Chapter 6

It was lunchtime, and since it was the weekend, quite a few customers sat in twos and threes inside the small restaurants open along both sides of the street. Hearing the commotion and cheers at the street corner, they all came running out to watch. Huo Baichuan was happily cupping his fists toward the surrounding spectators in thanks when his sharp eyes suddenly spotted a pickpocket furtively stealing wallets amid the crowd.

Wasn't this ruining Young Master Huo's show?

Huo Baichuan's face darkened as he strode straight over. Without another word, he seized the man's wrist and caught him red-handed.

"What are you doing, brother?"

The man had not expected Huo Baichuan to be so bold, and his expression immediately changed. "What are you doing?"

Only after seeing Huo Baichuan's actions and the wallet pinched between that man's fingers did people finally react. Someone patted his pocket and cried out belatedly, "My wallet!"

"Catch the thief!"

"This man is a thief!"

"My wallet is gone too!"

Seeing the surrounding crowd swarm over, cursing and demanding to send him to the police station, the pickpocket who had stolen the money could no longer keep calm. He viciously cursed at Huo Baichuan, "Where did this little brat with a death wish come from? Let your uncle go right now. Otherwise, I'll make sure you can't leave Jiangzhou City."

Hearing the pickpocket's threats, Huo Baichuan's expression changed as well. He curled his lips in a ferocious grin. "Oh! You've got quite a mouth on you! Why don't you guess where the last bunch who dared talk to me like that are squatting now?"

The pickpocket sneered. A vicious gleam flashed through his eyes as his other hand discreetly pulled a switchblade from his pocket.

Tao Yan's hand paused slightly on the erhu. He lashed the bow viciously across the pickpocket's wrist, and the switchblade clattered to the ground. The man could not help crying out in pain.

Huo Baichuan turned to Tao Yan and said, "Even if you hadn't stepped in, he wouldn't have been able to touch me."

Too lazy to pay attention to Huo Baichuan throwing another tantrum, Tao Yan said in a low voice, "Take him to the police station."

Upon hearing that, the pickpocket cursed foully, "Where did this little nobody come from? You dare mess with us? Do you know who we are? I'd advise you not to stick your nose into other people's business. I'm one of Blade Brother's men..."

Tao Yan stood and walked over to the pickpocket. Seeing Tao Yan's expression, the pickpocket suddenly fell silent. As Tao Yan bent down and raised his hand, the man involuntarily shrank back. But Tao Yan's right hand merely passed beside his head and picked up the bow from the ground.

Tao Yan dusted off the bow and returned apologetically to the elderly man who had lent him the erhu. "In the heat of the moment, I threw your bow without asking—"

"It's fine!" The old man cut him off with a chuckle. "This erhu of mine has been with me for decades. It's sturdy! It isn't nearly as precious as you think, young man."

Tao Yan still felt somewhat guilty and wanted to offer some compensation.

The old man said with a laugh, "Send the man to the police station first. You two young men seem to have offended the local hooligans, so be careful from now on!"

Tao Yan smiled faintly. Looking at the pickpocket Huo Baichuan had pinned to the ground with his arm twisted behind his back, he said gently, "He does look a little like a hooligan."

Huo Baichuan smacked the pickpocket on the back of the head. "Did you hear that? No more being a hooligan! If you scare our top student, I'm not letting you off!"

Chapter 6

Lianhua District Police Station.

Officer Old Zhou looked at Tao Yan and Huo Baichuan, who were surrounded by enthusiastic members of the public. "Why is it you two again?"

"These two young men are both good people!" The uncles and aunties praised them all at once. "They were stranded outside at such a young age and were so hungry they couldn't bear it anymore. They borrowed an erhu from Old Yang and performed at the entrance to our alley to earn money. They even helped us catch a thief. They're such good kids!"

"You two even went to perform at the entrance to the alley?" Listening to the neighbors, Old Zhou became increasingly torn between laughter and tears. "Have you gotten used to living at the orphanage?"

The neighbors froze at Old Zhou's question. "What do you mean? These two children are from Red Heart Orphanage too?"

Then why had they never seen them before?

Old Zhou smiled and explained, "A few days ago, didn't our police station catch a gang of human traffickers? It was Little Tao and Little Huo who called the police. The two of them..."

Old Zhou immediately explained Tao Yan and Huo Baichuan's backgrounds to the neighbors. He also mentioned their half-real, half-fake amnesia. The neighbors sighed with emotion, and their gazes toward Tao Yan and Huo Baichuan became even more sympathetic and affectionate.

"It really hasn't been easy for you!" A warmhearted auntie took Tao Yan and Huo Baichuan's hands, her eyes reddening. "Don't you two worry! Director Zhao of Red Heart Orphanage is a wonderful person with an especially kind heart. She'll take good care of you. You won't have to worry about going hungry anymore, and you won't have to fear being abducted by bad people again."

"The officers at Lianhua District Police Station are all especially good too. They'll work hard to help you find your parents and family. Even if they truly can't be found, don't be afraid. Just stay peacefully at the orphanage. As the saying goes, a distant relative is not as good as a close neighbor. Since you're children taken in by Red Heart Orphanage, you're also children of Lotus District. If you run into any difficulties, tell us grandpas and grandmas. We'll do everything we can to help."

"That's right! That's right!" Everyone else joined in persuading them. "Don't be afraid, you two. With the Party and the people here, we won't let children like you be left homeless and adrift. Lotus District will be your home from now on, so settle down and live here properly. If you have any difficulties, you can go to the police or the neighborhood committee. You two are still in school, right? What year of high school are you in? My daughter-in-law is a teacher at No. 1 High School. It's summer break, and she doesn't have much to do, so I can have her tutor you."

The heartfelt, plainspoken words made Tao Yan and Huo Baichuan feel slightly uncomfortable. In the era they had lived in, material resources had been abundant, but human relationships had been cold. They had hardly ever felt this atmosphere of ordinary people being as close as one family.

Moved as they were, though, they could forget about tutoring.

Huo Baichuan and Tao Yan smiled and declined the neighborhood aunties' kind offer. Liang Xin, the officer who had finished taking the pickpocket's statement, walked over with a smile. "You two haven't eaten lunch yet?"