Riverbank Robbery (2)

"What's wrong with your leg?" someone asked.

"They stabbed me!" Shorty's pained expression drew a crowd. Someone recognized him as a thug from the western outskirts of the city, and everyone showed disgust as they cursed, "Serves you right!"

A tall middle-aged man said, "We should report it to the police before we know what happened."

Someone in the crowd called the police. More and more people gathered by the river, helping search for the person who had jumped in, watching to see whether anyone surfaced.

Uncle Mumu finally came to his senses and sat dazed by the riverbank, tearfully telling everyone, "If I'd known something would happen, why did we come fishing? That reckless boy—what will Mei Tingyu do from now on?" Uncle Mumu wept bitterly. He had not shed tears in decades. These tears were for Tong Haojing, and also for the daughter he could never forget. There had been a sliver of hope before, but now it was all gone—nothing left at all. Uncle Mumu beat his chest and cried out to heaven. Everyone present was moved and gathered around to comfort him.

"Look! On the other side! That boy got up—he wasn't swept away!" someone in the crowd shouted. Everyone looked toward the opposite riverbank in amazement, their eyes filled with admiration.

The one who had gotten up was Tong Haojing. He paced back and forth along the opposite bank a few times but saw no sign of Scarface. Somewhat regretfully, he said, "You got away fast, you little bastard!"

Though the March spring breeze had grown somewhat warmer, Tong Haojing still shivered as it blew against his soaked clothes. His muscles stood out in rippling lines, making his tall, sturdy frame look even more dashing.

Uncle Mumu looked in the direction the crowd was pointing and spotted Tong Haojing. He sprang to his feet, the worry vanishing from his face. This boy was a soldier. He really was different. Seeing Tong Haojing standing safely on the opposite bank, Uncle Mumu felt an even deeper affection for him. "This boy is strong and good-looking!"

People on both banks kept calling out in praise and encouragement. "...Keep it up! Well done..."

By the Tangdu River, beneath the willow trees, Zhao Minhui and several colleagues were filming footage for that day's news report. Their laughter and splashing as they played in the water were recorded by the camera.

"Hey, stop talking nonsense!" Zhao Minhui said as she focused intently on filming.

"Who's talking nonsense?" one colleague asked in confusion.

"Someone shouted, 'Catch him... there's a robbery...' Who said that? I think they shouted it several times!" Zhao Minhui sounded fairly certain.

"No! Maybe you heard wrong!" her colleagues said in unison.

"No, no. In broad daylight—could I have seen a ghost?" Zhao Minhui was a little startled. She stared fixedly at the camera. Then, an image suddenly appeared in the frame: a short man hurried toward the riverbank, while a large man moved to meet him. The two fought, and a flash of light danced around in the shot. Zhao Minhui saw clearly that it was sunlight reflecting off the knife in the short man's hand. She sensed that something was bound to happen.

Zhao Minhui stopped filming and had everyone look across the river to see what was going on. The short man and the large man jumped into the river one after the other, while an old man sat on the bank, seemingly crying in grief. Several minutes later, the large man emerged from the water and climbed ashore.

"This is definitely a great news lead!" Her professional instincts told Zhao Minhui that the young man before her must have a story. Without even calling to her colleagues, she hoisted the camera onto her shoulder and headed toward him.

Zhao Minhui was a news reporter for Tangdu City Radio and Television Station. A graduate of Hexi College's journalism department, she was twenty-three years old, tall and slender, with delicate brows, an oval face, skin as white as snow, and graceful hands. At the station, she was considered the number one beauty.

"Hey, handsome, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" Zhao Minhui asked in a soft voice.

Tong Haojing froze. A sweet voice seemed to be calling to him. He turned around and saw a beautiful woman waving at him, leaving him somewhat startled. A lock of her glossy black hair drifted across her cheek, and her slightly flushed face looked even more beautiful and captivating in the warm spring breeze.

She looked familiar, as though he had seen her somewhere before, but he could not remember where.

"It's nothing. Go ahead," Tong Haojing said.

"Why did you jump into the river? The current is so strong. Weren't you afraid?" Zhao Minhui asked curiously.

"A criminal ran over just now. I don't know whose money he robbed, but I ran into him. He was even holding a knife." Tong Haojing's fearless, heroic bearing made Zhao Minhui feel a trace of admiration.

"Were you the one who shouted that there was a robbery?" Zhao Minhui asked like an investigator pursuing a lead to the end, her eyes flickering as she watched Tong Haojing.

"No. The shouting came from an alley in West City. I didn't see the victim, but I'm sure the man who jumped into the river was a bad guy. He had a knife, and when he saw me, he told me to get lost. If he wasn't a bad guy, who else would be that brazen?" Tong Haojing spoke with both the shyness and confidence of a big boy, but he did not dare look Zhao Minhui directly in the eye.

Zhao Minhui had already noticed the young man's subtle reactions. She was certain that he was a handsome hero, a hero who had acted bravely for a righteous cause. From the bottom of her heart, she began to admire him. She decided to dig deeply into the details of his heroism and make his righteous act known throughout Tangdu City.

She questioned Tong Haojing in great detail, even asking his age, occupation, and family circumstances, which made him rather embarrassed. Finally, she had him leave his phone number, saying she might need to contact him if anything remained unclear. But one detail especially caught Zhao Minhui's attention: Tong Haojing was a soldier.

"You said you transferred out of the military. Which unit were you in?" Zhao Minhui asked curiously. Zhao Minhui clearly remembered that the soldier who had saved her life years ago had left a special impression on her. Unfortunately, she had not gotten a good look at her savior and had little information about him, so each time she went to the military base to look for him, she came up empty-handed. But she had never given up. She had always believed that as long as she was alive, even if she had to search to the ends of the earth, she would find that soldier. She wanted to thank him in person and tell him what was in her heart.

"Unit A, Special Operations Unit!" Tong Haojing said proudly, though a trace of helplessness showed on his face.

"Unit A is right next to Hexi College. It's very close," Zhao Minhui said. Suddenly, she noticed a slight change in Tong Haojing's expression.

"What's wrong?"

"The Special Operations Unit was disbanded. All of us were transferred out of the military!" Tong Haojing turned away and rubbed his eyes.

The observant Zhao Minhui noticed that tears had suddenly welled up in Tong Haojing's eyes. His turning away to hide them was obvious. Men did not cry easily, unless their hearts were truly wounded. Tong Haojing had been deeply attached to the Special Operations Unit, and she had unexpectedly touched his sore spot.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked that!" Zhao Minhui seemed a little regretful. As she was about to leave, she suddenly said, "Handsome, I graduated from Hexi College's journalism department. It's right next to Unit A." With that, she turned away, then looked back with a radiant smile. Her graceful figure was like that of a fairy.

"What? Hexi College? What does that have to do with me?" Tong Haojing snapped out of his memories and continued staring blankly at Zhao Minhui's retreating figure.

Tong Haojing truly felt cold.

In the distance, police sirens sounded. Tong Haojing thought about Scarface. Dead or alive, there was no sign of him, and Tong Haojing had been worrying about what to do. Now it was simple—he could leave the matter to the police. Besides, there was another accomplice who had fallen into the ditch, and he did not know how that man was doing. Tong Haojing swam back across the river to where Uncle Mumu had been fishing and climbed ashore. The police had already arrived.

More and more people crowded the bank.

Everyone spoke over one another, telling the police bits of hearsay and speculation. The officers who had arrived were neatly dressed. They showed their identification and introduced themselves as two young officers from West City Police Station: Officer Lan and Lu Tong.

Officer Lan said, "The Command Center just called and said someone jumped into the Tangdu River in West City. What happened?" He looked over the crowd and asked generally, without directing the question at anyone. No one answered, and no one admitted to calling the police.

At that moment, Shorty, lying by the roadside, moaned weakly and intermittently, "...He tried to kill me... forced my brother... to jump into the river. You... police must severely punish... the murderer."

Shorty passed out.

Officer Lan stared grimly at Shorty on the ground. As he gave him basic first aid, he said, "We'll talk after the investigation is clear!" Officer Lan carefully assessed the speaker. From his words, he could determine that this man was connected to the one who had jumped into the river.

Officer Lan called for an ambulance.

Lu Tong glanced at Officer Lan from the side. "In a chaotic scene like this, with so many people talking, don't casually engage with them. Be careful not to leave yourself open to criticism and cause unnecessary trouble!" Lu Tong reminded him like a seasoned veteran officer.

Just then, Middle-parted Hair jumped out from the crowd, visibly agitated, and roared, "Investigate my ass! It's obvious what happened! What are you up to?"

Officer Lan had a quick temper and immediately flared up. "Keep insulting people and I'll cuff you!"

"Come on, then! Cuff me!" Middle-parted Hair shouted provocatively as he ran off, still cursing.

Lu Tong advised Officer Lan, "Ignore him. See if there are any other witnesses!"

There were many people at the scene, and it was somewhat chaotic. Lu Tong tried to maintain order, telling everyone to quiet down and give their accounts one at a time. But there were simply too many people, and the situation was impossible to control. Officer Lan had no choice but to immediately report the situation to the Command Center and request backup. The Command Center instructed, "Bring all key eyewitnesses and informed persons back to determine the truth. Then deploy the water rescue team to recover the person who fell into the river."

The ambulance arrived and took Shorty away.

After Officer Lan and Lu Tong conducted a brief round of on-site interviews, they decided to take Tong Haojing and Middle-parted Hair back for further questioning, while arranging for the rescue team that arrived afterward to continue searching for Scarface.

Tong Haojing looked at the two officers and chuckled, appearing very friendly. Unable to resist, he stepped forward and pinched Officer Lan's uniform. "The fabric is pretty good. It looks nice too—very impressive!" Like a child, he was full of curiosity about the police.

"Keep your distance! What are you touching things for?" Officer Lan was somewhat puzzled. Becoming wary, he put on a stern face.

Tong Haojing paced back and forth before the two officers in his dripping wet clothes, completely oblivious to how bedraggled he looked. He resembled a clown so much that it was no wonder the two young officers looked down on him. In truth, Tong Haojing was simply curious about and fond of the police. Since he thought he might become a police officer himself, those actions had come naturally to him.

"Please come with me to the police station," Lu Tong said politely. His courteous summons left Tong Haojing with no sense of resistance, and he was willing to cooperate with the officer's questioning.

"Can't I explain everything here?" Tong Haojing asked.

"No. You have to go to the police station!" Officer Lan answered, his attitude clearly forceful.

When Uncle Mumu heard that they were taking Tong Haojing to the police station, he panicked. "Comrades, you can't just arrest people! Get this straight—Tong Haojing was catching a bad guy just now, yet you want to take him away instead. Do police not care about reason anymore? Tong Haojing, don't go!"

Officer Lan grew somewhat impatient and warned him, "Sir, don't obstruct us in carrying out our duties, or you'll be breaking the law too!"

"What law am I breaking? All I know is that you're arresting people indiscriminately!" Uncle Mumu's face turned ashen with anger.

Seeing how the police treated Uncle Mumu, Tong Haojing also became somewhat angry. But seeing that the situation was at an impasse, and being a reasonable man himself, he persuaded Uncle Mumu, "Let's go together. It's not a big deal. We just need to explain what happened and cooperate as witnesses."

Lu Tong glanced at Tong Haojing, soaked from head to toe, and nearly burst out laughing. And he thinks he's fit to be a police officer looking like that?

Tong Haojing got into the police car, but he did not forget to remind Officer Lan and Lu Tong to make every effort to find the robbed woman and the two knives the robbers had thrown on the ground. Yet Middle-parted Hair had disappeared by then. It was clear that the police had not focused their attention on him.