On her way home, Guan Yao discovered something magical.
Four hundred yuan had reappeared in her wallet.
She knew very well that she had just given that money to her tutoring teacher.
"Did I remember wrong? Did I bring too much?" Guan Yao muttered to herself, puzzled. "Or did I really bring too much?"
When she got home, Guan Yao carefully checked her secret stash and found that it was indeed short by 400 yuan instead of 800.
"Never mind. If I forgot to give it to him, I'll double-check with Teacher Li next time and pay him the rest."
After that, she spent several hours reviewing everything Teacher Li had taught before finally falling asleep in peace.
Early the next morning, before the alarm even went off, Guan Yao sat straight up in bed.
She deliberately got up half an hour early, washed up briefly, and carefully checked the stationery and documents she would need for the exam. Then she put on the same clothes from yesterday that could hide her injuries and headed out toward the exam venue.
The early morning streets were still shrouded in a light mist, with the sky gradually turning a pale, fish-belly white.
The trees along the street stood quietly. A gentle breeze blew through from time to time, making the leaves rustle as if they were cheering Guan Yao on.
Guan Yao walked briskly, silently reviewing the knowledge points she had learned the night before, every step firm and steady.
When she arrived outside the exam venue, the clamor of voices instantly shattered the early morning peace.
Parents gathered in small groups of twos and threes, talking in low voices, their eyes full of care and concern for their children.
As for the test-takers, some looked nervous, flipping frantically through the review materials in their hands, while others feigned calm, though they could hardly hide their slightly trembling hands.
Right at that moment, Guan Yao saw that familiar figure—He Junkang's mother.
Mother He was standing not far from the entrance of the exam venue, her gaze fierce like an enraged beast.
The moment she caught sight of Guan Yao, she charged right over, reaching out to block her from entering the exam venue.
"It's all your fault, you jinx, that my son got locked up! If he isn't released today, don't even thinking about taking your exam in peace!"
Mother He screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice sharp and piercing, standing out jarringly among the crowd.
The surrounding test-takers and parents cast curious glances one after another, and the already noisy area outside the exam venue instantly grew even more chaotic.
Sunlight broke through the clouds at some point, shining directly onto Mother He's distorted face, exposing her anger and ferocity in full view.
Guan Yao tried to bypass Mother He, but Mother He refused to let up, reaching out and shoving Guan Yao's shoulders hard while continuing to hurl curses:
"You heartless girl, my son liked you so much, how could you send him in!"
"If my son doesn't come out today, I'm not finished with you!"
Guan Yao was shoved into a stumble. Her injured arm and calf were jarred, turning her face ashen with pain.
Enduring the pain, she raised her voice and said:
"Ma'am, your son broke into my home with a knife and kidnapped me. That is illegal and criminal behavior!"
"I didn't want things to turn out this way either, but I can't treat my own life and safety as a joke!"
"Hmph, stop making excuses here! My son just loved you too much, which is why he acted on impulse. You wouldn't agree to be with him, and then you drove him into a corner!"
Mother He refused to listen to Guan Yao's explanation at all. Growing increasingly agitated, she flailed her arms, nearly striking a nearby test-taker.
At that moment, the surrounding parents began to scold Mother He one after another:
"What kind of person are you? The kids are about to take their exams, stop making a scene here!"
"Exactly, isn't there anything that can wait until the exam is over?"
Acting like she had lost her mind, Mother He turned her head and roared at the parents:
"What do you people know! All of you, shut your mouths!"
Just as the scene was descending into chaos, an officer maintaining order outside the exam venue noticed the commotion and hurried over.
"What's going on here? Everyone needs to follow exam venue order and not cause trouble here!"
The officer said sternly.
Yet Mother He remained relentless, pointing at Guan Yao as she shouted loudly:
"Officer, it's her! She's the one who got my son arrested, I want her to get my son out!"
Guan Yao took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down, and said to the officer: "Officer, yesterday her son broke into my home and kidnapped me. All of this is on record."
"I'm here today to take the college entrance exam, and I hope you can help me maintain order so I can enter the exam venue smoothly."
The officer looked at Guan Yao, then glanced at Mother He, and said: "No matter what conflicts exist, as long as it's not a current, active criminal offense, it cannot interfere with candidates taking their exams."
"Ma'am, please leave immediately and stop obstructing exam venue order, or else we will take compulsory measures."
Seeing this, Guan Yao turned back to Mother He and added: "Also, it looks like you don't understand the law. I'm voluntarily giving up my review time to give you a lesson in legal education."
"He Junkang's armed home invasion and kidnapping has seriously violated the law."
"It's not up to me to release him just because I say so. Even if I were to issue a statement of forgiveness on my end, it wouldn't work."
"The prosecuting party in a criminal case is the procuratorate, not me."
"It's one thing if you don't understand the law, but don't come here disrupting the college entrance exam venue."
Guan Yao took a deep breath, remembering how she had been tormented to the point of agony by Mother He in her past life.
In a flash, a desire for revenge welled up within her, and she continued: "Your son didn't just commit a minor mistake. Armed home invasion and kidnapping is a serious violent crime, and it will leave a stain on his permanent record that can never be erased."
"Once he goes in for good, his future is completely ruined. This is all the result of you constantly indulging him. If you keep making a scene like this and obstructing the administration of justice, you'll end up eating prison food right along with him!"
Finding mere factual blows insufficiently satisfying, Guan Yao kept pressing the attack on a moral level: "As a mother, you should have taught your son to walk the right path, but instead you blindly condoned his evil deeds."
"A lenient mother ruins her children!"
"Indulging a child is as good as killing them!"
"Take a look at what he's like now—it's all your fault!"
Guan Yao's words were deafening, causing the parents standing nearby to nod in agreement.
"Not only do you refuse to reflect on yourself, but you come to the exam venue to throw a tantrum, affecting so many children's exams. How can your conscience rest easy? Everyone is watching your joke, and your doting pampering made your son He Junkang a criminal, while turning yourself into a public target."
"I advise you to stop while you can and go home to reflect properly on your own faults." Guan Yao's voice grew louder and louder, her attitude increasingly firm: "Otherwise, picking quarrels and provoking trouble in a public place, and causing serious disruption to public order, constitutes the crime of picking quarrels and provoking trouble."
"The maximum penalty you can face is five years in prison!"
"This is the college entrance exam venue, not your home!"
Guan Yao practically roared the last sentence.
The onlookers cheered for her one after another.
Several anxious parents chimed in: "Why aren't you getting lost already! If my child misses the exam because of you, I won't do a single thing for the rest of my life except target your family!"
Another parent, already rolling up their sleeves and baring their arms, looked ready to step in.
Seeing this, the officer hurriedly added: "That's right. Don't look at her as just a student—she understands the law much better than you do."
"If you continue to roar at the exam venue and disrupt public order, I'm warning you, I will take compulsory measures."
Mother He wanted to say something more, but seeing the officer's stern expression, she ultimately left while hurling curses:
"You just wait for me, this isn't over!"
Guan Yao watched Mother He's retreating figure, let out a breath of relief, and gratefully thanked the officer and the surrounding parents.