Chapter 390
Not until the thud of something heavy hitting the ground did Lanier’s companions seem to realize what had happened. They swarmed toward Lanier, even though they disliked her sharp tongue and wanted her to learn a lesson, they never imagined it would be this brutal.
As one of Lanier’s companions, a girl with an egg-shaped face was the first to rush over to check on her. She then stood up and accused Ariel.
“How can you, as a girl, be so vicious? Lanier may have a sharp tongue, but she doesn’t mean any harm. How could you beat her like this?” The girl wanted to point at Ariel as she spoke but, remembering how Ariel had just fought, she cowardly retracted her hand, looking at Ariel with her hands on her hips instead.
“Izy, don’t speak to this lady like that. This was really Lanier’s fault; she was the one who insulted this lady first.” Craig tugged at Izy’s arm and whispered softly.
He could tell that Xu Ke’s group was not to be messed with. His intention was to not let the situation escalate further, as it would not benefit them at all, but Izy couldn’t understand Craig’s well-meaning intentions.
“Did he say anything wrong? Wasn’t it you who came over indiscriminately calling a woman you didn’t know vicious and horrible names? What, are you the only ones allowed to curse, and we’re not allowed to fight back? Do we deserve to be insulted? Do we have to stand idly by and let you point at our noses and cuss us out?” Xu Ke patted Lin Mengyao’s hand as a sign of comfort.
Xu Ke’s sudden outburst plunged the atmosphere into a standstill. Everyone had ignored Xu Ke and Lin Mengyao standing on the side. Now, hearing Xu Ke’s words, those who were thin-skinned immediately hung their heads in shame, whereas the thick-skinned ones, after a brief stupor, quickly organized their thoughts to attack Xu Ke.
“What’s it to you what I say to her? Get out of here and stop interfering in our business.” Izy looked at Xu Ke with a cold voice that couldn’t hide her contempt. Though Xu Ke was handsome, he wasn’t her type; she preferred men with a typical American look, not Xu Ke from the East.
Despite Izy’s blunt words, Xu Ke’s expression didn’t change at all.
“She’s our friend. How can you say it has nothing to do with me? If you can stand up for your friend, of course, I can stand up for mine. What’s wrong with that?” Xu Ke calmly stood by and said.
“Xu Ke, I’ve never thought you were this cool before. I’m starting to fall for you.” Ariel, blushing slightly, giggled as she said this, her cheeks cupped in her hands.
“Sorry, but I already have a wife.” Xu Ke gave Ariel a cold glance and then turned his gaze back to Izy and the others, who were glaring at him.
“Apologize to her, and I’ll pretend today’s incident never happened. Otherwise, you’ll have to face the consequences.” Xu Ke, holding onto his final thread of kindness, warned the young men.
Xu Ke’s kindly reminder appeared as an unvoiced declaration of war to everyone. These young men, full of youthful exuberance and reckless thoughts, felt no fear. Thus, Xu Ke’s words only served as a challenge. All the men except Craig rolled up their sleeves, eager to cause trouble.
“Wow, we’re so scared by what you’re saying. One side here certainly needs to apologize, but it’s not us—it’s you. We’ll teach you how to talk properly today, see if you dare put on a heroic show in the future. You’re no spring chicken; why are you playing the hero? Look at your scrawny self, do you even measure up?” Bo Li stood up, brushed off his hands, and said while advancing toward Xu Ke.
Faced with these stubborn young men determined to jump into the pit, Xu Ke shook his head without a trace of sympathy. He let go of Lin Mengyao’s hand, nonchalantly unbuttoned his cuff at the wrist, and rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt, revealing his muscular but not overly bulky arm. He removed his watch and handed it to Lin Mengyao.
“I want to hold it too.” Ariel pouted discontentedly, looking at Lin Mengyao with Xu Ke’s possessions and then at her own empty hands. Her eyes glistened with tenderness, appearing both pitiful and cute, though it didn’t move Xu Ke’s heart in the slightest.
“Get out of the way.” Xu Ke glanced at Ariel, then pushed her head toward Lin Mengyao.
Being treated this way, Ariel didn’t get angry; instead, she happily shook her head and obediently stood next to Lin Mengyao, innocently radiant.
“Bo Li, you have to avenge me and teach these people a lesson,” Lanier said, speaking to Bo Li while covering the side of her face that had started swelling and turning red.
“Yeah, Bo Li, you have to give him a lesson, teach him what a real gentleman is.” Izy shouted to Bo Li, waving her fist.
Lanier, with a square face but fox-like eyes, looked at Bo Li with all sorts of tenderness and grievance. Bo Li couldn’t resist it, and coupled with Izy, whose beauty was also rare, appearing pitifully appealing, the two of them—one seductive and the other pure as a pear blossom—managed to captivate Bo Li. Originally intending just to make a token gesture, Bo Li had now changed his mind, determined to teach Xu Ke a lesson.
Bo Li clenched his fists, making cracking sounds. His eyes showed a mix of sympathy and disdain as he looked at Xu Ke and said, “I had planned just to give you a couple of punches to make you realize your mistake, but now I regret it. I want to beat you so that whenever you hear Bo Li’s name, you’ll tremble uncontrollably.”
“Are young people fond of daydreaming nowadays? Or is it a habit to babble on before a fight?” Xu Ke’s expression remained unchanged throughout, his voice constant, yet it was precisely this that made Bo Li feel as though an invisible hand had slapped him across the face, making his face ache.