Chapter 284 - 270 The familiar him
A very strange feeling.
Like falling into an icy abyss.
The sensation of the blade pressed against her skin felt so real.
"Nobody move! If anyone moves, I’ll kill her!"
This wasn’t an empty threat. Her throat tightened, so much that it was hard to breathe.
"Don’t hurt her," the man in the trench coat said, his voice deep and steady.
The more dangerous the situation, the calmer Tian Sangsang became.
She knew she must have lost her usual carefree demeanor, her head forced into a slightly upturned position.
Today’s hairstyle was a traditional Chinese updo. It must be a mess now.
Could her hand reach behind to pull out a hairpin and stab this bandit who dared to threaten her?
She even found herself thinking absurdly: So this is what it feels like to be a hostage. This kind of scenario only happens in movies.
But is this hostage the cannon fodder character or the heroine?
Will someone come heroically to save the damsel in distress?
Her eyelashes fluttered slightly as she glanced at the man in the trench coat.
The man’s gaze was intense, fixed directly on her, his dark eyes as deep as the night.
It was hard to discern his emotions, but he was likely nervous, wasn’t he?
After all, no police officer wants to fail at rescuing a hostage.
"Yes, don’t hurt her. Calm down!" Zhao Chun stared anxiously at Tian Sangsang, speaking to the bandit. "Don’t harm her. Whatever you want, we’ll give it to you. Money? Valuables? We can get it all for you. Just let her go."
Hearing this, the bandit’s eyes shifted toward Zhao Chun, though his grip didn’t relax.
Judging from Zhao Chun’s attire, they didn’t seem like ordinary folks. Perhaps this group had money and valuables to offer.
The bandit seemed tempted but quickly glanced at the gun in the trench coat man’s hand, losing his nerve. That weapon, after all, was aimed squarely at him.
Besides, he still had an accomplice outside who could barge in at any moment.
At this point, money and valuables were useless. What mattered more than his life?
Today, he would either escape or fail to escape.
If escape was impossible, he decided he would drag this woman down with him. Dying like that wouldn’t be such a loss.
"Don’t think you can distract me!" the bandit growled, gripping tighter.
In this life-and-death moment, Tian Sangsang broke into a cold sweat internally. Where was his brain? Saying such a thing was basically admitting that his attention had already been distracted!
Could he loosen his grip just a bit? The knife pressing against her throat hurt!
Tian Sangsang could summon a knife or cleaver from her personal space at any time, but now wasn’t an option.
She could only place her hope on someone else to save her.
"Let her go." The man in the trench coat gestured toward Tian Sangsang with his gun, unmoving. "You only have two choices: death or releasing her. Let her go, and we’ll let you leave. We won’t take you to the police station."
The bandit sneered in disbelief. "Who would trust your word? If I let her go, I’m the one who’ll die! Put the gun down!"
"Put the gun down, or I’ll die with her!"
Still holding Tian Sangsang, he started backing toward the train door.
"Fine." The man in the trench coat lowered his head, his face cold and razor-sharp.
"Tell your partner to disarm," the bandit demanded again.
The trench coat man and his partner exchanged a glance. The trench coat man nodded.
"Kick your gun over to me," the bandit said to the trench coat man.
"Kicking it over is too troublesome," the man said, curling his lips into a faint smile. "How about this: I hand you the gun, and you hand me her. A fair trade."
The bandit hesitated, seemingly weighing which was more advantageous: the gun or the hostage.
The man held his gun in his hand, slowly raising both hands in a show of surrender.
"With the gun in your hands, we wouldn’t dare try anything. So what are you hesitating for?" he said, taking steady, measured steps forward. His voice was calm: "Look, my partner has already disarmed. He’s no threat to you anymore. And my gun, I’m handing it over now."
For some reason, although it seemed like the weapons were being surrendered, Tian Sangsang felt a strange sense of reassurance.
Perhaps it was because of this man’s steady, unhurried pace. He didn’t seem flustered in the least.
And his voice—oh, his voice was beautiful. Somehow so familiar too.
The bandit’s focus was entirely on the gun the man extended toward him. He snatched the gun in one hand but didn’t push Tian Sangsang forward.
In an instant, the man’s hand struck the bandit’s shoulder. He seized the knife and, with a swift move, pulled Tian Sangsang into his arms.
The pain in the bandit’s shoulder made him pull out the gun and pull the trigger decisively.
"Ah!" The onlookers cried out in shock, covering their ears.
But the explosion they’d braced for didn’t happen. There was no heart-shattering gunshot, no bullet piercing flesh—just utter silence.
"No bullets," the trench coat man’s thin lips curved slightly in amusement. "Disappointed?"
The gun was empty! No wonder he’d been so calm earlier! Tian Sangsang exhaled in relief.
The bandit’s expression shifted from dumbfounded to ferocious. Just as he seemed ready to lunge, a gun pressed against his temple.
It was the trench coat man’s partner. "Don’t move. This one’s loaded for real."
If they hadn’t been trying to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, they wouldn’t have gone through so much trouble. Those bandits wouldn’t have lived this long.
Tian Sangsang was now flooded with the gratitude of narrowly escaping death. She glanced down and realized that the man’s hand was still wrapped around her waist.
"..."
He silently withdrew his hand, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it casually.
"Thank you," Tian Sangsang said, coughing lightly after inhaling some secondhand smoke. "Really, thank you so much, Officer. I was terrified just now!"
He exhaled a puff of smoke, clearly uninterested in shaking hands. "You didn’t look scared at all just now. You’ve got guts. But if it happens again, even ten officers won’t be able to save you."
"Haha, that’s because I trusted you, Officer. I knew you’d save me. What’s your name?"
"Jiang," he said.
Tian Sangsang thought the name sounded odd but didn’t dare probe further. "Oh, Officer Jiang."
"And you?" he asked suddenly, looking intently at her. "What’s your name?"
"Tian Sangsang." Her smile lit up her face, her teeth gleaming white.
"Sangsang?"
"No, it’s Sangsang."
"Which ’Sang’?" he asked again, staring deeply into her eyes.
Why so many questions? Tian Sangsang pondered briefly before answering, "The ’Sang’ from ’Huang Sang’."
"Hmm?"
"The ’Sang’ from ’Sang Xin’ (heartbreak)."
"..."
"No, no... The ’Sang’ from ’Sang Shen’ (mulberry)."
"Tian Sangsang, right?" he repeated, enunciating every syllable.
"Yes."
"..." He flicked away the cigarette. "Where are you headed?"
"I was on my way to film..."
"Sangsang!" Before she could finish, Zhao Chun and the others surrounded her. After checking her thoroughly to confirm she was unharmed, they all expressed their endless gratitude to the man.
The man nodded lightly and returned to his seat.
The bandits were handed over to the local police station, medics were brought in to attend to the injured, and Tian Sangsang and Zhao Chun returned to their seats as the train resumed its journey toward its destination.
The train car was quiet as everyone calmly processed the lingering adrenaline from the ordeal.
"Wipe your neck," Zhao Chun handed her a tissue, muttering softly. "You’ve got no sense of self-preservation, Tian Sangsang. You came so close to dying. A little further, and I’d have to find a new lead actress."
Tian Sangsang’s legs still felt weak as she accepted the tissue, dabbing lightly. Sure enough, there was blood. "What, cursing me now? Look, I’m perfectly fine."
"That’s because of the police," he sighed in helplessness. "We really should thank him properly. But he doesn’t seem interested in talking to us."
"True." Tian Sangsang glanced back. "People like him don’t expect anything in return. How about this, I have some osmanthus cakes in my bag. We can offer those to thank him."
"I’ll go. You stay seated," Zhao Chun said.
(Thanks to dear ardelle for the 2100 book coins reward! Muah~)