The police car pulled over to the side of the road.
The doors opened.
A clatter of movement followed.
Five or six police officers climbed out, wearing riot helmets and carrying riot shields, electric batons, and riot forks. They were fully equipped and ready for action.
But when they got out, they found the troublemaker already on the ground. There was nothing left for them to do.
The officer leading them was Lin Shanshan's husband, Gu Jia.
As soon as Gu Jia got out, he saw Lin Shanshan lying on the ground, injured.
The other officers were stunned, too. They hadn't expected the victim to be their sister-in-law.
One hot-tempered officer raised his riot fork and was about to stab the Drunk Madman, who was lying on the ground with barely a breath left.
Another officer, carrying a riot shield, quickly grabbed the hot-tempered one and said in a low voice, "Don't lose your head. That lunatic looks like he's about to die anyway. Let him suffer a little longer. Don't go giving him a quick death."
"Good point." The officer holding the riot fork stopped in his tracks.
Gu Jia rushed over, his eyes red-rimmed, and tried to lift Lin Shanshan off the ground. "Shanshan! How are you? Where are you hurt?"
Ye Chen hurriedly reached out to stop Gu Jia. "She's injured and can't be moved right now. But she's out of danger. Let's wait for the paramedics."
"Honey..." When Lin Shanshan saw Gu Jia, the tears she'd been holding back spilled from her eyes.
Gu Jia could only take Lin Shanshan's hand carefully, his own voice trembling as he asked, "Shanshan, how are you feeling? Where does it hurt? I'm sorry. It's my fault for not taking better care of you."
"How could this be your fault? You have to work, too. It was that drunken lunatic's fault." Lin Shanshan stopped crying and pointed at Ye Chen as she spoke to Gu Jia. "I was at death's door just now. Luckily, this gentleman stepped in and saved me and the baby. He also subdued that drunken lunatic. You have to thank him properly for me."
"Thank you for saving my wife and child. I'm Gu Jia. May I ask your name? I'm on duty today, but I'll come by in person to thank you another day." Gu Jia hurriedly thanked Ye Chen.
Ye Chen replied modestly, "Officer Gu, nice to meet you. I'm Ye Chen. There's no need to thank me. Actually, I should be thanking your wife. If she hadn't called out a warning just now, I'd be the one lying on the ground."
"Mr. Ye, I'll have to ask you to come to the station with us in a little while and give a statement." Gu Jia had by now pieced together what had happened.
It seemed the Drunk Madman had gotten drunk and gone on a rampage, stabbing at anyone he saw. Luckily, Ye Chen had acted in self-defense and stopped the man's vicious attack.
It was a good thing Ye Chen had been there, or this could have turned into a major disaster.
Ye Chen put on a frightened expression and said, "All right. The man reeked of alcohol and was babbling nonsense. He tried to stab me twice. I was terrified. I don't know how, but the knife ended up in his chest. I'm not going to prison, am I? I didn't mean to do it. I just became a father. I can't go to prison..."
When the round-faced maternity store clerk heard that Ye Chen was already a father, disappointment filled her eyes. Still, she immediately stepped forward and said, "I saw that the lunatic tried to stab Mr. Ye first. Mr. Ye was just helping someone in danger. Who knows how many more people would've been hurt if he hadn't stepped in?"
One after another, the people nearby spoke up in Ye Chen's defense.
"That's right. I saw that lunatic stabbing at everyone he could. It was terrifying!"
"I saw it, too. Officer, make sure you don't frame an innocent man."
"Exactly. This young man's a good person. Who knows what would've happened without him..."
"..."
Gu Jia nodded at Ye Chen. "Mr. Ye, you heard them. There are plenty of witnesses here to back you up. Don't worry. This was self-defense, and you acted heroically to help others. We'll handle everything properly. You won't go to prison, and we'll even give you a commendation banner."
"You can keep the banner. I'll be more than happy if I can get home soon to look after my wife and child," Ye Chen said, pretending to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Don't worry. It'll be settled soon," Gu Jia replied.
Just then, the sound of a vehicle's siren came from the distance.
The moment they heard it, they knew an ambulance was coming.
Sure enough, two ambulances soon pulled over at the roadside.
Lin Shanshan and the Drunk Madman, who was barely clinging to life, were both carried into ambulances.
Ye Chen also got into a police car. It was his first time ever going to a police station.
Giving a statement was quick, just as expected.
They even served him tea, and the officers treated him very well.
After Ye Chen gave them a rough account of what had happened, the officers finished recording his statement and drove him back to the entrance of the maternity store.
After getting out of the police car, Ye Chen went into the store and bought a can of approved baby powder, along with some baby wipes and other necessities.
The store employees were especially warm toward Ye Chen.
When he paid, they charged him the lowest price.
They also stuffed his shopping bag with plenty of premium sample products.
Ye Chen saw that the store's products were all pretty good. The owner seemed responsible and careful about choosing what to stock, so he signed up for a membership card.
After buying the baby supplies,
Ye Chen went to the supermarket and bought fruit, meat, vegetables, and other groceries before heading home.
On the way,
the system's familiar little-girl voice sounded in Ye Chen's mind.
[Ping! Congratulations on completing the two hidden missions: heroic intervention and saving lives.]
[Ping! Congratulations on receiving a reward of ten additional years of life.]
[Ping! Congratulations on receiving a reward of +10 to your personal charm.]
Ye Chen's brows lifted slightly. The rewards for the system's hidden missions really were impressive.
He'd even gained ten years of life.
That was great. He'd gladly take that.
The personal charm boost sounded pretty good, too.
Ye Chen returned home in high spirits and opened the door.
Su Ningwei threw herself into his arms.
"Easy, sweetheart. Aren't you afraid you'll pull your wound?" Ye Chen hurriedly put down what he was carrying and wrapped an arm around Su Ningwei.
Su Ningwei hooked her arms around Ye Chen's neck and said, "It's fine. That ointment you gave me worked really well. It doesn't hurt at all now. Did you go and do something big behind my back this afternoon?"
"What big thing?" Ye Chen asked with a smile, reaching out with one hand to close the door.
Su Ningwei gently pinched Ye Chen's cheek. He seemed even more handsome and charming after going out.
Maybe she'd simply fallen even more in love with him.
Su Ningwei didn't think much of it. She smiled and said, "Don't think you can keep me from finding out just because you won't let me use my phone. You're famous now! Sister An, Shi Yu, and Man Man all called me. The singing video you filmed has gone viral. And you're still pretending? You're way too modest."
Ye Chen lifted Su Ningwei by the hips, picked her up, and carried her over to the sofa in the living room.
"I thought it was something serious. We set up a music room at home, so I sang a song I'd been thinking about and posted a video. It went viral? I went out to buy some things just now, so I didn't check my phone," Ye Chen said with a smile.
Ye Chen had wanted to surprise Su Ningwei, but he hadn't expected her to find out so soon.
The day wasn't even over yet.
It seemed those two performance videos had done even better than he'd expected.
"Of course it went viral! Your 'Lonely Warrior' was incredible. I bet your phone will be ringing off the hook tomorrow. Sister An called me especially to tell me to keep an eye on you so other companies don't poach you. She's bringing the contract she prepared over tomorrow to sign with you," Su Ningwei said with a smile.