Chapter 42

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Recently, the temperature in Tianfu has been very high, with high humidity. Lin Jie was originally accompanying a few close friends to the swimming pool for an afternoon of fun. On the way home, however, she encountered an elderly woman lying on the ground.

Although the elderly woman was lying on the ground, no one stopped to help her up. Lin Jie was also aware that in recent years, there have been many cases of elderly people faking falls to extort money in China, which has made people hesitant to help. A character in a sketch riding a bicycle was particularly relatable, as the bicycle rider used to drive a luxury car...

It's not that the Chinese people are cold-hearted; it's just that many bad people have grown old. Their despicable actions have undermined social morality. Even if it is later proven that they were faking, there are no relevant laws to punish them. At most, they apologize and get away with it, which does nothing to deter them. Over time, this has made society even more cold-hearted, with everyone fearing for themselves.

Today, Lin Jie witnessed this cold-heartedness firsthand. But she is only 14 years old and still in the stage of life where she believes the world is beautiful and people are kind. So, she made a decision that she would regret for the rest of her life—she went forward to help the elderly woman.

As a result, everyone saw that her good deed turned into a disaster. Lin Jie was falsely accused and felt so wronged that she cried.

Just as she was panicked, regretful, wronged, and angry, Liu Menglong appeared. Lin Jie suddenly felt as if she had found a pillar of support. She was both surprised and delighted, and finally had someone to pour out her grievances to. She threw herself into Liu Menglong's arms and sobbed uncontrollably.

"Don't cry." Liu Menglong half-embraced Lin Jie, gently patting her back. Lin Jie was shaking all over, like a little girl selling matches in the cold winter. Seeing his beloved student treated so unjustly, Liu Menglong was filled with rage. His tone was dark, "Tell me everything that happened, and I'll make it right for you."

"Are you her teacher? That's perfect!" Before Lin Jie could speak, the elderly woman accused her first, "Your student knocked me down. What are you going to do about it?"

"You... You're lying!" Lin Jie was both angry and anxious, her face flushed red.

The elderly woman sneered, "If you don't pay, you won't be leaving."

"You... You have no shame!"

"Enough." Liu Menglong patted Lin Jie's shoulder and said in a deep voice, "I have a general idea of what happened. Don't say anything; I'll handle it."

"Teacher Liu..." Lin Jie's tears streamed down her face, "She... She has no shame. It was clearly her who..."

"I know." Liu Menglong stopped her, comforting her, "Don't worry, I'll make sure justice is served."

After saying that, Liu Menglong looked at the elderly woman and sneered, "Old lady, you're almost in your grave, yet you're becoming more shameless. Is it fun to bully a little girl?"

Being insulted, the elderly woman's face darkened, and she shouted, "Who's bullying the little girl? She knocked me down. If you hit someone, you can't just walk away. Let everyone here judge, is there such a thing as hitting someone and getting away with it?"

"You say she hit you? Then I have a question: how did she hit you?" Liu Menglong sneered, pointing to the red bicycle two meters away, "The bicycle is standing there. If the spot where you're lying is the scene of the accident, how could the bicycle be standing two meters away?"

This bicycle belonged to Lin Jie. During holidays, she would ride it to find Liu Menglong to play ball, and after playing, she would ride it home. Liu Menglong immediately recognized the bicycle and confirmed that the elderly woman was faking the accident.

Liu Menglong's words immediately resonated with the onlookers, who began to agree.

"I told you! The little girl has been crying, clearly wronged. This old lady is really out of line."

"Exactly, at her age, she should have some dignity. Bullying a little girl, she's really despicable."

"There are too many people faking accidents these days, especially the elderly. They're all shameless."

"What's wrong with the elderly these days? The older they get, the more shameless they become."

"It's not that the elderly are becoming bad; it's that the bad people are getting older."

The elderly woman's face turned black, and she shouted at the onlookers, "What's it got to do with you? She knocked me down. I won't get up until I get paid. If you don't, we'll go to court!"

"You..." Lin Jie was furious, "Do you have any shame left?"

"Who said I have no shame? You hit me, and now you're trying to get away with it. You have to pay today, or you won't leave!" The elderly woman was determined. When the elderly lose their dignity, it's hard for ordinary people to deal with them, but Liu Menglong was not an ordinary person.

"It's okay." Liu Menglong held back Lin Jie and whispered, "Leave it to me, I have a plan."

"Teacher Liu..." Lin Jie's eyes were filled with tears and grievances.

Liu Menglong patted her shoulder and looked down at the elderly woman, "Stop pretending. Today is our bad luck. How much do you want?"

Seeing Liu Menglong give in, Lin Jie was shocked, "Teacher Liu!"

Liu Menglong immediately gave her a look. Perhaps due to the默契 (rapport) they had developed over the past year, Lin Jie immediately shut up, a cunning look flashing in her eyes. Over the past year, Liu Menglong had given her this look three times, and each time it meant someone was about to suffer. This time, it definitely wasn't Lin Jie, so it had to be...

The elderly woman smiled triumphantly, "If you had said that earlier, it would have been easier. You should give me..."

"Let's get this straight." Liu Menglong interrupted the elderly woman, "From my clothes, you can see I'm just a laborer, and at school, I'm just a physical education teacher. I don't have much money. If you ask for too much, we'll have to go to court." Liu Menglong was still wearing the dirty clothes from the construction site. Lin Jie hadn't noticed until now that Liu Menglong was wearing a blue short-sleeved shirt, typical of a construction worker.

Surprised, Lin Jie thought, "Where did Teacher Liu go?"

The elderly woman looked at Liu Menglong's clothes, frowned, and said with a sour face, "Fine, considering your situation, give me 20,000 yuan!"

"20,000 yuan?" Liu Menglong's face turned angry, and the onlookers were furious.

"Damn! Getting hit once and asking for 20,000 yuan? I'll go get hit tomorrow and make a living out of it!"

"Damn, does this old lady have any shame left?"

"I'll hit you once, and you give me 10,000 yuan, damn it!"

Lin Jie was red with anger, "This is extortion! Fraud! You'll go to jail!"

"When did I extort? This is what I deserve," the elderly woman said confidently.

Old lady, you're unbeatable.

Liu Menglong laughed in anger, "20,000 yuan, right? Fine!" He reached into his pocket and mentally commanded the system: "Redeem 20,000 yuan."

In an instant, Liu Menglong felt two thick wads of cash.

Taking out the two wads of new bills, Liu Menglong sneered, "Here's 20,000 yuan, take it." He then threw the two wads of money three meters away, right next to the crowd. Coincidentally, a young thug was standing there. Seeing the money fall at his feet, he saw it as a stroke of luck and immediately picked it up and ran.

The elderly woman saw this and shouted, "Damn!" She immediately got up and chased after him, "That's my money, stop right there!"

Thus, a bizarre scene unfolded on the streets of Tianfu: a young thug in his twenties running in front, and a seventy-something elderly woman chasing after him. Surprisingly, the young thug, who was strong and fit, couldn't shake off the elderly woman. Instead, the distance between them grew closer. Finally, the elderly woman leaped into the air and kicked the thug in the back, sending him sprawling to the ground.

"Damn!" The thug fell to the ground, turned over, and looked at the frail elderly woman in shock, "Old lady, where are you from?"

"Where am I from? Hmph!" The elderly woman said with a smug look, "I trained in Emei Mountain back in the day."

"Damn!" The thug was stunned. Emei Mountain! That's a famous martial arts school, not just anyone can get in. He never expected this frail old lady to have trained there. Today, he had really picked the wrong fight.

The thug laughed bitterly, "Old lady, I admit defeat today."

"Admit defeat and give me the money," the elderly woman said.

"Here, take it!" The thug got up, dusted himself off, and reached into his pocket. Suddenly, his face changed, "Where's the money?"

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Thank you to '黯然↑星辰' for the 100起点币 (Qidian coins) tip, and to '我爱鑫妹妹' for the 1888起点币 (Qidian coins) tip.

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