Translator: Larbre Studio
Editor: Larbre Studio
They were all gangsters in the vicinity. They used to commit petty thievery and were frequent visitors of the police station. That night, they were wandering around the bar and happened to spot Yan Xi, who was on her own.
They had planned to rob her blind when they had seen all the branded goods on her, but her beauty had given rise to other thoughts. Yan Xi had then been dragged into a deserted alley.
When Yan Xi saw the two men ganging up on Shen Qinglan, she got extremely flustered. She wanted to break free from the blonde man’s shackles, but she was too weak—she simply couldn’t do it. So she shouted, giving Shen Qinglan a chance to run.
“Don’t you know who I am? I’m telling you, you’d better let us go now, and I’ll let this slide. Otherwise, a lifetime sentence in jail awaits you by the time my family gets here!”
As soon as she had spoken, the blonde one guffawed, “Oh missy, if you can really send me to jail for the rest of my life, then I’ll have to thank you.”
The threat did not scare them. In their view, it was all a bluff.
As they spoke, the ginger and the green-haired man had approached Shen Qinglan. The green-haired man’s hand had almost touched her face when, suddenly, a scream pierced the air.
Shen Qinglan had grabbed him by the wrist and twisted it in an odd angle. He was in so much pain that he immediately knelt onto the ground on one knee—clearly the scream had come from him.
“Ow ow ow! Bitch, let go of me!” he shouted. Shen Qinglan’s expression remained unchanged, but she exerted more force on him. The green-haired man let out a louder scream while his other unharmed hand supported his body from the ground. He had no other words to describe his pain.
The blonde realized that they had hit a snag. He also spotted the thing Shen Qinglan was holding in her hand. He quickly looked around and found a stick next to a garbage bin. Then he glared at Shen Qinglan and yelled viciously, “Let him go!”
Shen Qinglan glanced at him lightly, showing contempt for the stick in his hands.
Ruthlessly, the ginger lifted his stick and hurled toward Shen Qinglan. He was aiming at her arm that was trapping the green-haired man.
Yan Xi witnessed the stick coming to her. She let out a shriek and then shut her eyes.
“Ah!” At that same time, another man screamed. But it was not the green-haired man.
Yan Xi opened her eyes to find the ginger lying in a corner painfully clutching his stomach, while Qinglan leisurely returned to her original position.
Yan Xi’s eyes lit up, filled with nothing but worship for Shen Qinglan.
Shen Qinglan’s gaze fell on the blonde man, “Let go of her.”
Feeling Shen Qinglan’s gaze on him, the blonde trembled, his hands falling. As soon as she was free, Yan Xi sprang to Shen Qinglan’s side and then gleefully glared at the trio.
“I’ve told you not to mess with us, but you won’t listen. Now you know what my sister can do, huh!”
Shen Qinglan could not help feeling annoyed as Yan Xi gloated arrogantly. Who had been the one screaming in fright just a moment before?
Yan Xi could not care less. She only knew that not only had she been able to meet her favorite “big sister” again, but that the woman had also saved her life.
Shen Qinglan had already released the green-haired man’s hand. She glared at the three, “Well, aren’t you leaving?”
The blonde quickly lifted up his fallen comrades, and the trio fled the alley.
Once they were gone, Yan Xi finally heaved a sigh of relief. She picked up her bag that had previously dropped onto the ground and returned to Shen Qinglan’s side.
“Thanks for saving me, big sister,” she said, her eyes sparkling.
“Why are you here alone?” Shen Qinglan glanced at the girl’s peculiar face and wondered how the three men picked their targets.
Yan Xi scratched her head, embarrassed. She could not very well admit that she secretly slipped out of the house without telling her brother.
She just wanted to visit the bar, but her family was usually very strict with her, so she had never gotten the chance. That day, she had left the house while her brother was out with his friends, and then that had happened.
She had come to develop a sense of fear after the event. She shuddered to think what would have happened if Shen Qinglan had not been there.
As she thought about it, she latched onto Shen Qinglan’s arm.
The older woman froze. She did not like having physical contact with people, especially strangers, but she did not break away after her eyes met Yan Xi’s. They were wet with tears.
“Call your family. Tell them to come get you.”
Yan Xi shook her head like a rattle, “No, big sister, my brother will kill me if he finds out. He’s fierce.”
Eyeballs rolled.
“Big sis, why don’t I go to your place tonight? You live in Hangcheng, don’t you? I’ll spend the night at your place, and I’ll call my brother tomorrow, alright?”
“No,” Shen Qinglan instantly refused. She was going to stay at the hotel herself. If Yan Xi had followed her back, her lie would be exposed. She might not care about that, but in any case she would still feel awkward.
“Come on now, please?” Yan Xi held onto her arm and whined coyly. No matter how much she did that, however, Shen Qinglan would not budge.
Yan Xi pouted and sadly let go of her hand, “Fine, I’ll call my brother. But, big sis, can you stay with me until he comes? I’ll ask him to give you a ride.”
Shen Qinglan did not refuse. Overjoyed, Yan Xi immediately called her brother, completely forgetting that she would be reprimanded.
The two of them walked toward the exit of the alleyway. They did not have to walk far before they arrived at Changhua Street, the place the young girl had told her about. It turned out to be a street full of bars. No wonder she said it was easy to hail a taxi there.
At the same time, Shen Qinglan glanced at Yan Xi. In the beginning, she wondered how a young girl like her had dared to come to an alley like that. It seemed that she finally had her answer.
Yan Xi blushed furiously when she felt Shen Qinglan’s gaze on her. She lowered her head in embarrassment, but her eyes fell on Shen Qinglan’s hand, detecting a faint fragrance.
Her delicate little nose shrugged, and her stomach picked that exact moment to gurgle. Yan Xi got even more embarrassed. She dared not look up at Shen Qinglan.
Shen Qinglan could only see the top of her head and the young girl’s hands fidgeting about. She smiled and handed her pastries to the girl.
“Eat.”
Yan Xi’s eyes lit up. She accepted the treat and only took the box at the top. She opened it impatiently and gobbled the first piece.
“Oh oh oh! It’s nice, it’s nice. It tastes so nice,” she said, cheeks bulging, words unclear.
She swallowed the food, “Big sis, you’ve been so good to me, how can I repay you? Perhaps… I shall pledge myself to you!”
She supposed that was a good idea. Her eyes lit up again and she wishfully glanced at Shen Qinglan .