031: I'm a Bad Guy, Okay? Not a Hero

"Get down!"

This was the cry of the onlookers.

At that moment, Qi Lin's mind went blank. He could only rely on muscle memory as he lunged forward and shielded the girl beneath him.

Boom!

A deafening explosion sounded, and the air filled with dust and debris.

"Hiss~"

Qi Lin felt a sharp pain in his back and his ears rang with intense tinnitus.

But thankfully, he didn't pass out.

A few minutes later, he confirmed there would be no more explosions and slowly stood up, still shaky.

The girl beneath him was unharmed.

She got up by herself, then started crying, her eyes locked on Qi Lin as if she wanted to memorize his face forever.

Qi Lin looked around and realized that hundreds of people had gathered around the explosion site, staring at him in shock.

No one could believe that such a young man had just saved more than a dozen lives in mere moments.

"Oh~"

Clap clap clap~

"Hero! Hero! Hero!"

Someone in the crowd started cheering, and soon, the applause and cheers became deafening.

No matter where or when, heroes are always celebrated, and no one would dislike or disrespect them.

Seeing this, Qi Lin couldn't help but grin.

"It feels good to be a hero, but it's a pity I was born a bad guy. I can be a hero sometimes, but don't count on it for the rest of my life."

However, not everyone was cheering for Qi Lin from the bottom of their hearts.

Not far away, a man was glaring at him, teeth clenched in frustration.

Kangda's expression was twisted in anger, and he couldn't help but ball his fists. "This guy is like a cat with nine lives. He didn't even die in this situation!"

Not only had Qi Lin survived, but he had become a hero, earning the crowd's praise.

The most frustrating part for Kangda was that the gratitude of the influential people on that bus was now priceless.

"Let's go!"

The more he listened to the cheers, the more uncomfortable Kangda became.

"Master Kang, aren't you going to watch?" the driver asked, confused. He hadn't seen enough of the spectacle.

"What for? You're not the protagonist!" Kangda snapped coldly.

The driver smiled bitterly and had no choice but to start the car and drive away.

---

Given the severity of the accident, the police arrived at the scene, along with the director of the Jiangcheng City Transportation Bureau.

"Good heavens, who was reckless enough to crash into you? Are you alright, Academician Zhao?" the director asked as soon as he arrived.

Zhao Zhiren wasn't just a top expert in cardiac surgery; he was also an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Some of the people he had operated on were ministers, so the director was understandably shaken.

If something had happened to Zhao on his watch, the director's career would likely have been over.

But Zhao Zhiren wasn't interested in speaking with him at that moment.

"Where is he? Where's the hero who saved me?"

Still in shock, Zhao didn't even know which direction he was facing.

Now that he was regaining his senses, he was horrified to realize that the hero who saved him was nowhere to be found.

"Director, we tried to stop him, but he insisted on leaving. Lili is following him now," a subordinate doctor quickly responded.

Zhao Zhiren was furious when he heard that the young hero had tried to leave before his team could thank him properly.

Just moments ago, when the Coaster had overturned and caught fire, so many bystanders had been too afraid to come forward. Zhao had been preparing to face death when Qi Lin sprinted a hundred meters to save them, while everyone else ran away.

Only God knew how touched he was by Qi Lin's courage. If such a hero were allowed to leave without recognition, Zhao's conscience would never forgive him.

In the past, Zhao had saved countless lives, but now he finally understood why families would kneel in gratitude before him.

"Fools! This young man saved all of us. Without him, we'd have all been burned alive, you understand?"

"Help me up. I want to thank him personally."

Not far away, Qi Lin returned to where he had parked his motorcycle.

Asking for rewards outright was beneath him. He had seen Zhao Zhiren waking up from the shock, so he pretended to leave.

While the other doctors hadn't stopped him, they had sent a young girl to follow him—the last girl he had rescued from the burning bus.

Now, she was trailing closely behind him.

"I told you, you're fine. Go home with your colleagues. Why are you following me?" Qi Lin asked, amused.

He had already spotted Zhao Zhiren approaching and was deliberately stalling.

Chen Lili glanced at Qi Lin again. Though his face was smudged with soot, his handsomeness still shone through.

Especially for Chen Lili, who had just been pulled from the flames moments before the Coaster exploded, that memory was as heroic and dominant as Zhao Zilong saving Adou single-handedly from the Wei army.

In a soft voice, Chen Lili said, "I can't let you leave like this. We haven't even thanked you. If we don't, none of us will ever have peace of mind."

At that moment, Zhao Zhiren arrived. "Lili is right. Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. You saved so many lives, young man. How can you just leave without letting us properly thank you?"

---

If you want to know who was Zhao Zilong, read below:

Zhao Zilong, also known as Zhao Yun, was a famous general during China's Three Kingdoms period (220–280 AD). He served under the warlord Liu Bei and later the Shu Han state. The story of "Zhao Zilong saving Adou single-handedly from the Wei army" refers to a legendary event from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a historical novel by Luo Guanzhong.

In the story, during the Battle of Changban, Zhao Yun famously rescued Liu Bei's infant son, Liu Shan (also known as Adou), who later became the ruler of Shu Han. At that time, Liu Bei's forces were fleeing from the pursuing Wei army. Zhao Yun, realizing that Adou had been left behind, single-handedly charged through enemy lines to save the child and fought his way back to safety, displaying incredible bravery and martial prowess.

This tale is one of Zhao Yun's most famous feats and is often cited as a symbol of his loyalty and courage. It's a key moment in Chinese folklore and popular culture, making Zhao Yun a celebrated hero.