Wen Ying knew that look in the thief’s eyes all too well.
Four parts shadowed malice, three parts cornered desperation, two parts lingering shock, and one part resolve.
Anyone who’s been kidnapped often knows this look it means the person intends to take a hostage.
Alarms blared in Wen Ying’s mind.
He’d been dragged into trouble against his will.
He could take down this pudgy brute whose build was nearly a perfect cube, but he was disgusted by the sour sweat stench coming off the thief.
So dirty.
He didn’t want to touch the thief with his hands, so Wen Ying nimbly sidestepped, intending to trip him with his foot.
But this cube was unexpectedly agile even as Wen Ying tripped him, he desperately grabbed at Wen Ying’s shoulder to keep his balance.
Unpleasant eyes paired with unpleasant actions made Wen Ying feel a surge of violation.
[Your Highness, dodge!]
The “Gentleman,” frustrated by his lack of physical form, could only shout loudly to warn Wen Ying to evade.
What was that thing it didn’t deserve to touch the noble young prince!
Wen Ying had no choice but to awkwardly dodge.
A hand clamped down on the thief in time, slamming him to the ground before he could touch Wen Ying.
Wen Ying was restrained and cautious, but the black-haired youth didn’t mind the dirt or the effort. His movements were clean and decisive, yet careful not to injure the thief’s bones.
Clearly, he was used to fighting.
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
“Oh my god, it’s Qu the school bully!”
“Ahhh why is the school bully here School Bully, you’re so handsome”
The low blood sugar caused Wen Ying’s thoughts to stall for a moment. Before he even processed what had happened, he delivered a solid kick to the thief.
He naturally knew who “Qu the school bully” was.
But what was Qu Huo doing here?
He glanced sideways. Qu Huo stood right beside him, wearing an apron, his expression cold to the point of gloom.
Like he’d just finished a work-study shift.
Qu Huo happened to look at him too.
Their eyes met. The ferocity on the boy’s face softened slightly, and he gave Wen Ying a silent nod.
[Qu Huo, well done!]
Wen Ying showed no reaction, but the “Gentleman” was clearly thrilled.
He was deeply grateful to this young man for saving his helpless prince from danger.
First slammed down, then kicked, the square-shaped thief flopped helplessly like a sunfish, lying on the ground and whimpering pitifully.
“Stop hitting me, little ancestors, please stop!”
The zipper on his backpack burst open, spilling glittering accessories all over the ground.
Wen Ying’s foot happened to be pressing on the thief’s waist, which had long lost any discernible curve. The pink-haired youth wrinkled his nose in disgust, pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, and wiped the sleeve the thief had grabbed.
He’d need another shower when he got back.
Seeing the thief tremblingly reach out to pick up the jade beads, Wen Ying gave his stomach a light kick.
“Don’t bother. They’re worthless.”
“Impossible!”
The thief’s eyes bulged wide, his tight mask distorting severely from the strain.
His sausage lips quivered: “This is the rich district how could jewelry bought by rich kids be.”
How much money a family had had nothing to do with their intelligence. Those little stone beads cost five yuan wholesale, but Cherry Lane could price them at five hundred.
Which was exactly why anti-fraud awareness campaigns couldn’t wait.
Wen Ying thought this but was too lazy to say much.
“Believe what you want.”
Anyway, these things on the ground didn’t look anything like the agate and crystal collection he had back home they had to be fakes.
Seeing the thief about to argue further, Wen Ying looked away impatiently and asked Qu Huo as gently as he could manage: “Did he steal from your shop?”
He was already dizzy from hunger, and now his stomach was churning with acid. He wanted to kick this troublesome ball away as fast as possible.
Qu Huo shook his head. “No. The manager asked me to help catch the thief.”
He released the small-time crook and straightened up, revealing a name tag on his chest with ornate English lettering.
Clearly, Qu Huo was an employee at some café.
No matter how broad a café’s business was, it couldn’t be selling cheap bead bracelets to students.
Wen Ying looked at him with newfound respect.
Not only did he deliver packages, but he also worked part-time at a café, and he could even help catch thieves.
Qu Huo might not be the most villainous-looking villain, but he was definitely the most hardworking one.
“Excuse me, coming through.”
While they were talking, the owner of the accessory shop finally rushed over with two employees.
The old man had been badly shaken by the robber and thanked Wen Ying and Qu Huo profusely, completely unaware that Wen Ying had just exposed his crystal and white jade accessories as cheap goods.
“Thank you both so much. The police will be here shortly.”
Oh, so there were police involved.
Wen Ying was hot and hungry now. He withdrew his foot, handing the half-unconscious thief back to the owner.
But this farce wasn’t over yet.
Before they left, the owner insisted on giving each of them a cheap bead bracelet as a token of appreciation.
“Take them, take them don’t be shy!”
He enthusiastically pulled out two crystal bracelets with a combined wholesale cost of fifteen yuan.
The two bracelets were identical in style, except one was pale pink and the other deep blue.
He had a conscience. Just not much of one.
Wen Ying was too tired to argue. He numbly accepted the pink bracelet.
Teenagers had fast metabolisms. After the whole thief-catching ordeal, he was now so hungry that the beads on the bracelet looked like candy drops to him.
“Thanks.”
Qu Huo was also in a hurry to get back to the shop, so he didn’t make a fuss either, accepting the deep blue crystal bracelet.
Amid the clamor, he looked at Wen Ying.
Wen Ying’s complexion was no longer the rosy white it had been before, but had turned pale.
It was clear he was forcing himself to appear normal, but the slight trembling of his lips had already betrayed him.
After a moment of hesitation, Qu Huo lowered his voice: “Are you feeling unwell?”
“No.”
Gripping his bracelet tightly, Wen Ying instinctively refused to admit it.
Qu Huo wasn’t one to meddle in others’ affairs, but for some inexplicable reason, he pulled a fruit candy wrapped in cellophane from his pocket and handed it to Wen Ying: “Want to rest at our shop for a bit?”
His voice was naturally low, and Wen Ying couldn’t hear clearly only catching the word “rest.”
The pink-haired boy took the candy like a zombie, instinctively about to refuse again, but when he looked up, the refusal was swallowed back down.
A group of students in Ming Ying uniforms, all holding up their phones in unison to take photos, had stars in their eyes as they gazed adoringly at him and Qu Huo.
“Wow, the school bully looks so cool when he fights!”
“By the way, who’s that next to him? Do we have someone like that at our school?”
“Hurry, hurry, I’m posting this on the forum to ask.”
When their eyes met Wen Ying’s, some boys started blushing strangely and shyly lowered their heads.
Young people love this kind of righteous hero narrative, and Ming Ying’s students were no exception.
Right now, Wen Ying and Qu Huo were heroes in their eyes.
What the hell are they blushing about!
Wen Ying was speechless.
About to get heatstroke, he knew this wasn’t the place to linger, so he said softly to Qu Huo in a voice only the two of them could hear.
“Sorry for the trouble.”
“Hey, why are they leaving?”
The students who had been excitedly posting on the forum and sharing videos looked up to find the two at the center of the storm had vanished.
All that was left was the despairing fat thief, sprawled out like a dried fish.
The coffee shop wasn’t far, but it was in a very hidden spot, tucked away in the farthest corner of Sakura Alley.
The overly plain storefront combined with its awkward location made the coffee shop quite desolate.
It had just passed mealtime, and there wasn’t a single customer in the small shop.
A refined woman in her thirties with big, wavy curls sat on the sofa, leisurely sipping her coffee.
“Xiao Qu, did you deal with that thief outside?”
Seeing Qu Huo bring someone back, the woman didn’t get up, only lazily fiddling with the blooming lilies on the table.
Clearly, she was the shop owner, but she didn’t seem worried about the dismal business.
“Caught him.”
“Good.” The woman squinted, picking up her glasses nearby while casually asking Wen Ying.
“Little beauty, what would you like to drink?”
Wen Ying:
With a barely audible crunch, he expressionlessly bit down on the candy in his mouth.
Strawberry flavored.
“Sister Qiao, this is my classmate.”
“So he’s a classmate. Let me treat you to a drink.” The owner reacted quickly, putting on her glasses and smiling apologetically. “Sorry about that, handsome.”
“It’s fine, I’m not thirsty, no need to trouble yourself.”
Wen Ying replied politely.
His stomach was aching dully; he couldn’t drink anything right now, only eat something.
“He might have low blood sugar, he needs to eat.”
Qu Huo untied the apron printed with the coffee shop’s logo: “Sister Qiao, I’d like to borrow the stove.”
“Use it as you like.”
The owner waved her hand generously, watching Qu Huo hurry into the back kitchen.
She asked Wen Ying: “I’m Qiao Xing, what should I call you?”
“Wen Ying.”
Qu Huo moved too fast Wen Ying hadn’t even had a chance to refuse his kindness.
“Alright, Xiao Wen.” Qiao Xing smiled with easy familiarity, pointing to the back kitchen. “Are you his good friend?”
Actually, no.
He couldn’t understand why Qu Huo was suddenly so warm, when they’d only exchanged a few words.
But Wen Ying nodded anyway.
Qiao Xing remarked: “That’s rare. I’ve only ever seen him keep to himself, and he barely talks in the shop.”
“I’ll treat you to that coffee next time.”
A young waiter brought over a cup of hot water, and Qiao Xing pushed it in front of Wen Ying: “Don’t drink coffee on an empty stomach, have some sugar water.”
“Thank you.”
Amid the mellow sound of a saxophone, Wen Ying’s mood lifted considerably, and he gradually caught his breath.
In no time at all, the aroma of tomatoes and meat filled the air.
Qiao Xing propped her chin on her hand, her manicured nails on display, looking wistful: “Too bad I already had a salad, otherwise I’d be fighting you for that food.”
As she spoke, the waiter wiping tables nearby also started swallowing.
Finally, unable to bear the wafting aroma, Qiao Xing stood up: “I’ll go check the inventory first.”
“Remember to wash the dishes, and once you finish tallying the accounts, you can leave.”
She called out to Qu Huo, who was coming out with a dish.
“Got it.”
Qu Huo said, setting a plate of tomato-braised chicken breast in front of Wen Ying.
“Eat up.”
Wen Ying finally gave up on insisting he wasn’t hungry, cut into the chicken breast, and took a small bite.
“Thanks.”
The ingredients were probably meant for salads, not suited for cooking.
But Qu Huo’s cooking tasted great.
“No problem.”
Qu Huo still had that intimidating look about him.
But Wen Ying now deeply realized maybe he just looked intimidating.
Without a moment’s rest, Qu Huo turned to head to the counter to tally the accounts.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
Wen Ying put down her fork and asked in a low, awkward voice.
This was already the limit of his concern for a stranger.
Qu Huo was taken aback, as if he hadn’t expected Wen Ying to ask that.
“I’ve already eaten.”
Wen Ying didn’t disturb him further and ate quietly.
He was actually quite picky about food, but the ingredients used in this meal happened to be ones Wen Ying liked.
The chicken breast was coated in a thick sauce, soothing the sting in his stomach and gradually clearing his thoughts.
Qu Huo finished checking the accounts and watched from a distance as the pink-haired young man ate in small bites, elegantly and cleanly.
Bringing Wen Ying back wasn’t purely on a whim it was also because his grandmother used to suffer from low blood sugar and had fainted before when he was a child.
He couldn’t bear to see Wen Ying like this.
What exactly had happened to make a young man who clearly came from a good background miss both lunch and dinner?
He had no way of knowing, and it wasn’t appropriate to ask.
After finishing the meal, Wen Ying looked at Qu Huo: “How much do I owe you?”
He was grateful to Qu Huo for this meal it had saved him a lot of trouble.
“No charge. I already spoke with the manager.”
Qu Huo collected the plates, and the food on them had been eaten completely clean.
It was clear that Wen Ying had been truly hungry.
No he should receive compensation.
Wen Ying wasn’t satisfied with his answer and was about to say something else when a teasing female voice came from upstairs: “Don’t be polite. The ingredients that aren’t used today can’t be kept anyway.”
“Even if you didn’t eat them, he’d take them home to feed the cats.”
Feed cats?
Wen Ying looked up at Qu Huo, but this time Qu Huo didn’t look back at him.
Whether it was just a coincidence or for some other reason, he couldn’t tell.