When the old man saw him approach, he had intended to keep shouting, but somehow fell quiet instead, as though an irresistible force were compelling him to speak.
"That's right. I have an accomplice, too. He's right over there."
As though something had suddenly jolted him, the old man's eyes widened, and his trembling finger pointed at the man in the crowd who had demanded compensation earlier.
The onlookers and police were all a little bewildered.
What was going on? Why had the old man suddenly started acting possessed?
The older officer reacted immediately and headed straight toward the spot the old man had pointed out.
Realizing he had somehow been exposed, the man in the crowd took off running.
Anyone with half a brain could tell something was fishy here. The old man was clearly a scammer.
For a moment, the scene descended into chaos.
Amid the confusion, Jiang Ze noticed that the fleeing man seemed to be holding on to someone.
He seemed to think that person was running too slowly, but he didn't leave him behind, continuing to run with him half-carried in his arms.
This was a busy downtown area, and the police had come prepared. Before long, both the fleeing man and the old man who had tried to extort money were arrested.
"Young man, how did you get that old man to confess with just one question?"
In all his years on the force, Officer Chen had never encountered anything so strange.
The callout had been baffling, and the arrests were just as inexplicable.
Jiang Ze stared at the figure beside the man who had just fled, only then realizing it was a skinny little boy dressed in rags.
"Officer, I just got caught up in this for no reason. It was pure dumb luck. Thank goodness you caught them so quickly!"
Jiang Ze gave a shy smile. His well-behaved manner and handsome, delicate features made it easy to warm to him.
Meanwhile, a blogger secretly livestreaming nearby had broadcast the entire incident, and the chat was flooded with astonished comments.
"Wait... what just happened?"
"I only went to the bathroom! How did a hit-and-run turn into arrests on the spot?!"
"Oh my god, that guy's smile is so sweet! I'm in love!!!"
"It'd be such a waste if he didn't become a celebrity with those looks. Any talent scouts out there want to discover him...?"
The scene felt both unfamiliar and familiar to Jiang Ze, but he couldn't remember why.
He didn't remember this happening in the book, yet he had a vague feeling that this wasn't simply bad luck.
"This child looks severely malnourished. He probably isn't those two scammers' kid, is he?"
Officer Chen had his colleagues escort the two men into the police car, but the child posed a problem.
The boy was stubborn. Ever since they had taken him from the man's arms, he had refused to budge or go with them.
Jiang Ze saw that he was frighteningly thin. His clothes hadn't been washed in who knew how long, their original color barely discernible. His little face was covered in grime, and his big eyes were filled with fear.
"Sweetheart, can you tell me your name?"
Jiang Ze asked tentatively, but the child merely looked at him without speaking.
"He hasn't cried or fussed from the start, and he won't speak either. Could he be..."
Officer Chen, standing nearby, left the sentence unfinished, but it still made them wonder whether the boy was mute or had an intellectual disability.
Looking at the little boy's filthy face, Jiang Ze suddenly remembered a passage from the story.
Third Master Meng had accidentally fathered a child in his teens. Young and irresponsible, he had then lost the child. The child's mother later broke down and took her own life, and Third Master Meng spent the rest of his days consumed by guilt, eventually dying of despair...
Jiang Ze remained convinced that his encounter with this incident was more than a simple stroke of bad luck.
His eyes brightened at the thought, and with some difficulty, he made out a few traces of resemblance to Meng Zhiyuan in the child's face.
He felt a little more certain.
In the end, all of Officer Chen's coaxing proved useless, but after Jiang Ze said something to the child, the boy miraculously followed him into the police car.
With the incident over, the surrounding crowd dispersed, satisfied with the spectacle.
The livestreamer gained quite a few followers from it, too, and without Jiang Ze knowing, he became something of an online sensation.
At the Meng Family villa, Meng Zhiyuan received a call from Mu Shaoxuan.
"Hey, Zhiyuan, have you checked Trending Search? That young friend of yours is famous!"
Meng Zhiyuan raised an eyebrow, immediately knowing he meant Jiang Ze. Indeed, Jiang Ze had gone out after he gave him the card.
"What happened?"
Seeing that he knew nothing about it, Mu Shaoxuan kept him in suspense.
"You really never go online, do you? Check Weibo. It's probably still in the top three on Trending Search."
Meng Zhiyuan hung up and, for the first time ever, downloaded Weibo. He opened Trending Search, and sure enough, the third entry read:
#Handsome guy targeted by scammers turns the tables and exposes fraud ring#
He couldn't resist tapping it. A livestream video appeared.
Although the video quality wasn't great, the young man's handsome face was clearly visible.
After watching the livestream, he frowned and called Jiang Ze directly.
The call connected a few seconds later, and the young man's clear, bright voice rang out.
"Hello, Uncle Zhiyuan?"
"Where are you?"
Phone in hand, Jiang Ze had just walked out of the police station, holding a small, skinny figure by the hand.
It was the little boy from earlier.
Jiang Ze gave him an address. Remembering the look Officer Chen had given him as he left the station, he couldn't help getting goosebumps.
The officer had looked at him as though he were some sort of merciful bodhisattva. All he'd done was offer to adopt the child.
This was the Meng Family's precious child. How could he let him remain lost out there?
Jiang Ze had just checked with the system again, and he was now almost certain that this boy was Third Master Meng's missing child.
In other words, Meng Zhiyuan's little nephew.
Thinking of Meng Zhiyuan coming to pick him up soon, he curled his lips into a cheerful smile.
"Oh, System, I'm really going above and beyond for the big shot, doing good deeds without asking for anything in return!"
The system ignored him, indicating that he shouldn't bother it unless points were involved.
Jiang Ze wasn't having that and started selling the system on a rosy future.
"System, the child I rescued is the one Third Master Meng has spent years searching for. If I find him, how could the big shot not thank me? Won't he give me loads of points?"
The system said, "That's true, Host! You're the best~"
The system happily swallowed that promise.
Before long, Meng Zhiyuan drove up. Seeing him holding a little boy's hand, he frowned.
"What happened?"
Jiang Ze briefly explained the whole incident, then pointed somewhat sheepishly at the child beside him.
"Uncle Zhiyuan, I feel sorry for him. Could we let him stay at home for a few days while we help him find his parents?"
Jiang Ze opened his big, innocent eyes wide. Knowing his request was a little much, he tried to use his good looks to persuade the big shot.
[Please say yes! This is your little nephew, the poor kid!]
A rare crack appeared in Meng Zhiyuan's stony expression, and astonishment flashed in his eyes. He glanced at the filthy little boy, wanting to say something, but no words came out.
After a moment of silence, he nodded.
"Get in."
Jiang Ze hadn't expected him to agree so easily. The lengthy speech he'd prepared in his head went entirely unused.
Meng Zhiyuan didn't head straight home. He first went to a nearby children's clothing store and bought several outfits in the boy's size.
Once they arrived at the villa, Meng Zhiyuan had the butler take the little boy to bathe and change into the newly purchased clothes.
[I'd planned to enjoy a proper shopping spree. Who knew I'd barely get to spend any money and end up picking up a kid for free instead?]
[How can I get the big shot to discover naturally that this child is his long-lost little nephew?]
Jiang Ze slumped on the sofa, feeling troubled.
What he didn't know, however, was that Meng Zhiyuan had already discreetly taken a few strands of the child's hair and had someone send them off for a DNA test.
Although he already trusted Jiang Ze's inner thoughts, a DNA test was still the most convincing evidence modern technology could offer.
After all, that younger brother of his really couldn't withstand another disappointment.
At the thought of Meng Zhixing, his eyes darkened. He hoped things would turn out well, just as Jiang Ze believed.
Before you continue