Chapter 46: Yuqing in Danger

Xiao Lin twisted his waist and stood up, looking at Huang Mao, who was still rolling on the ground clutching his face, the already dazed Cheng Zi, and Brother Hu with his eyes blackened. At last, he could breathe a sigh of relief—it was over. This fight had been anything but easy. Xiao Lin thought to himself, if they had all rushed him together from the start, plus Brother Hu, it would be him lying on the ground now. But some things only require looking at the result, not the process. At this moment, Xiao Lin was the victor.

A terrified cry rang out. Xiao Lin turned to see that it was the short fellow from Sun Feifei’s group. Xiao Lin let out a mocking laugh, “Fei, it’s your turn now.” With those words, he flexed his wrists and strode toward Sun Feifei. He didn’t consider these few people any threat.

Sun Feifei went pale as Xiao Lin drew closer. They hadn’t even had a chance to help before Brother Hu went down—this guy was a demon. If someone as tough as Brother Hu could fall, what would have happened if all those blows had landed on him? At the thought, Sun Feifei shuddered and, trembling, pleaded, “Brother Xiao, I didn’t know who I was dealing with. Please, let me go. I was wrong. I really won’t dare again. If I see you in the future, I’ll steer clear. Please, just spare me this time.” As he spoke, tears and snot ran down his face—he was utterly pathetic.

“Brother Xiao, please let us off. This was all Sun Feifei’s doing; it had nothing to do with us,” the short fellow begged.

Hearing this, Xiao Lin sneered inwardly. What a band of fair-weather friends—when trouble comes, they scatter.

“All right, cut the mourning. Sun Feifei stays. The rest of you, get lost. I don’t want to see you again.” Xiao Lin really had no interest in dealing with people like this.

The three others looked as if they’d been granted amnesty, eyes brimming with grateful tears, repeatedly thanking Brother Xiao as they fled like beaten dogs, not sparing Sun Feifei a single glance, as if they’d never known him.

Watching his companions flee without a trace of loyalty, Sun Feifei’s face turned ashen as he silently cursed himself for befriending such useless people—unreliable in crisis and quick to stab him in the back. “Fei, now it’s just the two of us. Let’s have a little chat,” came Xiao Lin’s voice. Sun Feifei looked at Xiao Lin’s smiling face, but to him, it was the grin of a grim reaper.

Last time, Xiao Lin had beaten him into the hospital. This time would surely be worse. The thought sent a chill down Sun Feifei’s spine. As Xiao Lin approached, his footsteps seemed to press heavily on Sun Feifei’s chest, making it hard to breathe. Suddenly, Sun Feifei remembered something, clutching at it like a last lifeline. “Wait! Brother Xiao, I have something to say.” By now, Xiao Lin was already before him, fist raised.

“I’m not interested in your nonsense—save it for the nurse at the hospital,” Xiao Lin replied.

Seeing the fist about to strike, Sun Feifei broke into a cold sweat. “It’s true! It’s about Wang Yuqing.”

“What? Yuqing?” At the mention of Wang Yuqing, Xiao Lin instinctively paused, fist frozen in midair.

Seeing Xiao Lin stop, Sun Feifei heaved a huge sigh of relief and patted his chest. “Meng Ranran is lying in wait with a few others to ambush Wang Yuqing. She wants to teach her a lesson.”

“What kind of lesson? And how do you know?” Xiao Lin’s gaze was sharp as a knife—who knew if Sun Feifei was telling the truth.

“It’s true, Brother Xiao, I swear. Meng Ranran is jealous that Wang Yuqing took her place as campus belle, so she’s plotting revenge. She’s brought people from the underworld, including a thug called Fatty—he’s a real pervert. I even saw Meng Ranran with a DV camera. I think they’re planning to…” Sun Feifei gulped and didn’t dare finish.

From Sun Feifei’s demeanor, it didn’t look like he was lying. Xiao Lin knew enough about Meng Ranran to believe she might actually do Wang Yuqing serious harm. The thought made Xiao Lin panic—if anything happened to Wang Yuqing…

“Where are they waiting to ambush Yuqing? If you dare lie to me, I swear I’ll break your leg,” Xiao Lin demanded, unable to bear thinking further.

“I think it’s that Di Yuan alley, the one with the roasted chestnut vendor,” Sun Feifei replied, terrified by Xiao Lin’s fierce glare, not daring to hide anything.

After hearing the address, Xiao Lin ignored Sun Feifei, sprinted to his bike without grabbing his coat, leapt onto it, and pedaled furiously toward Di Yuan Alley.

Watching Xiao Lin leave, Sun Feifei slumped to the ground, wiping cold sweat from his brow. The devil was finally gone. As for what happened to Meng Ranran, he didn’t care; as long as Xiao Lin didn’t come after him, that was enough. People like him always thought only of themselves.

In Di Yuan Alley, Tan Linlin was walking along, munching on chestnuts with two large bags in her hands, making little effort to appear ladylike. “Yuqing, these sugar-roasted chestnuts the old man makes are delicious! The place is a bit out of the way, but it’s worth it for such good food.”

Wang Yuqing, watching Linlin talk with her mouth full, couldn’t help but laugh. “Linlin, how do you even manage to crack those chestnuts open with your hands? Couldn’t you wait until we get home?”

Linlin grinned, mumbling something through the food, but Yuqing couldn’t make it out. It was already past six and the winter night was falling early. The alley was deserted and dim, the fading sunset casting scattered, eerie shadows on the ground. Wang Yuqing’s heart thudded with nervousness. She grew uneasy and instinctively grabbed Linlin’s hand, quickening her pace to get out of the alley sooner.

Di Yuan Alley was mostly inhabited by solitary elderly folks. If it weren’t for the famous chestnut vendor, hardly anyone would come here. The only visitors were students with a craving for roasted chestnuts, since the alley was so remote. Wang Yuqing had even wondered how Linlin had found out about such a hidden spot.

The two girls rounded a corner—just two more turns and they’d be out. Suddenly, Wang Yuqing heard a familiar voice: “Well, if it isn’t Wang Yuqing! What brings you here?” Looking up, she saw three girls ahead. In the middle stood the pretty Meng Ranran.

“Ranran, I’m just here with a friend to buy some chestnuts,” Wang Yuqing replied sweetly.

Meng Ranran and her friends approached. Seeing the chestnut bag in Linlin’s hands, Meng Ranran smiled. “Yuqing, where’s the vendor? I’d like some chestnuts too. Can you show me?”

Wang Yuqing, suspecting nothing, nodded. “Sure, I’ll take you. It’s not far from here. Linlin, wait here for me, I’ll be right back.” She turned to Linlin.

“Liu Fang, Zhang Lili, you wait here too,” Meng Ranran said, exchanging a look with her friends. Then she led Wang Yuqing deeper into the alley.

Linlin, still focused on her chestnuts, didn’t notice that Liu Fang and Zhang Lili had boxed her in. She had no idea that danger was drawing ever closer to Wang Yuqing.