Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 601 Xie Lili's Nightmare
Students at Youcheng Middle School are on holiday today because the school has been designated as a test center for the high school entrance examination.

Except for the ninth-grade students, all first and second-grade students went home to rest, leaving the school and classrooms empty and prohibiting anyone from lingering at school.

Because the examination venues for the high school entrance examination are arranged uniformly by the Municipal Education Bureau, only a few ninth-grade students from Youcheng Middle School are fortunate enough to take the exam at their own school.

The vast majority of students here are from other schools. Some are frantically reviewing their notes, some are playfully fighting with each other seemingly unconcerned, some are relaxing on their phones, and others are waiting quietly with unwavering composure…

Most of these students were accompanied by their parents, who were reluctant to leave after dropping off their children. Mothers wearing qipaos symbolizing "victory" waited outside the school gate, sometimes holding their children's hands and whispering instructions, repeatedly reminding them of various important points. Some parents who knew each other also chatted quietly, encouraging each other's children. Of course, occasionally someone would boast about their child's achievements, which usually drew envious glances.

A little further away, some fathers of test-takers huddled together, smoking and trying to relieve their anxiety.

Mothers may only care about their child's health and safety; but fathers often think more deeply and understand the importance of this exam for their child. It doesn't just affect one or two years; it might impact their child's entire future!

However, as a father, he cannot show his tension and worry in front of his child. At this moment, he can only hope that his child will get good grades while silently accompanying him.

Then, across the street, under the shade of trees, the various test-prep booths sponsored by different companies were packed with people. There were vendors offering water, popsicles, and stationery; people handing out flyers and advertisements; and even people recruiting for junior-to-senior-high school bridging programs. A huge crowd of all sorts of people thronged the school gate. Some saw these two days as a pivotal moment for their children, while others saw them as a major business opportunity. The sheer number of people and the commotion created a highly dangerous situation.

Having failed to get a response from Lin Ge, Xie Lili turned her attention to the crowded scene.

She hadn't been on fieldwork for a long time, and seeing so many people made her feel a little guilty. Thinking back to how disheveled she was when she first went on fieldwork, she smiled sheepishly, realizing how silly she had been back then.

Looking at Li Siyu next to her, Xie Lili's expression turned somewhat unpleasant. The longing and envy in the girl's eyes made her look rather unpleasant.

It was just the middle school entrance exam, something she barely felt a connection to back then. But her father was still alive then, just like she is now, helping maintain order at a school gate that day, with no time to be with her. Then, during her college entrance exam, her father passed away, and everything became a joke. From that day on, the college entrance exam became a haunting nightmare for her. Seeing similar scenes now unconsciously reminds Xie Lili of the day after her own college entrance exam.

Hehe... I had a great time playing with my classmates and went home, only to hear the news that my father had passed away more than ten days ago!

Haha... She didn't even participate in the seventh day memorial service; she was the last person to know about her father's death. That day, she even thought Zhang Yong was joking with her, but reality was so unexpected and left her feeling bitter and desperate.

The man who raised her with such care and love is just gone like that?

She didn't even get to see her father one last time; all she saw was a box of ashes, a black-and-white portrait of him, and the repeated visits of condolences from city and community leaders.

Tsk! Is that thing even useful?
From that day on, I became an orphan! Everything had lost its meaning—time, dreams, the future—all were jokes! It wasn't until I arrived at Zhanghe Police Station in a daze that I finally woke up after making one mistake after another.

Even so, Xie Lili understood that her father's influence still lingered in her mind. So she couldn't control herself from drinking heavily, hoping to forget her regrets and sorrows by getting drunk.

However, the despicable Nie Guoqiang still ordered her to come to the entrance of the examination hall and tear open the scars in her heart.

"What a dog says!"

Xie Lili gritted her teeth and cursed.

"what happened?"

Li Siyu didn't know why Xie Lili suddenly became agitated, so she quickly walked over with concern.

"It's nothing, I'm just feeling a little unwell."

Xie Lili turned her head away, unwilling to let Li Siyu see her vulnerable side.

"Is that time of the month here?"

Li Siyu guessed a possibility and cautiously whispered, "If they come too fiercely, it's not suitable to stand for long. Why don't you go sit in that shed over there and take care of things there? Leave this to me and Mimi. Don't be stubborn at times like this."

"..."

Xie Lili was speechless.

But thinking about his current state, he realized that not adjusting his mood would only be a burden, so he nodded to Li Siyu to apologize, and then silently went to the exam support booth.

"Xie Lili, something's not right?"

Lin Ge watched Xie Lili squeeze through the crowd, a worried look on his face. This woman seemed to have reverted to her old ways, which was truly unsettling.

"I'm really...useless!"

Xie Lili shook her head and found a plastic stool in the telecommunications company's exam assistance booth to sit down.

She knew she was acting terribly, and she knew she shouldn't have these extra emotions when she was doing serious work. But seeing these vibrant, youthful kids reminded her of herself back then.

How could I not have realized it at the time? I could understand my father not being able to be with me for the college entrance exam; after all, he was a busy policeman. But he didn't even call or send a text message of encouragement. How could I not have realized something was wrong? If I had just calmed down and shown more concern for my father, or even gone to the city police station to visit him, I wouldn't have been kept in the dark from beginning to end, and wouldn't have regrettably missed seeing him one last time! Even after the college entrance exam, I was only thinking about relief, about graduating and having fun with my classmates, and didn't think about celebrating with my father or showing him any concern. It wasn't until Zhang Yong came to the door that I stupidly heard the news of my father's sacrifice. Hah… no contact for more than ten days, I should have suspected something long ago, why was I just busy having fun?

Xie Lili didn't blame Zhang Yong; she knew that keeping it from her back then was for her own good. So she only blamed herself, blaming herself for not caring enough about her father.

The last time I saw my father was at the dinner table when he encouraged me to study hard, and I impatiently snapped at him, right? Even after I pointed it out, he was still smiling; he wasn't angry at all. I was so awful back then…

Covering her eyes and lowering her head, Xie Lili tried her best to hold back her tears.

"This... officer?"

The female volunteer in the exam support booth looked at Xie Lili with some concern; the policewoman's demeanor frightened her.

"Excuse me, I'm leaving now."

Xie Lili stood up, apologized to the person, and then began her patrol with a blank expression. Now was not the time for self-pity; she still needed to do her job well today and absolutely could not allow any unexpected situations to occur during the high school entrance exam.

"Why the hell can't I take it?"

A gruff voice suddenly rang out not far away, accompanied by a commotion and some chaos.

Xie Lili looked up and saw that something had happened in the outermost exam support booth. She quickly squeezed through the crowd and ran over there, her expression turning serious.

"Why can they take things that are free but I can't? Are they looking down on me? You son of a bitch, what right do you have to look down on me? What can you do to me if I take it?"

"This is for test takers! Are you a test taker? Why should you drink it for free?"

"What do I care about taking the exam? I'm taking it! Come and snatch it if you dare! If you do, I'll give it back! Burp... empty bottle!"

In the crowd, a man in his thirties or forties who looked drunk was holding a bottle of mineral water. He was taunting the volunteers in front of him when he arrogantly twisted open the bottle and then tilted his head back to drink it all down.

The man gulped down 330 milliliters of mineral water in one go. He wiped his mouth, then arrogantly threw the bottle at the female volunteer, causing a gasp from those around him.

The bottle hit the female volunteer's arm, and the young girl was immediately both angry and aggrieved. The surrounding chatter and the arrogant attitude of the man in front of her made her extremely annoyed. Seeing that he was about to come over again, she didn't hesitate to pull the cardboard box on the table back, and the dozen or so bottles of mineral water inside were all knocked to the ground with a crash.

"I won't give it to you even if I lose it!"

The female volunteer glared at the drunk man, both aggrieved and angry, and roared at him.

"You..." The man swayed slightly, seemingly quite drunk. He stared blankly at the stubborn woman, his mind blank for a moment, unsure of what to do.

However, fueled by alcohol, he still managed to understand the female volunteer's disdain and anger towards him.

He immediately became even angrier. Why couldn't he drink the free water?

What do you do if the water is spilled on the ground and then there is none left?
The man looked around and quickly spotted a female student next to the exam booth who was wearing a school uniform, carrying a small cloth bag, and holding a small bottle of mineral water.

Damn it, if I can't handle that kind of woman, how can I not handle a little girl?

Seeing the somewhat bewildered and frightened little girl meet his gaze, the fear in her eyes instantly reignited the man's arrogance. Without a word, he strode over and grabbed the little girl's chest with his large hand.

"Stop! Don't move!"

Xie Lili happened to squeeze through the crowd at that moment and immediately saw the chaos inside. Leaving aside the mineral water bottles scattered everywhere, what the hell was this bug reaching for the young girl's chest?

She didn't know that the man's target was the bottled water the little girl was holding in her arms, or rather, no one at the scene had guessed that this drunk man was so obsessed with the bottled water.

Everyone agreed that this bastard was using alcohol as an excuse to commit violence and was trying to bully a young girl.

"you wanna die!"

The earlier shout made the drunk man pause. Xie Lili roared and rushed towards him, slapping his arm and knocking away his dirty hand that was reaching for the female student.

"hiss……"

The man screamed in pain, withdrew his hand, and looked at Xie Lili, who was blocking the female student, with a mixture of confusion and anger.

Damn it, any woman dares to lay a hand on me, right?
Do you think I'm easy to bully if I don't teach you a lesson?
He just wanted to get a few bottles of water, so why did you all dare to talk to him like that? And you even dared to hit him? How dare a woman climb on top of a man? Under the influence of alcohol, the man felt more and more aggrieved and angry, and his eyes instantly turned red.

"Stinky bitch!"

He roared and slammed a fist into Xie Lili's face.

"what!"

Xie Lili instinctively stretched out her arms to block, the heavy fists making her cry out in pain, but she gritted her teeth and didn't back down. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the child behind her standing there dumbfounded, seemingly frightened and not yet reacting to run away, so Xie Lili could only stand there to protect her.

"You son of a bitch, keep being arrogant!"

Fueled by alcohol, the man swung his fists wildly, and Xie Lili was unable to defend herself several times, receiving several blows to her shoulder, forehead, and even chest.

She tried to fight back, but ultimately couldn't withstand the drunk man's relentless tearing and struggling. It was a trivial matter, not worth attacking vital organs. Xie Lili's few punches not only failed to subdue him, but seemed to have only provoked him further.

"You bitch, you dare to fight back?"

Taking two steps back and rubbing his sore cheek, the man glared fiercely at Xie Lili before looking around for his men.

Seeing the man's fierce demeanor, those around him quickly retreated. Those with children protected their kids, while those without children dared not provoke a drunkard. After all, intoxicated people don't know their own strength, and besides, weren't there police officers nearby?

Everyone saw Xie Lili's police uniform and that she had caused the drunk man to suffer, so no one thought much about whether Xie Lili herself was injured.

"Step back a bit, don't stand here, it's too dangerous!"

While the man was searching for a weapon, Xie Lili did not choose to retreat, nor did she have time to turn on the walkie-talkie to call for help. She just quickly turned around and urged the terrified girl to run away quickly, saying that it would be safer to get further away.

Then, she saw the little girl's terrified expression.

With a jolt of fear, Xie Lili quickly turned around.

A flower bed tile came flying from not far away. Luckily, it hit Xie Lili's feet and shattered. The stone hit her calf, but Xie Lili didn't have time to cry out in pain.

At that moment, the drunk man was already charging towards him with a brick in his hand.

"Drunkenness, bricks, father..."

In that instant, Xie Lili suddenly thought of many things. Back then… was her father facing a similar situation? And then… he sacrificed himself, never seeing his beloved daughter one last time…

For some reason, Xie Lili's face was filled with terror, and she didn't even have time to dodge.

"Ow~"

Suddenly, a piercing and sharp roar rang out, and the onlookers who were hiding far away felt a sharp pain in their ears.

Then they saw a gray shadow leap high into the air, stomp on the heads of the crowd, and rapidly approach the drunk man as if running through the air.

Seeing the drunken man, who was focused on his own business, glaring at Xie Lili and raising the brick in his hand, the gray shadow seemed to teleport to the top of the man's head and kicked the brick hard, sending it crashing down.

The man felt a sharp pain in his palm, and his five fingers could no longer grip the brick, causing it to slip from his hand and fall. The heavy force even made his body lean backward, and his forward-stepping foot rose high into the air.

Then his gaze shifted, and he was shocked to see a dark shadow appear before him, getting closer and closer until it loomed over his face.

"I'll kick it!"

Lingo pressed his two front paws against the man's face, forcefully pushing him down. A faint groan could be heard from his neck bones as the man fell backward with a thud, his back and the back of his head hitting the ground, his eyes bulging out in pain.

To make matters worse, his lower back hit a brick that had fallen to the ground, and the sharp pain made him open his mouth in despair, but he could only scream silently.

His hands were slightly raised in a gesture of surrender, still trembling. However, the fall was solid and the injuries were definitely not minor; the guy seemed to be unconscious and didn't make any other movements for a long time.

"Huh... so dangerous!"

Lin Ge landed steadily, staring warily at the man before letting out a long breath.

Looking back at the stunned Xie Lili, Lin Ge felt incredibly relieved. If he hadn't been worried about her and kept a close eye on the situation, he might not have noticed the commotion in the noisy environment. After all, there were at least a thousand or two people present, and the various conversations made it impossible for Lin Ge to concentrate on analyzing the sounds he heard. Moreover, the whole incident only lasted a minute or two, so a slight delay in reaction was inevitable. But he arrived in time. Heaven knows what Lin Ge felt when he saw the man hitting Xie Lili with a brick.

"She almost lost her soul! This girl almost suffered the same fate as her father!"

Lin Ge breathed a sigh of relief, but when he looked up, he saw Xie Lili had turned around to comfort the girl who was genuinely frightened. She was telling the girl not to take it to heart and not to get distracted during the exam, among other things.

Despite being a complete mess himself, this guy was still smiling and telling the little girl, "Don't be afraid, ignore him," "I'll protect you," "Nobody can affect your high school entrance exam," and other such seemingly righteous words. She didn't even care about the pitiful drunk man on the other side. After comforting the little girl, she calmly contacted the walkie-talkie to request backup. Her heroic demeanor amazed Lin Ge and the surrounding onlookers.

As they were talking, Xie Lili glanced at Lin Ge with a smile that was both radiant and embarrassed. Her eyes seemed to have let go of her sadness, which startled Lin Ge.

what's the situation?
Did this guy have an epiphany or was he scared out of his wits?

(End of this chapter)