Xie Heng was stunned. He lowered his head and stared at the little girl who barely reached his thigh, momentarily speechless.
“I’m not a police officer, kid. You’ve got the wrong person.”
The little girl gazed at him blankly, her eyes shrinking slightly, but she still clung tightly to his leg. A few teardrops fell as she whimpered in her childish voice, “S-save me…”
Xie Heng: “…”
Since when did kids exaggerate like this? Who was trying to harm her?
Before he could ask, another burst of crying came from inside the alley. Xie Heng frowned. Another child?
The little girl sobbed as she tattled, “Police Uncle, my little brother is still inside. Please help us, wuwuwu…”
Her words were unclear, and Xie Heng couldn’t fully understand, but this wasn’t the time for questions.
He picked up the little girl and strode quickly toward the cries.
Inside the alley, three thuggish-looking men surrounded a little boy, about four or five years old. The leader, a man with dyed yellow hair, slapped the boy on the head. Though he wore a smile, his tone was chilling.
“Brat, hand it over! Don’t make me beat the crap out of you!”
The boy bit his lip, clearly terrified, but he clutched something tightly in his hand and stubbornly lifted his little face. “No! You’re bad guys! We’re gonna find a police officer to arrest you! Beat you up!”
The yellow-haired man chuckled angrily and snatched the boy’s collar, lifting him up as he pried the object from his grip. “Give it here!”
How strong could a little kid be? He couldn’t resist, and his hand was forced open. A bright golden watch fell into the thug’s hand.
His face lit up with excitement, but before he could celebrate, the boy let out a loud “Ah!” and, using all his strength, bit down hard on the man’s arm.
“F***!” The thug’s face twisted in pain, rage flaring as he raised his hand, ready to smack the boy.
But Xie Heng was faster.
He swiftly put the little girl down and lunged forward, his long legs carrying him in an instant. A powerful kick struck the thug’s back, sending him flying. The moment the boy started to fall, Xie Heng caught him with precision, holding him securely in one arm.
Xie Heng was known for fighting ruthlessly, with both skill and instinct. Before the other two could react, he swiftly landed a solid punch on each of them.
“Do you even know where you are? You dare cause trouble on my turf?”
His brows were furrowed low, exuding menace.
The boy in his arms trembled.
W-who was this guy? Why did he look scarier than the three bad men?
He just kicked someone flying!
Could he be… Superman?!
The three thugs, now bruised, glared at Xie Heng. They didn’t know who he was, but he had humiliated them. Three against one—there was no way they’d let this slide.
“You wanna die, punk?!”
“You dare mess with us? We’ll break your damn legs!”
They spewed curses, some even dragging family members into their insults. Xie Heng’s expression darkened immediately.
The three charged at him, but he wasn’t afraid. He had dealt with plenty of street punks before. On a normal day, taking on three would be no challenge.
But today, he had a little burden.
The girl was still standing at the alley’s entrance, watching timidly.
And he was still holding a little boy. He had to be careful not to let the boy get hurt.
This put him at a disadvantage.
Even so, Xie Heng had the upper hand. The three didn’t gain much ground, though he took a couple of hits—one to the face, one to the stomach. While snatching back the golden watch, his hand scraped against the rough wall, breaking the skin.
Seeing that they were no match for him, the thugs—now battered and bruised—realized they had picked the wrong fight.
It was broad daylight, and merchants nearby had heard the commotion and started gathering.
Suddenly, the little girl had a bright idea. She shouted, “I called the police! They’ll be here soon to arrest you!”
The three, already dazed from the beating, panicked and believed her bluff. They immediately bolted toward the alley exit, with the yellow-haired thug limping from Xie Heng’s earlier kick.
Xie Heng exhaled, glancing at his bleeding hand before touching his face—his lip stung.
He put the boy down, his gaze cold as he asked impatiently, “Where are your parents?”
The boy stared at him, then shook his head.
“Then what were you two doing here? And where did this come from?” Xie Heng lifted the gold watch.
From his experience, it was genuine, worth at least 800,000 yuan.
The little girl hurried over, standing beside the boy as she chirped, “Police Uncle, it’s ours! The bad guys tried to steal it! Thank you for helping us!”
Xie Heng’s face still hurt, but he couldn’t help smirking, lips twitching.
Two little kids wandering around alone, carrying a gold watch? That was just asking to be robbed.
He scoffed and asked, “Do I look like a Police Uncle?”
The little girl tilted her head. “Police… Brother?”
She had been too flustered earlier. Now that she took a closer look, she realized that Xie Heng actually looked quite young, about the same age as the Brother who lived nearby their house. He wasn’t as old-looking as her father or uncles.
Xie Heng smiled again. “I’m not a police.”
The little boy, having just witnessed him fight, was completely captivated by his dashing and powerful moves. He thought this big Brother was the coolest ever!
He shouted excitedly, “I know! You’re Superman Brother!”
Saying that, he generously waved his small hand and said in his childish voice, “Superman Brother saved us! Do you like this gold watch? You can have it!”
Xie Heng was utterly speechless.
These two little brats were really bold. Just giving something like this away so casually? Even when he was a kid, he wasn’t this reckless.
Glancing at the time, his expression tensed. He quickly shoved the gold watch back into the little boy’s hands. “No time for this. Go find your parents yourselves, I’m leaving.”
With that, he turned to go.
The exam had already started, but as long as he arrived within fifteen minutes, he could still enter the exam hall. He could make it.
He had barely taken a few steps when he heard the sound of little feet pattering behind him.
“Police Brother!”
“Superman Brother!”
A vein twitched at Xie Heng’s temple. He resisted the urge to smack the kids.
He had personally saved these little brats, so he couldn’t hit them.
“What now?” he turned around impatiently.
The two kids held hands, their similar little faces pressed together as they said in unison, “We’re lost!”
Xie Heng: “…”
He sighed in exasperation.
He glanced at his watch, then at the two innocent-looking kids. If he wanted to, he could run off in an instant and disappear without a trace. But somehow, his feet felt like they were filled with lead.
Forget it…
These two had him beat.
Luckily, he remembered there was a police station near the school. Not wanting to waste time, he scooped up the two kids and sprinted to the station at top speed. Once there, he set them down and said to the female officer on duty, “I picked these two up on the street. They’re lost, I’ll leave them to you.”
Whether it was these little troublemakers or himself, one thing was clear. When in doubt, find a police officer.
Without waiting for the officer’s surprised reaction, he turned and ran off.
Fortunately, he was fast enough. Taking shortcuts and even scaling a wall, he barely made it to the exam hall entrance in the final minute.
Xie Heng’s face was slightly pale. He pressed a hand to the lower right side of his abdomen.
He had taken a hit there earlier. Probably got injured.
But he didn’t care. He had been in plenty of fights before, and injuries were inevitable. If he remembered, he’d put on some medicine. If he was lazy, he’d just ignore it. Wounds usually healed on their own in a few days.
Inside the exam hall, two proctors were already present.
When they saw Xie Heng at the door—face bruised, clothes slightly disheveled, white basketball shoes marked with several footprints—they were stunned.
This troublemaker Young Master—who had he fought with this early in the morning?
“Come in.”
The school staff all knew about Xie Heng. When it came to his fights, they simply turned a blind eye. He wasn’t someone they could control.
Expressionless, Xie Heng walked in and took the only available seat. A teacher handed him the exam paper, and he pulled out his pen to start answering.
Some of the questions were the ones Xu Jiaming had predicted. He skimmed them, and found them not too difficult.
But he was feeling worse and worse.
His right hand was injured, making it weak when gripping the pen.
That was still bearable. What was worse was the increasing pain in his lower abdomen. It felt like something was pulling inside him. Staying still was fine, but any movement made it ache sharply.
He had never felt pain there before.
Cursing those bastards in his mind, he clenched his teeth and forced himself to finish the paper.
Among the two proctors, the female teacher, Mo Qing, was the same one Lu Xi had invited to walk the runway that day.
She also taught Chinese to Xie Heng’s class.
From the moment Xie Heng walked in, she had sensed something was off.
He often got into fights, but he had never looked this unwell before.
She was worried he might be seriously hurt but couldn’t just ask him directly. After a moment of thought, she sat at the podium and sent a message to Lu Xi.
[Mrs. Xie, I’m proctoring Xie Heng’s exam today. He was late, and he has injuries on his face—probably from a fight. But he doesn’t look too good, like he might be sick.]
Lu Xi had just sat down in her office when she received the message.
Yesterday, her rebellious son had provoked her a little, making her feel she shouldn’t be too lazy and needed to be more productive.
But staying at home lacked a work atmosphere, and she kept getting distracted. So she had come to the studio for inspiration.
Holding her phone, she froze for a moment.
Xie Heng was sick?
That couldn’t be.
This morning, Xie Heng had overslept, and the butler had to call him twice. She had woken up too and, throwing on a robe, went to check. He had looked energetic, face flushed with life, running around at full speed. Before leaving, he had even boasted that he would ace the test and told her to wait and see.
At that moment, he had been full of vigor, practically bursting with energy. His complexion had been perfect.
Was it because of the fight?
Lu Xi’s expression darkened slightly.
She couldn’t help but think of that unsettling dream she had had, a feeling of unease creeping in.
Even though that incident was over, the danger eliminated, and Xie Heng had been unusually well-behaved lately—waking up early, coming home on time, staying out of trouble—she had finally started to relax.
Yet now he had fought again. And gotten hurt…
Her attitude toward Xie Heng had long changed. When she first arrived, she had only seen him as a rebellious teenager, with no real maternal bond between them.
But now… he was her little troublemaker.
Lu Xi couldn’t calm down; her mind was preoccupied with Xie Heng. After some thought, she first replied to Mo Qing’s message to express her thanks. Checking the time, she decided to pick up Xie Heng from school in an hour.
Even though she had set a reminder, she still glanced at the clock on her computer from time to time, unable to focus.
As it neared eleven o’clock, she prepared to leave.
Just then, her phone rang. It was Mo Qing calling.
Lu Xi’s eyelid twitched instinctively. A sense of unease surged through her, making her momentarily panic.
“Mrs. Xie! Xie Heng has fainted. We’re taking him to Renxin Hospital now, please notify Mr. Xie and come quickly!”
Xie Heng himself wasn’t sure what was happening.
The discomfort had been intensifying. He had pushed through, managing to finish most of his exam, but as he reached the last two major questions, his vision blurred, his head spun, and a ringing sound filled his ears.
A searing pain in his lower right abdomen felt as if a drill was boring into his insides.
He could no longer hold on. His grip loosened, and he collapsed onto the desk.
“Xie Heng, what’s wrong?!”
“Xie Heng?”
…
Voices sounded around him, sometimes near, sometimes far. The noise was overwhelming.
Someone approached and tried to support him. He wanted to push their hands away, but he had no strength left.
His consciousness wavered—hazy and fragmented—but he hadn’t fully blacked out. He could still feel himself being lifted onto someone’s back, carried into a car.
He heard someone making a phone call, urgently addressing “Mrs. Xie” and telling her to hurry to the hospital.
Xie Heng frowned deeply.
Calling her to the hospital… Would she be scared?
When he was brought to the emergency room, he managed to open his eyes slightly, catching sight of several doctors and nurses in white coats.
After a brief examination, he heard a doctor say, “The preliminary diagnosis is acute appendicitis. He needs immediate surgery.”
Xie Heng : “…”
Appendicitis?
How did he end up with that? And now surgery?
By this point, the pain was unbearable. He let them do whatever they wanted.
He felt a needle prick his skin, and soon, he lost all strength to resist. His consciousness slipped away completely.
He had no idea how much time had passed when his eyelids fluttered, struggling to open.
He was lying in a hospital bed. Outside the window, the setting sun cast a crimson glow.
A shadowy figure stood by his bedside.
Half-dazed, he tried to focus. Sure enough, it was Lu Xi.
She had her head lowered, looking weary. Her nose was a little red, her usual liveliness nowhere to be seen. She rubbed her eyes and sniffled softly. Obviously, she had been crying.
The boy frowned, a sudden tug of emotion tightening in his chest.
“…Mom,” he mumbled, his voice barely audible. His pale face looked unexpectedly vulnerable.
Even though his eyelids were still too heavy to fully open, his expression carried a stubborn edge, like a little wolf cub trying to act fierce despite his weakness.
“Who bullied you? I’ll beat them up.”