There Are Always Troublemakers Trying to Harm Me

Qin Baobao gave an "oh," sat down at the head of the bed, and leaned over to look at the computer. "What are you messing with? Stocks?"

The screen was filled with red and green K-Lines that made her head ache.

Qin Ze stared at the computer and shifted over to make room for her. Lowering his voice, he said, "Aren't we in an economic crisis? I wanted to see if I could make some money off the stock market."

"That's very thoughtful of you." Qin Baobao happily gave her little brother a Head-Pat Kill, then instantly changed expression and burst out laughing. "You, trading stocks? Do you have what it takes?"

"You can be a celebrity, so why can't I trade stocks?" Qin Ze rolled his eyes in retaliation. He really was at a loss. The stock market ran too deep. He could have directly exchanged for a Skill Book, but the system was low on "battery" and in sleep mode. Qin Ze did not dare disturb it.

What followed was the siblings' usual routine of loving and killing each other.

"Mom, why didn't you wash his hair? It's filthy."

"Mom, Qin Baobao is so annoying. Take her home already."

"Mom, Qin Ze touched my butt."

"Mom, help! Qin Baobao pulled at my wound."

In the bathroom, Qin's mom sighed.

"I have a Little Donkey, and I never ride it..." A cheerful child's tune rang out. It was Qin Baobao's ringtone.

"Hello, dad. What is it?" Qin Baobao flopped onto the sofa and pulled her phone from her bag. Her expression suddenly turned serious. After listening, she softly said, "Mm, mm... I'll tell him... Okay, goodbye, dad."

"What happened?" Qin Ze could tell something was wrong from her expression.

"Dad has been waiting at the Police Station. The police just told him the interrogation results are out. Shi Qifeng, the one who stabbed you, was acting on the orders of someone named Yang Chen... I think he goes to your school?"

Qin Ze was dumbfounded. He had never imagined it would be Yang Chen. He had even suspected Zhang Mingyu. Those little thugs had obviously come looking for trouble with him. And he had thoroughly slapped Zhang Mingyu in the face—twice.

But he had not had much conflict with Yang Chen. I haven't even taken the initiative to slap you in the face yet, and you already sent people to kill me?

What kind of grudge was that?

Qin Ze told his sister about the barely-a-conflict he had with Yang Chen. His sister was an old hand in the workplace—at least, in Qin Ze's eyes she was. She curled her lips. "That's what they call conflicting interests. That Zhang-whatever-yu guy, being embarrassed was just being embarrassed. At most, he'd be annoyed for a while. He didn't actually lose anything. But this Yang Chen guy? You pushed him out of his team leader position, so his bonus got smaller. That's a real financial loss. Of course he'd find someone to 'take you out.'"

"Businesspeople are all like that. Slap their left cheek, and they'll offer you their right as long as you can give them benefits. But if you hurt their interests, even without a personal grudge, they'll still try to crush you to death."

Qin Ze was shocked. "He tried to kill me over a few thousand yuan?"

Qin Baobao analyzed, "He probably only wanted someone to beat you up, preferably badly enough to affect your job. He just didn't expect things to blow up like this."

Qin Ze remembered that and took it as a lesson.

Thinking of how he had been stabbed over something so trivial, he felt terribly wronged. Helplessly, he said, "There are always troublemakers trying to harm me."

Qin Baobao gave him another Head-Pat Kill and said sweetly, "Rest assured, Your Majesty. Leave this matter to the imperial father-in-law and Your Subject. We will make those treacherous rebels vanish into thin air."

Qin Ze was greatly pleased. "My beloved consort is thoughtful. Tonight, I'll choose your plaque."

Qin's mom happened to come out of the bathroom holding his underwear. She coughed, amused. "You two are grown-ups already, yet you're still so childish."

Qin Baobao stuck out her tongue and made a face.

At noon the next day, the Hu City Public Security Bureau announced the handling results on its official platform. Wang Guomin had been expelled from the Party and would also be held legally responsible.

As for Shi Qifeng and Yang Chen, after the procuratorate received the injury assessment report that morning and confirmed it was a minor injury, criminal proceedings were initiated against them. Qin Ze did not need to appear in court because of his injuries. The old man would serve as the litigant.

After lunch, the nurse came to apply medicine to Qin Ze's wound and said in surprise, "Your wound is healing very well. You can have the stitches removed early."

Qin Ze perked up. "I can get them removed now? It's only been three days."

Normally, stitches could only be removed after seven days. For a wound like Qin Ze's, it would probably take even longer.

The nurse thought for a moment. "I'll come check again tomorrow. If it's okay, I'll have the doctor remove them for you."

Fresh, bright-red tissue had already grown over the wound. Qin Ze also felt that it hurt much less than yesterday or the day before. As long as he did not press hard on it or exercise intensely, it basically did not affect him anymore. The system had said he would recover in seven days, and it had not lied. He guessed his rapid recovery was thanks to the Energy Cultivation Manual.

That evening, Qin Baobao and the old man came to the hospital together. His sister was wearing an OL Suit today, with glossy hair curled slightly at the ends. She looked like a professional female white-collar worker, most likely deliberately making her presence known in front of their parents.

The old man told Qin Ze about the progress of the public prosecution case. It should be over within half a month. Public opinion surrounding the matter was too intense, and it was not a major criminal case, so the case was moving quickly. Normally, the procuratorate would make a decision within one month for criminal cases, while major or complex cases could be extended by half a month.

In addition, the old man sighed. "Professor Li was crossing the street after work today and didn't notice the traffic lights. He was hit by a car and broke his right leg. He's lying in this hospital now."

This hospital was the closest to the school. Whenever students had headaches, fevers, or physical discomfort, they generally chose to come here for treatment.

Qin Ze was startled. "How did that happen?"

"Yang Chen is his student. Because of what happened to you, he was detained by the police, and the school has already decided to expel him. Professor Li feels that he was the reason you ended up in the hospital and Yang Chen was criminally detained, so he was inevitably distracted." The old man said, "A fractured lower leg, multiple muscle contusions, and a crack in his right wrist bone. He won't recover without several months of rest."

"What terrible luck..."

Before he could finish, a crisp ding sounded in his mind. The system's long-missed voice said, "Main Mission: Show Off in Public (3/15). Take over Professor Li's fund investment analysis model and complete it within four days. Success reward: 250 points. Failure penalty: 250 points."

Qin Ze's eyelid twitched. "How about I go visit him?"

The old man nodded. "He's in Room 3014 downstairs."

As father and son spoke, the ward door was pushed open and someone barged in. The family looked over at the sound, their expressions immediately darkening. It was a middle-aged couple—Shi Qifeng's parents.

They looked somewhat haggard and had lost their arrogant bearing, but their tone remained cold. "Let's settle this privately. Name your price."

Though Qin Ze did not know much about the law, he understood a little. Frowning, he said, "It's a public prosecution case. It's not like we can just decide not to press charges."

"If there's a Letter of Understanding from the victim, my son can receive a lighter sentence." The middle-aged woman pulled out a form from her bag and tossed it onto the bed. Calmly, she said, "I know your family is ordinary. How about this? I'll compensate you with one hundred thousand yuan. Just sign it."

A Letter of Understanding was also called a Settlement Agreement. With such a document, the court would consider reducing the sentence. Under the law, Intentional Injury Crime carried a sentence of up to three years in prison or criminal detention. As long as he had the plaintiff's Letter of Understanding, her son's sentence would be reduced, perhaps even suspended. And once it was suspended, they could use connections to turn a major matter into a minor one, then make the minor matter disappear.

The old man said unhappily, "We won't sign a Letter of Understanding. Please leave."

Earlier, this couple had used their power to oppress others. It was not enough that their son had stabbed someone; they had even turned around and falsely accused them, trying to extort medical expenses. They had also threatened to have Qin Ze detained. The Qin family of four had been holding in that anger all along. Now that they knew how to lower their heads, their attitude was still terrible. Did they think having money made them so important? Could money solve everything?

The middle-aged woman's face darkened in anger, and she sneered. "Not enough money, is it? Fine, one hundred and fifty thousand. Don't even think about getting more. One hundred and fifty thousand is the limit. That money is enough for your family to work for a whole year. Besides, your son isn't seriously hurt. He'll be fine after lying in the hospital for ten days or half a month. What a bargain."

Qin Baobao laughed in extreme anger, grabbed the agreement, and tore it apart. She said flatly, "Our family is indeed ordinary, but we really aren't short of a hundred thousand or so. This little brother of mine is the only son in the family. As his older sister, I've wanted to cherish him in my heart since he was little. Now your son stabbed him. We don't want any money from you. We just want your son to sit in prison obediently. Forget the agreement. If you can't swallow this, feel free to appeal and see whether the court supports you. Now get the hell out."

The middle-aged man growled, "Don't go too far. My son is still young. You have to give him a chance to turn over a new leaf."

Qin Baobao cursed outright, "To hell with turning over a new leaf. You fucking bastard."

Although the whole "cherishing him in her heart since he was little" thing had never happened at all, Qin Ze still gave his sister a hundred thumbs-up in his heart.

The middle-aged woman screamed and lunged forward to claw at Qin Baobao's face. "You people ruined my brother, and now you won't even spare my son! You animals, I'll fight you to the death!"

Just as her sharp nails were about to scratch Qin Baobao's lovely face, before the old man and Qin's mom could react, Qin Ze threw off the blanket, leaped from the bed, and sent the middle-aged woman flying with a kick.

He himself staggered and sat back on the bed, his lower abdomen burning with pain.

Even the usually refined old man and Qin's mom changed expression and rushed over to wrestle with the pair.

The disturbance in the ward alerted the nurses at the nurse station. Two nurses in pink uniforms ran in to break up the fight, shouting, "Don't make trouble in the hospital, or we'll call the police!"

After much difficulty, the four were pulled apart. Before long, the police arrived as well. After learning what had happened, they sternly warned the couple and took them away.

After that commotion, the old man and Qin's mom were no longer in the mood to stay. Afraid that the couple might return to cause trouble, they had Qin Baobao stay at the hospital overnight. Then the husband and wife went home together.

Qin Baobao immediately protested, but her protest was ineffective.

As soon as their parents left, Qin Baobao took out her anger on her brother. "See? See? It's all your fault. I don't want to sleep on the sofa."