Chapter 030: Extortion

The people nearby, who were eating breakfast, were startled. They jumped aside to avoid being caught up in the trouble. The two young men who had followed closely behind seemed stunned at first, but hurriedly pulled their companion up before turning to glare at Li Huan.

“Who the hell are you?” one of them, a young man with a head of blond hair and an earring, sneered at Li Huan with disdain.

“Who I am is none of your damn business!” Li Huan retorted, annoyed. All he wanted was a simple breakfast, and yet he had to run into this sort of nonsense. What a mess!

Standing next to the earring-wearing youth was a shifty-looking fellow. When he saw that the high school girl had twisted her ankle and hadn't managed to escape, he seemed relieved. He shot Li Huan a glare and said, “Do you know this girl? What, you want to stand up for her?”

Li Huan curled his lips in contempt. Back in high school, no one would have dared to act up in front of him like this; they’d have been put in their place. But after three years outside, and having seen all kinds of trouble in bars, his sharp edges had been smoothed out. He wasn’t so hotheaded anymore. He simply gave the man a cold stare and said, “I’m not standing up for anyone. Your buddy’s the one who couldn’t watch where he was going, so he brought this on himself.”

The shifty-eyed fellow seemed to have some sense and noticed that Li Huan wasn’t the timid sort who’d let himself be bullied. He frowned and said, “If that’s the case, let’s say my friend was in the wrong just now. But you saw it—he took a kick from you. He probably won’t be able to work for half a month. Don’t you think you owe us some compensation?”

Damn! Wasn’t that a bit much? It was just a kick, the pain would pass in a moment, and now they were claiming he needed half a month to recover? Clearly, they were out to blackmail him!

“I don’t have any money!” Li Huan leisurely picked up the ten yuan note on the ground and handed it to the breakfast shop owner, then put the change in his pocket, leaving only a fifty-cent coin, which he handed over. “Will this do?”

“You messing with me—” The youth who had just been putting on an act, pretending to be in agony after Li Huan’s kick, suddenly sprang back to life. He wiped the spicy soup from his face, broke free of his companions’ support, and was about to come at Li Huan. But when he got a clear look at Li Huan’s face, his body shuddered and he instinctively took a step back.

“Oh my god, it’s you?” The man was obviously scared witless by Li Huan. He stammered, his face full of fear.

Li Huan was taken aback—so this guy knew him, but he himself had little impression of the man. Could his looks really be that intimidating?

“Who is he? What’s wrong with you?” The earring youth was displeased with his friend’s reaction. There were so many people watching, and his buddy, who had been so aggressive just moments before, suddenly wilted. It was true what they said: you’re better off with a fierce enemy than a foolish ally, and this guy was definitely the latter.

“He—he’s the one who stabbed Baldy the other night…” As he spoke, the man took another step back. Clearly, the memory of Li Huan fighting off a whole gang single-handedly was still fresh in his mind, and the thought of it had him quaking in his boots.

The other two were startled as well, their shoulders shrinking involuntarily. They knew all too well who Baldy was; though not quite as notorious as Old Dog, he was still a big name on Zhongdao’s underworld scene. For someone to have put Baldy in the hospital, it was no wonder they were suddenly so timid.

Hearing their conversation, Li Huan finally understood. So the guy he’d just kicked had also been part of the gang that had beaten him up the other night. Thinking about it, he almost felt his kick had been too light.

As soon as the three petty thugs realized who Li Huan was, they were so terrified they couldn’t even get a threat out before turning tail and running, leaving behind a chorus of jeers from the crowd.

Li Huan ignored the bystanders and walked over to the girl. She was covered in dirt, likely from having fallen. Her hair was a bit messy, but Li Huan could still see the fear in her eyes beneath her bangs.

“Do you need to go to the hospital?” Li Huan asked, noticing she was struggling to stand, one foot barely supporting her while the other curled in pain—she had clearly twisted her ankle.

“Mind your own business!” the girl shot him a glance. Though she couldn’t see any malice on his face, she instinctively rejected his help. Ignoring the sympathetic or curious stares from the crowd, she hobbled off toward the nearby bus stop.

Li Huan frowned slightly. He could tell the girl was wary of strangers, like a hedgehog bristling with spines to protect herself, making her seem all the more pitiable.

Watching her struggle onto the bus, Li Huan sighed. It was just a fleeting encounter between two strangers whose paths would never cross again. Though he worried for her, he knew he wasn’t in any position to help others—he could barely manage his own affairs.

Li Huan hadn’t expected to run into someone who recognized him, and from the look of it, the guy was one of Baldy’s cronies from the previous night’s brawl. Even though Li Huan’s outburst had landed Baldy in the ICU, he doubted these people would be too frightened to seek revenge. With that in mind, he didn’t dare return to his rented room right away. If he were alone, he wouldn’t have worried, but Su Dieyi was still living with him—he couldn’t drag her into his troubles.

With that thought, Li Huan headed to the pedestrian street, bought a change of clothes, and spent the morning in a bookstore, picking up some basic finance books. After lunch, he took a steak meal back with him.

Although Su Dieyi was embarrassed to face Li Huan after the awkward scene that morning, she knew he couldn’t take care of himself and forced herself to return, despite her lingering resentment toward the “shameless scoundrel” who seemed to enjoy being waited on by a beautiful woman. But when she saw Li Huan sitting comfortably on the sofa watching TV, she couldn't help feeling a bit annoyed. Did the guy have no sense of shame at all?

“I brought you a steak rice—it's really good!” Li Huan handed her the takeout box and hurried to pour her a glass of hot water, hoping his attentiveness might ease the awkwardness left over from their near-naked encounter that morning.

Su Dieyi was a little surprised that Li Huan would buy her lunch. She had been planning to vent her frustrations about his laziness and thick skin, but remembering his injuries, she restrained her temper, muttered a “thank you,” and opened the box to eat in small bites.

Li Huan was a bit surprised that Su Dieyi was willing to eat in front of him, considering how embarrassed she’d seemed about the morning’s incident. But it seemed she had decided not to dwell on the inevitable awkwardness of two strangers, a man and a woman, sharing a roof.

However, when it came to choosing between watching TV and secretly admiring the girl eating, Li Huan found he couldn’t muster any interest in the mindless sitcom on the screen. Instead, he stole glances at Su Dieyi, watching her take small, delicate bites. Her cheeks puffed slightly as she chewed, and an unintentional grace radiated from her every move. Li Huan couldn’t help but think that the phrase “a feast for the eyes” was truly the highest compliment to a beautiful woman.

Sensing Li Huan’s gaze, Su Dieyi suddenly felt a flush of shyness. It wasn’t the first time she’d been stared at, but that had always been in public and never made her so uneasy. Now, alone in a room with a single man—who was clearly no goody-two-shoes—being watched made her feel like a gentle lamb eyed hungrily by a wolf.

“What are you doing?” Su Dieyi quickly picked up the glass of hot water, holding it between herself and Li Huan, ready to douse any improper move he might make.

“Uh…” Caught in the act, even thick-skinned Li Huan felt embarrassed. His eyes flicked to her lunchbox, and, suddenly inspired, he said, “You don’t like meat? I’ll help you with it, so it doesn’t go to waste!”

Without waiting for an answer, he reached into her box, picked out a piece of beef, and popped it into his mouth. The tender meat and savory juices tasted even better than he’d expected.

Su Dieyi stared at him in disbelief, forgetting to put down the cup of hot water until her fingers began to burn, nearly sending the cup flying. Fortunately, Li Huan reacted quickly, catching the cup and placing it safely on the table. Otherwise, given her earlier posture, that cup would have been spilled either on the floor or on his groin, with consequences he could hardly bear to imagine.

Once she snapped out of her daze, Su Dieyi finally felt the sting in her fingertips, now red and raw. Li Huan went to the bathroom, fetched some toothpaste, and, seeing she was still a bit absent-minded, gently took her hand and applied the cool, minty paste to her fingertips. The burning pain slowly faded, replaced by a soothing chill.

Watching the dazed Su Dieyi, her lips parted slightly and tinted with color, Li Huan felt a wave of heat rush through him. He quickly pointed to the lunchbox and said, “Eat up!”

“Oh… okay!” Su Dieyi collected herself. Experiencing his unexpected thoughtfulness left her feeling at a loss. She didn’t even care that he’d used his hand to grab a piece of meat from her box—she simply lowered her head and focused on finishing her meal.

It was some time before Su Dieyi finished most of her steak rice. Suddenly, as if remembering something, she looked up, her face full of suspicion. “Did you use your hand to grab the steak from my lunchbox just now?”

“Yes, I did! It would’ve been wasted otherwise,” Li Huan replied matter-of-factly. He didn’t think it was anything to fuss over—his fingers hadn’t touched anything dirty.

“Ugh…” Su Dieyi’s face changed. She jumped up and ran into the bathroom, where the sound of violent retching soon echoed.

Li Huan looked at his fingers, still sticky with beef juices, licked them, and muttered to himself, “Is it really that disgusting?”