"Qin Tian, are you... alright?" Xia Nuannuan's timid voice sounded.
"I'm fine." Qin Tian turned his head to look at her, smiled slightly, and asked, "Did I scare you?"
Xia Nuannuan nodded her head in a flustered manner, then quickly shook it again, saying, "No, no, no."
Truth be told, she was a little bit scared. But she also knew that Qin Tian had gotten so angry, even hitting that girl, all for her. She felt no fear towards Qin Tian, only immense gratitude and affection.
Qin Tian raised his hand and gently ruffled her hair, smiling and saying, "That's good. Continue with your studies!"
Xia Nuannuan blushed and hummed in response. She then cast a worried glance in the direction Jin Lili had left.
"Don't worry about it, I'm here. Everything will be fine!" Qin Tian guessed her thoughts and reassured her in a calm tone.
"Mm!" Xia Nuannuan nodded again, feeling relieved. She put on her headphones and buried herself in her exercises.
A moment later, Xu Hao and Zhang Peng returned, carrying the packed food for Qin Tian and the two of them, along with two boxes of rice.
"Master, what happened here?" Xu Hao asked, surprised, after sitting down and sensing the unusual atmosphere. As a regular at this internet cafe, he could clearly feel the shift in the ambiance. It was too quiet, and many people were stealing glances in their direction.
"Eat some food, it won't make you fat!" Qin Tian handed chopsticks to Xia Nuannuan and then recounted the earlier events to Xu Hao.
"This woman... she's a bit troublesome!" Xu Hao frowned after listening.
"You know her?" Qin Tian asked doubtfully. Xia Nuannuan, while eating, had her ears perked up.
"I know her, sort of, but not well." Xu Hao nodded and said to Qin Tian, "Master, Jin Lili is a bit of a handful. Why don't you and Sister-in-law go back first? I'll figure out a way to handle this."
"What do you mean?" Qin Tian's expression turned serious. Xia Nuannuan and Zhang Peng also looked at Xu Hao nervously.
"She herself isn't much, but she has a lover who has some influence in Yu City. He has dozens of people working for him, mainly doing jobs like guarding places and collecting debts through intimidation." Xu Hao's expression was grave as he added, "They're mostly uneducated youngsters, in their late teens or early twenties. When they get reckless, they'll do anything."
"I understand." Qin Tian nodded thoughtfully, his expression unchanged. However, Xia Nuannuan, beside him, turned pale. She tugged at Qin Tian's sleeve and nervously suggested, "Qin Tian, let's listen to Xu Hao and go back."
"Yeah, Xia Nuannuan and Hao Zi are right. Qin Tian, a wise man knows when to retreat. Why don't you avoid this for now?" Zhang Peng also chimed in with advice.
Qin Tian pondered for a moment, then looked at Xia Nuannuan. "Nuannuan, why don't you go back first? I'll see you at school this afternoon." He had no intention of leaving. Firstly, with his current combat abilities, there was no need to be overly cautious. Ultimately, they were just a bunch of street thugs, and it would be a good chance to test his current skills. Secondly, hiding for now wouldn't solve the problem. There were always ways to gather information, and it was their line of work. They might find him at school in a couple of days, or even at his home, which would be even more troublesome. Moreover, he didn't want to leave Xu Hao to deal with this alone.
"No, then I won't go back either." Xia Nuannuan understood his meaning and shook her head like a rattle drum.
"Don't worry, nothing will happen. Trust me."
"No, I'm not leaving."
"Nuannuan..." Qin Tian felt a headache coming on. It wasn't that he couldn't protect Xia Nuannuan, but he feared he might scare her again.
"Master, you don't need to worry too much. My dad knows Jin Lili's lover. He might be able to give me some face," Xu Hao said. However, Qin Tian, with his adult soul, detected a hint of uncertainty in his tone. It seemed that "giving face" might not be so easy.
"Forget it, everyone do what you need to do. When enemies come, we'll deal with them. When water rises, we'll block it. Trust me, there's a way to solve this." Qin Tian smiled calmly. Seeing his confident and composed demeanor, Xu Hao and the other two exchanged glances.
Qin Tian had made his decision, and the other three said no more, merely continuing their own activities distractedly. After eating their fill, Qin Tian resumed his ranked matches. After selecting his hero, he suddenly remembered something. With a thought, he brought up the system's personal attribute page and focused on the skills section.
[Comprehensive Combat Level 5]
Unlike the previous experience packs for high school subjects, this skill level was directly at level 5. Qin Tian felt even more confident and, putting his mind at ease, continued to dominate in the Summoner's Rift.
By four o'clock in the afternoon, the worries of Xia Nuannuan and the other two had not materialized. Qin Tian had also, with an almost perfect win rate, advanced Xu Hao's game account to 1500 points. He bought a name change card from the shop and changed his game nickname to "Brother Tian's Online Gaming Specialty Store." This was, indeed, the name of his and Xu Hao's game boosting business. Xu Hao had also learned most of the procedures for opening a shop. Things like security deposits, advertising, and recruiting skilled players all required money. After discussing it, Qin Tian and Xu Hao each contributed two thousand yuan as startup capital, and the profits would be divided according to their prior agreement: 60/40.
Once their plans were settled, Qin Tian and the other two bid farewell to Xu Hao and left the internet cafe. Evening self-study started at 7:30 PM, so they needed to go home first and then head to school. Better safe than sorry. Fearing that Xia Nuannuan might run into Jin Lili and her group on the way, Qin Tian insisted on escorting her home. Zhang Peng's route home was in the opposite direction, so the three parted ways at the entrance of the internet cafe.
"Qin Tian, are you planning to open an online shop?" Xia Nuannuan asked curiously. She had been eavesdropping when Xu Hao and Qin Tian were discussing, and her admiration for Qin Tian grew even more. While they were all high school students, only knowing how to study and play, Qin Tian was already figuring out how to make money. And he was making quite a bit! She had seen it with her own eyes yesterday. While a few thousand yuan wasn't much to her, she understood that for ordinary high school students, it was a significant sum. And Qin Tian had earned it just by playing a few games.
"Yes, I'm planning to earn more money," Qin Tian replied with a smile.
"Are you... really short on money? Do you want me to lend you some? I, I don't mean anything else, I just want to help you. I have quite a bit saved up, and I don't need it for now." Xia Nuannuan's expression was a little anxious as she tried her best to phrase her words. She had heard her mother say that men were proud. A high-EQ woman knew how to give her man face in public.
Qin Tian couldn't help but chuckle. He ruffled her hair again and gently declined, "No need. I'm not short on money. This is just planning for the future. Don't worry, if I need anything, I'll ask you."
"Mm-hmm, it's a deal!" Xia Nuannuan nodded happily, her large eyes narrowing slightly, like a cat enjoying his gentle, doting head pat. She really liked this feeling.