Planning

"Xue Chen, I'll kill you! How dare you bully my parents!" After seeing his mother restrained by the police, Xue Hao pulled out the fruit knife he had brought from home without a second thought and slashed it at Xue Chen.

"Watch out!" Father Lin shouted when he saw Xue Hao charging at Xue Chen with a knife, rushing forward to stop him.

But just as he was about to step in, Xue Chen, who had supposedly been frightened senseless, made a sharp turn and dodged the slashing fruit knife. Still, his arm was cut open, and blood immediately began to pour out. Xue Hao looked pleased with himself and raised the knife again, stabbing forward.

"Murder!" someone shouted. The onlookers were all startled. A man darted out from the crowd and kicked away the fruit knife just before it could stab into Xue Chen's lower abdomen, then subdued Xue Hao with a grappling hold.

"Let me go! I'm going to kill that bastard! I'm going to kill him—" Even while being pinned down, Xue Hao struggled desperately. If the righteous man had not been strong enough, he truly might not have been able to hold him down. "Attempted murder, and you still dare to mouth off like that? If he doesn't get twenty or thirty years, won't he just come out and harm people again?"

"Good!" As the crowd cheered, applause broke out. An auntie in a qipao, her face pale, said, "Oh my, good thing Mr. Liu acted fast. Otherwise, that child from the Xue Household would have been doomed. Honestly, like father, like son. A rat's son knows how to dig holes. Mr. Xue really was the one good bamboo shoot to come out of that family."

"Uncle Lin, this is my cousin. He just turned eighteen last month..." Xue Chen glanced at the restrained Xue Hao. His face was somewhat pale from excessive blood loss. Before he could finish speaking, he fainted outright. A police officer beside him hurriedly caught him. "Captain, we should get this kid to the hospital right away. Too much blood loss can kill him."

"I already called an ambulance. Hurry and get this child to the hospital. His life is too bitter. His parents just had something happen to them, and now he's ended up like this too. Sigh!" The auntie in the qipao was clearly a very warmhearted person. When the ambulance arrived, she got in with Mother Lin, who had hurried over in tears.

Watching the ambulance drive away, one of the onlookers frowned and asked Father Lin, "Officer Lin, how many years do you think Xue Hao will get? Don't just lock him up for a year or two and let him out. He's so vicious at such a young age. If Mr. Liu hadn't helped today, that child from the Xue Household would have been in serious trouble."

"Everyone is equal before the law. With parents who taught him like that, if the state doesn't straighten this child out, he'll definitely become a murderer someday," another person said, still shaken. The large pool of blood on the ground was a stark reminder of what had just happened.

"He is already eighteen and meets the standard for criminal responsibility. According to the relevant regulations, he should face criminal punishment. Considering his age, the sentence may depend on the severity of the victim's injuries, but he won't escape a ten-year sentence. On top of that, he continued threatening the victim after being subdued, so he may very well receive combined punishment for multiple offenses," Father Lin said.

"If that's the case, his sentence will definitely be severe. Then I can rest easy." The crowd exclaimed in amazement.

"Lin, everyone knows you're close to the Xue family! This is retaliation! I'll sue you! I'll make sure you can't even be a police officer anymore!" When Li Cuilan heard that her son might face prison time, she panicked. She cried and screamed, her voice shrill as it echoed throughout the entire residential complex.

"Li Cuilan, you are suspected of disrupting official duties and insulting law enforcement personnel. At best, you will receive a warning and a two-hundred-yuan fine; at worst, you may be detained for five to ten days. In serious cases, the penalty is up to three years in prison," Father Lin said coldly.

Only then did Li Cuilan realize the severity of the matter. Frightened, she no longer dared to make a sound. The ferocity in Xue Hao's eyes had also vanished. He kept thinking of the smile Xue Chen had shown him before leaving. He knew his life was over.

Planning

After Xue Chen was sent to the hospital and underwent a series of emergency treatments, he was found to be fine aside from excessive blood loss. Mother Lin, however, stayed by his side and scolded him for giving those bad people a chance. She had heard from Father Lin, who arrived later, that Xue Chen had wanted to give Xue Hao a chance, and she immediately disagreed. Even the auntie who had come with him was strongly against it. "If you ask me, Xiao Chen is just like Old Xue—far too softhearted."

"Exactly. This child has had such a hard life. He's clearly so outstanding, yet he's run into all this." Mother Lin rubbed Xue Chen's head, her face full of heartache.

During Xue Chen's hospitalization, Mother Lin stayed by his side to care for him. Father Lin and Mother Lin also came to visit him often. Lin Ran had even informed his teachers and classmates at school. His homeroom teacher, Old Xu, especially advised him that some people had to be punished when they did wrong, and that he could not let a moment of softheartedness bring unnecessary trouble upon himself.

Xue Chen was rather surprised by those words. His homeroom teacher had always stressed forgiving others when one had the upper hand, yet he had not expected him to say this.

"Xue Chen, it's been nearly half a month since the college entrance exams ended, and you've received your admission letter. What do you plan to do next?" Old Xu asked with a smile as he sat beside the hospital bed.

"Sir, I want to go out and travel. I told my parents before that once I received my admission letter, I would go see Hong Kong. Even though they're gone now, I still want to go take a look." Xue Chen lay in the hospital bed, gazing at the sky outside the window. The sun was bright, the sky was blue with white clouds, and a gentle breeze blew. An indescribable peace filled his heart.

Old Xu nodded. "Xue Chen, you are the most satisfying student I have ever taught. Go out, travel, see the world, and let go of all those unhappy things from before. I think your parents wouldn't want you to remain so dispirited either. Remember to send me a photo every time you visit somewhere. Your old teacher here has never even seen what Hong Kong looks like, so don't let me down."

"Aren't you worried I'll get sold off when I go there?" Xue Chen asked with a smile.

"You're smarter than anyone. I'm more worried that you'll sell someone else, and they'll still be counting the money for you," Old Xu said with a laugh. "As it happens, I have a classmate in the immigration administration department. You're grown up now; it's time for you to go out and make your way in the world. But remember to call back every three days so I can rest easy."