Upon hearing the two male voices, the girl quickly thrust her hands into her pockets, her small body trembling uncontrollably.
"I... I already paid the protection fee this month." As the fear spreading inside her heart intensified, Shi Yao's voice was barely louder than a mosquito's buzz.
One of the blonde-haired youths chuckled at this. He slung an arm around the young girl's shoulder and grinned, "Little sister, don't be nervous. I didn't come here to collect the protection fee."
Shi Yao turned her head aside and lowered it, not daring to make eye contact with them.
"Little Sister Shi Yao, are you still out here selling skewers all by yourself today?" The other blonde youth also walked over, reaching out to brazenly toy with her pretty hair.
"It's always just me alone," Shi Yao murmured, lowering her gaze.
Traces of teardrops still streaked across the girl's fair, delicate face, and her slight frame shook continuously, presenting a picture of utter helplessness that tugged at the heartstrings.
The two blonde youths were named Wang Mo and Zhang Feng. Though they dressed like street thugs on the surface, they were actually the type to bully the soft and fear the hard.
Through observation, they had discovered that Shi Yao faithfully set up her stall here every evening around six or seven, packing up only close to midnight. During this entire time, not a single person ever came to see her. Thus, the young girl had become their target for bullying and venting their frustrations.
"So that's how it is. Well then, we won't disturb little sister's business any longer."
Hearing this, the two blonde youths exchanged a glance and smiled, before walking away right before Shi Yao's astonished eyes.
Their figures gradually vanished from the girl's line of sight.
A glimmer of hope suddenly colored Shi Yao's previously hollow eyes.
"Are they... letting me off?"
In a dark alleyway, the two blonde youths who had just been acting so arrogant and aggressive were now behaving with utmost deference.
"Sister Li, we've already checked. That girl has always been a loner. Even if she suddenly vanished, nobody would notice."
"That's right, Sister Li. That girl can't even sell her skewers most of the time; nobody cares about her anyway."
Leaning against the wall, the woman took a puff of her cigarette and said absent-mindedly, "You two punk kids have a lot of nerve. Do you know that the business your sister here runs is illegal?"
Wang Mo, standing nearby, didn't care in the least. "Getting caught by someone is what makes it illegal. If no one knows, it's just called going missing, and besides, both of us are still minors."
Sister Li smiled. "You two certainly have the potential for our line of work."
"Oh come on, Sister Li, you flatter us. We just wanted to make a bit of spending money this once, that's all."
Zhang Feng shook his head. Arrogant as the two of them were, they still held some fear of the law.
"Kids will be kids," Sister Li chuckled dismissively, before saying, "Wait here while I go lure the person over. Make sure you lend a hand in a moment."
"Got it, Sister Li."
With their plan finalized, the sound of the group's reckless laughter echoed through the darkness-shrouded alley.
Carrying a large bag of grilled skewers, Xia Chen arrived at the spot where his "sons" had eaten a few minutes earlier. He stared at the empty table before him and fell into deep thought.
Seeing Xia Chen approach, the owner of the barbecue stall hurriedly grabbed the bill and rushed over, as if afraid the customer would run away.
"Sir, this is the bill for your friends' meal at our shop. Please take a look."
Xia Chen reached out and took the bill. When he saw the five hundred and twenty yuan at the bottom, it nearly gave him high blood pressure.
"Those damn ungrateful brutes, I'd better not let me catch them."
Gritting his teeth, he took out his phone, ready to pay, only for a low-battery warning pop-up to suddenly appear on the screen.
"Oh no." Xia Chen felt a sudden surge of dread. He had given all his cash to the little girl selling skewers just moments ago, leaving him completely penniless.
This truly proved the old saying:
Looking cool for a moment, paying the bill burns down your house.
Noticing his awkward predicament, the owner said unhappily, "Sir, you aren't planning to dine and dash, are you?"
"No, you misunderstood. Look, my phone is dead. How about this, I'll leave my phone here as collateral—it even has my fingerprint on it—and you let me go home to get some cash, how about that?"
Xia Chen could only think of this compromise. Because his phone was an iPhone, finding a matching charger in this night market would be harder than reaching the heavens.
"Fine. If you aren't back within half an hour, I'm calling the police."
"Deal."
With that, Xia Chen bolted back toward the place where he had bought the skewers. He decided he had better ask the girl to return a bit of money; otherwise, by the time he ran home and grabbed the cash, the police would be calling him immediately afterward.
As a five-star model citizen of Jiangxia City, if he were hauled in for questioning by the police today for dining and dash—and word got out to his "sons"—how could he possibly keep facing them as their dad?
Meanwhile, the young girl had no idea that someone had already gone back on his word. She breathed out a wisp of cold air, rubbed her already frozen hands, and then couldn't help pressing her stomach.
She hadn't eaten anything since morning. In the past, she would return late at night and survive on whatever leftovers her older brother left behind—though this, of course, also earned her occasional beatings from him.
This repetitive cycle of life had long since left the girl numb. She had even thought about ending it all once and for all, but on this chilly, wind-swept night, she had unexpectedly felt a warmth unlike any other.
"I can't die. I have to repay him." The girl's eyes were as bright as persimmons. In that instant, she had come to view Xia Chen as her hope.
Shi Yao walked up to a diner, intending to use the extra money Xia Chen had given her to treat herself to a luxurious meal.
"Little girl, what would you like to eat?" the owner asked the frail girl before him as he kept stir-frying.
Shi Yao bit her lip, her tone laced with caution: "I'd like an egg fried rice, and if possible, a bottle of beer as well."
A bowl of egg fried rice and a bottle of beer might seem like the most ordinary midnight snack to anyone else, but in the young girl's eyes, it was a magnificent feast she wouldn't even dare dream of on normal days.
"Alright, little girl. The beer is in the fridge, go get it yourself, and the egg fried rice will be ready in a moment."
"Thank you. May I go inside to eat?" Shi Yao asked, sounding exceptionally timid.
"Of course you can."
"Thank you so much." Shi Yao bowed deeply in profound gratitude.
After getting the beer, the girl intentionally sought out a relatively secluded spot, then eagerly twisted off the cap, clutched the bottle with both hands, and drank straight from it.
Before long, she had finished half of the full bottle. Reluctant to drink the rest, she could only stare longingly at what remained.
The young girl's face was flushed red. Numbed by the alcohol, she completely failed to notice a figure slowly approaching from behind."Little sister, what are you doing drinking alone here?"
By the time the voice reached Shi Yao's ears, she slowly turned her head and saw someone greeting her. Assuming she had taken the stranger's seat, she picked up the bottle on the table and prepared to slip away.
"Don't go, little sister! I'm a stranger here and I just wanted to ask how to get to Lijiawan." Seeing Shi Yao about to leave, Sister Li immediately grew anxious.
"Oh, she's not chasing me away."
Learning the truth, Shi Yao let out a huge sigh of relief and pointed left and right in front of Sister Li.
But Sister Li put on a baffled expression, forcing the young girl to speak up: "Sister, I'll walk you there."
"Would that be too much trouble for you?" Sister Li asked, feigning guilt.
"Not at all. It doesn't matter what time I go home," Shi Yao forced a smile.
Neither her father nor her brother cared when she came home. Shi Yao never doubted that if she suddenly died one day, they wouldn't care at all, let alone shed a single tear.
"All right, no rush. Have something to eat first," Sister Li said, noticing Shi Yao had already stood up.
"It's fine. I can eat when I get back after walking you there." Shi Yao always liked to save her favorite food for last; it was a habit she had formed since childhood.
Sister Li patted the girl's head. "You really are a good kid."
The moment the girl left, the restaurant owner walked out of the kitchen carrying a bowl of egg fried rice.
"Young lady, your egg fried rice... Hey, where did she go?"
The owner scratched his head in bewilderment. The girl who had been drinking at the table moments ago had vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a half-empty bottle of liquor.
In a dark corner, Shi Yao bit her lip hard. With an empty stomach, she led the way for Sister Li.
The two turned into a small alley. The walls on either side were narrow, and the interior was pitch black, truly as dark as midnight.
"Sister, watch your step. It's very dark in here, and it hurts if you fall."
As Shi Yao felt her way forward, she kept turning her head to remind Sister Li to be careful.
Sister Li chuckled. "Is that so? Then I'd better be careful. By the way, thanks a lot for today."
"Don't mention it! Helping you makes me so ha—"
Before Shi Yao could finish her sentence, two ghost-like figures suddenly materialized out of the dark and charged straight at the young girl.
Before she could react, the two pinned her to the ground.
"It—it's you!" Recognizing Wang Mo and Zhang Feng, the thugs who constantly extorted protection money from her, Shi Yao turned pale with terror.
"Little sister, don't blame your brothers for being ruthless. Blame yourself for being so pretty yet lacking the ability to protect this pretty face of yours," Wang Mo said with a leering smile.
Shi Yao stared blankly, her face deathly pale. A chilling wave swept through her entire body once more, and she turned her gaze toward Sister Li, her eyes filled with disbelief.
Sister Li walked over, squatted down, and lifted the girl's chin with her fingers. "Little sister, remember to be more careful in your next life."
Sister Li's words completely shattered the girl's mental defenses. Large tears rolled down her fair, pretty cheeks, and her body began to convulse with sobs.
"Please, let me go! I won't tell Uncle Policeman! I still want to eat my egg fried rice!"
Seeing the sobbing girl on the ground, the two blonde-haired youths felt a pang of guilt.
"Sister Li, she looks like she can't fight back anyway. It's dark and windy right now, why don't we just drag her out?" Zhang Feng asked nervously, his heart pounding.
After all, this was their first time doing something like this, and they were more or less nervous.
Sister Li looked at the girl on the ground, who was crying herself to exhaustion, and smiled. "That won't do. How do you know she won't fight back?"
Hearing this, the girl, who had been curled up and weak on the ground, suddenly struggled fiercely as if jolted by a shock.
"Let me go! I want to go home!"
"Damn it, hold her down!" Realizing something was wrong, the two youths increased the pressure of their grip.
"Help me! Help me! Help me!"
Realizing she was no match for their strength, Shi Yao tried shouting at the top of her lungs to attract people from outside the alley.
One of the youths tried to cover the girl's mouth with his hand, but Shi Yao bit down fiercely.
"Sister Li, I can't hold her much longer!" Wang Mo's stamina began to fail first.
Sister Li glanced at him with utter disgust. "Is that all the strength you have?"
"This is our first time doing this kind of thing," Zhang Feng said, feeling a twinge of regret, but water spilled on the ground could never be gathered back up.
"Useless trash. I guess I overestimated you before," Sister Li rubbed her brow.
The girl's cries were growing louder and louder. If this continued, it might actually draw passersby from outside.
Seeing this, Sister Li remained utterly calm. She smoothly pulled a handkerchief from her pocket, grabbed a handful of Shi Yao's hair, and quickly clamped it over the girl's nose and mouth in one fluid, practiced motion without a moment's hesitation.
"Mmph! Mmph! Mmph!" Shi Yao's pupils dilated sharply, sheer terror written all over her face.
Sister Li pressed the drugged handkerchief tightly against the girl's face with one hand, while gently placing her other hand on the back of Shi Yao's head, as if soothing her.
"Don't be nervous, little sister. You're being too loud, and that will disturb other people's rest. So, Sister just wants you to quiet down now. Relax, it'll be over in a second."
Sister Li's voice was gentle, but her cold gaze sent shudders down one's spine.
Shi Yao's hands and feet were pinned down, and even her head was controlled by Sister Li. The only part of her entire body that could still move was a pair of tear-filled, doe-like eyes.
She blinked rapidly at Sister Li, her watery eyes full of supplication, as if making a final struggle.
She did not want to die in this pitch-black place where no light could reach. She wanted so badly to survive, even if it meant living without an ounce of dignity.
"The brat can still blink!"
Seeing this, Sister Li frowned slightly. While secretly startled by Shi Yao's sheer willpower, she increased the pressure of her hand.
As the force of Sister Li's grip intensified, the girl let out two desperate, struggling cries before her eyes rolled back and she went completely limp.
Sister Li caught the girl's drooping head, ran her hand over the stray locks of hair on the girl's neck, and smiled with satisfaction.
"There's a good girl. Have a nice sleep."