Chapter 23: Not Letting Go of Hands

The women helping at the fish stall became nervous upon seeing the situation, knowing it wouldn’t end well—would they still be able to do business?!

They hurriedly came over, playing the peacemakers and trying to calm things down.

Xia Li held her wooden bucket and had a displeased expression.

Not wanting to waste time entangled with them, she looked up at the man and said, “Let’s go.”

The short stall owner, feeling embarrassed after being pushed down, refused to back down and pointed at them with wide eyes, “Where did these country bumpkins come from?! You think you can just run after causing trouble?!”

The man rolled up his other sleeve, his muscular arms showing smooth and strong lines.

He was tall with a hard jawline.

He frowned at the short stall owner, speaking coldly and seriously, “I’m not running; I didn’t bother you before, but now I will.”

The short man gritted his teeth in anger, unable to withstand the provocation: “… Who do you think you are?!”

Ignoring his wife’s pleas beside him, he looked around and impulsively picked up the fish-cutting knife in his hand.

“I’ll let you act tough on my turf! Brothers! Teach this guy a lesson!”

Xia Li quickly took a few steps back, seeing the man still standing there, and she grabbed his hand, pulling him aside while whispering, “Don’t confront him head-on; it’s not worth it! We’re not selling the fish.”

She hadn’t expected that the local people were indeed quite tough, and this man was stubborn—absolutely inflexible.

People from the surrounding stalls rushed over to mediate, everyone chiming in.

Xia Li had been pulling on the man’s hand for a while, forgetting to let go, and he took the opportunity to hold her hand tightly, his eyes suddenly looking deeply into hers.

“…… Xia Li?”

A woman’s voice suddenly came from outside the crowd, hurrying over and calling out to her anxiously, “Li Zi?!”

Xia Li looked over.

It was a young woman dressed simply, her hair tied up in a round bun at the back of her head, her face showing tension and concern as she looked at her.

The original owner’s memories did indeed include this woman, a widow from the neighboring village.

She had received kindness from the original owner’s mother back in the day, and it had always been remembered, so she treated her quite warmly.

However, at that time, the original owner was timid and, listening to her uncles and aunts, thought the widow had a bad reputation and should be avoided, so they hadn’t interacted much.

“I wasn’t sure before, but now I see it really is you.”

At a wooden table by the stir-fry stall, the woman poured two cups of warm tea from a kettle and sat next to Xia Li.

Though there were signs of fatigue in her beautiful features, she still smiled gently at Xia Li, softly reminding her, “That family raises wild fish in a pond; they’re used to being domineering at the market and like to pressure prices when buying fish. Thankfully, nothing serious happened; I was really scared just now.”

The earlier scene had indeed looked like it was about to turn chaotic.

Xia Li didn’t want to attract unnecessary trouble, so she decided to step aside.

The man looked at her and directly went over, snatching the knife that the short stall owner was waving around and threw it to the ground with a loud clang! The fish stall owner, who had been angry, was stunned and momentarily forgot what to say, still shaken.

What just happened?

How did the knife get taken away so suddenly??

This young man, he’s quite capable, huh?

The people nearby were momentarily dazzled, not having seen anything! The kitchen knife had already been thrown away.

Everyone froze for two seconds, then relaxed, with some people pulling apart the two sides while others quickly picked up the knife and moved it aside.

Since Xia Li was close, she saw clearly that the blade had almost grazed his arm!

But it seemed the man had used some clever technique to quickly grip the knife, snatching it from the stall owner’s hand and throwing it away without a care, then turning back to try to take her hand again.

Xia Li was taken aback and withdrew her hand, her delicate brows furrowed, unsure whether to feel relieved or worried.

He frowned slightly and called softly, “Li Zi.”

Just a moment ago, she had been holding his hand, and it was she who had taken the initiative.

Now she wasn’t letting him hold her hand again…

What was she thinking?

Yet the man obediently followed behind Xia Li.

The young widow was Wei Xiaojun, who was making a living at this market, running a stir-fry stall.

Her stall wasn’t large, just two tables and a long bench, but it was kept clean and tidy.

Wei Xiaojun actually understood that Xia Li, being a young girl from a respectable family, didn’t want to get too close to a widow like her. But seeing her seemingly in trouble at the market, she still wanted to help, hoping everything would resolve peacefully in the end.

She glanced at the young man sitting calmly across from Xia Li.

When she had squeezed through earlier, she noticed he had tried to quietly take Xia Li’s hand, but she had avoided it.

Xia Li was four years younger than her and was at the age where she should be looking for a partner.

However, Wei Xiaojun didn’t want to pry too much and instead brought the conversation back to the bucket of fish.

“Li Zi, those fish look pretty big; each one must weigh three or four pounds, right? Did you catch them yourself?”

Wei Xiaojun had clean water at her stall, worried that Xia Li’s fish might suffocate, so she specially helped her change the water.

Xia Li smiled at her, “I didn’t catch them; he caught them all by himself from the river.”

Wei Xiaojun was surprised: “He’s really skilled!”