Chapter 31

You Changhong vaguely heard those people talking and slammed his palm on the table with a loud bang. The bowls and chopsticks on the table rattled from the impact.

“Unbelievable! They did something wrong themselves, yet they have the audacity to scold others.”

“Just treat them like a pack of mad dogs barking. No need to get angry.”

Shen Lihuan glanced at him calmly, then dipped a slice of fatty beef into the sauce and placed it into You Changqing’s bowl. “Changqing, try this fatty beef roll. I think it tastes pretty good.”

She didn’t take those trivial words to heart. Back when she killed several base leaders and took sole control, the things people said behind her back were far worse.

In reality, those base leaders weren’t just imprisoning women for their own pleasure, but also raising a large number of humans as food.

How could she tolerate such people living in this world?

Besides, now that she was in charge, those people only dared to badmouth her in private. In front of her, they were as obedient as dogs. She wouldn’t even spare them a glance.

You Changqing put the fatty beef roll into her mouth and nodded in satisfaction. “It’s really good.”

She glanced over the dishes they had ordered and, as a gesture of reciprocity, picked up a shrimp ball and placed it in Shen Lihuan’s bowl. “You love shrimp. Try this shrimp ball and see how it tastes.”

“If it’s from you, even if it tasted bad, it would still be delicious.”

Shen Lihuan looked at her with a smile.

You Changqing gave her a playful glare. “Just eat. You’re always sweet-talking me.”

The two sisters remained so calm and flirtatious that You Changhong, in contrast, seemed like an irritable child. Gradually, he calmed down, grabbed a piece of tripe, and chewed it aggressively.

Forget it. Instead of wasting energy on anger, he might as well eat a few more bites.

Meanwhile, that family continued their laughter and jokes. The man with reddened eyes looked up, revealing a strikingly handsome face. He stood up, picked up a beer bottle from the table, and walked toward them.

The child, who had been sucking on his fingers while nestled in his mother’s arms, saw the handsome man approaching and looked at him with wide, clear eyes full of curiosity.

The man raised the beer bottle, originally intending to smash it over the head of the loudest person. But when he saw the child, he hesitated for a moment and instead slammed the bottle heavily onto their table. The bottle shattered, sending shards of glass flying everywhere, leaving the table in complete disarray.

“Ah!”

The family cried out as the flying shards cut their hands or faces.

Other customers in the hotpot restaurant turned their heads curiously, but since they didn’t know what had happened, they only observed from the sidelines. If a real fight broke out and blood was spilled, they would call the police.

The restaurant staff also hurried over. “Sir, what happened?”

“Are you crazy? Are you mentally ill? What’s the point of smashing a beer bottle for no reason? Do you not realize you could hurt someone? If we’re injured, can you even afford to compensate us?”

The man who had been picking his teeth earlier brushed off the glass shards from his body and glared angrily at the handsome man, cursing him.

The child’s mother handed the child to someone else and rushed at the man, ready to hit him. “Are you out of your mind? What if you scared my child?”

The handsome man sneered, grabbed the woman’s wrist, and coldly pushed her aside. A nearby waiter quickly caught her.

“Yes, I am mentally ill,” the handsome man said slowly, then swung his fist at the man who had been picking at the chives. “Did a fool eat your family’s rice, or did one wipe out your whole family? Why do you look down on fools so much? Since that’s the case, let this lunatic teach you a lesson about how words can bring disaster!”

His words were sharp, but his fist was even faster. The chive-picking man had no chance to fight back and was quickly pinned to the ground, wailing like a ghost.

“Hero! Big brother! I was wrong! I’ll never badmouth fools again! Please spare me! It really hurts!”

His family stood to the side, anxious but too afraid to intervene after seeing the handsome man’s fighting skills. The child, who had been frightened by the shattering beer bottle, had been crying uncontrollably, but upon seeing the man beating up his uncle so powerfully, he suddenly stopped.

A thought formed in his young mind—”This uncle is so strong!” He vaguely decided that he wanted to be just as strong when he grew up.

The restaurant staff had initially wanted to intervene, but the man’s cold, menacing gaze made them hesitate. Realizing the vast difference in fighting ability between the two sides, they exchanged uneasy glances, unsure of what to do.

Only after the handsome man felt he had beaten the other enough did he stop. The chive-picking man was now battered and bruised.

The man then took out his wallet, pulled out a thick stack of hundred-yuan bills, and threw them directly at the battered man’s face without even counting. “That’s for your medical expenses. Watch your mouth next time. If I ever hear you say ‘fool’ or ‘lunatic’ again, it won’t just be a beating.”

Faced with his icy expression and overwhelming aura, the family didn’t dare say another word. Trembling, they picked up the injured man, gathered the scattered money, and fled in disgrace.

Seeing the relieved restaurant staff, the handsome man took out another wad of cash. “For any damages to your restaurant, I’ll compensate at full price. Also, you were all startled, so take the rest as a tip.”

“Alright! Thank you, sir!”

The waitstaff, surprised but delighted, had not expected to be tipped. In reality, only a single beer bottle had been broken—nothing else was damaged. Cleaning up was a minor hassle, but now that they were getting money for it, they had no complaints about the man.

“Wow, this guy is amazing! Skilled in combat, rich, and generous—he’s my idol!”

Although he didn’t know why the man suddenly went crazy and beat up the guy who had tried to flick chives at his face, at least he had avenged the three of them. You Changhong’s admiration for the man skyrocketed.

He jumped up and ran to the man’s side. “Sir, I admire you so much! You’re my idol! You have no idea how annoying that family is! They were littering at Jiangxin Park, and when we asked them to clean up, they got mad and told us to mind our own business. Just now, they even called us idiots. Seeing you beat up that sleazy guy was truly satisfying!”

He rattled on excitedly, yet the man didn’t get angry. Instead, he looked at You Changhong with a hint of gentleness, completely different from the furious man who had been throwing punches just moments ago.

“Thank you for the compliment. Honestly, getting beaten up was the least that guy deserved. In fact, I originally planned to smash a beer bottle over his head.”

The man spoke so casually that You Changhong’s eyes widened. He gave him a thumbs-up. “Awesome! Then why didn’t you smash his head?”

“Because a child was watching me. I didn’t want to leave him with trauma.”

The man explained seriously, making it clear he was telling the truth. You Changhong was a little confused. The way this guy fought looked so practiced—almost like someone from the underworld. But unexpectedly, he had such a soft heart? Just because a child was watching, he refrained from doing something that might scare him.

As if sensing You Changhong’s doubts, the man chuckled softly. “Actually, I’m usually a very gentle person. It’s just that what they said really hit a nerve, so I looked a little more aggressive than usual.”

Just a little more aggressive? You Changhong mentally retorted. No, he was absolutely terrifying. He almost thought this guy had seen blood before.

Maybe he noticed You Changhong’s silent complaint, because the man lowered his long lashes, his handsome face suddenly looking pitiful and innocent.

“Uh… would you like to join us for hotpot? Eating hotpot alone doesn’t feel the same, right? Hahaha…”

You Changhong scratched his head awkwardly. God, why did he suddenly feel guilty, like he had hurt the man’s feelings? How did he end up inviting him to eat hotpot? He must be out of his mind.

“Would I be intruding on you guys?”

The handsome man glanced at Shen Lihuan and You Changqing. Gritting his teeth, You Changhong turned to ask his two sisters. “Sis, Lihuan, uh… we were thinking of having one more person join us for hotpot. You guys don’t mind, right?”

You Changqing frowned. Why did this man look so familiar?

Shen Lihuan gave the man a cool glance. She wasn’t interested in him. As long as Changqing agreed, she would too. She always followed Changqing’s lead.

“This gentleman did stand up for us, after all. Let’s treat him to hotpot as a thank-you.”

Curious about why this man looked so familiar, You Changqing didn’t refuse her brother’s request.

“Great! We’ll sit together and order more dishes.”

You Changhong pulled the handsome man over and waved for the waiter. “Waiter, we’d like to add more dishes.”

“Of course. Please place your order.”

The waiter approached with the menu.

You Changhong handed the menu to the man. “Idol, you order.”

The handsome man pressed his lips into a smile. “My name is Ye Muyan. You can call me Brother Muyan~”

You Changhong’s mouth twitched. Brother Muyan? What the hell?

“I’ll just call you Brother Muyan. How old are you, Brother Muyan?”

“I’m twenty-four. You look really young, probably thirteen or fourteen, right?” Ye Muyan said with a smile.

“I’m not a kid! I’m already fifteen!”

No man could tolerate being called a child. Puffing out his cheeks, You Changhong protested unhappily.

“Yes, yes, kids don’t like being called young.” Ye Muyan finished ordering and reached out to ruffle You Changhong’s hair.

You Changhong bristled and nearly jumped up to hit him.

Watching the two of them bicker as if they were in their own little world, You Changqing and Shen Lihuan shook their heads helplessly and continued helping each other with food.

“Brother Muyan, can I ask you something? If my question offends you, you don’t have to answer.”

Unable to hold back his curiosity, You Changhong asked, though he had already prepared himself for rejection.

“You want to ask why I hit that guy, right?”

Ye Muyan wasn’t surprised.

“Yeah. If you don’t want to answer, just pretend I didn’t ask.”

You Changhong covered his mouth.

“It’s not something I can’t talk about.”

Ye Muyan lowered his eyes.

People are strange like that. When you’re sad, if you lick your wounds alone, you might recover quickly. But the moment someone starts to show you concern, checking up on you, your sadness magnifies a hundredfold, and it feels unbearable.

That was how he felt. The moment someone asked what was wrong, he suddenly wanted to talk.

“I have a younger brother, five years younger than me. He was just like you—adorable, smart, always at the top of his class. But because of that, he became a target for jealousy. One day after school, I went to pick him up, but he never showed up. I called his teacher in a panic, only to be told that he had already left.”

“I called my family, but no one had heard from him. I immediately reported him missing. The next morning, we found him—covered in wounds, his head cracked open by a brick, bleeding all over the ground. He barely survived. The culprits were his classmates. Jealous of his grades, they tricked him into an abandoned factory and beat him with sticks and bricks until he nearly died.”

You Changhong was a sensitive person. The moment he heard about Ye Muyan’s brother, his eyes welled up, and his nose turned red.

“Even though we sent those bastards to prison, nothing—not even the death penalty—could make up for what they did to my brother. His head injury was so severe that when he woke up, his mental capacity had regressed to that of a three-year-old. It’s been three years, and he’s still the same. Some neighborhood kids don’t understand and keep calling him an idiot. That’s why I can’t stand hearing anyone use that word around me.”

“Wow… Brother Muyan, your brother is so pitiful. Those monsters who hurt him deserve to be executed ten times over!”

You Changhong grabbed several tissues to wipe his tears and snot. Shen Lihuan and You Changqing also fell silent. A boy who had once been full of potential, ready to walk the path to university, had his life completely ruined by jealousy.

The difference between what could have been and what happened was so stark that it was no wonder Ye Muyan, as his older brother, could never move on from it.

“Don’t cry. I’ve accepted reality. But every time I think about it, I can’t help but wonder—if I had picked him up earlier, would he have been spared?”

Ye Muyan let out a bitter chuckle and took a deep swig of beer.

“Brother Ye, this isn’t your fault. The blame lies with those heartless criminals. Just because someone does well in school, they think they have the right to kill him? They’re no better than animals.”

You Changhong patted Ye Muyan’s shoulder in comfort.

Shen Lihuan asked, “Mr. Ye, what do the doctors say about your brother’s condition?”

Yan wiped the beer from the corner of his mouth and sighed. “The doctor said that my brother has a blood clot in his brain pressing on his nerves, which is why his mental faculties were damaged. But his injuries were too severe. Even after undergoing a craniotomy, his mind remains at the level of a three-year-old.”

“Is your brother afraid of seeing people?”

Shen Lihuan seemed to have thought of something, and her brows furrowed.

“For a period after he woke up, he was afraid of strangers, especially men. He would cry and say that he was in pain. We suspect it’s because the people who hurt him were all male, so now he gets scared whenever he sees a man.”