Chapter 8: The Setup

“Fake accident! Someone’s staging a scam—”

The anxious, angry shout of a child caught the attention of passersby, who all stopped and turned toward the alley.

An eighty-year-old man lay on the ground, clutching tightly to the little boy’s pant leg, struggling to shout out, “You little brat! You hit me and now you want to run?”

The crowd whispered among themselves.

“Isn’t that Old Mr. Peng’s precious grandson, Peng Zhengqi?”

“Peng’s grandson hit someone?”

“Tsk, the Peng family’s in trouble now.”

“That kid’s too young to handle this kind of mess. We should call Old Mr. Peng and the others to come over quickly.”

Peng Zhengqi hurriedly defended himself, “You’re the one faking it! You deliberately threw yourself in front of my bike!”

“No, you hit me! I—I—I…ow, it hurts so much…”

The old man groaned, clutching his knee, “I think my leg’s broken.”

Seeing that he didn’t seem to be pretending, some kind-hearted bystanders called for an ambulance, dialing 120. Others called the police at 110.

“The old man’s pants are ripped from the fall—it doesn’t look like a staged scam.”

“Did anyone actually see Peng’s grandson hit the old man?”

“I only came over because I heard the noise.”

“I was just passing by the alley’s entrance, but I was looking straight ahead and didn’t see what happened inside.”

“Are there any surveillance cameras here?”

“No. The alley from the entrance to the bend is only a few meters long, so no cameras were installed. The cameras inside can’t capture the entrance because of the corner.”

“No witnesses, no camera footage—no matter how right Peng’s grandson is, it won’t prove anything. In the end, he’ll have to pay.”

Though Ying Shu didn’t approach the crowd or get a clear view, she could piece together the gist of the situation from their words. Every time the old man spoke, a pair of glowing words—‘lying’—seemed to hover above his head. It was obvious he was staging the scam.

But what could she do?

That wasn’t evidence to clear Peng Zhengqi’s name—unless she lied and claimed to have witnessed everything.

“Who says there’s no camera?”

A soft, childish voice whispered in Ying Shu’s ear.

“Giggle, the camera’s on me. It’s a secret device drug dealers put on their brothers to see if they’re undercover.”

Who was speaking?

Ying Shu scanned her surroundings. The nearest person was at least five meters away—no one close enough to whisper in her ear.

Besides, how could a drug dealer put a camera on a child? Were they really going to have a kid tail an undercover agent 24/7? That was absurd.

“Sigh, even if there is a camera, the drug dealer won’t show the footage to prove the old man’s scam.”

“If only I were human… I’d have witnessed the old man’s fake accident and could prove the boy’s innocence.”

If only I were human...

That meant the other party wasn’t human!

Ying Shu recalled that Su Xianding had said those with wood-element abilities could communicate with plants and trees. So the voice must have come from the plant life nearby.

There was a large tree right beside her.

Ying Shu looked up at the tree but saw no camera.

She placed her hand on its trunk and asked, “Where is the camera?”

---

[Huh? This young lady mentioned a camera? Does she know there’s one on me? How does she know? Is she working with the drug dealers?]

Ying Shu wiped the sweat from her brow. “If I were with the drug dealers, would I be asking you where the camera is?”

[Whoa! The young lady is answering me? She can hear me?]

“Yes, I can hear you. Now tell me where the camera is.”

[Yay! Finally, a human hears me. Maybe I won’t be so bored anymore.]

The tree seemed delighted, its voice full of surprise and joy.

[The camera’s here.]

The tree trunk rustled toward the alley entrance.

Ying Shu spotted the camera hidden among the leaves.

Just then, the ambulance and police arrived.

Old Mr. Peng, along with his son and daughter-in-law, rushed to the scene, quickly shielding Peng Zhengqi behind them.

The police first asked if anyone saw the child hit the old man. Everyone said no, but no one saw the old man staging a scam either.

The police had to check for footage, only to find no camera at the alley entrance.

“I saw it.”

Suddenly, a clear female voice cut through.

The crowd watched as Ying Shu pushed through and approached the police.

Old Mr. Peng, already in a foul mood, grew even angrier when he saw her.

“I knew my grandson was unlucky, and it turns out you’re the jinx who brought this trouble. If not for you, my grandson wouldn’t be caught up in a fake accident.”

The onlookers chimed in.

“This shouldn’t be Ying Shu’s fault, right?”

“Who knows? Anyone who crosses Ying Shu ends up unlucky.”

“Go on, get lost! Or do you want me to smash you with a bike?”

Old Mr. Peng lifted his grandson’s bicycle threateningly.

“Dad.”

His son and daughter-in-law hurriedly held him back.

“Fine, I’m leaving. Don’t come begging me to stay later.”

Ying Shu didn’t want to waste warmth on cold shoulders. Seeing their unwelcoming attitude, she lost the will to testify—after all, she wasn’t the one who’d pay in the end.

She turned and slipped back into the crowd.

“Ying Shu! Ying Shu!”

Old Mr. Peng’s son called out anxiously.

Old Mr. Peng snapped, “Why are you calling her?”

His son pleaded, “Dad, Ying Shu said she saw everything. Maybe she can clear Zhengqi’s name.”

To him, paying compensation was minor—but the child must not be falsely accused.

Old Mr. Peng was speechless.

Ying Shu acted as if she hadn’t heard him. Even when the police stopped her, she said lightly, “When I said ‘I saw it,’ I meant I saw a fly buzzing around—annoying as hell.”

Old Mr. Peng was left speechless.

He felt Ying Shu was calling him a fly.

The police couldn’t stop her after that.

Others said, “Old Mr. Peng was too impulsive, offending her right away. Now she won’t testify. If I were pushed away like that, I’d leave too.”

Old Mr. Peng was again at a loss.

“I think Ying Shu’s in the wrong. If she saw what happened and did nothing, she could be detained.”

“But Ying Shu never said she knew the details—how could she testify?”

Old Mr. Peng’s son believed Ying Shu had witnessed the incident and called her again.

Ying Shu still ignored them.

Then Peng Zhengqi ran out, calling, “Sister Shu!”

Ying Shu stopped instantly.

To be honest, Peng Zhengqi was quite a good kid.

He was in the same class as Ying Yu. After learning Ying Yu was ill and couldn’t attend school, he secretly brought fruit every week to Ying’s home to visit him.

Sometimes, he would teach Ying Yu what he learned at school. Though not the best student, he was earnest in his teaching.

He was also polite and got along well with Ying’s family.

Setting all that aside, she couldn’t let Peng Zhengqi be falsely accused because of his grandfather. Letting the scammer succeed would also break the boy’s spirit.

Peng Zhengqi asked, “Sister Shu, did you see that I was the one being scammed?”

Old Mr. Peng opened his mouth, wanting to say something good but couldn’t find the words.

Ying Shu turned and said, “Yes, I saw it. I saw that old man deliberately grab your bicycle and then fall to the ground to make others think you hit him.”

In truth, it was the tree that saw everything; she was merely relaying it.

Old Mr. Peng was both surprised and grateful. He didn’t expect Ying Shu to help them after being scolded, and awkwardly averted his gaze.

His son happily told the police, “See? My son didn’t hit anyone.”

The old man, groaning while being bandaged, shouted, “That little girl knows you, of course she’d help you!”

“You old bastard, you…”

Old Mr. Peng rolled up his sleeves, looking ready to fight.

Ying Shu calmly pointed to the tree. “There’s a camera there to prove I’m not lying.”

The old man looked nervous when he heard about the camera.

The police used a long stick to part the leaves and indeed found a camera.

Everyone was amazed. They’d lived here for years but never knew there was a camera in that tree.

Now the old man couldn’t hold his ground and quickly changed his story: “I remember now, I was about to faint and grabbed a bike, then fell down. I was dizzy and confused, so I mistakenly thought the child hit me.”

Old Mr. Peng spat, “I think you’re just scared the camera will expose your lies and land you in jail.”

“I was about to faint—I made an honest mistake.”

After the nurse finished bandaging him, the old man hurried away.

Seeing no hope, the crowd dispersed as well.

Peng’s son wanted to thank Ying Shu properly, but she had already vanished.