Chapter 17: Cooperation in Fighting

Initially, Lin Hexi didn’t notice that You Chong was standing at the alley entrance, watching him feed the cat.

It wasn’t until he finished feeding the bread and took out a sausage from the bag to peel it that he heard the sound of footsteps gradually approaching, “Cats shouldn’t eat too much sausage.”

Recognizing the familiar voice, Lin Hexi, who was squatting on the ground, paused briefly but didn’t stop. Instead, he continued feeding the sausage to the orange cat and responded without looking up, “Stray cats are different from house cats after all.”

You Chong said nothing more and turned to walk out of the alley.

Last week, when he and Lin Tong came to the bar, he had left some important personal items in the private room on the second floor. He was just driving by today to pick them up.

Unexpectedly, someone reached out and grabbed his clothes from behind.

You Chong frowned and turned around. The person who had been squatting on the ground feeding the cat a second ago was now standing empty-handed. He looked down unhappily at the place on his clothes that Lin Hexi had wrinkled by grabbing.

Receiving the questioning look deep in the other’s eyes, Lin Hexi immediately let go of his hand, then casually placed it on You Chong’s shoulder, slightly bending his back and saying with a pained expression, “Lend me a hand.”

You Chong scrutinized him coldly, and confirmed that Lin Hexi’s expression did not seem fake. He asked without emotion, “What’s wrong?”

Lin Hexi let out a light “hiss,” his pained expression showing no improvement, but his tone was still fairly cheerful, “Nothing much, just my feet went numb from squatting too long.”

Upon hearing this, You Chong’s temple veins subtly twitched. He mercilessly swatted away the hand on his shoulder, “Your own fault.”

Lin Hexi laughed, stomping his feet in place to relieve the numbness, “The bar isn’t open during the day, right? When I saw your car on the roadside, I thought I had mistaken it.”

You Chong replied, “I came to pick up something.”

Lin Hexi nodded, stopped asking questions, and turned to look behind him.

The orange cat, having had its fill, had left at some point, leaving only the plastic bag he used to hold his snacks on the ground.

Lin Hexi wanted to ask when the cat had left, but he first heard scattered footsteps mixed with voices coming from outside the alley.

Although the bar street was built in the university town, it wasn’t very peaceful. There were often news reports of girls being assaulted by thugs or drunkards in the alleys on this street. Occasionally, when Lin Hexi came to feed the cats, he would see many empty syringes by the trash bins.

He promptly shut his mouth and exchanged a brief glance with You Chong. He swiftly bent down to pick up the plastic bag from the ground, and then they both walked towards the alley’s exit.

The overlapping footsteps and voices grew closer, evidently heading straight in their direction. As the distance shortened, they could even gradually make out the specific content of the conversation.

Someone spat on the ground, speaking in an unusually angry tone, “Today is really fucking unlucky. We found a girl to keep us company, but halfway there, someone came out of nowhere and snatched her away.”

Another person said, “Who around here could take someone from you, bro?”

The first person sneered, “Of course, no one would dare to take her directly from me. The girl wasn’t very honest. She tricked us into thinking she was going to buy a cake. The bakery was crowded, so we waited outside. Who knew she had already contacted someone inside, who took her out the back door. By the time we chased after her, she was long gone.”

After finishing, the person asked, “Is that guy here yet?”

A third voice chimed in, “We agreed to meet in this alley at 6 PM.”

The conversation abruptly stopped when they heard the clear sound of footsteps approaching from the alley. The group halted at the alley entrance, just as they came face to face with Lin Hexi and You Chong.

The alley’s end led to another road, so it wasn’t unusual for people to pass through here. The group of thugs didn’t pay much attention to the two of them.

Lin Hexi walked beside You Chong, and glanced casually at the five men’s faces from the corner of his eye. Four of them were unfamiliar, but the one in the center, smoking a cigarette, wearing a vest that revealed tattoos, and with a sturdy build, was someone he had seen not long ago at the bakery.

After retracting his gaze, Lin Hexi walked beside You Chong, and looked straight ahead as they passed by the five men. He was quite sure that the three men hadn’t seen his face. He was also wearing a very ordinary T-shirt and jeans, making him hard to recognize.

However, he miscalculated a bit. People who mingled in the underworld often had sharp eyes. Although the man hadn’t seen his face, he had a strong impression of his back and the back of his head.

Just as they were passing by, the young thug in the middle, who was smoking a cigarette, suddenly spoke, “Stop.”

The two of them ignored the shout.

However, the remaining four lackeys swiftly surrounded them, blocking their path. Lin Hexi stood silently beside You Chong, with lowered eyes.

You Chong was the first to lift his gaze and respond, “Is there something you need?”

“There is indeed a small matter,” the smoking thug slowly walked towards them, scrutinizing them sharply before finally fixing his gaze on Lin Hexi’s face. He began to laugh, “Your friend here has a bit of a grudge with me, but I don’t take it out on innocent people. So, you can leave now, but he can’t.”

Upon hearing this, You Chong glanced at Lin Hexi and stated indifferently, “He’s not my friend.”

Not surprised by You Chong’s response, the thug signaled to his lackeys, “Even better if he’s not your friend. Let him go.”

Despite the usual minor troubles he caused for others, when it came to serious matters, Lin Hexi preferred not to involve anyone else. He calmly said to You Chong, “You should go first.”

You Chong didn’t leave. Instead, he put the car key, which had been dangling from his fingers, into his pocket. He looked deeply at Lin Hexi, scrutinizing him for a moment before saying, “I thought in this kind of situation, you’d be eager to ask me to stay.”

Lin Hexi replied, “Since you’re not my friend, why would you stay?”

You Chong didn’t respond.

He keenly sensed that at this moment, all of Lin Hexi’s actions and words were vastly different from the Lin Hexi he had known in the past two weeks and from the Lin Hexi he had heard about from others.

The image of Lin Hexi squatting on the ground, lazily reaching out to pat the stray cat while feeding it, resurfaced in You Chong’s mind, and he began to feel a strange sensation deep inside.

However, there was no time to delve into the deep reasons behind the stark contrast in his perception of Lin Hexi. After glancing again at the people in front of him, You Chong slowly raised his eyebrows, “Even though he’s not my friend, I’m taking him with me.”

The thug clapped his hands with a smile that gradually turned sinister, “Since you don’t want to leave, neither of you will be leaving.”

The thugs blocking their way turned and kicked over the garbage can by the wall, bending down to pick up empty beer bottles, and began to surround Lin Hexi and You Chong.

Clearly not intending to get his hands dirty, the young leader stepped out of the circle, leaned against the wall, lit another cigarette, and coldly commanded, “You have the time it takes to smoke a cigarette to knock them both down.”

Unexpectedly, not even half a cigarette’s time had passed before their own men were the ones lying on the ground, beaten up.

The four thugs charged forward, brandishing empty beer bottles menacingly. Lin Hexi tilted his head, easily dodging the attack, then swung the plastic bag in his hand with a swift motion, striking one thug squarely in the face.

In the next moment, he ducked to avoid a heavy blow from a glass bottle beside him, then kicked the thug in the abdomen, sending him and the plastic bag-covered thug behind him crashing to the ground. Lin Hexi even had time to glance at You Chong.

You Chong, who should have been empty-handed, had already taken an empty beer bottle from one of the thugs. It was clear that in dealing with those two thugs, he was even more at ease than Lin Hexi.

From their fighting styles, it was evident that You Chong had likely received professional training from a young age, while Lin Hexi relied purely on his fists, brawling his way out of thug circles with a wild and unrefined approach.

Lin Hexi snorted and gave You Chong a thumbs-up, then he asked casually, “Have you ever played The King of Fighters?”

You Chong tossed aside the empty bottle, and ignored him.

It had been a long time since he fought, and the blood in his veins was lightly boiling. Lin Hexi was full of interest, persistently shouting at You Chong, “Bro? Brother You? Chong Bro? At least give me a response.”

You Chong turned his face with considerable impatience, “Can you shut up?”

After receiving a response from him, Lin Hexi’s eyes lit up with eagerness, and he said with a hint of laughter in his voice, “Shall we have a competition?”

However, You Chong clapped his hands, glanced at the two people lying on the ground, and was ready to wrap things up.

The thug who was leaning against the wall, his face turned cold, dropped the cigarette that hadn’t burned halfway, lifted the sole of his right shoe, and stomped it out forcefully.

He picked up a glass bottle that had rolled to his feet, smashed the bottom of the bottle heavily against the wall, and with a sinister expression, held the broken bottle with the sharp glass exposed, walking towards Lin Hexi.