Fortunately, the latter reacted quickly and turned her face, thus avoiding the kiss.
"Don't do this! If you keep doing this, I'll call the police!"
The girl struggled incessantly, but her strength was like a candle against a strong wind compared to the man's, rendering her efforts ineffective.
At this moment, Yue Hai also returned to the shop entrance, standing there with a look of confusion, searching for the girl's voice.
Where did she go? Why couldn't he see her?
Just then, the girl's panicked cry suddenly echoed from inside the shop.
"Don't do this! Help!"
Yue Hai's expression changed instantly. Li Zhonglou, who had just caught up, felt a blur before his eyes as Yue Hai's figure vanished.
"Trouble!"
The next second, a loud bang suddenly erupted from inside the shop. When Li Zhonglou shifted his gaze, he saw the man, Ming Ying, flying backward and crashing into the counter, the sound being that of the counter shattering!
Li Zhonglou strode forward and reached out to check the already unconscious man. He was still breathing.
Li Zhonglou let out a sigh of relief, and then he saw Yue Hai standing in front of the girl, asking with concern.
"Are you alright?"
The girl looked at the man lying on the counter with terror, then cowered and looked at Yue Hai.
"You, you killed someone?"
At this moment, there was no gratitude in the girl's eyes, only the horror of looking at a monster. This gaze was like an invisible knife, piercing Yue Hai directly.
"But I saved you..."
"You, you killed someone..."
As if she hadn't heard Yue Hai, the girl muttered and fumbled for her phone to call the police. But before she could finish dialing, Li Zhonglou snatched the phone away.
"I'm sorry."
As soon as he spoke, a palm strike landed firmly on the girl's neck, and she immediately rolled her eyes and fainted.
Seeing this, Yue Hai quickly took the girl and questioned Li Zhonglou with great confusion, "Why did you hit her? She was clearly being bullied!"
Li Zhonglou did not explain. Instead, he returned to the counter, cleared the surveillance video of Yue Hai's actions, unplugged the network cable, and then quickly dragged Yue Hai away.
"What about the girl?"
"Just call the police."
Li Zhonglou replied calmly. It wasn't until they had left the mall that Yue Hai suddenly stopped.
"I need an explanation!"
Li Zhonglou turned back helplessly. Seeing his suppressed emotions, he couldn't help but sigh and say, "Don't you already understand? Why do you still need me to explain?"
Although their time together was short, Li Zhonglou had come to understand Yue Hai to a certain extent. With his intelligence, it was impossible for him not to know the purpose of his actions.
Since he still asked, Li Zhonglou guessed that he wanted his direct acknowledgment, or perhaps he was simply unable to accept it for a moment.
As expected, after Li Zhonglou finished speaking, Yue Hai stopped questioning. The anger on his face gradually turned into coldness.
This coldness was not directed at Li Zhonglou.
"Look on the bright side. The real world is even more complicated than this. You might encounter more things that you can't accept in the future."
"But I clearly saved her! And she seemed to want to help that guy against me?"
Yue Hai glared at Li Zhonglou. Although he didn't quite understand what calling the police meant, Li Zhonglou's reaction clearly indicated he was helping him. This meant that the girl's actions just now could potentially cause him trouble!
He had saved her, so why did she actively bring him trouble?
This was what Yue Hai couldn't understand. He had left the mountains before, and the villagers he interacted with were all extremely simple and honest, never acting like this.
"Actually, you can't entirely blame others, because you brought trouble to her first," Li Zhonglou said, shaking his head.
"What do you mean?"
"Society is a society governed by laws. What are laws? You can think of it as our society having a true master. But this master does not exist in reality."
"He protects not just the interests of one person, but the interests of most, even all. So, no matter what happens, according to normal procedures, we should call the police first. We can intervene, but not with violence."
"Of course, in situations like the one just now, violence could be used to stop it, but there's a limit. You beat that guy to the brink of death. If something serious happens to him later, not only will you be responsible, but the girl might also get implicated."
"Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Li Zhonglou was trying his best to concisely explain the rules of survival in modern society. Although the man was still breathing, in his condition, he wouldn't be able to get out of bed without months of hospitalization. If the girl hadn't called the police, and the two of them had just left, the responsibility would likely fall on the girl.
Even if there was no evidence to prove she had acted, someone working a job like her could be implicated and even lose their job.
Therefore, Li Zhonglou could understand the girl's actions.
The reason he had knocked her out was that there were no surveillance cameras near the girl's shop. This way, after she called the police, the police would assume they were both attacked by someone else, and the girl could clear her name, thus avoiding any trouble.
Yue Hai remained silent for a long time after hearing the explanation. Finally, with a touch of coldness, he uttered two words.
"Let's go."
Li Zhonglou nodded. He suddenly felt that this incident might be a good thing for Yue Hai, as it could help him integrate into society faster.
However, because of this incident, Yue Hai, who had initially been curious about his surroundings, became sullen and silent during the rest of their journey.
Li Zhonglou understood that he needed some time to process it, so he didn't say much until they returned to Black Blade's stronghold.
"Brother Li."
As soon as Black Blade saw them, he immediately brewed tea. Hai Yan, standing beside him, naturally helped. Their conversation and actions were filled with a sense of默契 (mòqì - tacit understanding).
"You two are..."
Hai Yan, who was pouring tea, blushed instantly and quickly excused herself. Black Blade, however, readily admitted.
"We are together. We met too late! Brother Li, don't worry, I will never let her down."
Li Zhonglou also smiled. From their demeanor and their eyes, it was clear they were mutually in love, and he was genuinely happy for them.
Especially for Hai Yan. After experiencing those things, having a strong man like Black Blade by her side would undoubtedly alleviate many of her worries and perhaps even help her heal from her bad memories.
In his opinion, the two were a perfect match.
However, Yue Hai beside them became even more downcast.