Ice is not averse to deception

Upon hearing that there really was an ice source, Sun Bing and Wu Dayong completely lost their composure. They no longer cared whether anyone was chasing them or how far they had already run. They immediately revived and followed Dongmei towards the ice sculpture factory.

As the three of them struggled forward, Liu Ruo, who had been following them, completely lost track of Sun Bing.

Liu Ruo's physical condition was not good to begin with, and given the distance that existed before, it was already quite remarkable that she managed to keep up until now without losing her.

Liu Ruo left in a hurry and left her phone at the teppanyaki tofu stall. Now she couldn't even take a taxi back, so she could only rely on her memory to walk back to the hotel bit by bit.

Fortunately, the people of Yanji were quite hospitable, and Liu Ruo quickly found her way back to the hotel.

Not long after we walked, a strange scene unfolded.

Several burly men were squatting on the ground by the roadside, panting heavily. They looked like ordinary citizens exercising, but their demeanor was somewhat different from others.

"Big brother, should we keep chasing her? This woman can run incredibly fast," one of the henchmen asked Tiger, panting heavily.

Tiger hasn't had a good time these past few days. He finally found Sun Bing's hotel room, only to run into a Taekwondo black belt bodyguard, which made him lose face in front of his underlings.

I don't know how much mental preparation I did to change the kidnapping target to Liu Ruo. Well, what I thought would be a piece of cake for them turned into a 20-kilometer marathon with this girl.

That's not the most important thing; the most important thing is that they still lost track of them.

If this gets back to Bingcheng and those mortal enemies find out, they'll probably laugh their heads off.

But what happened next left Tiger speechless. He was just thinking about how to regain his lost dignity in front of his underlings when he looked up and saw Liu Ruo walking towards him menacingly.

This is very embarrassing.

Even a tiger would hesitate to offer a rabbit to a tiger, let alone a living, breathing human.

They've come to our doorstep?

There must be something fishy going on here, right?

Fishing?

Countless thoughts flashed through Tiger's mind, but perhaps out of his gangster instincts, Tiger still subconsciously walked up to Liu Ruo, looking as if he was going to execute Liu Ruo on the spot.

But unexpectedly.

Before the tiger could even begin its threatening act, Liu Ruo spoke first.

"Good dogs don't block the way! Get out of the way!"

Just how terrifying is Liu Ruo when she's angry? Let alone a tiger, even a black belt Taekwondo athlete like Liu Qiang, whom Tiger Chicken fears, would probably wet his pants.

To be honest, Liu Ruo's rebuke completely shattered the tiger's fierce aura.

It wasn't that the tiger was too timid, but rather that this woman's aura was too powerful.

Instinctively, the tiger made way for Liu Ruo, and even lowered its head unconsciously as Liu Ruo passed by.

It wasn't until his henchman reminded him that the tiger realized the dignity he wanted to pick up from the ground had been shattered.

"Big brother, should we continue the pursuit?"

The younger brother's reminder completely enraged the tiger, who already felt deeply humiliated.

How can this be? A woman scared herself like this, where can she go to seek justice?

"Chase them! Chase them, you bastards!"

Tiger and his men didn't overestimate their own strength; rather, they underestimated Liu Ruo's abilities.

It was already dark, and Liu Ruo had also lost her phone. Afraid that her daughter would worry, Liu Ruo could only quicken her pace.

After a 20-kilometer back-and-forth battle, the tigers behind them were exhausted. Even the thugs who were good at running away could not run another step at this moment.

After much effort, they finally closed the distance a bit, but when they looked up, the tiger almost burst into tears.

The Taekwondo champion has arrived to take Liu Ruo back.

Seeing Liu Ruo's expression, Sun Xiaoni guessed that the girl must have been provoked again. When she asked, sure enough, Liu Ruo had seen Sun Bing and Dongmei being affectionate in the street and chased them for twenty miles in a fit of anger.

This is truly admirable; even Sun Xiaoni couldn't help but give her mother a thumbs up.

His courage and physical strength are commendable, but his intelligence is indeed somewhat worrying.

If Liu had been more rational, if she had been calmer, she wouldn't have missed the motorcycle taxis everywhere.

For less than ten yuan, a motorcycle taxi in Yanji could give Liu Ruo a taste of speed and passion, and would definitely catch up with the fleeing Sun Bing.

It's important to know that the Yanji motorcycle gang is on par with the Chaoyang residents.

However, after a day of grief, Liu Ruo also experienced a heartwarming moment.

When he arrived at the hotel entrance, an old woman was squatting on the steps, watching the passing crowd with longing eyes.

Liu Ruo recognized her at a glance as the owner of the sizzling tofu stall from earlier that day, an elderly woman in her sixties.

The old man's eyesight was failing, and he could only see the person's face clearly when Liu Ruo walked in.

To ensure everything was in order, the old man took out his reading glasses from his pocket, put them on, and carefully examined Liu Ruo before taking out Liu Ruo's lost phone from his clothes.

Without saying anything, he handed it to Liu Ruo, then turned around, walked to the tricycle next to him, pushed the tricycle, and walked forward.

Who says the people of Yanji are of low quality? Clearly, Sun Bing's previous judgment of the people of Yanji was too one-sided. They are so simple and honest!

In an instant, as if something had touched Liu Ruo's heart, a warm feeling rushed straight to her heart.

Liu Ruo didn't have any money on her, so she quickly searched Liu Qiang's body and found a few hundred yuan before chasing after him.

"You...you...hey! A robber?"

Before Liu Qiang could react, Liu Ruo had already disappeared.

There was an uphill road ahead. Liu Ruo didn't disturb the old lady and followed behind her, intending to push the tricycle up the steep slope before expressing her gratitude.

Just then, the old woman seemed to realize that Liu Ruo was catching up, and turned around to put down the handbrake.

"Why are you still following me?" the old woman asked, looking puzzled.

Liu Ruo immediately stuffed the money in her hand into the old woman's hand: "Auntie, thank you so much. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to find my phone. It's very important to me. You have to accept this money no matter what."

Liu Qiang and the others caught up as well. Knowing Liu Ruo's personality, they knew she wouldn't give up until the money was handed over, so they joined Liu Ruo in persuading the old lady to accept it.

"I don't want the money, but I appreciate the sentiment. We people from Yanji aren't that greedy." The old man waved his hand and directly refused Liu Ruo. "Besides, I wasn't waiting there just for you. Just consider it a favor."

Seeing that the old man was completely unwilling to accept it, Liu Ruo was also at a loss.

She wanted to express her gratitude, but didn't know how.

"Auntie, please accept this. We're young and earn money much more easily than you. Please consider this a token of our respect as your juniors," Liu Qiang said proactively.

What happened next was awkward.

The old woman waved her hand dismissively: "I didn't come out here to make money. Don't let my simple clothes fool you, I own seven houses."

This……

Liu Qiang immediately realized that he had exaggerated. Let alone seven sets of houses, he probably couldn't even afford a toilet after living off his parents for so many years.

Just then, a woman in her forties walked over. It turned out she was the old woman's daughter, who had come specifically to take her home.

"Mom, I'm so sorry, I got stuck in traffic on my way home from get off work. You're not mad at me, are you?" the woman said kindly.

The old man rolled his eyes: "I'm used to it. The little sparrow has a long tail and forgets its mother after getting married."

Despite saying that, Liu Ruoneng could tell from the interaction between the two that the old man was not blaming his daughter, but rather showing affection.

The woman took the tricycle, but the old man didn't immediately go uphill. Instead, he dragged his slow steps to a roasted sweet potato stall next to him.

"Old lady, it's getting late today. If it weren't for you, I would have closed up shop long ago." The old man selling sweet potatoes seemed to know the old woman very well.

The old woman gave the old man a threatening look: "You dare!"

During this time, Liu Ruo chatted with the woman for a bit and learned about the old man's experiences.

Just as the old man said, he was not short of money at all. He had a son and a daughter and was well-off. He started from scratch and relied on his skill in making sizzling tofu to not only raise his two children, but also send several of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren to study abroad.

"Then why are you still selling grilled tofu? You're so old!" Liu Ruo couldn't help but ask.

"Because of the old man."

The old woman was a widow. When she was thirty, her husband was killed in a coal mine accident while working to earn money. From then on, she single-handedly supported the entire family. No matter how late it was, as long as her husband was home, she would always come to pick him up and take him up the steep slope together.

The old lady was very stubborn. She reported the illegal coal mine for eighteen years and finally, with her amazing perseverance, she sent the mine owner to prison.

The old man never remarried and spent decades tending to his late wife's memorial tablet. Even now, he still sells sizzling tofu. His children don't want him to suffer like this, but they can't persuade him otherwise, so they come here every night to help him pack up his stall.

"Auntie loves Uncle so much, Uncle must be very considerate, right?" Liu Ruo couldn't help but ask.

Unexpectedly, the woman laughed: "My dad? He's a notorious playboy in our village. He used to fight so fiercely with my mom when he was young. I used to be just like you, not understanding why anyone would cherish a man like that. But later I gradually came to understand that you only realize what it means to lose someone when they're gone. Sigh, some things aren't that you can't let go, it's that you don't want to let go. Once you let go, you're not the same person anymore."

The old lady brought home her beloved roasted sweet potato. There was no other reason, because in the past, every time she and her husband packed up their stall and went home, her husband would buy a roasted sweet potato from here for her.

Some things aren't that you can't let go of, but that you don't want to let go of them.

Once you let go, you're no longer the evil person you once were.

As if struck by lightning, Liu Ruo suddenly understood what those words meant.