It seems like summer has arrived earlier this year in East City, and this day in June feels much hotter than usual.
On such a sweltering day, street vendors selling skewers and beer by the roadside were an essential sight.
As the darkness fell, the small street near the shore gradually livened up. One after another, roadside stalls grew overwhelmingly busy, even a small seemingly insignificant keg beer stall was teeming with customers. A crowd was excitedly watching the explosive Champions League final while enjoying their plugs of beer and barbeque.
Han Dong, with a loose shirt on and a cigarette tucked in his mouth, expertly flipped the skewers in his hand. Though he seemed to be in a haze from the smoke, he was thoroughly enjoying himself.
Several scantily-dressed Beer girls who had just passed the stall next to him glanced at him seductively from a distance.
"Bro Dong, your muscles are so firm, they are quite tempting to look at,” the Beer Girl cooed flirtatiously. She was admiring Han Dong's firm chest with her suggestive gaze.
"Don't try to sweet-talk me. You young ladies are here to steal my beer customers again," Han Dong said in discontent, rolling his eyes.
"Bro Dong, could you look out for us a bit since your business is booming?” The girls often worked together to bombard him with their sugary charm.
"You ladies, always take advantage of my soft-heartedness," Han Dong sighed, playfully squeezing the Beer Girl's bottom.
"Bro Dong, you're naughty, squeezing so hard."
"How can you make such sweet sounds if I don't squeeze hard?" Han Dong gave a playful smirk.
A red Maserati slowly drove through the small street and stopped in front of Han Dong's beer stall. The car door opened, and a breathtaking beauty stepped out.
The bustling noise died down abruptly, and all eyes were riveted on the stunning beauty with a killer body.
Her smooth, raven hair naturally fell on her shoulders, a pair of sparkling big eyes resting on her delicate face seemed to be telling a story, and her white, off-shoulder chiffon dress perfectly outlined her magnificent curves. A hint of melancholy was hidden beneath her slightly furrowed eyebrows, making people feel a pang in their hearts.
The appearance of a Maserati-driving beauty on this part of town was almost like a dream come true!
The beautiful woman with long hair silently approached Han Dong, staring at him without uttering a single word.
The sight left many stunned. Could she possibly have a story with the guy who runs the beer stall? No way, that's just ridiculous!
At a glance, Han Dong recognized her as the woman he had spent a great time with last night. He cursed inwardly, "Damn, the debt collector has come!"
"Welcome, beautiful lady," Fortunately, this was not Han Dong's first time handling such a situation. Like the perfect host, he warmly greeted her. "What would you like to order?"
"Whatever." The woman sat down quietly, uttering only two words before ignoring him completely.
She was angry!
Han Dong felt a lump in his throat. He silently poured her a draught beer, grabbed a handful of edamame, and a handful of roasted skewers. "Take your time, beautiful."
The beautiful lady picked up the large glass of draught beer and drank it in one gulp, "Another one!"
After chugging down three huge glasses of beer, there was a flush of intoxication on her face.
"Lady, it's lonely to drink alone. Let's drink together," unable to resist, three drunken youngsters approached.
"Get lost." The woman sipped her own glass and uttered indifferently.
"Hey, don't be so grumpy. Are you heartbroken? It's not a big deal. Let's drink our sorrows away tonight."
"I'll say it again, get lost," the lady with long hair repeated.
"Come on, what's troubling you? Let's talk it out," one of the boys extends his salty pig's hand intending to grab the woman's hand.
Slap!
Without saying another word, the woman straightaway gave the man a slap.
"You wench, I gave you respect, and you dare to hit me!" The man lost his temper, tried to punch her but his hand was firmly gripped by a big hand before it could land.
"Guys, a good man doesn't fight with a woman. We are all here to have a good time, it's not worth getting into trouble over this trivial matter. Let me treat you to some drinks, alright?" Han Dong spoke smilingly.
"Give you face? And who the hell are you? Let me try giving you a slap!" The man was furious and wanted to slap Han Dong, but failed to break free from his grip. His eyes filled with a hint of surprise.
Han Dong continued to smile, but his smile carried a cold undertone.
He glanced at the CCTV camera above, "Everyone is watching, and there is a camera overhead. There's a police station just down the street. In case this lady reports, the police could get here in less than three minutes."
"Screw you!" The man raised his hand to slap Han Dong.
Han Dong quickly sidestepped, and the slap landed heavily on the face of the man's companion.
"Are you blind, why did you hit me!" His friend shouted while holding his face.
"I will hit you, and you even dare to dodge." The man rolled up his sleeves furiously and threw a punch.
Suddenly, Han Dong kicked his shin and the man flew onto his knees, landing solidly on the ground.
Seeing their companion injured, another guy picked up a bottle to smash it on Han Dong, but before he could even make a move, his face was met with a heavy punch. Stumbling backwards, he ended up sitting right into the roadside trash can.
The third man attempted a flying kick at Han Dong. Without even looking, Han Dong grabbed his ankle and swung him away.
Bang!
The man landed perfectly in the nearby trash can.
The young man kneeling on the ground opened his mouth in fear, begging for mercy amid the pain.
Han Dong did not speak, he grabbed the young man's collar and dragged him all the way to the roadside, throwing him into the third trash can with a "bang".
"Old Man Zhang, could you please clean up these three rubbish?"
The old man in charge of cleaning robotically acknowledged, pushed his garbage cart away without looking back, seemingly numb to such incidents.
As Han Dong walked away, there was indeed a police station. The three youngsters finally climbed out, littered with vegetable leaves and leftover food scraps, looking defeated.
"That kid is something. He took all three of us down without breaking a sweat. Who does he think he is?"
"Who cares? We have to release our steam. Call for backup."
Before the call was made, several police officers burst out from the station and pinned them to the ground.
"Why are you doing this? We didn't break any law..."
"Next time you want to drink, just fucking drink. Don't fucking pick fights. Looking at your behavior makes me fucking angry." The young police chief crooked his cap, cursing in every sentence.
"Officer, didn't you see we were the ones who got beat up?" The three youngsters were on the verge of tears.
"That's because you deserved it. You made my fists itch. Tonight, we finally have some entertainment. I'll release some stress on you!"
Confused, they were taken to the police station. The foul-mouthed police chief took off his cap and flicked it, looking towards the beer stall and muttered: "Brother Dong, you owe me a skewer of pork belly now."
"Miss, are you okay?" Han Dong placed a skewer of pork belly in front of the woman.
Looking at this scruffy guy, the lady felt even more distressed. He obviously had ulterior motives for going to such an upscale bar last night.
Hypocritical, shameless, scum!
The woman glared at him for a long while, took out a business card from her bag: "Come to this address tomorrow morning. If you don't show up, you will bear the consequences!"
Leaving those words behind, she got into her car without looking back.
Han Dong gave a wry smile, picked up the business card and was taken aback, seeing clearly the words printed on it: Lin Yuejiao, CEO of Miao Ren International!