Mountain boy picks stars

1

It was late at night at Zhou Sixuan's home.

Zhou Sixuan sat at the dining table, facing the sumptuous dinner her father had prepared.

She had no appetite and was irritable.

Zhou Sixuan sighed, "Ugh! This child is driving me crazy! He's usually so well-behaved in class, how could he suddenly decide to hitch a ride on a train to Guangzhou to get an autograph from a pop star? What if something bad happens to him? A while ago, Gao Yuke from our class hanged himself because of his obsession with a celebrity, and I already had to write self-criticisms and write apologies. It's made me physically and mentally exhausted, and I'm almost completely broken. And these past few days, the principal has been calling me, the grade head has been calling me, and the parents have been calling me too. What if something else happens? I'm so worried!"

Mr. Zhou advised her, "You have to stay calm when something happens. There's no use in being so anxious! We must learn from the Gao Yuke incident and make sure there are no more problems like this."

Zhou Sixuan: "Ugh, this is so infuriating!"

Mr. Zhou: "We need to analyze Huang Xiaoxing's situation more thoroughly and think about why he ran away. This generation of primary school students is very different from your generation. Television and movies have a huge influence on them now. Most of the information they receive every day comes from the words and actions of singers and movie stars. Primary school students are very imitative, so simply forbidding them from idolizing stars won't stop them. We need to find ways to guide them!"

After finishing his sentence, Mr. Zhou went back to the inner room and retrieved a stack of notebooks, handing them to his daughter: "Sixuan, these are some experiences and insights I've accumulated over my lifetime of teaching. When you have time, you can read them carefully. With elementary school students, you must consider their individual characteristics and guide them onto the right path!"

Zhou Sixuan: "Hmm, that makes sense."

Mr. Zhou: "I've been thinking a lot about the issue of teenagers idolizing celebrities lately. Traditional education always encourages children to learn from famous figures in science and culture and to become scientists when they grow up. This is certainly correct, and now classrooms and campuses in primary and secondary schools are filled with portraits of scientists, artists, politicians, military leaders, thinkers, writers, poets, etc. However, these future life goals are too far removed from the age and psychological characteristics of today's primary and secondary school students, and they also lack more concrete operational methods."

Zhou Sixuan: "That's what I thought too. But I can't think of a better solution right now."

Mr. Zhou: "Could we set some more specific, intuitive, tangible, and achievable goals for the children based on their age and psychological characteristics, and encourage them to pursue them? I have some ideas here, you can think about them further."

"Hmm," Zhou Sixuan took the stack of notebooks and nodded thoughtfully.

2

It was late at night, inside a rented house.

The lights were off in the simple, rented room.

Moonlight streamed in through the glass opening.

Huang Xiaoxing could still be seen lying on the large, old wooden bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

His hands were tied to the wooden slats of the bedside table with rope by the swindler to prevent him from escaping.

The door lock was suddenly turned and rattled from the outside.

Huang Xiaoxing lay on her side on the bed, staring wide-eyed in terror.

The door opened, and the conman entered carrying a bulging travel bag and turned on the light.

Huang Xiaoxing quickly closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep.

The scammer placed the travel bag on the ground and first drew the curtains.

He looked out the window a few more times, and when he was sure no one was following him, he finally relaxed.

He took off his coat, opened his travel bag, and with a gleeful expression, took out the stolen cell phone, woman's handbag, gold necklace, cash, and other valuables as if admiring his spoils.

They were all laid out on the broken coffee table.

He muttered to himself, "This time I'm going to be rich."

Huang Xiaoxing, who was lying in bed with her head covered by a sheet, secretly watched all of this.

The swindler glanced at Huang Xiaoxing, who was lying on the bed.

Still feeling uneasy, he walked towards Huang Xiaoxing again.

Huang Xiaoxing quickly closed his eyes, pretended to fall asleep, and started snoring.

The swindler walked to the bedside, bent down, and put his ear close to Huang Xiaoxing's head, hearing Huang Xiaoxing's jealous snorting.

He then shook the rope binding Huang Xiaoxing's hands to the headboard.

He chuckled contentedly and muttered to himself, "Damn, sleeping like a log."

The swindler then took the notebooks from under Huang Xiaoxing's pillow: "Sign the little brat's name on them again, and he'll be happy tomorrow. Then let him sell these goods at the flea market; the kid won't suspect a thing."

The swindler picked up the notebooks and sat down on the sofa.

He then took out a thick-tipped pen from under the tea table and, while lying on the tea table, imitated H4's handwriting to sign H4's name one by one in the notebook.

Huang Xiaoxing secretly squinted and saw everything.

He closed his eyes again and pretended to be asleep.

After the ink dried, the swindler quietly placed the notebook next to Huang Xiaoxing's pillow.

I turned off the light and lay down on the outer side of the bed to sleep.

3

One sleepless night, in Huang Xiaoxing's rented apartment.

Huang Xiaoxing's father, Huang Dahe, sat on a broken chair with his feet propped up on a wooden board.

He was munching on a packet of instant noodles in one hand and chugging a bottle of beer in the other.

His hair was disheveled, his face was full of sorrow, and his eyes were vacant.

After finishing a whole bottle of beer, he grabbed an old-fashioned cell phone and dialed the police station:

"Hello, is this the Chuangxin Road Police Station? I'm the parent of the missing student from Huanghe Experimental School who was reported missing the day before yesterday. Is there any news about my child, Huang Xiaoxing?"

The phone rang back: "We have contacted the Guangzhou police. Don't worry, we will notify you as soon as we have any news!"

Huang Xiaoxing's father, holding the phone, suddenly slumped onto the sofa.

Staring blankly ahead, he muttered to himself:

"Huang Xiaoxing, my precious darling, if anything were to happen to you, how would I live my life..."

4

Inside a rented residential house.

Morning, dawn.

After the scammer got up, he shook Huang Xiaoxing:

"Huang Xiaoxing, get up quickly, look what good stuff I brought you!"

Huang Xiaoxing sat up groggily: "Uncle, what's this good stuff?"

The swindler hurriedly untied Huang Xiaoxing's ropes, pretending to feel sorry for her.

He rubbed Huang Xiaoxing's wrist, which was marked by the rope, and said:

"Huang Xiaoxing, I'm so sorry to have to put you through this. Uncle has no choice! The police are checking household registrations every day, and there are so many human traffickers. If you were abducted, where would Uncle find you?"

As she spoke, she opened the notebooks on the bedside table and showed them to Huang Xiaoxing.

"Look, I met up with some close buddies for drinks yesterday, and H4 came too. They were so happy they all signed your autographs. Look at those stylish autographs!"

Huang Xiaoxing picked up the notebook and held it to her chest, deliberately pretending to be very excited:

"Wow, it really is H4's autograph! Now H4 and the five superstars have all signed autographs for me and my classmates. I'm so happy!"

Then, feigning a worried expression, she asked, "Uncle, how much money did this cost you?"

The conman nonchalantly said, "Money is no big deal. As long as it makes my Huang Xiaoxing happy, I'm willing to spend any amount of money!"

Huang Xiaoxing: "Uncle, you're so good to me, how can I ever repay you!"

The swindler brought over a large travel bag, opened it, and showed it to Huang Xiaoxing:

"Actually, it's very simple. A friend owes me some money, so I'm using these things to settle the debt. We can just take them to the flea market today and exchange them for some cash. I know too many people, so I'm sorry. It's best if you, a young person, can handle it!"

Huang Xiaoxing pretended to be scared: "Uncle, is this stolen? I...I'm afraid of the police..."

The conman glared at Huang Xiaoxing: "Steal? In our line of work, how is that stealing? Are you going or not? If not, give me my money back!"

Huang Xiaoxing calmed down for a moment and said, "Uncle, I'll go. Can you come with me? I'm really scared to go alone."

Scammer: "Okay, okay, I'll go with you. What's there to be afraid of? You rest for a while, I'll go out and buy some breakfast, and we'll eat first before we go."

After finishing his sentence, the swindler went outside and locked the door from the outside.

Huang Xiaoxing went behind the door and tried to open it, but couldn't turn the knob.

He retrieved the thick-tipped pen from under the coffee table, then flipped through the notebooks, carefully examining the signatures on them.

I discovered that all those so-called celebrity signatures use the same font.

He drew a few strokes on the paper below with the pen, and the handwriting was almost identical to the signature above.

He finally understood everything.

He angrily cursed, "Liar, liar, complete liar! This isn't some superstar's or H4's autograph at all; they're just trying to fool me!"

He put the thick-tipped pen back where it belonged.

Upon opening the travel bag, I was secretly surprised to find so many cell phones, gold necklaces, and jewelry inside.

"How many homes has this swindler broken into?! Yes! I have to call the police!"

Huang Xiaoxing went to the window and found that there were still steel bars nailed outside, so he couldn't get out.

5

Early morning, on a secluded street.

The swindler was carrying a large, bulging travel bag in one hand and holding Huang Xiaoxing's hand in the other.

I walked carefully down the street.

They walked to the front of a shop, where a young woman was riding an electric scooter under a tree.

Lock the car and head to the mall to shop.

The swindler walked up to the motorcycle and, taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, casually pulled out a master key from his waist and skillfully opened the young woman's electric motorcycle's trunk.

He grabbed a woman's handbag from among them and quickly hid it in his pocket.

He grabbed Huang Xiaoxing's hand and hurriedly left.

Huang Xiaoxing opened her eyes wide, as if to say something.

But under the swindler's vicious gaze, he dared not utter a sound.

They can only be passively pulled forward.

A young woman walked out of a store carrying her purchases and was about to push her motorcycle when she suddenly discovered that the trunk of her motorcycle had been opened and her handbag was missing.

Then he exclaimed, "Who broke into my car? Catch the thief!"

The shop owner came out of the shop: "Strange? I haven't seen anyone come in. Maybe we should call the police!"

Young woman: "This is unbelievable! The train carriage was pried open in the blink of an eye. Where's the police station? I'm going to report it right now!"

The shop owner pointed in the direction Huang Xiaoxing and the swindler had gone:

"Turn right ahead and you'll be there! Oh right! I think those two people were just walking past the shop. Could it be them?"

Huang Xiaoxing turned his head and saw a young woman riding an electric motorcycle toward them.

6

On a narrow street.

The swindler led Huang Xiaoxing to the street intersection and then hurriedly turned left.

Huang Xiaoxing kept looking to the right, turning his head back as he walked.

He saw a short distance to his right that the young woman had stopped her electric motorcycle and was talking anxiously to two patrol officers.

They kept pointing and whispering about him and the swindler.

Huang Xiaoxing finally felt that her chance to escape had come, so she suddenly broke free from the swindler's hand.

He ran toward the young woman and the patrol officer behind him.

While running, he shouted:

"Police officer—please help me—Auntie—this person broke into your electric scooter—"

The scammer was shocked and quickly gave chase.

He grabbed Huang Xiaoxing with one hand and carried the large travel bag with the other, then turned into the alley next to him and ran.

He cursed as he ran, "Damn it, you little brat, you tried to betray me! I'll crush you and throw you into the Pearl River to feed the turtles!"

Huang Xiaoxing struggled and kicked desperately in the swindler's elbow, but to no avail.

Two patrol officers heard the cries for help and quickly gave chase.

"Stop! Stop!"

7

A small grove of trees along the Pearl River, at noon.

The swindler, carrying a bag in one hand and dragging Huang Xiaoxing with the other, ran to a grove of trees by the Pearl River.

Two patrol officers gave chase.

"Stop! Stop! We'll shoot if you run again!"

The swindler, however, made up his mind and threw Huang Xiaoxing into the Pearl River.

He cursed, "You little brat, go feed the turtles!"

It then flowed downstream along the Pearl River.

Huang Xiaoxing struggled desperately, bobbing up and down in the river; the situation was extremely dangerous.

The patrol officers arrived just in time.

He bravely plunged into the Pearl River, lifted Huang Xiaoxing up, and swam towards the shore.

Finally, they carried Huang Xiaoxing ashore.

The scammers continued their frantic run.

The patrol officers chased after them on motorcycles.

The scammers continue their rampage.

The patrol officer on his motorcycle knocked the conman down.

The swindler cried out "Ouch!" and collapsed to the ground.

The patrolman got off his motorcycle, went up to the swindler, twisted his arm behind his back, and grabbed him.

8

Inside the police station, the police are giving Huang Xiaoxing a lesson.

Police officer: "Huang Xiaoxing, we understand your situation. Why aren't you at school at such a young age?"

Why are you out chasing after celebrities and stealing things instead of studying properly?

Huang Xiaoxing cried pitifully, "Waaaaah... Waaaaah... Officer, I came all this way just to get the autographs of the five superstars. But I'm definitely not a thief!"

"I'm really not a thief! It's that director uncle who's with us. He said the backing tracks for the 'Five Great Stars' album were stolen, and he's forcing me to get my bag. He'll only give me the autographed book of the 'Five Great Stars' if I hand over my bag..."

Huang Xiaoxing put the bag he had brought from the rented room into his backpack.

Open those notebooks and show them to the police.

Huang Xiaoxing: "Officer, look, this is what that director spent a lot of money on."

Please get autographs from these five superstars for our entire class.

The police looked at it and couldn't help but laugh: "Hahaha... what is this at all?"

The autographs of five superstars are clearly fake!

Another policeman came over and looked at the so-called "autographed book by five major stars".

I was amused too.

Another policeman: "Hahaha, it's fake. I've seen the signatures of those five superstars. It's definitely not this kind of handwriting."

Police officer: "Young man, you've fallen for that conman who claimed to be a director! He's a wanted conman and a habitual fugitive. Thank you for helping us catch him as soon as possible!"

Huang Xiaoxing was extremely surprised: "Huh? That long-haired man claimed to be a director, but he was actually a fraud."

A repeat offender on the run!

Police officer: "Little boy, have you finally realized your mistake?"

Huang Xiaoxing sighed, clutching his notebook: "Sigh, my classmates asked me to get autographs from five superstars..."

The fruits are all fake. How am I going to explain this to my classmates when I get back?!

The police officer sighed, "It's all because of blindly chasing celebrities! Huang Xiaoxing, don't worry..."

We will send it back to you through the public security system and explain the situation to your teacher.