodded. “Won’t all of you leave eventually too?”
Is that so?
Will we?
When Chen Erhu came out of the clinic, his head was wrapped like a giant steamed bun.
“The bridge of his nose is definitely broken,” Chen Jian placed the police receipt on the desk. “Chen Erhu needs to go to the city for an injury assessment. I approved his leave.”
“Did he request it himself, or did the police station ask him to go?” Shan Yu asked.
“He brought it up himself,” Chen Jian said.
Shan Yu let out a soft sigh.
“Are you eating breakfast?” Chen Jian asked.
Shan Yu glanced at him: “Quite an appetite, huh? After all this tossing around, you’re still thinking about breakfast?”
“It’s precisely because of all this tossing around that I’m hungry,” Chen Jian said.
Shan Yu burst out laughing: “The two of us will go out to eat in a bit, and after eating, we’ll go find Chen Half-Immortal.”
“Eating mutton rice noodles?” Chen Jian asked.
“Fired.” Shan Yu sat in his wheelchair and left the office.
Just as he came out, he saw someone standing down the hallway.
It was that man from Room 102.
“Fuck,” Chen Jian cursed in a low voice. What a troublemaker. “Why did he come up here?”
He then quickly walked over, raising his voice: “Sir! May I ask if there’s anything I can help you with?”
The man turned his head: “Is it this room?”
“What?” Chen Jian was stunned for a moment.
“The room where someone died.” The man said.
Chen Jian gritted his teeth to keep from cursing out loud again.
“Is there something you need?” He asked.
Do you have some kind of problem?
“I’m looking for the room where someone committed suicide,” the man said.
“Is this gentleman looking to commit suicide?” Shan Yu asked very politely.
Chen Jian whipped his head around, Boss!
You can’t provoke people like that!
