The man called "Brother Lei" by Tao Yi was Tao Yi's best friend, Zhang Lei. They had known each other since elementary school and had been bad students together through middle and high school. They were even desk mates for six years, and their bond was like that of real brothers.
The young woman beside Zhang Lei was named Lin Lin, his girlfriend of over four years. Zhang Lei, Tao Yi, and Tao Yi's cousin had all gone to the same high school, and Lin Lin had been a classmate of Tao Yi's cousin. It was she who had introduced Lin Lin to Zhang Lei.
"Give me a break! You think you're the only one tired? Hah... I'm exhausted too!" Zhang Lei finally managed to squeeze out a reply to Tao Yi after panting heavily for a while.
"Damn it, if I'd known, I wouldn't have bothered with you guys. The first thing you say when you open your mouth is to curse at me! Unbelievable!" Tao Yi responded, refusing to be outdone.
This was how the two of them were when they were together. They were used to bickering with each other. Whenever they met, no matter how serious the matter, they would always exchange some "friendly" insults first.
"Forget it, let's not go on like this. The moment I pulled down those pants, I knew I was in for it again! So, tell me, what's the deal with those guys? They seem like they're somebody important." Tao Yi tried to get serious after a bit of joking, considering the urgency of the earlier situation.
Hearing Tao Yi's question, Zhang Lei stopped fooling around, shook his head, and sighed, "This… damn! It's a really frustrating situation. Let's find a place to eat first; we were planning to grab some food anyway."
Tao Yi nodded. He was also hungry, having been tormented by Zi Yue all morning; he needed a proper rest.
"Where to eat?" Tao Yi asked.
"Old Ma Noodle Shop!" Zhang Lei blurted out, and Tao Yi's face was filled with helplessness.
"You're going to eat yourself to death! Seriously, can't you eat something else? Damn it, I hate spicy food!"
…
After a long argument, Tao Yi was finally overpowered by Zhang Lei's strong physique and forceful persuasion.
On the way, Tao Yi's eyes unintentionally glanced at Lin Lin a few times. Throughout the entire conversation between the two brothers, Lin Lin had not uttered a word. From her eyes, Tao Yi noticed a hint of grievance. He didn't say anything, but he had already guessed that the trouble earlier was likely related to her.
A femme fatale...
After walking for a while, the three of them arrived at the noodle shop that Tao Yi disliked so much.
"It's like you'd die without spicy food!" Tao Yi complained as the three of them found a small private room and sat down.
The room was small, as the restaurant itself wasn't very big; even the door was just a curtain.
Zhang Lei and Lin Lin ordered two bowls of noodles, while Tao Yi opted for fried rice.
"So, what's going on?" Tao Yi cut straight to the point, no longer joking around.
As he spoke, Tao Yi glanced at Lin Lin several times.
Seeing Tao Yi's gaze, Zhang Lei pursed his lips and said, "Haven't you already guessed it…"
"I have an idea, but what exactly happened? Stop wasting time and tell me. Let's figure out a solution; those guys don't look like they're easy to deal with!"
"I was at the Genie Hair Salon getting my hair cut, and that day…" Zhang Lei hadn't even started speaking when Lin Lin's voice interrupted him, reaching Tao Yi's ears first.
Here's what happened: for various reasons, Lin Lin had left school a long time ago. She was currently working at the largest hair salon in Zone Three of Xuanwei City, Genie Hair Salon.
Although Lin Lin was only twenty-one years old, her skilled techniques and extraordinary sense of aesthetics made her quite well-known at Genie. Of course, whenever he thought about Lin Lin's aesthetic sense, Tao Yi would look at Zhang Lei with disdain from head to toe, followed by a look of scorn.
Lin Lin had been a famous beauty during her school days, and she remained just as dazzling after starting work, attracting attention everywhere. Of course, although many of her colleagues were men, when they saw Zhang Lei's overwhelmingly muscular physique, they preferred not to stir up trouble.
While many came to the salon to admire her beauty, most were content just to take a look and wouldn't go so far as to cause trouble for themselves.
But some things are just inevitable, no matter how much you try to avoid them.
That night, close to midnight, Lin Lin had just finished work. To her frustration, her troublesome boyfriend Zhang Lei had surprisingly not come to pick her up. After calling him, she found out that the guy had fallen asleep and was now rushing over as fast as he could.
Although Lin Lin was annoyed, she decided to wait until Zhang Lei arrived to vent her anger.
Zhang Lei usually waited for Lin Lin at a dark corner of the street, so Lin Lin headed to that corner and, not seeing him there, decided to call him. With no other choice, she decided to go back to the salon.
However, when she returned, she found that it had already closed.
Frustrated, Lin Lin had no other way to vent except to stomp her feet.
She wandered aimlessly along the sparsely populated street.
As she walked back to the street corner, she noticed three men sitting on a bench. They reeked of alcohol, but from their words and actions, it was clear they were not drunk.
Despite this, she still didn't dare approach them. It was almost midnight, and no normal person would be out so late.
Maybe her brain had short-circuited, but Lin Lin, thinking the salon was closed, stood there dumbfounded, not knowing what to do.
"Hey, pretty lady over there, come chat with us, haha…" The three men quickly noticed Lin Lin. Though they weren't drunk, their attire made it obvious that they were not good people.
"...I have something to do," Lin Lin replied, somewhat flustered by the sudden situation. She was mainly worried that if Zhang Lei showed up now, he might end up in a conflict with these men!
"Something to do? What kind of thing? Heh heh..." The three men got up from the bench, still spouting classic sleazy lines.
"Stay away from me!" Lin Lin sensed trouble and quickly tried to dodge, but one of the men, the one who had been speaking, grabbed her hand, and she couldn't shake free.
"What do you want? Let go of me, or you'll regret it!" Surprisingly, the seemingly delicate Lin Lin glared fiercely, catching the three mysterious men off guard for a moment. They quickly recovered, laughing loudly, "A tough little girl, huh? Haha, I like that!"
The three men clearly didn't take Lin Lin seriously and laughed dismissively.
"Hold up! Hold up! Lin Lin, what did you do to those three men?" Tao Yi interrupted Lin Lin's animated recounting.
Based on his past experiences, he already had a good idea of what had happened, and he was right: this wasn't really about Zhang Lei at all.
Those three men must have taken quite a beating from Lin Lin!
Tao Yi's sister and Lin Lin had been best friends since childhood, much like Tao Yi and Zhang Lei. He had heard many times that Lin Lin shouldn't be underestimated. Though she looked gentle and cute on the outside, in reality…
By the age of thirteen, Lin Lin had already mastered three types of martial arts, and she was very skilled in all of them. She had been the leader of various delinquent gangs since she was a kid. Tao Yi had often heard her name during his middle and high school days, as it carried considerable weight among the younger troublemakers.
However, Tao Yi had always been an honest person, so he never got to know her personally. To him, Lin Lin was just an annoying little delinquent girl. But after being introduced by his sister, and with Lin Lin becoming his brother's girlfriend and later his sister-in-law, Tao Yi's view of her changed a lot. He realized she was actually quite a good girl.
He often wondered how someone who looked so beautiful and sweet could also be so combative.
Just as Tao Yi had expected, Lin Lin sneaked a glance at Zhang Lei, and her voice lowered involuntarily, "They didn't really do anything... just, well, after I knocked them down, I kicked one more time…"
"Oh no! Lin Lin! You didn't kick them in… certain areas, did you?" Tao Yi's voice weakened, guessing correctly and secretly feeling sorry for the man.
"...Yes, but... but I kicked lightly," Lin Lin's voice trailed off, barely audible, but Tao Yi heard it clearly.
That place! Even a light kick could cause a lot of trouble.
"Sigh…" Zhang Lei sighed and said nothing, just giving Tao Yi a helpless look.
Tao Yi returned a sympathetic look and asked, "Do you know who those men were?"
Zhang Lei nodded, his face full of bitterness. "I do, but... but knowing that only makes me realize that my wife and I are in big trouble."
"I saw how arrogant they were at Huatian just now. Could it be… that they are connected to that powerful Liao family in Xuanwei City?" Tao Yi seemed to have guessed what Zhang Lei was about to say.
Zhang Lei nodded without hesitation and added, "That's what it seems like. According to the rumors, the guy my wife kicked works for Liao's son and seems to be one of his favorites..."
Tao Yi furrowed his brows. Although he had suspected from the start that his friend was in serious trouble, he had hoped it wasn't related to that underworld group. People often have a bit of wishful thinking when they guess, but when faced with the actual truth, the pain becomes real.
Moreover, what made it worse was that if this had happened in the past, it might not have been so hard to resolve. Unfortunately, things were different now.
"When did this happen?" Tao Yi asked again.
"Yesterday, but..." Lin Lin replied with a bitter expression.
"But when Lin Lin arrived at the shop today, there were already people waiting for her outside. Luckily, she sensed something was wrong and didn't go in; otherwise, it would have been over," Zhang Lei continued.
Hearing this, Tao Yi frowned and said, "That fast?! I think that guy did it on purpose. He was deliberately waiting there for Lin Lin that day. He had his eyes on her for a while. Otherwise, he wouldn't have found her so quickly."
"Yes, I think so too. So, what do we do? There's no escaping this…" Zhang Lei pouted. The situation looked grim, but he wasn't the type to get anxious easily.
Since Zhang Lei didn't show any signs of nervousness, Tao Yi didn't feel too tense either. He said, "Let's eat first. I'll come over to your place later, and we can talk more."
Since they decided to discuss it later, Zhang Lei began enjoying his noodles, though his mouth was still active, and he asked absentmindedly, "Why don't you want to go home?"
"Oh!"
"I just don't feel like it."
Almost simultaneously, Tao Yi and Zhang Lei spoke up. However, Tao Yi was giving an explanation, while Zhang Lei yelped because Lin Lin pinched his thigh under the table.
Noticing the small gestures between Zhang Lei and Lin Lin, Tao Yi realized they already knew about his situation with Zheng Meixuan.
After a moment of silence, Tao Yi broke the awkward atmosphere with a smile and said, "It's not because of that; I have other reasons for not wanting to go home. Haha."
"What?" Zhang Lei asked, puzzled.
"That's a secret. Recently, I've had quite a few lucky moments. Just eat, alright? Isn't your situation troublesome enough?" Tao Yi gave Zhang Lei a glance and casually replied before diving into his fried rice.
The atmosphere quieted down again, but this time, Tao Yi didn't bother to change it, and the three of them continued eating silently.
Soon, they finished their lunch, but as they were leaving the small private room, they heard a frustrated voice from the waitress next door.
"Miss, you've been looking at the menu for half an hour. It's lunchtime, and there are other customers waiting for a table. You can't keep doing this."
Inside the private room sat only one woman, with long, dark purple hair draped over her shoulders. Though a faint smile played on her lips, she gave off a slightly cold aura, exuding a regal demeanor that seemed to belong only to a noble queen.
Beside her was a pile of shopping bags.
It was none other than Ziyue!
Hearing the waitress's impatient words, Ziyue blinked and smiled, "Sorry, I've been looking for so long, but nothing here catches my eye, hehe."
With that, Ziyue stood up and left the room, leaving the waitress staring blankly after her.
The waitress stood there for a full minute before muttering under her breath, "What kind of person is that? Hogging the room without ordering… doesn't she know there are people waiting to eat?"
Only after finishing did she realize the fault in her own words…