Chapter 37
As Li Qinyue pushed her way through the crowd, she saw Mi Xingyi squatting beside the person who had been hit, asking if she was okay.
It was a woman in a black down jacket, about forty or fifty years old, with dry, thinning hair and wrinkles etched deeply around her eyes and mouth, giving her a weary appearance.
She didn’t cry or make a fuss when Mi Xingyi asked her. She just shook her head, her wrinkles deepening, her expression pained.
Zhuo Zhi was squatting on the other side of the woman, holding her arm and asking similar questions as Mi Xingyi.
“Where did you get hit? Where does it hurt? Can you stand up?”
The woman remained silent. Someone in the crowd shouted, “She’s in too much pain to speak, take her to the hospital quickly!”
Mi Xingyi stood up and said to the woman, “Get in my car, I’ll take you to the hospital.”
He was wearing a neat coat, he was handsome and gentle, and although he drove a luxury car, his demeanor was kind and polite. He shouldn’t have provoked any anger, but someone suddenly said, “Rich kid hit someone, now he’s trying to run away!”
Li Qinyue turned around and saw a young man holding a phone, looking excited. He was probably live-streaming.
Li Qinyue’s anger flared. She raised her hand and slapped at the man’s phone, but she was too far away to knock it out of his hand.
“Who’s trying to run away? Are your ears just decorations? Didn’t you hear him say he’s taking her to the hospital?”
Since it was Mi Xingyi’s matter, she had controlled her language a bit, not using any harsh words.
“He says he’s taking her to the hospital! Who knows if he’ll actually take her to the hospital after they get in the car!” The man fiddled with his phone, continuing to shout at Li Qinyue, “You rich and powerful people, you can just dump her somewhere without surveillance and run away, where would we even find you?”
Li Qinyue couldn’t hold back anymore, “Are you fucking stupid? Maybe I should take you along and get your mental health checked, no, you need to see a vet.”
The man shouted, “Rich kid is cursing! Rich kid is cursing!”
“Damn it, rich kid is cursing at a pig!” Li Qinyue was pulled back by Mi Xingyi.
“Don’t bother with him,” Mi Xingyi said to her.
Li Qinyue took a deep breath and forced a smile at him, “It’s your matter, I’ll listen to you.”
Zhuo Zhi wanted to help the woman up, but she was afraid of aggravating any injuries, so she kept talking to her softly.
But the woman was strange. Almost ten minutes had passed since the accident, and she hadn’t said a single word.
Mi Xingyi was at a loss. He said to the woman, “Ma’am, if you have any concerns, I’ll call the police now and let them handle it, okay?”
The woman shifted her position, her leg extended. Zhuo Zhi immediately noticed something was wrong and said to them, “Her calf is fractured.”
There were gasps from the crowd. The idiot with the phone shouted excitedly, “Rich kid broke her leg! Rich kid broke her leg!”
Mi Xingyi didn’t hesitate any longer. He first called the ambulance, then the police.
He deliberately raised his voice while making the calls so that everyone around him could hear.
He was gentle, polite, and composed, leaving no room for criticism.
The live-streaming idiot was still yelling, but Mi Xingyi didn’t even spare him a glance. Li Qinyue truly admired his patience.
At this point, many people had dispersed. This location was off to the side, not blocking the main road, so it hadn’t caused a traffic jam.
The live-streaming man was still filming. Li Qinyue said to Zhuo Zhi, “That guy, in the gray coat, with hair that looks like a pile of shit, remember him.”
Zhuo Zhi looked up. She knew who Li Qinyue was talking about even without the description. Miss Li was just venting her frustration.
Zhuo Zhi nodded, staring at the man coldly, “I remember him.”
The man immediately shouted, “Who are you calling names?”
Then he shouted again, “Who are you threatening?”
Li Qinyue looked at him, her eyes challenging. She wished he would rush over and attack her, so she could justifiably unleash her little bodyguard.
But the man was all bark and no bite. He grumbled into his phone, but didn’t dare to take a step closer.
Li Qinyue scoffed.
The traffic police arrived first. When the woman on the ground saw them, her eyes flickered.
Mi Xingyi spoke to the traffic police first, explaining the situation briefly. Then, to everyone’s surprise, he said, “I didn’t hit her, I’m sure of it. You can check the dashcam footage and the surveillance cameras.”
The traffic police officer nodded and squatted down to question the woman.
The live-streaming idiot muttered into his phone, “The rich kid says she’s faking it. Her leg is broken, and he says she’s faking it. He can afford a luxury car, but not medical expenses, tsk, tsk, tsk…”
Li Qinyue, with her fiery temper, couldn’t hold back any longer, even with the police present. She stepped forward and slapped at the man’s phone.
This time, she aimed accurately and used all her strength. The man’s phone fell to the ground and bounced twice.
The man immediately shouted, “What are you doing! Officer, officer, look! She broke my phone!”
The officer looked over. Li Qinyue said to the man, “If you dare to film me, be prepared to have your phone broken. It’s fine, I’m a rich kid, I can afford to pay for your phone.”
The officer said, “Everyone disperse, there’s nothing to see here.” Then he continued to question the woman on the ground.
This woman was truly strange. The police questioned her for a while, but they only managed to get some basic information like her name and address. She wouldn’t say a word about how she got there or how she was hit.
The ambulance that Mi Xingyi had called arrived, and the woman was carried into the vehicle. Mi Xingyi asked the police, “Is there anything else I need to do?”
“Aren’t you going to the hospital to oversee things, the medical expenses, and all that?” the officer said.
“I didn’t hit her,” Mi Xingyi repeated.
“Then come with me to the police station,” the officer said into his walkie-talkie.
Mi Xingyi didn’t object. He spoke to Li Qinyue, thanked her, and drove away with the police.
With no more excitement to watch, the crowd quickly dispersed.
Li Qinyue looked around for the live-streaming man, but Zhuo Zhi came over and said, “He ran away.”
“Idiot,” Li Qinyue cursed, “Wasn’t he going to make me pay for his phone?”
“Sister,” Zhuo Zhi’s brows furrowed slightly, “This matter…”
Li Qinyue interrupted her, “There’s a lot to unpack here. I’m starving after walking around for so long, let’s talk while we eat.”
“Okay,” Zhuo Zhi could only agree.
After all the commotion, neither of them felt like finding a specific restaurant. They went back to the mall and found a hotpot restaurant.
Li Qinyue ordered a lot of meat. After the broth boiled, she cooked some for Zhuo Zhi and placed it in her bowl, a rare gesture of consideration.
Zhuo Zhi took a few bites and said, “Sister, Brother Mi said he didn’t hit her.”
“Hmm,” Li Qinyue responded.
Zhuo Zhi’s chopsticks stopped completely, “But her leg is fractured, and when I went over there, I did see the car very close to her.”
“What kind of analysis do you want to hear?” Li Qinyue asked.
Zhuo Zhi’s feelings were complicated. She couldn’t help but sympathize with the weaker party. A bone fracture was no joke, but Mi Xingyi was Li Qinyue’s friend, she felt a little awkward saying anything negative.
Li Qinyue swished a piece of tripe in the hotpot, chewed slowly, and said, “Let me analyze this situation for you.”
Zhuo Zhi nodded eagerly, “Okay.”
Li Qinyue said, “If Mi Xingyi had really hit her, he would have just taken her to the hospital, paid her off, he can afford it, he’s rich. What he’s afraid of is trouble. If that woman was a professional scammer, she would just be after money, she wouldn’t have sat there silently and even called the police.”
Li Qinyue took a bite of meat, “So this isn’t as simple as it seems. Since she’s not after money, it means it’s big trouble. That’s why Mi Xingyi insisted he didn’t hit her. He’d rather go to the police station than be involved in this mess.”
“As for what happens next, it’s none of our business. If you really want to know, I can ask him.”
“Sister,” Zhuo Zhi’s brows were deeply furrowed, “Isn’t it possible that Brother Mi really did hit her, but he doesn’t want to admit it?”
“Why wouldn’t he want to admit it?”
“Bad publicity? After all, it’s not a good thing.”
“It’s just a normal traffic accident, what kind of impact could it have on him?”
“Driving violation? Points deduction? Making the news?”
Li Qinyue looked at Zhuo Zhi, who raised her hand, “Okay, points deduction is nothing.”
“You mentioning the news reminds me,” Li Qinyue said, “That guy who was filming was very suspicious.”
“Suspicious how?” Zhuo Zhi had been focusing on the injured woman and hadn’t paid much attention to him.
“He was being an idiot,” Li Qinyue pursed her lips.
Zhuo Zhi couldn’t refute this logic.
Then, Li Qinyue told Zhuo Zhi about Mi Xingyi’s background, making Zhuo Zhi’s eyes widen. She didn’t know whether to praise him or criticize him, “There are no simple people in your circle, Sister.”
“What’s so complicated about it? Scholars, farmers, artisans, merchants, we need people from all walks of life, right?”
“But officials, no matter what dynasty, are the most powerful,” Zhuo Zhi said with a knowing look.
Li Qinyue chuckled, “That sounds so outdated, we’re a socialist country.”
“Same difference,” Zhuo Zhi took a few bites, then her face clouded with worry, “Sister, if what you said is true, Brother Mi’s grandfather is a high-ranking official, his father is a high-ranking official, his brother is a high-ranking official, this kind of family background could scare any ordinary person to death, why would that woman dare to scam him?”
Li Qinyue sighed, “I wasn’t interested at first, but now you’ve made me curious too.”
Zhuo Zhi hurriedly said, “That woman is at the hospital, and Brother Mi didn’t go. Who’s going to pay for all the expenses?”
Li Qinyue laughed at her, “What? Do you want me to pay?”
“No, no, no,” Zhuo Zhi said, “We have nothing to do after dinner, why don’t we go and see? Maybe we can find out the truth, wouldn’t that be helping Brother Mi?”
“Oh,” Li Qinyue was amused, “You’re thinking of helping Brother Mi? Shouldn’t you be eager to fight for justice and rob the rich to help the poor?”
“Even a Robin Hood can’t fight the government, it’s a losing battle,” Zhuo Zhi sighed.
Li Qinyue chuckled, watching her act like a little adult.
After dinner, Li Qinyue figured she was probably too free, so she actually went to the hospital with Zhuo Zhi.
Zhuo Zhi didn’t even try to use the excuse “I don’t know where the hospital is”. This silly girl remembered the name of the hospital from the ambulance and the name of the injured woman that the police had asked about.
Rong Hua.
A common name, a unique surname, together they sounded quite nice.
When Zhuo Zhi went to the nurses’ station to inquire, the unique name made it easy to find the person.
But in the end, they couldn’t find her. Rong Hua, with her fractured leg, had run away.
Zhuo Zhi was shocked, and Li Qinyue was surprised. She immediately called Mi Xingyi and asked about the situation.
Mi Xingyi said it was fine, the police had checked the surveillance footage and the dashcam footage, and they confirmed that he hadn’t hit her. It was a classic scam.
Li Qinyue told him about the situation at the hospital and reminded him to be careful. After a brief conversation, they hung up.
They left the hospital and went home. Zhuo Zhi was silent the entire way.
Li Qinyue asked her what she was thinking, and Zhuo Zhi said she was thinking about Rong Hua.
Li Qinyue asked if she had come up with any conclusions. Zhuo Zhi, looking at her phone, said that the phone number she had given to the police was fake.
Li Qinyue said, “Stop investigating, the address is probably fake too.”
Zhuo Zhi put away her phone, her excitement about getting a new phone gone. She was also unenthusiastic about watching TV with Li Qinyue.
When it was time for bed, Li Qinyue flicked her forehead, “Stop thinking about it. If anything else happens, I’ll definitely tell you. Besides, what’s there to think about? The scam failed, her attempt to cause trouble failed, what are you thinking about? Did you fall for Mi Xingyi and are now worried sick about him?”
“No!” Zhuo Zhi immediately objected. After mumbling for a while, she finally said, “I just don’t think Rong Hua is a bad person.”
“Huh?” Li Qinyue stared at her, “What makes you think that? Your sixth sense?”
Zhuo Zhi looked at her seriously and pointed, “Her eyes.”
“What about her eyes?” Li Qinyue was confused, “Are they clear and innocent like Bambi’s?”
“There’s something wrong with her eyes,” Zhuo Zhi said, “It’s a condition caused by chronic crying.”
Li Qinyue froze, then after a long silence, asked, “You know what eyes damaged by chronic crying look like?”
“I know,” Zhuo Zhi’s eyes held visible sadness.
Li Qinyue didn’t understand, but she didn’t dare to ask further.
Whoever this person with eyes damaged by chronic crying was, it must be a sad story.
Li Qinyue couldn’t bear to see the usually cheerful girl so deeply saddened. She put her arm around Zhuo Zhi’s neck, pulled her in for a hug, and said, “Did you download all the necessary apps on your new phone?”
Zhuo Zhi leaned her head on Li Qinyue’s shoulder, “Yes.”
“Tell me what you downloaded,” Li Qinyue rubbed her back.
Zhuo Zhi listed a few apps: a map, a banking app, even a fitness app, but none of the commonly used social media apps or games.
“Little monkey,” Li Qinyue mumbled, taking Zhuo Zhi’s phone and teaching her how to be a modern person.
With something to distract her, Zhuo Zhi’s mood improved significantly.
Li Qinyue, wanting to tire her out so she would fall asleep as soon as she got into bed, played games with her for a while.
By the time they finished, it was very late.
They said goodnight to each other at the top of the stairs on the second floor. Li Qinyue turned to go upstairs, but Zhuo Zhi didn’t move.
Li Qinyue took two steps, stopped, turned around, and asked, “What are you looking at? Why aren’t you going to bed?”
Zhuo Zhi said, “There’s something I haven’t told you, Sister.”
“What is it?” Li Qinyue turned to face her.
“Please try not to swear anymore,” Zhuo Zhi said seriously, “It’s fine when I’m around, but what if I’m not there and that guy hits you? No matter what happens later, you’ll be the one who suffers at that moment.”
Li Qinyue froze, then burst out laughing. Just as she was about to speak, Zhuo Zhi suddenly took a step forward and kissed her on the lips.
Li Qinyue’s laughter died in her throat, she couldn’t believe it.
Zhuo Zhi said, “Exchange complete.” Then she turned and ran back to her room.
Leave a Reply