Chapter 108: The South Street Incident
TL: Etude
Jiang Qin realized that his soul really wasn’t suited for sitting upright in class anymore. He couldn’t get his focus back, and the drowsiness was becoming hard to resist.
“Feng Nanshu, pinch me.”
Feng Nanshu reached out and gently pinched him. “Does it hurt?”
Gao Wenhui couldn’t help but lean over. “Don’t be too gentle. Pinch hard, like how my mom does to my dad. Don’t grab too much flesh, just a little pinch at the most painful spot!”
“So, that’s how it’s done.” Feng Nanshu learned another little trick.
The next second, Jiang Qin grimaced in pain, instantly feeling more awake. “Gao Wenhui, can you not teach her everything? Feng Nanshu really learns it all!”
“Sorry.” Feng Nanshu quickly let go.
“It’s okay, keep doing it if you like. It’s quite effective.”
Gao Wenhui laughed. Watching others in love was indeed interesting. She was thoroughly invested!
Meanwhile, sitting behind them, Zhuang Chen glanced at Jian Chun and felt a stir in his heart. “Jian Chun, I’m a bit sleepy. Could you pinch me?”
“Just take a nap. I’ll keep an eye on the teacher for you,” Jian Chun softly spoke, her gaze not leaving the blackboard.
“Alright.”
Although Zhuang Chen didn’t get the physical contact he had hoped for, he felt quite satisfied. Watching over the teacher for him was a form of care, after all. Love is different for everyone; there’s no need to be concerned about how others interact.
In a daze of sleepiness, class finally ended. Jiang Qin went straight back to the dorm to catch up on some sleep.
He ended up sleeping until eight in the evening. When he woke up, it had started raining outside. The rain pattered against the window, filling the air with a damp, cold sensation.
Jiang Qin got dressed and went downstairs, planning to eat in the cafeteria, but unexpectedly received a call from Jiang Tian.
“Jiang Qin, can you drive to South Street?”
“I don’t want to go. You guys have fun.”
“It’s not about having fun. Someone’s been hit by a car. Can you come and help? Taxis can’t get into South Street, and we can’t find a ride.”
“Someone got hit?”
A minute later, Jiang Qin left the dorm, driving out of the school gate.
Meanwhile, in the deserted South Street, the rain poured down heavily, quickly forming streams on the road.
With no one coming out to eat, the street was desolate, only the neon signs of the shops reflecting bizarrely in the rain.
Jian Chun stood under a black awning, looking distressed.
She wasn’t supposed to bike through the pedestrian street, but because it looked like it was going to rain, she hurried to get back to the dorm, not expecting to knock over an old lady at an intersection.
She was panicking, but couldn’t help but resent Jiang Tian for rashly calling Jiang Qin.
Jiang Qin was known for his biting remarks. She feared what he might say upon arriving.
Moreover, the old lady refused to go to the hospital, insisting on going home. Jian Chun thought calling Jiang Qin was useless and wished he didn’t have to know.
But actually, she didn’t understand that in such a situation, Jiang Tian and the others were also panicked and wanted someone reliable. That’s why Jiang Qin came to their minds first.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go to the hospital?”
Zhuang Chen stood under the awning, while Song Qingshui and Pan Xiu were continuously checking the old lady’s wounds to make sure she was okay.
The old lady wasn’t seriously injured, just a scraped hand and a sprained foot. Nothing else seemed amiss.
Soon, a black Audi drove through the rain curtain. Jiang Qin parked the car, opened an umbrella, and walked over.
“You changed your car?” Song Qingshui’s eyes lit up.
Jiang Qin nodded and went straight to Jiang Tian. “What’s the situation? How is the person who was hit? Is it serious?”
“It’s not serious. Jian Chun hit an old lady with her bicycle,” Jiang Tian reported truthfully.
“A bicycle?”
Jiang Qin’s heart, which had been in his throat, relaxed. He thought it was a serious car accident, but it turned out to be a bicycle accident. He wished they had been clearer in their explanation, considering how slippery the roads can be in the rain.
However, since he was already there, Jiang Qin didn’t complain much. “Then let’s not delay any further. Let’s go to the hospital.”
“The problem is the old lady doesn’t want to go to the hospital. She just wants us to leave, saying she’s fine.”
Jiang Qin frowned, thinking Jian Chun was really lucky. A bicycle accident without serious consequences usually just meant a hospital check-up and some medical expenses.
But if the old lady had been less reasonable, a small incident could have turned into a big problem. He hadn’t anticipated that she would refuse to go to the hospital and instead ask them to leave. She was indeed fortunate.
“This matter can be big or small. I suggest going to the hospital. At her age, a fall could easily lead to fractures.”
Jiang Qin advised Jiang Tian, then went under the awning to look at the old lady. She was thin and slightly hunched.
From her clothing and physical condition, it was clear her life was not easy. Her clothes were worn, and her hands were so thin that only the skin remained.
Jiang Qin observed that there wasn’t any serious injury, just a scraped hand and a bleeding wound on her heel.
“Old lady, can I take you to the hospital?”
The old lady immediately waved her hand. “I don’t need to go to the hospital. You should go back. You still have school.”
“It won’t take long. I can drive you. Just two or three hours,” Jiang Qin patiently persuaded her.
“Even two or three hours is too long. My son hasn’t eaten yet.”
“?”
Hearing this, everyone around was stunned. The old lady looked like she was in her sixties or seventies, and her son should be an adult. Why did he still need his mother to worry about his meals?
But the old lady was adamant about not going to the hospital and insisted on leaving. Reluctantly, Jiang Qin had Song Qingshui and Pan Xiu help her, and the group escorted the old lady home.
Under the drizzling rain, they led the old lady to a small alley at the end of South Street, arriving at a small fruit stand.
She pushed open the worn wooden door, revealing a small space with a wheelchair inside. Sitting in the wheelchair was a middle-aged man with a vacant expression, making only whimpering sounds, apparently paralyzed.
“You can go back now. I need to cook,” the old lady urged them again.
Jiang Qin told her not to cook. He asked Jiang Tian to buy some food from nearby shops and handed an umbrella to Zhuang Chen, giving him two hundred yuan to buy a box of milk and other necessities from the supermarket.
Watching Jiang Qin efficiently instruct everyone, Jian Chun was a bit dazed.
“Old lady, is this your son?”
“Yes.”
The old lady explained that she was a merchant on South Street, operating the small fruit stand in front of them. Her son was paralyzed and needed someone to feed him daily to survive.
She said the stall was provided free by the government as part of a poverty alleviation program, and the fruit was supplied by a kind-hearted wholesaler. They managed the small stand on South Street, earning just enough to get by.
After hearing this brief story, the girls from Class 3 were moved to tears, insisting on donating money to the old lady, who only accepted a hundred yuan.
“I may be poor, but I don’t beg. Just buy some ointment to apply, and that will be enough.”
“…”
Jiang Qin watched silently, feeling that Jian Chun had really encountered a kind soul. Otherwise, she would have definitely been in big trouble.
“Jiang Qin, is there any way we can help them?”
Jiang Tian looked at Jiang Qin with tearful eyes. She didn’t really know what Jiang Qin could do, especially since the old lady refused to take money, but she still couldn’t help asking, almost making it seem like Jiang Qin could do anything.
Jiang Qin indeed had a way to help. Considering the traffic on the forum, if he posted about the old lady’s situation, the kindness and enthusiasm of the university students would likely make her fruit stand very popular.
However, this act could potentially invite envy from other merchants.
Oh, we spend thousands on advertising, and she gets free publicity just because she’s pitiful?
Jiang Qin had seen too much of human nature in his past life. Not everyone sympathizes with those in suffering.
And suffering has an interesting way of finding those who are already suffering.
Additionally, there was another issue. South Street had a fruit supermarket that was in partnership with the forum. If he really helped the old lady by advertising for her, it would be like violating a contract.
Being kind-hearted is one thing, but it shouldn’t be exercised recklessly.
After pondering for a while, Jiang Qin took out his phone and called Cao Guangyu, the second most popular user on the forum, known as the Unpretentious Young Master Cao.
Old Cao was not affiliated with the website, and his posts on the forum didn’t have a direct relationship with its commercial partnerships.
Moreover, Old Cao was popular!
Despite his posts being abstract, each one attracted criticism, which was a skill in itself.
The situation needed his intervention; otherwise, there was no good solution.
“Old Cao, where are you?”
“At an internet cafe on South Street? Perfect. Come out, walk towards the back, turn in where you see the public bathhouse sign, and find ‘Huimin Fruit Stand.’ I’ll wait for you here.”
After hearing this, Jian Chun bit her lip, not wanting this matter to become widely known. “Why are you calling Cao Guangning?”
“It’s Guangyu,” Jiang Qin corrected her with a glance. “Didn’t you go to school?”
“…”
Old Cao arrived quickly, annoyed at his interrupted game, and told Jiang Qin, “You’d better have a good reason for this!”
Jiang Qin explained the situation, and upon seeing the scene, Old Cao fell silent.
“You’re a big name on the forum with a strong influence. If you post about this, you might help her. But it could also ruin your online persona, and you might even get criticized, with people asking why a rich second generation like you doesn’t just give her money. Think about it. Helping is a favor; not helping is your right.”
“Then… I’ll try.”
Jiang Qin looked at him. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, trying doesn’t cost money,” Cao Guangyu nodded.
“Alright, Old Cao, I didn’t expect you to have such a good side, being so kind.”
Old Cao spat. “I had to leave my game unfinished because of you.”
“Then it’s decided. I’ll have them draft something for you, and you just post it on the forum.”
“Should I write it myself?”
Jiang Qin was surprised. “Are you sure?”
“Well, I am a student of Linchuan University. I do have some writing skills.”
Read latest chapters at f(r)eewebnov𝒆l Only