Lu Wenshan and her friends were all driving ordinary sedans. After packing up their equipment, someone suggested, "Since we're already out, let's go grab a late-night snack!"
Lu Wenshan sought Xiao Xun's opinion. Xiao Xun readily and generously said, "My treat."
The group cheered. Xiao Xun sat in the passenger seat of Lu Wenshan's car.
As they chatted and drove towards the city, Lu Wenshan subconsciously glanced at the rearview mirror. "Huh? Why have those two SUVs been following us?"
The plump woman said, "Don't be so jumpy. Don't we all take this road back to the city?"
"Yes, we all take this road, but look, I'm not driving fast, and those two cars behind us aren't overtaking either, they're just following."
"Could they be bad people?"
"Bad people? We're all ordinary people. What would bad people want from us?"
"Of course, they want Sister Shan's beauty."
"Xiao Xun..."
Lu Wenshan suddenly called his name. Xiao Xun froze for a moment. "Wh-what's wrong?"
"Why do you seem so absent-minded?"
Xiao Xun explained, "It's nothing, maybe I didn't sleep well!"
"By the way, what do you do for work now?"
Xiao Xun didn't know how to answer and simply said, "I don't have a job at the moment."
Just then, the car entered the city, and everyone moved on from the topic.
They arrived at a hot pot restaurant. After parking, Lu Wenshan noticed that the two large SUVs had also pulled in.
"This is clearly them following us!"
Lu Wenshan's friends took a look, and indeed, it was true!
"Why don't we call the police?"
"Call the police? They haven't done anything to us yet. What would you tell the police?"
"That's true."
After discussing it, they decided to ignore the group and just eat.
Since Xiao Xun had said he was temporarily unemployed, the women in the same car felt embarrassed to order much. It was the two men who ordered almost everything on the menu, regardless of whether everyone could eat it all.
Only when their girlfriends stopped them did they cease.
They even asked Xiao Xun if he wanted to drink. Xiao Xun nodded, "A little bit is fine."
One of the men said, "We're eating hot pot, let's have some baijiu."
The other agreed, and they ordered three bottles of a well-known domestic baijiu. "Let's celebrate today, everyone eat and drink well."
They acted like hosts. Xiao Xun was indifferent. Ever since the matters in the other world were resolved, he hadn't had a proper meal.
halfway through the meal, someone arrived with a group of people behind him. "Oh! Isn't this boss Xiao! With ladies on both sides, you're quite the charmer!"
Xiao Xun looked at the person in front of him. "Li Chenggang!"
Li Chenggang applauded. "Good memory. I thought you'd forgotten me after so long."
Lu Wenshan asked Xiao Xun, "Your friend?"
Li Chenggang smiled and said, "An enemy, not a friend."
With that, he sat down in the empty chair opposite Xiao Xun.
One of the men, who had drunk a bit too much, wobbled to his feet. "You're not welcome here. Who told you to sit down? Get out!!!"
Li Chenggang's men immediately pushed the man to the ground. The other man stood up abruptly and pointed at the group, "What are you doing? Let him go, or I'm calling the police."
Li Chenggang placed his foot on the head of the man who had just spoken. "Go ahead and call! I'm waiting."
Xiao Xun's expression turned cold. "You're after me. They have nothing to do with this."
Li Chenggang applied pressure to his foot, and the man below let out a scream. "I can kill anyone I want. I'm mentally ill, I have a doctor's note."
He then pointed at Xiao Xun. "This is all your fault."
"You were the one who stabbed me back then. How can you blame me?"
"If you hadn't stolen my girlfriend, none of this would have happened, and I wouldn't have killed anyone."
One of the women tried to discreetly call the police. Li Chenggang immediately slammed a dagger onto the table. "Anyone who moves, I'll stab."
The man who had spoken earlier was also dragged out by Li Chenggang's subordinates and pinned against the wall.
Xiao Xun spread his arms. "Since you think I ruined you, how do you want to play? I'll play with you."
Li Chenggang also stood up. "Fine, let's do it!"
As he spoke, he reached out and flung the hot pot towards Xiao Xun. Xiao Xun's hands were faster, and he flipped the table over, causing the hot pot, which was meant to splash onto Xiao Xun, to instead drench Li Chenggang. The entire table also landed on him.
As for Li Chenggang, not to mention him, Lu Wenshan's friend under his feet also suffered.
The heart-wrenching cries attracted a crowd of onlookers, and the waitstaff quickly called the police.
Soon, the police arrived and took away everyone in the private room along with Li Chenggang's group.
"Name?"
"Xiao Xun."
"Age?"
"Twenty-nine."
"What was the reason for the altercation?"
"He was disturbing the peace. He was also armed and using abusive language. The people I was dining with can all testify to that."
"But he's severely injured and in the emergency room, while you're sitting here unharmed."
Xiao Xun became displeased upon hearing this. "Should I have been severely injured for it to be considered his fault?"
"I didn't say that. We consider eyewitness accounts and physical evidence. The key is to stick to the facts. Currently, he is in the hospital, and your companions are fine. As for provocation and assault, they claim nothing of the sort happened. This is all based on your group's testimony."
"So, our group was dining in the private room, and he entered without any reason, and we injured him?"
"But you can't injure someone just because they entered your private room and then blame them!" Xiao Xun's face immediately fell. "What's your suggestion then?"
"My suggestion is reconciliation. You compensate him for some medical expenses, lost wages, nutritional costs, and the like, and this matter will be settled. How about it?"
"Do you two know each other?"
"What kind of question is that? I haven't even met the injured party, how would I know him? I'm looking out for your best interests. If a lawsuit arises later, you'll pay more and it will take time and energy. It's better to resolve it now to avoid future trouble. What do you think?"
Xiao Xun waved his hand directly. "You don't need to say any more. Nothing you say today will work. He was clearly in the wrong, and I was acting in self-defense. If you're not going to punish the real culprit, you're telling the innocent person to pay."
"He really is the culprit..."
Before he could finish, the door opened, and a police officer hurried in, whispered a few words, then glanced at Xiao Xun and left.
The expression of the police officer who had been speaking immediately changed from cold to warm. "Mr. Xiao, you are free to go."
Seeing the drastic change in attitude, Xiao Xun assumed his subordinates had sorted things out for him and didn't want to say anything further. He turned and left the interrogation room.
Lu Wenshan and the others had come out. Lu Wenshan asked Xiao Xun, "Did they do anything to you?"
"No, just routine questioning."
"You're able to leave, and you have someone to thank."
Xiao Xun thought to himself: I didn't commit any crime, so of course, I should be let go! Who should I thank!
Lu Wenshan greeted the duty officer and led Xiao Xun out.
After leaving the police station, Xiao Xun saw a familiar face, it was Lu Wenshan's father.
"Uncle, why are you here?"