No Escape

Ever since Feng Jun had grasped the grass, his looks and physique had changed quite a bit. But no matter how much they changed, the general outline could not be altered.

The girl had entered Hongjie Club the day before yesterday just to have some fun, but she still had some impression of the attendant who had received her.

She had her doubts, which was why she asked. Feng Jun merely smiled and shook his head. "I'm afraid you've remembered wrong?"

The girl stared at him for a long while before slowly shaking her head. "My memory isn't that bad. You really don't remember me?"

How could Feng Jun have forgotten her? Strictly speaking, though, the one who had left the deepest impression on him was the girl in yellow who had barely lifted a hand.

That girl had also been nearly 1.7 meters tall. She wore a light-yellow short-sleeved blouse and a light-yellow knee-length princess skirt. Her long hair flowed around a face as picturesque as a painting. She was so beautiful one could drown in her beauty, yet so fresh and refined that she gave people the feeling that she could be admired from afar but not profaned.

It was all about temperament—that was the feeling... Well, even without that temperament, she was still beautiful enough to topple a kingdom and a city.

The icing on the cake was the irrepressible aura of youth around her.

Even with Liu Shuming's broad and eclectic palate, he had not dared disrespect the girl in yellow. He had only gotten handsy with her companions, only to be beaten up by all four girls.

Feng Jun thought highly of himself, yet even he could not help feeling inferior before that girl.

He knew perfectly well that a girl like that was not someone he could possess—well, at least back then, before he had received his strange encounter, he had not been qualified to possess such beauty.

Even if he had possessed it, it would only have been temporary. It could not last.

Faced with the girl's question now, he pulled back those wandering thoughts and gave a faint smile. "Sorry, you must have remembered wrong. I've never met you."

The girl looked at him for a long time before nodding hesitantly. "Fine. No matter what, you saved me today. Now... can I trouble you with something?"

Feng Jun pondered for a moment, then nodded. "As long as it isn't too complicated, I don't mind."

To be fair, his answer rather killed the mood. She was, after all, a girl in her early twenties, and her looks could rival Xiao Li's, yet he put on the air of someone saying, "I'm very busy."

The girl's expression changed slightly, clearly feeling that her pride had been hurt. Still, she did not hold it against her savior. "Come with me to the police station to file a report. Not only did you save me, you're also an eyewitness."

"File a report?" Feng Jun sucked in a breath through his teeth. "How much money was in your bag? They won't open a case for less than two thousand yuan."

He was already being polite. The two-thousand-yuan threshold was for a completed crime, while this... had merely been an attempt!

The girl patted her handbag and declared proudly, "This bag alone is worth 2,800 yuan. What do you say to that?"

So she was a little rich girl. Feng Jun thought of how his new phone had only cost 2,699 yuan, and he could not help feeling a little... you know.

Of course, he would not stoop to envying some young girl. He just smiled faintly. "They were after the money, not the bag. That won't count."

It was true. Thieves these days were downright hateful. Back when he had been struggling in the south, he had encountered thieves on a long-distance bus too.

He had worked more than twenty hours straight at the time and had been in a hurry to get back. He took a nap on the bus and got robbed.

He had lost more than five hundred yuan, but what depressed him even more was that his suit, worth over three thousand yuan, had been slashed open with a huge cut and could no longer be worn.

His heart had ached terribly then. If he could have negotiated with the thief, he would rather have handed over those five hundred yuan—fine, it was my fault for getting robbed while sleeping, but could you spare my clothes? Pitiful me only had this one decent outfit to keep up appearances.

If this girl had really been robbed, the bag would basically have been an accessory. The thief cared about the valuables inside, and the police might not count the bag itself.

Yet the girl shook her head and said confidently, "Hmph. Even if I don't report it, I can still catch that guy. It's just better to go through the proper procedures."

Feng Jun stared at her in astonishment. "So you're saying the things in your bag really weren't worth two thousand yuan?"

The girl's face reddened slightly. "There's more than two thousand yuan on my card, and there's my phone too... Say, has no one ever told you that your train of thought is weird?"

Feng Jun blinked, then slowly shook his head. "I've already helped you. I won't be a witness. I'm very busy."

After saying that, he turned and left. "I'm very sorry."

"Hey," the girl called after him, "you there, I can give you money!"

Do you think I can be bought with money? Feng Jun snorted inwardly. You really underestimate people.

Yet his footsteps did pause for a moment before he hurried away—there was no helping it. When a man was poor, his ambitions fell short.

At around eight the next morning, Feng Jun was training his pushing strength at Hongjie Club when several people entered through the main doors. Before long, a face appeared above him—it was yesterday's girl, accompanied by two police officers.

The girl looked down at him from above, a smug smile curling her lips. "Did you think I wouldn't be able to find you?"

"Ah," Feng Jun said as he set down the barbell and slowly stood, his face full of misery. "Come on, it wasn't me who snatched your bag... Do you really have to hold such a grudge?"

The girl stared straight at him and said seriously, "Yesterday, you laughed at me for being poor."

"No." Feng Jun shook his head... Being hated by a woman, especially a petty woman, was truly deadly.

He denied it firmly. "I can't even afford a bag worth over two thousand yuan. What right do I have to laugh at you?"

The girl pressed him again. "Then why were you unwilling to be a witness?"

Feng Jun spread his hands helplessly. "Like I said, beautiful lady... I'm very busy. I need to survive. I need to work."

"You're lying." The girl stared into his eyes, her large eyes unblinking. "Do you dare say you don't know Liu Shuming?"

A trace of concealed satisfaction appeared in her eyes, like a teacher catching a student cheating.

In truth, she had put in quite some effort to find him. By reviewing Skynet footage, she identified him, then followed the trail to Hongjie Club.

There was no need to mention what happened next. She finally remembered that she had visited this club the day before yesterday.

And the junior attendant who had received her group was this very man who had stepped in.

Then her memories completely returned. She remembered that the man who had blocked her way seemed to be from Hongjie Club too. Although that bastard had covered his face, his general build could not have been wrong.

The one who had blocked her and the one who had rescued her were actually colleagues. This matter... could not be that simple, could it?

Feng Jun froze for a moment, knowing he could no longer hide it, and nodded readily. "I know him."

"He doesn't seem to have come in today." The girl looked at him sidelong. "Did he know I would come looking for him?"

Your intelligence... seems to be running on an empty balance. Feng Jun rolled his eyes helplessly. "His head was split open. Of course he couldn't come."

The girl paused, then spoke again. "Fine, let's not talk about him for now... Did he commit masked robbery to create a chance for you to play the hero and save the beauty?"

That imagination of yours... ought to get some nourishment too. Feng Jun grew even more helpless. "You're not that pretty, are you... Fine, he stole my reception assignment that day. You expect him to help me? He's a club coach. I'm only an attendant."

One of the policewomen could not stand it anymore and demanded sternly, "Since you recognized him as Liu Shuming too, why didn't you tell the victim, and why did you refuse to testify... Do you know what the crime of harboring a criminal is?"

Feng Jun hesitated, then spread both hands and answered bluntly, "We're colleagues. I had to consider the company's image. Though the company hasn't treated me that well, the boss is reasonable and... thinks rather highly of me."

After a pause, he added, "Besides, Liu Shuming's crime can only count as attempted, right?"

The policewoman snorted dismissively and was about to speak when a voice sounded from nearby. "Oh? You came to our club wearing police uniforms."

The club employees and customers who had gathered around opened a path, and a glamorous, tall woman walked over.

It was none other than the club's general manager, Zhang Weihong.

The policewoman also knew Sister Hong's reputation. With a touch of helplessness, she replied, "Sister Hong, we're handling a case."

"Of course we support the police in handling cases." Sister Hong wore a faint smile, but it was a formal smile, one that kept people a thousand miles away. "But... wouldn't plainclothes be better?"

The request might have seemed excessive, but it suited the market's current understanding perfectly. Hongjie Club called itself a cultural company, but at its core, it was still in the service industry. And businesses in the service industry hated having police come to their doors.

It was not only entertainment venues like KTVs, cinemas, and hotels. Even restaurants and antique shops could not stand police officers showing up in uniform—who knew what it might turn into once word got out?

The policewoman raised her brows, seeming somewhat impatient, but she ultimately explained patiently, "Sister Hong, this case involves retaliatory assault. Following formal procedures... is good for us and for the club."

Her words clearly carried an unspoken implication.

"I know." Sister Hong nodded, then lifted her chin and said coolly, "Bring that bastard over."

Two burly men carried Liu Shuming over and brought him before everyone. Coach Liu's head had been shaved into a yin-yang haircut and wrapped in a thick circle of bandages. He was listless all over, like a soldier who had lost a battle.

"I've already got the man under control." Sister Hong spoke expressionlessly. "Our club will never go easy when cracking down on ugly phenomena in society, but we will not take responsibility for what is not ours."

"That's good." The other policeman nodded. Compared with his colleague, his attitude was much gentler. "Thank you very much for your cooperation... We'll take him away now."

Sister Hong hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Could we clarify the situation here first? Let everyone understand the company's responsibility in this matter... There's quite a lot going on in the club."

Only Hongjie's famous boss dared speak to the police like that. Someone else truly would not have dared make such a request.