After Curly hit the ground, several burly men with tattoos on their bodies immediately pounced on Ye Long!
To outsiders, a few brawny men taking on a small fry like Ye Long seemed like a piece of cake!
However, to everyone's disappointment, including the brawny men, they didn't even see how Ye Long made his move!
They just felt a sharp pain in their ribs, then their bodies became unsteady and they fell to the ground!
Clutching his wrist, Curly stared at Ye Long with surprise, evidently not expecting to encounter such tough resistance today!
He had wanted to show off, but instead got schooled. Had he known, he would have brought more people with him!
"Kid, didn't expect you to be quite skilled, eh? Who're you with?" Curly asked, trying to sound confident despite feeling nervous inside.
"Heh, I'm a freelancer! I don't follow anyone," Ye Long said with a smile.
"Do you know who I'm with?" Curly boasted, trying to intimidate Ye Long.
"Who?" Ye Long asked.
"Ghost Qi, the famous Seventh Brother of the East City District. If you know what's good for you, you'll kowtow twice to me right now, otherwise, I'll get Seventh Brother to take you down!" Curly said with a swagger.
"Seventh Brother? Why does that sound so familiar?" Ye Long thought for a moment and then remembered—wasn't this the backer that Mei mentioned?
"Yeah, I've heard of him. Go on, call him. I'll wait right here!" Having said that, Ye Long casually kicked out, sending Curly tumbling to the ground.
After finishing the fight, Ye Long closed the door behind him and then returned to the living room.
In the living room, Lin's mother and Lin Zihan stood in front of the sofa, looking at Ye Long in amazement.
"Uh… Lin's mother, Zihan, what are you staring at?" Ye Long approached the mother and daughter, who were lost in thought, and spoke.
Lin's mother looked at Ye Long incredulously and asked, "Ye… Ye Long, what did you do before?"
"I served in the army for a few years," Ye Long replied with a smile.
"So that's it, no wonder you're so formidable. You took them all down with just a few punches and kicks. You must've been a special forces soldier, right?" Lin's mother curiously inquired.
"Not special forces, just one level below that, but one level above the regular infantry, that's me," Ye Long babbled nonsense.
Of course, Ye Long couldn't possibly reveal his true identity, right?
Even if he did, it would be very hard for Lin's mother and Lin Zihan to believe.
"I see, I see, thank you so much. Come, sit down over here, Ye Long. We were so lucky to have your help!" Lin's mother said with a smile, inviting Ye Long to sit down.
"Mom, how can you even mention that? Didn't you charge him six hundred a month in rent?" Lin Zihan looked at Lin's mother and spoke.
With an embarrassed smile, Lin's mother replied, "Five hundred, five hundred will do."
"Lin's mother, please don't be polite, the contract is all filled out. Six hundred is six hundred," Ye Long said.
"No way, we agreed on a price, and any extra, I'm giving back to you!" Lin Zihan took out the money Ye Long had given and then handed a thousand yuan back to him.
Ye Long firmly refused, "I definitely can't take this extra money. How about this? Let's consider it next month's rent, all right?"
After some thought, Lin Zihan reluctantly nodded and agreed, "That works!"
"Ye Long, you haven't eaten yet, have you? I'll go cook something for you!" Lin's mother offered.
"This… this is really too much!" Ye Long touched his stomach, which was indeed starting to feel quite hungry.
"No need to be polite with Lin's mother. Without you, who knows what that old guy would have done?" Lin's mother said, then pushed Ye Long down onto the sofa, "Have some water first, I'll cook for you!"
"Well then, thank you very much, Lin's mother!" Ye Long politely said.
"Zihan, keep Xiao Ye company for a while, I'll go cook," Lin's mother told Lin Zihan, and then she went to the kitchen to prepare the meal for Ye Long.
Once Lin's mother was gone, Ye Long began to chat with Lin Zihan!
During the conversation, Ye Long found out that Lin Zihan worked for a family conglomerate company, one of the top business families in Ninghai City, qualifying her as a white-collar worker with a monthly salary of 5000 yuan!
With an annual bonus at the end of the year, her income reached over a hundred thousand!
A hundred thousand a year isn't a small sum for an average woman, but Lin Zihan hardly held onto any money, as every paycheck she received was taken by Lin Yonghai!
When Lin Zihan refused to hand it over, Lin Yonghai would beat Lin's mother violently, only stopping when Lin Zihan relented. This time, it was lucky that Ye Long was there; otherwise, Lin Yonghai would have given Lin's mother another brutal beating!
After listening to Lin Zihan's story, Ye Long felt quite sympathetic towards the mother and daughter. It was not easy for the two women to deal with such a good-for-nothing man who only knew how to gamble all day long.
During their conversation, Lin's mother finished cooking the meal!
"Xiao Ye, we didn't prepare much, just make do with these four dishes and a soup," Lin's mother said with a smile as she carried the food to the table.
Ye Long smiled, "Lin's mother, this is quite a feast to me. It smells delicious!"
"Well, don't just stand there, let's eat!" said Lin's mother, as she placed some food into Ye Long's bowl.
Ye Long was somewhat taken aback by the favor, as Lin's mother didn't give off that rough vibe she had when they first met.
A woman is a woman, after all, Ye Long thought. He had to make a good impression on Lin's mother; who knows, maybe in the future, he would be able to marry Lin Zihan!
Lin Zihan was definitely a beauty. Although her figure wasn't like those mature and sexy women, it was exactly this quality that made her seem like a bud waiting to bloom, a potential that needed exploring.
Indeed, such a woman was more appealing!
Of course, haste doesn't bring success, and Lin Zihan was certainly not one of those socialites you find at events!
Therefore, Ye Long knew he had to treat Lin Zihan with proper respect, not like how he acted at bars, hitting on any pretty girl he saw.
If a girl agreed, then he would directly take her out to a hotel room!
Different women called for different approaches!
Ye Long took a bite of the food and, with a thumbs-up, praised, "Lin's mother, your cooking is really good, it's delicious!"
Lin's mother smiled happily, "Xiao Ye, you're such a sweet-talker. I know exactly how good my cooking skills are!"
"Lin's mother, I'm not just flattering you, I really mean it. I'm not holding back!" Ye Long said, and then began to eat voraciously.
Just then, a barrage of shouting and cursing rang out from outside the door!
"Open up, hurry and open up!"
Ye Long put down his chopsticks, knowing that this knocking couldn't be anyone else; it had to be Curly and his gang again!
Ye Long felt a surge of anger and stood up, saying, "These guys, they really need a good lesson!"
After witnessing Ye Long's actions just now, both Lin's mother and Lin Zihan felt somewhat relieved about him.
"Be careful, Ye Long," Lin Zihan admonished.
Ye Long looked at Lin Zihan with a smile and replied, "Don't worry, as long as I'm here, no one will be able to bully you and your mother."
Having said that, Ye Long stood up and went to open the door.
As Ye Long opened the door to see Curly, he didn't hesitate — a kick and a punch knocked Curly down, crying for his dad and yelling for his mom!
Curly was utterly defeated, having thought he would intimidate Ye Long with a show of force, only to be beaten to the ground as soon as the door swung open!
Those who displeased Ye Long could certainly expect no pleasure in return!
After knocking Curly to the ground, Ye Long stepped on his chest and sneered, "MD, do you know you're disturbing my meal?"
Curly coughed twice, then looked up at Ye Long and said, "My boss is here, come down if you dare!"
"Is that so? Hehe," Ye Long chuckled. It wouldn't be appropriate to fight there, and it would disturb the neighbors. He wasn't concerned for himself but didn't want to cause trouble for Lin Zihan and her mother.
"Get up, lead the way!" Ye Long kicked Curly and ordered.
Curly, in a sorry state, picked himself up from the ground and glanced at Ye Long. He dared not say anything more; there would be time to deal with this guy once they were downstairs.
Soon, led by Curly, Ye Long followed to the ground floor.
Upon reaching the ground floor, groups of burly men were scattered around the entrance, chatting and smoking — there were about twenty people in total.
As Curly came downstairs, all eyes turned to Ye Long, filled with provocation.