The pervert collapsed on the ground, his movements to protect himself sluggish. With no fists or kicks raining down on him, he grunted and groaned, trying to crawl back into the bushes. However, his body occasionally curled up and trembled due to the severe pain, making his escape notably slow.
Shen Mo took a deep breath, straightened his body, and shook his hands off. With a spit in disdain towards the pervert, he then stepped back and turned to embrace Hua Jie.
“Are you okay?” It was Hua Jie who expressed concern first.
The young man didn’t make a sound but wrapped his arms around the girl and headed towards the large tiled house of the restaurant a few meters away.
As they approached the large house, the noise of people guessing fists and drinking could be heard. The warm light from inside fell on their faces, and Shen Mo finally relaxed, gently patting the girl’s back.
“I’m fine. I was just a bit scared at first, but I’m not frightened anymore,” Hua Jie said with a laugh, looking up to comfort Shen Mo. She then reached behind him, pulled his hand, and rubbed the back of his hand in her palm, finally breathing a sigh of relief.
The blood was wiped away; his knuckles were swollen but not broken.
“I’m not injured,” Shen Mo said, his voice unusually husky. He had to clear his throat and coughed twice.
“Uh-huh,” Hua Jie nodded, staring at his face with some distress. “Who says you’re not hurt? Your face is scratched by branches.”
Shen Mo carelessly wiped his face. “It’ll be fine in a couple of days.”
After they entered, they washed their hands together.
A bloodstain on Shen Mo’s sleeve came off easily with water.
After bypassing a particularly noisy table where men were playing the guessing game and drinking, they returned to their seats.
Although they did not intend to alarm Hua Jie’s parents, the grim expression on Shen Mo’s face and the scratch marks on his cheek still made Hua’s father sense that something was amiss.
After a few questions, Shen Mo finally spoke up:
“Hua Jie encountered a pervert outside the restroom, he was naked, and I beat him up.”
No sooner had Shen Mo finished speaking than Hua’s father abruptly stood up.
Before the others could react, Hua’s father had already rushed out of the restaurant.
“!”
Shen Mo had never seen Hua’s father like this, and he was completely stunned.
What just happened?
Why did Uncle Hua disappear in the blink of an eye?
It was Hua’s mother who first realized what was going on. Her husband had always been hot-tempered from a young age, always the first to rush into fights, fearless as if he was invincible. Back then, people said Hua Zhaoyuan was truly honorable, and that’s where it came from.
Over the years, as he got older and the pressures of providing for the family grew, he seemed to become more tranquil and peaceful, but that didn’t mean his impulsive nature had completely vanished.
This old man, when he started hitting people, didn’t know his own strength; she was only afraid that he might cause a serious incident, so she got up and ran outside.
It was only then that Hua Jie and Shen Mo realized what was happening and hurriedly put down their chopsticks to chase after her.
About ten meters from the courtyard, outside the restroom, there was only a dim light hanging on the outer wall.
The pervert had just recovered a bit of strength, the pain on his body almost causing him to faint several times.
Thinking that if he passed out, he might freeze to death outside, he had to grit his teeth to maintain his will and started to crawl, trying to escape through the bushes.
But no sooner had he crawled halfway through, his feet were suddenly gripped tightly, and a powerful force yanked him back—the effort he had put into crawling was all in vain—
He was dragged out again.
What greeted him was a second round of punches and kicks.
The pain and fear made him urinate on his military coat.
Hua’s mother rushed over, grabbed her husband’s arm, and turned to call Shen Mo.
Seeing the pervert’s eyes bloodshot and his mouth full of blood, lying on the ground without the strength even to beg for mercy.
Hua’s mother was startled, quickly joining Shen Mo to grasp her husband’s arm.
Even so, Hua’s father still struggled, almost elbowing Shen Mo in the chin, luckily the young man reacted quickly, otherwise, he would have been accidentally injured by his own side.
Hua’s mother and Shen Mo pulled Hua’s father back a few steps, turning to look at the pervert curled up on the ground, thinking of the lewd acts he had committed against their daughter, they felt both frightened and angry. Stepping over, Hua’s mother gave the pervert a kick before returning to her husband’s side.
After a lot of persuading and pulling, Hua’s mother and Shen Mo finally managed to calm down the agitated middle-aged Hua Zhaoyuan, soothing and forcefully pulling him back to the restaurant.
Even though it was her own family and her father beating someone up, she had never experienced such an extreme outburst of rage and violence, and it still left her quite shaken.
Looking at her own father, she suddenly remembered a popular saying from the internet in the future—
Big brother, let it go, just let it go.
Wiping off her sweat, after all the commotion, her fear induced by the earlier pervert had significantly faded.
The four of them were dragged into the restaurant, just as a customer was leaving to use the bathroom, coincidentally brushing past them.
Seeing Mr. Hua being supported by two people, he assumed Mr. Hua was drunk and acting foolishly; after a brief glance, he walked on, not thinking much of it.
The moon was particularly dim tonight, casting deep shadows across the large courtyard.
Taking a deep breath of the chilly outdoor air, the customer felt his drunkenness subside somewhat.
He reached the entrance of the men’s restroom, and just as he was about to turn in, he suddenly noticed someone lying by the bushes, curled up and sobbing.
Bending over to ask if the person had fallen while drunk, the other suddenly struggled to rise and started kowtowing frantically.
Kneeling and knocking his head on the ground, he mumbled through his tears:
“Please spare me, I won’t dare again, please spare me…”
The customer stepped back in alarm.
Is this person insane?
He must have had quite a bit to drink…
Why go to such lengths for a simple passerby?
Holding back the urge to urinate, the customer squinted for a closer look, only to realize the man was wearing nothing under his military coat, likely a pervert.
Upon closer inspection, ah, he was covered in blood from a beating—this was clearly a tough situation.
This regular at the nearby Iron Pot Stew restaurant recognized the man, who was often seen around these parts, a pervert known for scavenging.
He had seen this pervert before, but back then, several men tried to catch him, and he managed to escape.
But now, they had him.
Turning around, he ran back into the restaurant and called his friends to come out and capture the man.
The good citizens were ready to act heroically, planning to hold down the pervert, slap him a few times, and take him to the police station.
With the New Year approaching, while petty thieves were a nuisance, it was outrageous for a pervert to also come out and scare people!
“Can this miserable wretch even walk? Kick him twice, make him get up, don’t let him play dead.”
“What are you groaning for? Get up!”
“Hold on, this guy scared my wife around here before. Let me slap him a couple of times first.”
“You disgusting pervert, scaring women like that! Shameless!”
In the vast universe under the moonlit sky, though the moon was dim, justice shone brilliantly.
Several strong men pushed and kicked the limping pervert out the door, heading straight for the police station.
Back inside the Iron Pot Stew restaurant, Mr. Hua was finally seated and soothed by Hua’s mother’s hand on his shoulder.
Hua Jie held her father’s hand, reassuring him repeatedly that she hadn’t been scared or bullied, telling him not to worry or get angry.
Shen Mo rubbed his fists and twisted his ankles, his mouth dry, he took a sip of pear juice before suddenly remembering that he had arrived just in time because he had followed Hua Jie out to go to the bathroom.
After all this commotion, he still hadn’t had a chance to relieve himself…
…
After the incident, everyone’s appetite decreased significantly, but thankfully they had already had their fill, so it wasn’t too regrettable.
Hua’s mother got up to pay the bill, while Mr. Hua patted his daughter on the head and went outside to smoke.
Hua Jie breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at Shen Mo.
Seeing his hand hanging under the table, she grew concerned again, took his wrist, and placed it on the table for a closer inspection. She noticed his knuckles were still swollen, some spots probably bruised from hitting the pervert’s bones, looking rather alarming.
His normally pale and delicate long hands were swollen and discolored, which was quite pitiful to see.
She dampened a tissue with water and gently wiped his hand, softly asking:
“Does it hurt?”
“It’s not me that’s hurting, it’s that pervert.” He didn’t pull his hand away, letting her hold his wrist and gently wipe and cool it to reduce the swelling.
“Do you know if there’s a pharmacy open on the way home? Do you have something like iodine at home?” she asked with concern.
“It was just a fight, I’m not really injured. It’ll be gone by tomorrow morning; no need to fuss.” He then withdrew his hand, patted her back, and asked somewhat annoyed:
“Are you going to have nightmares tonight?”
“I’ve decided to have my dad sleep in my room tonight, and I’ll sleep with my mom. That way, I won’t be scared,” she said with a smile.
She had clearly been frightened earlier, but now she was the one concerned about and comforting others.
Shen Mo pursed his lips, his heart growing softer, feeling guilty for not having protected her better, which made him a bit sad.
“All right, my mom has finished paying, let’s go,” Hua Jie stood up, grabbing the leftovers they hadn’t finished, and patted the young man on the shoulder.
Why did he seem more fragile and upset than her?
Shen Mo then stood up, his face stern as he took the bag from her hands and walked ahead.
But after only a few steps, he stopped, turned to wait for her to catch up, and then slowed down to walk beside her, looking like he was worried about losing sight of her and something happening again.
Hua Jie, warmed by his actions, couldn’t help but return his gesture with a smile, which helped ease her earlier fright and disgust even further.
Looking down at his hand carrying the bag, she suddenly remembered how she had checked his wounds earlier, touching and blowing on his wrist and hand, and couldn’t help but giggle quietly.
She had touched the cool hand of the handsome young man.
The two left the restaurant, meeting up with Mr. and Hua’s mother, and together they walked to the new car parked nearby.
Before getting into the car, Hua Jie instinctively looked towards the direction of the bathroom, her heart tight, relieved that the pervert was no longer there.
She took a deep breath, turned, got into the car, and buckled up, noticing her mother looking at her with concern. She quickly smiled back to reassure her that she was fine.
On the way back, all the small pharmacies and shops were closed. Mr. Hua dropped Shen Mo at his home, and Hua Jie reminded the young man to apply some iodine to avoid soreness the next day.
The young man waved at them, greeted Mr. and Hua’s mother, and then walked into his residential area with big, confident strides.
Mr. Hua watched Shen Mo’s retreating figure, and couldn’t help but remark as he started the car:
“This kid has quite the temper; I never noticed it before, just thought he was a bit aloof. Tsk, didn’t expect him to not hold back when fighting.”
“Reminds me of myself when I was young.”
“And that proud tone of yours? Proud of fighting? You’re too old for this; try to be more calm in handling matters from now on. What era is it to still solve problems with violence?” Hua’s mother slapped her husband lightly, then couldn’t help but lecture:
“Don’t set a bad example for Shen Mo; he needs to focus on his studies, not get involved in fights.”
“Women always worry too much; we men know what we’re doing,” Mr. Hua retorted, though his tone was much softer.
Glancing at his daughter in the rearview mirror and seeing that her complexion was fine, he felt a bit more at ease.
He decided that they needed to be more cautious when eating out late at night in the future.
The girl has grown up; she must be well protected.
That night, Hua Jie swapped beds with her father and hugged her quilt. After turning off the lights, she still felt uneasy, reaching through the quilt to hold her mother’s hand, which finally brought her some warmth and comfort.
Yet, she still had a nightmare that night.
…
After a busy day with too much happening, Mr. Hua collapsed onto the bed to sleep, only to suddenly feel a pang of regret.
220,000 yuan—a colossal amount that once seemed like a lifetime’s earnings.
How had it all been spent in one day?
What had gotten into him today, spending the money for two 60-square-meter apartments on just one car…
The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt.
Suddenly having so much money, and then suddenly spending it—especially for someone who was still in debt from buying their current 200,000 yuan apartment just earlier this year—it was simply too overwhelming.
Tossing and turning all night, Mr. Hua dreamed of losing money, and by morning, he had developed three canker sores.