Chapter 9: Transformation

Unlike Luo Xuan, the old cat whose tail was stepped on, who ran wildly, Li Sishi, who was afraid of the dark after seeing ghosts, walked obediently according to traffic rules, while paying special attention to her surroundings as she walked.

By the time she slowly made her way to the other side of the street, Luo Xuan had already been confronting the young couple for quite some time.

Li Sishi looked closely and breathed a sigh of relief: thankfully, they hadn't started fighting yet; they were just exchanging words for now.

Even so, this scene has already attracted a lot of gossipy onlookers.

Faced with Luo Xuan's questioning, his girlfriend, who looked quite shrewd, immediately retorted, "Don't be so naive! You're already in there, how dare you drag me down with you?"

Seeing his "good brother" standing next to his girlfriend, Luo Xuan forced a smile: "A-Chang, what do you mean?"

“Ah Lok, now that you’ve seen it, I’m not afraid to be honest with you and make things clear…”

Before the boy named A-Chang could finish speaking, Luo Xuan waved his hand and said, "When Guang-Zai came to visit me before, he vaguely mentioned some things to me. At the time, I comforted him by saying that you were helping me take care of my girlfriend... I never expected that this is how you help me take care of my girlfriend when I ask you to?!"

"I'll treat you as my brother, and you'll treat me as your sworn brother—"

"Hey, what are you trying to do?!" Seeing Luo Xuan grab Ah Chang's collar, his two-timing girlfriend immediately stepped forward and started pulling at him. "Let me tell you the truth, the only reason I agreed to your pursuit in the first place was because you're a tiny bit richer than everyone else I know..."

"Look at yourself now, all pale and clean-cut like a woman, and you wear those old-fashioned black-rimmed glasses all day long, looking like a simple-minded country bumpkin. Even Brother Chang is so much better than you..."

"You've already been in jail, what future do you have? We're no longer a good match!"

“Yes, that’s right, you two are indeed not a good match.” Li Sishi, who had been watching the drama unfold from the sidelines for a while, spoke slowly.

Upon hearing this, the girlfriend, who was two-timing him, beamed with delight: "See, even outsiders think so..."

“Wait, you seem to have misunderstood me.” Li Sishi stepped forward. “What I meant by not being a good match is that you are not good enough for Brother Lok.”

"you?!"

Li Sishi ignored her and turned to look at the woman who looked utterly devastated.

Luo Xuan reached out to take his hand: "Brother Lok, what's so good about a fickle woman like this? I've been waiting for this opportunity for a long time..."

"Why don't you just dump this woman today and let me be your girlfriend?" Li Sishi glanced at the two people's expressions out of the corner of her eye, her expression becoming even more forceful. "I will never be like her. I will patiently wait for you to come out, and then we will start over together..."

It's unclear whether he listened or not, but when Li Sishi touched the back of his hand with the intention of going all out, he suddenly jerked and quickly withdrew his hand to avoid her touch.

Seeing this, the girlfriend who was two-timing him immediately laughed and said sarcastically that Luo Xuan wouldn't even hold Li Sishi's hand, there must be something wrong with that.

Although she only saw Luo Xuan as a sucker to be squandered, they were still acquaintances, so she knew that Luo Xuan was not used to physical contact with people he was not familiar with.

This statement undoubtedly implies that Luo Xuan may have known all along that she had fallen for someone else, so he deliberately hired someone to act in order to save face for himself.

After all, for men like them who are involved in the underworld, being dumped or being dumped has a completely different impact on how others perceive them.

When her two-timing girlfriend exposed the truth, Li Sishi lowered her eyes, but she continued to press her advantage, unwilling to admit defeat: "So you mean I'm just a friend that Lok called in to save face?"

"Otherwise what? What else could it be? You don't even dare to hold hands!" The one named Achang chimed in.

Seeing that they had already started a two-on-one fight, while Luo Xuan on her side was still immersed in his own world, Li Sishi, who had kindly come to help but was then abandoned, was truly furious. She forcefully grabbed one of Luo Xuan's shoulders, slightly standing on tiptoe: "What's holding hands? Open your eyes and see clearly, this is the real deal—"

Seeing Luo Xuan's fair profile, Li Sishi grabbed his shoulder for leverage, intending to give him a little slap on the face.

Unexpectedly, her massaging of his shoulder startled Luo Xuan, who instinctively turned his head to look at her.

Suddenly, her fair face turned into rosy lips, and at such close range, you could see that the rosy lips were completely translucent without any lines, looking... just as alluring.

After the breakup, not only the parties involved, but also those around them were somewhat bewildered.

Until a teasing whistle

As the sound blew and he felt the soft yet resolute touch still faintly lingering on his lips, Luo Xuan could tell from his own feeling, without even needing to look in the mirror, how red and hot his face was.

Seeing Luo Xuan at a loss, Li Sishi reacted first and stood up in a "show of force": she always believed that she could never lose her momentum, and there were priorities. The most important thing right now was to deal with this pair of scoundrels!

The two men were probably taken aback by Li Sishi's "unrestrained" behavior. After a moment, under the woman's exasperated urging gaze, they finally let Achang, the man, speak: "To hug and flirt in the street like that, you really have no shame..."

Before the last word "shame" could even be uttered, a tall, burly, bald, tattooed man stepped out from the crowd: "What did you say? You two are a shameless pair! One of you stole your brother's girlfriend, and the other is greedy and despicable. You were caught red-handed and you still dare to be so arrogant. I think you two are the ones who have no shame!"

Seeing the tattooed man angrily step forward, the onlookers quickly backed away: judging from his appearance and demeanor, he was clearly a man with a lot of life experience.

These types of people are also particularly sensitive to situations like being cheated on or being cuckolded...

That despicable couple is going to get what's coming to them.

While I think young people kissing in the street is somewhat "immoral," "immorality" is utterly insignificant compared to "adultery."

The tattooed man berated them for their behavior, and the two men, unable to withstand his anger and the stares of the crowd, seized an opportunity, grabbed each other's hands, and broke through the crowd, then quickly slipped away.

The tattooed man spat at the retreating figures of the two as they fled, then turned back to look at Li Sishi and Luo Xuan.

Clearly, both men were stunned by the tattooed man's sudden appearance. In addition, the tattooed man's seemingly empathetic manner when he was cursing made it impossible for anyone else to interrupt for a while. So the two men simply stood aside and watched obediently.

After all, even though the tattooed man was fierce, he was trying to help them. They couldn't just leave like that, even if they were afraid. What if something happened?

If Luo Xuan, who considers loyalty paramount, doesn't leave, then Li Sishi, whose mindset is a combination of repaying a debt of gratitude, watching a play, and being unwilling to admit defeat, is even less likely to leave.

I just didn't expect the tattooed guy to suddenly turn around and look at me...

"Just consider it all a case of being blinded by ghosts before. Get rid of these scumbags and forget about it. Paying attention to them is a waste of your time!" the tattooed man shouted, his voice loud and menacing.

After exchanging a few words with Luo Xuan, she glanced at Li Sishi with a hint of admiration before continuing to lecture Luo Xuan, "Also, there aren't many good women these days who are willing to wait for you to come out. You must cherish them and not regret it after you lose them!"

Stunned by the condescending barrage of words from the tattooed man, Luo Xuan nodded blankly.

Seeing Luo Xuan's response, the tattooed man finally left satisfied.

Seeing that the show was over and the crowd was gradually dispersing, Luo Xuan calmed himself down and then couldn't help but poke Li Sishi, who was watching the tattooed man's departing figure, with his finger: "What... are your thoughts?"

“This man must have a lot of experience,” Li Sishi exclaimed with unusual seriousness.

Judging from that almost earnest lecture at the end, the tattooed man must have experienced the same betrayal and pain...

Luo Xuan shook his head: "That's not what I meant, but..."

Seeing his hesitant and conflicted expression, unable to utter a complete sentence, Li Sishi suddenly had a thought: "Don't tell me that... that was your first kiss, right?"

"How...how could that be!" He stared wide-eyed and denied it repeatedly.

Well, judging from his perfectly apt attempt to cover up his misunderstanding, what was initially a 50/50 guess has now become 99% certain...

"What kind of reaction is that? You didn't lose anything!" Realizing this, Li Sishi quickly started to play the victim, "I'm the one who lost out, okay? And I was even trying to help you!"

Upon hearing Li Sishi's call, Luo Xuan immediately stopped what he was doing. He looked at her with a complex expression before lowering his head and saying in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz, "I'm sorry, and... thank you."

Li Sishi glanced at his pitiful appearance and, too lazy to dwell on the matter any longer, waved her hand and said, "Let's go."

"Where to?" Luo Xuan asked subconsciously.

“Anyway, the money you specially set aside is useless, so you might as well use it on yourself—didn’t she think you were old-fashioned and ugly?” Li Sishi briefly explained her and her cousin’s recent makeover efforts, then took a step back and carefully examined Luo Xuan. “Since it’s your birthday today, I’ll give you a free makeover as a birthday present.”