Chapter 57: The Leap

I followed her into the shop, where only a few clerks were present. Seeing An Mingshan's aggressive posture, they almost called the police, but I stopped them. I lied, claiming that An Mingshan suffered from a mental illness and that she had escaped due to my momentary lapse in attention. Upon inquiring, I learned that their boss had gone out early in the morning, and no one knew where he had gone. I secretly rejoiced that they were out; otherwise, An Mingshan would have spent the rest of her life behind bars. It took a great deal of effort to drag An Mingshan back to my brother's place.

Checking the time, I realized it was already lunchtime! Just then, I received a call from my parents saying they wouldn't be coming back and telling us to sort out lunch ourselves.

I told An Mingshan to go make lunch, thinking to myself: if I give her something to do, she won't keep thinking about reporting those two.

After lunch, I went to my brother's room to surf the internet. His home internet was incomparably faster than the battered computer at my shop. Before long, however, my phone rang. I answered it, and Han Leiwei's voice came through, accompanied by the murmur of a crowd.

"Master, this is bad!" he said. "Shanshan is going to jump off the building!"

For a moment, I couldn't remember who Shanshan was, and replied, "Let her jump then, what the hell does it have to do with me?" But right then, I suddenly recalled An Mingshan threatening to die to prove her point earlier, and hastily asked, "Where is she? I'll be right there."

"Right on the rooftop of my building," Han Leiwei said.

"Alright, alright, I'm on my way. Call the police right now, and don't provoke her!" With that, I hung up and rushed toward Han Leiwei's residential building. Fortunately, my brother had left his car and keys at home—a Porsche. I sped all the way to the apartment complex where Han Leiwei lived. Along the way, I ran three red lights, accidentally flattened a stray dog, and almost crashed into a wall while taking a sharp turn too fast. My driving skills had been learned back at the Paranormal Bureau; though perilous, I managed to avoid disaster. I momentarily forgot his exact address, but spotting a police car—presumably dispatched for An Mingshan's situation—I simply followed it. Arriving at the residential complex, I was driving too fast to stop immediately and skidded a distance before coming to a halt. The moment I got out of the car, I bolted straight for the rooftop.

On the apartment rooftop.

I saw An Mingshan standing right at the edge, a mere step away from plunging down. I hadn't expected her to actually pull this stunt. With no other choice, I had to improvise.

"What do you think you're doing?" I yelled at her. "Get down from there! Stop making a fool of yourself!"

A police officer beside me used a megaphone and shouted, "There are many ways to solve a problem! Come down first, and we can all discuss whatever is troubling you!"

Several other people also urged her to come down. Seeing her take a step backward, I knew there was still hope. But then she spun around and snapped, "If there were still ways to solve it, would I be standing up here? Who was the one who told me 'everyone is equal before the law'? Who was the one who told me 'as long as you have a grievance, you can resolve it through legal channels'? Who was the one who told me 'the law protects the legitimate rights and interests of all citizens'?" She pointed straight at my nose and continued, "You! You're the one who told me that! But has any of that actually happened? I am filled with grievances, yet are you willing to fight for justice on my behalf?" As she spoke, she burst into tears!

Standing there with her finger pointed at my nose and being scolded, I couldn't curse back and had to swallow my anger. Thinking quickly, I said, "It has happened!" Noticing a flicker of surprise on her face, I pressed on, "Have you forgotten Jiang Yuru? Despite numerous twists and turns, she was still caught. Besides, I know all about your grievances, and I promised you I would secure justice for you. Come down first!"

An Mingshan retorted, "Her case was just her having bad luck and falling into your hands. You're all talk, just trying to please everyone else! But as for me, have you ever cared about me at all?"

"This has nothing to do with luck," I replied. "Besides, I've taken meticulous care of you. Don't forget, when you were in the greatest danger, I risked my life to protect you; even when you drugged me, I didn't hold it against you. And what about you?"

An Mingshan abruptly changed the subject. "Then why did they abandon me?"

"I checked," I said. "They did that because they were fleeing a famine."

"You help them with their matters, so why won't you care about mine?" An Mingshan demanded.

"I am serving the people," I answered. "And when have I ever ignored your matters?"

"You know what they did as well as anyone, yet you still claim you're serving the people? You don't need to worry about my affairs anymore anyway; whether I exist or not means nothing to you at all."

"What do you mean it means nothing?" I argued. "Didn't I already say that anyone who breaks the law will inevitably face its just punishment?"

An Mingshan spat in disgust. "Hypocrite!" With that, she turned around and prepared to leap downward!

"Wait!" I shouted, and strode toward her.

An Mingshan suddenly tensed up. "D-don't come any closer!"

Walking steadily, I said, "This rooftop doesn't belong to you. Aren't you looking to die? Perfect, I'm sick of living too—let's go together! Wouldn't it be nice to have company on the road to the netherworld?" With those words, I took a large stride right up to her.

As I closed the distance, murmurs rose from the crowd behind me. Reaching An Mingshan's side, I grabbed her hand and pretended we were about to "jump" together.

Reader Q&A.

Question: Mr. Author, if you could turn into an animal, what would you like to be?

Answer: I would like to be a bat. Bats are the only mammals capable of true flight, and in Chinese culture, they symbolize fortune and blessings. Many plant flowers bloom exclusively at night, leaving bees helpless. When bats fly to other plants to forage for pollen or nectar, they complete the pollination process. Furthermore, humans invented radar and stealth aircraft based on the echolocation principles of bats. Therefore, I would like to be a bat. At the same time, I want to urge everyone to protect bats—to protect these spirits of the night.