“It’s really not valuable.” Eric let out a slow breath and tugged the string free from beneath his shirt.

“There. Satisfied?”

The moment Hadley saw it, something in her chest clenched.

The end of the red string revealed a surprising —a weathered peach pit whistle.

Hadley gazed at it in complete bewilderment. Hadn’t Eric forgotten everything? Yet he still kept close to his heart the whistle she had made for him.

“It doesn’t look like much, does it?”

“Then why is it so precious to him?”

“Maybe it’s some kind of antique.”

“Yeah!”

After a heated discussion, the group remained unwilling to abandon their pursuit.

“Hand it over!”

“No!” Eric’s voice dropped to a deadly low, and as he spoke, he launched a vicious kick at the man directly in front of him. Without letting his foot touch the ground, he struck another, then shoved Hadley aside and shouted, “Run! Get to the station!”

Startled, Hadley didn’t have time to think and simply obeyed, stumbling forward in a frantic dash. The wind roared past her ears. She didn’t understand and desperately wanted to turn back, to beg Eric to surrender it. After all, he had already given up a watch worth ten million; what possible value could that cheap trinket hold?

But she couldn’t turn back. Though he hadn’t finished his sentence, she understood—he wanted her to reach the station and summon the police.

Meanwhile—

“Argh!” The two men he’d kicked howled in agony.

“Catch that woman!”

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“I said—leave her alone!” Eric positioned himself protectively in front of them.

“Are you deaf or something?”

“Fine! We’ll beat you senseless first and then go after her!”

“Take him down! Beat him to a pulp!”

“Get that red string!”

“I told you—it’s completely worthless!” Eric shielded the red string with one hand, battling four men at once and gradually losing ground. Three of them wrestled him to the pavement while another raised his foot to stomp viciously on his back.

In desperation, Eric opened his mouth and clamped down hard on the peach pit whistle.

“Don’t listen to him! If he’s protecting it this fiercely, it’s gotta be worth something!”

“Quick, pry it out of his mouth!”

They gripped his jaw, trying to force it open, but Eric clenched his teeth and refused to yield.

“Damn, this guy’s stubborn!”

“What now?”

“Keep beating him! He’ll crack eventually!”

Finally, Hadley returned.

“Officer! Over there!” She was accompanied by railway police.

“Right there!”

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