Dark Light Chaser.

Chapter 55 Gonghuo
The face beneath the hood was completely different from the hermit's appearance; it was the face of a naive student, with a bewildered expression on his face.

Yang Xingguo was familiar with this face, but he had only seen photos of it before; this was the first time he had seen the real person.

"You are...Ai Liang?"

After realizing what he had done, Yang Xingguo realized that his body had acted on its own the moment he made eye contact with Ai Liang, and he had pushed Ai Liang down completely on instinct.

Ai Liang's eyes held a mixture of confusion and panic. He looked at his handcuffed hands and asked, "Who are you? Why are you arresting me?"

Just one glance was enough for him to tell I was a hermit. His intuition was as sharp as a wild dog's.

Ai Liang inwardly scorned him, trying his best to suppress his disgust and outwardly appear innocent.

"I'm sorry, I mistook you for someone else."

Yang Xingguo quickly reached out to help Ai Liang up, but Ai Liang refused his help and instead slowly stood up on one knee, looking at him with a wary gaze.

This is very embarrassing.

The young man in front of him was his daughter's sweetheart. If Xingyue found out about his outburst, Yang Xingguo couldn't help but smile bitterly.

In the past two days, due to Liu Yuan's arrival, Yang Xingguo has been constantly analyzing the credibility of the intelligence that the hermit is leaving Nevada City.

Is this a deliberate attempt to mislead, or is he truly leaving?

Yang Xingguo personally leans towards the latter, because the hermit has no reason to stay in Nevada City any longer and is very likely to move to other cities to continue satisfying his bloodlust.

He even suspected that the hermit had left Nevada City five years ago, which was why he had disappeared without a trace, and that he had come back specifically because he heard that someone was impersonating him.

As I was thinking about this, my PTSD flared up again. I saw a person wearing a black raincoat on the street and felt like he was a hermit.

How could I have been so blind as to mistake him for a hermit? This child is only fifteen years old; he could not possibly be the same person.

Looking into Ai Liang's clear eyes, Yang Xingguo couldn't help but sigh inwardly. This was hardly the look of a murderer. His own mental state had been getting increasingly off lately, and he should go back to the station to see a psychologist for some counseling.

Yang Xingguo thought to himself.

Faced with Yang Xingguo's apology, Ai Liang neither accepted nor rejected it, but instead continued to pretend that she did not know Yang Xingguo: "How do you know my name?"

“I am Yang Xingyue’s father. I often hear her mention your name.” Yang Xingguo said as he unlocked Ai Liang’s handcuffs. “I saw you the day before yesterday when it was raining. You took a taxi and left.”

More and more parents gathered around to watch the commotion, and Yang Xingguo didn't want to block the school gate and become a laughing stock, so he led Ai Liang to the car.

"Since you've seen me before, why would you mistake me for someone else?" Ai Liang said, touching her wrist. "Even if you really didn't see me clearly, criminals usually wouldn't leave the school during the high school entrance exam period, would they?"

Yang Xingguo was speechless. How else could he explain it? His body acted subconsciously, and he was helpless.

"I've been investigating a case lately and I'm so tired that my brain isn't working properly. When I saw that your clothes looked a lot like the suspect's, I acted on impulse. I'm really sorry."

Yang Xingguo didn't put on airs and honestly apologized to the kid who wasn't even half his age.

Ai Liang had no intention of letting him off so easily.

He saw Yue Qihua and Yang Xingyue jogging towards him in the car's rearview mirror.

Actually, the two of them saw Yang Xingguo pin Ai Liang to the ground from a distance.

It was only because Yue Qihua kept holding Yang Xingyue back that she didn't rush in front of the two of them.

Yang Xingguo's actions of pinning Ai Liang down were definitely a misunderstanding. If Yang Xingyue had rushed over and intervened, the onlookers would likely have mistaken it for a policeman father's dissatisfaction with his daughter's early romantic relationship.

If someone were to dig into Yang Xingguo's official position, it could easily spark a scandalous media frenzy, with headlines like: "Shocking! A high-ranking police officer did this to a student!" or "The dangers of early romance? He personally handcuffed his daughter's boyfriend!"

Mainstream media might not publish this kind of news, but some self-media outlets will do anything for traffic, and Yang Xingyue's reputation will be completely ruined.

Yue Qihua took two seconds to think through all the possible outcomes, and then grabbed Yang Xingyue to stop her from going over.

As for Yang Xingguo's reputation, well, she believed Uncle Yang could handle it himself.

After Yang Xingguo led Ai Liang away from the crowd, they jogged to catch up.

Ai Liang calculated the distance, and just as Yang Xingguo saw his daughter running towards him and was about to explain, Ai Liang pretended not to hear the footsteps behind him and said, "Teaching Xingyue was just a mutual help between classmates, there was no other meaning. She and I are just ordinary classmates."

These words were spoken before Yang Xingguo opened his mouth, and after Yang Xingyue arrived.

Upon hearing these words, Yang Xingyue, who had just run over, glared angrily at Yang Xingguo.

"Dad! What are you saying?!"

"No, Xingyue."

Yang Xingyue, believing that Yang Xingguo had confessed his feelings to Ai Liangming, retorted angrily, "I've already said that Ai Liangming and I are classmates, not what you think! What more do you want!"

The scene just now made her mistakenly believe that Yang Xingguo did it on purpose to prevent Ai Liang from getting close to her. The thought that Ai Liang might be influenced by her father and distance herself from her made Yang Xingyue anxious and tears welled up in her eyes.

Yang Xingguo is now suffering in silence, unable to express his bitterness.

"No, I just mistook him for a suspect we've been tracking recently, so that's why I acted that way." Yang Xingguo succinctly summarized the events, trying to explain why what had just happened occurred.

Yang Xingguo was interrupted by Yang Xingyue before he could finish speaking: "What criminal suspect would come out of the examination room during the high school entrance examination? Can't you come up with a different reason for lying!"

Now, not only Yang Xingyue, but even Yue Qihua looked at this uncle with a scrutinizing expression.

Could it be that he's outwardly praising Ai Liang while secretly trying to swat away any flies that get close to his precious daughter?
After hearing this, Yang Xingguo's face looked as if he were wearing a mask of pain.

No matter how he explains it, he has no right to speak. But the problem is that he mistakenly took Ai Liang as a suspect, so how did it suddenly become a case of parents restricting their children's social interactions?
Ai Liang, who was the one who orchestrated this scene, was overjoyed.

He was happy as long as Yang Xingguo was upset, and he could also use this opportunity to subtly reject Yang Xingyue's feelings, killing two birds with one stone.

So this is the joy of stirring up trouble? Cough cough cough, I'm getting off-topic.

Having achieved her goal, Ai Liang took her leave: "I still have some things to take care of, goodbye."

This wasn't an excuse; Ai Liang did indeed have some personal matters to attend to.

He walked toward the bus stop not far away.

"Wait!" Yang Xingguo suddenly grabbed Ai Liang's arm.

Fortunately, Ai Liang was able to restrain herself in a public place. If they had gone to a secluded spot, Yang Xingguo would definitely have been thrown off balance.

"I really just mistook you for someone else. It wasn't that I was unhappy with your relationship with Xingyue. I hope you won't give up on Xingyue as a friend because of my mistake. I'm sorry."

After saying that, Yang Xingguo took Ai Liang's hand and bent down slightly. Ai Liang turned her head and then noticed the tears in Yang Xingyue's eyes.

In Ai Liang's memory, Yang Xingguo was always upright. Except for the need for etiquette in public places, he never bowed to anyone, not even slightly.

Now, however, because she was worried about her daughter's interpersonal relationships, she bowed down, her unyielding body bent. Ai Liang, who was originally quite happy, felt a sense of irritation rising in her heart.

Are all men in Nevada doting on their daughters?

Looking at the scene before her, Ai Liang thought of Gao Fuye and Wang Qiang. Although they were not good people, they were very protective of their children. Even a scumbag like Wang Qiang was willing to go out of his way to ask for help for Wang Zi.

Then Ai Liang thought of her family.

Why am I the only one?
(End of this chapter)