A dozen heads snapped toward him at the same time, followed by scrutinizing eyes as they measured him from head to toe. Perhaps it was He Juan’s smiley appearance that seemed really harmless, the men quickly lowered their guard down and their expression became condescending. "Huh? Want to talk to us? Who the hell do you think you are?!"

The corner of He Juan’s lips twitched. Today was indeed a very unique and flavorful day. First, he met a boy who had a fearless and unyielding attitude yet endearingly insecure and silly at the same time, and now... there was this group of people who struck a threatening pose with their steel bats.

He Juan had gotten so used to people fearing and respecting him whenever he went that he couldn’t help enjoying this marvelous scene a little longer.

Usually, he did not need to deal with these shrimps and would send out his men to do it instead. In their words, asking He Juan to take this kind of matter into his own hands was akin to cracking a nut with a sledgehammer – utterly superfluous. Alas, it was already so late and He Juan could not bear to summon his men here, especially when they should be partying and having fun right now. As such, he could only do it himself.

Either way, nothing should go wrong with a little friendliness, right? Clearing his throat, He Juan chose to turn a blind eye to their insolence and asked, "Are you guys here for Mu Sicheng?"

One of the men raised his brow and whistled sharply, his eyes gleaming in wicked light. "Damn right, he owes us a lot of money, you know. But..." he dragged his leering gaze over He Juan’s tailor-made suits. "You look filthy rich. Do you know him? Are you his sponsor or something? Why doncha pay us in his stead?"

Following his words, the other men broke into loud guffaws, a flicker of interest and lust forming in their eyes while sizing He Juan’s body.

The corner of He Juan’s lips turned stiff and his fingers moved to bump against the pistol hidden in his pocket. Patient, He Juan... he told himself. The ignorant were always fearless. He could not – must not – lose his temper here, not after the massacre he had carried out today. He Juan forced himself to think of nice things, such as the fluffy stray cat that always greeted him with a sweet meow on his way home and the bottles of high-quality milk tea in his refrigerator that was waiting for him. Only then could he suppress his Alpha’s irritation, who wished for nothing but bare its teeth at the provocation.

He took a deep breath and could barely keep the smile on his face. "I’m sorry to break the news to you, but... Mu Sicheng is dead. I’m afraid that he won’t be able to repay his debt from where he is now."

Apparently, the thugs had not caught wind of the news yet. Murmurs of surprise and confusion broke out within them.

"Mu Sicheng is dead?!"

"Is this true? We haven’t heard of it before!"

"This guy can’t be lying to us, can he?"

"How did he die all of a sudden?"

One of them pulled out his phone and went to the side to make a call. All the while, He Juan stood in place and waited patiently. The man returned two minutes later with a twisted look. "Dead," he spat out in frustration.

"Fuck!" The men cursed out loud. "How about our money?! Did he think he will be able to get away from Liuyang just because he’s dead?!"

"Oh, wait..." someone interjected. "He got a son, didn’t he?"

He Juan raised his eyelids and gazed at the one who had just spoken, a hint of coldness seeping into his silver eyes. He did not even need to think to guess where this was going.

"Ah yes, you’re right! It’s that skinny monkey from before!" The man with sideburns grimaced while stroking his stomach. "Damn child! He sure is a wild one! The kick he gave me the day before still hurts until now!"

Another cackled in schadenfreude. "Wasn’t it because you underestimated him?"

"Excuse me," He Juan could no longer watch from the sidelines. He still had that polite and reserved smile on his face. Alas, if his men were here, they would be able to testify that the smile did not reach his eyes at all – a sign that He Juan had heard something that displeased him. "Do you know his son?"

The sideburns guy, who had commented about his aching stomach, barked out an angry laugh. He abruptly lifted the hem of his shirt to show the dark and purplish bruise on his stomach. "No shit! Look, this is thanks to the kick he gave me. We’re already acquaintances, right brothers? Oh, I know!" A brilliant idea formed in his mind and he proposed with a snicker. "Now that the father is dead, let’s get the son to pay it. Isn’t it his responsibility to pay the debt in his father’s stead?"

"Oooh, you’re right!" The others hooted in excitement. "We should get him! Old Liu, you can even thrash him again so that he’d regret ever kicking you!"

"’Again’?" He Juan repeated the word in a murmur, his smile gradually fading away. "So it’s you? Are you the ones who beat him up into that state?"

He recalled the ugly bruises on Mu Yuze’s skin, the way he shrunk into himself when the restaurant’s staff frowned at him, and the way he bundled himself in He Juan’s jacket for fear that he would dirty the car...

’Ah’, He Juan distantly thought as traces of rosewood and whiskey pheromones oozed out of him, ’Go to hell with friendliness and peace.’

***

Mu Yuze almost stuck his face to the window as he stared at the group of people outside. He did not even dare to take his gaze off the man – the one who had proclaimed himself as a distant uncle – for fear that...

What was he afraid of? He could not say for certain.

For starters, he had no idea why he was staying in the car so obediently just because the man asked him to. He did not even know his name, for God’s sake! However, he reasoned that it was because the man had been nothing but helpful and kind to him. Even though they had only met today, the man had brought him out of the police station, treated him to a delicious and warm dinner, and even drove him home. Mu Yuze could not recall the last time someone treated him with such kindness and goodwill. And he also could no longer remember the last time he had eaten such delicious food on a proper table. That’s right, it must be the only reason why he listened to the man’s words and stayed inside the car!

But could he win against those people? Mu Yuze bit down on his bottom lip anxiously. He could tell at a glance that the man was not ordinary; he carried such a graceful yet imposing aura that caused people to cower. But... But he was alone and there were seven thugs in front of him! Moreover, they were also holding steel bats! How was the man supposed to win against them?!

Just as Mu Yuze was contemplating whether he should defy the man’s words and get out of the car – he was a good fighter despite his thin body! – an inconceivable scene happened in front of him, causing his eyes to go wide in shock.