Ren Jun was gone, leaving just Xue Rui and Qiu ngze to wander the streets.
"My uncle left a few hundred bucks. See anything else you want to eat?"
Xue Rui figured since they had a rare chance to be out, he should at least treat his good buddy to a better al.
"We’re already out, so look over there." Qiu ngze’s eyebrows shot up, his expression full of excitent.
Following Qiu ngze’s gaze, Xue Rui saw an internet cafe called "New World."
It was after ten at night, and the entrance to the internet cafe was bustling. A crowd of teenagers with hair dyed every color of the rainbow were squatting by the door, smoking and making calls.
"Is that all you can think of?" Xue Rui cursed with a laugh.
He didn’t veto the idea, though. It wasn’t that he wanted to go, but Qiu ngze had been completely listless at school for the past few days, like he was going through withdrawal.
If they ca all the way to the internet cafe’s doorstep and he *still* didn’t let him go in, ngze would probably hold a grudge for life.
"I’ll call Yi Bing in a bit. If a teacher does a dorm check, he’ll say we went to the bathroom," Qiu ngze said, clearly experienced in these matters.
"Heh heh... I ca out without any money, Brother Rui. Mind buying a few drinks?" Qiu ngze said with a grin.
"So it’s ’Xue Rui’ when you don’t need anything, but ’Brother Rui’ when you do? Fine. As long as you don’t smoke next to , I’ll even order you so barbecue."
The two walked toward the entrance of the New Century Internet Cafe, arms slung over each other’s shoulders.
As they passed a small alley, Xue Rui glanced to the side. A few punks with brightly colored hair were harassing a high school girl in a school uniform.
The girl was wearing the uniform of First Middle School, and tears were welling up in her eyes.
"Just gettin’ out of school, little lady?"
"Don’t touch ! I live right around here!" the girl shouted.
Xue Rui paused. ’She’s pretty sharp,’ he thought. ’Saying that usually works, but at this hour, there’s nobody on the streets. The threat is a lot less effective.’
"So what if you live nearby? We ain’t done nothin’."
A red-haired youth shot her an arrogant look and reached out to touch her fair cheek.
"Co on, let’s go in and see if there are any open computers," Qiu ngze urged, pulling at Xue Rui’s arm.
He had seen it too, of course, but he usually just pretended not to notice this sort of thing.
He was afraid Xue Rui would suddenly get a heroic impulse and start a fight. Then he’d be stuck, not knowing whether to run or stay.
"ngze, you know why you can’t get a girlfriend? This is a perfect chance for a hero to save the damsel in distress!"
Xue Rui let out a sly laugh and started dragging Qiu ngze toward the alley.
"Xue Rui, those guys are street toughs!" Qiu ngze cried out anxiously.
He was terrified of people like that. They ran in packs, cigarettes dangling from their lips, acting all high and mighty. It reminded him of fight scenes from TV shows.
Xue Rui had to hold back a laugh. ’Street toughs? More like street trash.’
Only a sheltered student like Qiu ngze, who’d spent his whole life at school, would be scared of a few petty thugs.
Qiu ngze dug his heels in, desperately trying to pull Xue Rui toward the internet cafe, but Xue Rui had him in a headlock and was dragging him into the alley instead.
In the end, Xue Rui’s superior strength won him the contest.
The two of them drew closer and closer to the dark alley.
"Brother Rui! I’m begging you, I really don’t want to be so hero! Can’t we just call the cops? Or call your uncle, that works too." Qiu ngze was truly terrified now.
Half an hour ago, he would have gladly stood up for the girl. With a legendary figure like Brother Jun backing them up, he wouldn’t have been afraid of these guys in the slightest.
But now, with Xue Rui pushing him to be the hero, his knees were knocking.
"Call the cops?"
’If calling the cops actually did anything,’ Xue Rui thought, ’would these guys be acting so brazenly?’
These punks didn’t have the guts to *actually* break the law, but they sure had a talent for being disgusting.
Even if the cops did show up, they’d just laugh it off with excuses like "we got the wrong person" or "we were just trying to make a friend."
In reality, they hadn’t done anything truly illegal. They’d just touched her cheek and made a few lewd comnts. The police couldn’t officially charge them with anything; the most they’d get is a lecture.
Arrest them for disorderly conduct? Don’t be ridiculous. The police are busy enough as it is. They deal with too many of these incidents, and it’s a complete waste of their ti.
They were like flies buzzing around your head. You swat at them and they scatter, but the mont you stand still, they’re back, flitting in your face and driving you crazy.
"You just need to be more assertive," Xue Rui suggested. "Just say the girl is your sister."
Ignoring Qiu ngze’s pleading, he gave him a shove forward and yelled, "What the fuck do you think you’re doing? Let go of my buddy’s sister!"
He didn’t know the girl, but ’it’s always best to have a justifiable reason when you’re sticking your neck out for soone.’
As long as you were firm and claid she was family, the punks would realize you weren’t going to back down. They’d get bored and leave on their own.
Xue Rui’s roar startled the punks. They turned to see two students in high school uniforms.
They could tell with a single glance that the one in front, Qiu ngze, was a timid, by-the-book student.
So one of them asked scornfully, "And how are you gonna prove she’s your sister?"
"Hey, little lady, you know this kid?"
Seeing that soone had co to help, the girl looked at Qiu ngze with pleading eyes.
But Qiu ngze’s performance was thoroughly disappointing.
"Th-that’s my sister. You guys should go, I’m taking her ho."
Qiu ngze kept his head down, his body trembling so much he could barely get the words out.
"Says you? By that logic, I could say she’s *my* sister!" A punk with yellow-dyed hair and a sleazy attitude stepped forward and gave Qiu ngze a shove.
"I..." Qiu ngze’s eyes darted around, avoiding contact.
Xue Rui sighed in resignation. He stepped forward and smiled at the girl. "Guoguo, let’s go ho."
The girl was visibly stunned to hear the na "Guoguo."
But she was quick on the uptake. She knew this boy was trying to help her. Her tears, which she had been holding back, finally broke free. "Brother~" she cried, her voice trembling.
"You’re her brother?" one of the youths demanded, shoving Xue Rui.
Xue Rui snatched a beer bottle from a nearby trash can.
CRACK! The glass bottle shattered against the wall.
He held the jagged neck of the broken bottle and advanced with slow, deliberate steps, his gaze dark and nacing.
Xue Rui was powerfully built, and with the intimidating "weapon" in his hand, he looked even more imposing. For every step he took forward, Huang Mao subconsciously took one back.
Huang Mao swallowed hard. He stared at Xue Rui for a long mont. The other boy’s gaze was terrifyingly resolute, without a hint of hesitation.
He suddenly realized that this kid had never intended to just trade words. He had only given him a single push, and the kid was already acting like he was ready to kill.
He’d been around the block for years; he knew that the quiet ones were often the most vicious when a fight broke out.
This guy was dead set on taking the girl, and he didn’t want to tangle with soone like that.
He tried to de-escalate the situation. "Bro, we were just kidding around. Go on, take your sister ho."
"You’d better have been," Xue Rui sneered, taking the girl’s hand and turning to leave.
The girl didn’t resist. She could see from his Hedong Second Middle School uniform that he was just a high school student like her.
"Phew..."
Watching them walk away, Huang Mao finally let out a sigh of relief. Xue Rui was far more ruthless than him. That calm, dark gaze had put him under imnse psychological pressure.
"Who was that kid? He just looked like a high schooler," the red-haired youth said. He had also sensed sothing was off with the atmosphere, which was why he hadn’t rashly jumped in to help his buddy.
"I don’t know. But if we see that girl again, we’d better not ss with her."
Huang Mao shook his head. He had no desire to go looking for that kind of trouble again.
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