The market was packed with people, with every kind of thing for sale.
Before they even entered, Bai Nanyu exclaimed in delight, "Wow!! This market is so crowded! Come to think of it, this is actually my first time visiting a market!!"
Yesterday, Bai Nanyu had made it very clear that he had been abducted as a child and had not lived well. An exclamation like that now easily gave people the impression that his adoptive parents had mistreated him and never even let him visit a market.
Ji Nanshu and Chu Mo were still bringing up the rear, and they couldn't help finding his words laughable. Lies really rolled right off Bai Nanyu's tongue. According to his-no, the original owner's-memories of his previous life, although Bai Nanyu had been abducted as a child, he had been lucky enough to be taken in by a married couple who taught in a small town. After raising him for a long time without anyone coming to look for him, they had completed the adoption paperwork.
They hadn't been rich, but the couple had given Bai Nanyu whatever he wanted. If this was his first visit to a market like this, it was purely because he thought these places were crowded and dirty and hadn't liked coming.
After spending a day with him, Ji Nanshu had labeled Jiang Yue a people pleaser. Jiang Yue said, "We have markets like this back in my hometown. Come on! I'll show you around!"
The one who had truly never visited a market like this was Jian Yuanjia, who had grown up in a wealthy family.
Jian Yuanjia looked amazed. "What's this?! It looks so good!!"
"...Fried sweet rice balls." Cen Yan was speechless. Her senior looked as though he'd never seen anything of the world, and she found it just a tiny bit embarrassing.
"What about this?! And that thing over there..."
"A jianbing."
"Then..."
Cen Yan smiled for the first time on the show. "Senior, please shut up."
If he didn't shut up, she wouldn't be able to control her fists.
Jian Yuanjia looked thoroughly aggrieved. "Oh."
In the livestream, the bullet comments rolled past-
[Hahahahaha Jian Yuanjia is so funny. How has he never seen any of this?]
[Jian Yuanjia and Cen Yan look exactly like a mother taking her son out. The son keeps chattering, and the mother finally snaps.]
[Of course Jian Yuanjia hasn't seen any of it. He's a rich second generation!]
[Oh~ whose little green-eyed monster has come crawling out now?]
[Aw, Bai Nanyu really has had it rough...]
The surging market crowd pushed Ji Nanshu and Chu Mo out of their cameraman's range. Chu Mo quietly took Ji Nanshu's hand and shielded him as they wove through the crowd.
Ji Nanshu stared at their clasped hands, momentarily dazed. He remembered someone once holding his hand like this, carefully shielding him as they wove through a market. Only that person...
"Watch out!!" Chu Mo pulled Ji Nanshu straight into his arms and looked up to glare at the person who had bumped into him. "You...!!"
Only then did Ji Nanshu come back to himself. He gave Chu Mo's hand a reassuring squeeze before turning to look at the person who had bumped into him.
Facing them was a sleazy-looking man in a white T-shirt, patterned shorts, and flip-flops-the very picture of a small-time thug.
"You what?! Yeah, I bumped into him. So what?" The thug's face was full of disdain. "He looks like a cheap slut anyway. I bumped into him, it's not like I fucked him..."
Though fucking him wouldn't be bad either... He really is good-looking.
The thug's words grew increasingly offensive, and the fury in Chu Mo's eyes burned hotter and hotter. If Ji Nanshu hadn't been holding him back with all his strength, the thug would have been bleeding right there.
Just then, the production crew and the other guests found the two of them, who had been separated from them by the crowd.
Not knowing what was going on, Jian Yuanjia asked, "Nanshu, what's wrong?"
Jiang Yue also subtly moved in front of Ji Nanshu to shield him. "What happened?"
Seeing more and more people on Ji Nanshu's side, along with cameras, the thug began to panic. "You think you're so great just because there's more of you?! Fine, I can't take you on, but I can leave!"
With that, he tried to run.
Ji Nanshu sneered. Want to run? Too late!
"Yuanjia! Pin him down!"
Jian "Husky" Yuanjia reacted on instinct, pinning the thug to the ground with exceptional speed. Hmph, he couldn't beat Yanyan, but handling a thug like this was a piece of cake!
The thug hollered, "Help!! They're beating me!!!"
Bai Nanyu feigned concern. "Teacher Ji, this... this isn't a good idea, is it?! He's a local. We... you'd better not cause trouble."
The moment he spoke, he cast Ji Nanshu as a troublemaker, leading viewers who didn't know what had happened to think the same.
[What's wrong with this Ji Nanshu? That thug is obviously a local. Can he stop making trouble for everyone?]
[Exactly! I hate people who love stirring up trouble. Isn't he just relying on his good looks? He'll cause a mess and make everyone else clean up after him.]
[Uh... did any of you actually see Ji Nanshu cause trouble before saying that?]
[No judgment without the full picture! Bunch of idiots!]
[So good-looking people just love causing trouble?! Are you jealous because you're ugly?!]
[Even if Ji Nanshu didn't start it, isn't it better to avoid trouble in a situation like this?]
Ji Nanshu ignored Bai Nanyu completely. Watching the thug struggle beneath Jian Yuanjia with a faint, ambiguous smile, he curled his lips and said to Chu Mo, "Teacher Chu-call the police!"
Chu Mo obediently pulled out another phone and dialed the police.
The onlookers: ?! What?
Director Yang and the production crew: ? Call what?! What police?! Wait, Film Emperor Chu, where did you get that phone?!
Yu Lu said, "Teacher Ji, surely this doesn't warrant calling the police?"
"It does. Yuanjia, keep him pinned tight. Don't let him get away."
"Don't worry!"
Soon, the police arrived. There were two of them.
One officer was older, his expression stern. "Were you the ones who called the police?"
Ji Nanshu raised his hand. "Officer~ I was the one who called~"
"What happened?"
"This man is a murderer!"
At those words, the older officer's gaze instantly sharpened. "What evidence do you have? Making a false police report is illegal!"
The thug kept struggling and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Officer Wang! He's making a false report!! All I did was accidentally bump into him!"
Bai Nanyu hurriedly grabbed Ji Nanshu and kept apologizing to the police. "We're sorry, officer. We were in the wrong. Since this is Teacher Ji's first offense, could you please not detain him?"
Ji Nanshu pushed Bai Nanyu away and snapped mercilessly, "Is your brain just there for decoration?? Get lost. Stop bothering me."
Then he turned to the officer. "As for evidence... under the tree in the southeast corner of his property. Sorry for the trouble, officer, but please send someone to dig there."
The thug, who had been pinned helplessly to the ground by Jian Yuanjia, began struggling even harder at those words. He had to run! He had to get away! He absolutely couldn't get caught!!!
Just as Jian Yuanjia was about to lose his hold, Cen Yan stepped forward and planted a foot on the thug's backside, grabbing his ankle with one hand. "Stop moving!" she said fiercely.
Fuck?!
Was this woman some kind of freakishly strong girl? How was she so strong!!!
At the sight of the thug's panicked expression, Officer Wang trusted his police instincts and decisively told the younger officer, "Xiao Li, cuff Liu Haoqiang and take him back to the station!"
Seeing that he couldn't escape, the thug-Liu Haoqiang-began hurling curses at Ji Nanshu.
Ji Nanshu spread both hands. Couldn't help it. He just hated evil that much.
Officer Wang said, "I'll also need you to come back to the police station with us to assist with the investigation."
"Of course."
Director Yang wanted to cry. Could someone just come and off him too?!