He, along with Erzhuzi and Liu Xiaolian, turned around and bolted.
"Chase them!" the boy holding the dagger shouted, and his gang pursued like maniacs.
After half a day of pursuit around the street corners, they finally cornered An Ping and the other two in a narrow alley.
An Ping looked around and realized there was no escape, so he simply stopped running.
He caught his breath and asked, "What do you want to do? I don’t even know you! Why are you cornering us? Hey, have you mistaken me for someone else?"
"Mistaken? Hmph, I’d never mistake you, even if I beat you to death!" The boy played with the knife in his hand, its gleaming blade reflecting the sunlight with blinding sharpness, "My name is Shi Yan. My dad is Shi Jianjun, who used to be the vice principal at Changzheng Middle School! Get the picture now?"
With those words, An Ping instantly understood.
His sister had a conflict with the vice principal at school some time ago, revealing the disgraceful things Shi Jianjun had done, which led to his dismissal.
So now, was his son coming to settle scores?
"Why are you telling me this?" An Ping clenched his fists, his palms already slick with sweat.
Shi Yan, toying with the knife and looking at An Ping with a careless air, said in a low voice, "My dad lost his job because of your sister. A few days ago, he tried to hang himself but survived. He hates your sister with a vengeance. As his son, shouldn’t I take revenge when my dad was bullied? I can’t get to your sister in school, but luckily, I caught you! Imagine, if I cripple you, what would Sister An Hao’s reaction be?"
"This isn’t fair! It’s also unethical!" Li Xiaolian yelled.
"Fairness and ethics, my ass! All I know is that beating you guys up is the only thing that will make me feel good!" Shi Yan said fiercely, "Come on! All of you, get him!"
At the intersection, Qin Jian was discussing a situation with Engineer Liu Tong.
Today was the day he was returning to town from a conference, and after getting off the bus, Liu Tong insisted on dragging Qin Jian to have a bowl of beef noodles.
"Let’s go. Don’t refuse, it will give us a chance to talk about work!" In matters of work, Liu Tong held Qin Jian in very high esteem.
Seeing his persistent invitation, Qin Jian agreed.
They hadn’t walked very far when they suddenly heard someone frantically running from an alley not far ahead, shouting as they ran, "Help! Help!"
Qin Jian looked closely and saw that it was Liu Xiaolian, the boy who had helped An Hao move the other day.
He dashed forward and grabbed the boy’s arm, demanding, "What happened?"
"A fight! About ten people surrounding An Ping and Zhuzi, and they’ve got knives..." Liu Xiaolian said, out of breath.
On hearing An Ping’s name, Qin Jian, without a second word, broke into a run towards the scene of the incident.
"Hey, Qin Jian! Wait for me, I’ll go with you!" Liu Tong shouted, chasing after him.
........................
An Hao had just finished class, packing up her textbooks and preparing for the next self-study period.
Suddenly, she heard someone shouting her name at the door, "Sister An Hao, it’s bad! Shi Jianjun’s son is fighting with An Ping! They’ve got a knife..."
At those words, An Hao’s head exploded with a buzz.
She sprang up from her seat, and without even taking the time to ask for leave, she dashed out like an arrow released from its bow!