CHAPTER 34: CHAPTER 34: A 1 YUAN BOUNTY

"Class President Xue, you’re focusing on the wrong thing! Why are you obsessed with whether I might be in trouble? I just saved you! Shouldn’t you be thanking me? Then your heart would flutter, and you’d gaze at me with misty eyes, your heart already etched with my handsome and dashing figure, unable to pull yourself away until you finally fall head over heels for me in a spectacular romance, right?"

"Pfft, shameless!"

Upon hearing this, Qingxue’s small face immediately shot Xia Liang a glare.

"Who wants to date you?"

"Alright, alright! We won’t date!"

Seeing the matter was finally behind them, Xia Liang breathed a sigh of relief and turned his attention to Scarface, who had passed out beside him. Looking at the handgun by the man’s side, Xia Liang had no doubt it was a real revolver. But how could Fatty’s uncle possibly have a gun? Besides, even though Fatty’s family isn’t poor, they aren’t so well-off that they could offer one-tenth of a Yuan for a missing person notice.

"Ah!"

Just then, Qingxue slapped her forehead and cried out in surprise.

"I know! He’s an A-level fugitive wanted by Qingyun City!"

Qingxue had also felt that this person looked very familiar, as if she had seen him before, but she had been too frightened at first to think clearly. Now that she had relaxed, she realized she had seen him on the Qingyun City Defense Bureau’s official website. The reward was one Yuan, and she had even fantasized about reporting him to rid society of a menace while claiming that one Yuan for herself.

At these words, Xia Liang’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head. Damn it! I knew something was off! So that Fatty punk wanted to play the middleman and make a profit!

For a moment, Xia Liang wanted to grab Fatty and give him a good beating, but then he shook his head. Fatty probably sent the notice as a joke, never imagining I’d actually run into the guy.

Shaking his head and looking at Scarface on the ground, Xia Liang felt an urge to laugh. All I wanted was to go out and test my superpower, yet I ended up playing the hero and even picked up a Yuan.

With that thought, Xia Liang grabbed Scarface’s leg, treating it like an animal carcass, and said to Qingxue, "Let’s go, Class President Xue."

After saying that, he began to drag Scarface away, but he suddenly heard a pained cry from behind him.

Turning around, he saw Qingxue sitting on the ground, her right ankle red and swollen. It was obviously sprained.

COUGH, COUGH. Xia Liang frowned in annoyance.

"Why didn’t you mention you sprained your ankle? What if it got worse?"

"I..." Qingxue immediately looked down, not sure how to defend herself.

"Sigh... what am I supposed to do with you?" Seeing this, Xia Liang could only shake his head helplessly, prop Scarface against a tree trunk, and walk over to Qingxue.

"You can’t walk with your ankle that swollen. I’ll carry you."

"Ah?"

Upon hearing this, Qingxue’s delicate, flawless face instantly blushed like a ripe peach begging to be bitten. The sight was so appealing that even Xia Liang felt his mouth go a little dry.

Without giving Qingxue time to refuse, Xia Liang crouched in front of her.

"Come on up."

"This... This doesn’t seem appropriate..."

Clearly, Qingxue was still hesitant, and Xia Liang was growing exasperated.

"Listen, it’s getting late. Do you really want to spend the night out here in the wilderness? If we don’t hurry, my phone will die, and I won’t be able to call the police. It would be pretty dangerous if that guy on the ground woke up, don’t you think?"

"Ah! This..."

Recalling the recent events, Qingxue’s pretty face turned pale. If Xia Liang hadn’t suddenly appeared, the consequences would have been unthinkable. If something like that had happened, Qingxue was sure she would have taken her own life afterward. She had wanted to call the police herself, but when she woke up, her phone was gone. It didn’t take a genius to figure out Scarface had thrown it away.

"Then... okay... alright."

In the end, Qingxue nodded and slowly climbed onto Xia Liang’s back.

The night was calm as Xia Liang carried the perfectly-shaped Qingxue. Physical contact was unavoidable. But his cold heart had frozen over again and didn’t react much?

Qingxue, by contrast, was extremely embarrassed. She could never have imagined her first intimate contact with a man would be like this; it was mortifying. Yet, Xia Liang’s not-so-broad back gave her a profound sense of security.

He stepped in to help me before, and now he’s rescued me in the middle of the night. The masculine scent from Xia Liang made her face feel hot and her heart race in confusion. I can’t understand it. When did Xia Liang become so strong? He’s supporting me with one arm while dragging another man with his other!

Ten minutes later, they finally made it down the mountain. The man Xia Liang was dragging, Scarface, was already a mangled, bloody mess.

He first placed Qingxue in the passenger seat. Then, to avoid dirtying his car, Xia Liang stripped Scarface’s clothes and used them to line the front trunk before stuffing the man’s curled-up body inside. After closing the hood, Xia Liang got back into the car, started it, and drove toward the city center.

As they headed toward the Qingyun City Defense Bureau, they both finally began to relax. Looking at the car Xia Liang was driving, Qingxue, who didn’t know much about cars, still felt it was no ordinary vehicle. She couldn’t help but tease him.

"Wow, our pale-faced scholar is a changed man. Not only are you physically stronger, but you’ve also bought a car. It looks expensive."

To that, Xia Liang just smiled lightly.

"Not at all. It cost only a few tenths of a yuan, practically worthless."

With that, Xia Liang changed the subject. "By the way, why were you out so late in such a desolate place?"

Qingxue shook her head. "I don’t know. I just remember I was working my part-time tutoring job. I left after helping Xiao Min with her homework around eight o’clock. As I was passing through an alley, I felt dizzy, and the next thing I knew, I woke up there. What about you? Why were you there?"

It was obvious Qingxue had been drugged and abducted, and now she was curious as to why Xia Liang had been there too.

Of course, he couldn’t very well say he was testing a superpower. Xia Liang had no choice but to lie, claiming he was out shooting for a live stream and got lost on the mountain. With that, Qingxue let the subject drop.

「At the Qingyun City Defense Bureau.」

Yang Tianyi, head of the Major Crimes Investigation Team, was frantically busy coordinating the capture of the A-level fugitive, Liu Mo. Just then, his desk phone rang. It was an unknown number, but after a moment’s hesitation, he answered.

"Hello, is this Officer Yang? I’d like to ask, are you offering a reward for a person named Liu Mo?"

Yang Tianyi, who had been lost in thought, was startled. Of course, many people would have this number; the wanted notice from the Bureau had been public for quite a while now.