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Just as she was about to pay, a man suddenly staggered over from behind, about to bump into her.
To avoid the wound on her back, Xin Ling shifted to the side, but the man still crashed into her arm, toppling her shopping basket and scattering its contents all over the floor.
“Sorry, little sister, let me help you pick these up…”
“No, no, it’s fine.”
Xin Ling only thought he hadn’t been paying attention to the road and accidentally bumped into her.
But unexpectedly, the man was overly enthusiastic. Not only did he squat down to help her pick things up, he also brushed against the back of her hand in passing.
“Why are you out shopping so late at night? This box here, who’s it for, eh?”
The man pinched a small blue box labeled 003 between his fingers, waving it in front of her eyes. His smile was lewd and disgusting.
“…”
Tch, a pervert!
Xin Ling was just about to flare up when a fair, slender hand suddenly reached over, seizing the man’s paw that held the little blue box—
Crack!
“Fuck! You crazy bastard!”
The 003 dropped to the floor. The lewd man clutched his hand and let out a sharp scream.
“Harassing girls in the middle of the night—who’s the crazy one here, you or me?”
The tall boy in a red cashier’s vest looked down at him from above, his gaze so cold that it made the lewd man’s heart skip.
Still, he refused to admit fault, craning his neck to argue: “Who said I was harassing her? Do you have proof? How can you slander me like that?”
“My store has surveillance cameras.”
The boy spoke as he pulled out his phone from his pocket. “Want me to call the police and have them prove it?”
“Y-You brat, just you wait!”
Seeing the situation turning against him, the lewd man clutched his hand and ran out of the convenience store without looking back.
By this time, Xin Ling had already gathered all the scattered items back into her basket—except…
That box of 003 still in the boy’s hand.
“Um, thank you for helping me.”
Xin Ling gave him a polite look and expressed her gratitude.
“You’re welcome.”
His voice was cool and gentle, the faint lift of his tone curling past her ears, strangely pleasant to hear.
Beneath his red vest, he wore a full set of black sweats. A baseball cap was pulled low, hiding most of his face so she couldn’t see his expression clearly.
His long, jade-like fingers held the small box of 003, extending it before her eyes.
The bright little box, paired with that beautiful hand, only made the moment more charged. Xin Ling felt her face growing hotter and hotter.
Until the boy noticed her distraction and couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
“Your item?”
“…Oh, thank you.” Xin Ling pretended to be calm as she pushed her basket forward. “J-Just put it in here.”
“Paying?”
“Mm-hm!”
Xin Ling nodded quickly, letting out a sigh of relief as she handed over the basket. Her gaze darted around the store, too flustered to look him in the eye.
And so she missed the brief flash of blue in his hand—
Gone in an instant, vanished into his pocket.
After checking out, Xin Ling even asked for an extra bag, separating her favorite snacks to one side, then grabbing the other bag without a glance and leaving.
Likewise, she failed to notice the boy’s meaningful gaze as it lingered on her.
Outside, the rain had stopped. With her slim, delicate back, she carried two bags, got into her car, and drove away from the convenience store.
Only when the sound of her departure faded completely did Cen Yunan withdraw his gaze.
Unhurriedly, he slipped off the red vest and strode toward a small, hidden back room of the store. Inside, someone was sleeping.
A sudden snap of his fingers—
The red vest dropped from above, covering the person who was just waking.
When he finally came to, he scratched his head in confusion, holding the vest that had somehow been stripped from him, mumbling to himself:
“How did I get here…?”
“And why’d I take my clothes off?”
In a dark alley outside, the drunken stench of vulgar words echoed.
“You guys don’t know, that girl I ran into at the store last night—so damn hot. Just looking at that pretty face of hers got me hard…”
“Then why didn’t you go for her?”
“Wasn’t it that damn cashier brat messing it up? He even accused me of harassing her… Tch!”
“What kind of good girl goes out in the middle of the night to buy condoms? I tell you, she’s just some loose slut!”
“Exactly!”
“Come on, big bro, once we finish this round, let’s go teach that little brat a lesson!”
“Hahaha, that’s right! Cheers!”
“…”
Suddenly, a cold wind swept the alley. The night fell deathly silent.
No one saw how he appeared. They only looked up in shock—
A boy in all black punched the so-called “big bro” squarely to the ground.
His strikes were ruthless, each blow landing with bone-crunching force.
Chaos erupted in the alley. The man roared in defiance, “What are you standing around for? Get him!”
“Right, big bro, we’re with you!”
“You dare hit our boss? You’re dead!”
“…”
But this boy was like a devil. One against five, and still he beat them all down.
One by one, they collapsed, sprawled across the ground, begging for mercy.
Cen Yunan tugged the brim of his hoodie lower, shadowing his eyes. His gaze fell coldly upon them.
Then, with a sudden smile, he stepped toward the most battered of the lot—the “big bro,” whose face was so swollen it looked like a pig’s head.
Each footstep echoed like a death knell. The man trembled violently, the stench of urine rising in the air.
Cen Yunan’s eyes flickered with disgust, yet he still crouched down beside him.
His voice fell like a devil’s curse: “Don’t let me hear you talking about her again. Got it? Otherwise…”
“G-Got it…”
“Good.”
He rose to his feet, brushing at his clothes, not a speck of filth on him, and walked out of the alley.
Hands tucked into his pockets, his reddened knuckles still rolled a small blue box between his fingers.
His upturned gaze caught the bright moonlight in his dark-red eyes. He chuckled softly.
“Almost time. I suppose… it’s about time I returned this to her.”
In the next instant, his figure vanished from the alley mouth.