59: You're really stupid.

Lin Chao heard this and smiled instead.

He took the toothpick out of his mouth and flicked it away.

He really didn't want to meddle in other people's business.

But after standing here and watching for a while, he had figured it out.

These thugs were pure evil.

And that woman named Zhong Xiaoru was rotten to the core.

This wasn't some simple loan dispute.

This was clearly Zhong Xiaoru conspiring with this gang to treat her friend, 'Qingyu,' as a sucker to be fleeced.

Lin Chao's gaze swept over the thugs and finally landed on Yellow Hair's face.

"This doesn't count as meddling."

He unhurriedly pulled out his phone and waved it in front of them.

The screen clearly showed a video recording interface, with the timer displaying '22:37'.

"This is me, as a concerned citizen, reporting organized crime."

Lin Chao's tone remained flat, but his words were like a thunderclap.

"From the moment you opened your mouths to ask for a hundred and twenty thousand, to the threats and intimidation, and then just now suggesting 'using her body to pay the debt'..."

"Sorry, I've already recorded over twenty minutes of high-definition video of the whole process."

"The chain of evidence is quite complete, including your extortion, threats, and suspicion of forced indecent assault on a woman."

The alleyway instantly fell into a deathly silence.

The arrogance on the thugs' faces faded visibly, replaced by shock and... humiliated rage.

Yellow Hair's face instantly turned the color of pig liver.

"You motherfucker... you're looking for death!"

He roared, and two thugs beside him were already clenching their fists, their knuckles making 'crackling' sounds as they closed in on Lin Chao with sinister grins.

A group brawl seemed imminent.

Qingyu's face turned white instantly, and she subconsciously shouted, "Watch out!"

Lin Chao, however, stood his ground without moving a muscle.

He didn't even change his expression, only speaking calmly.

"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you."

"Before coming over, I already called the police."

"Calculating the time, the police... should be arriving any moment now."

Lin Chao's phrase "arriving any moment now" was like a death warrant pinned in the air of the alley.

The two thugs who were about to attack stopped dead in their tracks.

The leader, Yellow Hair, had his expression shift several times.

As if he hadn't seen their murderous glares, Lin Chao leisurely turned his phone screen around and displayed it openly in front of them.

"Here, in case you don't believe me."

On the phone screen, the call log interface was crystal clear.

The top entry was '110,' with a call duration of one minute and thirty-seven seconds, and it had been ended just a few minutes ago.

The evidence was as solid as a mountain.

Yellow Hair's pupils suddenly constricted.

Behind him, the muscles on the thugs' faces twitched, and they subconsciously exchanged glances.

They were panicked.

"Damn it!"

Yellow Hair cursed under his breath and spat forcefully on the ground.

His sinister eyes, like poisoned knives, suddenly gouged toward Zhong Xiaoru in the corner.

Zhong Xiaoru shuddered under his gaze, nearly collapsing to the ground.

Yellow Hair retracted his gaze and stared intently at Lin Chao again, as if trying to carve his likeness into his very bones.

"Kid, you're something else!"

"This isn't over!"

He dropped this threat and then waved his hand at his lackeys.

"Let's go!"

After speaking, he turned around and gave Zhong Xiaoru another vicious glare.

"You just wait!"

"I'll be back for you!"

The seven thugs, who had arrived so arrogantly, left like a pack of stray dogs, cursing as they quickly disappeared around the corner of the alley.

The alley, which had been filled with tension just a moment ago, was now left with only three people.

An awkward, deathly silence permeated the air.

"Waaah—"

The silence was broken by an earth-shattering wail.

Zhong Xiaoru seemed to have finally found an outlet for her emotions, grabbing Qingyu's arm and hanging onto her entire body.

"Qingyu! Qingyu, did you hear that!"

"They're coming back for me! What am I going to do!"

Her tears and snot were smeared all over Qingyu as she sobbed breathlessly.

Qingyu's body was still a bit stiff; she came to her senses and hurriedly patted Zhong Xiaoru's back.

"It's okay, Xiao Ru, it's okay."

She comforted her while also letting out a sigh of relief herself.

"They're just trying to scare people; they wouldn't dare actually do anything."

"They just want money, right!"

Qingyu's tone carried a sense of relief from surviving a disaster and a kind of naive certainty.

However, an unceremonious sneer came from the side.

At some point, Lin Chao had stood up straight, hands in his pockets, looking at them with an expression as if he were watching a fool.

"Do you really intend to be the sucker here?"

His voice wasn't loud, but it was like a needle, accurately piercing the psychological defense Qingyu had just built up.

Qingyu's face stiffened, and she turned to look at the man who had just helped them.

Her gaze was somewhat complicated.

"I know... I know you want to help me."

"But I already promised Xiao Ru that I'd help her pay back this money..."

Before she could finish, she was rudely interrupted by Lin Chao.

"Do you owe her something?"

Those five simple words were like a heavy hammer, smashing hard into Qingyu's heart.

She was completely stunned.

Did she owe her?

It seemed... she didn't?

In the moment Qingyu was dazed, Zhong Xiaoru, who was in her arms, suddenly looked up.

Those eyes, swollen from crying, cast a venomous and swift glare at Lin Chao.

In that gaze, there wasn't a hint of gratitude, only hatred for her plan being ruined.

Lin Chao caught that look, and the mockery at the corner of his mouth deepened.

Looking at Qingyu, who was still oblivious to the situation, he decided to speak more plainly.

"You promised to help her pay it back because she told you it was twenty thousand initially, right?"

Qingyu subconsciously nodded.

"Do you know how much twenty thousand is? That's not a small amount of money."

"What's more, they're asking for a hundred and twenty thousand now!"

"Believe me, once today's incident passes, next time, even a hundred and twenty thousand won't settle this debt."

Lin Chao sneered, his tone carrying undisguised contempt.

"I originally just thought you were kind-hearted, being scammed by a friend and entangled by this gang, quite pitiful."

"But now it seems..."

He paused, spitting out his final conclusion word by word.

"You are truly stupid!"

Boom!

Qingyu felt as if her brain had exploded.

Her face turned dark instantly.

From childhood until now, no one had ever used the word 'stupid' to describe her.

"What right do you have to say that to me?!"

Her voice suddenly rose, filled with the anger of being humiliated.

Lin Chao just shrugged indifferently.

He couldn't be bothered to care anymore.

"Fine, fine, fine, you're the smartest, you're the most righteous."

He waved his hand and turned to leave.

"If you want to continue being the sucker, go ahead."

"I only stepped forward to be a good guy because I saw those men trying to get handsy."

"Now that it's over, I'm leaving."