A few men were standing next to the two, and they quickly surrounded the woman.
But the woman wasn't afraid. She stepped back slightly, shook her shoulders, and let the guitar case fall off. She then held the guitar case with both hands.
She wielded the guitar case like a big cleaver, wildly swinging it around.
No one dared to approach her for a moment.
The woman seemed deranged, like a lone weed on a cliff being whipped back and forth by the wind.
There were many onlookers around. After all, everyone liked a crowd. But they couldn't help but back away.
Harrison Clark watched all of this from a distance, inexplicably feeling sad.
He wanted to do something but instead found himself involuntarily turning his feet towards the side, unable to move.
Once she had driven everyone away, the woman finally stopped, cradling her guitar case with both hands, glaring at everyone present with hateful, disgusted eyes.
When the woman stopped acting crazy, the young man she had slapped came forward, holding his face. "Miss Thomas, it's just a late-night supper. Is it worth risking your life like this?"
Harrison finally saw the woman's face clearly. It was Carrie Thomas.
His mouth fell open slowly.
To intervene or not? Could he even help? Was it worth it?
Once the young man finished speaking, the other men silently surrounded Carrie from all sides.
Carrie gritted her teeth and slowly said, "I told you I don't know you. I'm not interested in dealing with you. Get out of my way. I'm leaving."
The young man shrugged, "I know you're going to The World's End next. No problem, I'll call the boss there. Tell him you can't make it tonight due to some last-minute issues, and I'll help you get a leave. Come on, give me some face? Look, I haven't even argued with you about the slap."
Carrie didn't submit. "Get lost! What do I care about saving your face?"
Seeing that she couldn't be persuaded, the young man signaled to his accomplices, intending to get tough.
At that moment, there was a loud commotion nearby.
"Wow, what a sight! It's the year 9012, and there are still people trying to rob women in broad daylight like a feudal lord? So capable! With a little money and a sports car, you think you can settle everything with cash? Did you grow up eating the Manchu banquet?"
Harrison appeared next to them with his phone in hand, the flash on, the camera pointing at everyone.
He was recording.
He came over after all.
As he filmed, Harrison shouted, "Hey! Come check this out! Pretty ladies, beware! If your girlfriend is pretty, you better watch over her too! See? These rich second-generation kids are so capable, they'll tie up your girl, take her away in a car, and then throw money at you to forget about it. Are you scared yet?"
With Harrison's loud and bold intervention, the crowd who had been indifferent before now flocked to the scene.
The group of young people was caught off guard.
In the past, they had been able to bully people on the streets without anyone saying anything.
Everyone knew that getting involved in other people's business wouldn't end well.
If someone really did intervene, they would just use money to settle the matter after beating them up.
As rich people, they had a whole set of methods for dealing with the poor.
But all of their actions were always done in secret. If they were filmed and the videos went viral online, it would be a trouble, big or small.
"Who are you? What nonsense are you talking? Miss Thomas and I are friends. What's wrong with inviting a friend to dinner? Mind your own business."
After a brief thought, the young man who had been slapped earlier retorted.
Harrison smiled and took another step forward, "Friends? If you're friends, shouldn't you be considerate of each other?"
He then looked over to Carrie, with his eyes signaling her to come closer.
Carrie, holding her guitar, stood there hesitating.
She subconsciously didn't want to get close to Harrison because he was also an annoying person.
And today, her embarrassing situation had been seen by him, making her feel even more humiliated.
If she stood beside him now, wouldn't she owe him something?
Ultimately, however, Carrie took advantage of the situation and ran to Harrison's side.
She had to choose the lesser of two evils.
That young man shouted from behind her, "Miss Thomas, you better think it through. I know you want to be famous and sing. You should understand your current situation. You know how hard it is to get famous nowadays. I said I can help you. It's easy for me."
"You can ask around about who I, Eric Mitchell, am. There are many who want to suck up to me. I'm giving you the opportunity. You should cherish it. If you walk away today, don't bother coming back to the bars on Margaret Road."
So this young man was called Eric Mitchell.
Eric Mitchell's words were unmistakable; he was threatening Carrie Thomas.
Harrison Clark faintly remembered something: in another future timeline, Carrie indeed had a difficult life before attaining fame.
It wasn't until years later, when she became world-renowned, that the truth was uncovered.
It was said that she had offended a second-generation noble named Zhou in her early years, and was severely suppressed as a result.
Harrison hadn't expected to witness it firsthand, and even become involved.
He felt as if he had accidentally stepped into a significant historical event as an ordinary person.
However, the eventual outcome showed that Carrie eventually resisted, so even if he hadn't intervened, she should still have been alright.
Harrison felt slightly embarrassed and could only remark on the fickleness of fate.
Upon hearing Eric's threat, Carrie, who was by Harrison's side, only shrugged indifferently. "Heh, I don't care. Do whatever you want."
If she were afraid of others' threats, she wouldn't be herself.
"Alright, as you wish."
Eric immediately pulled out his phone and called the major shareholder of The 21 Club, her next intended destination.
Carrie didn't pay any more attention to Eric; she just turned around and left with her guitar in her arms.
After a brief thought, Harrison followed her from behind.
Within two minutes, Carrie's phone rang. She answered with a couple of "Mm-hmms" before hanging up, then turned around and headed back home.
She was going home already.
Just as Eric said, starting from today, it seemed Carrie wouldn't be able to continue singing in the bars of Margaret Road.
The pair headed towards Weston together.
Since she didn't initiate conversation, and Harrison didn't have anything to say, he decided to fall back a couple of steps, avoiding the awkwardness.
They walked in silence.
Carrie, carrying her guitar, appeared somewhat desolate.
When they reached the apartment building, she finally spoke in a barely audible whisper, "Thank you."
"Oh, it's nothing."
They exchanged speechless glances as they entered the elevator, exited the elevator, and went inside the apartment.
Before going upstairs, Carrie hesitated a bit, "By getting involved, you've offended the Zhou family too. I'm afraid he might come after you."
Harrison waved his hand nonchalantly, "I have nothing anyway; how can he cause me any trouble?"
"That's true."
Seeing his unconcerned attitude, Carrie forced a smile, "Your mentality is really good."
"What do you plan to do next? Keep singing?"
Harrison stopped Carrie, who had been about to go upstairs.
Carrie shook her head and then nodded.
"I don't know. I've rejected many people before, but none as persistent as Eric Mitchell. I'm probably a bit sick of it myself. This kind of life is indeed meaningless, and I can't see any hope."
As she spoke, she gave her guitar a wistful glance, "My family has spent too much money for me to study music. If there's really no other way, I might leave Oxfordshire altogether."
Her tone was desolate and filled with weariness.
Harrison desperately wanted to tell her not to give up, that she would become a person of Beethoven's caliber in the future.
But in the end, he couldn't bring himself to say it.
Speaking might prevent that future from happening.
"Hmm, you have your own plans. Get some rest."
Carrie lay in bed, propped up by pillows, her mind finally settling as she recalled the earlier events.
Upon calming down, she felt a slight sense of lingering fear.
Carrie knew her disposition was strong, but she was ultimately a woman.
She had already slapped Eric once; if it hadn't been for Harrison appearing with his phone, forcing Eric's gang to hesitate, she wouldn't have escaped her predicament.
Even if she hadn't been kidnapped, she might not have avoided getting beaten up.
For a villain like Eric, there probably wasn't any principle of not hitting women.