Chapter 88: Yun Sheng Is Truly Moved
The owner’s hip was about to slam into the corner of the table. The hot tea and dishes on top would surely tilt from the impact and spill all over Yun Sheng.
In that very instant, a hand shot out from the side, firmly catching the stumbling owner and halting his forward momentum.
Simultaneously, another hand gave a gentle tug, pulling Yun Sheng and her chair backward, out of the way.
The entire sequence was so fast it was a blur, and it barely made a sound.
Zhou Meng’s gaze immediately locked onto the hand’s owner, sharp and venomous as a viper’s.
"Heh!"
He forced a derisive laugh through his nose and strode to the table. His boots stomped heavily on the floor, and a malicious grin spread across his face.
"Quick reflexes, buddy. I, Zhou Meng, am handling a private matter. You dare stick your nose in it? Got some balls, don’t you?"
The two goons behind Zhou Meng also closed in, forming a half-circle as they eyed Si Jin and Yun Sheng with malicious intent.
Yet Si Jin didn’t even turn his head, as if the figures closing in on them were nothing more than a patch of inconvenient air.
A blaze of fury at being ignored surged through Zhou Meng. He slammed his palm on the table, making the dishes rattle once more.
"I’m fucking talking to you! Are you deaf or mute? Or maybe... you’re in on some shady deal with this old geezer, or that ’Former War God’ they were blabbering about, and you’re too damn guilty to make a peep?"
He leaned forward, spewing spittle so close it nearly hit Si Jin’s face.
Si Jin finally reacted.
He let out a soft "Tsk," then casually cleaned his ear with his pinky, as if genuinely bothered by the noise. His voice dripped with annoyance.
"Where did this mutt come from? All this yapping is giving me a headache."
"You’re fucking asking to die!"
Enraged, Zhou Meng threw a punch straight at Si Jin’s face.
His two goons pounced at the same time, their movements vicious and clearly well-rehearsed.
However, what happened next was faster than anyone could have imagined.
No one could see exactly what Si Jin did.
There were just a few dull THUDS, mingled with the sickening CRACK of bones being displaced, and the three men who had been so aggressive a moment ago were sent flying backward at an incredible speed.
They crashed heavily to the floor and curled into three heaps, letting out agonized groans.
Zhou Meng clutched his wrist, which felt as if it had been caught in an iron vise. His face was deathly pale, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
He tried to summon his spiritual power to counterattack but was horrified to discover he couldn’t muster even a shred of it.
The entire little eatery fell silent in an instant.
Everyone stared, dumbfounded, at the man who remained calmly seated.
He looked so scholarly, without a hint of the intimidating presence or violent aura expected of a High-level Sentinel. How... how could he have instantly taken down three trained Sentinels?
One of them was even B-level!
"You... you dare..." Zhou Meng snarled through the pain, his face a mask of shock and rage. He roared, all bluster and no spine, "Kid, do you have any idea who my cousin is? He’s an S-Class Sentinel, Major General Zhou Lin! Cross me, and you’ll be in for a world of hurt!"
"Zhou Lin?"
Si Jin’s eyebrow arched slightly, as if the name had piqued his interest.
He slowly turned his head. His gaze landed on Yun Sheng’s face, and his eyes took on a playful glint, as if silently asking, ’Know him?’
Yun Sheng was stunned as well. ’I can’t believe this arrogant bully, Zhou Meng, is actually the cousin of the relatively principled Major General Zhou Lin.’
’The difference between them... is just too vast!’
She shook her head at Si Jin, her expression a mixture of exasperation and ’this has nothing to do with me.’
Seeing her reaction, the corners of Si Jin’s lips curled into a barely perceptible smile before he turned his gaze back to Zhou Meng.
"Oh, Zhou Lin," he said. "Then by all means, have him come."
The words were spoken so casually that Zhou Meng, who had been gasping in pain, froze mid-whimper. He even forgot to groan.
’Is this guy... really not afraid? Or does he just have no idea what it means to offend an S-Class Sentinel, a Major General from the Tower?’
The other patrons in the little eatery didn’t even dare to breathe.
Most of them were Low-level Sentinels. To them, a B-level like Zhou Meng was already an untouchable figure, to say nothing of the legendary S-Class Major General backing him.
Yet the refined-looking man before them had not only dispatched Zhou Meng and his lackeys in an instant, but he also didn’t even seem to blink at the mention of Zhou Lin’s name.
The owner nervously wrung his hands. He wanted to step in and mediate but was afraid of escalating the tension, breaking out in an anxious sweat.
Si Jin, however, acted as if he had merely swatted away a few annoying flies.
"What are you still dazed for? Are you waiting for me to buy you dinner?"
His words were like a spell being broken.
Zhou Meng’s two goons were the first to react. Gritting through the pain, they scrambled to their feet and helped the deathly pale Zhou Meng up, one on each side.
They didn’t dare utter another threat or even glance at Si Jin again. Heads bowed, they shuffled toward the door in a terrified hurry.
Their retreating figures were the very picture of pathetic.
Only after their stumbling figures disappeared through the doorway did the frozen atmosphere in the eatery finally begin to thaw.
The gazes of the patrons at the next table had shifted from their initial shock and uncertainty to awe, tinged with a hint of concern.
"Sir..."
One of them couldn’t resist offering a quiet, respectful warning.
"That Zhou Meng is the type to hold a grudge. After taking a loss this big today, he definitely won’t let it go. And his cousin, Major General Zhou Lin... I’ve heard he’s a decent guy, but blood is blood. You should still be careful, sir."
The owner nodded as well, his face etched with worry.
Yun Sheng’s heart skipped a beat, and her gaze drifted unconsciously to Si Jin.
He calmly lifted his teacup, blew away the floating leaves on the surface, took a sip, and then spoke with an air of indifference.
"If Zhou Lin is as decent as you say, he should start by keeping his relatives in line and stop them from using his name to cause trouble. As for retaliation... I’ll be waiting."
His words made the atmosphere tense up once more, but Si Jin had already moved on.
He turned to the owner, who was still shaken. "Sir, please bring us one of each of your house specials, as I asked for before."
"Ah, yes, yes! Right away!"
As if granted a pardon, the owner quickly agreed and rushed back into the kitchen.
Soon, steaming hot dishes were brought out one after another.
Si Jin ladled a small bowl of fish soup and gently pushed it in front of Yun Sheng.
"Have some soup first, to warm you up."
Next, he picked up a piece of fish belly, from which he had removed most of the fine bones, and placed it on the spoon in her bowl.
Noticing her steal a couple of glances at the tempting sweet and sour pork ribs, he picked up a perfectly sized, evenly glazed piece and placed it on her plate.
He did all of this with natural, meticulous care, though he wasn’t in any hurry to eat himself. He just sipped his tea from time to time, his gaze fixed on Yun Sheng, watching over her.
Yun Sheng looked down at the bowl and plate set before her, so thoughtfully tended to. The fish soup was savory and warming, the ribs were tender and perfectly sweet and sour. Everything was delicious.
But what stirred her heart more was this silent, detailed attentiveness.
She couldn’t help but lift her gaze to sneak a peek at the man across from her.
He was using the serving chopsticks to push some glistening, green stir-fried vegetables closer to her. In the dim light, his profile lost its usual cold hardness, revealing a focused sort of gentleness.
’Danger and tenderness, violence and attentiveness... these completely opposite traits are such a contradiction in Si Jin, and yet so... real.’
Somewhere deep in her heart, an unfamiliar flutter quietly began.
It was like the light caress of a feather—a ticklish, tingling sensation.
Yun Sheng realized she... wasn’t really that afraid of Si Jin anymore.
In fact, when he anticipated her interest and moved another dish she might want closer, an impulse to understand him better, to discover the story behind the man, began to surface.