Xia Tian smiled and said, “In Ling’er’s eyes, there might only be the difference between a man and a woman. However—Ling’er—didn’t you ask about Brother Chen the other time and think that he is not bad?”
Jiang Wei looked at Qu Ling’er curiously. Why would someone who didn’t have idols ask about Luo Yichen?
When Qu Ling’er saw the three of them looking at her, she said, “Luo Yichen… not bad… a nice celebrity.” He was also a good person; a person who gave her warmth and security. The help he had given her might not be much in his eyes, but it was a shower of warmth that she had never felt before.
Xia Tian and Jiang Wei smiled at this, but Li Meng sighed. There goes another fan girl and her idol.
The four of them went shopping for a while. Except for Qu Ling’er, all three of them bought a few sets of clothes.
Xia Tian looked at Qu Ling’er and complained, “Ling’er, you should update your wardrobe—it’s so boring with casual wear day in and day out! Shall I pick a dress for you? You’re pretty and have a good figure. You’ll definitely look beautiful in a dress!”
Qu Ling’er said coolly, “No, it’s not convenient to fight in a dress.”
Xia Tian: “…” Is she addicted to fighting?
Jiang Wei laughed even harder. “Hahaha, I didn’t expect Qu Ling’er to be a martial artist!”
Jiang Wei echoed, “That’s right. The way she fought just now was simply amazing! Especially at the end, the way Qu Ling’er tidied her clothes was beautiful and suave! She was like a martial arts expert—she crushed those two girls!”
Qu Ling’er was a little embarrassed by the praise. She smiled and said, “I did not learn martial arts. I just fought a lot when I was young and picked up some fighting techniques along the way for self-defense.
“You’re too humble!” Jiang Wei said with a smile, but she did not ask further.
Qu Ling’er felt that she was truly not an expert fighter. When she was young, she was often alone and would always be bullied by the children in the neighborhood. She never took it lying down and pushed back at her bullies. As time passed—she was no longer bullied—but she also no longer had any friends.
It was soon 4 p.m.—she took the initiative to bid them goodbye. “It’s almost time. I have to go.”
“Are you really not going to eat with us?” Xia Tian pursed her lips and asked.
Qu Ling’er smiled. “Next time, my treat. I really have something on today. I’ll make a move first!”
“Alright, take care.”
“Take care!”
“Bye bye.”
The three of them waved goodbye to her.
Qu Ling’er then took a cab to the market—she needed to buy some ingredients. She informed Luo Yichen about her schedule while in the cab. However, Luo Yichen did not reply; he was probably busy.
Twenty minutes later, she emerged from the market with bags of groceries. The market was in an old neighborhood—obviously a more rowdy one—compared to where Luo Yichen lived. It would take more than ten minutes to walk back from here. Just as she reached the street, her cell phone rang. She hurriedly carried everything with one hand. Just as she took out her cell phone—before she could look at the number on the screen—she sensed a whiff of danger behind her. She instinctively dodged, but she was still hit on the back. She bent over in pain; her cell phone falling to the ground.
She realized that someone was rushing over from the side and immediately dodged. She dodged a few times before she realized the situation behind her.
There were five people standing behind her at the entrance of the street—it was obvious they were there for her. Each of them had a wooden club in their hands. One of them had hit Qu Ling’er with the club. These people were clearly hooligans; they were young and had tattoos on their bodies.
“So, she’s a pretty girl!”
“Oh, was I too vicious on you? That was so unchivalrous of me.”
“Be gentle later. If you break her, she’d not be nice to touch . It’s just a lass—just scare her a little!” A few hooligans surrounded Qu Ling’er while teasing her.
Qu Ling’er’s face was pale and her back was in great pain—if she had not reacted quickly, her back might have been broken by that strike. She placed the groceries on the ground and looked at the people in front of her.
The hooligans were a little flustered by her calmness.
“I heard from Xiaoyu that this girl knows martial arts. We have to be careful.”
One of the hooligans said, “Why don’t we attack together?”
“Are you kidding?! You’re scared of a mere girl? I’ll go first!” A hooligan said as he rushed towards Qu Ling’er.
The hooligan run towards Qu Ling’er who neatly dodged the attack and struck the hooligan’s hand with a knife hand strike. The wooden club fell—she caught it in the air with her other hand and swung it back—striking him squarely in the thigh; making him howl in pain.
All the hooligans: “…”