Chapter 005 Hero saving a beauty.
*
Su Xian walked through the barbecue stalls toward her parking spot. As she passed a certain table, a drunken man lifted his hand and grabbed her butt.
Su Xian whipped around and said sharply, "Bastard, who do you think you're harassing?!"
"Oh, little chick, you've got spunk." The man stood up, looked at Su Xian provocatively, and thrust his chest forward, nearly bumping into her.
Li Chengshi yelled, "What are you doing!" and rushed over. But before he reached them, he saw Su Xian take a step back, stabilize her stance, gather power, and deliver a right hook that sent the man crashing to the ground.
A man in black at a nearby table, who had stood up a moment ago, sat back down upon seeing the scene.
The two men at the drunk man's table were stunned for a moment before reacting, immediately rising and moving around the table to attack Su Xian. Su Xian scanned left and right, pinpointed her targets, and with one punch each, laid both of them out.
The surrounding customers erupted in cheers.
*
Li Chengshi stood behind them, dumbfounded.
Just then, the first man knocked down got back up, took a fighting stance, and prepared to attack Su Xian again.
Li Chengshi immediately pounced, grabbed the man's left arm, and pulled back. The man swung his right fist, and though Li Chengshi dodged, the fist grazed his cheek, and a coppery, sweet taste instantly filled his mouth.
The man seemed to realize Li Chengshi was weak and turned his full attention to attacking him. Su Xian noticed this, stepped forward, and kicked the man behind his knee, causing the man to drop down on his knees in front of Li Chengshi with a thump.
Li Chengshi was startled and stumbled backward, sitting down on the ground.
The other two men quietly climbed up, aiming to attack Su Xian. But just then, the wailing police siren grew louder, stopping outside the barbecue stall, and four police officers jumped out of the car.
The man in black sitting at the slightly distant table walked closer, pointed at the three men, and said, "One, two, three—these three. Public harassment of a woman and engaging in a brawl. Take them all away."
"Yes, Captain Wang."
The officers escorted the three loudly protesting men into the police car. The youngest officer, however, ran over and took all the remaining grilled skewers from the Captain's table.
*
Captain Wang stepped forward and asked concernedly, "Miss, are you hurt?"
"I'm fine, but my colleague's mouth is bleeding," Su Xian pointed to the corner of Li Chengshi's mouth.
"Go get a medical assessment. You can demand compensation from them."
"Yes, Officer Uncle." Li Chengshi unconsciously stood straighter as he answered.
Captain Wang chuckled, asked his subordinates to take down their contact information, and then the police car roared away.
*
Li Chengshi's grilled squid was ready. The boss enthusiastically brought it over himself, and also gave them a large bottle of iced plum juice, giving Su Xian a thumbs-up. "You look so slender, young lady, but you've got really good skills!"
Young lady? Su Xian was secretly delighted. "Thank you for the compliment."
"Hurry and take your little brother home to ice his face, or it'll swell up tomorrow."
She's not my older sister! Li Chengshi moved his lips but said nothing.
"Let's go, little brother." Su Xian took the grilled squid and the iced plum juice, and pulled Li Chengshi into the car.
**
After driving a few minutes, they reached the entrance of Li Chengshi's residential complex. Seeing the prominent redness at the corner of his mouth, Su Xian asked worriedly, "What are you going to tell your mother if she asks? Do you need me to go in and explain for you?"
"Of course, I'll tell her the truth—that I was a hero saving a beauty. She'll believe me and praise me. No need for an explanation." He was actually afraid his mother might accidentally let slip the matter of the poisonous mushrooms.
"Hero saving a beauty, ha ha ha."
"What's so funny?" Li Chengshi was very displeased. Although the role he played was indeed minor, his intention to save her was one hundred percent genuine!
"I'm not laughing at you; I'm happy because you called me beauty."
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He was deeply skeptical but didn't press the matter further. He left the grilled squid in the car and walked off with the large bottle of iced plum juice.
"Hey, your grilled squid."
"How can I eat with a mouth full of blood? It's yours. You can deduct the money from that 100,000. Consider it my treat for you."
"How generous!" Su Xian muttered sarcastically.
*
Walking through the complex holding the plum juice, Li Chengshi felt a little pleased. Although the whole incident that night was the fault of the hallucinogenic mushrooms, he had been bothered by his near-total lack of resistance in the hallucinatory world. But, facing a woman this fierce, not resisting was actually the sensible thing to do.
Hmm, he felt relieved.
**
On Tuesday, accompanied by Zhao Nanfeng, Liang Wenya brought Su Xian and two other key employees to the hotel where Department Head Sato was staying. General Manager Yang of Zhengyuan Venture Capital was naturally there too. After listening to Liang Wenya's introduction, he immediately piled on the smiles, saying that his failure to meet her a few days prior was not arrogance but due to being truly busy—his insincerity was obvious at a glance.
Liang Wenya, of course, responded with equally pleasant pleasantries.
In contrast, Department Head Sato genuinely understood architecture and could speak a few halting phrases of Chinese. Translated by Zhao Nanfeng, each member of Anliang Construction precisely presented their responsible sections. The atmosphere was relaxed and pleasant, and Department Head Sato frequently exchanged opinions with his two subordinates, appearing quite satisfied.
Near the end, Liang Wenya invited Sato and his two accompanying staff to participate in the off-road obstacle race being held that weekend.
They exchanged glances and smiled, saying it seemed everyone had done their background check. Dacheng Construction had already registered them, and over 50 of their company staff would be participating together.
Liang Wenya laughed, "Then it's perfect that we're participating too. Although we don't have as many people, someone from our side is sure to win a place."
"That's impressive! I won't lie to you, I have confidence in winning a prize myself." It was clear that Department Head Sato was passionate about sports.
**
"General Manager Yang is absolutely determined to push Dacheng Construction!" Leaving the hotel, Liang Wenya was slightly indignant. They had monopolized Sato and his team's entire schedule for the past few days, leaving them no chance even to host a dinner.
"Let him push his company. Isn't it a good thing that we can focus our efforts on the preliminary proposal and budget framework? We have to submit it in three weeks; the pressure is considerable," Zhao Nanfeng didn't seem to care about these social nuances.
Liang Wenya sighed, "Engineer Zhao, whether the project goes to Anliang or Dacheng, the design will be led by you, so naturally, you can calmly work on the proposal. But I really, really want to win this project. Do you know how tough the domestic construction industry has been these past few years? I've even considered cutting the salaries of Su Xian and the others."
"Of course, I know. That's why I brought the opportunity back to Anliang."
Liang Wenya realized she had shown a vulnerable side and quickly changed her expression, praising him, "It wasn't appropriate to say earlier, but your Japanese proficiency is truly remarkable!"
"Naturally," Zhao Nanfeng looked smug.
"Did your Japanese wife teach you?"
"I learned it to marry her. Progress is fastest when you have motivation."
Su Xian secretly rolled her eyes, but she did acknowledge Zhao Nanfeng's ability to act on his word.
**
The ten-person project team had formally begun work, and drafts were drawn up again and again. Zhao Nanfeng's standards were too high. One of the two newly hired draftspeople quit after three days, but Li Chengshi, still essentially a new hire, was holding up with overtime and showed no complaints. Moreover, he remained completely silent about "that thing" and never showed the slightest intention of trying to manipulate Su Xian, making her feel that she might have been a bit small-minded originally.
After several consecutive days of working overtime until 10 PM, Liang Wenya came to dismiss them right after work on Friday.
"Everyone go home early and rest today. We'll gather at 9:40 AM tomorrow. We absolutely must win against Dacheng in the off-road obstacle race!"
**
