Interlude

The Xie family ancestral hall wasn't exactly close.

Xie Yuling led the way, with Jiang Yunlu and Chu Miaomiao following behind.

In truth, Jiang Yunlu had rarely walked through an urban village.

Chu Miaomiao, on the other hand, had already been to many places with Xie Yuling, so she was quite accustomed to the urban village environment.

Xie Yuling glanced back at Jiang Yunlu.

"My mom and uncle have already saved seats for us. We just need to head straight there."

Jiang Yunlu nodded. Looking at the labyrinth of alleyways and the rather shabby-looking restaurants around them, she couldn't help but frown.

"Xie Yuling, have you grown up here since you were little?"

"Yep. Don't worry, I know the way." Thinking Jiang Yunlu was afraid of getting lost in the urban village, Xie Yuling offered a word of comfort.

She knew very well that a pampered young lady like Jiang Yunlu had never been to a place like this.

The upper limits of a city's high-end lifestyle could be said to be infinite.

But at the same time, it also had a lower limit that allowed those at the bottom to survive.

Why was it said that Yangcheng was the most suitable city for working-class people? It was simply because the cost of living could be compressed.

You could live right in the city center while only paying a few hundred bucks for rent. Although the space was cramped, at least you didn't have to spend hours commuting from the suburbs to the downtown area.

Of course, the urban village wasn't just made up of narrow alleys; cutting through them was just a faster way to reach the main street.

However, looking around, Jiang Yunlu only felt that Xie Yuling's living conditions were extremely poor.

After all, she knew that Chu Miaomiao's mother was the CEO of the Dajiang Group.

In comparison, Xie Yuling's family background seemed to be the worst.

Because of this, she felt that Xie Yuling was actually quite pitiful, and perhaps she didn't need to be so antagonistic toward her.

Naturally, Xie Yuling had no idea that Jiang Yunlu was overthinking all of this.

Turning a corner, the three girls arrived at the main street.

This main street was noticeably cleaner and much more spacious than the alleys, featuring at least a two-way, two-lane road.

Not far away, at the entrance of a roasted meat shop, four men strolled out unsteadily. Each had a toothpick dangling from his mouth, exuding the lazy aura of having just eaten and drunk their fill.

The leader, Zhao Dezhu, picked his teeth with a thoroughly bored expression. "How about it? Let's go book some time at the internet cafe?"

"Sure, we don't start work until tomorrow anyway, so we have plenty of time tonight."

"I don't mind."

"Let's go. We can play a couple rounds of League of Heroes for fun."

As they were discussing their plans, Zhao Dezhu looked up, and his movements suddenly froze.

His gaze was fixed straight on the street corner, where three beautiful figures were walking toward them.

He immediately raised his elbow and nudged Hippo, who was standing beside him.

"Hey, look over there!"

Hippo and the others followed his gaze, and their eyes instantly went wide.

"Holy crap! It's those chicks!" one of them lowered his voice, his tone full of pleasant surprise.

The smirk on Zhao Dezhu's lips widened. He casually spat his toothpick onto the ground, deliberately straightened his heavily wrinkled T-shirt, and swaggered over to meet them.

He blocked the three girls' path, thinking he looked incredibly handsome.

"Oi, pretty girls, where are you heading?"

This sudden roadblock caused Xie Yuling's brows to instantly knit together. She instinctively took a step back, subtly shielding Chu Miaomiao behind her.

Zhao Dezhu's eyes swept over the area behind them. Not seeing the annoying Lin Mo or the landlord, he grew bolder, and the smile on his face became even more frivolous.

"Shopping with just the three of you is so boring. Where are you going to play? How about we brothers take you to a fun place?"

Jiang Yunlu, however, was used to this kind of scene. Her face remained impassive as she flatly rejected him. "No need. We are going to the ancestral hall to eat."

"Aw, why go to an ancestral hall? That's so boring."

Refusing to give up, Zhao Dezhu leaned in closer. "Don't be shy. We're all good guys."

Generally, out of ten people who constantly claim to be good guys, nine of them are up to no good.

Xie Yuling stood her ground. Her cold, clear eyes looked Zhao Dezhu up and down, her gaze making him feel as if he were a slab of pork being chopped into pieces at the market.

"I can't see how you're good guys. You probably can't even fish out a hundred bucks from your pockets. What kind of good guys could you be?"

Lies do not hurt; the truth is the sharpest blade.

The smile on Zhao Dezhu's face froze.

After paying for lunch, he really couldn't even fish out a hundred bucks from his pocket.

The same went for the others.

Behind him, the expressions on the faces of Hippo and the rest turned extremely awkward, as if their pants had been pulled down in public.

Thus, they were cut to the quick.

Xie Yuling couldn't be bothered to spare them another glance. She grabbed Jiang Yunlu and Chu Miaomiao's hands and prepared to walk around them.

Seeing that the three girls were about to leave, Zhao Dezhu, stung by her words, felt his pride crumble. Flying into a shameful rage, he reached straight for the arm of Chu Miaomiao, who was walking at the back.

He figured he might as well pick on the softest target!

However, his hand had only reached halfway when Xie Yuling, as if she had eyes in the back of her head, suddenly yanked Chu Miaomiao, pulling her to her side.

Zhao Dezhu grabbed nothing but air. He stumbled and nearly lost his footing.

"Enough! If you try to touch us again, I'm calling the police!" Xie Yuling turned around, her voice laced with undisguised warning.

Zhao Dezhu steadied himself. Losing even more face, he could only bite the bullet and act like a rogue.

"Why call the police? We just wanted to make friends with you beauties. We haven't done anything."

Hippo also reacted, quickly stepping forward to smooth things over, plastering a smile back on his face.

"Yeah, yeah, don't be so angry. We just feel like it's fate and wanted to get to know you. How about this: you three leave us your phone numbers, and we'll leave right away. We absolutely won't pester you."

As he spoke, he took a few steps forward with an amiable smile, attempting to close the distance once again.

But Xie Yuling couldn't even be bothered to give him a passing glance. She just snorted coldly, squeezing a few words out of her throat.

"Get lost!"

"You trash who can't even scrape together a hundred bucks."

As soon as these words were spoken, the air seemed to freeze.

The smiles on Zhao Dezhu and Hippo's faces completely vanished, replaced by a dark gloom.

Humiliated time and time again for the exact same reason, and right in front of his bros, Zhao Dezhu felt a surge of wicked fury rush straight to his head.

He stared dead at Xie Yuling, his gaze turning malicious.

Xie Yuling showed no fear. Instead, she took a step forward. She had already begun to channel her spiritual energy, and she had the talisman Lin Mo gave her in her pocket, so she wasn't afraid of the four men in front of her.

Right at that moment, a middle-aged man wearing an apron stormed straight out of the roasted meat shop, clutching a meat cleaver in his hand!

"What the hell are you little punks doing here! Trying to bully some girls, are you?!"

Xie Yuling immediately took a step back. "Uncle Ping! These guys have been pestering us!"

Holding the cleaver, Uncle Ping pointed it directly at Zhao Dezhu.

"What do you useless pieces of trash want! Get lost!"

Seeing the roasted meat cleaver, which was wider than his palm, Zhao Dezhu felt a wave of cowardice. Without uttering a single word, he turned around, grabbed the others, and left.

Xie Yuling thought for a moment, then grabbed a talisman from her pocket, her eyes fixed on Zhao Dezhu.

"Go!"

A flash of spiritual light, invisible to the others, shot out from Xie Yuling's pocket and struck Zhao Dezhu.

Zhao Dezhu only felt a sudden chill wash over his entire body, and he couldn't help but quicken his pace.