Bai Li looked her over and found that this blue-haired girl with her grandfather's fifth-gear companion was genuinely quite attractive.
On top of that, her voice was soft and sweet, and her body was practically pressing against his, making Bai Li's mind wander even more.
But that was the last straw for Chen Tingting.
"Oh, give me a break!"
Chen Tingting shoved the girl aside and planted herself in front of Bai Li like a mother tiger guarding her food, hands on her hips as she laid into her:
"You shameless little green-tea flirt — your boyfriend just sold you out, and you're already trying to cozy up to our big bro?"
Li Jiaxin stood to the side with a cold expression, arms folded, her gaze sharp as ice:
"Get lost."
Lin Xiaoshuang didn't say a word, but she puffed up her cheeks and tightened her grip on Bai Li's other arm, making her stance perfectly clear through action alone.
Zhang Qian's face cycled through shades of red and white as she was berated, but she didn't blow up the way she had at Wang Fei.
Instead, her eyes turned red with aggrieved tears, and she slipped past Chen Tingting to look at Bai Li with a pitiful expression:
"Big bro… I didn't mean it like that. I just think you're a good person and wanted to be friends…"
That teary, delicate look of hers would have melted any other man's heart on the spot.
But who were Chen Tingting and the others?
They were wild girls themselves — they knew every trick in the book.
"Friends my ass! I can see right through you — you're just trying to sink your claws into our big bro, you little vixen."
"Do you think we're idiots? Get out of here before I really start running my mouth!" Chen Tingting's tirade grew fiercer.
"Alright, alright." Bai Li quickly stepped in.
He stepped out from behind Chen Tingting, pulled out his phone, and opened his QR code.
"Fine, add me."
A triumphant smile instantly bloomed across Zhang Qian's face. She whipped out her phone, scanned the code at lightning speed, and sent the friend request.
In the note field of the friend request, she typed out a special message:
[Big bro, my name is Zhang Qian — the kind with a great figure~]
With that done, she shot Chen Tingting a smug sidelong glance.
Then she threw Bai Li a flirtatious wink, mouthed "talk later," and sauntered off on her own.
"Big bro! You…" Chen Tingting stomped her foot in frustration, at a loss for words.
"Let's go, it's getting late." Bai Li acted as if nothing had happened and tucked his phone back into his pocket.
Once they stepped out of the billiards hall, the cold night air hit them, and a vague, inexplicable sense of loss and grievance settled over the three girls.
"Big bro… are we… kind of annoying?"
Walking down the street, Chen Tingting spoke up in a subdued voice, all her earlier fire gone.
"Do you think we're not pretty enough, or that our figures aren't good enough?" Lin Xiaoshuang chimed in quietly, her voice thick with a nasal tone.
They genuinely couldn't figure it out.
The three of them were young and pretty, with great figures, and they were completely devoted to their big bro — they'd even throw punches for him.
And big bro really was good to them.
So why… wouldn't he listen to them?
Were they really that lacking in charm?
Sure, they were wild girls — but they weren't stupid.
They knew exactly what the looks men gave them on the street meant.
But Bai Li was different. His gaze was clean — so clean it made them wonder if they'd been reading too much into things.
"What are you two thinking about." Bai Li listened to their rambling thoughts, half amused and half exasperated.
He glanced at his phone. Today's budget was a thousand — he'd spent five hundred on the card at the billiards hall, leaving five hundred left.
"Are you hungry? Want to grab some late-night food?" he suggested. "Or is there anything you want to buy? Clothes, makeup?"
He figured he'd burn through today's budget as fast as possible and get home to sleep.
To his surprise, all three girls shook their heads in unison.
"No, no, big bro." Chen Tingting's tone was unusually sincere. "We asked you out today to thank you — not to spend your money."
"That's right, big bro." Li Jiaxin added, "You covered our rent, took us out to eat, and just now you stood up for us… we don't even know how to repay you."
"We… we can't keep taking advantage of you." Lin Xiaoshuang tilted her small face up, her eyes earnest and genuine.
Bai Li looked at the three of them being so serious and felt a helpless twinge inside.
When did these girls learn to say no?
How was he supposed to spend the rest of today's budget now?
He sighed inwardly. Looks like the remaining five hundred or so would have to wait until tomorrow.
"Alright then, I'll head home. You three get back and rest up too." Bai Li said, and moved to flag down a cab.
But the moment he turned around, three pairs of hands grabbed his arm at the same time.
"Big bro, don't go!" Chen Tingting clutched his arm and refused to let go.
"It's so late — what are you going home for?" Li Jiaxin hugged him from the other side.
"Big bro, why don't you… just sleep over at our place?" Lin Xiaoshuang suggested in a small voice, her face flushed red.
Bai Li froze. "That… doesn't seem right."
He was a grown man — squeezing into a room with three girls. What would people think?
"What's wrong with it!" Chen Tingting thrust out her chest and fixed him with a provocative stare. "The three of us aren't scared — what's a big man like you afraid of?"
She leaned in close to Bai Li's ear, deliberately dropping her voice to a low, teasing murmur laced with a hint of mockery:
"Oi~ big bro, you're not impotent, are you?"
At that, Li Jiaxin and Lin Xiaoshuang both burst out laughing, their eyes full of playful teasing as they looked at Bai Li.
Bai Li's face darkened.
Could he let that slide?
Especially right now, when he'd just received his reward and felt like he could take on a bull.
"Fine." Bai Li forced the two words out through gritted teeth. "Let's go!"