"Robbery! Robbery! Someone’s stealing my bag! Somebody catch him!" cried a middle-aged woman’s voice in desperation. An Yiqing and Kong Shi turned around and saw a young man, about twenty years old, holding a bag and charging rapidly towards them. Stumbling behind him was a disheveled middle-aged woman, calling out anxiously.
This was a luxury mall, where the number of customers was already few, and even fewer were those willing to apprehend a robber. An Yiqing looked around, seeing that the security guards hadn’t arrived yet, and the people around her would rather stay far away. She felt somewhat helpless but quickly dragged Kong Shi to a safe corner to hide before charging out herself.
"Niuniu—" Kong Shi looked at her daughter with concern and called out worriedly.
"Mom, hide here and don’t come out. I’ll be right back," An Yiqing reassured her before quickly leaving.
The young man with the bag was just about to reach the emergency exit when a delicate jade hand reached out from behind and grabbed him by the shoulder.
"Give me the bag, and I’ll let you go," An Yiqing said softly.
The young man, looking at the girl’s calm expression, felt a chill in his heart. He had not even heard her footsteps approach.
This terrifying realization made him frantic, and he quickly pulled out a fruit knife from his chest and stabbed viciously at An Yiqing.
The girl looked amusedly at the clumsy movement and slow weapon, about to dodge, when suddenly a large hand reached out from the side, grabbed the robber’s hand, and with a forceful twist, snapped it.
"In broad daylight, you’re robbing and killing! Do you think Xuandu City is yours to rule?!" saw a burly, rough-looking man kick the fallen fruit knife far away, then picked up the robber and said fiercely, "What’s wrong with youth these days? Can’t you do anything lawful? Off to the police station with you!"
"Big, big brother, spare me! I was driven by desperation! Please, have mercy!" The young man seemed to be committing his first robbery; hearing he was to be sent to the authorities, he panicked immediately.
The man looked at the young robber’s cowardly demeanor with disdain and snorted coldly, "A man should own up to his actions! Steal because you’re driven by necessity? You’ve got hands and feet, why not work for a living? And still, you resort to robbery! Why don’t you just ascend to heaven!"
At the man’s last sentence, An Yiqing couldn’t help but laugh out loud, and even the security guards who arrived later and the middle-aged robbed woman burst into laughter.
"Well done, brother! Thank you for helping us subdue the criminal!" Two security guards firmly grasped the young robber and gratefully said to the man.
The man shook his head and waved his hand, "I just did what I could; it was this young lady who caught him."
The security guards, following his gaze to An Yiqing, looked surprised but polite as they thanked her, then escorted the young man to the police station.
"Thank you, everyone! Thank you!" The robbed middle-aged woman looked at An Yiqing and the man with grateful eyes and clutched her retrieved bag nervously, "This is the tuition money I saved from working long hours in this mall for my son to go to college. If it were stolen, my son would be doomed. Thank you, both kind souls! Thank you!" The middle-aged woman, overwhelmed with joy, began to kneel.
The man quickly helped her to her feet, "You mustn’t do this, big sister! When I see injustice, I must shout out! This strength of mine isn’t for nothing! Big sister, this was too dangerous. How about this, I’ll escort you home to ensure you get there safely!"
"Ah! Oh! Thanks so much, big brother!" The middle-aged woman was pleasantly surprised and nodded her head, continuously thanking him.