Chapter 50: Courage in the Face of Injustice

The next day was Thursday. In the afternoon, the production team arranged a job for Fang Xing and Shao Yu: they were to shoot a short advertisement for the audio brand Wanderer. The ad required Fang Xing and Shao Yu to sing a classic musical theater number, so the location was set at Dongyin Opera House. After filming, they each received a generous red envelope from the sponsor—twenty thousand yuan in total.

By the time they left Dongyin Opera House, it was seven o'clock in the evening. The city lights had just come on, and the night market in Donghai University Town was especially bustling. With no other work or training scheduled for the night, they could finally take a break.

Shao Yu, not wanting to head back so early, suggested, "I haven't been back to campus in almost two years. Since we're here, why don't we wander around? Have you ever been to the food street behind the university? I suddenly feel like having some fried noodles and grilled squid from there."

"Won't we get back too late?" Fang Xing felt both familiar and estranged from his alma mater, and was a little nervous. In truth, Shao Yu felt much the same. Though two years since graduation wasn't a long time, it was enough for many things to change.

Shao Yu pulled out two masks, put one on, and handed the other to Fang Xing, joking, "Put this on. Let's stroll around campus—maybe we'll bump into some pretty underclasswomen."

Thanks to the popularity of "Tomorrow's Star," both of them had become well-known. At Donghai Conservatory of Music, a music-focused college, most students watched the show.

They crossed the campus. The academic buildings were lit, and students studied in small groups inside. Shao Yu pointed to a building in the east. "Your department's over there, right? Next door is the orchestral department."

"Yeah," Fang Xing replied casually.

Then Shao Yu gestured toward a uniquely designed wall on the southern side of campus. "The stave wall is still here. I remember, there used to be a really low bass note on it. Students running late would climb over at that spot. Eventually, the school raised the note by an octave."

Listening to Shao Yu recount these stories, Fang Xing reminisced about his time at the university.

The two walked through the campus and exited via the back gate. After turning a corner, they arrived at the university's famed food street. Donghai Conservatory of Music was next to Donghai Teachers' University, and two streets over was the University of Transportation. With so many schools clustered together, the food street was lively every night.

Shao Yu led Fang Xing familiarly to a fried noodle stall at the corner. The stall was an electric tricycle run by a kindly aunt in her fifties or sixties, who was busy with a steady stream of customers.

After the previous customer left, Shao Yu spoke, "Auntie, do you remember me? I used to eat your fried noodles all the time."

The aunt looked at Shao Yu for a few moments and said uncertainly, "You look familiar, but I can't quite place you..."

Fang Xing was a little speechless and quipped, "You've graduated two years ago and you're wearing a mask. How's Auntie supposed to recognize you?"

"That's true. Auntie, two portions of fried noodles, please, with extra scallions."

"Alright, coming up," the aunt replied cheerfully, quickly stuffing the last customer's money into her waist pouch before skillfully tossing two servings of noodles into the wok.

Shao Yu ordered, then turned to Fang Xing, "I'll go buy some grilled squid. You wait here for the noodles."

Fang Xing was indeed hungry. The aunt's cooking was superb, and the aroma made his stomach growl loudly.

The aunt's waist pouch was unzipped, revealing bundles of ten- and twenty-yuan notes. Though most people paid by scanning codes nowadays, some still used cash, so vendors always kept a few hundred yuan in change. Business was good, and the aunt had already collected several crisp hundred-yuan notes, stuffed casually into her pouch.

Just then, a man loitered behind the aunt, and as she focused on frying noodles, he suddenly yanked her waist pouch and fled, darting into a secluded alley.

"Hey!" The aunt shouted, waving her spatula, stunned for half a second before giving chase, yelling, "Stop thief! Stop thief!"

But the man was fast, much too quick for the aunt to catch.

Fang Xing, who had been sitting on a small stool waiting for his noodles, was taken aback by the sudden incident. He quickly sprang into action and gave chase.

Tall and athletic, Fang Xing ran swiftly, catching up to the thief and shouting, "Stop! Or I'll kick you!"

The thief refused to slow down, sprinting past Dongyin's side gate and toward a deserted alley.

At that moment, a girl carrying a violin case emerged from the side gate.

While running, Fang Xing grabbed the thief's hoodie. The thief lashed out viciously, lunging at the girl, snatching her violin case, and then swung it at Fang Xing's head.

Fang Xing instinctively raised his arm to block, deflected the violin case, and sent it flying. Then, with a powerful kick, he knocked the thief to the ground.

The thief turned and swung his fist at Fang Xing's face. Fang Xing, surprised by the man's ferocity even after being knocked down, became resolute and pinned him, delivering a solid beating.

After two or three punches, the thief was dazed and cried out, "Stop, stop... Don't hit me!"

Fang Xing landed two more punches before pausing. The commotion quickly attracted the attention of many students, some of whom began taking photos with their phones.

Meanwhile, the girl with the violin case was stunned by the chaos. After a moment, she hurried over to retrieve her violin case. She squatted down, unzipped it, and froze.

Moments ago, the thief had seized her violin case and used it to strike Fang Xing. Fang Xing had blocked and sent the case flying to the ground.

Seeing the girl unmoving, Fang Xing glanced over—and his eyes widened. The violin was easily worth six figures.

Just then, Shao Yu rushed over, saw students taking photos, and worried that the images would be posted online and cause trouble. He hurried over, waving his hands, "Stop filming, everyone! We're just helping out, we've already called the police, please disperse!"

Soon, the aunt caught up, breathless.

Fang Xing retrieved the waist pouch and handed it over. "Auntie, check if any money is missing."

The aunt quickly checked, confirmed the large bills were intact, and didn't bother with the small change, thanking them profusely. "Thank you, thank you so much..."

Meanwhile, the girl squatting nearby wiped tears from her eyes, staring helplessly at her damaged violin.

The aunt saw her crying and asked, "What's wrong, sweetheart? Did your violin get damaged during the chase? If so, Auntie can buy you a new one."

Fang Xing quickly pulled the aunt's arm, "Auntie, that's not necessary. This isn't your responsibility."

Legally, if property is damaged while apprehending a thief, the victim can seek compensation from the thief. But Fang Xing could tell at a glance that this violin was worth at least six figures—compensation from the thief was unlikely.

The aunt's offer was clearly made without knowing the violin's value. Six figures, even at minimum, meant at least a hundred thousand yuan. For a noodle-seller to cover that was simply unrealistic.

Fang Xing had just received a generous red envelope—twenty thousand yuan—from the sponsor. It wasn't enough to cover the violin, but could help with part of the cost, with the rest open to negotiation. Besides, the damage wasn't intentional.

Fang Xing walked over to the girl, squatted down, and examined the violin. The scroll was broken beyond repair.

"This violin is too expensive, Auntie shouldn't be the one to compensate. Legally, you can pursue the thief for damages. Still, since I was involved, I'll try to help you find someone to repair it. If it can't be fixed, we'll discuss further."

The girl looked up at Fang Xing, her clear eyes shimmering with tears. Her delicate, almost translucent face made her look especially pitiful.

"That's not necessary..." she said softly, hugging her violin and wiping tears as she walked away.