The terminus of Route 9 sat just in front of the Nanting Village Committee. The evening sun hung low, suspended above the peaks of Mount Suyun, casting a warm golden glow.

In the mornings, buses heading into the city were packed to the brim. In the afternoons, it was the outbound direction that filled up.

Xiao Liang was heading back into the city—against the flow of the rush. The bus was nearly empty, and he sat alone in the rear, briefly locking eyes with the conductor.

When the bus stopped in town, Lin Xi boarded with her schoolbag. She spotted Xiao Liang in the back, her small face stiffening for a moment. After a brief hesitation, she looked away and took a seat by the window near the conductor.

The bus doors had just closed and the engine started when someone began pounding loudly on the door from outside.

Bang. Bang.

The doors opened again, and two young men scrambled aboard, immediately cursing at the driver and conductor.

“What, you got a funeral to rush to or something?!”

Xiao Liang recognized them—two local hooligans from town. One wore a gaudy plaid shirt and was thin as a stick; the other had a side-parted haircut, with traces of mousse still clinging to the tips.

The driver frowned and glanced back.

The plaid-shirt youth shot him a glare. “What, your eyes not working today? Didn’t see us waving back there? And you’ve got the nerve to look annoyed?”

The driver swallowed his anger and turned back around. The conductor snapped her ticket folder shut, not daring to speak, her gaze drifting out the window as if she’d forgotten her job entirely.

The two men leaned against the pole by the door, grumbling and swearing for a while. They cast a few probing looks toward Xiao Liang, but seeing he didn’t seem inclined to interfere, they quickly grew louder, bragging about which skating rinks in the city were lively and full of pretty girls.

Then, almost by accident, they noticed Lin Xi sitting in the front row.

Both pairs of eyes lit up.

Whistling, the plaid-shirt youth slid into the seat beside her.

The other, with the side-part, took the seat in front, turning around so his face was almost pressed against hers, his tone greasy and mocking.

“Well now… little sister, you’re from Yun She Middle School, right? How come we’ve never seen you before? Want to come hang out in the city with us?”

Lin Xi clutched her schoolbag and tried to move seats, but the youth beside her jammed his knee against the seat in front, blocking her way.

She bit her lip, trying to squeeze past.

The side-part youth reached out, grabbing her shoulder and brushing her cheek, his expression turning sour.

“What’s that supposed to mean? Looking down on us? I’m just talking to you, and you’re already trying to run?”

Startled, Lin Xi shrank back, her eyes pleading toward the conductor.

The conductor looked away again, pretending not to see.

Lin Xi bit her lip harder, fighting back tears.

Xiao Liang stood up and walked over. He grabbed the back of the seat in front of the youths, his injured hand—still marked from smashing into a wall the day before—plainly visible. His gaze locked onto them, sharp and unyielding.

“Take your hands off her,” he snapped. “There’s a police station up ahead. What are you trying to do—bully a young girl and feel proud of it? Try picking on me instead.”

“Who the hell do you think you are?” the side-part youth shot back, standing up with a curse, reaching for Xiao Liang’s collar.

Xiao Liang didn’t give him the chance.

Timing it perfectly, he drove a kick straight into the man’s hip—

Bang!

The youth was sent crashing back into his seat.

The plaid-shirt one reacted a beat too slow. By the time he tried to stand, Xiao Liang was already on him—his hand clamping around the man’s long, scrawny neck like a vise, slamming him back against the seat.

Two fingers pressed toward his eyes, cold and merciless.

“Don’t move,” Xiao Liang said, voice like steel. “I could gouge your eyes out right now and still call it self-defense. Before you go looking for trouble, maybe ask around a bit—do you even know whose daughter you’re messing with? Lin Xuetong might only serve half a year, but he’s still not someone trash like you can afford to provoke.”

Yun She Town wasn’t large.

Xiao Yujun had once been a big name here—tight with officials like Chen Shen, Fan Chunjiang, Zhou Jianqi, Du Xuebing, and Ge Jianguo, and a figure of real weight among the local thugs.

What happened yesterday might not be common knowledge among ordinary people, but Xiao Liang knew these two were street punks. Dropping Lin Xuetong’s name alone was enough to shake them.

The plaid-shirt youth’s thin neck was squeezed tight, his pale face flushing red as he struggled to breathe, completely unable to resist.

Xiao Liang’s eyes remained cold and unwavering. His grip didn’t loosen in the slightest.

A flicker of fear passed through the side-part youth’s eyes. In the end, he didn’t dare stand up again.

Only then did Xiao Liang release his grip.

“You should already have a pretty good idea who I am,” he said flatly. “I didn’t even flinch when facing Xiao Yujun—what makes you think I’d be afraid of you? Don’t assume you can run wild in Yun She forever. Someone will deal with you sooner or later.”

Ignoring the coughing wreck slumped over, Xiao Liang kicked the man’s knee inward, forcing space open. He pulled Lin Xi out and said,

“Come here. Sit with me. Don’t stay so far away from me. Next time anyone gives you trouble, just tell them your father’s name.”

The two youths said nothing.

Lin Xi picked up her bag and stepped away.

Only then did the conductor turn back, while the driver stole a glance through the mirror.

Xiao Liang’s irritation flared.

“You two just sit there and do nothing? If you don’t have the guts to stop a couple of punks, couldn’t you at least drive straight to the police station? They’re nothing—do you really think they can turn the sky upside down?”

The two youths, though stubbornly remaining on the bus, no longer dared stir up trouble. The conductor muttered under her breath but didn’t argue, and the driver quietly continued the route.

Xiao Liang returned to his seat, gazing silently at the sunset outside the window.

He knew that in the 1990s, public order was only just beginning to improve. It wasn’t entirely fair to blame the driver and conductor for their silence.

But the grievances he had carried in his past life—the injustice, the indifference he had endured—still lingered, and moments like this stirred something restless inside him.

The bus soon reached Sucheng Town.

Worried the two punks might harass Lin Xi again later, Xiao Liang got off with her.

As the bus pulled away, Lin Xi stood there with her heavy schoolbag and finally spoke.

“Will they come after you?”

“They won’t,” Xiao Liang said with a faint smile, not wanting to leave her with the impression that he thrived on confrontation. “I’ve got plenty of ways to deal with people like them. You think I’d actually fight them on the bus? If it came to that, I’d be the first to drag you straight to the police station.”

Lin Xi smiled—a brief, radiant moment like spring breaking through.

But just as quickly, her expression dimmed. After a hesitant pause, she asked softly,

“Will my parents be sentenced for many years?”

Xiao Liang didn’t know how to answer.

Lin Xuetong had stopped in time—his sentence wouldn’t be severe. If his terminal illness were confirmed, he might even receive a suspended sentence or be released on medical bail.

But would that truth bring the girl any comfort?

As for He Hong, the extent of her sentence was still uncertain. The investigation into Nanting Lake Juice Factory had only just begun—no one knew how much she had concealed or how deeply she was involved.

“It shouldn’t be too heavy,” Xiao Liang said lightly, then shifted the topic. “Why didn’t your grandma come pick you up today? Is she sick?”

“She wasn’t feeling well this morning, but it’s nothing serious,” Lin Xi nodded, then shook her head. “But she said she wouldn’t come pick me up anymore. She heard that if my mom wants a lighter sentence, we need to find a way to repay the money. She said we should start earning as much as we can now.”

“I see. As long as she’s okay,” Xiao Liang said. “You should head home and do your homework. I’ll wait for the next bus.”