"Did you hear? That boy from old Ye's family got arrested last night!"
"Ye Xuan? For real?"
"Could this possibly be fake? Several police cars pulled up right outside last night!"
"I saw it too. A bunch of cops rushed into old Ye's place and turned it upside down!"
"Whoa, what kind of trouble did that kid get into?"
"I heard he attempted armed robbery and stabbed someone!"
"No way, what I heard was that he sexually assaulted some girl."
"It was armed robbery all right—he robbed a woman, tried to assault her afterwards, and ended up stabbing her."
"How come I heard that kid is actually the Rainy Night Fiend?"
"What? Ye Xuan? The Rainy Night Fiend? No way!"
"Xiao Ye is such a good kid, there's no way he'd do something like that, right?"
"That just goes to show you can't judge a book by its cover!"
At 7:00 AM in the Splendid Heights residential compound.
People heading out early for work gathered together to gossip.
This compound was built with funds pooled by the Ming City Machinery Plant, where Ye Zhiming and his wife both worked.
Most of the residents were employees of the factory.
In a close-knit neighborhood like this, news about everyone's personal business spread fast.
Let alone something as major as the police searching someone's home!
In no time at all, more and more neighbors learned that Ye Xuan had been arrested.
Just as the rumors were getting increasingly outlandishly wild, Officer Zhang drove his car through the compound gates.
"Look at that, all huddled together gossiping about us."
"The commotion last night was way too big, nothing we could do about it."
"Still, our son thought of everything, knowing to have Officer Zhang come back with us."
"Our boy is really growing up."
Ye Zhiming and his wife were filled with emotion.
Actually, they had arrived an hour ago.
It was Ye Xuan who suggested they grab breakfast outside before heading back.
Because at that hour most people hadn't left yet, and the effect of clearing things up would be much weaker.
Even the two of them hadn't thought of that!
Ye Xuan had always been sensible before, but never this mature.
No wonder people often said a man has to go through setbacks to grow up.
"Look, another police car!"
"Is this one here for old Ye too?"
"Sigh, heaven knows what kind of bad karma old Ye racked up in his past life to end up with a son like this."
Amid the neighbors' pointing and whispering, the police car came to a steady stop.
"Well, everyone's out here!"
Wang Jiahui got out of the car and greeted the neighbors.
Before anyone could respond, Ye Zhiming and his son stepped out of the vehicle as well.
"???"
Everyone froze on the spot!
Some even suspected they were seeing things and rubbed their eyes repeatedly!
"Jiahui, what is this..."
Sister Zhang, who was on good terms with Wang Jiahui, walked over and looked at Ye Xuan, hesitating to speak.
Wang Jiahui stepped forward, took Sister Zhang's hand, and said, "Oh, don't even ask, it scared the life out of me and old Ye last night."
"What happened?"
"Ye Xuan got taken away by the cops last night!"
"Really?"
"Really, the police even came and searched our place. That scared old Ye and me so badly our souls almost left our bodies. When the two of us rushed to the police station to ask what was going on, guess what?"
"What?"
"Ye Xuan is totally fine!"
"Huh?"
"Not only is he fine, but Bureau Chief Chen even said our Ye Xuan is a hero!"
Wang Jiahui proceeded to recount the situation.
To prove she wasn't lying, she even pulled Officer Zhang over.
When the people learned that the police had captured the Rainy Night Fiend based on clues provided by Ye Xuan, the entire crowd erupted in a commotion!
"Whoa, Xiao Ye is that impressive?"
"Xiao Ye just eliminated a major scourge for our Ming City!"
"I knew it! Xiao Ye has been sensible since he was a kid, how could he ever do anything illegal?"
"Achieving such a huge feat at his age, Xiao Ye has an unlimited future ahead of him!"
"Xiao Ye, Auntie stewed some pork ribs this morning, I'll bring you a bowl later~"
Listening to the neighbors praise her son, Wang Jiahui beamed from ear to ear. "Oh, Ye Xuan is still just a kid, it's not as exaggerated as you all make it sound~"
Ye Zhiming pulled out a pack of cigarettes, handed them around one by one, and then lit one for himself with a look of blissful satisfaction.
Just as he was about to put away the remaining half-pack of cigarettes, Ye Xuan snatched them right out of his hand. "You need to smoke a little less."
Ye Zhiming chuckled. "You brat, starting to boss me around now, are you?"
With that, he reached out to grab them back.
These were a pack he'd just bought this morning, cost 10 yuan a box!
If he hadn't considered handing them out to the neighbors, he never would have bought such expensive ones.
Before he could succeed, however, Wang Jiahui pinned him right where he stood. "He's telling you to cut back for your own good. Son, Mom supports you!"
"Thanks, Mom~"
Ye Xuan chuckled mischievously, and under his dad's resentful glare, stuffed the cigarettes right into his own pocket.
Mission accomplished, got his smokes for the day sorted out~
While feeling quite pleased with himself, he saw Grandpa Liu, who lived right downstairs, walking over carrying a transparent plastic bag.
Taking a closer look, the bag contained mixed cold noodles in sesame paste.
The layer of red chili oil floating on top made anyone's appetite surge at a single glance!
"I haven't seen Grandpa Liu for nineteen years, seeing him again really feels so warm~"
The moment this thought popped into his head, Ye Xuan gave a violent start!
In his past life, Grandpa Liu passed away on the morning of the very next day after he was arrested.
And the cause of death was none other than cold noodle poisoning!
Could it be... this bag of cold noodles?
As thoughts raced through his mind, Ye Xuan hurried forward to greet him. "Grandpa Liu, haven't eaten yet?"
"Not yet, just bought these cold noodles. When I get back, I'll just cook some congee and heat up a steamed bun, and that's a full meal~"
With that, Grandpa Liu asked in confusion, "Isn't today Monday? Why aren't you at school yet?"
"Got some business at home, heading over in a bit. Did you buy these cold noodles at that stall on the east side? They look delicious."
"Yeah, I just love buying from them, authentic stuff—if I don't eat it for a day, my whole body feels uncomfortable."
"I haven't had these in ages, what you said just got my cravings acting up. Here, let me have a sniff to satisfy the craving."
"Making fun of Grandpa Liu now, aren't you? If you want to eat them, just take them, I can always go back out and buy more, no big deal."
As he spoke, Grandpa Liu handed the bag of cold noodles right over.
Ye Xuan chuckled, took them, and said, "No need, just letting me smell them is enough."
With that, he opened the plastic bag and brought it close to his nose to sniff.
Fragrant, very fragrant.
Sniffing again, there was a faint sour undertone.
It was just that this sourness was masked by the rich aroma, and without careful distinction, it was completely unnoticeable.
Having confirmed his suspicion, Ye Xuan pretended to let go by accident, and the bag of cold noodles dropped straight to the ground.
"Hey you kid, why are you so clumsy? Hurry up, go buy another portion for Grandpa Liu."
Wang Jiahui had been keeping an eye on this side all along, and seeing this happen, immediately took out her wallet and walked over.
Grandpa Liu quickly stepped in to stop her. "It's just a bag of cold noodles, I can buy them myself."
Right as the two of them were tugging back and forth, a stray dog ran over.
Seeing that it was about to eat the cold noodles on the ground, Ye Xuan hurriedly rushed forward to chase it away.
Who should pull him back but Ye Zhiming, who grabbed his arm. "Let it eat if it wants to, if it doesn't eat them, it's just going to waste."
Ye Xuan: "..."
Dad, do you have any idea that you are currently aiding and abetting the murder of a dog?
While he was racking his brains trying to think of a solution, the stray dog had already gobbled the cold noodles into its belly.
Over on the other side, the tug-of-war had also neared its end.
After much persuasion from Grandpa Liu, Wang Jiahui finally put her wallet away.
Then he prepared to head back out to buy another portion of cold noodles.
Right at that moment, however, the stray dog suddenly started foaming at the mouth and convulsing all over!
"What's wrong with this dog?"
"Is it poisoned?"
"What the hell, the cold noodles are poisoned! The cold noodles are poisonous!"
Everyone who witnessed the scene was shocked.
A perfectly fine dog started foaming at the mouth right after eating those cold noodles.
Even a fool could guess there was something wrong with the noodles!
Grandpa Liu was so frightened his legs turned to jelly and he collapsed right onto the ground.
When he finally regained his senses, he scrambled up, hurried over to Ye Xuan, grabbed his hands, and said, "Xiao Ye, you saved my life!"
At the same time, the System prompt rang out.
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, for successfully altering the trajectory of fate and earning a reward of karma points!"
Ye Xuan: "???"