Fuming with anger, Lin Ziyan took her handbag and seated herself elsewhere, far away from the sight of Liu Mang which irritated her.
She had thought about calling the train police to have Liu Mang apprehended.
But then she reconsidered, worrying that if word got out at school about her being harassed by a guy pretending to be a Divine Doctor, it would be utterly embarrassing if her colleagues or students found out; she couldn't afford to lose face like that.
Liu Mang remained in his seat, glanced at the now-empty seat beside him, and felt a pang of loss. He muttered softly, "The mistress was right, beautiful women can sometimes be unreliable. It's a shame about those legs."
Lin Ziyan was sitting right behind Liu Mang and almost ran over to have it out with him after hearing his comment.
Fearful of provoking Liu Mang further and getting taken advantage of again, she managed to restrain herself.
Lin Ziyan glanced at her own shins, feeling somewhat aggrieved.
Her legs had already healed, but after what Liu Mang had said, she couldn't help feeling a twinge of worry.
Worried that what he said might actually be true.
She bent down and pinched her leg, feeling neither pain nor itchiness; there wasn't any discomfort at all.
What bone necrosis, he's clearly a swindler!
"Meal boxes for sale, meal boxes for sale..."
Liu Mang's stomach growled as the vendor called out.
But when he asked the price and heard it was thirty yuan each, he cursed inwardly at the outrageous cost.
Lucky for him, he had brought his own food. Liu Mang took out a steamed bun from his bag and wolfed it down until only one was left.
He was reluctantly holding the final steamed bun in his hand.
The steamed bun was made by the mistress before he left, and now that he was on his way to Jiangnan City, he had no idea when he would get to eat his beautiful mistress's large buns again.
Master the Sect's strongest medical technique, the Nine Deaths Needle, find his senior sister who had run away from home years ago, and marry a beautiful girl; he hoped to complete the three tasks his master and mistress had assigned him as soon as possible so he could return home early.
Lin Ziyan was eating a meal box in the seat behind Liu Mang. The more she ate, the worse it tasted, and she eventually lost her appetite and stopped eating.
She looked back at Liu Mang and felt a twinge of sympathy for him.
Clutching a steamed bun in his hand, reluctant to eat, and dressed the way he was, he must be a child from a poor family.
"Here, have this," Lin Ziyan offered her half-eaten meal box to Liu Mang.
"Thanks," Liu Mang replied, unceremoniously taking it and beginning to eat.
Seeing how eagerly Liu Mang ate, Lin Ziyan almost drooled. Had she not just eaten, she might have wondered if it was a box of rare delicacies, "Look at you gobbling it down, have you never had a full meal before?"
Liu Mang gave Lin Ziyan an honest smile, "Not really, but knowing that these chopsticks were bitten by your delectable, sweet little mouth just makes everything taste that much better."
"I—" Lin Ziyan was on the verge of passing out with anger. Only then did she remember that she had just bitten those chopsticks with her fragrant, sweet little mouth, "Hmph, I can't be bothered with a rogue like you!"
"But you're already bothering with me," Liu Mang pointed out.
"That was just now; I won't bother with you anymore," Lin Ziyan proclaimed, puffing up with anger and feeling more and more that something was off—the current conversation still felt like she was bothering with Liu Mang.
Having finished the meal box, Liu Mang looked at Lin Ziyan, her cheeks puffed with indignation. She looked especially beautiful when angry, many times more so than the village beauty of the Liu Family Village, "How about this, I won't charge you for the treatment. I'll treat your leg for free, okay?"
Lin Ziyan retorted bitterly, "What, and then you'll offer to check my whole body for free too?"
Eyeing Lin Ziyan's attractive figure, Liu Mang chuckled and rubbed his hands together, "That's right, we're friends after all. How could I charge you?"
Lin Ziyan gave Liu Mang a big eye roll, "Rogue!"
That guy really didn't know the meaning of restraint; without many words exchanged, he was already calling her a friend. As if she would be friends with him. If she showed him any more kindness, she'd probably end up being his girlfriend in his stories. Lin Ziyan turned her head away, ignoring him.
Just at that moment, the female attendant selling box meals came back. Liu Mang waved her over and, with a fierce look, he slapped the table and said, "What's the deal with you people!"
The young female attendant was startled by Liu Mang's ferocious demeanor, and timidly asked, "Excuse me, sir, what seems to be the problem?"
"How could there not be a problem?" Liu Mang pointed at the lunch box, "Look, what is this inside?"
The attendant leaned in to check and saw the lunch box was empty except for a few chicken bones still inside.
Hmm, there seemed to be a strand of hair too, hardly noticeable unless one looked closely.
Liu Mang pinched the hair and placed it in front of the attendant, "See this? You can't say you didn't see it. Now, what are you going to do about it?"
The attendant thought it was a serious issue, but it was just a strand of hair; she quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, so sorry."
"That's it? You're sorry?" Liu Mang's voice raised an octave, "You have a hair in the lunchbox you sold, and just saying sorry is enough? So if a thief steals someone's money, saying sorry is enough? If I kiss you right now, would saying sorry be enough, too?"
Being spoken to like this in front of so many people, the attendant blushed with embarrassment, "Then what do you want me to do?"
Liu Mang calmed his tone, "Don't be afraid, I'm not that unreasonable. Just refund me for the lunchbox."
"Refund?" The attendant glanced at the empty lunchbox, "You've finished it, how can it be refunded? Besides, I don't recall selling a lunchbox to you."
"What's wrong with it being bought by someone else? And why can't it be refunded after I've finished it? It's only after finishing it that I discovered a hair in there. With a hair already in the lunchbox, who knows what else might be in there? Ah, bad luck." Liu Mang clutched his stomach, "I don't know why, but my stomach hurts. Definitely must be from your lunchbox giving me a bad stomach."
The attendant was flabbergasted, "What kind of person are you? I'll refund it, will a refund suffice?"
The attendant hurriedly refunded thirty yuan to Liu Mang, fearing any further delay would prompt him to do more than just feign a stomachache.
After getting the money back, the attendant pushed the cart and was about to leave.
Liu Mang's stomach didn't hurt anymore, and he said with a smile, "Walk slowly, wouldn't want you to fall and hurt yourself."
The attendant's ears turned a deeper shade of red from embarrassment as she darted a shy look back at Liu Mang as if to commit his face to memory, then quickly pushed the food cart to escape this carriage.
Lin Ziyan, who sat behind Liu Mang, had been watching the whole time, her eyes wide with disbelief.
What kind of person is this? Not only a hooligan but a downright shameless one!
Liu Mang's actions had just set a new low for Lin Ziyan in terms of how brazen a person could be.
This guy was beyond outrageous, and she wondered from which crack in a rock he had sprung.
Liu Mang turned around, grinned at Lin Ziyan, and he-he'd as he passed the thirty yuan to her, "Here, I got your money back for you, take it."
Lin Ziyan glanced mechanically at the money in Liu Mang's hand and quickly shook her head, as if afraid that taking it would somehow impregnate her, "Keep it, that's yours."
"In that case, I won't be polite," Liu Mang cheerfully pocketed the money, "By the way, what's your name?"
"Why should I tell you?"
"Aren't we friends?"
"Who's friends with you!" Lin Ziyan certainly didn't want a friend like Liu Mang; it would be too embarrassing to admit.
Liu Mang replied, "No need for a name then, I'll just call you Ah Hua."
"Why Ah Hua?" Lin Ziyan had never heard anyone address her with such a common name.
"Ah Hua is the name of a cow owned by the village chief."
"You!" Lin Ziyan looked down at the edge of the game, so furious she nearly spat blood, blurting out, "To hell with your cow, just remember this, my name is Lin Ziyan!"
"So, your name is Lin Ziyan, huh? Good name, I'll remember that. When we reach Jiangnan City, if your leg problem acts up, find me at Sih Ming Pharmacy."
"Like hell I will!" Lin Ziyan said indignantly, but the name Sih Ming Pharmacy stuck in her mind.