Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 404 Jiang Hai's Past (Part 1)
One year ago, the Wudang Sect.

Jiang Hai's personality has become somewhat eccentric since his parents divorced and started their own families. It's unclear whether this stems from inferiority or arrogance.

Within the Wudang Sect, he was unwilling to have even the slightest interaction with any of his classmates. Despite his small stature, he carried an enormous canvas backpack that was completely disproportionate to his size, making Jiang Hai somewhat out of place within the entire sect.

However, compared to losing a complete family, the precocious Jiang Hai didn't care about the ridicule and isolation.

But sometimes, just because you don't care about something doesn't mean it won't come looking for you.

An open-air stadium with spectator stands.

Jiang Hai sat alone on the railing by the stands, calmly watching the crowd practicing martial arts in the arena, licking an ice pop in the cold winter wind.

It's cold outside and icy inside.

He felt it suited him quite well.

"Da da, da da".

A tall, burly man dressed in the same sect's attire led two men to Jiang Hai's back. He put his hand on Jiang Hai's shoulder, patted Jiang Hai's cheek, and said with a smile:
"Xiao Hai, the seniors are about to celebrate the New Year. As a junior, shouldn't you show your appreciation? Huh?"

A fat man with a face full of fat followed behind him immediately chimed in, "Give us more this time, so that our year of diligent teaching won't be in vain."

"Pfft."

Upon hearing this, a skinny boy standing next to the fat man laughed first, and then the three of them looked at each other and chuckled.

Jiang Hai glanced up at the three faces in front of him, a look of disgust flashing in his eyes, before he lowered his head again.

"Brother Zhang, weren't the spirit stones for this month already given out?"

The leader, known as Brother Zhang, frowned, slammed the popsicle in Jiang Hai's hand to the ground, and brought his menacing face close to Jiang Hai's, saying in a rough voice:
"We're leaving soon, and asking you for a little something is a favor to you. Don't be stubborn and end up regretting it!"

Jiang Hai looked at the half-melted popsicle on the ground, feeling a little numb.

"Exactly! I bet he's just asking for trouble." The fat man crossed his arms in front of his chest, making a "slap slap" sound, and said with a forced smile.

"Why are you still arguing with him?"

The skinny guy stepped forward and tried to snatch the canvas bag Jiang Hai was carrying. "Just search him directly. Oh my god, this kid isn't even giving me the bag!"

Jiang Hai reached out and grabbed the skinny man's wrist as he tried to snatch his bundle, his eyes bloodshot as he said, "You've gone too far! I've already given you spirit stones, why are you still asking me for more!"

Upon hearing this, Brother Zhang's eyebrows shot up, and a look of anger appeared on his face. Without saying a word, he snorted coldly, grabbed Jiang Hai by the back of his collar, and slammed him to the ground.

Then, he kicked Jiang Hai in the stomach where Jiang Hai was caught off guard, knocking him down. He then called over the fat man and the skinny man, and the group of them began to stomp on and kick Jiang Hai, who was lying on the ground.

After a while, Brother Zhang bent down and forcibly ripped the canvas bag off Jiang Hai's body, unzipped it, and dumped all the books and other items inside onto Jiang Hai.

He then tossed his canvas bag into a cobweb-covered corner of the stands as if throwing away trash, raising a cloud of dust with a thud.

"Kid, prepare a thousand spirit stones by the end of the month, or you'll regret it."

After saying that, the group left in high spirits. During this time, there was no sudden resistance from Jiang Hai, nor any intervention from the class monitor or teacher.

The students playing football continued to cheer enthusiastically for their brilliant teamwork, oblivious to the empty stands—not a single person was there.

It seems commonplace.

Jiang Hai lay on the ground, enduring endless kicks and insults, but he could only clench his fists and hope that time would pass faster.

After the three left, Jiang Hai, who was lying on the ground, let out a long sigh. He struggled to get up and sat against the wall, feeling even more disgusted.

He couldn't understand why there would be such a shameless person. Both of them were from single-parent families and lacked parental love, yet this person always sought a sense of existence from him.

He turned and silently looked at the ridiculously large, terribly unfashionable canvas bag tossed in the corner. It was a gift from his mother after his parents' divorce, who said she bought a large one so he could use it until college. Would things be even worse, more painful, once he grew up and entered society?

After a while, Jiang Hai, feeling utterly exhausted, got up and picked up his canvas bag from the corner. He walked back and slowly picked up the things that the others had thrown on the ground. He thought to himself that maybe he should take on some part-time work from that person on QQ to earn some money to get through this difficult time.

Well, things will get better once they graduate and leave.

It's been about half a year.

It was a little different from what I expected; I never imagined that this stranger on the internet would be so generous.

Jiang Hai had just become friends with someone when they sent him a 100 yuan red envelope, followed by a smiley face and a short message.

"Hello, classmate."

Although Jiang Hai, who hadn't received any care in a long time, was still in pain all over his body, he was touched by those two very simple words.

This utterly ordinary respect, which can hardly be described as respect, is something that Jiang Hai has been yearning for for countless days and has never encountered before—an equal exchange.

During their subsequent conversation, Jiang Hai learned that the other party's request was very simple: to go to the internet cafe specified by the other party.

As long as he successfully connects to the internet once, whether using his own ID card or borrowing someone else's, as long as he stays in the internet cafe for a full hour, the other party will pay him a service fee of 200 yuan.

Jiang Hai is precocious and has a withdrawn personality, but he is not stupid.

He knew that internet cafes prohibited people under the age of 18 from entering and using the computers; it was clearly stated on the glass door.

The person on the other end of the computer screen clearly noticed Jiang Hai's hesitation. They forwarded a Word document containing detailed explanations about how minors going to internet cafes was not a big deal for them.

It is neither illegal nor against the law.

This is eerie; it's definitely something bad. Who hasn't heard of Grandma's poisoned apple when they were a child?
Jiang Hai gave a bitter smile; he had no choice.

To pay the three bullies a 1,000 yuan New Year's red envelope, he had no choice but to carry his only canvas backpack and follow the instructions of his online friends to try his best to sneak into an internet cafe and turn on the computer.

Then wait until a full hour has passed before making a runaway.

Yes, they ran away without looking back.

After a month, Jiang Hai finally scraped together a thousand yuan. He then deleted the unknown online friend and fled, canceling his QQ account as if he were running away, fearing that the police would find him through the internet connection.

After a few days of trepidation, Jiang Hai was just waiting for the final exams to arrive so he could give the money to the other party and put an end to the matter, and then wait another six months for the other party to graduate.

The day before the final exams, a man claiming to be a policeman approached them on the roadside near the school gate.

In that instant, Jiang Hai gripped the thousand yuan in his pocket tightly, staring nervously at the police officer, fearing that he would be taken to the police station or the school's political education office.

In just over ten seconds, Jiang Hai had already mentally rehearsed his miserable future: dropping out of school because of this incident and then working in an electronics factory in the south.

However, the policeman let him go easily.

Before leaving, he also told him to study hard and make progress every day.

Logically, the stranger's advances towards him online must have had an ulterior motive, yet this policeman, despite having already apprehended him for a mistake, simply let him go easily.

Is this what a police officer looks like?
Jiang Hai, who felt that even his parents, teachers and classmates had given up on him, turned eighteen this year.

Just as he came of age, he suddenly found direction for his future.

Jiang Hai didn't want to keep running away any longer.

(End of this chapter)