Chapter Thirty-Two: The Broken Car

Unexpectedly, just as he was about to reach home, a traffic accident occurred. Mo Shu let out a light sigh. Fortunately, he hadn't driven his RT500 today; otherwise, his heart would certainly be bleeding at this moment. In fact, he owed this to his father. If it weren't for his father's reluctance to sell the old A-class car that had accompanied him for years, Mo Shu wouldn't have worried about it deteriorating from being parked too long, nor would he have taken it out for a spin today.

"Hey, do you even know how to drive?" Before Mo Shu opened his door, he was already assaulted by the curses of the driver ahead. The other was a middle-aged man, nearly fifty, who leapt from his car, swearing as he strode over.

Mo Shu signaled Wang Yining not to open her door and calmly got out to inspect the damage. Luckily, both cars had only suffered scratched paint; otherwise, he might have had to walk home tonight.

"You brat, crawling along in that junk, what are you doing?" Mo Shu had intended to negotiate the matter, but the middle-aged man continued to hurl abuse.

"Uncle, take a look at the sign. The speed limit on this street is fifty. I was driving at over forty; that's not exactly slow. Besides, the accident happened because you forced your way into my lane," Mo Shu raised his hand and pointed at the signpost, speaking with reason.

The man realized he was in the wrong, but refused to back down, so he kept ranting, "Who cares about your forty or fifty speed limit? There’s no camera here. I can't stand folks like you, driving these junkers out to block traffic. Just scrap it already!"

He repeatedly called Mo Shu’s car "junk," and Mo Shu’s face grew increasingly displeased. The man was only driving a barely luxury-brand sedan worth a little over three hundred thousand, yet had such a sense of superiority.

Clearly, the man was a spouter who knew nothing of traffic laws. Mo Shu couldn’t be bothered to argue. He turned away, slipped back into his car, and shut the door, ignoring the curses outside.

"Hey, can't argue so you hide in your car? Come out and pay up!" The man's unreasonable persistence was truly impressive.

Wang Yining couldn't hold out any longer. She pulled out her phone to call the police, but Mo Shu pressed it down, signaling her to be patient.

"Why won't you let me call the police?" Wang Yining asked, surprised.

"Don't worry. It's late, and the fault is clear. Whoever calls the police first loses," Mo Shu explained.

"I don't get it…" Wang Yining was confused.

Mo Shu chuckled gently and patiently explained, "First of all, it's obvious the accident was caused by him, right?"

Wang Yining nodded.

"Since the responsibility is clear and it's not a serious accident, it's usually best for both parties to settle privately. Police are people, too—they need rest. If you call them out this late for a minor paint scratch, anyone would be annoyed. Wouldn’t you?"

Wang Yining suddenly understood. "You mean, whoever calls first makes a bad impression and ends up at a disadvantage?"

"Not entirely. Even if the officer is annoyed, he'll judge based on the facts. But since we’re completely in the right today, why invite trouble?" Mo Shu's words made Wang Yining nod repeatedly.

"I didn’t expect you to be so calculating… Did you analyze me like this back then, too?" Wang Yining feigned suspicion, squinting at him.

"You see, if this uncle weren't so unreasonable, I wouldn’t have resorted to this, would I? Besides, in a way, I’m considering his perspective, too," Mo Shu replied with a look of grievance.

The middle-aged man saw them chatting inside the car and grew frantic, stomping over to pound on Mo Shu’s window and continuing to curse.

Seeing that the man was nearly losing his mind, Mo Shu rolled the window down just a crack and said coldly, "Uncle, I can’t reason with you. Call the police."

"Call the police? You think I won’t?" The man, teeth clenched in anger, rushed back to his car to fetch his phone.

"Hello! I want to report an accident… The other party is fully at fault! My license plate is…"

…

It turned out that even in the depths of night, the temperature in Nanshan City was quite low. Mo Shu started the car and turned on a bit of warm air for Wang Yining, who was rubbing her arms for warmth.

Soon, the flashing red and blue lights reflected on the car window.

Mo Shu turned off the hazard lights and calmly got out to retrieve his triangular warning sign placed a distance away.

"Hello! Were you the one who called?" A young traffic officer stepped forward and saluted, then addressed the middle-aged man.

"Yes, I called. Officer, please judge fairly…"

The young officer smiled and motioned for the man to calm down, waiting until Mo Shu had packed up his warning sign before questioning each of them separately.

After the two had described the incident, the officer examined the scene carefully, took photos, collected their documents, and asked them to move their cars to the roadside. He smiled again and said, "Uncle, you forcibly changed lanes, which is a violation. Even if the front car was driving slowly, there’s no minimum speed limit here, so you are fully responsible."

"Officer, how can it be all my fault? He was driving so slow, how can anyone get through?" The man grew agitated at the mention of full responsibility.

The young officer frowned slightly and asked, "If that's the case, should I also suspect you of speeding?"

"This…" The man was momentarily speechless, unable to argue.

After a while, he finally understood and sighed, saying to Mo Shu, "Fine, it's my bad luck. How much do you want? I'll pay."

Mo Shu waved his hand. "Forget it, Uncle. My car is barely scratched. Yours is worse off. Let's each handle our own repairs."

"Oh, young man, how can I accept that? Look at your car—it’s already a heap. Is three hundred enough? Wait, let me get the money." The uncle was indeed straightforward, still emphasizing the word "heap" even now, making Mo Shu and the officer smile wryly.

But just as the uncle leaned into his car to look for his wallet, a short, thin man suddenly appeared, shoved the uncle to the ground, and sped off in the uncle’s car.

Mo Shu and the young officer were too stunned to react. Behind them, police sirens were suddenly approaching.

"Hey, we’re in pursuit of a wanted house robber and murderer—a short, thin man in his twenties. Did he run this way?" Two police cars screeched to a halt before the young officer, and a rugged-looking policeman asked urgently.

"He stole a silver sedan and sped off that way!" The young officer pointed ahead in haste.

"Thanks! That kid is quick!" Before the words had even finished, the two police cars had already raced off.

"A wanted criminal? That serious?"

Seeing this, Mo Shu quickly jumped into the "heap" to join the chase, but heard the uncle shouting from outside, "Young man, take me with you, or I’ll worry about my car..."