A dark, unmonitored alley.
The bearded man dragged the silver-haired boy inside. His rough hand suddenly clamped around the boy's neck, forcibly pinning his small body against the wall.
As his hand slowly lifted, the boy's feet began to leave the ground. He kicked wildly in desperate struggle, clawing at the hand gripping him, but the difference in strength between a strong adult man and a thirteen-year-old boy was simply too great—
"Hand it over, or I'll squeeze you to death!" the bearded man rasped.
"B-Bad guy!" the silver-haired boy choked out.
"You really want to die!" A fierce glint flashed through the bearded man's eyes. Just as he was about to teach the boy a lesson he would never forget, a slender figure suddenly appeared at the entrance to the alley.
"Let him go!" the short-haired girl shouted coldly, with the commanding air of a police officer.
"Oh? Another girl..."
Seeing the girl's delicate, pretty face and youthful, graceful figure, intense desire rose in the bearded man's eyes. But before he could look any longer, a black-haired boy entered the alley and stepped in front of her, deliberately blocking the man's view.
"This is what you want, right? Take it and let him go." Facing the bearded man, Xi Nian displayed the women's handbag in his hand.
"Now that's more like it!" the bearded man snarled, releasing his grip and allowing the gasping silver-haired boy to slump to the ground.
"Xi Nian, why did you come too?" Gwen leaned lightly against Xi Nian's back. Rather than panicking, she felt a warmth well up inside her.
"I couldn't exactly let a girl face something like this alone." Xi Nian turned back and spoke softly, giving her a reassuring look.
"Give it to me!"
The tall, muscular bearded man strode toward