Ye Qiu narrowed his eyes, but before he could speak, Long Ye said, “She’s winking at me.”
“Nonsense, she’s clearly winking at me!” Tang Fei chimed in.
Ye Qiu immediately turned to Tang Fei and asked, “Didn’t you say earlier that you weren’t interested?”
Long Ye also sneered, “And this is what you call a decent person, huh? Hehe~”
Tang Fei’s face turned red, and he fell silent.
The three of them entered the restaurant, found a seat, ordered a few dishes, and began eating.
Coincidentally, the woman was seated not far from them.
Long Ye couldn’t stop staring at her, his gaze so intense it seemed like he wanted to strip her clothes off with his eyes.
“Haven’t you seen a beautiful woman before? Can you not be so thirsty?” Tang Fei said, annoyed.
Long Ye chuckled, “I’ve seen plenty of beauties, but a girl as stunning as her? This is a first.”
“Disgusting,” Tang Fei retorted.
Long Ye wasn’t offended at all. Instead, he said righteously, “Everyone appreciates beauty; it’s human nature.”
“Not long ago, I read in a magazine that a British lab conducted a study. It said that if a man looks at a beautiful woman for one minute, he can live five seconds longer.”
“I’ve been looking at her for so long. Do you think I’ll live to be a hundred?”
Tang Fei rolled his eyes and said, “If you keep staring like that, her man might notice and beat you up.”
“Beat me?” Long Ye scoffed. “I’m not bragging, but I could take that dwarf down with one hand.”
“Enough, let’s just eat!”
Ye Qiu, however, was preoccupied with thoughts of going to the capital and wasn’t as focused on the woman.
At that moment, the woman noticed Long Ye and glanced over.
Long Ye waved at her, and she responded with a charming smile, her eyes curving like crescent moons, utterly captivating.
“She smiled at me! Did you see that?” Long Ye excitedly said to Ye Qiu and Tang Fei.
Neither Ye Qiu nor Tang Fei paid him any attention, focusing on their food.
“Ah, I have to admit, my charm is just too much,” Long Ye said smugly, continuing to stare at the woman.
“Pathetic,” Tang Fei muttered.
Ye Qiu, while eating, asked Tang Fei, “How much longer until we’re out of the northwest?”
“At least four more hours,” Tang Fei replied. “Bai Yujing moves fast. We’ve only gone two hundred miles, and the military knives have already shown up. Ye Qiu, when do you think we’ll encounter the second enemy?”
Ye Qiu said, “The first enemy has already appeared. How far can the second one be?”
Tang Fei, seeing Long Ye still ogling the woman like a lovesick fool, couldn’t hold back his anger and smacked Long Ye on the head.
Thud!
“Ouch—” Long Ye winced in pain, glaring at Tang Fei. “Why did you hit me?”
“She’s already taken, and you’re still staring? How shameless can you be?” Tang Fei scolded, then added, “Hurry up and eat. We need to get moving after this.”
“Hmph, a gentleman uses his words, not his hands. I won’t bother with you this time, but if you hit me again, I won’t let it slide,” Long Ye snorted, continuing to stare at the woman.
“Hopeless,” Tang Fei muttered, ignoring Long Ye and focusing on his meal.
In less than five minutes, Ye Qiu and Tang Fei put down their chopsticks.
“Are you eating or not? If not, let’s go,” Tang Fei said to Long Ye.
“You eat so fast. Do you finish that quickly in bed too?” Long Ye exclaimed, seeing that the other two had already finished. He then wolfed down his food.
Long Ye finished quickly, and just as the three were about to leave the restaurant, five flashily dressed thugs burst in and surrounded the woman’s table.
“What are you doing?” a short, bald man asked in a northeastern accent.
“What are we doing?” the leader of the thugs sneered, then shouted, “Brothers, tell him what we’re here for!”
The four underlings shouted in unison, “This road is ours, this tree is ours. If you want to pass, leave your money!”
The bald man looked around and said, “There are no trees here.”
Slap!
The leader of the thugs smacked the bald man on the head and cursed, “You dare talk back? You looking to die?”
“Why are you hitting him?” the woman spoke up, her voice as clear as a babbling brook, incredibly pleasant to the ear.
“Sister, this doesn’t concern you yet. Stay out of it,” the leader said with a smirk, then turned back to the bald man and barked, “Hand it over!”
“Hand over what? What do you want?” the bald man asked, confused.
“Are you stupid? You still don’t get what we’re here for?” the leader snapped, losing patience. “Hand over all your valuables!”
The bald man finally realized what was happening and exclaimed, “You’re robbing us? Help—”
Slap!
This time, the leader hit him hard, knocking him to the ground. He then crouched down, pulled out a dagger, and pressed it against the bald man’s throat, growling, “Hand over your valuables now, or you’re dead.”
Terrified, the bald man quickly took off his thick gold chain and Rolex watch.
Seeing this, the woman stood up and said, “You dare rob people in broad daylight? Is there no law?”
The leader gave a signal, and two of his underlings forced the woman back into her seat.
“Sister, I hate to break it to you, but around here, I am the law.”
The leader put on the Rolex and gold chain, then snatched the bald man’s wallet. He walked over to the woman and asked with a grin, “Sister, how old are you?”
The woman snorted and turned her head away.
The thug’s eyes roamed over her body, filled with lust. He then grabbed her chin and said, “Sister, I like your type. How about we find a place to have a little chat? Your man’s so short, he’s probably got a tiny needle, right? Don’t worry, I’m well-endowed and know how to please a woman. You’ll be begging for more, hahaha…”
“Get lost!” the woman shouted.
“Oh, a feisty one, huh? I like that,” the thug laughed, reaching out to grab her chest.
But before his hand could touch her, he was sent flying.
Long Ye, who had kicked the thug away, appeared beside the woman and asked, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine… thank you,” the woman said, tears streaming down her face, looking pitiful and stirring a protective instinct in any man.
Without another word, Long Ye quickly took down all the thugs in the room.
Ye Qiu reached out to help the bald man up, but as soon as he grabbed his hand, he noticed the thick calluses on the man’s palm.
“He looks like a nouveau riche, so why does he have calluses on his hands?”
Just as Ye Qiu began to feel something was off, a sudden sense of danger overwhelmed him. Before he could react, a gunshot rang out: “Bang—”
