Chapter Fifty-Three: Serving the People

Recalling the flat map given by the weapon spirit in his mind, which worked just like a GPS navigation system, Chen Hongxu quickly found the two people haggling with a shopkeeper.

“Boss, I’m a regular customer here! I come by every two or three days—can’t you give me a better price?” The weapon spirit, employing some bargaining skills learned who-knows-where, shamelessly claimed this to the bed vendor, who was left speechless. Really? Who comes to buy a bed every two or three days? That’s such an obvious lie.

Just like in real life, sometimes talking too big has the opposite effect.

The bed vendor, apparently worn out by the weapon spirit’s pestering, frowned and waved his hand impatiently. “Are you going to buy or not? If not, stop making trouble. I’ve already given you the lowest price, and you’re still dragging this out for half an hour.”

Xue Xi looked at Chen Hongxu with a smile, ignoring the weapon spirit’s excessive bargaining. After hearing the boss’s words, she didn’t want to delay any longer. After all, she was quite satisfied with this bed, and the others she’d seen would take several days to arrive.

Xue Xi pulled back the weapon spirit, who was still trying to argue, and beamed at the boss. “Don’t mind her, sir. My sister’s from the countryside—not very worldly.”

The vendor snorted with a grim face. “So, are you buying or not?”

Businessmen seek profit, after all. Even with two stunning beauties like Xue Xi and the weapon spirit standing together, he barely looked interested.

“We’ll take it!” Xue Xi kept smiling, nodding firmly. “And we’ll pay the original price.”

“Huh?” The boss was stunned. In over a decade of business, he’d never met a customer who bargained the price down only to agree to pay more in the end. He looked Xue Xi up and down and realized she was even more beautiful than the one who’d been haggling.

“I just need you to increase the vibration setting, leave everything else as it is, and deliver it today,” Xue Xi added a small request, then asked, “Do you take cards?”

“Yes, yes!” The boss was overjoyed. Beds with vibrating massage features were usually custom-ordered from the manufacturer for much less, and they often came with free nightstands. He had no idea that Xue Xi was in a hurry and money was no object to her—if not for letting the weapon spirit have some fun, she would have bought it right away without all this fuss.

Once everything was settled, Xue Xi asked for a receipt and left an address, leaving with Chen Hongxu and the weapon spirit under the boss’s admiring gaze. After all, not everyone can pull out a wallet stuffed with a whole stack of various diamond bank cards.

Having had no say in the entire process, Chen Hongxu finally mustered the courage to ask, “Isn’t that bed a bit big?”

“It’s not. It’s just right for two people, and besides, I like to roll around in my sleep. You need enough space to make it fun,” Xue Xi replied, her face radiant with happiness.

“Oh. How much was it? I’ll reimburse you in a bit!” Chen Hongxu nodded, but then, as if struck by a thought, turned to Xue Xi in disbelief. “My bed—what does that have to do with you rolling around? Wait a minute… two people sleeping?”

Xue Xi turned to chat and laugh with the weapon spirit, completely ignoring his question.

Chen Hongxu looked vexed. He realized Xue Xi was dead set on this, and besides, with all the people passing by, this wasn’t the place to discuss sleeping arrangements. He could only sigh, pat the back of his head, and hurry after them.

After a casual fruit juice at a roadside café, Chen Hongxu couldn’t hold back any longer. He resented the weapon spirit for not knowing how to bargain—how could a single bed cost over forty thousand yuan?

But a single, plaintive remark from Xue Xi left him at a loss for words: “Are you breaking up with me? Do you really have to keep such close tabs?”

After leaving the café, Chen Hongxu vented his irritation by kicking the weapon spirit a few times, while Xue Xi just smiled. None of the three planned to continue shopping—according to Xue Xi, shopping should be spread out over several trips, not finished all at once.

With their various expressions, the three walked toward the bus stop by the corner of Times Square. Suddenly, Chen Hongxu’s arm, draped over Xue Xi’s shoulder, moved swiftly. With a flick of his finger, he knocked away a hand that was quickly reaching for them.

The man clearly hadn’t expected to be caught. He met Chen Hongxu’s gaze for a second, then, seizing the opportunity, clutched his hand and collapsed to the ground, wailing in pain.

Chen Hongxu signaled Xue Xi and the weapon spirit to stop, curious to see what trick the man was up to. If he guessed right, the man had failed to steal and was now faking an injury in hopes of extorting money. Chen Hongxu knew his own strength perfectly well; that flick couldn’t possibly have caused any real harm.

The three of them turned around and curiously observed the man, who, despite having at most injured his palm, was thrashing on the ground as if mortally wounded.

Curiosity is an irresistible human impulse—everyone loves a spectacle. It adds to the stories people can tell and brings strangers closer together. In no time, over a hundred people had loosely formed a circle, craning their necks to see what was happening.

The man on the ground, sniffling and sobbing, complained that his hand was broken and lamented the cruelty of today’s youth.

Chen Hongxu, with a cold expression, stopped Xue Xi from trying to pay off the man. The weapon spirit, never having seen such a scene on TV, seemed highly entertained.

A moment later, a few burly men elbowed their way through the crowd and hurried over to the man on the ground, fussing over him. Then, glaring at Chen Hongxu, the leader shouted, “Young man, you hurt someone, and you just stand there watching?”

“Finally, someone who can talk!” Chen Hongxu sneered. “I thought this guy was going to scream himself hoarse. All right, what do you want?”

The leader was briefly stunned, apparently taken aback by Chen Hongxu’s indifference. But then he remembered what he’d heard about the area—weren’t there some powerful people living nearby? Maybe this kid had sold a kidney to please his girlfriend.

His face darkened as he glanced at Xue Xi, then snapped, “Young man, that’s not how you deal with problems. Everybody, what do you think?”

The onlookers responded with a mix of cheers and jeers. Some seemed to know the burly men, but no one intervened. Most just wanted to avoid getting involved.

Chen Hongxu snorted, shot a glance at Xue Xi—who seemed impatiently tapping her foot—and stopped hesitating. He strode forward. “So your hand’s broken, huh?”

Without waiting for a reply, he brushed past the leader, grabbed the man’s hand, and tapped it lightly with his toe. Instantly, the man howled in agony like a slaughtered pig.

Having finished, Chen Hongxu let go, pulled three hundred yuan from his pocket, and tossed it onto the man. “This time it really is a fracture, and I take responsibility. Central China Hospital, plaster cast and treatment is two hundred and seventy-eight. The extra twenty-two is for your cab.”

Chen Hongxu knew the cost so well because he’d spent a lot of time there in the past.

“You… you…” The leader pointed at Chen Hongxu, speechless. He hadn’t expected Chen Hongxu to resort to such ruthless action. He blamed his own lapse on being caught off guard. But even so, Chen Hongxu’s decisiveness left him shaken—this was a busy area, and the police would be here any minute. Most people, afraid of trouble, would have paid up and run by now, not calmly maimed someone and then coolly offered medical expenses.

Sure enough, two uniformed police officers soon arrived, dispersing the crowd and making their way over. They seemed familiar with the burly men, glancing disapprovingly at the still-writhing man on the ground. “What happened here?” one asked sternly.

The men gave an embellished account. One officer, after listening, frowned and walked over to Chen Hongxu. “Your ID, please. Tell me what happened.”

Chen Hongxu shrugged, handed over his ID, and started to explain, but the officer’s face flashed with a hint of panic before quickly returning the ID. “All right, I know what happened. You were being extorted. We’ll take these men in for investigation. You’re free to go.”

Chen Hongxu put away his ID, looking at Xue Xi in confusion, only to find her equally puzzled. He shrugged, took Xue Xi’s hand, and Xue Xi grabbed the weapon spirit’s. The three of them left happily. It’s worth mentioning that the officer even jogged after them to return the money Chen Hongxu had given for medical expenses, stood at attention, gave a perfect salute, and called out, “Serving the People!” before leaving.