Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Xiang ChangKong Gave Her a Shallow Smile

***

Xu Lian had opened this store two years ago, and had met a variety of guests during this time. She had met all sorts of troublesome customers, so she remained calm when she saw this group of men. After the group came in they drove out the two young girls out of the store, and Xu Lian didn’t try to stop them. These people obviously came for her, so she didn’t want to involve any of the customers.

She looked at the four men in front of her and asked: “What are you doing?”

The man that led the group smiled at her: “You’re Wei YiChen’s girlfriend? Very pretty.”

Xu Lian: “I’m not Wei YiChen’s girlfriend.”

The man continued to smile, clearly unconvinced: “Oh, don’t even try to act dumb. Say, where’s that bastard Wei YiChen hiding?”

“He’s gone abroad.”

“Gone abroad?” The man’s eyebrows twitched, and he mocked: “Oh, that bastard hit my shop and beat up my people. Now that ass ran off abroad.” No wonder they haven’t found him, despite searching for two days.

He looked at Xu Lian again: “Since he’s abroad, I guess his bills are on your head.”

As soon as he said this, one of his men ‘inadvertently’ hit a candle on the display cabinet, making it crash to the ground. The candle was directly molded in a glass cup. While it didn’t shatter when it fell, the resulting ‘bang’ caused the two girls who were lingering outside the store to startle.

Xu Lian looked at the group, went to the counter, picked up the phone, then dialed 110 directly.

“Hello, I’m in Starlight Park…”

She hadn’t finished when the phone was suddenly disconnected. Xu Lian looked up and saw the arrogant man in front of her.

“What, you want to call the police?”

Xu Lian didn’t bother answering. She put down the phone, then turned towards the second floor to grab her cellphone. The man seemed to have guessed her intentions, grabbing her hand and not letting go: “If you have the strength to call the police, might as well call Wei YiChen. Let him crawl back to this Master early! When he shows up, we won’t bother your store anymore.”

A crowd had started to gather outside the store. Xiang ChangKong had just parked his scooter when he saw this. He approached the crowd and asked: “What happened?”

A girl with long hair turned back to say: “There’s something going on in the shop.”

As if to confirm her words, the sound of broken glass could suddenly be heard, causing the crowd outside to gasp.

“Has someone called the police?” Xiang ChangKong’s voice became urgent. The girl who answered him seemed to have been affected by his tone and nodded quickly.

“Here’s the number for the security in Starlight Park. Call this number.” After giving her his phone, Xiang ChangKong quickly rushed inside.

As soon as he entered, he saw Xu Lian being viciously pulled. Without thinking, he ran to Xu Lian and grabbed the man’s wrist. He forced the hand away, then pulled Xu Lian behind him. Unlike Wei YiChen, he had no experience in fighting, but since he was tall, he had been forced to join the basketball team during his school days. He had the physical fitness for it if things devolve into a fight.

Just now, because he had only been thinking of Xu Lian, he hadn’t been paying attention to his strength. The man he pulled off rubbed his wrists, his face wrinkled: “Delivery boy, what are you doing? Actually trying to be a hero and save the beauty?”

The man’s voice was loud, as if he was trying to be heard from across the street. His brothers behind him didn’t bother with Xiang ChangKong, instead asking their leader: “Older brother, what’s wrong?”

The three of them shuffled towards their brother, like a wall standing before them. Xiang ChangKong, who was standing in front of Xu Lian, tilted his head slightly and whispered to her: “Go somewhere safe, the police are coming.”

This was the first time Xu Lian and Xiang ChangKong had gotten this close, his breath touching her face. Xu Lian had never noticed, but his voice was clear and gentle, and his temperament wasn’t as fierce as Wei YiChen. She felt at ease behind him.

The leader, Zhu Bing, had been cleaned up by Wei YiChen last time. Back then, Wei YiChen didn’t even look at him. Now, even delivery boys dare to cross him. Zhu Bing’s face deformed: “Hold down that fool who dares to confront this Master!”

His three younger brothers had always been obedient. When they heard his order, they immediately joined forces and approached Xiang ChangKong. Xiang ChangKong immediately pushed Xu Lian back, blocking the hand that stretched out towards her.

Another person’s fist immediately greeted him, and he avoided the punch. Zhu Bing saw that Xiang ChangKong was pretty flexible, then thought of a cheap trick. While Xiang ChangKong was distracted with his younger brothers, he grabbed his calf and pulled hard. Xiang ChangKong suddenly fell to the ground, and the three men hastily grabbed his hands, pressing him to the ground.

Xiang ChangKong struggled to get free, but there was no way to escape the hold of three people. Zhu Bing took advantage of this and kicked him in anger: “Hah, continue to struggle, continue!”

Xiang ChangKong sucked in, a sharp pain spreading from his abdomen.

Zhu Bing was still in a bad mood. He grabbed Xiang ChangKong’s collar and punched him in the face.

Xu Lian stood at the stairway, halfway to the second floor and saw Zhu Bing kick Xiang ChangKong. Then she saw him punch him in the face. The scene was like in slow motion, playing in front of her frame by frame.

A strange feeling swept through her uncontrollably. She didn’t know what it was, but she felt like her brain was lacking oxygen. The fighting and the noises outside the store melted away until she couldn’t hear it anymore. All she could see was Xiang ChangKong’s blood-stained mouth and furrowed brow.

Then, she calmed down.

She walked towards her mini garden, picked up the largest potted plant she could carry, held it high above her head, then slammed it to the ground.

The flower pot shattered, muddy soil splattering everywhere.

After the loud crash, sounds gradually returned. But the store became surprisingly quiet, with Zhu Bing and his three brothers looking at her.

Xu Lian bent down and picked up the largest shard of porcelain she could find. Grasping it firmly, she went over to Zhu Bing.

Her steps were quick, with her high-heels making crisp sounds at each step. It was similar to classic sound effects used in thriller movies, making people involuntarily sweat.

Zhu Bing subconsciously took a step back, pulling one of his brothers in front of him. He screamed, bluffing: “Hey, hey, what do you plan on doing? Stop her for this Master!”

Seeing two of the men approaching Xu Lian, Xiang ChangKong, who was still held down by the third man, started to struggle harder. His knee had gotten injured when he fell, but any pain was put at the back of his mind. He quickly escaped the man’s grip, then pulled back one of the men that was walking towards Xu Lian. Xiang ChangKong punched him in the face as soon as he turned.

“You’re just a takeaway boy, why are you looking for death?” Because of the punch, the group’s attention went back to Xiang ChangKong. With a cough, he raised his arm and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. He really wasn’t good at fighting. He had only ever fought twice- once when some boys bullied his sister during his high-school days, and the fight he was in now.

The tension in the store was on the verge of exploding, but before Zhu Bing could order his brothers, the door flung open and a large number of people entered.

“What’s going on here?! Stop!” Security guards for Starlight Park were the first to rush in, holding security batons. Seeing this, Zhu Bing wanted to take his men and withdraw, but the security guards had surrounded them. Xu Lian let go on the flower pot shard in her hand and walked to Xiang ChangKong: “How are you?”

Xiang ChangKong gave her a shallow smile: “I’m fine. How about you, are you hurt?”

Xu Lian shook her head: “No.”

Soon, sirens could be heard from the outside. Zhu Bing and his group became even more panicked. He took his young brothers, pushed past the circle of guards and ran out of Xu Lian’s store, only to be met with police.

Everyone was brought back to the police station. Because of the surveillance cameras in the store, Zhu Bing’s group had no excuse. From the moment they stepped in the police station, they were already clamoring for their lawyers. Xu Lian asked to be compensated for all the damages they caused in her store and insisted for Xiang ChangKong to go to the hospital for inspection, saying that she would sue Zhu Bing for their intentional assault.

Zhu Bing heard that she wanted Xiang ChangKong’s wounds inspected and also shouted for their own injuries to be examined, saying that Xiang ChangKong hit them.

Xiang ChangKong figured that Zhu Bing was someone who had old connections. If they really continued to pursue them, they could get involved with some wily old foxes. He was afraid that they would later seek revenge on Xu Lian, so he agreed to police mediation.

When they left the police station, Xu Lian was still frowning: “Why are you insisting on settling things privately?”

Xiang ChangKong: “You have a business in the area. If we butt heads with them, they could show up at your store and cause trouble. If they do this enough times, what’ll happen to your business then?”

Xu Lian knew that he was right. This was probably a usual tactic that Zhu Bing did, but she was still angry. She looked at the bruise in the corner of Xiang ChangKong’s mouth and said: “I’ll take you to the hospital. We need to get you checked out first.”

Xiang ChangKong shook his head: “It’s nothing, just some bruises. I’ll just go back and put some medicine.”

“No, you have to go to the hospital.”

Looking at Xu Lian, Xiang ChangKong continued: “I haven’t finished my deliveries. Now that I’m late, I have to call them and explain.”

Xu Lian finally remembered that Xiang ChangKong came to her store today to deliver her meal. This made her even more upset: “You losses today are on me.”

Xiang ChangKong: “It doesn’t matter, it’s not your fault.”

Yes, it was all Wei YiChen’s fault. Xu Lian now wanted to go abroad and punch Wei YiChen’s dog head.

***

WHEW. I just imagined cute baby Xiang ChangKong getting beat up and punk girl Xu Lian wielding that porcelain shard like she gonna shank someone.