The man didn’t care what Xia Xia was doing and didn’t stop her from using her phone.

Xia Xia couldn’t tell if he was simply oblivious or confident in his plan, so she didn’t dare make any sudden moves.

Her phone’s notification light came on – Xie Huai had replied: [It will take the police fifteen minutes to get there.]

Xia Xia turned off her phone screen and leaned against the car door, pressing her forehead against the window.

The cold glass chilled her forehead.

If the man wanted to do something to her, fifteen minutes would be plenty of time.

Xia Xia’s mind wandered – if the man was quick enough, he’d even have time for a post-activity cigarette.

Her phone lit up again.

[But I only need ten minutes to get there.]

[If you want to live, find a way to make him drive slower.]

Xie Huai finished his milk, flattening the corners of the carton and tilting it back to squeeze the last drop into his mouth.

He wheeled out his electric bike, which squeaked loudly. This cheap bike had only cost two hundred yuan when he bought it, and it had been working intermittently since Xia Xia crashed into it. He’d been riding it all day without charging, and after riding just a few steps, it was slower than walking.

Xin Pu saw him while jogging back to the dormitory: “Brother Huai, the dorm’s about to lock up, where are you going on your bike?”

Xie Huai parked the electric bike by the road and reached out to Xin Pu: “Let me borrow your motorcycle keys.”

The car’s interior lights were off, making the back seat very dark.

Xia Xia curled up in the corner, speaking in a soft, weak voice.

“Brother, please drive slower, I’m getting carsick.”

Even though her expression wasn’t visible in the darkness, she scrunched up her facial features, trying to make her performance as convincing as possible.

The man looked at her through the mirror and spoke gently: “Bear with it a little longer, we’re almost there.”

Xia Xia gripped the seat beneath her hands, bent over clutching her chest, and pretended to retch.

The man became anxious: “Don’t throw up in the car, my grandmother will scold me if it gets dirty.”

He slowed down – they were on the commercial street behind the Teachers’ University, where there were still many pedestrians even late at night.

Xia Xia pretended to reach for the window to vomit, but the man quickly locked the windows.

Xia Xia asked with a pained expression: “Can you let me get out to throw up?”

The man said: “No.”

He pulled out a plastic bag from under the seat and gave it to her: “Use this.”

Xia Xia pretended to retch a few more times, then asked weakly: “Could you at least buy me some gum?”

The man parked by the roadside and turned his entire body around from the driver’s seat.

His pupils gleamed darkly in the dim car, staring intently at Xia Xia.

Xia Xia’s palms began to sweat under his sudden predatory gaze.

She softened her voice further: “Or just a bottle of water would be fine, I feel terrible.”

The man just stared at her like this for a while, then suddenly reclined the seat and crawled from the driver’s seat to the back seat on all fours.

Xia Xia was startled and let out a sharp scream.

The man covered her mouth, cutting off her scream mid-way, and urgently said: “No screaming.”

Xia Xia’s eyes remained fixed, not daring to blink, as she stared at him from this close distance.

The man’s other hand pressed her shoulder against the seat. Xia Xia forced herself to stay still as he pressed his forehead against her and nuzzled her frantically.

The man straightened up, his voice raspy: “You smell so good.”

Xia Xia’s entire body had gone rigid like an iron board, her back straight with tension, terrified of what he might do next.

The man released her, opened the car door, got out, and locked the car.

Xia Xia suddenly went limp, the shock from what had just happened leaving even her fingers trembling.

She took out her phone and called Xie Huai.

“Xie Huai…” her voice shook, “The car is parked opposite the supermarket on the back street of Teachers’ University. He got out to buy water.”

“Got it,” Xie Huai’s voice was low.

The phone transmitted the rumbling of an engine mixed with the sound of rushing wind.

Xia Xia’s palms were sweating, fear making her talkative: “Where are you now?”

“Almost there,” Xie Huai’s voice was calm. “Don’t be afraid.”

He hung up and pushed the motorcycle’s throttle to its limit.

Xia Xia put her phone away and wiped her sweaty palms on her clothes.

She looked back – the man was at the supermarket checkout. She squeezed half her body through the gap between the front seats to reach for the man’s bag on the passenger seat. She took out his wallet to look for any identification but found nothing.

The man returned with a bottle of mineral water and threw it to Xia Xia.

“Drink,” he stared straight ahead at the road. “And no more fuss after this.”

Seeing him about to start the car, Xia Xia quickly handed him the water to stall for time: “Brother, I can’t open it.”

She tried to establish rapport: “Where are you taking me?”

The man helped her open the cap: “I told you, to see my grandmother.”

He started the car when suddenly a motorcycle darted out from one side.

The motorcyclist wore a helmet, their face unclear, and steered from the car’s left front to its right front.

The man was forced to slow down from his initial acceleration.

The motorcycle kept pace on the right side. Just as he was about to overtake it, the motorcycle accelerated again to cut in front of him on the left, suddenly speeding up twenty meters ahead before its tail swung across in a drift, stopping sideways in the middle of the road, blocking the car’s path.

Xia Xia swayed but steadied herself.

Through the windshield, she saw the motorcyclist remove their helmet with one hand.

Xie Huai propped his right foot on the ground, tucked the helmet under his arm, and casually ran his fingers through his hair.

He was chewing gum, his expression both arrogant and nonchalant.

His gaze was steady and calm, showing no trace of panic as he stared at the man in the driver’s seat. The car drove straight at him, but he didn’t move an inch. The headlights shone on his face, and he slightly squinted his eyes against the harsh light.

Only one thought ran through Xia Xia’s mind: He’s insane.

To dare to block the road like this without any warning – Xie Huai must be crazy.

The car was going sixty kilometers per hour – forget whether the driver would deliberately hit him, even if he wanted to stop, he’d need reaction time. At this speed, if the car hit him, both Xie Huai and his motorcycle would go flying.

Xia Xia instinctively bit her lip and hit the driver’s shoulder: “What are you waiting for? Brake!”

The driver snapped out of his daze and scrambled to hit the brakes. Xia Xia lurched forward from the momentum, and when she steadied herself, she realized the car’s front bumper had stopped just two meters from Xie Huai’s legs.

Xie Huai walked over, still holding his helmet.

The man rolled down the window, and Xie Huai threw the helmet through it, hitting him square in the face.

While the man howled and covered his face, Xie Huai reached through the window and unlocked the car.

He opened the door, grabbed the man’s collar, and pulled him out of the driver’s seat, immediately landing a punch on his face.

The man fell to the ground.

Xie Huai went around to the back seat, where Xia Xia crawled out of the door.

He steadied her: “Did he hurt you?”

Xia Xia, still shaken from her ordeal, had cold hands and feet, her voice trembling: “He pressed against my chest.”

Her legs were weak and unsteady. She leaned closer to Xie Huai, smelling the fresh scent of laundry detergent on him, and her body gradually began to relax.

Xie Huai’s palm was burning hot on her arm, making her skin tingle.

Xia Xia looked at his profile – the young man’s furrowed brow and face full of anger and impatience appeared to her as the ultimate sense of security.

Xie Huai released her and went forward to grab the man, delivering two more hard punches to his face.

The man twisted his body trying to fight back but was kicked by Xie Huai.

“Well, well,” Xie Huai smiled at the corner of his mouth, though his voice was ice-cold, “Human trafficking? How many lives do you think you have?”

The man, beaten black and blue by Xie Huai, couldn’t stand up and mumbled: “I wasn’t trafficking, I just wanted to take her home.”

Xie Huai’s face darkened as he picked up a brick from the roadside: “You’re still talking?”

Xia Xia grabbed him: “Xie Huai, stop, wait for the police.”

Just then, a police car came down the road with its sirens blaring.

Hearing the sound, Xie Huai quickly threw the brick into the flower bed behind him.

The police got out of the car and looked at Xie Huai: “What’s going on here?”

Xie Huai wiped the red rust from the brick off his hands and flashed a bright smile: “Nothing, just having a chat with him.”

At the police station.

Xie Huai sat in the chair, his face dark.

Xia Xia sat beside him, while the driver and an elderly woman sat across from them.

The police officer made a cup of wolfberry chrysanthemum tea and sat down to drink it: “This is a difficult situation for us to handle. Please don’t make it hard for me – why don’t you all work it out privately?”

The elderly woman looked displeased, turning her grandson’s face: “Look at this, they beat up a perfectly fine person like this. How can we settle privately when he used such violence?”

The injuries were from Xie Huai’s punches. Meeting the elderly woman’s glare, his expression remained unchanged: “You don’t want to settle? Well, I don’t either. Do you think I was racing motorcycles in the middle of the night for fun? Who does that unless they have to?”

The police officer put down his teacup and pointed at the elderly woman: “You should know when to stop. Your grandson locked the young lady in his car. They only beat him up a bit – you should be thankful if they agree to settle privately. Are you trying to scam them or something?”

The elderly woman’s cheeks puffed up: “So he just gets away with the beating?”

The police officer then pointed at Xie Huai and Xia Xia: “Everyone in Changping District knows her grandson isn’t right in the head. He’s always talking about bringing home a wife for his grandmother to see. Last month he locked another girl in his car, and she hit him with her bag until he cried…”

“If he were a trafficker, you would’ve been gone the moment you got in the car. Would he have given you the chance to send messages for help? Would he have gotten out to buy you water?”

Xie Huai scoffed: “He’s not so innocent if he’s touching girls. Seems pretty clever to me.”

The elderly woman pointed at Xia Xia, patting her sagging chest: “If you think she was harmed, then you can touch me instead – that’ll make us even, right?”

Xie Huai: “…”

“…No thanks,” he said with visible rejection, “That would be taking advantage of me.”

The elderly woman sniffled, her eyes reddening, wisps of graying hair falling across her face.

Xia Xia had remained silent throughout.

The police officer put down his cup: “His grandmother has always wanted to find him a wife, but no one will marry him. The old lady cries at home all day, and he feels bad, so he goes out trying to find a wife to show her…”

“He wasn’t born this way. His parents were police officers who were posthumously honored as martyrs.” The officer sighed helplessly. “They took on the dirtiest and most dangerous work. When he was ten, an undercover operation was compromised, and they were tortured to death in front of him. The trauma left him in this state ever since.”

The officer looked at Xia Xia: “Trust me, this kid isn’t bad. He didn’t hurt you, he even bought you water. Last month when he brought a girl home, his grandmother took her to the police station that very night.”

As the officer spoke, the elderly woman hung her head low.

Her earlier aggressive demeanor vanished, and her frail back hunched over as tears fell steadily.

Xia Xia tugged at Xie Huai’s sleeve: “Let’s drop it.”

With the victim saying this, Xie Huai couldn’t say much more.

The police officer pointed at the young man with a mild threat: “Liang Yuan Tai, if there’s a next time, I’ll have to arrest you.”

The elderly woman wiped her tears and pushed her grandson in front of Xia Xia: “Yuan Tai, apologize.”

Liang Yuan Tai obediently apologized to Xia Xia, but his eyes darted around when he glanced at Xie Huai, clearly frightened after the beating.

The elderly woman left with Liang Yuan Tai. After all the commotion, it was already late into the night.

The school dormitory was closed, so Xie Huai decided to stay in the police station lobby until dawn.

The officer on duty, Chai Feng, didn’t chase them out and even made them tea and chatted for a while.

Chai Feng pushed a teacup towards Xia Xia: “Don’t be angry, miss. Not just our station, but even the city or provincial bureau would find this difficult to handle. Liang Yuan Tai’s parents died in the line of duty, and he has mental issues because of that incident – we have to show some consideration, both emotionally and rationally.”

Xia Xia said softly: “As long as he’s not a bad person.”

Chai Feng smiled: “His grandmother wasn’t trying to scam you at first – she’s just scared from experience. When Liang Yuan Tai frightened another girl before, they demanded 100,000 yuan in compensation and threatened to have him committed to a mental hospital if they didn’t pay. The old lady doesn’t have much money – one compensation cleaned out their savings. Another time and they’d have to sell their house.”

Xie Huai raised his eyebrows: “100,000 yuan? If you’d told me earlier, I wouldn’t have let him go. I could use that money.”

Xia Xia sat quietly beside Xie Huai, then suddenly asked: “What happened to your hand?”

There was dried blood on Xie Huai’s knuckles. He glanced at it: “My fist caught his teeth earlier.”

Xia Xia took out a wet wipe from her bag and held his hand: “Don’t move.”

She cleaned the dried blood around the wound with the wipe, then took out a bandage and placed it on Xie Huai’s hand.

The girl’s eyelashes curved upward, their tips catching fragments of light that sparkled.

Xie Huai looked down, and from this angle, he could see her upturned nose, small delicate red lips, and refined features set in her fair oval face – simple and pure.

Xie Huai asked: “What were you doing out so late?”

Xia Xia: “Handing out flyers.”

“How much can you make handing out flyers? Is it worth being out so late as a girl?” Xie Huai frowned. “You got lucky this time meeting an innocent fool, but what if you meet a really bad person next time? Is that money worth more than your life?”

“It’s about the same to me,” Xia Xia said. “When you’re like me – can’t afford food and buried in debt – you’ll understand. I’d work even later than this if I had to.”

Xie Huai laughed, and Xia Xia looked up at him: “What’s so funny?”

She felt Xie Huai wouldn’t understand – her situation, her embarrassment, none of it.

He counted money until his hands cramped every day; her hunger and poverty would be like an alien concept to him.

Xie Huai raised his hand, examining the bandage Xia Xia had put on.

“Remember this,” his lips curved as he spoke softly, “Eventually you’ll have enough to eat, eventually you’ll pay off your debts. The things troubling you now – when you look back in ten years, they’ll matter less than the sound of a fart.”

“Where there’s life, there’s hope. In this journey through life, nothing is more important than staying alive.”

Xia Xia muttered: “You’ve got an answer for everything…”

“So-” Xie Huai changed his tone, “Explain to me what you meant by ‘Is Brother Huai busy?'”

He pinched her cheek hard enough to make her eyes water with pain.

“‘If Brother Huai isn’t busy he’ll call the police for you.’ What, if I’m busy I shouldn’t bother with you?”

Xia Xia spoke with a nasal tone from the pain: “That’s not what I meant, I just didn’t want to trouble you.”

“Trouble me?” Xie Huai snorted coldly. “Next time you’re in danger, don’t waste words – just yell ‘Brother Huai, save me!'”