The red-haired man shoved Lu Chen roughly, the force of it making him stagger and nearly fall to the ground. Before Lu Chen could steady himself, the man's thick hand grabbed him by the collar and lifted him straight up into the air.
"Cough, cough..." Lu Chen felt a lack of oxygen, his vision blackening as he struggled instinctively.
"Watch where you're going, brat! You knocked over all the fruit I just bought!" the red-haired man roared in a booming voice, the stench of alcohol on his breath making Lu Chen's stomach turn.
Only then did Lu Chen see a basket of bright red fruits scattered across the ground at the man's feet, juice trickling between the cracks of the cobblestones and filling the air with a sweet, cloying aroma.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." Lu Chen tried to explain, but the man clearly had no patience for excuses.
"Cut the crap! Do you know how much these fruits cost? You couldn't pay for them even if you sold yourself!" The man interrupted him harshly, shoving him aside.
Lu Chen fell heavily to the ground, the rough flagstones scraping the skin off his palms and leaving a burning pain. He looked up to see the surrounding people pointing at him with mocking and indifferent expressions, yet not a single person stepped forward to help.
"That's right, break something and you pay for it, don't try to get out of it!"
"Look at him in those rags, probably can't afford to pay anyway, hahaha..."
Hearing the mockery all around, Lu Chen's heart filled with humiliation and anger. But he knew that in this place where he did not speak the language, he was isolated and helpless, entirely at the mercy of others.
The red-haired man was named Sam, a notorious bully in the town who threw his weight around and committed every evil deed imaginable. He had long disliked Lu Chen. What right did some outsider have to win Cana's favor?
"Brat, if you know what's good for you, you'll pay up right now, or don't blame me for being unpolished!" Sam said, raising a foot to step down on Lu Chen's chest, looking down at him from above.
"Cough, cough..." Lu Chen felt a sharp pain in his chest, his breathing growing more and more difficult, but he gritted his teeth and let out not a single plea for mercy.
Seeing Lu Chen's stubbornness, Sam's anger flared even higher, and he raised his fist and smashed it toward Lu Chen's face.
"Bang!"
With a muffled thud, Lu Chen felt his vision go black and his ears ring, the intense pain nearly causing him to lose consciousness...
Sam's fists fell like raindrops. With no way to fight back, Lu Chen could only curl up on the ground with his arms shielding his head, leaving himself at the mercy of the other's beating. After who knows how long, Sam finally grew tired of hitting him, gave Lu Chen a kick, and warned viciously, "If I see you again next time, it won't just be a simple beating!"
The onlookers gradually dispersed. Struggling to climb up from the ground, Lu Chen felt sore all over, his vision still blurred. He staggered to a corner and sat down weakly against the wall, blood slowly trickling down his forehead.
"Are you all right?" a gentle voice rang out by his ear. Lu Chen looked up to see Cana.
Looking at Lu Chen's battered and bruised appearance, Cana felt her heart ache. She quickly pulled a clean cloth from her basket to help him wipe away the blood.
"Why are you here?" Lu Chen asked weakly.
"I saw Sam bullying you, but he's too strong, and I didn't dare stop him." Cana lowered her head, her tone filled with self-reproach.
"It's fine, this isn't your fault." Lu Chen forced a faint smile to comfort her.
Cana took some food and medicine from her basket, handed them to Lu Chen, and said, "Here, take these. Hurry up and eat something, and tend to your wounds."
Lu Chen accepted the food and medicine, looked at Cana gratefully, and asked, "Thank you, Cana. Why are you being so good to me?"
Cana's cheeks flushed slightly as she lowered her head and whispered, "Because... because I think you're a good person."
A warmth spread through Lu Chen's chest. He knew that in this strange world, he finally had a friend he could rely on.
"Cana, can you tell me something about Sam?" Lu Chen asked, knowing that if he wanted to gain a foothold in this world, he had to understand it and the people in it.
Cana hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Sam is a local tyrant around here. His father is the town mayor, so he's always acted tyrannically, and no one dares to cross him. But..."
"But what?" Lu Chen pressed.
"But I heard that Sam is actually terrified of his older brother. His brother is a powerful warrior who has spent years campaigning away from home and rarely returns." Cana lowered her voice as she spoke.
Hearing this, a thought stirred in Lu Chen's mind, and a plan began to take shape...