Seeing that the ruffian boss had stopped moving, his lackies didn't dare to make a move either. They exchanged glances with Huilin's people, hesitating and standing their ground.
Even if people didn't know that Zhu Huaining was the heir of the Zhu Family, they knew he was a notorious troublemaker whom the gang leaders in the high school circle would give a wide berth.
The first to break the silence was Zhu Huaining's good buddy, An Su.
He gave Lin Xialing a thumbs-up and said, "Sister, you've got guts."
Only then did someone scurry behind the ruffian boss and tremble as he reminded him, "Boss, those are Huilin's people up ahead."
"I'm not blind."
Jiang Meiyi, who had hurried over, was met with this scene and felt deeply exasperated. This ruffian boss had bragged to high heaven about being above the law, yet the moment he saw Huilin's students, he froze?
She absolutely could not let Luo Yilan find out about this. By hook or by crook, she had to make Lin Xialing shut up, or she would be completely finished.
So Jiang Meiyi walked up to the ruffian boss and threatened him through clenched teeth, "Do you want Luo Yilan to find out about what we did? If she does, she'll never give you a good look again. You have to make Lin Xialing shut up!"
Let Luo Yilan find out?
Hearing this, the ruffian boss had a completely different reaction than what Jiang Meiyi expected.
If he fought for Luo Yilan right now, regardless of the outcome, wouldn't Luo Yilan at least remember his name among her sea of suitors? And if word got out, it would become an epic romance of someone stopping at nothing for love!
The ruffian boss chuckled to himself. Not bad at all.
Jiang Meiyi was stunned and asked from the side, "What are you laughing at?"
The ruffian boss hastily wiped the smile off his face and pointed a finger at Huilin's table.
"Smash this place!"
With a fierce look, the ruffian boss kicked over a nearby plastic stool, and his lackeys rushed forward looking menacing.
Huilin's students refused to back down, slamming their hands on the tables as they jumped up. "Who the hell do you think you are?!"
Spotting an opening, Lin Xialing lowered her head and looked around for a decent weapon, but before she knew it, someone grabbed her wrist and yanked her backward, just in time to dodge a kick.
"Watch out."
Once Zhu Huaining stood up, she realized how tall he was, with long legs. Under his thin summer school uniform, his powerful arms and perfect physique were faintly visible.
The ruffian boss, who had rushed right up to them, only stared blankly for a single second at Zhu Huaining, who stood a head taller than him, before being ruthlessly tossed aside.
Seeing even Zhu Huaining get up, An Su grabbed a plastic stool and hurled it forward. "How dare you mess with our Brother Ning! You've all got a death wish!"
Before he could feel smug for long, however, his shouting drew a barrage of counterattacks that sent him scrambling with his head in his hands. "Brother Ning, save me! Save me!"
Zhu Huaining turned, agilely stepping onto a plastic stool and leaping off the table; his body soared through the air as he kicked away the person chasing An Su.
"So handsome!" An Su found a brief moment to applaud Zhu Huaining, his face full of adoration. "As expected of my Brother Ning!"
Humiliated in public, the ruffian boss gave a look, and his lackeys silently formed a tight circle around Zhu Huaining, trying to trap him in the middle.
Watching her savior smoothly dodge those vicious punches and kicks, Lin Xialing felt like she was on a rollercoaster. If she just walked away now, wouldn't she be lacking in street smarts altogether? No way, she couldn't just stand there and do nothing!
"Luoluo, what are you doing here?" Lin Xialing suddenly shouted.
Hearing Luo Yilan's name, the ruffian boss slammed the brakes on his movements, turning his head with a beaming smile, only to be met squarely with a soda bottle courtesy of Lin Xialing.
"You... bastard..." Not gonna lie, that really made him dizzy.
The ruffian boss swayed on his feet, teetering on the edge of falling, while a bunch of lackeys rushed over to steady him.
Now's the chance! Spotting a gap, Lin Xialing charged into the circle, grabbed Zhu Huaining's hand, and yelled at the top of her lungs, "Run!"
Huilin's students had no desire to get bogged down in a protracted entanglement with vocational school punks, so they immediately dropped the brooms and stools in their hands and took off after them. An Su didn't even forget to grab his schoolbag, shouting back at the owner whose shop had just been trashed, "Put it on my tab!"
The owner was already well-acquainted with An Su and his crowd, knowing they weren't short on cash, and bellowed back, "You've gotta cover my lost wages too!"
"Got it!"
"All of you, move aside!" Jiang Meiyi was practically speechless. A toad like that actually wanted to eat the swan meat that belonged to Luo Yilan. She shoved away the lackey supporting the ruffian boss and demanded, "Are we still chasing them or not?"
Seeing stars, the ruffian boss still refused to admit defeat. "Chase..."
Along the long, narrow street, the two groups of people vaulted over scattered beer bottles, skirted around a vendor holding spicy hot pot, and sprinted amid the startled cries of pedestrians.
Zhu Huaining unconsciously turned his head to look at the girl holding his hand.
Neon lights washed over her, and her pretty eyes sparkled brilliantly. Just this one glance made Zhu Huaining feel a strange sense of familiarity.
He curved his lips into a smile and tightened his grip on Lin Xialing's hand. "Run this way."
-
"B-Brother Ning, they... didn't... didn't follow us." After finishing his reconnaissance, An Su panted heavily as he reported back, then plopped straight down onto the ground.
Every single one of Huilin's students came from privileged backgrounds—they were pampered youngsters who never lifted a finger and were all brawn and no brains. Being able to escape from the vocational school thugs had already taken half their lives, and now they were collapsed in a heap.
Zhu Huaining was holding up better. He sat on the edge of a flower bed, his long legs stretched out casually, and looked at Lin Xialing, who was likewise catching her breath. "Have I met you somewhere before?"
Hearing this, Lin Xialing looked him up and down, stood up to dust off her wrinkled school uniform, and unceremoniously mocked Zhu Huaining, "My friend, this pickup line is way out of style."
Zhu Huaining wasn't angry; instead, he laughed along with her, the crinkle in his eyes softening his aggressive aura.
An Su immediately rushed to Zhu Huaining's defense. "Does our Brother Ning even need a pickup line? Look at this face, look at these legs, and now look at this wallet!" He reached out as if to pat Zhu Huaining down, only for Zhu Huaining to block his hand away.
"My name is Zhu Huaining. And you?"
It was easy to see he was deeply interested in Lin Xialing.
"Oh—" Huilin's students let out a knowing groan, their tone sliding down an octave.
Who would have thought that Lin Xialing's teasing expression would slowly fade? She shrugged. "There's no need for you to know my name. We're never going to see each other again anyway."
With that, Lin Xialing turned and walked away, her brisk demeanor showing absolutely no sign of playing hard to get.
"Oh—" The groans dropped lower, Huilin's students feeling a wave of sympathy for Zhu Huaining.
This was the first time Zhu Huaining had ever struck out with a girl like this.
Suddenly appearing, suddenly kissing him out of nowhere, suddenly getting into a fight, and suddenly holding hands while running away together—in any other novel, this would be the setup for a lifetime of romance, but for him, it was all coming to a season finale in barely half an hour?
"Woman, you've successfully caught my Brother Ning's attention." An Su, who had crept over at some point, murmured mournfully from the side, sounding just like a narrator reading the protagonist's inner monologue.
"Oh—" They promised they were only laughing at An Su.
Facing the burst of laughter behind her, Lin Xialing didn't look back as she picked up her pace, eventually breaking into a run until she vanished from sight altogether.
An Su rubbed his aching legs and complained, "She's got quite a bit of stamina." Anyway, he couldn't run anymore.
Zhu Huaining lingered for a long moment before pulling back his gaze, walking off in the opposite direction of Lin Xialing without looking back. As he passed An Su, he tossed out a single sentence: "Remember to go settle the tab with the boss."
"You got it!" An Su cheerfully agreed. Only after watching Zhu Huaining leave did he turn to his good buddies and click his tongue.
"Did you guys see that? We need to cherish the single Brother Ning we have right now."
"What are you getting at?"
"Didn't you guys notice the kind of magnetic field that handsome girl and our Brother Ning had going on earlier? Sparks were flying everywhere." Looking at everyone on the ground who were so exhausted they could only gasp for air, An Su felt a deep sense of frustration. "We need to hurry up and help Brother Ning find that handsome girl from earlier!"
"I wouldn't dare. If Pei Xin finds out, won't she kill us?"
She was Zhu Huaining's number one fan, and her family dominated the shipbuilding industry. Spoiled rotten since childhood, her willful and domineering personality meant everyone was afraid of her.
An Su shot him a sideways glance. "Our Brother Ning is the heir of the Zhu Family, too! Apart from the Yue Family, is there anyone else whose word is law?"
That meant he didn't care about Pei Xin at all. An Su had always thought that girl was delicate, pretentious, and plagued by princess syndrome; he was determined not to let his Brother Ning suffer any mistreatment on her account.
Evidently, An Su's words hit the mark, as someone chimed in, "That girl we saw earlier looked like she was wearing a Yunlong school uniform."