Chapter 269: The Extortion Gang

He ignored Li Wanjin's clamoring and simply made a "please leave" gesture.

"Whether I agree or not is my decision. Mr. Li, please see yourself out."

The moment Li Wanjin left, Chen Qingdi splashed a basin of water on the ground.

"The ground smells a bit. I hope this water can wash away the stench."

Li Wanjin was so furious he could barely see straight, but there was nothing he could do. Unable to change Chen Qingdi's mind, all he could do was leave him with a final threat.

"You impudent brat, you'll pay the price for today's arrogance!"

Chen Qingdi paid no mind to the colossal idiot. After returning home and closing the door, he fell into a deep sleep.

Since matters at Wulin University were quite complex, and lecturing there required navigating a complicated process, Chen Qingdi had nothing else to do for the time being.

He figured he should do some market research and see if there were any charitable projects he could undertake in the area.

But taking photos openly would be too conspicuous and could cause unnecessary trouble. After a moment's thought, he affixed a button camera to his chest.

The camera could be activated with a light press on top of the button, while more detailed operations could be controlled via a connection to his phone.

With his wealth, buying even the most high-end car would be a trivial matter, yet he was currently riding a shared bicycle.

He wanted to experience the pulse of life while simultaneously documenting the beauty of the city.

Just then, he suddenly spotted an elderly man shuffling along unsteadily up ahead.

Seeing the old man's gait, he thought to himself, 'This looks like the precursor to a stroke.'

'If he gets treatment a few days early, he might recover. But if his family is negligent, he'll probably spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.'

He was about to stop and warn the old man when he noticed him gradually approaching a young girl holding a parasol up ahead.

Chen Qingdi felt compelled to record this, so he stealthily activated his button camera.

The young girl was about seventeen or eighteen and looked like she hadn't even graduated high school.

Suddenly, she heard heavy footsteps from behind. She looked back in alarm and saw an old man, his head glistening with sweat in the sun, walking toward her.

The young girl was quite kind-hearted. Seeing that the bus stop was less than a hundred meters away, she spoke to the old man in a gentle voice.

"Sir, are you waiting for the bus? The sun is brutal. Why don't I walk you over there?"

The old man mumbled a reply—it was impossible to tell what he said—and the girl shifted the parasol so that it mostly covered his head.

He grunted twice, as if in great pain.

"Sir, are you not feeling well?"

Chen Qingdi wondered, 'Is the old man's stroke coming on sooner than I thought?'

He surreptitiously readied the necessary medicine, preparing to step in and stabilize the old man's condition when the attack began.

Before Chen Qingdi could do anything, the old man suddenly grew dizzy and, with a THUD, collapsed to the ground.

This startled the young girl as well. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

As she spoke, she tried to squat down and help the old man up, but he was completely motionless, as if he had passed out.

Chen Qingdi hurried forward and heard the young girl ask, "Mister, can you help me get this man to a hospital?"

Before Chen Qingdi could even agree, a group of people suddenly emerged, surrounding him and the young girl.

"You little bitch! And you, you little bastard! How dare you knock over my father! You're not getting away with this! You have to pay up!"

The young girl was on the verge of tears. If Chen Qingdi hadn't intervened, a woman from the group would have already slapped her across the face.

"Ma'am, I didn't do anything! The gentleman was going to the bus stop, and I just wanted to hold my umbrella for him. I don't know how he fell!"

But the woman was a veteran of these kinds of scams; there was no way she'd let the young girl off the hook.

"You little bitch, still trying to argue? You clearly pushed my father-in-law to the ground to try and steal his wallet!"

Just then, someone in the crowd took out their phone to call the police.

"We can't let the culprit get away! I'm calling the police right now!"

A short while later, a few investigators arrived at the scene. "What's going on here?"

The group of people all started talking at once, saying the girl was vicious to have pushed down such an old man.

Chen Qingdi couldn't stand listening any longer and spoke up, his voice low and firm.

"This gentleman was already ill. This young lady was kind enough to shelter him with her umbrella, and he fell on his own. Now you're trying to extort her? Do you people have any conscience at all?"

The older woman pointed at Chen Qingdi and said.

"Look at you, all dressed up and proper. You must be involved with this little girl, right? Of course you'd protect your little tramp!"

Chen Qingdi said coldly, "If this man on the ground doesn't get immediate medical attention, his life might be in danger. Do you really want to keep delaying?"

Only then did it dawn on the people pretending to be dutiful relatives. Someone quickly dialed 911.

The investigator took photos of the scene where the man had fallen and then addressed the parties involved.

"Let's get the patient to the hospital first to have his injuries assessed. We'll figure out the rest from there."

At the hospital, it was discovered that the old man had suffered a comminuted fracture from his fall. However, after intensive treatment from the doctors, he was out of danger and had regained consciousness.

The investigator asked the old man, "How did this happen? What were the circumstances?"

The old man spoke very slowly, but his eyes drifted toward the poor young girl beside him.

"I was walking past this girl, and I don't know what she did to me, but I fell. After that, I don't remember a thing."

Hearing this, the woman was instantly re-energized. She lunged forward and grabbed the young girl by the collar.

"You little bitch! You liar! Look how badly you hurt my father-in-law! Pay up!"

The young girl cried out, "I didn't push him! I really didn't!"

The investigator was clearly not fond of her either.

"I'll give you one more chance. How exactly did the elderly man fall?"

The young girl recounted what had just happened.

"I was holding my umbrella for the gentleman, and I don't know how, but he fell down. I bent over to help him, and then these people rushed out and said I pushed him!"

The investigator frowned. "If you didn't knock him down, why would you try to help him up?"

The girl was unable to defend herself.

The investigator said in a very serious tone, "Take out your ID. And tell me, who are your parents? What's their phone number? This is a very serious matter. You're facing a hefty compensation claim! If you don't tell the truth, you could be expelled from school!"

With a soft thud, the girl fell to her knees in front of the investigator.

"Officer, please, I'm begging you, don't tell my parents. My family doesn't have any money, and my mom is sick. I'm on a work-study program just to get through school. This is all the living money I have for the month... all that's left is a hundred yuan."