In the blink of an eye, everything happened within just two or three seconds. The onlookers all widened their eyes, staring at the scene in disbelief.

What is going on!?

This isn’t how it’s supposed to go! Wasn’t Mrs. Bolton supposed to take advantage of the young man helping her, then throw herself to the ground to extort some medical expenses? How come the old lady didn’t fall, but the young man did?

Could it be that this Mrs. Bolton is some legendary martial arts master? Such a strong young man was actually knocked to the ground by a gentle elbow from her?

In the distance, Derek Carter, who was watching the show with a cigarette in his mouth, was so shocked that half the cigarette fell to the ground, his eyes filled with disbelief, and a few drops of sweat slid down his forehead.

Mrs. Bolton was also stunned, her eyes wide with fear, her voice trembling as she stammered, “Y-young man. D-don’t scare an old lady like that. I-I wasn’t trying to extort, extort an elder like this…”

At this moment, Ryan Walker’s consciousness was completely blurred. It felt as if his body was on fire, his blood boiling and burning fiercely, his face twisted in pain, and his limbs convulsing instinctively.

“Young man, are you alright? Get up, will you?” Mrs. Bolton’s guilty face turned pale, her hand trembling as she poked Ryan Walker with her cane. He still didn’t move, scaring her so much that she was about to cry. “Young man, I give up, okay? If you’re alright, just say something. I’ll give you two hundred yuan to buy cigarettes, how about that?”

The crowd burst into laughter. These days, you hear about old folks extorting young people, but never about young people extorting the elderly. Now that’s news.

“Young man, your acting’s not bad. Well done, someone like Mrs. Bolton deserves a harsh lesson.”

“Mrs. Bolton, Mrs. Bolton, you hunt geese all day, but today the goose pecked your eyes out.”

“This is called karma—what goes around comes around.”

“This young man is shameless, even extorting an old lady.”

Mrs. Bolton’s heart trembled—this was going to be big trouble! She hurriedly picked up her vegetable basket, leaving the spilled sugar behind, and quickly tried to flee.

But she hadn’t run far before she turned back. She looked at Ryan Walker with a complicated expression. This kid was only a couple of years older than her own grandson, right? The words he’d said before helping her just now were like knives, cutting into her heart again and again, making her old face burn with shame. It was people like her who kept eroding the trust between people.

Mrs. Bolton gritted her teeth, hesitated, then squatted down and touched his forehead, exclaiming, “He’s burning up! Looks like he’s really sick. Derek Carter, what are you still gawking at? Hurry up and drive your beat-up Jinbei van over here and take this kid to the hospital.”

“Mrs. Bolton, you’re not putting on an act with this young man, are you? Planning to team up and scam me?” Derek Carter took two steps back, his eyes darting around.

“What’s the most important thing between people?” Mrs. Bolton slowly stood up, adjusted her gold-rimmed glasses, and stared coldly at Derek Carter. “It’s trust!”

“But…” Derek Carter felt a pang of guilt under her gaze, cursing inwardly, Trust, my foot.

“But what?” Mrs. Bolton poked him twice with her cane, snapping, “This kid is really sick. If you dare to just stand by and watch, don’t blame me for telling your wife all your dirty secrets.”

“You’re right, Mrs. Bolton.” Derek Carter put on a righteous face and declared, “A life is at stake—how could I refuse to help!”

……

Chapter 0002: The More Dramatic the Better

……

Hospital, early the next morning.

A ray of clear sunlight shone on Ryan Walker’s face. He slowly woke up, rubbed his aching head, and opened his eyes.

What he saw was a white ceiling.

Where am I?

He looked around. Hmm, seems like he was in a hospital room? There were two beds on either side—on one side, a middle-aged man with a cast on his leg was sleeping, and by the window, a woman was sleeping on her side.

Ryan Walker raised his hand in confusion. There was an IV needle taped to the back of his hand with white medical tape, and above it hung a nearly empty bag of saline.

“I think, when I helped the old lady who fell yesterday, I vaguely felt a red light strike my chest?” Ryan Walker rubbed his temples in a daze, trying to recall. “My body went numb, my blood felt like it was burning, it hurt a lot, and then… hmm, I don’t remember anything else. Was I struck by lightning on a clear day? Ugh, what bad luck—doing a good deed and still getting struck? Did some kind soul bring me to the hospital afterward?”

He looked around again and noticed someone lying on a temporary folding companion bed in the hallway. Judging by the clothes and figure—wait, is that Mrs. Bolton?

She was the one who brought him to the hospital and stayed with him all night?

A warmth filled Ryan Walker’s heart. Looks like what he did yesterday was right—there’s still kindness between people.

Wait, something seems off!

Ryan Walker looked around again, his face growing more puzzled, then his gaze fell outside the window.

On a camphor tree whose crown reached the window, the bark was sharply defined, and on a branch, a spider the size of a fingernail was diligently spinning its web. Amid the lush leaves, a few sparrows were noisily chasing each other.