With this thought, Liu Ergou suddenly smirked at the rich kid before him and struck without warning.

The rich kid heard a sudden rush of wind and saw a fleeting shadow flash before his eyes, followed by a loud noise.

SMACK!

After that crisp sound, the rich kid was sent flying several meters by Liu Ergou's slap, landing hard on the ground.

He was completely stunned by the blow, his eyes full of disbelief as he lay motionless.

The others sitting with Liu Ergou were equally taken aback by the scene. They never expected Liu Ergou to actually get violent.

Zhang Man's eyes, however, lit up. I knew it. I wasn't wrong, he was definitely going to make a move.

And so, the room fell silent for a good two or three minutes.

Lying on the floor, the rich kid gradually came to his senses. The first thing he felt was a fiery pain spreading across his face; the entire side that had been slapped was numb. This realization filled him with an incredible rage.

"You dare hit me! You country bumpkin! I swear I'll cripple you today!"

After shouting, the rich kid shakily got to his feet, grabbed a nearby stool, and swung it at Liu Ergou. He moved so fast that no one else had time to react.

Just as the stool was about to connect, Liu Ergou struck again with a punch.

BOOM!

The stool in the rich kid's hand was instantly shattered by Liu Ergou's fist. Wood chips flew everywhere, drifting slowly to the ground. Some splinters even hit the rich kid's face, forcing him to shut his eyes.

Only then did Zhang Man and the other two at the table finally snap out of their shock.

Zhang Man hurried forward, pulling Liu Ergou aside to check on him. "Er Gou, why did you have to actually hit him!" she whispered, her eyes scanning him for injuries.

"Oh my, it's a good thing you're stronger than him. If he could out-fight you, you'd be done for. I heard he's trained! Besides, if he calls the police, you're going to be in real trouble!"

As she spoke, Zhang Man grabbed Liu Ergou's hand—the one he had just used to shatter the stool—and began to inspect it.

However, Liu Ergou simply pulled his hand away from her grasp. He picked up the menu from the table and flipped to another page.

Then he turned to a waiter cowering nearby and asked, "Excuse me, is the sea cucumber here authentic?"

Liu Ergou's question almost made Zhang Man jump up in frustration.

"Liu Ergou, can you please listen to me!" she hissed. "Do you really think I'm joking? If you get detained, do you think that's some kind of honor?"

Seeing Zhang Man's anger, Liu Ergou finally gave her a proper look. Then he said nonchalantly, "If I get detained, I get detained. I'm the one who hit him, after all. Look, if I hit someone, I have to own up to my mistake. I'll listen to the police; however long they want to keep me is fine."

Staring at Liu Ergou's completely unconcerned attitude, Zhang Man felt a wave of dizziness and nearly fainted from anger.

Barely containing her rage, she whispered, "You think it's that simple? Let me ask you, if you really get locked up, what about your affairs back home? And what about my grandfather!"

Liu Ergou just shrugged. "Someone back home will take care of things for me. I can just be a hands-off boss, and everything will be normal when I get back. As for your grandfather, we'll just have to leave it to fate! If the old man is tough enough, maybe he'll live long enough to see me get out!"

Zhang Man was so enraged by Liu Ergou's cavalier attitude that she desperately wanted to punch him a couple of times. But she restrained herself, mainly because she knew she wasn't strong enough to win that fight.

She stood there for several long minutes, forcing herself to calm down.

Liu Ergou is too much! How can he be like this? I'm only doing this for his own good! Why is he acting this way?!

At Zhang Man's silent fuming, Liu Ergou couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

"Hahaha, you're really something else, Zhang Man! Do you honestly think I, Liu Ergou, am a fool who can't see what's going on?"

As he spoke, his expression suddenly turned grim, sending a chill down Zhang Man's spine.

She quickly put on an innocent look. "What do you mean, I'm something else? I'm worried about you! But it seems my worry was for nothing. Just look at your attitude; you're not scared at all!"

Her words only served to infuriate Liu Ergou further.

Dropping all pretense, he said bluntly, "Zhang Man, don't think you can get away clean! You know exactly what's going on here. You said you were treating me to a meal to thank me. So why did these two shady characters suddenly show up to cause trouble? Are you telling me you don't know what they're like? And with the things you said earlier, you practically threw me to the wolves, making it impossible for me to back down. Don't think I didn't notice!"

After his tirade, Liu Ergou gave a disdainful sneer and returned to his seat. He picked up the menu again, acting as if he was about to order.

Meanwhile, the rich kid, calmed down somewhat by his friend and the woman, glared at Liu Ergou. Why should I be the one who gets beaten up while this kid gets to sit there like nothing happened? He's just trying to piss me off!

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He pointed a trembling finger at Liu Ergou. "Fuck! Do you really think you can just walk away after hitting me? I'll tell you what, I may not be able to beat you, but I bet you won't dare lay a hand on the police! I'm calling them right now and letting them have a nice long talk with you!"

With that, the rich kid pulled out his phone, ready to dial.

Seeing the situation spiral out of control, Zhang Man knew she couldn't just sit on the sidelines and fan the flames any longer.

If she didn't intervene, Liu Ergou would be taken away by the police. That would be a minor issue, but more importantly, there would be no one to save her grandfather.

Thinking of this, Zhang Man immediately shouted at the rich kid, "Ding Zhengyang, don't you dare call the police! Do you hear me?!"

Her sudden outburst left Ding Zhengyang frozen, staring at her in confusion. He couldn't understand why she would protect the country bumpkin who had just assaulted him.

"What is this supposed to mean, Zhang Man!" Ding Zhengyang roared.

Zhang Man shot back without hesitation, "It means exactly what I said. My meaning is simple: you are not calling the police. Because he's my boyfriend!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.