A group of delinquents surged in from outside, numbering around twenty or thirty, each with an unfriendly demeanor. At the forefront was a bald young man, a cigarette dangling from his lips, his right hand carelessly tucked into his pants, exuding an air of disreputability.
"Girl, have you prepared the money?" The bald thug pulled out a chair at a nearby dining table and sat down, leering at the young girl while entirely disregarding Xiang Ri, who had his back turned to him.
"Not a chance! Get lost! If you don't leave, I'll call the police!" the girl exclaimed fiercely, brandishing a broom.
"Go ahead, call! I'm not afraid of you! Let me tell you, if you don't produce 100,000 yuan today, I'll smash your pathetic shop!" The bald thug slammed his hand on the table, shouting arrogantly.
"You bunch of filthy scoundrels!" The girl cursed bitterly, inciting even more raucous laughter from the thugs.
"Hey, you're not bad looking. How about becoming your big brother's little girlfriend? If you agree, that 100,000 yuan will be my tribute to dear old dad-in-law," the bald thug leered suggestively.
"Not a chance! If you don't leave, I'll hit you!" she threatened, raising the broom high.
"Hit me?" The thug sneered, tilting his head and pointing at his bald head, "Come on, aim right here. Don't hold back."
Biting her lip, the girl hesitated, torn between fear and defiance, which made Xiang Ri chuckle. He grabbed the broom from her hand, and true to the thug's earlier taunts, he wasn't going to be gentle. With a slight force, he brought it down, producing a sharp crack, followed by the thug's anguished cry.
The thug jumped up in fury, "You really dare to—" but his voice caught in his throat as he saw the man, who was now grinning at him, "Y-you... I..."
"What's wrong? Do you have a problem now?" Xiang Ri waved the makeshift "weapon," panting slightly. To his surprise, the bald thug was someone he recognized from the bar the previous night, a small-time leader among the Black Dog gang.
"N-no... I wouldn't dare. This—this boss, what are you doing here?" The thug stuttered, his mind racing back to the terrifying punishment Xiang Ri had inflicted on the Black Dog, hoping desperately for mercy. As for his lackeys behind him, they were also victims from the night before, and he realized it would be better to focus on how to escape today's ordeal than rely on them for protection.
"Am I not allowed to be here?" Xiang Ri asked with a hint of amusement.
As the thug began to sweat and search for words, the girl suddenly pointed at Xiang Ri and shouted, "You big pervert! So you're in cahoots with them! I knew you were no good when I saw you last time. You just wanted to get a crowd together to retaliate against us! I'll bite you to death!"
With that, she lunged at him, mouth open.
Xiang Ri stepped back, placing a hand on her small head, "Have you lost your mind? I'm not with them; didn't you see me just hit that bald guy?"
"Hmph, you're just putting on an act!" The girl, having missed her target, stopped her futile attempts and pointed at him, accusing, "You think I don't know? You must've seen I'm pretty and decided to take advantage of me, then called these thugs to pretend to help! So I'd feel grateful and offer myself to you! Dream on! I'd never be interested in scum like you!"
"Girl, have you been watching too much TV?" Xiang Ri said, amused, knowing he'd never consider someone so underdeveloped.
"Now that your scheme has been exposed, you have nothing to say, right? Get out, we don't want you here!" The girl insisted, attempting to push him away.
Xiang Ri gently squeezed her wrist, causing her to yelp and freeze, her eyes misting with unshed tears but still glaring defiantly at the thug in front of her.
"I say, girl, open your eyes and look closely; how could I possibly be with these fools? Though you do have a bit of charm, with no curves to speak of, do you really think I'd be interested? Maybe in a few years, when you've matured a bit, I might take an interest, but right now, aside from some perverts who like little girls, who would look at someone as flat as a board?" Xiang Ri's words were vicious, launching a personal attack.
"I'll fight you... Aah, it hurts, it hurts! You bastard, let me go!" The girl, with her hands restrained, kicked out, but Xiang Ri's grip tightened, and she quickly ceased her struggles.
"Is this ever going to end? If you keep it up, I won't hold back!" Xiang Ri felt his temper flare at her unreasonable antics.
"If you want me to believe you, fine!" The girl, seeing his anger, finally relented, pointing at the trembling bald thug by the door. "Call that bald man over, and if I'm satisfied with his beating, I'll trust you."
Though Xiang Ri could easily use violence to compel her, he couldn't bring himself to harm such an adorable girl. He decided to indulge her just this once, knowing she merely wanted to vent her frustrations.
"Baldy, you know what to do, right?" Xiang Ri said in a flat tone.
"Y-yes, I understand," the thug stammered, beads of sweat glistening on his forehead, yet he dared not defy the boss's command, obediently moving closer to the girl.
"Bow your head!" The girl snatched the broom from Xiang Ri's hand, her voice cold.
"..." The thug internally lamented, fearing for his bald head today. Just as he hesitated, a sharp glare from the girl made him instinctively lower his head.
"Hmph, I'm starting now!" The girl declared excitedly, gripping the broom handle and tentatively giving a tap.
"Crack!" The sound rang out sharply.
"Ha ha ha..." The girl reveled as if she had just heard the most beautiful music, and seeing the bald thug's reluctance to fight back, she unleashed a flurry of blows.
"Crack!" "Crack!" "Crack!" With each successive strike, the unfortunate thug's head began to resemble that of a Buddha, provoking a wave of cold sweat from his cohorts behind him.
"Alright, that's enough for today. Given your cooperation, I'll let you off this time. Now, scram!" The girl declared grandly, rubbing her sore arms and thinking she should have listened to her father's advice about exercising daily, otherwise she wouldn't be out of breath after just a few hits.
"Thank you, thank you," the thug muttered, feeling utterly humiliated; having been beaten and still having to express gratitude felt utterly unjust. He didn't dare touch his throbbing head, fearing that any contact would reignite the pain.
"Wait!" As the bald thug turned to leave, Xiang Ri called out just in time.
"W-what...?" The thug's heart raced with dread, fearing the boss might still have something in store for him.
"From now on, I'll be watching over this place," Xiang Ri made it clear: no more trouble from you.
"Y-yes, understood..." The thug comprehended perfectly; even without explicit orders, he wouldn't dare return.
"What's the deal with that 100,000 yuan?" Xiang Ri inquired, noticing the bald thug retreating with his tail between his legs.
"What else could it be? You know very well..." The girl paused, "My dad didn't hit them while driving; they deliberately fell down to extort money from us. If we don't pay, they threaten to scare away all the customers."
"So it's a scam, but their methods are outdated," Xiang Ri mused, unaware of the unfinished thought from the girl.
"By the way, weren't you hungry? How about I cook for you?" The girl said cheerfully, changing the subject.
"Are you sure your cooking won't poison me? Perhaps your old man should do the cooking instead; he's quite skilled. Where is he, by the way?" Xiang Ri quipped, recalling the delicious meal he had enjoyed last time.
"He went to the hospital to see my mom! Don't worry, I cook really well," the girl said, seemingly oblivious to Xiang Ri's comment about her father, and dashed into a nearby room.
"That doesn't look like the kitchen," Xiang Ri remarked skeptically, having eaten there once and knowing the layout.
"Ha ha, I ran out of some ingredients, so I'm going to get them," the girl replied, disappearing into the room. A moment later, she returned with a black plastic bag as she entered the kitchen.
Xiang Ri, lacking the ability to see through walls, had no idea what essential ingredients were in the bag, but he wasn't one to pry too deeply. He patiently waited for a feast, reasoning that after helping the girl out, a nice meal in return was only fair.
A few minutes passed without the anticipated banquet, but instead, several police officers arrived.
"Who called in about the disturbance here?"
"That was me!" The girl exclaimed, skipping out of the kitchen and pointing at Xiang Ri seated at a table. "It's him! He brought a bunch of people to scare away all the customers and demanded money from me, threatening to smash my shop if I didn't pay."
"What a lunatic!" Xiang Ri realized the truth; the girl hadn't gone to fetch ingredients at all but rather had called the police, cleverly disguising her intentions with the black bag.
"Well played, girl!" Xiang Ri grumbled as he was handcuffed and glared at the girl across from him.
"Hmph! Bad guy!" The girl shot back, also getting into the car to file a report, seizing the opportunity to testify against him.
"Is it you again?" Iron Wan was taken aback when she saw Xiang Ri being led in, quickly replaced by a gleeful expression of revenge.
"What, not happy to see me? You look so excited; it must be because you're thrilled to see me, right?" Xiang Ri teased.
"Happy? How could I not be?" Iron Wan responded with an almost manic smile, turning to the officer beside her. "Xiao Wu, take him inside; I want to personally interrogate this case!"