Chapter Five
In truth, everything happened in the blink of an eye. The blond young man—clearly still dedicated to his job even in moments like this—snapped out of his brief daze. Seeing the man’s retreating figure, he suddenly leaned over the edge and shouted at the top of his lungs,
“Coach Luo!!! Please, you’ve gotta help!!!”
“….”
Luo Jingyao narrowed her eyes slightly. She didn’t move.
“Coach Luo, saving a life is better than building seven levels of a pagoda—be a good person and you’ll have eight sons in one pregnancy!” the young man blurted out in sheer panic as time slipped away, his words descending into complete chaos.
“Let’s not go that far,” Luo Jingyao muttered, unimpressed.
But she didn’t hesitate any longer.
In a flash, she shot forward at top speed.
The fleeing man had already dashed out of the residential complex. Just as he thought he could finally catch his breath, he heard hurried footsteps closing in behind him.
He risked a glance over his shoulder—and instantly saw a figure rapidly gaining on him.
He didn’t even have time to see who it was.
Cold sweat broke out all over his back. Without thinking, he bolted straight onto the main road, dodging oncoming cars and scrambling over the roadside divider with both hands and feet.
After quickly orienting himself, he darted into the small wooded area of a plaza ahead.
He kept running—but this time, when he turned back again…
There was no one behind him.
He couldn’t believe it. He looked back several times, slowing down cautiously before finally stopping completely and turning around to check carefully.
The path he came from—empty. No one.
Only then did he finally exhale heavily, bending forward as he tried to steady his violently heaving chest.
“Damn it… what rotten luck today…” he muttered under his breath.
Then he turned back around.
The moment he saw what was in front of him, his right foot, just lifted to step forward, froze mid-air.
He instinctively stepped back instead.
Luo Jingyao had no idea when she got there. She was already standing right in front of him, leaning casually against a tree with her arms crossed.
Seeing his guarded expression, she spoke first in a surprisingly friendly tone.
“You looking for me?”
Run or not run?
The man’s eyes darted around wildly. His lungs burned from exhaustion, his breath ragged. And seeing that she was alone… he made his decision.
“Are you a cop?” he asked hoarsely.
“Not really,” she answered honestly, shaking her head.
“Then why are you chasing me?!” he snapped, voice suddenly rising several octaves.
“Because the police told me to,” she replied calmly.
To him, however, that calmness looked like mockery.
Like a cornered beast, the man suddenly roared and lunged forward, throwing a punch.
“Fuck you—you think I’m stupid?!”
Bang!
A dull impact echoed through the woods.
Luo Jingyao didn’t dodge. She raised her left arm and took the full force of the punch head-on.
A faint sting spread through her forearm.
She smiled slightly.
Then, without hesitation, she followed through with a sharp side kick.
The man reacted quickly, stumbling just enough to avoid it, then immediately charged again.
The two exchanged several moves in quick succession.
Then, the man tried something dirty—he suddenly grabbed her backpack straps, trying to drag her off balance.
But Luo Jingyao didn’t panic at all. She shrugged her shoulder free, slipping out of the straps, grabbed one side of the bag, and turned her other hand into a blade, striking straight toward his neck.
The man flinched and let go immediately, the sting of her fingertips scraping past his skin sending a chill down his spine.
Before he could even catch his breath—
A sharp pain exploded in his upper arm.
Then his entire body flew sideways.
He crashed hard into the bushes beside the path.
“AAAAAAAH!!!”
A miserable scream startled a flock of birds into the sky.
Luo Jingyao quickly pulled her bag back, glancing at it guiltily. She weighed it in her hands with a faint grimace.
Right… she’d gotten a little carried away. She’d forgotten what was inside.
Not long after, Lin Jiafan arrived with his team.
The scene that met them was almost absurd.
Low, broken groans came from the bushes. Only a pair of legs stuck out awkwardly from the greenery.
And beside it, Luo Jingyao stood innocently, hugging her backpack and repeatedly bowing with an apologetic expression toward the bush.
“What happened?” the blond young man rushed over, crouching down to take a look—then burst out laughing.
“Coach Luo… you’ve got skills!”
He even kicked the man’s leg twice.
“What, can’t get up anymore? Weren’t you running pretty fast earlier? Why are you playing dead now?”
“Um…” Luo Jingyao tried to explain.
But Lin Jiafan had already stepped forward, bending down to check the man’s condition.
After a couple of seconds of silence, his gaze shifted toward her with quiet suspicion.
“He tried to snatch my bag,” Luo Jingyao said quickly. “We struggled a bit and I accidentally hit him with it… it’s just that there were heavy things inside, so…”
Heavy things?
Lin Jiafan’s attention landed on the backpack in her arms.
It was noticeably larger than an ordinary women’s backpack, bulging slightly.
“I swear, is he badly injured?” the blond young man leaned closer, still amused, then suddenly asked out of curiosity, “Coach Luo, what exactly is in there? A weapon? Can I see?”
Luo Jingyao blinked, then handed it over without hesitation.
He caught it absentmindedly—
and nearly dropped it.
The weight surprised him so much his jaw nearly fell open. He hurriedly crouched down, unzipping the bag.
Inside were two oversized dumbbells—each one capable of being fitted with extra plates.
Lin Jiafan looked over as well.
Before anyone could react, he raised an eyebrow slightly.
“So Coach Luo carries exercise equipment around every day?”
“Uh…” Luo Jingyao scratched the back of her head awkwardly. “I originally planned to use it for training. Your police gym equipment isn’t very suitable for them, so I just brought my own set from home.”
“These dumbbells can be adjusted into barbells, kettlebells, even push-up supports. They’re pretty practical.”
“…”
The blond young man stared at the weights, then swallowed hard.
“Wait… you’re telling me you chased someone down carrying forty pounds of iron—and caught him?!”
That made him feel extremely useless.
And worse—just thinking those things were originally meant for their training made him break out in a cold sweat.
Luo Jingyao rubbed the back of her neck, a little embarrassed.
Luckily, more people arrived soon after, and the scene finally calmed down. After a long stretch of chaos, the injured man was eventually loaded into an ambulance, unable even to groan properly.
Luo Jingyao followed them out of the woods, watching the ambulance—carrying both the suspect and officers—speed away.
“Coach Luo really saved the day today,” the blond young man muttered nonstop. “Otherwise that guy would’ve gotten away for sure!”
Then he suddenly asked, “Oh right, why were you even here?”
Before she could answer, Lin Jiafan’s voice came from beside them.
“Pang Guang, go drive the car over.”
Pfft.
Even though it wasn’t her first time hearing the name, Luo Jingyao still couldn’t help but twitch her lips, barely holding back a laugh.
Her expression twisted slightly as she tried to suppress it.
The blond young man—Pang Guang—waved his arms indignantly.
“Hey! Joke all you want, but don’t say my full name out here! Chief, you’ve got no integrity!”
Despite complaining, he still turned and headed off toward the crosswalk, clearly very efficient in action.
Once the noisy one left, Lin Jiafan turned slightly toward Luo Jingyao, his tone gentler.
“Coach Luo, where are you heading later? If you don’t mind, I can give you a ride.”
She was about to refuse—
but then, recalling what she had seen the previous night when she opened her fridge… that severed finger…
She swallowed her refusal.
“Then… thank you, Captain Lin.”
“You’re welcome,” Lin Jiafan said lightly, looking away.
From her angle, she could only see his tall posture, sharp profile, and the faint reflection on his glasses.
The awkward silence didn’t last long. Soon, Pang Guang pulled the car up in front of them.
Luo Jingyao instinctively sat in the back seat. Lin Jiafan took the passenger seat as before. The only surprise was that there were only the three of them.
It seemed the main investigation at the scene wasn’t finished yet, and these two had left early for some reason.
As the car started moving, the atmosphere inside turned strangely quiet.
No one spoke. Only the faint static of the radio filled the silence.
Luo Jingyao idly picked at the strap of her bag, debating whether she should break the awkwardness.
Before she could decide, Pang Guang suddenly answered a phone call through his Bluetooth headset.
“Hello?”
“…What?! The results are out already?!”
His polite tone from moments ago vanished instantly, replaced by shock and excitement.
Through the rearview mirror, Luo Jingyao saw his face flush red with excitement.
After a few more words, he hung up and shifted in his seat.
“Boss! We’ve got big news—I just made a huge contribution today!”
He grinned widely.
“Come on, guess what the good news is?”
—
