Chapter 58: Don't Be Afraid, I Am Here

"Hello, this is Taihetai Law Firm..."
"Yes..."
"Right... please connect me with one of your criminal defense lawyers."
"Hello..."
"It's like this..."
"There is some surveillance footage..."
"Alright, no problem... yes... I understand."
At this moment, Wang Wanjun was standing obediently beside Li Yan, not daring to utter a single word, her eyes filled with worry as she looked at him.
This entire incident had been triggered because of her, yet she had only known Li Yan for a single day, and now he was forced to fight on her behalf.
Wang Wanjun naturally knew the gravity of the situation. Li Yan was a fresh student at Sichuan University—would this incident jeopardize his academic career?
Would he be detained?
Wang Wanjun was not a fool. Having seen so many cases on Douyin where people were detained for fighting, she knew that even if you were in the right, you couldn't escape the consequences.
Wang Wanjun truly had no idea what to do.
Li Yan, like a predestined hero arriving on a colorful auspicious cloud, had shattered the shadows surrounding her with a single punch.
Yet Wang Wanjun had no idea how things would develop from here, and her heart was in a panic.
The receptionist who had come over was also looking with a trace of apprehension at the two men groaning in pain among the garbage pile, while the two male teachers nearby were encountering such a situation for the very first time.
Li Yan, by contrast, appeared much more relaxed. As he hung up the phone, he smiled at Wang Wanjun, who looked as delicate and pitiful as a pure white flower.
He reached out his left hand, patted Wang Wanjun's frail shoulder gently, and said,
"It's fine. I can handle this. Don't worry."
Wang Wanjun did not know why, perhaps still immersed in the cascade of events that had just unfolded and unable to pull herself out.
Looking at the clean-cut face of the young man beside her and listening to his effortless words, the tension in her heart seemed to dissipate quite a bit all at once.
"Let's go. Let's wait inside the shop for a bit. There are still a few matters to take care of shortly."
With his phone in his right hand, Li Yan used his left hand to gently grasp Wang Wanjun's tender, slender wrist—she was standing there in a daze beside him—and led her back toward the tutoring center.
After all, Wang Wanjun had never experienced such an ordeal before. No matter how mature her intellect or how independent her personality, right now she found herself somewhat overwhelmed.
Feeling Li Yan's warm, large hand holding her wrist, Wang Wanjun docilely followed behind him without the slightest resistance.
The receptionist glanced at their linked hands—though he was only holding her wrist.
Yet the little stars in her eyes just kept popping out.
Why does the trope of a hero saving a damsel in distress endure through the ages?
Naturally, there is a reason for it.

Regardless of whether it was cliché or not, this was the exact scene that could strike straight at the human heart.
Li Yan led Wang Wanjun by the wrist toward the pantry inside the tutoring center.
The receptionist tactfully led the others back.
As for the bald man and the potbellied man lying on the ground, they were now tremblingly struggling to their feet.
"Call the police! Call the police! Fuck his mother! Call the police! Spit!"
Cursing and swearing while standing up with dizziness and blurred vision, he spat two or three teeth out of his mouth.
His entire left cheek was completely swollen, and even his left eye was puffed into a mere slit.
As for the bald man, he too stood up with trembling limbs, the corner of his mouth split open like a small cut, and his entire left face red and swollen.
The two of them shared a striking resemblance.
Both looked just like a pair of pig heads.
The bald man pulled out his cell phone, preparing to call the police. This definitely warranted the police! We've been beaten up!
Meanwhile, Li Yan was sitting leisurely inside the pantry, looking at a cup of milk tea placed on the table.
"Bought for me?"
"Mm..."
Wang Wanjun felt her face blushing for some reason.
It felt a bit strange...
Li Yan did not stand on ceremony, unsealed the straw directly, and began to sip.
Hm? It's even less sweet! Not bad, not bad~
"In a moment, the two of us will probably have to make a trip to the police station. Don't be afraid, I'm here."
"Mm!"
While sipping his milk tea, Li Yan recalled the instructions the lawyer surnamed Du had just given him and dialed 110.
"Hello, yes... the piano tutoring center over here."
"Yes... there is some surveillance footage."
"Right... the other party was acting hooliganish and harassing my female classmate... the other party threw the first punch and uttered foul language, and I was forced to retaliate."
"Alright..."
"Done!"
Li Yan leaned back against the chair, sipping his milk tea, his eyes fixed squarely on the incomparably pristine Wang Wanjun.
The girl seemed to have slowly recovered; her complexion was no longer quite as ashen.
Her pure and delicate face, fair and upturned delicate nose, and charming, soft lips formed a picture that even the greatest painter could never hope to capture.

Wang Wanjun lowered her head shyly.
'I am usually... not like this...'
Wang Wanjun felt she was acting very strangely. How could she feel her face growing so warm just from being looked at by Li Yan a few times?
Wang Wanjun was by no means a delicate, fragile flower; otherwise, she could never have held her ground through all these hardships for so long.
Yet facing Li Yan—facing this youth she had known for merely a day or two, facing someone who looked precisely like the hero stepping on a colorful auspicious cloud—Wang Wanjun wondered if she was about to fall for him.
Lawyer Du arrived very quickly, accompanied by his assistant.
Li Yan raised his chin to signal Wang Wanjun to move over a bit, then shifted his weight and sat right beside her, the two of them pressed close together.
'He smells rather nice...'
Wang Wanjun's gaze drifted somewhat out of focus.
"I roughly understand the situation. Since you have your requirements, Mr. Li, our firm will do our utmost to fight for your claims."
The lawyer and his assistant began bustling about, which included securing the surveillance video from the tutoring center's reception desk and patiently awaiting the arrival of the police.
Meanwhile, the disheveled "Brother Li"—or rather, the thoroughly reeking "Brother Li"—was being supported by the bald man, who kept covering his nose and mouth while fighting back occasional waves of nausea.
The two of them had already called the police and had been informed that officers were already on their way.
Though somewhat puzzled, the two did not dwell on it. They cursed viciously, waiting for the police amidst the disgusted glances and the curious onlookers who held up their phones to record videos.

The police arrived swiftly. Lawyer Du stood beside Li Yan and Wang Wanjun, while the receptionist, the person in charge of the tutoring center, and several teachers were also gathered nearby.
The beaten-up fat man and bald man were being shunned and kept at a distance by everyone else as they awaited the ambulance.
However, "Brother Li" suddenly grew defiant and barked,
"I don't need an ambulance yet! This motherfucker beat me up! I want him to pay compensation! I want him locked up in prison!"
"Keep your mouth clean! No swearing!"
A police officer holding a small notebook stood right between the two groups, stepping slightly away from the foul-smelling "Brother Li."
One of the officers retrieved the surveillance footage and made a copy of the alley fight video recorded by the public-spirited passerby.
"Alright, we basically understand the situation now. Both parties, come with us to the station."
Li Yan's group was a large and formidable procession: the head of the tutoring center, the receptionist, Li Yan, Wang Wanjun, Lawyer Du, and Lawyer Du's assistant.
On "Brother Li's" side, he and his fellow sufferer, the bald man, supported each other, radiating an odor of immense potency.