Chapter 0007: Fond of Using Fists?

After a noisy and chaotic journey, they finally arrived home.

As soon as they reached the entrance, Zhang Xiaofan sensed that something was wrong. The front door stood open, and the inside was a mess, with belongings scattered all over the floor.

“Xu Yun, you owe me a total of eighty thousand. If you don’t pay up today, I’ll burn your house down.”

A menacing voice came from inside the house.

“You! I clearly only borrowed ten thousand, and I’ve already repaid you fifteen with interest... You... this is extortion!” Aunt Yun’s voice trembled from the room.

“Extortion? How amusing. Didn’t you know your deadbeat husband borrowed twenty thousand in total?” The sinister voice continued, “Enough with the nonsense. Are you paying or not?”

“Mom!”

Wang Yuqing’s face turned pale as she dashed into the room, heedless of anything else.

Zhang Xiaofan’s expression hardened, and he followed her inside.

There, four or five thugs surrounded Aunt Yun. A red handprint marked her face, and she was shaking with fear.

Wang Xueqing hurried to her mother, helping her up from the floor, “Mom, are you okay?... sob...”

Seeing her daughter, Aunt Yun tried to push her away, knowing full well these thugs were scum who might do anything to her child.

“Heh, leaving? Where to? I didn’t expect you’d have such a pretty daughter, and still in high school, too. Not bad. Let her keep me company, and maybe I’ll give you a few days’ grace,” sneered the leader of the group. He had dyed green hair, a thick gold chain around his neck, a tank top, and tattoos all over—a textbook street thug.

“If you dare touch my daughter, I’ll fight you to the death!” Aunt Yun, sweeping aside her fear, spoke with steely resolve. Even if she died, she would not let her daughter be defiled.

“Shut up, or I’ll kill you.” The green-haired thug’s face twisted with malice as his gaze fixed hungrily on Wang Yuqing. A prize, indeed—he’d never had a high school girl before.

“Come on, beautiful, let’s go have some fun in the other room.” The thug grinned wickedly and reached for Wang Yuqing.

Aunt Yun tried to intervene, but the others quickly held her down.

“Zhang Xiaofan! I beg you, save us! I won’t make trouble for you anymore! Didn’t you say you like taking liberties with girls? You can do whatever you want with me, just please, save us!”

In that desperate moment, Zhang Xiaofan was Wang Yuqing’s only hope—she had seen him take on dozens of people today with her own eyes.

Well...

Zhang Xiaofan was taken aback. In truth, he hadn’t needed her plea to act; he would have stepped in regardless. Living with Aunt Yun all this time, he considered her family—how could he stand by and do nothing?

But... wait, what did she mean by saying he likes to take advantage of girls?

Never mind. He would deal with these thugs first.

“You pathetic scum, come over here for your reward. Yes, you lot.” His voice wasn’t loud, but it dripped with contempt. Yet somehow, it held a strange power that drew the thugs’ attention.

Thinking some formidable stranger had arrived, they stared at him, only to realize it was just a boy of seventeen or eighteen. Their eyes flashed with anger. “Kid, get on your knees and call me ‘boss’ a few times and maybe I’ll let you off.”

“Who the hell are you calling an idiot?” Zhang Xiaofan retorted.

“You, of course...” The green-haired thug realized he was being mocked and, furious, lunged at Zhang Xiaofan, throwing a punch straight at his head.

“You like using your fists?” Zhang Xiaofan snorted coldly and responded with a punch of his own.

Perhaps it was his anger, but this punch was much heavier than the ones he had used on his classmates.

A sickening crack echoed through the room, followed by the thug’s agonized screams. Zhang Xiaofan had broken his arm, the bone nearly piercing through the flesh.

The pain sent the green-haired thug writhing on the floor.

“Well? Not leaving yet?” Zhang Xiaofan gave him a kick, sending him sprawling.

“We’ll go... we’ll go...” The thugs, seasoned at reading people, saw that Zhang Xiaofan was not to be trifled with—a single punch had crippled their leader. They scrambled to help him up, desperate to escape.

“Remember—if you ever come back, I’ll smash your heads in. Now get lost!” Zhang Xiaofan barked, his icy command sending the thugs scurrying out the door in terror.

“Aunt Yun, are you alright?” Zhang Xiaofan gently helped her up.

“Fan, I’m so sorry to trouble you...” Aunt Yun said gratefully. It was good to have a man in the house—if not for Xiaofan, she couldn’t imagine what might have happened to her and her daughter.

“You’re too kind, Aunt Yun. This is only what I should do,” Zhang Xiaofan replied.

“Fan, looks like you’ve learned a lot from your mentor. Why don’t I betroth Yuqing to you? That way, you can take care of her.” Aunt Yun considered it seriously. She knew these loan sharks wouldn’t give up easily. She wasn’t worried about herself, but she wanted her daughter to have someone to rely on.

“Uh... I’m still young. I haven’t thought about that yet...” Zhang Xiaofan scratched his head.

“Mom! I don’t want to marry this scoundrel,” Wang Yuqing protested.

“Watch your mouth! If it weren’t for Xiaofan, you’d already have been ruined. Is marrying him such a grievance?” Aunt Yun’s anger flared, and Zhang Xiaofan could tell it was genuine this time.

Tears welled up in Wang Yuqing’s eyes and streamed down her cheeks.

“Aunt Yun, I actually think of Yuqing as a little sister, nothing more. But don’t worry, as long as I’m here, no one will ever bully you,” Zhang Xiaofan assured her.

“Alright, alright, I know you don’t fancy Yuqing. I’ll call the police. These thugs are out of control,” Aunt Yun said at last.

“You and Yuqing go do your homework in your room. I’ll tidy up here.”

Zhang Xiaofan nodded, but he didn’t leave—instead, he stayed to help Aunt Yun clean up.

Wang Yuqing, perhaps still shaken or simply overwhelmed, kept crying quietly in the corner. Zhang Xiaofan paid her no mind—it wasn’t his fault she was upset, after all.

After almost an hour, Aunt Yun prepared a simple meal. Perhaps the day’s fright had exhausted her; she went to bed early.

“Miss Wang, do you still stand by what you said earlier?” In the living room, Zhang Xiaofan asked Wang Yuqing, who had calmed down.

“What do you mean?” She was more polite now, after all, he had saved her from harm.

“Surely your memory isn’t that short?” Zhang Xiaofan pressed, “You said if I saved you, you wouldn’t be my enemy anymore.”

Wang Yuqing seemed to recall—yes, in her desperation, she had indeed said that.

“And another thing, why do you say I like taking liberties with girls? You’ll have to explain yourself tonight or I won’t let you off,” Zhang Xiaofan continued.

“You... if you didn’t like that, why were you holding Rou Rou in your arms?” Wang Yuqing muttered.

“For the record, it wasn’t me hugging her—she was hugging me because I’m too handsome! How is that my fault? How does that make me a lecher? I was the victim! My first embrace with a beauty was taken from me just like that,” Zhang Xiaofan objected, feigning indignation.

Wang Yuqing, still shaken and drained, couldn’t help but laugh at his shamelessness. “I’ve never seen anyone as shameless as you.”

“Oh, I’m shameless, am I?” Zhang Xiaofan raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you just say I could do whatever I wanted with you if I saved you? Time to fulfill your promise...”

Surprisingly, this time Wang Yuqing didn’t react with outrage. Instead, she answered in an incredibly bashful tone, “As long as you protect my mom and me... I... I’ll let you do whatever you want... just... just not that.”

A woman was a woman, after all. No matter how arrogant or willful she had been before, after facing the horror of those loan sharks, she now felt utterly helpless.

At that moment, she didn’t want Zhang Xiaofan to leave—she wished he’d stay here forever.

She thought, given that she and Zhang Xiaofan were not close, there was no way he’d protect her unless she sacrificed herself. But that was still far better than being abused by those thugs.

Zhang Xiaofan was momentarily startled—when had she done such a complete about-face?

Had her conscience finally emerged?

Still, she looked rather cute like this, he mused to himself.

“What do you mean, not that?” He teased, grinning.

“You... you know perfectly well what I mean...” Wang Yuqing’s cheeks flushed bright red.

“Fine then, didn’t you set up that pantyhose trap for me last time? How about we try it for real today?” Zhang Xiaofan joked.

“You... you’re shameless...” she stammered. Even though she protested, hearing him say it so directly made her heart pound. And hadn’t he just been telling her mother he thought of her as a sister? Now he was changing his tune in a heartbeat.

“Come on, how am I shameless? Weren’t those your own words? Never mind, I’m going to bed,” Zhang Xiaofan said, amused, and went to his room.

Today had been exhausting—first the incident with Lu Zhaotang, then the trouble with the loan sharks. Wang Yuqing, emotionally drained, watched him leave before heading to her own room for a deep, weary sleep.

Back in his room, Zhang Xiaofan had no intention of cultivating or sleeping. The events of the day had made one thing clear: without money, one was powerless.

He opened the window, and with a light leap from the second floor, landed steadily on the ground.

He was going out to make some money!