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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 paid no more attention to him, turning around to grab Li Shengnan and calling out to Mao Na and Ouyang Xiaxue, who were standing by in a daze, "Let's go."
The three girls followed him out, still in a fog, and waved down a tricycle. They returned to the back door of the textile factory, where Hu Ruoyun turned to the shaken Li Shengnan and Ouyang Xiaxue, saying, "Sisters, you should go in. Don't ever go to places like that to sing again!"
He then addressed the tricycle driver, "Sir, please take us to the bus station."
On the bus back to Gaoqiao Town, Mao Na, feeling tipsy, carelessly 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 his presence.
Hu Ruoyun followed him there. Upon arriving at Mao Jie's house, they discovered that his parents were not home. Mao Jie explained that they had gone to the county town for errands. However, Li Shengnan and Ouyang Xiaxue were surprisingly present, along with two young handsome men around their age.
Mao Na was busy directing her two friends as they served dishes while mischievously introducing Hu Ruoyun: "These two are your future brothers-in-law. The one wearing glasses is Yao Wei; he and Sister Li are a couple and work at the County Government Office with Deputy Position level treatment. The one in the jacket is Zhang Qiang; he’s with your sister Ouyang and is the section chief at the County Education Committee's Human Resources Supervision Division. Make sure you toast them properly later."
Once all the dishes were served and everyone settled down, Mao Jie took a bottle of Xifeng from his father's liquor cabinet to fill everyone's glasses. However, Ouyang Xiaxue, Li Shengnan, and Mao Na all put their cups aside. "You four men can drink; we won't have any alcohol," they insisted.
Hu Ruoyun was taken aback 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 kept insisting that as students, they couldn't drink...
After half a bottle of wine was consumed, Yao Wei became more talkative. He chatted about everything from the County Committee compound to the County Government compound as if he knew it all, occasionally adding his own comments. He particularly mentioned He Ailian, the Director of the County Women's Federation: "That 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 unacceptable, but even the county's discipline inspection commission got involved. I really don't know how she became director; now she's done for—not only can't she hold that position anymore but even Deputy Secretary Qiu is left embarrassed..."
Mao Na and Hu Ruoyun exchanged a glance that seemed unintentional.
Seeing everyone getting into it, Yao Wei continued speaking to Mao Na: "You see that 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 compound."
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! You should worry less about Mao Ni; everyone in your compound is 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 had fewer words but quietly told Hu Ruoyun: "Ouyang Xiaxue said last week, 'Fortunately, there was you.'"
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