[126] Turning Over a New Leaf (Bonus Chapter 4/10 for "Melbourne Knight")

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“Make the call.”

A middle-aged woman, presumably the shop owner’s wife, was watching a small television nearby. She barely glanced at the two men before nodding slightly, too lazy even to speak.

Fang Chang’an stepped forward, picked up the phone on the counter, and dialed Shen Chengyan’s number. As soon as the call connected, he said, “Uncle, this is Fang Chang’an. I don’t know how to deposit money using the card number. The card machine requires a password.”

Hearing this, the shop owner’s wife found it a bit odd and glanced at the middle-aged man standing close to Fang Chang’an. However, she quickly turned back to the TV.

On the other end, Shen Chengyan seemed momentarily stunned. Fang Chang’an continued, “Could you tell me the password? Otherwise, I can’t deposit the money.”

Finally, Shen Chengyan responded, “The password is 200411. Remember it? After you deposit the money, come back quickly.”

“Okay, I got it.”

Fang Chang’an hung up. The man behind him, barely containing his excitement, asked the shop owner’s wife, “How much is it?”

She glanced over and asked, “Local call or long distance?”

“Local call,” Fang Chang’an replied.

“Thirty cents.”

The man fished three coins from his pocket and placed them on the counter, tugging Fang Chang’an’s arm as he hurriedly asked, “What’s the password?”

“200411,” Fang Chang’an obediently answered, then reminded him, “Uncle, I heard there might be surveillance cameras near the ATM. Don’t go withdraw the money yourself, I’ll do it for you. Just promise to pay me back later.”

The man hadn’t expected the boy to warn him. He froze for a moment. Fang Chang’an sniffled and said, “My uncle and aunt always scold me. If I come home late, they won’t call the police so quickly. Uncle, you took their money, so you should run far away.”

From the start of the robbery, the man had predicted every step of the plan. He didn’t expect to get so much money from a kid, nor that the boy would care about him so much.

From Fang Chang’an’s words, a clear picture emerged: the boy’s parents worked elsewhere, and he lived with his uncle’s family, who treated him poorly. The boy resented them and hoped to take away his uncle’s money.

As they reached the bank’s ATM, Fang Chang’an stopped and turned to the man. “Uncle, don’t go any further. You might get caught on camera. I’ll withdraw the money for you.”

The man hesitated and handed the card back to Fang Chang’an. The boy wiped tears and mucus from his face, inserted the card into the ATM, and began pressing the keys with a “click, click, click.”

After a few attempts, Fang Chang’an continued entering the password.

The man, standing a short distance away, whispered anxiously, “Is it done yet?”

Fang Chang’an turned and explained, “Unc—uncle, sorry… my hands are shaking. I entered the wrong password just now. Don’t worry, I’m entering it again now…”

“Stop talking. Hurry up!”

The man was burning with impatience. The kid’s slow speech and hesitation frustrated him. He nervously scanned the surroundings while waving his hand anxiously. “Faster, faster!”

“Oh, oh, okay, Uncle, don’t be anxious.”

Fang Chang’an comforted him gently, then carefully re-entered the password. The clicking keys sounded like torture to the man.

“Come on, hurry up!”

Fang Chang’an suddenly paused and asked, “Uncle, what was the last digit of the password again? Did it end with zero one or one one?”

“One one! One one! Hurry up!”

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The man was so anxious he was practically hopping. He wanted to shove the slow kid aside and enter the password himself to get the money and leave.

“Oh, oh… almost done.”

This time, Fang Chang’an finally managed without mistakes. After checking the balance, he said, “Uncle, there’s 2,200 yuan in there. I’ll withdraw it all for you!”

His tone and expression were even more delighted than the man’s.

This was the man’s first robbery, and it was going so smoothly it felt like a dream. Hearing there was over two thousand yuan was beyond his wildest hopes.

A mechanical whirring sound came from the ATM. The man was so excited he nearly rushed forward but then remembered the surveillance and held back.

Fang Chang’an picked up a stack of red bills from the withdrawal slot and said, “Uncle, don’t rush. You can only take out two thousand at a time. There’s still two hundred left.”

He turned and continued withdrawing.

“Vroooom—!!!”

A loud engine roar came from a street far away. Two dazzling headlights cut through the darkness and quickly approached.

The man shuddered, turned to look, then relaxed when he saw it wasn’t a police car. He urged again, “Is it done yet?”

“Yes!”

Fang Chang’an pulled out twenty-two bills, didn’t even take out the card or count the money, then took a couple of steps forward in the bank’s hallway and said to the man, “Uncle, give me my money pouch.”

The man urged impatiently, “Come here.”

Fang Chang’an shook his head firmly. “Throw my money pouch to me, and I’ll throw the money to you.”

The man’s face twisted with rage as he waved the small knife threateningly in a small arc. “I’ll stab you to death, believe it or not?”

Fang Chang’an recoiled near the ATM, legs weak, voice trembling with tears. “Uncle, you promised to give my money back.”

The man’s expression flickered twice before finally tossing the money pouch over.

With a “smack,” Fang Chang’an failed to catch it, and it fell to the ground. He wiped his tears, picked up the pouch, emptied his own money out, then rolled up the freshly withdrawn bills and put them inside. Sniffling, he said to the man, “Uncle, you took this money, so you have to return my two hundred yuan too.”

“Fine, fine. Hurry up and throw it over.”

The man agreed without hesitation, though inwardly he despised the boy’s stupidity. What kind of fool asks for money back instead of just keeping it? He couldn’t understand how the boy’s parents raised such a naive child. If his own kid were that dense, he’d be driven mad.

The foolish boy didn’t try to be clever. He stuffed every bill into the pouch without missing a single one, then threw the bulging pouch over, reminding again, “Uncle, don’t cheat me. You have to return my two hundred yuan first, and my pouch too…”

The man didn’t even bother cursing this imbecile. He bent down, grabbed the pouch, and ran off, turning back to threaten, “If you scream, I’ll stab you!”

Just then, under the bright bank hallway lights, the foolish kid seemed to smile faintly at him.

That was the smile of a child who had just been scared stiff, who cried nonstop and couldn’t even remember a simple password—naive to the point of obliviousness, yet calm and composed in a way no one would expect, even finding the whole thing somewhat amusing.

This thought flashed through the man’s mind, but he had no time to ponder. He hurried to put distance between himself and the scene, only to see the glaring headlights of a small car screech to a halt by the roadside.

The driver’s door swung open, and a burly, fierce-looking man practically leapt out, heading straight toward him.

The man didn’t immediately realize what was happening but instinctively sensed danger. He stared at the fierce stranger for less than a second, confirmed the man was coming for him, and sprinted in the opposite direction.

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“Stop!”

Chang Chao’s sharp yell made Fang Chang’an flinch. The sturdy man, not very tall but muscular, closed the distance like a hunting leopard in a documentary, closing in swiftly.

The man glanced back and saw Chang Chao was right behind him. Trembling, he drew his small knife, face twisted with menace, and croaked, “Don’t come closer! I have a—”

Before he could finish the word “knife,” Chang Chao pounced with lightning speed, grabbed the man’s knife hand, and squeezed hard. The man groaned in pain as the knife dropped. In the next moment, Chang Chao had him pinned to the cold ground with one arm twisted behind his back.

“Damn!”

Fang Chang’an stood in the bank hallway, wide-eyed and stunned, feeling like he was watching a scene straight out of a movie. That was intense!

Shen Chengyan had just arrived and, seeing Fang Chang’an safe in the bank corridor, let out a long sigh of relief. He walked over and shouted, “Chang’an, are you okay?”

“Uncle Shen, I’m fine, thanks to you all arriving in time.”

Fang Chang’an stepped down the stairs, full of admiration, and said to Chang Chao, “Uncle Chang, you’re amazing!”

“That’s nothing. Your Uncle Chang served in the military,” Shen Chengyan said with a relieved breath, then praised Chang Chao, “If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have dared come alone.”

Chang Chao searched the man on the ground, tossed Fang Chang’an’s money pouch out along with two hundred yuan and a battered old wallet. He said to Shen Chengyan, “Check if there’s an ID.”

Fang Chang’an squatted down, opened the wallet, didn’t even check for money, and pulled out a worn ID card. “Da Liuzhuang village, Li Yan, born in ’69.”

The man, pinned to the cold ground, trembled all over and shouted, “I won’t dare again! It’s my first time! Please don’t call the police! I’ll pay, I admit my fault, I’ll kneel and beg—please don’t call the cops…”

“Call the cops? Hell no! I’m the police!” Chang Chao said.

After confirming the man had no other weapons, Chang Chao pulled him up, twisting his arms. “Behave yourself. The patrol car is coming. We’ll talk later.”

“Officer, please spare me this once. I won’t do it again… My wife and kids are waiting for me to come home for New Year…”

“You have kids?!” Chang Chao raised his foot as if to kick but stopped himself. “Your kids are waiting at home, and you come here with a knife to rob someone else’s?”

“I was wrong. I swear I won’t do it again… I lost all my wages gambling. I’m ashamed to go home for New Year…”

The man was either repentant or terrified, snot and tears streaming as he begged. His dogskin hat lay on the ground. Close up, he looked like a rather honest middle-aged man, thinning hair, and a miserable expression that aged him beyond his years.

Several people from nearby shops heard the commotion and came to the street to watch from afar. Some approached cautiously.

Fang Chang’an handed Shen Chengyan the ID and wallet, then bent down to pick up the man’s dogskin hat, dusted it off, and gently placed it back on the man’s head.

The man, still weeping and begging, was taken aback. He looked up at Fang Chang’an’s tear-streaked face.

Fang Chang’an smiled and said, “Uncle, everyone makes mistakes. When you do, you have to admit them. Admit them sincerely, hope for leniency, reform well, and start anew after.”

The siren of a police car wailed closer. Fang Chang’an paused, then smiled and added, “And don’t gamble anymore.”

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