Chapter 4

In legendary stories, whenever a beautiful woman is in danger, the male protagonist always rushes forward without hesitation to fight the vicious criminals to the death. They are all valiant heroes who do not know the meaning of fear, possessing a will as strong as steel, never hesitating, never showing cowardice.

Unfortunately, our protagonist, Xu Yan, is not such a decisive hero. He is just an ordinary college student, not very brave, and can't even run 1,500 meters in under six minutes. Although he can be passionate and brave at times—like when he curses Japanese people online—most of the time, he thinks about practical issues:

"The people on the other side are thugs from society. Even if I can beat them, getting involved will be very troublesome. Wang Hao from the neighboring business management class got into trouble with some people from society, and they chased him to school, causing a big fuss that involved the police station and the security office, forcing him to drop out. Besides, there are five or six of them. Even if I go out, I probably won't be much help. Should I call the police? But how do I explain it to them? Even if the police believe me, I don't even know where they are robbing... Anyway, this girl isn't related to me. I've already warned her, and if she doesn't listen, she has to bear the consequences. Even if something happens to her, it can't be blamed on me, right?"

Muttering "it can't be blamed on me," Xu Yan thought of the newspaper headline for tomorrow: "Sanitation worker discovers unidentified female corpse in the wilderness, the deceased is a seventeen-year-old girl. The police offer a reward to the public for any leads, please contact..."

Thinking of this, Xu Yan shivered. He spread his hand, and the heavy gold ingot appeared before his eyes.

He gritted his teeth and made up his mind: "I have already received the kindness of this beautiful woman, and I should repay it. Even if I can't beat those thugs, shouting from a distance might scare them away. As TV says, criminals are actually very timid because they are guilty. After all, it's a matter of life and death. As long as there's a chance, I should try my best."

Thus, Xu Yan encouraged himself and finally decided to follow and see what happens.

The sudden thunderstorm came and went quickly. The streets outside were wet from the heavy rain, and small puddles formed in low-lying areas. After leaving the KFC, Xu Yan looked around but couldn't see the girl anywhere. Just as he was about to give up, he saw a flash of yellow hair in the distance. Recognizing the thug, he quickly followed, and soon saw more thugs and the girl ahead.

Xu Yan followed the group of thugs from a distance, winding through the streets. Unconsciously, they had left the bustling city center and arrived in an old, dilapidated area called Xia Luo District. Most of the residents had moved away due to impending demolition, so the area was rarely visited, and even the streetlights were broken, making it very dark and deserted.

Seeing this, Xu Yan inwardly groaned: "Girl, why did you choose to walk through such a dark and dangerous area when there are so many well-lit main roads? This just makes it easier for them to attack you."

He saw the girl enter a large courtyard, and the thugs followed. The courtyard looked like an abandoned parking lot, with no sign at the entrance and the iron gate removed for scrap. It was pitch black inside, with no streetlights. Xu Yan tiptoed to the entrance and saw his target from a distance. Because it was too far, he couldn't see them clearly, but he could still recognize the girl's white dress in the darkness.

The thugs were shouting something, and the girl responded a few times. Because it was too far, he couldn't hear what they were saying, but he could guess it was something like "Hand over the gold or else!"

Xu Yan pulled back his head, afraid that the thugs would hear him if he called the police. He tiptoed away, took out his phone, and dialed 110, but just as he did, he heard a few screams from inside. Xu Yan's heart tightened: "Have they started?"

The situation was urgent. Xu Yan didn't have time to call the police and ran over, shouting, "I'm the police, don't move!"

"Comrades, charge! There are robbers inside, catch the robbers!"

Xu Yan stood at the entrance, shouting continuously, not sure if it would work. He was anxious, fearing the girl had already been harmed, and peeked inside—just in time to see someone coming out.

"Ahh—"

"Wow—"

Both of them screamed in surprise. Xu Yan stumbled back a step and saw that the person coming out was slender and graceful, wearing a white dress, with long sleeves like clouds. It was the girl he had talked to in KFC.

Xu Yan exclaimed, "How can it be you?"

The girl's face turned pale, and she clutched her chest, looking frightened. She recognized Xu Yan and patted her chest, still shaken: "It's you, sir. I was so scared when I saw a head suddenly appear at the door. I thought it was a ghost... I was really scared. Why are you here, sir?"

She looked around: "I heard you shouting that the police were coming—what are the police?"

"The police are what you call the government... but let's not worry about that now. How did you escape? Did they hurt you? Are you injured?"

Xu Yan asked urgently, his concern evident. Seeing his worried expression, the girl suddenly understood: the young man in front of her was genuinely concerned for her safety, and his impersonation of the police was to save her.

"So, this Xu sir really came to save me?"

Thinking of his concern, a warm feeling surged in her heart, and her gaze towards Xu Yan softened. She smiled and bowed, saying, "Thank you for your concern, sir. I am fine, you don't need to worry."

"Oh, those thugs didn't hurt you..."

The girl smiled and interrupted Xu Yan, "Don't worry, sir. I know how to handle myself. They are fine—everything is fine, you don't need to worry."

Xu Yan looked at the girl suspiciously, but she smiled and walked out first, "Shall we go, sir?"

They walked side by side back to the bustling, well-lit city center. The girl looked around as if searching for something, and Xu Yan asked, "Are you looking for something?"

"I am looking for an inn—uh, a place for travelers to rest and stay..."

"Oh, you mean a hotel." Xu Yan pointed to a few hotels nearby: "Home Inn Riverside, Jinjiang Hotel, these are all hotels where you can stay. But staying at a hotel costs money, and you only have gold and silver. I doubt they will accept it."

"Don't worry, sir. I have the currency you use, RMB." The girl magically produced a few wallets, opened them, and poured out the money: "One, two, three, four... uh, there are dozens of these red bills. I wonder if it's enough for one night?"

Xu Yan was very surprised: "It's enough, but where did you get these wallets... I remember you couldn't even come up with a few dozen yuan earlier?"

Xu Yan suddenly had a realization and exclaimed, "Could it be that these wallets belong to those thugs?"

The girl smiled slyly, "Sir, you might have misunderstood. Those gentlemen were very kind. I told them about my financial difficulties, and they all took out money to help me. I couldn't refuse their generosity, so I accepted it with gratitude—such generous and kind people, how can you call them thugs?"

Xu Yan laughed dryly, "I was wrong, they are indeed good people!"—those thugs who do evil would do good for a poor girl? Xu Yan, though naive, wouldn't believe such a childish lie.

Since that was impossible, but the wallets were in the girl's hands, the only remaining possibility was—could it be that the girl had robbed those young thugs, not the other way around?

Xu Yan looked at the girl in surprise: How could this be? The girl in front of him was slender and elegant, about 1.6 meters tall, and definitely weighed less than 100 pounds. She had fair skin, delicate features, and was beautiful—how could such a girl be a match for an adult man, let alone rob five or six of them?

At the entrance of Home Inn, the girl bowed slightly to Xu Yan, "Thank you for showing me the way. Since we've arrived, let's part here."

Xu Yan waved goodbye to her, but the mystery was too overwhelming, making him somewhat absent-minded. He walked slowly back, reflecting on the events of the night. He had a strange premonition: his connection with this girl wouldn't end here.

Sure enough, less than two minutes later, he heard someone calling his name. He turned around and saw the girl running towards him.

Xu Yan greeted her, "Hi!"

The girl frowned, looking confused and dejected, and said, "Hi, sir. The inn you introduced me to has a problem. They asked for something called an ID card!"

"Uh? Hotels require ID cards? Isn't that normal?"

The girl was indignant, "How can that be normal? I showed them my travel permit and identity tag, but they didn't recognize them, saying they only accept ID cards! A travel permit issued by SX Province should be recognized in Shu Province, right? This is outrageous!"

Xu Yan's mind buzzed: Indeed, his premonition was right—this girl really didn't have an ID card!

Because of the series of shocks, Xu Yan was somewhat numb. Hearing this, he just said, "Oh," and asked, "Miss, why are you looking for me?"

"Sir, you are a local and familiar with the situation. Can you help me find a hotel that doesn't require an ID card?"

"I'm afraid that's not possible. All hotels require ID cards for registration. It's a regulation by the Ministry of Public Security..."

"Ministry of Public Security?"

"The police are what you call the government—"

The girl nodded in understanding, "Your government is really complex... but I know that in our place, inns also require guests to register with travel permits and identity tags. It's just that they don't recognize our SX Province travel permits, which is really unfair. When it's light, I will go to the local government to protest."

"Miss, this is a regulation by the Ministry of Public Security, and it's the same nationwide. Going to the police station will be in vain..."

"Hmph, if the local government doesn't care, I will go to the local military command or the local elder's inspection office to complain. I don't believe they won't care!"

The girl's words were filled with strange terms, leaving Xu Yan confused. He asked, "Miss, since you don't have an ID card, you can't stay at a hotel... what do you mean?"

The girl didn't speak, just blinked her bright eyes, looking deeply into him, filled with sincere emotion, waiting for a pure-hearted young man to understand.

But our pure-hearted young man was too dull. After staring at each other for a while, seeing the girl remain silent, Xu Yan thought she had nothing more to say and said gloomily, "Well, since you have no other business, let's part here..."

The girl was frustrated by the man's dullness and lack of chivalry—no business? Why did she call him if she had no business?

How could she ask a newly acquainted man to let her stay at his place? She had hoped the man would be considerate and invite her in, and then she would politely decline, but eventually accept his invitation. But this man was so dull, saying goodbye so easily. Did he really want her to spend the night on the street?

"Wait, sir, don't go yet," the girl stammered, her face blushing. She hesitated and said, "I have a request... uh, do you have any spare rooms in your house? Could you rent one to me for the night?"

Xu Yan was taken aback, "You want to rent a room from me?"

Since she had said it, the girl became more relaxed. She said confidently, "Yes, I would like to stay for the night and am willing to pay you for it."