The bus slowly started.
It stopped at a bus stop.
A moment later, another person boarded.
As soon as this person appeared, they attracted the attention of most people on the bus.
This was because she was a very young and beautiful girl, appearing to be close to twenty years old.
She wore a fleece top and a skirt, and her face's first impression was perfection.
From head to toe, she exuded an aura of youthful vitality.
Following her were three young men with dyed yellow hair.
However, Chen Jie frowned as he glanced at them.
Although the three yellow-haired youths were dressed in an ostentatious style, a closer look revealed that they were not young.
The youngest among them had faint wrinkles on his face, suggesting he was nearing thirty.
A thirty-year-old dressed so flamboyantly was indeed rare.
Chen Jie didn't think much of it and closed his eyes to rest.
As the bus continued to travel, more passengers boarded, and the carriage became crowded.
Just then, Chen Jie's peripheral vision caught sight of one of the yellow-haired youths using the crowd as an excuse to move closer to the girl.
Simultaneously, his hanging hand suddenly reached into his pocket, pulled out a wallet, and secretly slipped it into the girl's small handbag.
"What are you doing?" The girl, approached by the yellow-haired youth, glared at him with annoyance.
"It's so crowded on the bus, what else can I do?" the youth said helplessly.
At that moment, the bus suddenly braked sharply, causing everyone to sway.
The youth pretended to fall towards the girl.
"Ah!"
The girl cried out in surprise and quickly dodged.
However, this movement caused her to bump into Chen Jie.
Chen Jie's heart stirred, and his hand swiftly reached out, retrieving the wallet that had been slipped into the girl's bag, and simultaneously placing it into his storage ring.
He had already roughly understood the ill intentions of the three youths. While he didn't want to meddle, he didn't mind lending a hand if he encountered it.
"I'm sorry..." Li Ziling said to Chen Jie, embarrassed.
Looking up, Li Ziling's gaze fell upon Chen Jie's face in astonishment.
So handsome!
Her face instantly flushed red.
"It's alright," Chen Jie replied.
At this point, the bus started moving again, proceeding forward.
The yellow-haired youth suddenly shouted, "Ah! Who stole my wallet!"
A commotion erupted on the bus.
The yellow-haired youth cried out in pain, "My money! Driver, stop quickly! There's a pickpocket on the bus!"
"What? A pickpocket?"
The driver was startled and quickly applied the brakes, slowing the bus down.
"Brother, what's wrong? Did you lose your wallet?" another yellow-haired youth asked, pretending to be a stranger.
"Yes! My wallet is gone! It just disappeared! Damn it, that was my mother's life-saving money!"
"You just lost it, but you're not sure if it was stolen, right?" the yellow-haired youth asked doubtfully.
"No! It was stolen, because there's a cut in my pocket made by a small knife!" the youth said angrily.
"Then are you sure your wallet was stolen on this bus?" the yellow-haired youth asked again.
"I'm sure, because I just took it out to pay when I boarded! Who, who stole my wallet! Hand it over now!"
The youth shouted mournfully.
"Cough cough, what kind of era is this, pickpockets are still appearing on the bus, it's truly shameless!" the third yellow-haired youth chimed in.
"Search! The thief is definitely still on the bus! Driver, don't drive off yet, we must find out who stole it and catch the thief!"
At these words, a refined-looking woman immediately expressed her displeasure, "It's just a lost wallet, what's the big deal? So many of us are rushing to work, we can't waste time with you all, can we?"
The two yellow-haired youths immediately pointed at her, saying, "How can you be like this? Don't you have any empathy!"
"Exactly, didn't you hear? That money was this brother's mother's life-saving money! If the thief escapes because of something you said, will you take responsibility?"
"Damn it, I hate selfish bastards like you the most!"
"Brother! I hate thieves the most, don't worry, as long as the thief is still on the bus, they won't get away!"
The woman turned red in the face from their accusations but couldn't retort.
Others who were in a hurry and wanted to express their dissatisfaction, upon hearing the two yellow-haired youths, felt too embarrassed to speak.
Chen Jie watched the performance of the three youths with a half-smile, saying nothing throughout.
At this point, the driver walked over.
He scanned around, "Young man, did your wallet really go missing on my bus?"
"I'm sure, you saw my wallet when I paid just now! There was twenty thousand yuan inside!"
"It's you!"
The driver looked at the young man in surprise.
He immediately recalled the young man.
It was rare for passengers on a bus to carry such a large amount of cash.
The thick wad of cash in the young man's wallet earlier had indeed left a deep impression on him.
"Twenty thousand yuan stolen, that's not a small sum! If the wallet is found, how will you prove it's yours?" the driver said.
"That's very simple, because my ID card is in the wallet! My name is Gong Jian, and I'll know as soon as it's produced!" Gong Jian said quickly.
Li Ziling watched with the attitude of an amused spectator.
This was her first time encountering such a situation.
The driver scanned the crowd, looking troubled, "But with so many people here, we don't have the authority to search them! How about I just drive the bus to the Public Security Bureau?"
"Ah?" Gong Jian was taken aback.
Clearly, he didn't want to go to such a place.
"Wait! If you drive the bus away, all of our time will be wasted, but I have a way to identify a few suspects!"
One of the yellow-haired youths suddenly said.
The driver asked him what his method was.
The yellow-haired youth sneered, "It's simple, this brother Gong Jian was robbed of his wallet because he flashed a large amount of cash when paying, and was targeted by someone with ill intentions!"
His gaze swept towards Li Ziling.
Li Ziling quickly waved her hands, "Don't look at me, it wasn't me!"
"I didn't say it was you!" the yellow-haired youth replied.
The driver frowned, "Then what is your method?"
The yellow-haired youth didn't answer immediately, and Gong Jian looked at him expectantly.
Gong Jian smiled and said, "My method is very simple. Everyone, think about it, if you saw someone displaying a large amount of money, when would be the most suitable time to make a move?"
"Let me share my thoughts! If I were a pickpocket, after successfully stealing, I would definitely try to leave the carriage and escape as quickly as possible! So the next stop will be the time for me to get off the bus!"
"There are two situations: one is that the pickpocket spotted Gong Jian's wallet from outside and followed Gong Jian onto the bus! Then he would definitely get off at the nearest stop!"
"The other situation is that the pickpocket was already on the bus. Then, when would be the most suitable time to make a move? It would definitely be when he is nearing his destination, because this would allow him to escape quickly!"
"We only need to check the passengers who need to get off at the next stop!"