The Fight
The two of them made their way through the small alley. It wasn’t a long journey to begin with, but because Qi Zui insisted on walking with his arm draped around Wen Xubai’s shoulder—making proper walking impossible—the trip ended up taking twice as long.
Wen Xubai: “……”
He seriously suspected that Qi Zui was just using his shoulder as a crutch to relieve the weight of the bags in his hand…
Qi Zui, however, pretended not to notice a thing. He chattered incessantly the entire way, annoying Wen Xubai to no end.
Finally, as they neared the noodle shop, the two of them suddenly remembered that there might be other people inside.
Afraid that their strange posture would be seen and cause a misunderstanding, Wen Xubai reached the limit of his patience and finally shoved Qi Zui’s arm away.
Qi Zui immediately pursed his lips, putting on a pitiful, aggrieved expression. Just as he was about to say something to garner Wen Xubai’s sympathy, he was cut off by a jarring noise.
“Let go! Let go of me! If… if you don’t let go, I’m calling the police!”
It was a girl’s scream.
Both men froze in unison.
Wen Xubai frowned slightly. When he looked up, he saw that Qi Zui had already charged forward!
Startled, Wen Xubai quickly hurried to catch up.
The plastic bags in Qi Zui’s hand couldn’t withstand the violent jolting and split open at the seams. Fruits and vegetables instantly spilled out, landing with a clatter all over the ground.
But Qi Zui couldn’t care less about the groceries. He took the steps two at a time and rushed into the noodle shop!
Sure enough, the moment they entered, they saw Xiao Xia, the cashier, having her wrist gripped tight by a pot-bellied middle-aged man. Her face was pale with fright as she desperately shrank back toward the other side of the counter, trying to break free.
Unfortunately, the disparity in strength between men and women was too great. How could a slender young girl possibly overpower a burly middle-aged man?
No matter how she pulled, she couldn’t free her hand. The man wore a lecherous expression, spouting harassing filth, and the girl looked like she was about to cry.
“Let her go!”
Qi Zui’s eyes went wide with rage. He rushed up and kicked the man square in the side!
“Ouch!” The man lost his balance and crashed into the tables and chairs nearby, sending the neatly arranged furniture into disarray.
Such a strong smell of alcohol…
Standing at the door, Wen Xubai couldn’t help but frown. He waved his hand to disperse the pungent odor of booze wafting toward him, his expression darkening instantly.
The man was dazed by the fall. He lay there for a long time without reacting—whether his nerves were numbed by alcohol or he simply hadn’t expected anyone to dare stop him, he was completely stunned.
Next to him were two other middle-aged men wearing oversized T-shirts that exposed their greasy bellies. They, too, were momentarily dumbfounded by the scene.
A second later, the man on the floor flushed red with anger. Seeming to feel he had lost face in front of his friends, he struggled to scramble up, his massive belly getting in the way.
He looked for all the world like a pregnant woman six or seven months along, moving with great difficulty.
“You dare hit me?! Do you have any fucking idea who I am?!”
The fat man pointed furiously at Qi Zui, his two fingers—thick as lotus roots—nearly poking into Qi Zui’s nostrils.
“I don’t give a damn who you are!” Qi Zui wasn’t one to back down. He slapped the man’s hand away. “Molesting women in broad daylight… no, a young girl! And you think you’re justified?!”
“You!”
The fat man indeed had no justification. Seeing that the man in front of him was more than a head taller, his arrogance deflated significantly, and he choked on his words.
But glancing at his friends watching from the side, he couldn’t bear the embarrassment. He glared viciously at Qi Zui, his chest heaving violently with rage as he clenched his pudgy fists!
Remembering that his three friends were right there, while the opponent was alone, the man’s arrogance surged back instantly.
“What are you looking at?!”
Qi Zui put his hands on his hips and glared right back.
But the words had barely left his mouth when he felt a sudden, heavy weight hit his waist!
Fueled by liquid courage, the fat man had wrapped his arms around Qi Zui’s waist and, like a crazed bull, rammed him straight backward!
“Holy shit!”
Qi Zui was caught off guard. His back slammed violently into the wall behind him, and pain exploded through his body! His shoulder blade, in particular, felt like it had snapped. The pain wrung a muffled groan from his throat.
“Qi Zui!”
“Brother Zui!”
Wen Xubai was alarmed. His body moved faster than his conscious thought; executing a roundhouse kick, he sent another man who was preparing to join the fray flying!
Xiao Xia was terrified. Watching the five men brawling in a chaotic mess, she wanted to help but feared she would only make things worse. She grabbed the phone on the counter and hurriedly dialed the police.
“You son of a bitch…!” Qi Zui gritted his teeth.
Using his height advantage, he grabbed the man by the shoulders and delivered a savage headbutt!
Thud!
With a loud dull heavy sound, the fat man saw stars and staggered back, clutching his head!
Qi Zui wanted to press his advantage with a kick, but a third man tackled his legs. Unable to shake him off, Qi Zui fell to the ground with him!
Fortunately, he was more agile than the clumsy men. The moment he fell, he twisted his body so that the fat man behind him acted as a human cushion, saving him from cracking his head open!
But he couldn’t celebrate just yet. The first fat man’s fist was suddenly plummeting from above. Watching helplessly as it aimed straight for his face, Qi Zui squeezed his eyes shut in reflex!
It’s too late to dodge…
Qi Zui thought in despair.
What a waste of this handsome face. If my nose gets crooked or I get disfigured, how will I charm all the aunties at the market into giving me discounts…
Just as he wanted to cry but had no tears, the expected pain didn’t arrive.
Qi Zui cautiously opened one eye. He saw the fist stopped mere inches from his nose, firmly gripped by a long, cold-white hand.
Following the hand upward, he saw Wen Xubai’s icy, solemn face.
“Ah Che!”
Qi Zui exclaimed in pleasant surprise.
Hearing the name, the corner of Wen Xubai’s mouth twitched involuntarily.
“Fuck! Who the hell are you? Mind your own business! Let go of me!” the man roared.
This wasn’t the time to correct the nickname. Taking advantage of the man’s distraction, Wen Xubai yanked hard and threw the man aside!
Unfortunately, he wasn’t strong enough, and the man was simply too heavy. He could only fling him to the side, unable to slam him into the wall as the man had done to Qi Zui.
Consequently, the man recovered quickly. Face flushing red with rage, he lunged at Wen Xubai, flailing his arms wildly!
“You fucker?! You dare meddle in my business?! Do you have a death wish?!”
Qi Zui, reacting with lightning speed, shoved the man away!
“I think you’re the one with a death wish!” Qi Zui retorted.
Saying this, he straddled the man’s face and rained down punches—Bang! Bang! Bang!—until the man’s nose bled and he was screaming in pain.
The other two men tried to intervene, but Wen Xubai grabbed the chopstick container from a table and smashed it over one of their heads!
“Motherfucker!” The men were truly enraged now, and the five of them became a tangled knot of violence!
Qi Zui fought purely on brute strength, relying on his height to flail wildly. He took a few punches to the face, splitting the corner of his mouth. Wen Xubai, though trained in some Sanda (Chinese kickboxing), was losing out on sheer weight class and strength.
The brawl spilled from inside the shop out onto the street, the scene descending into utter chaos!
In the midst of the frenzy, noticing the girl shivering in the corner, Qi Zui—while keeping one man in a headlock with his legs—shouted:
“Xiao Xia, run!”
“Huh?”
The girl was clearly scared witless. She looked at Qi Zui, then at Wen Xubai, who had just swept a man to the ground with his leg. She started to stand, then squatted back down, trembling, swallowing hard in fear and hesitation.
“Go!”
Wen Xubai shouted as well. His cold, apricot eyes swept over her as he dodged a punch and executed an over-the-shoulder throw on his attacker!
For some reason, the man’s gaze instantly steadied Xiao Xia’s panicked heart. Her legs stopped shaking. She looked at the two of them, finally made up her mind, and dashed out!
“I… I’ll go get help!”
Seeing her leave, both men let out a sigh of relief.
Exchanging a glance, Qi Zui was just about to give Wen Xubai a thumbs up when he saw a man sneaking up behind Wen Xubai, wielding a stool!
“Watch out!”
His heart leaped into his throat!
Qi Zui didn’t even know how he managed to scramble up from the ground so fast, throwing himself over to shield Wen Xubai in his arms!
CRASH!
The plastic stool smashed against Qi Zui’s back, instantly shattering into pieces!
“Qi Zui!”
Wen Xubai hadn’t expected Qi Zui to rush over; he was instantly thrown into a panic.
“Hiss…”
Qi Zui sucked in a sharp breath of cold air, cold sweat instantly beading on his forehead…
“Thank god… the quality of this chair was crap…” Qi Zui gritted his teeth through the pain.
“I used to complain to the boss about it, but now… I really have to thank him properly…”
Wen Xubai was shocked. “At a time like this, you still have the mind to joke?!”
“Ha, it’s fine, just a scratch…”
Just as he was about to tell the other man not to worry, Qi Zui’s tall frame swayed involuntarily. The next second, blood began to trickle down from his forehead…
“Qi Zui!” Wen Xubai cried out, hurriedly grabbing the man’s stumbling body to support him!
The commotion of the fight had been significant. In just a short time, it had attracted a crowd of onlookers, mostly residents of the alley.
Doing business here, conflicts were inevitable; such things weren’t exactly news in Huaihua Alley. Some people had even brought melon seeds, treating it like a free show.
The ambusher and the other men, seeing the blood, began to panic.
Wen Xubai’s vision was filled with the stinging red of blood. His entire focus was on Qi Zui, his heart pounding wildly; he couldn’t spare a single thought for the attackers.
The men looked at each other. Hearing the growing murmur of the crowd, their eyes darted around nervously, and they turned to flee!
But they had barely taken a few steps when the sound of police sirens cut through the air!
The next second, two police cars with flashing red and blue lights screeched to a halt in front of the crowd. Several officers in uniform leaped out, waving batons to separate the onlookers!
Other officers intercepted the three men trying to escape, shouting: “Don’t move! Nobody move! Hands on your heads, get down!”
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