Chapter 16 It's as if she doesn't recognize her at all.
After that day, Xu Jialan never contacted her again. It makes sense, though; how could someone like him have the patience to coax a woman?
Chen Yao'an naturally wouldn't look for him, and the two returned to their own lives, like two parallel lines that would never intersect.
A few nights later, Chen Yaoan went to Yinye Bar to find Shi Xinyu. She was mixing drinks behind the bar, and Chen Yaoan sat at the bar and chatted with her.
Xu Jialan walked over from elsewhere, tapped on the table, and said, "Give me a cup of thorns."
"It will take a while."
"Then I'll come back to pick it up later."
Xu Jialan turned around and met Chen Yaoan's gaze.
In just a second, Xu Jialan calmly looked away, her eyes indifferent, as if she didn't recognize her at all.
Shi Xinyu noticed their strange behavior. "What's wrong? Is he pretending not to know you?"
Chen Yao'an also reacted indifferently, "It's nothing, we're not on the same side as him."
"That's true. They're rich kids, and we're just ordinary citizens. We're not even worth mentioning in their eyes."
"When can we also transcend social classes?"
"It's probably impossible."
Shi Xinyu sighed, "With our little shop, it's really not as good as dreaming."
The two chatted about this topic for a while, and then Chen Yaoan, seeing that it was getting late, went home first.
She walked here, but she forgot to charge her bike today, so she didn't ride it. She plans to take the bus back.
After leaving Ginno, she walked toward the nearest bus stop.
Meanwhile, another group of unemployed people were also loitering nearby.
Huang Yuan had just been released from the detention center a few days ago. After being cooped up inside for so long, his brothers accompanied him to get some fresh air on the street.
A group of people were boasting and chatting wildly, when one of the guys nudged Huang Yuan and said, "Brother, isn't that the woman who got you arrested before?"
Huang Yuan immediately perked up, "Where?"
"It's right across the street."
Huang Yuan was still furious about being arrested, and naturally he wouldn't let the culprit off easily; he had to go up and give him a piece of his mind.
He waved his hand, "I'll go."
A group of people rushed across the street, ignoring whether it was a pedestrian crossing or a red light, causing a cacophony of horns from passing vehicles.
Chen Yao'an stared at the bus stop ahead and walked forward without noticing anything unusual behind him.
Until Huang Yuan and his group surrounded her and blocked her way.
A group of people looked hostile, and every pair of eyes was fixed on her.
Chen Yao'an's hair stood on end involuntarily as she looked at the crowd warily. "What are you doing?"
Huang Yuan stepped forward.
"What, don't you recognize me?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Yaoan looked at him carefully for a few moments.
Chen Yao'an's memory of him was indeed a bit hazy, but she remembered it in the blink of an eye.
It's that group of thugs who caused trouble for Xu Jialan before!
Didn't Gao Hou arrest them last time? How come they're out so quickly?
They've come to settle scores with her!
Her throat was dry, and she couldn't help but swallow, her voice trembling slightly, "What do you want?"
"Oh, you remember now?" Huang Yuan dragged out his words, making everyone feel uncomfortable.
"In that case, let's have a proper talk about how you got us into detention!" he said through gritted teeth.
"That's clearly your own fault."
"You brought this on yourself?" Huang Yuan sneered.
He placed his hand on Chen Yao'an's shoulder, tightening his grip, and bent down slightly to meet her gaze, his fierceness clearly visible in his eyes. "I think you need to be taught a lesson!"
Chen Yao'an felt a pain in her shoulder and gripped the shoulder strap of her handbag tightly.
She realized he could crush her with one hand, and that being stubborn would only make her suffer, so she softened her tone, "Let's talk this out."
"Last time I was too scared, so I lost my temper and shouted for the police."
Hearing her say that, Huang Yuan was clearly exasperated.
"No, what are you afraid of! Didn't I say we'd let you go after we taught Xu Jialan a lesson? You're so unfair, calling the police halfway there!"
Do you know what kind of life I had inside?!
Huang Yuan was furious, and he almost spat on Chen Yao'an's face.
"So what do you want?"
_
Xu Jialan was already somewhat drunk when she came out of Yinye Bar.
He leaned against the wall, swaying slightly, smoking as he waited for his designated driver.
The designated driver was late, so I apologized to him repeatedly.
Xu Jialan waved her hand impatiently, signaling him to hurry up and get the car.
Sitting in the back seat, Xu Jialan opened the window and casually glanced at the street scene outside while smoking.
Suddenly, his gaze paused.
He noticed a familiar figure standing on the street, surrounded by a group of thugs, who seemed to be in some trouble.
Xu Jialan quickly regained her composure, looked away, and continued smoking.
The car drove over quickly.
Xu Jialan quickly finished his cigarette, leaving only the butt. He stubbed it out on the car door, then rolled up the window to block out the cool breeze from Dai County.
The designated driver was silent and didn't play any music. The car was unusually quiet, but Xu Jialan felt that something was wrong.
“Turn on the music,” he said.
The driver responded and turned on the music, instantly filling the entire car with sound.
Xu Jialan, however, couldn't concentrate on appreciating it; she only found it noisy. "Turn it off!"
The driver quickly turned off the lights, glanced at him in the rearview mirror, and probably thought he was too unpredictable.
The car stopped at a traffic light intersection, and Xu Jialan suddenly said, "Turn around and go back."
The designated driver thought he had misheard and asked again, "What?"
"I said turn around and drive back." Xu Jialan's voice was clear, completely without the ambiguity from before.
"Okay." This time the driver heard clearly, and after passing the traffic light, he found a place to turn around and return the way he came.
The car stopped where Chen Yao'an had been seen earlier, but the group of people were gone.
Xu Jialan got out of the car nimbly, leaving behind the words "Wait" before walking towards the street.
It didn't take him long to go from passing through here to returning; they shouldn't have gone far.
There are many dark alleys on both sides of the main road in Dai County. Xu Jialan went into them to search.
Xu Jialan's prediction was correct; Chen Yaoan was taken to a nearby alley, since their group standing on the main road would attract attention.
These people said they wanted to settle scores with her, but they didn't seem to have figured out how to teach her a lesson.
They were actually discussing it right in front of her.
One of the underlings suggested, "Boss, how about we smash up her shop another day? She owns a shop, right? Or we can just beat her up now."
Huang Yuan thought about Chen Yao'an's shop and was somewhat dissatisfied. "Her shop is all clothes, what's there to smash? Beat her up... We can't really do that to a woman."
Although they were thugs, they still had some principles.
"Then what should we do?"
"How should I know!"
Just when they were at their wits' end, a voice suddenly broke in.
"Or, how about I give you an idea?"
The group of people were startled and immediately went on alert, all looking towards the source of the sound.
Chen Yaoan also looked over.
Xu Jialan stood at the entrance of the alley, her hands in her coat pockets.
Tall, casual, and uninhibited.
"Mind your own business!"
The alley was too dark, and Xu Jialan was backlit, so Huang Yuan couldn't see her face at all. He thought she was some busybody passerby.
Chen Yao'an recognized him, however.
Her heart sank slightly, but then it jumped again.
What's the use of him coming? He can't beat them anyway.
Xu Jialan clearly didn't take Huang Yuan's words to heart and took a few steps forward.
A group of people finally saw his face clearly.
"Damn it! They just delivered themselves to my doorstep!"
The others were also indignant and eager to try, "Let's beat him up first!"
Xu Jialan twitched the corners of her mouth, a rare smile with a hint of roguishness, and then tossed something into Huang Yuan's hand, "What's the rush? Calm down first."
Huang Yuan instinctively reached out and caught it, then looked down.
Wow! High-end imported cigarettes, a rare sight in the entire Dai County.
Huang Yuan curled his lip, inwardly hating these rich kids, but said aloud, "You're quite sensible. If you had been willing to back down before, we wouldn't have ended up like this."
"If it were before, would you have let me go?"
Huang Yuan took a cigarette from the pack he had just taken out, and while having his underling light it for him, he replied, "Of course not, at most I'll go easy on you."
Xu Jialan chuckled. "So, what are you planning to do now?"
"I haven't decided yet."
Xu Jialan took a few more steps forward and stood next to Huang Yuan. "How about I give you an idea?"
"What idea?" Out of consideration for the cigarette, Huang Yuan didn't refute him.
"How about this, I'll compensate you for your emotional distress, and we'll call it even."
Xu Jialan spoke of these things with ease, and Chen Yaoan looked at him.
Huang Yuan took a deep drag of his cigarette; the imported cigarette tasted really good.
He squinted from the smoke, and after a long while, he said, "No."
Chen Yaoan's eyelids twitched, and her chest pounded...
Xu Jialan remained calm, "Why not?"
“Compensation for emotional distress is certainly not enough; I can’t get over this.”
"Then how can I get you to vent your anger?"
"We're the kind of people who live by our fists."
Xu Jialan fell silent.
After a long pause, he said, "How about this, the two of us fight one-on-one, each relying on our own abilities."
Huang Yuan thought for a moment and nodded. He had been in the underworld for many years, and Xu Jialan looked like a rich young master. He was sure he wouldn't suffer a loss.
"good."
Chen Yao'an frowned and couldn't help but reach out and grab Xu Jialan's sleeve.
Xu Jialan lowered her head and did not look at her.
Huang Yuan shook his head, gesturing for Xu Jialan to go to the side.
Chen Yao'an gripped his hand tighter, "Xu Jialan, don't go!"
Xu Jialan finally looked at her, calmly gave her a reassuring look, and then pulled her hand down.
Xu Jialan followed Huang Yuan into another alley.
Huang Yuan clenched his fist, a hint of disdain on his face. "Come on."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Huang Yuan delivered a powerful punch to him.
Xu Jialan staggered for a moment, but quickly mustered her strength to fight back.
The sounds of fighting kept coming from the alley. Chen Yaoan felt like an ant on a hot pan. She wanted to rush over, but was held back by the others.
She was at her wit's end.
Time seemed to stand still until Huang Yuan emerged from the alley, his face bearing injuries.
Xu Jialan, however, has yet to appear.
Clearly, Huang Yuan had gotten what he wanted from Xu Jialan.
He didn't say much, just waved and led a group of people away.
Without their obstruction, Chen Yao'an hurriedly ran into the alley.
In the alley, Xu Jialan sat against the wall, head down. It was too dark for her to see the extent of his injuries. She called out to him nervously, "Xu Jialan?"
He moved, then raised his head.
She knelt down to examine his injuries. His face was badly bruised, and blood was coming from the corner of his mouth. "How are you? Are you injured anywhere else?"
Xu Jialan looked a little strained and nodded slowly.
"I'll take you to the hospital."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
