Chapter 26

Ge Ming said so, but no one dared to act.

In the end, he had to curse while handling it himself, attempting to toss the victim, bound up like a long zongzi (sticky rice dumpling), into the well.

“Stop!”

A thunderous shout echoed, and a group of about ten people, panting, appeared on the usually deserted open ground.

Before Ge Ming could understand what was happening, he was pinned to the ground, his cheek scraping against the dirt. Dust nearly blinded him.

“Who dares, you little…”

Before he could finish cursing, he noticed the uniform.

The police.

Ge Ming, no matter how malicious, was just a middle schooler, and a novice delinquent at that. The sight immediately silenced his arrogance.

While Ge Ming kept quiet, the other accomplices quickly scrambled to seek leniency.

“Officer, I’m not the main culprit! Ge Ming made me do it!”

“I’m innocent!”

“He dragged me into this—I didn’t know he meant to hurt anyone!”

Moments ago, they were brothers in crime; now, they were all betraying each other.

Ge Ming, gritting his teeth, became furious as he listened to them sell him out one after another.

“You sons of b****es!”

The accomplices were handcuffed, tears flowing freely.

“You’re the real b****! This was all your idea!”

“You insisted on throwing him into the well!”

Feeling the cold steel of the handcuffs, a sliver of clarity returned to Ge Ming’s mind.

He recalled the scenes of his father negotiating business deals and desperately yelled to the Liu family nearby, “Don’t arrest me! My dad’s rich! My dad has money!”

If the words hadn’t already infuriated everyone, they certainly did now.

The two elderly women from the Liu family stormed over. Grandma Liu and Great-Grandma Liu each slapped him hard, and Great-Grandma Liu even bit his arm with the intent to tear flesh.

“My daughter is gone, and now you try to kill my grandson? I’ll kill you and die with you!”

The old women, with their gray hair and trembling rage, thought about how close their grandson had come to death. The mere idea filled them with a murderous fury.

The police hurried to pull the biting grandmother away. Ge Ming had never been bitten before and howled in pain.

Still, he continued shouting obscenities, “I’ll have my dad kill you all!”

His words sent a chill through the crowd.

Could this truly be a middle schooler?

No remorse for harming a classmate, no guilt after being caught—was this even a human, or just a monster in disguise?

Grandpa Liu, fists clenched, resisted the urge to beat him to death.

“Officer, it’s clear this was attempted murder.”

Liu’s teacher-son, after checking on the unharmed but frightened child, agreed. “He’s a murderer!”

He dared not imagine what would have happened if he hadn’t been warned, if he hadn’t called for help.

“We demand he be detained and prosecuted!”

The police frowned at the terrified Ge Ming.

“Though he’s a minor, intent to harm can’t be ignored. Rest assured, justice will be served.”

Realizing the severity of his crime, Ge Ming blurted out incoherently, “My dad is Ge Changjun! He has money! We can settle this—name your price!”

Great-Grandpa Liu spat. “Take your filthy money to hell!”

With a wave, the officers escorted all involved away.

The team leader stayed back, asking Grandpa Liu quietly, “Are you sure about this?”

The Liu patriarch was a former comrade of the officer’s father.

“I’ve been here multiple times,” Grandpa Liu muttered, looking at the dark, narrow well. “I gave him a chance, but he still tried to throw my grandson in.”

“Did you see him hesitate even for a second?”

That was a demon.

The captain remained silent for a long time before finally sighing.

—-

The incident with Ge Ming caused a stir.

In Taoyuan City, such a malicious event had never happened before.

The Liu family was adamant about not settling the matter privately; they insisted Ge Ming must spend several years in a juvenile detention center.

When Ge Changjun heard the news, he nearly fainted.

Huang Guihua screamed and passed out on the spot.

The Ge family was thrown into chaos.

Word spread quickly, and soon Ge Ming’s notorious reputation reached both the middle school and elementary school students.

Jian Feng heard the story from his coworkers and thought it was a joke. After confirming it was true and realizing the boy in question was his nephew, Ge Ming, he immediately wanted to call Ge Changjun to ask what happened, but Wang Mengmei stopped him.

“Why bother calling? Don’t you dare!”

Jian Feng tried to reason, “It’s serious. We should check on him and see how things are going.”

Although he had been upset about the loan incident, this was his brother—and more importantly, it concerned a child.

Wang Mengmei held him back firmly. “No calling!”

Jian Feng: “Xiao Mei, you—”

Wang Mengmei: “Didn’t you hear what Ge Ming did?”

Jian Feng fell silent.

Wang Mengmei: “It’s not that I’m being snobbish. If your brother lost all his money, I’d stand by you and visit him to show support. But this? This is attempted murder!”

The mere thought made her spine tingle with fear. “Ge Ming is just a kid, only twelve or thirteen, and he’s already done something so horrifying. Unbelievable.”

Ge Ming had always been mischievous, and even though the two families didn’t interact much, every New Year, he would find a way to make Jian Li miserable. He once pushed her, leaving a scar.

But Wang Mengmei had never imagined that Ge Ming would go so far as to attempt murder.

His target was another minor—a classmate—all because the boy’s father, a teacher, had scolded him a few times!

Just a few words!

Wang Mengmei: “There’s no need to ask. If he’s in detention now, it’s probably for the best. A kid like that? If he doesn’t change, it’s only a matter of time before he ends up in prison.”

Fear gripped her heart. If a teacher’s words made Ge Ming hold a grudge, what if he turned his anger toward Jian Li someday?

The more she thought about it, the more terrified she became. She blocked Jian Feng from making any contact.

Left with no choice, Jian Feng waited a few days until the situation calmed down and called his sister Ge Yaqin to get an update.

Ge Yaqin was blunt on the phone.

The Liu family refused to settle, no matter how much money was offered.

“No settlement. They want him in prison.”

Ge Changjun was on the verge of a breakdown. His only son’s reputation was ruined, and if he went to juvenile detention, his future would be destroyed too.

He went to beg Liu, bringing expensive gifts and heartfelt apologies, but Liu wouldn’t even open the door.

Standing behind the iron gate, Liu looked coldly at him. “Take your things and leave. There’s no room for negotiation.”

Ge Changjun tried every tactic he could think of, but none of it worked.

Ge Ming was stuck in the detention center, growing more desperate by the day.

He shouted at his grandmother and mother during their visits, “Why am I still here? Pay them off! Get them to drop the charges!”

In his young mind, he had no concept of criminal prosecution or public law.

He had violated criminal law—nothing could save him now.

Huang Guihua could do nothing but cry, though even her husband blamed her for spoiling Ge Ming too much.

Feeling wronged and helpless, she bore the blame in silence.

When all else failed, Ge Changjun considered using illegal means to “persuade” the Liu family.

Before he could act, Liu’s father—an elderly man with military honors—stood outside the city hall with a protest sign.

Ge Changjun lost his nerve.

It was clear the Liu family was determined to see justice done, even if it meant Ge Ming’s incarceration.

Reporters picked up the story, and headlines soon screamed about the incident:

“Rich Kid Bullies Classmate, Attempts to Dump Victim in Well”
“Father of Rich Delinquent Linked to Organized Crime, Tries to Threaten Victim’s Family”

Ge Changjun froze, unable to make a move.

But the Liu family wasn’t finished.

Liu’s grandparents were retired university professors, respected by generations of students.

Within weeks, Ge Changjun’s construction site faced repeated inspections and shutdowns…

But that’s another story.

Jian Li read the newspaper reports with satisfaction.

Her rebirth had changed at least one person’s fate.

Yes, it was worth it.

Unbeknownst to her, it wasn’t just one fate that had been altered.

A few years later, during the Hua Luogeng Cup, Taoyuan City would produce a gold medalist. If Jian Li had paid attention in her previous life, she would have known that this name never appeared in the competition’s history before.

But it didn’t matter now.

Jian Li looked out at the bright, cold sunshine.

Her heart, for once, felt warm.

“Come on, Xia Liu. I’ll treat you to milk tea.”