Chapter 16: Unexpected Praise

Li Rui and the other “underlings” heard the officer’s words and immediately felt a surge of pride.

“These kids did great today—not only did they save someone, but they helped us catch two fugitives we’ve been after for ages…”

To Li Rui and the others, those few simple words carried enormous weight.

After all, their teachers always saw them as bad kids, little punks.

Now, being praised by a police officer made them feel like they’d finally brought honor to their families.

Li Rui looked up at Xu Chen, silently grateful he’d come along with “sister-in-law.”

He was also glad they’d followed Xu Chen’s plan—and even more so that Xu Chen had stopped them from going too far with those two men.

Otherwise, tonight’s good deed might have turned into a disaster.

Xu Chen, hearing the officer’s words, was surprised—those two middle-aged men were fugitives?

The incident Xie Bingran had gotten tangled up in was indeed dangerous and complex.

Xu Chen glanced at Xie Bingran; she kept her hands in her pockets, her expression dark and unreadable.

Homeroom teacher Zhang Liqun stood nearby, looking at Xu Chen with a puzzled expression.

He couldn’t fathom why the police were praising Xu Chen.

He’d been supervising evening self-study, noticed Xu Chen was missing, and assumed he’d skipped class.

Then he’d received a call and rushed to the police station.

He expected trouble from Xu Chen, never imagined he’d be the hero.

No matter what, Zhang Liqun felt distinctly displeased.

Xu Chen was a top student with a shot at a good school, yet now he’d been hanging out with street thugs—risking his academic future.

Alongside Zhang Liqun were the school’s Discipline Director and Class 3 homeroom teacher, Huang Aiying.

Huang Aiying was a woman in her forties.

Both Xie Bingran and Li Rui were her students.

Those two often caused trouble; that morning they’d already been publicly criticized, enraging Huang Aiying.

Now tonight they’d stirred up an even bigger fiasco.

She shot Xie Bingran a sour look.

To this middle-aged teacher, Xie Bingran was a textbook troublemaker.

A girl who spent her days with a bunch of hooligans.

Fighting, skipping class, breaking rules—she’d been reprimanded several times schoolwide.

As her homeroom teacher, Huang Aiying had been dragged down too, losing out on top class and teacher awards.

Her face darkened; she said nothing and offered no concern, waiting silently beside the officers.

The chubby Discipline Director, however, took the initiative to ask about the students’ safety, especially whether Xie Bingran was hurt.

…

A young female officer took Xie Bingran aside, with Huang Aiying following.

“Is Bing Ge okay?” Li Rui asked.

“She should be fine—she’s the victim.

Her resistance was entirely…

Within the bounds of self-defense,” Xu Chen explained.

Hearing that, Li Rui finally relaxed.

Before today, Li Rui and Xu Chen had no contact and didn’t even know each other.

But after today’s events, Li Rui felt an unexpected admiration for “Brother Chen.”

In the face of danger, Xu Chen had acted like an adult—leading them to rescue Bing Ge and covering every detail.

No one was hurt.

Without Xu Chen, Bing Ge might have really been in danger.

And they themselves might have gone overboard, causing unforeseen consequences.

They’d be under arrest instead of helping with the investigation…

A chubby male officer led Xu Chen, Li Rui, and the others into a room, with the Discipline Director and Zhang Liqun following.

The police conducted a detailed inquiry about tonight’s events.

Xu Chen, Li Rui, and the others told the whole story truthfully.

They explained how Xie Bingran went out alone, how Xu Chen feared for her safety and led them to rescue her, subduing the criminals under his direction.

The Discipline Director and Zhang Liqun sat by, growing more astonished—especially at Xu Chen’s part.

They realized that without Xu Chen, a major incident could have occurred.

Had there been serious injuries or fatalities—students or criminals—the school would face enormous pressure.

Its reputation and credibility would suffer massive damage.

The Discipline Director couldn’t help nudging Zhang Liqun, whispering,

“Good thing your student helped us. If there’d been casualties, First High School would look terrible…”

Zhang Liqun adjusted his wide brown glasses, straightened his back, and whispered back,

“Our Class 5 students are outstanding in every way!”

…

Once the statements were done, Xu Chen, Li Rui, and the others could go home.

Xie Bingran was still in another room for questioning. Xu Chen glanced at the closed door.

“Can I wait here for Xie Bingran?”

“Sure, you can wait in the lobby.”

Naturally, Li Rui and the others didn’t want to leave Bing Ge alone and joined Xu Chen in the lobby.

The Discipline Director and Zhang Liqun also sat together.

After a while, Class 3 teacher Huang Aiying emerged alone.

The Discipline Director stood up. “How is it, Teacher Huang?”

Huang Aiying sat beside the two teachers and lowered her voice,

“It’s fine. Xie Bingran just assisted with the investigation and didn’t do anything wrong. But she’ll probably have to come back in a couple of days.”

She looked at Zhang Liqun and said,

“Thanks to your student Xu Chen…”

At her words, Zhang Liqun adjusted his brown glasses again, a hint of pride on his face.

It seemed Huang Aiying had learned the same details from Bingran’s questioning.

Huang Aiying glanced around, then lowered her voice further,

“They also found out about the two criminals. They’re connected to Bingran’s father…”

Xu Chen and Li Rui exchanged glances and strained to listen.

Huang Aiying’s voice was low, but they caught the gist.

Xu Chen pieced the situation together.

Xie Bingran’s biological father had been imprisoned for several years for crimes.

He was released about three months ago but never returned home—his whereabouts unknown.

The two middle-aged men who attacked Xie Bingran tonight were small-time associates of her father from years ago—his underlings whom she already knew.

They tracked down Xie Bingran, claimed to have news of her father, and lured her out alone.

That evening, Bingran went to the meeting.

She thought they might reveal her father’s whereabouts or let her see him—but it was a trap.

These two harbored grudges against her father and had unsettled debts. They’d been searching for him everywhere.

Their plan was to abduct Xie Bingran, take threatening photos, and then force her father out…