A simple statement, and Mu Jinyu had deduced why this shop's business was so bleak.
Looking at the situation, it seemed these hoodlums likely came to this shop to collect protection fees every day. Under such circumstances, even if the girl's cooking was good, how many people would still dare to dine here?
Even if there were a few hot-blooded youths who couldn't stand it and wanted to play the hero to save the beauty, they would first have to consider whether they could take on these hoodlums.
As for why they didn't follow the unwritten rules of the underworld and came to collect protection fees every day.
Although Mu Jinyu didn't know the real reason, he guessed that it was probably because they saw the girl was alone and beautiful, which made her an easier target, right?
There, their last statement had seemingly exposed their despicable thoughts.
As the motley group of youths stepped into the small restaurant, the girl's face instantly turned deathly pale, and upon hearing their words, her delicate body started to tremble uncontrollably.
The youths with mixed hair had smirks on their faces, about to tease the girl with a few more words, when they spotted Mu Jinyu still eating his meal, which caused a frown to form and they muttered in surprise,
"Eh, today we actually have someone brave enough to come and eat?"
After the leading yellow-haired youth spoke, his mixed-haired lackeys were about to echo him and mock Mu Jinyu.
At this moment, a red-haired youth with a bit more insight noticed Mu Jinyu's suit, and his expression slightly changed. He then tugged at his brothers and whispered in their ears how much Mu Jinyu's outfit cost.
After being reminded, everyone's expressions changed involuntarily, and they thought it best to leave well enough alone and not provoke Mu Jinyu any further.
The yellow-haired youth, with a trace of wariness, gave Mu Jinyu a quick glance and then approached the girl. While speaking, he reached out to lift her chin.
"Sweetheart, have you gathered enough money for today? If not, you've owed us several days of protection fees already, and we can't keep covering for you. I think you'd better..."
He hadn't finished his sentence, and his hand was about to touch the trembling girl's chin when...
A chopstick suddenly appeared, piercing through his palm in an instant!
The yellow-haired youth hadn't the ability to see the chopstick coming, only felt a pain in his right palm, then saw the blood pouring out and a chopstick embedded in it before he couldn't help but cry out in pain.
Mu Jinyu hadn't finished his fried noodles, but now only had one chopstick left and couldn't continue eating, so he said coldly.
The motley youths realized that the one who had ambushed the yellow-haired man was none other than Mu Jinyu.
Damn it, I was already not provoking you, wouldn't it have been fine if we just kept to our own and didn't mess with each other? Did you have to go and make a stand for some girl, getting on our bad side?
Unable to contain their rage, they immediately picked up stools, ready to deal with Mu Jinyu.
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Mu Jinyu snapped the remaining chopstick in his hand into five small pieces and flung them out. With an indescribably terrifying speed, the pieces pierced through their right palms instantly!
The motley youths' right palms were in so much pain that they could no longer hold the stools steady; the stools fell to the ground, accompanied by pained whimpers!
The girl, who had been trembling with a pale face and didn't dare to dodge, saw this scene and her eyes, panicky and frightened like those of a deer, suddenly regained their brightness. The look she gave the calm Mu Jinyu was filled with sparks of admiration.
"Get lost already, will you?!"
Mu Jinyu didn't pay attention to the girl's gaze and stared coldly at the motley youth as he said sternly.
"You?!" The blonde youth had already pulled out the chopstick that had pierced his palm, but the blood kept flowing unstoppably. Hearing Mu Jinyu's words, he glared at him and said, "You little punk, do you really have to meddle? We're under Brother Biao! Offending us, you won't have a good end!"
"I don't care about any Brother Biao or Brother Gou, just beat it and don't interrupt my meal!"
Mu Jinyu snorted coldly, then picked up the chopsticks from the bowl of fried noodles he had been eating earlier, and made as if to throw them again.
The group of motley youths saw this and their pupils shrank; ignoring the pain in their hands, they quickly turned tail and ran, terrified of having their other hand crippled as well.
They had even forgotten to leave behind a threat.
After the group left.
The girl looked at Mu Jinyu, her eyes shimmering with emotion, and she sighed, "You should not have been so impulsive. They are Brother Biao's underlings. Stirring them up, you will have big trouble in the future."
"There's nothing to be afraid of," Mu Jinyu replied with a slight smile. "Why do they bully you ? Can you tell me?".
Mu Jinyu felt that maybe they had untoward intentions seeing the girl, which was why they treated her this way. Yet he thought they should not be so brazen; perhaps there was more to it.
If the girl were uglier, after he intervened, he would have been content to not concern himself further, but the girl was so beautiful and lovely that he, a youth with budding feelings, couldn't help but pry.
The girl hesitated for a moment, then nodded slightly and began to tell Mu Jinyu the details.
The girl, named Wen Rou, came from an impoverished home, with her parents divorcing early on. Her mother was nowhere to be found, and her father was a chronic gambler. She was raised by her grandmother.
As a gambler, her father never cared for her or gave her any money. She managed to graduate from high school with the help of her grandmother's savings and her own part-time jobs. Although her college entrance examination scores were not stunning, she was still eligible for some of the most prestigious universities in the country.
She originally planned to get through college with scholarships and part-time work, find a good job afterward, and take good care of her grandmother.
But then, disaster struck as her father, the gambling addict, borrowed a lot of high-interest loans and accumulated a massive debt, which he lost overnight and then committed suicide by jumping off a building.
Her grandmother had a heart attack and passed away when debt collectors came to her door demanding repayment.
Her father's debts shouldn't have involved her, but under extreme pressure, she ultimately chose not to go to college and opened this small diner instead.
Business was good at first, and after nearly two years, she had almost paid off all her father's gambling debts except to one party.
The party that Mu Jinyu had just taught a lesson.
She was nearly finished repaying the money her father owed them, but a week ago, when Red Fur saw her and had evil thoughts, he began to make trouble for her. He inflated the interest she owed, claiming she still owed them several hundred thousand, and demanded protection money, among other things...
In the end, he said that if she agreed to be his girlfriend, then he could waive the protection fee and the high-interest debts.
Wen Rou, soft on the outside but resolute within, naturally refused.
As a result, they found various ways to cause trouble, driving customers away from her diner, preventing her from making money and repaying the debt, all in an effort to force her into submission!