Chapter 65: I Want to Take Care of You First

Meng Xingzhe said, “I seem to be more afraid of it biting you.”

Yao Jia looked up at Meng Xingzhe, feeling a strange and fresh emotion welling up inside her.

It was a mix of being moved, excited, and having so many words and emotions stuck in her throat, yet when she opened her mouth, she didn’t know what to say.

The next moment, Tian Huasheng’s warning came to her ears: “Watch out! That big dog is getting up again!”

Yao Jia and Meng Xingzhe turned their heads to see the large dog recovering, with its handler shouting commands, urging it to pounce and bite its target again.

Yao Jia sensed Meng Xingzhe’s muscles tense and his breathing quicken, his chest rising and falling dramatically.

He was truly afraid of the dog. But he was trying hard to suppress and fight his fear.

Yao Jia gripped the stick tightly, gathering her strength, hoping that this time when the big dog came over, she could help Meng Xingzhe fend it off.

The big dog bared its fangs, drooling and panting, urged by its handler to prepare for another attack on its designated target.

Just as it was about to charge, Yao Jia heard a sharp, fierce bark from behind her.

The big dog’s aggressive stance faltered.

Yao Jia took the opportunity to look back.

It was the cute little white Bichon from the elderly neighbors’ house, now standing firmly on all fours, barking fiercely at the big dog.

In the next moment, a strange occurrence in the animal world unfolded.

The big dog actually retracted its ferocity and aggression, eagerly running towards the Little Bichon.

The big dog circled around the Little Bichon, tongue out and panting, while the Little Bichon barked aggressively like a little firecracker.

Yao Jia felt that the barking translated to something like “Go away, go away, go away.”

As for the big dog, it really turned into a docile follower.

The thug who brought the dog was infuriated by the change, cursing as he chased after it, yanking the big dog’s collar, and dragging it away despite its disgraceful behavior.

The Little Bichon continued to bark at the retreating figures of the thug and the big dog, which kept looking back.

One of the Bichon’s owners, the elderly neighbor lady, ran over, picked up the Little Bichon, and proudly praised it, “Zhao Wenrou, you did great! Grandma will make you something delicious tonight!”

In the midst of the intense and tense brawl with the debt-collecting gang, Yao Jia couldn’t help but laugh.

This fierce little creature was actually named Gentle.

With the intimidating attack dog out of the picture, the debt collectors lost their biggest tool of intimidation.

The leader, a burly man with a face full of muscle, grabbed two sticks from someone nearby, one in each hand, ready to fight Meng Xingzhe himself.

Meng Xingzhe let go of Yao Jia, telling her, “Get to the side.”

He then looked at the Lu Fangfei sisters, who were standing there dumbfounded, and frowned, “Don’t just stand there, call the police!”

Lu Fangfei hesitated for a moment before fumbling to get her phone to call the police.

Lu Fangfang stopped her, her face full of fear and pleading, tears quickly gathering in her eyes, “Sis, don’t call the police, please don’t!”

Yao Jia rushed to her side and asked, “What’s going on?”

Lu Fangfang’s lips trembled, her voice breaking as she spoke softly, “They… they really have my nude photos… they said if I called the police, they’d release them!”

Lu Fangfei could barely stand, “Didn’t you tell me there weren’t any?! So they threatened to release nude photos, but only mine were fake, and yours are real?!”

Lu Fangfang nodded, unable to speak through her sobs.

“How could you be so foolish?!”

Yao Jia looked up and asked Meng Xingzhe, “What do we do? Do we still call the police?”

Meng Xingzhe didn’t have time to answer before the leader and several others surrounded him with sticks and clubs.

Yao Jia’s heart was in her throat, worried for him.

Fortunately, Meng Xingzhe moved with agility and skill, dodging the attacks and landing solid punches on the leader.

Yao Jia found it thrilling and unexpected that Meng Xingzhe seemed to have some martial arts training.

The leader, at a disadvantage, called for everyone to join in, determined to take Meng Xingzhe down together.

Yao Jia was immediately anxious, shouting, “Do you have no shame? A group against one?”

After shouting, she realized she was stating the obvious—they clearly had no shame.

The group moved to attack Meng Xingzhe. Tian Huasheng grabbed a chair to support him.

Yao Jia was frantic and was about to rush to Meng Xingzhe’s side.

Meng Xingzhe forbade her from coming over, shouting, “Stay there, don’t move!”

Yao Jia didn’t listen and charged forward.

But she suddenly realized she wasn’t the only one rushing to Meng Xingzhe’s side. From all directions, like a tide, a large group of elderly neighbors surged forward.

Leading them was the internet-borrowing, ant-keeping lady from upstairs.

The lady led the charge with the elderly neighbors to Meng Xingzhe’s side, causing the debt collectors to pause their attack.

The lady shouted at the leader, “What are you doing? Is there no law anymore? Barging into a residential area in broad daylight? Wearing black clothes and thinking you’re some gangster? So tough, come on, beat us old folks to death and see if you don’t end up in jail! Shame on you, young people! Why not do something useful? Even begging is better than stealing and robbing! Everyone’s working hard to build a modern socialist society, and you lot are just dragging the country and the party down!”

Yao Jia stood there, mouth slightly open, forgetting the tension of confronting the thugs.

She never expected the internet-borrowing lady to be so righteous and full of positive energy in this situation.

She almost wanted to applaud.

The burly leader took a step forward, menacingly cursing at the lady, “Old hag, this is none of your business, stay out of it! We’re collecting debts legally and reasonably! If you keep meddling, don’t blame us for being rude!”

The lady was infuriated by the term “old hag.” She stepped forward and slapped the leader, leaving Yao Jia wide-eyed.

“Who are you calling an old hag, huh?! Say it again if you dare!” she shouted, ready to charge again. Several elderly neighbors quickly held her back.

“Calm down, Feng, don’t hurt him, or we’ll be in the wrong!”

The leader, caught off guard by the slap, was furious and raised his arm to hit the lady.

The lady stood her ground, shaking off the neighbors’ hands, standing tall with her chest out, head held high, her voice rising, “Come on, hit me on the head, if you don’t, you’re a coward! Go ahead! The police will be here soon, and after you hit me, I’ll go to the hospital, and you’ll go to jail. We both have places to go!”

The leader’s hand froze in mid-air.

The lady didn’t give him a chance to breathe, lying down on the ground, “Oh my, I’m being hit! The gangsters are hitting an old lady! Everyone, hold him down and call the police, I need to go to the hospital for a check-up!”

An elderly man immediately stepped forward, holding the leader’s arm, and said to the other neighbors, “Did anyone call the police? And get an ambulance too!”

Someone pretended to make a call.

The leader was momentarily stunned, clearly having never encountered such a fierce and combative old lady.

After realizing what was happening, he shook off the elderly man’s grip.

The elderly man also fell to the ground, groaning, “I’m being hit, I’m done for, I need to go to the hospital and stay there!”

The leader was at a loss with their groaning.

The people he brought were also at a loss.

The lady said to the leader, “I’m feeling dizzy and in pain all over, you need to pay for my full-body check-up!”

The elderly man echoed her sentiment.

The leader, finally overwhelmed, waved his hand to his men, signaling them to retreat.

The lady remained seated on the ground, shouting at their retreating backs, “Shameless things, if you dare come back, and don’t arrange for us old folks to stay in VIP hospital rooms, you’ll never walk out again!”

Little Bichon Zhao Wenrou barked fiercely in support of the lady’s words.

The footsteps of the retreating thugs seemed to quicken as they left the neighborhood.

The lady and the elderly man stood up, and she said to him, “Old partner, you were perfect this time!”

Yao Jia couldn’t help but smile, realizing they were a couple in action.

Lu Fangfei hurried over to dust them off, crying and thanking them profusely.

Yao Jia stood by, watching the entire process, feeling both amazed and amused. But more than anything, she was deeply moved.

The lady she once thought was so peculiar from upstairs now seemed incredibly endearing.

Isn’t it true that people are just this complicated? There’s no such thing as being permanently annoying or permanently likable. Sometimes, the very quirks that make her annoying are exactly what make her endearing when she helps others.

Those unreasonable, lawless debt collectors—aren’t they the ones who need someone like the eccentric aunt upstairs to deal with them?

The elderly neighbors all gathered to comfort the Lu Fangfei sisters.

Suddenly, the aunt upstairs shouted at the top of her lungs, “Manager Zhang, Manager Zhang, come out here!”

Property Manager Zhang hurried over, his attitude exceptionally accommodating, asking what the matter was.

The aunt, hands on her hips, yelled at him, “What’s going on with your property management? How are you overseeing this neighborhood? How did those people just waltz in here? Huh? You’re so lax, letting anyone in. What about our residents’ safety? Aren’t you making us all anxious? Aren’t you turning the neighborhood into a mess? I’m telling you, take responsibility for your property management. This is a mid-to-high-end community, not a public market for anyone to trample through. If you’re collecting property fees, then do your job properly. If not, give me my money back!”

All the other neighbors chimed in agreement.

Manager Zhang wiped his sweat and nodded repeatedly in response.

After scolding Manager Zhang, the aunt turned to Lu Fangfei and said, “Girl, don’t be afraid. Manager Zhang will take action, and those people won’t be able to come in again. If they do, the uncles and aunts will chase them away for you. From now on, go to and from work together for support.”

Standing nearby, Yao Jia felt she was experiencing the true warmth of human interaction. Her heart was filled with warmth and gratitude.

She couldn’t help but smile, not even knowing what she was smiling about, just unable to control the corners of her mouth.

Perhaps it was the genuine warmth of the neighborhood that made her feel moved and happy.

Yao Jia looked around, instinctively searching for something. When she saw Meng Xingzhe, she felt at ease and smiled at him.

She ran over and asked, “Were you hurt?”

Meng Xingzhe didn’t answer but instead asked, “Are you okay?”

Yao Jia shook her head. As her eyes fell on Meng Xingzhe’s hand, noticing the scraped skin, her heart tightened.

His delicate skin, so pampered that he even wore gloves while washing dishes, was now injured. She couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for him.

She grabbed his wrist and said, “Come on, let’s go back and put some ointment on it!”

Meng Xingzhe hesitated for a moment. “But what about this mess? You’re just going to leave it?”

“Leave it for now!”

“Your good deeds are going unfinished,” Meng Xingzhe teased her.

Yao Jia tugged him along, heading back.

“Taking care of your wound is the most important thing right now!”

Meng Xingzhe’s heart skipped a beat. As she led him forward, step by step, the skin on his wrist where they touched felt like it was burning. Suddenly, he wished he could get hurt every day.