VIP Volume, Chapter 84: Thief

After buying clothes, Ye Xiaoxuan took Jiaran to buy three mobile phones as well.

They were all the same brand, but his was black, while the other two were pink—one for Jiaran to keep, and one for Little Fish.

Even the numbers were arranged in sequence, ending in seven, eight, and nine. Ye Xiaoxuan chose the middle one, and Jiaran could assign the others however she liked.

As they came out of the phone shop, Jiaran said to him, “Let’s stop here for now. There are still the most expensive things waiting for us at home, and this little bit of money probably won’t be enough, so we have to save where we can.”

Ye Xiaoxuan thought it over and immediately understood what she meant by the most expensive thing: building a house.

Never mind that he already had a girlfriend now; even if he did not, once a young man in the countryside turned eighteen, he had to set aside land and lay a foundation for a new house.

He nodded and said to Jiaran, “I’ll discuss it when I get back. I want to build a two-story house and live with you.”

Jiaran blushed and shot him a glance. “Don’t talk nonsense. You already have a girlfriend now, so live a proper life with her. Don’t be with me all day long…”

Still blushing, Jiaran lowered her head. Her heart was full of feelings she could not name—some relief, and some melancholy, as though her most cherished possession were about to be taken away, leaving her reluctant to let go.

Chen Thunder kept honking impatiently from the car. Ye Xiaoxuan let out a soft sigh and said to Jiaran, “Sis, I’m not going back tonight. Do you want to stay and keep me company?”

Jiaran shook her head. “I still have class tomorrow. I already took a day off today, and I can’t afford to delay any longer.”

When they returned to the sanatorium and climbed the stairs breathlessly, Little Fish was still asleep. Her complexion, however, was much better than when she had left the hospital.

Ye Xiaoxuan held Little Fish’s hand and said to the others, “You all go back. I can stay here alone tonight.”

Jiang Guifa knew the house could not go unattended, and there was still some farm work in the fields. Father Ye’s legs and feet were not convenient either, so someone had to take care of things at home. She did not insist on staying.

The others had even less reason to remain, so they all left together.

Little Fish slept on, unconscious the whole time. Sitting at the bedside and holding her hand, Ye Xiaoxuan looked at her tightly closed eyes. Thinking of how, only the night before, they had been wrapped around each other in tender intoxication, and yet within half a day she had already made a turn at the edge of death, he could not help but feel a lingering fear.

Only after this crisis did Ye Xiaoxuan truly understand how important Little Fish was to him.

On careful thought, fate really was a marvelous thing. Half a month ago, the two of them had been strangers; now they already belonged to each other.

Little Fish had a strong personality and would not let a point go once it was in her favor, yet her words were harsh and her heart was soft. She was just as resolute in love, willing even to die to prove her conviction.

Ye Xiaoxuan also realized that he truly loved this girl to the point of obsession. The instant he felt he might lose her, it was as though he saw the whole world collapsing.

Heaven be praised, Little Fish had at last been all right, and had returned to his side. All discord now seemed insignificant.

What did it matter whether someone was from the city or the countryside? As long as two people truly loved each other, the environment could always change. What he needed to do was become a supreme ruffian; how could a tiny Willow Marsh Village ever give him room to spread his wings? At the very least, it should be Fairy Lake City. If Little Fish could not adapt to village life, then he could move his ambitions to the city.

Little Fish’s dinner was only plain rice porridge. She still had not awakened, so she could only take something light. After Ye Xiaoxuan fed her, he also ordered a bowl for himself and wolfed it down.

When the nurse came to help Little Fish with her washup, it was not convenient for Ye Xiaoxuan to stay in the ward, so he prepared to go downstairs and buy some fruit. Twelve floors up and down—this was enough to exhaust a person to death. City people really did have sturdy builds; every one of them went up and down stairs as if nothing at all. That was all built from practice.

Just as he reached the third floor, someone came flying up from behind and slammed into him, almost sending him tumbling down the stairs.

Ye Xiaoxuan cursed furiously, “Are you trying to rush off to your death?”

To his surprise, the fellow was no pushover either. He turned around with a wrinkled big nose and snapped, “A good dog does not block the road!”

Hah! This bastard had the nerve to hit someone and still act justified? Ye Xiaoxuan rolled up his sleeves and chased after him, determined to grab the man and settle the matter once and for all.

Unexpectedly, the fellow ran faster than a rabbit. And since Ye Xiaoxuan had just come down twelve floors, his strength was already badly spent. He only managed to chase one floor before the man vanished without a trace.

Ye Xiaoxuan ran all the way down to the first floor and leaned against the glass door, panting hard. He scanned the area, but the big-nosed man was already gone.

From behind him came another burst of hurried footsteps. This time Ye Xiaoxuan learned his lesson and quickly sidestepped out of the way.

A middle-aged man in his forties came running down from upstairs, gasping like a bellows. Seeing Ye Xiaoxuan by the door, a flicker of confusion crossed his face. Then he pointed and shouted, “Thief! Catch him!”

Ye Xiaoxuan turned back in bewilderment and looked outside. Several passersby were equally baffled. But the middle-aged man rushed over, grabbed Ye Xiaoxuan by the collar, and his huge gold ring flashed so brightly it made one dizzy. Opening his mouth, he revealed a gold tooth and snarled at Ye Xiaoxuan, “Damn you, you dare steal my things?”

Ye Xiaoxuan was stunned. Looking at the gold tooth in shock, he asked, “Who are you calling a thief?”

With his left hand still gripping Ye Xiaoxuan’s collar, the man swung his right arm in a wide arc and slapped him hard across the face.

The sound rang out sharply.

Although Ye Xiaoxuan’s body was protected by the Dragon Seal armor and he did not feel pain, the sound was a real slap all the same. Humiliation flooded his face red, and he glared at the gold-toothed man. “What are you doing?”

The gold-toothed man refused to let it go and kept slapping at his mouth, shouting, “You stole my money! You stole my phone! You stole my necklace! I’ll beat you to death today!”

Ye Xiaoxuan was stunned by one slap after another, clutching his face as he tried to explain, “I’m not a thief! I never stole anything from you! I told you, the thief has already run off!”

The gold-toothed man was tired from the chase and tired from the beating, but he still clutched Ye Xiaoxuan’s collar tightly. “Cut the crap! I chased you all the way down here. You still want to deny it? Just looking at your sorry face, I can tell you’re no good!”

Although Ye Xiaoxuan had bought new clothes, he had not yet had a chance to wear them. He was still dressed as he had been in the village, in a torn shirt and ragged jeans, filthy beyond recognition. Since he had rushed Little Fish to the hospital, he had put on a pair of sneakers whose brand could no longer be identified.

He had come in a hurry and had not even combed his hair or made any effort to dress up. He looked shabby and disheveled, with unkempt hair and beard, not much different from a vagrant.

By now quite a crowd had gathered to watch the excitement, and none of them bothered to sort out right from wrong. One after another, they pointed at Ye Xiaoxuan and said, “Beat him! Beat him to death! Thieves like that are the most detestable—if they are not stealing, they are robbing!”

“If you ask me, trash like this should be caught and beaten to death on the spot! Don’t even send them to the police. You hand them over with one foot and they’re let out with the next, still harming people all the same!”

Ye Xiaoxuan was so frustrated he almost fainted from rage. Was life this unlucky? Even walking down the stairs could get him accused of a crime. All he had done was go buy some fruit—how had he suddenly turned into a thief?