What did you just call me

Before Gu Yue could finish speaking, the purple-haired delinquent slapped her hard across the face again.

His bloodshot eyes glared at her, his rage stoked by her refusal and her repeated, deferential use of "Brother Long." He roared furiously:

"To hell with your 'Brother Long'!"

"And to hell with your uncle!"

"In three days, I'm leaving for another province to study. I don't give a damn about your fucking uncle!"

After his hoarse, frenzied shouting, the alley fell into an eerie silence.

Gu Yue's lips trembled. She stared at Brother Mao in disbelief, never imagining he planned to flee right after committing his crime.

He could bully Tang Manman and then just walk away—but what about her?

If Lin Yu couldn’t catch the real culprit, wouldn’t he unleash all his fury on her instead?

Remembering Lin Yu’s methods, Gu Yue shuddered so hard her lips quivered.

Realizing he’d slipped up, Brother Mao shot Gu Yue a vicious look. Dropping all pretense, he sneered:

"Gu Yue, let me make this clear."

"In three days, I’m leaving with my parents to study out of province. Before then, you’d better get Tang Manman out here for me."

"Lin Yu thinks he’s untouchable, huh?"

"He likes Tang Manman? Wants to protect her?"

"Well, I’m going to have a taste of her myself—give him a nice big green hat to wear. Let him see that Brother Mao isn’t someone to mess with!"

"Brother Mao, Brother Long—"

Slap!

Before she could finish, the purple-haired delinquent struck her again, jabbing a finger in her face as he bellowed:

"Call him 'Brother Long' one more time, I dare you!"

Gu Yue clutched her stinging cheek, tears finally spilling over. A quiet sob escaped her as she whimpered:

"Brother Mao, Lin Yu doesn’t like Tang Manman."

"At school, he won’t even let anyone call her 'sister-in-law.'"

"They’re not the way you think they are."

"You think I’m stupid?" Brother Mao snarled, slapping her other cheek.

"No, Brother Mao, I swear! The whole school knows—ask anyone, and they’ll tell you I’m not lying." Gu Yue choked out between sobs.

Brother Mao narrowed his eyes, studying her for a long moment. Convinced she wasn’t lying, he suddenly grinned.

Pulling her close, he turned to face the group of adult thugs he’d brought along and asked with a smirk:

"Boys, what do you think of her looks?"

Though Gu Yue’s heavy makeup was now streaked with tears, the men’s sharp eyes could still see she had decent features. After all, as the girlfriend of a school tough, she couldn’t be ugly.

They nodded. A tall, heavyset middle-aged man in a grimy undershirt grinned, revealing yellowed teeth.

"Not bad. Clean her up, and she’ll do just fine."

Pleased with their approval, Brother Mao tightened his grip on Gu Yue and hissed in her ear:

"Listen well. These guys are here to take turns with Tang Manman after I’m done."

"If you don’t get her here in the next three days, and they’ve got no one else to vent on… they’ll take you instead."

Gu Yue trembled, fat tears rolling down her cheeks. Before she could beg, a lazy, amused voice cut in from the alley entrance.

"Why bother with her?"

"Weren’t you trying to mess with me?"

"Honestly, this bitch disgusts me. If you let them have her, I’d be thrilled."

The voice carried from the alley’s mouth to its depths. The moment Brother Mao heard it, his scalp prickled with dread. His head snapped up in terror—and sure enough, the last person he wanted to see was strolling toward them, wearing a smile so stiff it looked twisted.

Lin Yu approached slowly, his face a mask of barely contained fury. These animals were really testing his patience.

Why did they keep targeting Tang Manman?

And now they wanted to cuckold him—the champion of pure love?

Goddammit!

Did they have no idea what real gangsters were like?

As Lin Yu stopped before them, his grin still warped with rage, Brother Mao’s voice shook:

"Lin Yu, don’t you dare try anything! Take a good look—see how many of us there are?"

Mid-sentence, his courage surged.

That’s right.

There were six of them here. Even excluding himself, that was five grown men. How could one high schooler take them all on?

How tough could he really be?

One against six?

What was he, Bruce Lee?

Buoyed by the thought, Brother Mao smirked.

After all, he’d be gone in a few days—hell, he could leave tonight if he wanted.

Since Lin Yu had shown up… why not leave him with a permanent reminder?

His gaze turned ruthless, but before he could act, the heavyset man in the dirty undershirt spoke up:

"You’re Lin Yu? Li Yuan’s neph—"

Thud!

Before he could finish, Lin Yu drove a fist into the man’s bloated gut.

The punch sent him crashing to the ground, his face rapidly purpling. Gasping like a fish out of water, he clutched his stomach, writhing.

"Plenty of time for you to talk later. Don’t rush it."

Lin Yu’s icy stare lingered on the man before shifting back to Brother Mao. His expression melted into a cheerful grin.

"Now, what was it you called me earlier?"