The Thief

"Hiss~"

The thief's eyes widened instantly, a sharp intake of breath escaping him as he felt the crushing force on his wrist.

He saw that the boy who had been standing beside the red-haired girl was now looking at him with a smile—though the smile felt somewhat chilling.

"Tell your accomplice to behave."

Shen Qing applied a little more pressure with his fingers, causing the thief to wince and grit his teeth, the veins on his forehead bulging.

This damn student is incredibly strong. He doesn't even have any obvious muscles; he must have specifically trained his grip.

Could he be an undercover cop?!

For a moment, the thief dared not act rashly. He quickly signaled with his eyes, and the two people arguing not far away shoved each other, found an excuse, and hurried off.

As long as there was no evidence, he would be fine.

"Who is this?"

Gu Jingshi noticed the situation immediately. Her tone was indifferent, but her eyes never left Shen Qing's hand.

"A childhood friend from my orphanage, A-Yuan. He's an orphan too. What a coincidence."

Shen Qing released the thief's wrist and smoothly draped an arm around his shoulder. "We haven't seen each other in a long time."

The thief's entire body stiffened, and he struggled to force a smile onto his face.

Everyone was stunned. This was indeed quite a coincidence—running into a childhood friend from the orphanage while out for a stroll late at night?

"Then, should we all—"

Su Xiaoxiao was about to speak when Chen Chen interrupted with a start, "Oh, a childhood friend! It looks like Old Shen should have a good reunion with him."

"It's getting late, shouldn't we be heading back?"

It had been less than twenty minutes since Chen Chen suggested, "It's still early, let's walk around a bit more before heading back."

Shen Qing gave him a thoughtful look, but Chen Chen averted his gaze.

"Then..."

Su Xiaoxiao glanced hesitantly at Gu Jingshi, who was still scrutinizing Shen Qing and the so-called "A-Yuan."

"Should we head off first and meet up another time?"

Su Xiaoxiao asked tentatively; it really wasn't appropriate to keep hanging out when a stranger had joined their group of acquaintances.

"See you next time, then."

Gu Jingshi didn't refuse, the corners of her mouth curling up as she looked at Shen Qing, making no effort to hide it.

"See you next time," Shen Qing nodded.

But he knew very well that graduation was approaching, and they all had their own things to do. Who knew when they would meet again?

Not to mention their situation—even if they had broken up peacefully, meeting up would still be somewhat awkward.

Being friends after a breakup... that wasn't really his style.

"Come on, let's go find something to eat."

Watching the backs of Shen Qing and "A-Yuan" as they gradually walked away, Su Xiaoxiao finally couldn't help but ask, "Jingshi, what exactly is going on between you and Shen Qing?"

You said you broke up, but what was that just now?

What was that about "you were the only one I saw in the crowd"? Does that sound like something someone who has broken up would say?

Gu Jingshi didn't answer immediately. She tucked a strand of red hair blown by the wind behind her ear and gazed in the direction Shen Qing had left, admitting it quite openly:

"Because of some things before, I felt we might not be a good fit, so I cut off contact."

"Then now..."

Before Su Xiaoxiao could press further, she continued, "But I've thought it through now. We're all just people; what's there to be 'not a good fit' about?"

"But what about Shen Qing..." Su Xiaoxiao trailed off.

Her friend's attitude was clear, but what about Shen Qing? He was a bit too calm.

Based on what she knew of Shen Qing during their three years of high school, if he said it was over, it was truly over.

Chen Chen and the others also cast glances their way. Although they supported a reconciliation, that abrupt breakup from before had been a bit too harsh.

"No rush, take it slow. If nothing else, I'll just chase him again. I brought this on myself, after all."

Gu Jingshi said in a flat tone, "After all, I was the one who suddenly cut off contact without a word. But there definitely won't be any problems."

Su Xiaoxiao looked at the confidence flashing in her eyes and finally sighed helplessly.

This young lady had always been like this—the more she cared, the more nonchalant she acted. She really wasn't afraid of Shen Qing running off with someone else.

In high school and college, he never had any time, and Gu Jingshi was the only one around him. Plus, she was outstanding enough to be overwhelming compared to others.

But after graduation, could she be sure he wouldn't attract anyone else?

A side alley of the commercial street.

This commercial street was formed by merging several old streets in the university town. Aside from the bustling main thoroughfare, there were quite a few secluded alleys and old residential complexes in the surrounding area.

In a dark alley behind an old residential building.

"Bang!"

Shen Qing casually pinned A-Yuan against the wall, pressing his left hand onto his shoulder. "Don't move."

He pulled out his phone with his right hand, preparing to dial the number for Officer Wang Yu.

"You actually dare to call the cops?"

With his face pressed against the wall, A-Yuan suddenly laughed. "Everyone, come out!"

Along the way, he had already confirmed that this guy couldn't possibly be a cop; he didn't have any gear on him. He hadn't expected this idiot to actually walk into a secluded area of his own accord.

This alley was full of twists and turns, and there wasn't even a single security camera.

Footsteps approached from all directions, and seven or eight people gathered in the narrow, dark alley.

"So, theft has escalated into robbery?"

Shen Qing instinctively put his phone away. As he loosened his grip, A-Yuan immediately sprang away from the wall, rubbing his neck and spitting on the ground.

"Kid, you're the one who's been messing with us and ruining our business."

He flexed his wrists, looking at the lingering red marks, and glared fiercely at Shen Qing. "Damn it, you bastard, you've got some strength."

He then signaled with his eyes.

A young man in the crowd holding a telescopic baton stepped forward and smashed a small dent into the alley wall with a "bang."

"So, are you going to cough up the money for compensation, or what?"

"Money?" Shen Qing raised an eyebrow.

"Compensation works too."

A-Yuan looked him up and down; his clothes were all off-brand and couldn't have cost more than two hundred yuan in total. "But looking at how you're dressed, I'm afraid you can't scrape together a few coins."

"However."

A-Yuan licked his lips, recalling the way that Patek Philippe had glinted under the streetlights, and continued, "That red-haired girl is your girlfriend, right? She's quite wealthy."

"We can do installments, but to make sure you don't go back on your word—" He waved his hand.

A burly man squeezed out from the crowd, his face full of flab, his gaze sweeping over Shen Qing in a way that made one feel very uncomfortable.

"You should be interested in this pretty boy, right? He's yours. Take some little videos while you're at it."

A-Yuan said in a flippant tone, "If he dares to call the cops later, we'll post them online. I've even thought of the title: 'University Student Has Late-Night Tryst with Burly Man, Passion Uncontainable.'

How about that? Explosive enough, right? Hahaha."

A burst of laughter erupted in the alley. In their eyes, Shen Qing was nothing more than fish on a chopping block.

"Let's see if your little girlfriend still wants you after that."

However, as they laughed, the atmosphere began to feel wrong. A-Yuan frowned. "What are you laughing at?"

Shen Qing had actually started laughing along with them.

"I'm laughing because you all arrived at just the right time..."

To be honest, Gu Jingshi's attitude today had left him very confused.

It was clearly a clean break, yet now she was standing in front of him as if nothing had happened. To say she didn't care at all was nonsense.

He was currently suppressing a surge of pent-up frustration, and he hadn't expected someone to deliver themselves to his doorstep for him to vent on.

With a loud "bang," the six-foot-three burly man flew backward and slammed heavily into the wall.

Everyone was stunned, completely unaware of what had just happened.