5: Reaching base

At 4:00 AM, the food stall was filled with the smell of grease and smoke mixed with the night breeze.

The laughter of several girls sounded particularly crisp on the empty street.

Lily was pestering Li Zhan to tell stories about his hometown when suddenly, three modified motorcycles roared to a halt in front of the stall.

Several tattooed men, reeking of alcohol, stumbled off their bikes in a drunken stupor.

The lead tattooed man kicked aside a plastic stool blocking his path and roared at the owner,

"Old Chen! Bring two crates of beer and grill thirty skewers of kidneys!"

The owner shrunk back, not daring to make a sound.

A crooked green dragon was coiled around that tattooed man's neck,

and the characters for 'Loyalty' were tattooed on his arm, though the ink was so blurred they looked more like 'Char Siu'.

He scanned the food stall unsteadily, and his eyes suddenly lit up—

Li Zhan's table was seated with several eye-catching women; their short skirts, long legs, and red lips were particularly striking under the early morning lights.

"Oho!"

He grinned and wobbled over,

"Hey beauties, with skirts that short, did you just get off work from the club?"

The thugs behind him surrounded them as well. One with dyed yellow hair reached out to touch Feifei's pink twin-tails.

"This hair is dyed so provocatively. Why don't you have a few drinks with us?"

Feifei dodged sharply, her face turning pale, while Lily shrunk directly behind Li Zhan.

Xiao Wen lowered her head, her fingers tightly clutching the hem of her skirt. The neon lights reflected off her glasses, making it impossible to see her expression.

Xiao Xue remained cold-faced. Her cigarette had burned halfway down, and ash fell in flakes, but her gaze was already as cold as ice.

A Zhen was the most composed. She slowly put down her chopsticks and looked up at the tattooed man. "Get lost."

The tattooed man froze for a moment, then burst into laughter. "Quite a spicy temper, huh?"

He reached out to pinch A Zhen's chin. "Big brother likes—"

Suddenly, a palm slapped his wrist away with a 'smack'. The force wasn't heavy, but it was so precise that his entire arm went numb.

Li Zhan didn't even look up, his other hand still holding his chopsticks.

"Didn't you hear her tell you to get lost? Don't interrupt our late-night snack."

The tattooed man was stunned. The numbness in his arm hadn't faded yet, and for a moment, he didn't even react.

"Ha!"

He gave a strange laugh and turned to look at the lackeys behind him. "What did this idiot just say?"

The thugs immediately burst into laughter. Someone whistled and said, "Brother Long, he's telling you to get lost!"

The tattooed man leaned in close to Li Zhan. "Do you fucking know who I am—"

"I don't want to know."

Before Li Zhan finished speaking, the chopsticks in his hand suddenly darted out like a venomous snake, stabbing into the tattooed man's open mouth with a 'puf' sound.

"Ow!"

The tattooed man clutched his mouth and stumbled back, spitting out a mouthful of bloody foam.

"Fuck! Kill him!"

Several thugs lunged forward at once.

The burliest one with yellow hair swung a beer bottle at Li Zhan's head—

Li Zhan leaned aside to avoid the bottle and whipped out his right hand, slapping the yellow-haired man behind the ear with a 'smack'.

The yellow-haired man instantly crumpled like a de-veined shrimp, collapsing onto the greasy tablecloth.

The second thug pulled out a switchblade. Just as the tip of the blade appeared, Li Zhan's left foot already kicked him in the hip.

The man flew out sideways, knocking over three plastic stools.

The third thug lunged from behind. Without even turning his head, Li Zhan struck back with his elbow, hitting the man square in the solar plexus.

The kid fell straight to his knees, dry-heaving. He threw up his entire dinner all over his own shoes.

"Brother Zhan, watch out!" the girls suddenly screamed.

An iron bar whistled through the air toward Li Zhan's back.

Still without looking back, Li Zhan adjusted his footing and leaned to the side, letting the iron bar miss his shoulder and strike empty air.

He seized the attacker's collar and performed a clean over-the-shoulder throw. The man flew over three tables,

crashing onto the curb with a heavy 'thud'.

The entire process took no more than seven seconds.

The remaining two thugs dragged their companions away in a panic. The tattooed man clutched his mouth, cursing as he retreated,

"You... you just wait..."

Li Zhan sat back down at the table and took a sip of beer.

The grilled fish was still sizzling on the iron plate.

"Good fight, handsome!"

The owner applauded from behind the stove. "These lowlifes come here every day to eat and drink without paying!"

The way the girls looked at him completely changed.

Lily bit her straw, her eyes shining frighteningly bright;

Feifei's pink twin-tails swayed with her rapid breathing;

Xiao Wen adjusted her glasses, a flush rising on her cheeks;

Xiao Xue's fingers toyed with her wine glass, her gaze wandering over the lines of Li Zhan's shoulders and neck.

A Zhen said nothing, only slowly refilling Li Zhan's glass.

"Brother Zhan—"

Lily stood up and clinked glasses with Li Zhan. "You were so cool just now!"

Feifei also squeezed over, her chest brushing against Li Zhan's arm. "Teach me a few moves!"

Xiao Wen kept her head down, but secretly moved her stool half an inch closer to Li Zhan.

Only Xiao Xue remained in her seat, but the way she looked at Li Zhan was no longer as cold as when they first met.

A Zhen suddenly smiled and raised her glass. "A toast to our Master Li."

Several glasses clinked together, splashing beer onto the greasy tabletop.

The sound of sirens drifted from the distance, but no one turned around.

—

By the time the late-night snack ended, the horizon was already turning the color of a fish's belly.

Li Zhan hailed two taxis and saw Feifei, Lily, and the others off one by one.

As Xiao Wen was leaving, she gave him a look as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

Xiao Xue climbed into the car without looking back, leaving only a half-finished cigarette butt on the roadside.

"Let's go."

A Zhen rubbed her temples,

her high heels clicking an irregular rhythm on the concrete floor.

She had drunk more than usual tonight, and her shoulder frequently brushed against Li Zhan's arm as they walked.

The lights in the rental building's hallway were still not fixed.

A Zhen felt her way up the stairs in the dark,

when suddenly her heel got caught in a crack, and she tumbled forward.

"Careful—"

Li Zhan reached out to support her, but his palm touched something soft... He tried to pull his hand back as if he'd been electrocuted, but A Zhen grabbed it and held it there.

In the darkness, both of them froze, leaving only the sound of their heavy, interlaced breathing.

A Zhen's fingers slid down his arm to his waist, and she suddenly used her strength to pin him against the wall.

Li Zhan's hands wrapped around her waist and slowly slid down... It was unclear who moved first, but their lips suddenly collided.

A Zhen's lipstick tasted of the bitterness of alcohol.

The kiss began tentatively but quickly turned into a fierce devouring.

Her hands tugged at Li Zhan's chest, though it was hard to tell if she was trying to push him away or pull him closer.

In the darkness, all senses were magnified.

A Zhen panted and whispered softly in Li Zhan's ear,

"Not here... carry me back..."

The moist, hot breath made his ears go numb.

Li Zhan picked her up in his arms.

The distance to the third floor felt exceptionally long.

A Zhen's lips never stopped wandering over his neck... The moment the door opened, the two of them became entangled like magnets again.

Amidst the frantic kissing,

A Zhen held him as they stumbled into her bedroom,

falling together into the messy bedding...