Yet Another Friend
Seeing Su Bai actually give her suggestion serious thought, Angel Yan couldn't help finding it amusing.
She reached out and ruffled Su Bai's soft hair, laughing lightly as she said,
"Alright, I was just teasing you."
"Mm." Su Bai nodded.
Actually, he could tell.
He was simply pure-hearted, not stupid. He could still tell kindness from teasing, and goodwill from scheming.
The three continued walking side by side, chatting casually along the way. Angel Yan repeatedly "drilled" a certain theory into Su Bai:
The prettier a girl was, the more dangerous she was, so he had to be extra careful.
If he met a pretty girl with bad intentions, he had to tell her immediately.
Su Bai listened quietly, but then suddenly looked up and asked with complete sincerity,
"Then... are Yan and Azhui bad women too?"
Azhui burst out laughing beside them.
After all, it wasn't often that anyone got to make Sister Yan eat her words twice in a row—and today, it had already happened twice.
Seeing that Su Bai hadn't understood a thing from her "safety lesson," Angel Yan couldn't help feeling a little helpless.
Just as she was wondering how to keep the boy from spending time with other girls besides her, a cry of alarm suddenly came from nearby.
The three stopped in their tracks and looked toward the sound at the same time.
At the entrance of a small restaurant by the roadside, a plainly dressed young woman was bowing and apologizing again and again. Spilled food and overturned plates lay scattered on the ground in front of her.
The man standing opposite her showed no sign of forgiving her. Instead, he gave her a sly smile and drawled,
"Heh. Look what you've done to my meal. How am I supposed to eat it now?"
The young woman—Rui Mengmeng—felt her heart sink at his words and hurried to apologize even more earnestly.
"I'm so sorry, really! I didn't have a good grip on it. I'm sorry for disturbing your meal...
"I'll have the kitchen make you another one right away, and I'll pay for it myself. Would that be alright?"
As she spoke, Rui Mengmeng felt so aggrieved that she wanted to cry.
It was all Su Bai's fault! The diary he'd written last night had left her so distracted that she'd tossed and turned for half the night before finally falling asleep. Today, she'd been so out of it that she'd caused trouble without even realizing it.
Just great. Her meager wages were probably going to be docked again...
The man didn't seem satisfied with her offer. He didn't answer right away, instead letting his gaze slowly travel over Rui Mengmeng—
Her old clothes had been washed so many times they'd faded, and her hands were roughened with calluses... It was obvious she was a girl who'd come from some small town to make a living in the city.
His gaze moved higher, passing over her delicate features before giving her another once-over.
She was quite pretty, and her figure was well-proportioned too... A trace of greed flickered in the man's eyes, and his smile grew wider.
"Heh heh, little miss," the man said in a lowered voice, affecting a tone of concern. "You... wouldn't want to lose your job over this, would you?"
His words were like a key, abruptly turning the most tightly wound lock in Rui Mengmeng's heart.
Lose her job?
If she lost this job too, how would she pay next semester's tuition? Her younger siblings and elderly grandmother back home were still counting on the money she sent them...
At the thought, tears welled uncontrollably in her eyes, and her voice trembled.
"P-please... don't report me. I really can't afford to lose this job..."
Seeing her like this, the man grew even more pleased with himself. He was already letting his imagination run wild—perhaps he'd be in for an "unexpected treat" tonight.
He plastered on a smile and reached toward Rui Mengmeng's shoulder, his voice softening as he spoke.
"Now, now... As long as you make me 'happy,' we can forget this little incident ever happened—"
But before his hand could touch Rui Mengmeng, another hand seized his wrist firmly in midair.
"Gah—!"
The grip tightened abruptly, and Liu Dang sucked in a sharp breath of pain.
Then, a wave of anger surged through him.
"Who?! Which blind bastard dared lay a hand on me? Are you tired of living?!"
The man's furious roar drew everyone in the restaurant's attention.
Rui Mengmeng stared up in a daze at the young man standing in front of her.
It was him. He'd stopped the hand reaching for her—the hand that had been full of ill intent.
Liu Dang wrenched his hand free and glared up at his opponent, but couldn't help freezing.
Standing before him was a handsome young man, with two women of otherworldly bearing and stunning beauty beside him.
Liu Dang subconsciously swallowed.
...What beautiful women.
Angel Yan paid Liu Dang no attention. Her gaze rested with interest on Rui Mengmeng.
Just as she'd approached the young woman, the diary in her mind had given a faint tremor:
[Diary Instance holder detected. Add as a friend?]
It seemed this girl was another owner of a Diary Instance.
In other words, she was also a "key character" in this world.
Angel Yan quietly activated Eye of Insight and quickly read Rui Mengmeng's information, understanding at once:
So she was the "Deno's Sharp Blade"—Rui Mengmeng.
At the same time, Rui Mengmeng sensed the disturbance from the Diary Instance in her mind, and her whole body gave a slight tremble.
Liu Dang tried hard to pull his hand free, but Su Bai's grip was like an iron clamp, utterly unyielding.
Seeing that he couldn't break loose, Liu Dang simply stopped struggling and bared his teeth in a cocky grin.
"Kid, trying to play the hero? Do you know who I am? Do you know who runs this territory?"
Faced with the naked threat, Su Bai simply shook his head calmly.
"I don't."
"Heh." Liu Dang sneered. He lifted his chin, not even bothering to care that his hand was still being held. "Listen up—I'm Liu Dang. Liu Chuang, the boss of this district, is my own brother!"
"Before you go playing the hero, you'd better think about whether you can afford it."
"And another thing," he continued, his voice turning ominous. "You ruined my mood, and you even dared lay hands on me... I'm in a pretty foul temper right now."
As he spoke, his gaze shifted brazenly to Yan and Azhui beside him, a lewd glint in his eyes.
"I'm angry, and there'll be serious consequences."
"But, well... I'm in a decent mood today, so I'll give you a chance."
"Just let these two 'companions' of yours keep me company... and I'll pretend none of this ever happened."
The diners around them cursed him as a "beast" in their hearts.
But no one dared say it aloud.
Liu Dang wasn't lying: Liu Chuang, the local gang leader, really was his brother.
Everyone had heard of Liu Chuang: gang fights, bullying local businesses, even assaulting a police officer and leaving him seriously injured...
But so what? Every time he got locked up, he was out again before long, still running rampant on this street.
No one dared offend his brother.
A VIP membership with ad-free reading is now available at the request of many readers.
Click to view.
Before you continue