Acquaintances

The three upstairs were startled by the sound of the explosion.

The meat on the copper roaster was still sizzling. Qiu Shubai set down her chopsticks and waited for about ten seconds, but the commotion downstairs continued.

She stood up, but instead of rushing down, she first glanced at Chu Zimo.

Chu Zimo had already risen from the chair closest to the door, arms still crossed over his chest, his gaze sweeping toward the staircase.

Li Qiang swallowed the piece of grilled pork belly in his mouth and wiped his face with the back of his hand.

“Should we head down and take a look?”

“Let’s go.”

Half the lights at the turn of the stairs were broken, casting uneven shadows. Qiu Shubai led the way, stopping at the final step of the first floor.

The scene on the first floor was even stranger than the noise suggested. Tang Xuan stood in the center of the hall, her left hand gripping a blonde youth’s ear while her right hand rested on her hip. The boy was half a head taller than her, yet he was forced to lean to one side as his face contorted from the pull. He was mumbling something incoherently.

The youth didn't resist. Instead, he hunched his back and leaned toward Tang Xuan. His posture wasn't one of being restrained, but rather one of pleading for mercy.

“Sis! Sis, let me explain—”

“Shut up!”

Tang Xuan twisted her wrist, causing the youth to gasp in pain, though he still didn't dare pull away.

Chu Zimo stopped half a step behind Qiu Shubai, murmuring a low question. “...Tang Xuan’s family?”

Qiu Shubai took a few steps forward. Behind the bar, the balding owner’s head was still tucked under the cash register. Hearing footsteps, he peeked out, saw it was the group from upstairs, and immediately ducked back down.

Near the dented rolling shutter, Chen Bu’s body was still partially embedded in the plaster. His chest rose and fell slowly, but he was clearly alive.

Qiu Shubai’s gaze settled on Tang Xuan. “What happened?”

Hearing this, Tang Xuan turned her head. Her anger hadn't dissipated; in fact, seeing Qiu Shubai seemed to fuel it further. “Don’t even get me started!” she shouted, tightening her grip on the ear. “I came down and found my brother bullying someone! It’s infuriating!”

The blonde youth winced again, lowering his body even further while making a series of pained hissing sounds.

Only then did Qiu Shubai turn her gaze toward him, observing him for a moment with a calm, unhurried look. The boy looked mortified; half his ear was bright red from the pulling, and his chin was tilted at an awkward angle, yet his eyes kept darting toward Qiu Shubai’s face.

She turned her head slightly to ask Tang Xuan, “Can you handle this?”

“Of course!” Tang Xuan patted her chest, causing the blonde youth to wobble forward with the movement. “No matter how rebellious this brat is, he has to listen to me!”

“I wasn’t bullying anyone!” the youth finally blurted out, his voice bordering on a sob.

His forearms flailed in the air, yet he didn't dare actually touch Tang Xuan’s hand to pry it off.

“It’s him! That Chen Bu kid! He’s been pestering my boss’s girlfriend! I warned him several times, but he wouldn’t listen!”

“Is it any of your business what other people do?” Tang Xuan yanked his ear again.

“Ow, ow, ow! Easy, easy!” The youth’s face crumpled, and the arrogance he’d shown earlier was completely gone.

“This kid is crafty! He specifically waits for my boss to be away to try and steal his girl! If my boss wasn’t such a good guy and his girlfriend wasn’t so loyal, this kid might have actually succeeded by now!” He took a breath and quickly added, “I just got caught up in the moment and wanted to vent some frustration on my boss’s behalf!”

“Vent frustration?” Tang Xuan pulled him closer. “Is this how you vent? You’ve nearly beaten him to death!”

“Hiss—easy, easy!”

Tang Xuan raised her other hand to deliver a slap, but the blonde youth was quick, shielding his face with one hand while calling her “Sis” in the sweetest voice imaginable.

Watching this, Qiu Shubai suddenly felt an urge to laugh. She usually saw Tang Xuan’s playful, bubblegum-chewing side and had never associated her with the word “sister.” But the way she was currently scolding him while pulling his ear really did give off the aura of an older sister.

Li Qiang leaned in next to Chu Zimo and whispered, “Does she really have a brother?”

“...I didn’t know either,” Chu Zimo replied, hearing this for the first time as well.

Tang Xuan didn't loosen her grip at all. She snapped, “What’s this ‘boss’ of yours called? Call him over and we’ll settle this face-to-face!”

“Huh?”

“Don’t ‘huh’ me! Do it now!”

“Okay, okay, I’m calling!”

Tang Yun tremblingly fished his phone out of his pocket, his hand shaking like a leaf. It took him three tries to swipe the screen open. He stole a glance at Tang Xuan’s expression before finally pressing the dial button.

As soon as the call connected, he lowered his voice and cried out with a miserable face, “Boss! You need to come here right now!”

The person on the other end seemed to respond. Tang Yun mumbled an address and then hung up.

Tang Xuan finally let go of his ear. Tang Yun clutched it and backed away two steps, his eyes red. He wanted to look up at Qiu Shubai and the other two, but after half a second, he lowered his head again.

Li Qiang reached out and patted his shoulder. “Little brother, what’s your name?”

“...Tang Yun.”

“Tang Yun?” Li Qiang looked at Tang Xuan, then at the blonde youth, and suddenly smiled. “That’s a very respectable name.”

“Cut the crap,” Tang Xuan grumbled from the side.

Silence returned to the first floor.

Chen Bu hadn't made a sound. Qiu Shubai walked over to him, crouched down to check his breathing, and then felt the side of his neck with her fingertips.

The blood energy fluctuations were still present; he was also a Punisher with a decent foundation. Taking a few hits like that wouldn't be fatal.

Qiu Shubai stood up and glanced toward Tang Yun. “You were a bit heavy-handed.”

“Maybe a little...” Tang Yun whispered with his head down.

About five or six minutes later, the roar of an engine echoed from the street.

It didn't sound like a normal civilian car; it was thick, muffled, and had the distinct backfire of modified parts. The car pulled over to the curb, letting out one last defiant roar before the engine cut out.

Then came the sound of a car door slamming shut.

“Hmph, finally here.” Tang Xuan started chewing a fresh piece of bubblegum.

The footsteps of the person entering the shop were interesting—each step was heavier than the last, but they weren't fast, as if the person was trying to maintain an air of importance while still being in a hurry.

The newcomer was a round little fatty wearing an absurdly loud, colorful casual outfit. As soon as he entered, his gaze swept the room with an air of “I’m here to fix this mess.”

The moment Qiu Shubai saw him, she raised an eyebrow.

The man also saw the miserable-looking Tang Yun leaning against the wall and immediately strode over.

“What’s wrong with you!” the fatty said, slapping Tang Yun on the shoulder. “Calling your Brother Yu out of the blue—what exactly happened!”

Tang Yun forced a smile that looked worse than crying. “Brother Yu... let me tell you...” He leaned into Yu Mingyang’s ear and briefly explained what had happened in a few sentences.

Qiu Shubai heard it clearly. Su Tian—she had some memory of that name; Luo Yang had mentioned her a few times during their idle chats, saying his friend Yu Mingyang was pursuing her. He’d sounded quite worried for his buddy.

She looked at this “Brother Yu’s” face again. Chubby build, small eyes, fleshy nose—it matched the description of Yu Mingyang that Luo Yang had given.

“I knew someone was pestering her!” Yu Mingyang couldn't control his volume, his anger flaring up. “I can’t be by her side twenty-four hours a day, so I never caught the guy! Today’s great—you guys nabbed him! I’m going to—”

He gnashed his teeth and turned to walk toward Chen Bu, but the moment his gaze swept over Qiu Shubai, his footsteps froze in mid-air.

He remained in that mid-stride pose for about half a second.

In the next second, his neck began to turn. He looked at Tang Xuan, then at Tang Yun, and finally back at Qiu Shubai.

His gaze darted back and forth between the three of them several times, his expression becoming more subtle with each pass.

Tang Xuan’s chewing slowed down. She watched Yu Mingyang’s sudden glitch and raised an eyebrow. “What? You got a problem with me?”

“Tang Yun,” Yu Mingyang called out very cautiously. He gestured slightly toward Tang Xuan with a retracted hand and asked, “This lady is...?”

“My sister,” Tang Yun said sheepishly.

Yu Mingyang glanced at Tang Xuan, then quickly looked away, his posture instantly straightening. His face, which had been flushed red with anger a moment ago, now wore a smile that sat somewhere between joy and worry.

“Um...” He gave Tang Xuan a conciliatory smile. “Sis! Please, don’t be mad! I’ve looked into it—even if Tang Yun was a bit heavy-handed, his heart was in the right place! This wasn’t some case of him using his influence to bully people!”

He leaned in half a step, smiling obsequiously while stealing another quick glance toward Qiu Shubai. A bold idea suddenly popped into his head.

Chen Bu was still embedded in the wall. Yu Mingyang took a deep breath, reigniting the lingering embers of his anger, and marched toward him. As he walked, he secretly fished his phone out of his pocket and operated it by his side.

He opened the KK chat at the very top of his list. The contact name was short: Luo Yang.

He sent his location first, a small green tag appearing on the screen marking the coordinates of a street in Yuanxing City’s Second Commercial District.

He quickly typed a few words and hit send: “Luo-ge, get over here. Something’s up.”

The moment he put his phone back in his pocket, he had reached Chen Bu.

“You motherfucker—” A curse squeezed through Yu Mingyang’s teeth, but his volume was thunderous. “I finally caught you, didn’t I?”

He raised his hand to strike Chen Bu’s face.

Tang Xuan let out a scoff from behind, showing no intention of stopping him.

On the other end of the phone, Luo Yang looked at the sudden location and message, staring at it for a moment in confusion.