Xiao Sun was terrified.
It was obvious that some big shot from the city had come to stand up for Shen Ying.
Actually, what Luo Xinghe meant was:
After all, Shen Ying was the female lead of the novel.
This time it was Luo Xinghe who came—he still had some restraint, so he wouldn’t go as far as breaking limbs.
But if someone dared to bully Shen Ying again…
The Crooked-Mouth Dragon King would descend from the heavens.
With Zhou Shuai’s personality and values, at the very least, someone’s arm would get broken.
Shen Ying and her aunt were completely stunned.
To them, Xiao Sun was a gangster—one of those who would beat people up at the drop of a hat.
But in front of Luo Xinghe, he was like a little baby, crying his eyes out.
Their worldview was completely turned upside down.
Seeing the two of them frozen in shock, Luo Xinghe quickly said:
“These kinds of street punks aren’t scary at all.”
“Just teach them a lesson and they won’t dare stir up trouble again.”
“You don’t need to be afraid.”
Only then did Shen Ying’s aunt come back to her senses. She gave Shen Ying a meaningful look and asked:
“Xiao Ying, this young man is…?”
Shen Ying snapped out of it and replied:
“This is a friend of mine.”
“A few days ago something happened at my mom’s barbecue stall—Luo-ge helped us sort it out.”
“I was afraid something might happen again when I came back this time, so I asked Luo-ge to come with me.”
A while later, Luo Xinghe was sitting on the couch, drinking some plain boiled water.
This was a small county town, so there weren’t any fancy teas for guests. Even meals were carefully budgeted, and most families wouldn’t keep tea at home.
Luo Xinghe was still a little unsatisfied.
This wasn’t how things normally went in a Dragon King novel.
Why did the villain give in so easily?
A proper novel usually has it so that beating up one thug leads to another bigger boss showing up, and then another boss behind that—leveling up one stage at a time.
What was going on? Was it because he was the villain, so he came with a villain’s “aura” and didn’t get the treatment of a leveling-up protagonist?
This… this just wasn’t satisfying. The emotional tension was off.
Luo Xinghe laughed and shook his head.
Only in Dragon King novels could such brain-dead plots exist.
In reality, people like Xiao Sun and Yellow Hair were far more common.
Street thugs usually preyed on the weak and feared the strong—no endless stream of gang bosses appearing one after another.
That kind of thing doesn’t happen in real life.
Even if there was a boss behind the scenes, just by looking at how badly their guys got beaten, they’d know whether or not the person was someone they could afford to mess with.
Meanwhile, Shen Ying’s aunt was whispering to her.
She was worried Shen Ying might go down the wrong path. After all, Luo Xinghe looked clean-cut, but his actions were anything but gentle.
And anyone who could handle a thug like Xiao Sun—and even make him cry—had to be some kind of big shot.
Their modest family couldn’t afford to provoke people like that.
Shen Ying had finally made something of herself by getting into college. She couldn’t afford to stray now.
But when Shen Ying heard her aunt talking like that, she quickly explained:
“Auntie, you’ve got it all wrong.”
“Luo-ge’s just a good person—he can’t stand seeing bad guys bully others.”
“Actually… Luo-ge works as a food delivery guy…”
Her aunt let out a sigh of relief.
“Delivery work is good. It’s honest work.”
“Now that you say that, I feel much better.”
“But Little Luo looks so clean and steady, and he’s got such quick reflexes—even someone like Xiao Sun couldn’t lay a hand on him.”
“That’s not a bad thing. At least now, thanks to you, Auntie benefits too—Xiao Sun definitely won’t dare mess with our Ding family again.”
“Oh right, your compensation money has been approved. You can go pick it up directly at the courthouse.”
“With that money, you and your mom will finally be able to breathe a little easier.”
“I heard the two of you are living in the little barbecue shop right now. That just won’t do.”
“Sigh, you’ve had such a tough time. It’s all because of that worthless brother of mine.”
Shen Ying’s aunt held her hand tenderly.
Her hands were already rough at such a young age—clearly from years of hard work.
A widow and her orphaned daughter living in Fengcheng without a man in the house… it really was tough.
Now that Luo Xinghe was around, Shen Ying’s aunt finally felt a bit more at ease.
Shen Ying asked curiously, “Where’s Uncle? I haven’t seen him around.”
Her aunt smiled. “When he heard that his promising niece was coming back today, of course we had to have a reunion meal.”
“Your uncle was so happy when he heard you were coming home—he went out to buy groceries to make you a feast.”
“But now that I think about it, it’s taking him quite a while just to get groceries.”
Just as she said that, her phone rang.
When she answered, she found out that Old Ding (her husband) had gotten into a dispute with the local vegetable vendor and had ended up being taken in by the police along with the vendor.
Her aunt quickly said, “You and Xiao Luo rest at home for now.”
“Your uncle got into a fight and got taken in—I need to go handle it.”
Shen Ying stood up in a panic. “Then I’ll go with you.”
As she changed clothes, her aunt said, “No need. It was just a minor scuffle while buying groceries. I’ll be back with your uncle soon.”
“You two traveled so far to get here, you must be exhausted. Just get some rest.”
She hurried out the door, not even having time to say goodbye to Luo Xinghe.
Luo Xinghe saw her anxious face and asked, “What happened?”
Shen Ying replied, “Uncle got into a conflict with someone and was detained. Aunt went to bring him back.”
“She said it was just a small incident while buying groceries, nothing serious, and told us to rest.”
Luo Xinghe rolled his eyes.
From everything that had just happened, he was finally realizing how absurd small-town life could be.
Don’t let the size of the place fool you—there’s never a shortage of drama.
Everyone knows each other, and even the smallest matter spreads like wildfire.
Luo Xinghe also had some understanding of the customs in these small places.
For everyday disputes like this, a big city would handle it professionally.
After all, in a city with so many people, there’s less chance anyone knows each other, and such things are usually resolved or end with just a few days of detention.
But in a small county town?
Everyone’s got a cousin or a friend somewhere.
Shen Ying’s family—just look at how even someone like Xiao Sun could threaten them—they were clearly from a working-class background with no connections.
Most of the people they knew were probably also struggling. No one to speak up for them.
But the other side might not be the same.
If the other party had connections in the police department…
Something small could be blown way out of proportion.
A simple compensation could turn into extortion—this kind of thing wasn’t rare.
Just judging by how Xiao Sun treated Shen Ying’s aunt, it was clear.
Their family didn’t have any backing.
Luo Xinghe frowned and said, “I’d better go take a look anyway.”
“If anything happens, I’ll be there to handle it.”
Shen Ying quickly nodded and thanked him. “Luo-ge, I’ve caused you so much trouble again. I keep owing you favors… I really don’t know how to thank you.”
Luo Xinghe smiled and patted Shen Ying’s head.
“It’s nothing. I just can’t stand seeing people get bullied.”
“Let’s go, we’ll go together.”
“At the very least, having more people can help your aunt look more imposing.”
Shen Ying shyly glanced at Luo Xinghe’s back.
He had already saved her several times.
She had fallen for him at first sight, and now she was completely smitten.
She thought to herself—
Well… I probably won’t be able to repay all these favors.
Maybe I’ll just devote myself to him as thanks…
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