Baogang, head of the Mushan Street Police Station, was fifty-nine years old and had been in his position as chief for nearly ten years. Before this assignment, he had spent over a decade in the city’s criminal investigation unit. Although he had never sacrificed his life, he had shed blood for the city’s safety. So, three years ago, when a new recruit, Shao Mingyin, arrived with a highly classified background, Baogang couldn’t help but take a special interest in this young man with a storied past.

Shao Mingyin did not disappoint Baogang. He quickly familiarized himself with his work and threw himself into it with such dedication that he seemed ready to work 24/7 without rest. Street patrolling wasn’t particularly dangerous but was very tedious. Anyone with ambition would see it as a stepping stone to a higher position in the municipal bureau. Initially, Baogang thought Shao Mingyin would transfer to the city bureau soon, like another recruit from Shijiazhuang. He advised Shao Mingyin not to overwork himself, but despite agreeing, Shao Mingyin continued to be the last to leave and the first to arrive. Once, he came in with a white bandage on his hand, claiming he had injured himself accidentally. Only then did Baogang manage to force him to take a week’s leave, during which Shao Mingyin was brought back by his friend from Shijiazhuang. That was the only time Baogang saw or heard about this friend.

After working at the grassroots level for over six months, the municipal bureau issued a transfer order, which Shao Mingyin refused, stating the need for young officers at the grassroots level. Baogang was delighted at first but grew concerned as this refusal persisted for three years. Meanwhile, his Shijiazhuang friend had already become a deputy captain in the city’s criminal investigation unit, while Shao Mingyin remained a regular third-level inspector.

Despite not having access to Shao Mingyin’s past three years of records, Baogang deduced from his experience that he had probably undertaken undercover tasks before being reassigned to Wenzhou for safety. Shao Mingyin never talked about his past, and Baogang only learned that his parents were deceased when he didn’t go home for Chinese New Year. Having a son of a similar age, Baogang couldn’t help but feel paternal concern for Shao Mingyin. His worries had even contributed to his thinning hair, especially as his own son was engaged while Shao Mingyin had yet to find a girlfriend.

Baogang’s wife, working at the civil affairs bureau, shared his concerns. Knowing her husband’s hair was falling out, she started arranging blind dates for Shao Mingyin. Though not a local, Shao Mingyin’s good looks meant he had no shortage of admirers. However, knowing that Baogang meant well, Shao Mingyin confessed his sexual orientation to avoid further matchmaking attempts. It took Baogang a long time to accept this, but it made him worry even more about Shao Mingyin’s chances of finding the right partner.

Baogang was set to retire next year, with his only regret being his inability to help Shao Mingyin more in work and life. Now, with Shao Mingyin in a relationship, Baogang should have been relieved. However, he doubted Liang Zhen, the young man Shao Mingyin was dating. Having witnessed Liang Zhen’s immature behavior and past entanglements, Baogang felt like he was watching a prized cabbage being ruined by a pig.

“Your name is Liang Zhen, right? Still playing rap? Be careful with your friends in that circle; don’t get into trouble again. Shao Mingyin despises anything to do with drugs,” Baogang advised sternly, “You should focus on your studies instead of playing around with rap.”

Baogang had been polite, but he intended to warn Shao Mingyin against being deceived by Liang Zhen. He believed a young, wealthy second-generation kid like Liang Zhen couldn’t be sincere.

“I won’t allow someone like him into our station’s family group. Don’t sneak him in,” Baogang eyed Liang Zhen critically, “You have a long way to go to be a family member of our Mushan Street Police Station.”

“What…what?” Liang Zhen hadn’t even known about the family group, consisting of active officers’ partners, who chatted and arranged family gatherings.

“He’s young, Chief,” Shao Mingyin defended Liang Zhen, “Don’t hold it against him. I’ll make sure to discipline him.”

Despite the awkward encounter, it was time for Shao Mingyin to leave. As they drove home, Liang Zhen apologized for his previous recklessness. Seeing that Shao Mingyin wasn’t angry, he inquired about the family group.

“Want to join?” Shao Mingyin asked without looking at him, “The chief said you’re not qualified. Besides, what identity would you use to join?”

“I… I’ll find a way. I’m your partner, aren’t I? I’m not far from being family.”

“Sure, keep trying,” Shao Mingyin didn’t discourage him. Nearing their neighborhood, he slowed the car down as they passed a rural house with a concrete yard. It was usually empty, but today it was crowded.

The crowd was divided into factions: on the left, a few local middle-aged men, and on the right, a larger group of women with children. A young boy was pointing at one of the elderly men, tears streaming down his face, repeatedly saying, “That old man slapped me.”

Shao Mingyin’s phone rang, and after a brief conversation with the station, he prepared to intervene in the escalating dispute, instructing his colleagues to send a car as backup.

Seeing Shao Mingyin get out of the car, Liang Zhen followed. By this time, it was already dark, and they couldn’t see clearly while sitting in the car. It was only when they got closer that they noticed most of the people on the other side were women, and many of them were carrying children, either holding them or leading them. They were all standing behind a boy of about seven years old—only when they got closer did they realize that the boy was holding his own cheeks, tears streaming down his face as he repeatedly said, seemingly exhausted: “That old man slapped me.”

As soon as the boy spoke, Liang Zhen recognized the northwest accent, with a nasal tone and forward pronunciation. He was about to ask what was going on when someone shouted a name from behind the crowd. As soon as the boy heard it, his crying stopped abruptly, as if someone had turned off a switch. When the person pushed through the crowd and reached the boy, he looked at him and then glanced at the other side. Instead, he bowed to the old man and apologized.

“Uncle, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, my brother Gao Yunxiao doesn’t know any better,” he pulled the boy named Gao Yunxiao, intending to leave, “Sorry to bother you—”

“Why are you apologizing!” Gao Yunxiao broke free from his brother’s hand, his crying becoming more desperate, “He really slapped me, why are you apologizing!”

“Gao Yunxiao!”

“He really hit me, Gao Yunge! Your brother got hit!” Gao Yunxiao pointed to the outsiders behind him, “They’ve all come to help me seek justice. You’re my own brother, why are you siding with the locals!”

Gao Yunge was also stunned. He had raised Gao Yunxiao since he was born. From the moment Gao Yunxiao started speaking, he never called him by his name, always ‘ge, ge’. As the eldest brother, he naturally cared for Gao Yunxiao. When he heard that his brother was causing trouble, he rushed back from the shoe factory after work, intending to calm things down and take him home. He didn’t expect Gao Yunxiao’s reaction to be so intense, failing to defuse the situation and instead letting it escalate further out of control.

Gao Yunge looked up, at a loss, at the crowd that showed no signs of dispersing. Fortunately, at this moment, someone else walked to the front, a police officer in uniform, followed by someone he recognized, Liang Zhen. Liang Zhen also saw Gao Yunge, looking different from his appearance while singing in the bar. He was dressed very casually, except for slightly longer hair, he looked just like any other young person working on the factory assembly line. Liang Zhen made a ‘what a coincidence’ gesture to Gao Yunge, pursing his lips and smiling slightly, reassuring him not to worry too much.

“What’s going on exactly?” Shao Mingyin stood between the two groups of people so that if there was any physical conflict, he could intervene promptly. A woman in her forties, holding a child, had been living in this village for over ten years. She knew a few of the street policemen, and she had met Shao Mingyin before, so she explained what had happened.

“It’s what my child told me,” the woman said, “My child said Gao Yunge’s brother was slapped by a local for no reason. We’re all migrants here, all with children, so we empathize. How could someone slap a child for no reason? If it were our own child, how much would we ache? We just want justice, we want the old man to apologize to the child.”

“I didn’t slap him,” the old man countered defiantly, leaning on an iron hoe. His voice was loud, and he lifted the hoe several centimeters off the ground as he spoke, “I’ve said it many times already. This boy was the one who tied a rope across the small road.”

The old man pointed to the back of the house, indicating the small road between two fields. “I take care of the crops in the fields. When I rode my tricycle back, I saw this boy sneaking around on both sides of the road. It didn’t seem right, so I walked over and found that he had tied a thin rope to the camphor tree on the other side, holding the other end himself. As soon as I approached, he pulled the rope, trying to trip me.”

The old man looked at Shao Mingyin and spoke in the Wenzhou dialect, “Officer, please be fair…”

“Speak Mandarin,” Shao Mingyin said, “I’m not a local either.”

The old man, who had been indignant, suddenly hesitated upon hearing that Shao Mingyin was not a local. Taking advantage of this pause, Gao Yunxiao interjected, saying he didn’t tie the rope, his tears flowing even more fiercely.

Shao Mingyin began to understand; he had encountered a complicated situation. The boy insisted that the old man slapped him for no reason, while the truth on the old man’s side was that the boy had teased him first. He might have been too angry and accidentally touched him, but certainly not to the extent of slapping him.

“And why would I slap you for no reason?” the old man’s temper flared, gripping the iron hoe tightly, “Your whole family has been renting our house since your parents were working in Wenzhou. If I wanted to hit you, would I wait until today?”

Shao Mingyin’s forehead twitched. He caught the ambiguity in the old man’s words. He knew the old man meant he wouldn’t hit someone without reason, but the child was quick-witted and seized upon the ambiguity.

“Everyone heard it!” Gao Yunxiao sobbed, his voice full of emotion, “You just look down on outsiders, that’s why you hit me!”

That “You just look down on outsiders” was like a timed bomb about to explode, touching the nerves of all the outsiders present. Gao Yunxiao took two steps forward and stood in front of the old man, his tone unusually fierce for his age, “You’re just a demon! A pervert!”

“What did you say, you little brat!” The old man couldn’t hold back any longer. He was furious. When people get angry, their actions are often impulsive and thoughtless. Just like now, he raised the iron hoe he had been holding tightly and was about to strike Gao Yunxiao with lightning speed.

Things happened too quickly; nobody had time to react. The iron hoe was about to come down. Shao Mingyin was close; he instinctively rushed forward a few steps. Unable to snatch the hoe away in time, he instinctively used his body to shield Gao Yunxiao, embracing the boy and closing his eyes. There was a muffled sound of impact from his back.

But after that muffled sound, Shao Mingyin didn’t feel any pain at all. It seemed like something had blocked the blow for him.

Shao Mingyin abruptly opened his eyes. When he turned his head, he saw someone else, using their own flesh and blood to shield him, gritting their teeth with a sound of pain. It was Liang Zhen.

Liang Zhen was actually in so much pain that he could barely stand up straight, his brows furrowed, but instead of complaining about the pain, his first words were asking Shao Mingyin, “Are you okay?”