In June, the weather was unusually hot, and there was a searing heatwave in the air.
At the Southern Station of the Central City, Charles pulled the canvas bag on his shoulder and walked briskly. A group of young women approached him, with low-cut tops, short skirts, and dazzling smiles.
"Ha, this city is truly a wonderful place. No wonder the old man often runs to the city under the righteous excuse of conducting pro bono medical consults for the elderly. I despise him!"
He muttered under his breath, his mood as brilliant as wildflowers blooming in the hills in March.
As he passed by the young women, Charles couldn't resist whistling at them.
"You rascal!"
"Haha, others laugh at me for being crazy, but I laugh at their blindness!"
"You lunatic!"
Despite the insults, he wasn't upset. He was simply in a good mood. After living in the mountains for twenty years, the old man finally allowed him to experience the world. Upon seeing the bustling world, he got carried away for a moment.
As he left the station, the outside sky was darkening. Charles didn’t feel tired at all. However, he was uncertain whether to first find a place to eat or to find a hotel to stay at.
Just as he was contemplating, he felt a bump at his right waist.
A thief!
Charles's reflexes kicked in, and he reached out to grab the perpetrator. What a joke, a thief daring to target him was simply courting death!
"Ah~ Let go of me!"
A woman's voice rang out in a high-pitched tone.
The voice was so sharp that it left Charles dumbfounded.
He turned his head to look, and was taken aback.
At this moment, this beauty had tears in her eyes, glaring fiercely at Charles with her teeth gritted, her right hand raised high.
Then, swiftly aimed a slap at his face.
“Pervert, go to hell!”
Sharp and angry curses also fell from her pretty lips.
Not good!
His earlier stupefaction had cost Charles the initiative. The rapidly descending slap was about to print on his face.
Just thinking about it made his face ache.
Smack~
The slap came down, but it was light as a feather with no force, like a lover's caress.
A fragrant breeze followed her delicate hand into Charles's nose, and he could not help but take a sniff. It smelled of Jasmine, so pleasant.
Anita was dumbstruck as she stared blankly at the young man in front of her.
“Ahh~~!”
An even more high pitched scream came from her mouth.
Onlookers around the area stopped in their tracks, instinctively following the sound that echoed through the air.
Charles also shivered slightly. This sound truly made him feel an urge to run away. It was too loud, too tragic, and too frightening.
Charles quickly put on an innocent face, blinking his eyes pitifully at the woman in front of him.
"You, you…”
Anita stammered with rage, taking in a sharp inhale of cold air before she could finish her sentence.
Curious glances from the crowd were soon directed towards them. They saw nothing more than a pitiful youngster and a beautiful woman seething with anger.
"What exactly is happening?”
"It looks like they bumped into each other in a rush. Such incidents often occur at train stations."
…
Anita was seething on the inside.
With no other outlet, she decided to translate her anger into a deadly glare that she shot at Charles.
She had come to pick up her best friend today, and as she was walking, she suddenly felt dizzy and clumsily bumped into a young man in front of her.
Just when she was about to apologize, he did something unexpected…
"I’ve heard that honey water with a bit of Sandalwood powder can help with swelling and pain relief, it’s very effective. How about I give you a massage? Don't worry, I know how to stimulate blood circulation and remove blood stasis, which has great therapeutic effects!"
Charles looked at her with a serious expression.
No joke, Charles began practicing martial arts and traditional medicine since when he was six. After over ten years of training, his punch isn't something an average person can withstand, let alone a delicate woman like the one in front of him.
"You...you can't!"
Upon hearing that he still wanted to give her a massage, Anita was instantly gritting her teeth, her heart filled with both urgency and anger, tears uncontrollably started to well up in her eyes.
Seeing her response, Charles naturally knew his words were abrupt.
Scratching the back of his head, he embarrassingly tried to explain, "Well, lady, I, I didn't mean to. When you suddenly ran into me just now, I thought you were a thief. So I, I instinctively grabbed hold."
Just as he was speaking, a shout of "Catch the thief!" sprang up from not far away.
On the nearby street, a middle-aged woman was chasing a rapidly running young man.
The young man was holding a lady's purse.
"Catch the thief! Catch the thief!"
Everyone's gaze was drawn over there, and many good Samaritans also ran off to chase the thief.
For a moment, no one was looking at them anymore.
Charles heaved a sigh of relief, and Anita also relaxed.
Being stared at by a crowd is a kind of silent pressure.
"It's like this. I thought you were a thief, that's why... I'm sorry."
Charles gave an awkward laugh.
Even with the incident with the thief earlier, Charles's explanation seemed somewhat convincing.
Anita also sighed in relief. Despite her lingering anger, she chose to believe Charles's explanation. After all, this was a bustling train station where pickpocketing wasn't uncommon, and she was indeed the one who bumped into Charles first.
"Hmph! I guess it's just my tough luck this time, who expected I..."
Before she could finish her sentence, the sudden dizziness from earlier returned, causing her to stagger towards Charles.
"Huh? What's wrong with you!?"
Charles hurriedly reached out to steady her.
"Let go, it hurts!"
Anita's hazy mind suddenly cleared up!
Her body trembling, she glared at Charles, her face red with anger.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it was unintentional, I swear it was unintentional,"
Charles hastily let go of her and helped her toward a nearby bench.
As they sat down, Charles took a good look at her. She had an oval face, delicate eyebrows reminiscent of willow leaves, and long eyelashes that were slightly trembling. Her face, as pale as snow, would occasionally twitch, and her furrowed brows bore a pained expression.
"Miss, you are ill!"
Charles finally spoke, his expression serious, his words solemn.