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As Hu Ruoyun finished singing "Plum Blossom Melody," Ouyang Xiaxue and Li Shengnan were captivated, rising to their feet to applaud alongside Mao Na, urging Hu Ruoyun to sing another song.
Hu Ruoyun then performed "One Cut Plum" by Fei Yuqing. Although accompanied by music, it was an old song that they had all heard countless times, lacking the stunning impact of the previous piece.
Unbeknownst to them, three hours had slipped by, and they had consumed thirty bottles of beer, leaving the three women a bit tipsy. As they stepped outside to settle the bill, Li Shengnan stumbled slightly, her balance wavering. At the bar, four scruffy young men leaned over the counter, their eyes darting around as the bartender smiled nervously and offered them cigarettes.
"Let's settle up," Li Shengnan said while rummaging through her handbag. In her haste, her wallet slipped from her grasp and fell to the floor with a loud thud. One of the long-haired men known as Knife-Faced Man quickly bent down to pick it up and handed it back to her. "Your wallet."
"Thank you!" Li Shengnan replied as she reached for it, but unexpectedly, Knife-Faced Man grabbed her hand. "Wow, so soft," he said, prompting laughter from his companions.
Li Shengnan yanked her hand away and slapped Knife-Faced Man across the face. "Pervert!"
The other men closed in around them. "That’s bold, Knife! Need us to help you out?" they jeered.
Hu Ruoyun observed coldly as the bartender, receptionist, and cashier stood by without intervening. The sudden turn of events jolted Mao Na and Ouyang Xiaxue from their drunken haze; they leaned on each other, speechless. Hu Ruoyun quickly stepped in front of Li Shengnan just as Knife-Faced Man waved her wallet in front of Hu Ruoyun's face. "Hey, whose zipper is down? Looks like you’re showing off," he taunted while his friends laughed at Hu Ruoyun's reaction.
With a swift movement, Hu Ruoyun dodged the wallet and snatched it from Knife-Faced Man's grasp. In one fluid motion, she punched him squarely in the nose, causing blood to spurt across his face.
Clearly not their first time causing trouble, the other three men rushed in to surround Hu Ruoyun. She remained silent, clutching the wallet tightly in her left hand while transforming her right fist into an open palm. She seized Knife-Faced Man's long hair and pulled him in front of her as a shield against several punches before forcefully shoving him toward one of his companions, resulting in a collision that sent both crashing to the ground.
Without missing a beat, Hu Ruoyun leaped into action again, delivering a kick that knocked another man down before landing gracefully on her feet. A knee strike followed that landed heavily on the last thug's stomach.
All four men lay sprawled on the floor.
Hu Ruoyun reached for an ashtray from the bar and headed straight for Knife-Faced Man, but the bartender bent over to block her path. "Enough already; you've taken care of them..."
Hu Ruoyun shot him a cold glare. "What if I had been beaten down? Would you have stepped in then? Why didn’t you do anything when my sister was harassed?"
The bartender's chubby face glistened with sweat.
Standing over Knife-Faced Man with the ashtray in hand made him nearly wet himself with fear; if she brought it down on him, he would surely be injured. His wide eyes stared at Hu Ruoyun without uttering a word.
Instead of smashing it down, Hu Ruoyun placed the ashtray on the marble floor beside Knife-Faced Man's head and stepped onto it. The sound of cracking glass echoed as she lifted her foot again to reveal shattered pieces beneath her.
Knife-Faced Man felt warmth spreading in his pants.
Hu Ruoyun then turned back to the bar. "How much did we spend?"
The cashier blinked rapidly as she calculated for what felt like ages before finally saying, "Two hundred... two hundred eighty-three!"
The bartender trembled as he approached. "Forget it this time!"
Ignoring him completely, Hu Ruoyun called out to Knife-Faced Man, "Come here and settle the bill!"
The Knife-Faced Man crawled to the bar, trembling as he pulled out three hundred yuan from his pocket and handed it to the cashier girl.
Hu Ruoyun didn’t linger any longer; he turned and pulled Li Shengnan along, addressing Mao Na and Ouyang Xiaxue, who were still in shock, “Let’s go.”
The three girls followed him out in a daze, waving down a tricycle to return to the back door of the textile factory. Hu Ruoyun turned to the shaken Li Shengnan and Ouyang Xiaxue, saying, “Sisters, you should go in now. Don’t ever go to places like that to sing again!”
He then spoke to the tricycle driver, “Sir, please take us to the bus station.”
On the bus back to Gaoqiao Town, Mao Na, feeling tipsy, casually leaned her head on Hu Ruoyun’s shoulder and fell asleep.
A week later on Saturday, Mao Jie invited Hu Ruoyun to his home for dinner, mentioning that Mao Na would be the chef and had specifically requested him.
When they arrived at Mao Jie’s house, they discovered that his parents were not home. Mao Jie explained that they had gone to the county for errands. However, Li Shengnan and Ouyang Xiaxue were surprisingly present, along with two young handsome men around their age.
Mao Na was directing her two friends as they served dishes while mischievously introducing Hu Ruoyun, “These two are your future brothers-in-law. The one with glasses is Yao Wei; he’s dating Sister Li and works at the County Government Office with a Deputy Position level. The one in the jacket is Zhang Qiang; he’s with your sister Ouyang and is the head of the Human Resources Supervision Division at the County Education Committee. Make sure to toast them properly later.”
As all the dishes were served and everyone settled down, Mao Jie took a bottle of Xifeng liquor from his father’s cabinet to fill everyone’s glasses. However, Ouyang Xiaxue, Li Shengnan, and Mao Na all pushed their cups away, saying, “You four men can drink; we don’t drink alcohol.”
Hu Ruoyun paused for a moment and thought to himself, “I don’t believe you!”
He and Mao Jie continued to toast their “two brothers-in-law,” but they kept insisting they were students and couldn’t drink…
After half a bottle of liquor was consumed, Yao Wei became more talkative. He rambled on about everything from the County Committee courtyard to the County Government courtyard as if he knew it all, often adding his own commentary. He particularly mentioned He Ailian, the Director of the County Women's Federation: “This woman is utterly foolish; she relies solely on her husband being the Deputy Secretary of the County Committee. When her son was detained for driving without a license, she caused a scene at the Town Police Station. Not only did ordinary citizens find it intolerable, but even the county discipline inspection committee was alerted. I really don’t know how she became director in the first place. Now she can’t hold her position anymore, and even Deputy Secretary Qiu is left embarrassed…”
Mao Na and Hu Ruoyun exchanged a glance that seemed unintentional.
Seeing that everyone was getting into it, Yao Wei continued speaking to Mao Na: “You see, Li Shengnan and I are getting married next year; what kind of guy are you looking for? I can keep an eye out for you in our courtyard.”
Li Shengnan tapped her chopsticks on the table: “What nonsense are you talking about? Who said I’m marrying you next year? The probation period has been extended by a year! Don’t worry about Mao Ni; all those guys in your courtyard are just troublemakers—Mao Ni doesn’t like that type.”
Mao Na remained silent but raised her juice glass to clink with her two friends.
Zhang Qiang didn’t have much to say either; he quietly told Hu Ruoyun, “Ouyang Xiaxue said last week: Fortunately, there was you.”
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