74: Chapter 74 Gentle Leg Techniques

Chapter 74 Gentle Kicking Techniques

Wen Xin leaned over the rim of the trash can.

She opened her eyes wide, gazing at a beer can mixed in a pile of plastic bags.

She felt a little excited inside, but she wasn't tall enough and her arms were too short. After trying several times, she still couldn't reach it.

The weather was somewhat gloomy and changeable.

Although the sun had come out for a short while, it was still a bit chilly.

Passing pedestrians hurried by, anxious to get to work, and no one paid any attention to what she was doing.

"Almost..."

"Just a little more..."

She gritted her teeth, once again tried hard to stand on tiptoe, and forcefully reached her fingers downward.

At this moment.

A large hand reached inside and snatched the beer can away.

Wen Xin was startled, hurriedly straightened up, and looked over at a loss.

Her eyes stared at that can worth only twenty cents, and her heart ached a little.

When she raised her head to look at the person who had snatched her treasure, she froze instantly.

"Next time you encounter this kind of situation, just flip the trash can over and get the stuff first."

A tall, thin young man with short, choppy hair spoke.

Then he bent down, picked up the tattered sack on the ground, and helped her put the pop can into the bag.

Her lost treasure was recovered.

But Wen Xin didn't care at all.

She just stared in a daze at the young man who had suddenly appeared.

Her small face was slightly tense, a bit nervous, and yet inexplicably happy.

That day, while giving her statement at the police station, she had already learned the name of the person in front of her.

His name was Fang Cheng, Fang as in upright, and Cheng as in honest.

Fang Cheng weighed the bag.

It was feather-light, showing that today's scavenging harvest was very meager.

He then turned around to look at the little girl standing aside.

"Haven't you eaten breakfast yet?"

Hearing this, Wen Xin was stunned for a moment and hurriedly shook her head.

Seemingly afraid of being misunderstood, she quickly nodded again.

Fang Cheng smiled with amusement:

"I happen not to have eaten yet either. How about we eat something together?"

As he spoke, he shook the fully packed takeout bag in his hand.

"No need, I've already eaten..."

Wen Xin still stubbornly shook her head.

Her small hand, afflicted with chilblains, gripped the corner of her clothes. She lowered her head, not daring to let her gaze linger for even a second.

"Let's go. I bought a lot, and there's no way I can finish it all."

Seeing her so nervous and restrained, Fang Cheng simply picked up the tattered sack on the ground and walked forward without another word.

Seeing this, Wen Xin had no choice but to wring her small hands and follow behind.

Fang Cheng asked for another plastic bag from a nearby shop and packed four beef buns and a bag of soy milk together.

Then he shoved it into her hands without allowing any refusal.

The two sat in front of a small flower bed next to the Tubular Building.

Golden sunlight filtered through the gaps in the dark clouds, spilling over them and bringing a touch of warmth.

Fang Cheng took a bite of the juicy, meat-filled large bun, chewing continuously as he contentedly exhaled a breath through his nose.

Exercising hard every day and enjoying food to the fullest—this kind of life was truly incomparably fulfilling!

Seemingly infected by his hearty eating.

Wen Xin, sitting nervously to the side, finally couldn't help reaching her dirty little hand toward a beef bun in the bag.

Seeing this, Fang Cheng smiled.

He could tell that she was really hungry, yet she still swallowed in small bites, as if afraid of drawing the attention of others.

"Your name is Wen Xin, right?"

"Mhm."

Hearing Fang Cheng's question, Wen Xin immediately raised her head, stopped chewing, and looked at him timidly.

Then, as if remembering something, she specifically explained:

"Wen is the Wen from gentle, Xin is the Xin from thriving, not that Xin from happy."

Fang Cheng smiled:

"I know. They both mean happiness anyway."

Wen Xin, however, wore a serious expression:

"I know your name too."

Fang Cheng was not surprised.

The girl in front of him had moved to Jiuchang Street with her mother, and their rented apartment was in the same building as his.

You could say that from now on, the two of them would be neighbors who bumped into each other all the time.

At this thought, Fang Cheng glanced at her thin, tattered clothes and her small face stained with dust.

At this innocent age, she should be going to school instead of scavenging outside to make a living by her own efforts.

"Besides your mom, are there anyone else in your family?"

Fang Cheng couldn't help asking.

Wen Xin was carefully continuing to eat.

Hearing this, her shoulders trembled slightly, and her body seemed to freeze.

She lowered her eyelids, her gaze falling on her worn leather shoes with exposed toes, and faint tears hung on her long eyelashes.

Not a single mistake, first release, inner content, check one by one!

Realizing he had spoken out of turn, Fang Cheng stopped asking.

He then gently handed the soy milk, with the straw already inserted, in front of her.

Wen Xin quickly said thank you, but didn't drink it.

She only ate one bun and said she was already full.

She looked at Fang Cheng with a pleading expression, hoping to bring the rest back home to save for lunch.

Fang Cheng naturally wouldn't refuse, so he got up and walked with her toward the Tubular Building.

The apartment Wen Xin's family rented was in the basement.

Standing at the corridor entrance and looking down, it was pitch dark, making it hard for sunlight to shine in.

Fang Cheng was just about to say goodbye to her and continue walking upstairs.

But he heard a commotion coming from below, along with the banging sounds of someone kicking and striking an iron sheet door.

Upon hearing this sound, Wen Xin instantly looked terrified and froze in place.

Fang Cheng also frowned slightly and stopped in his tracks.

"Open the door! Open the door!"

"Stinking bitch, do you think that by running to the Three Wolves Gang and hiding in a place like this, you'll be fine?"

"Brother Sang Biao said, either hand over the 100,000 yuan defection fee, or we'll drag your daughter away to pay off the debt!"

The shouting was extremely arrogant, loud enough to almost reach the top floor.

Click!

The incandescent light in the basement hallway was switched on.

The dim light clearly revealed the appearances of the three men who were kicking the door and cursing.

It also illuminated the figures of a young man and a little girl at the entrance.

"What are you guys doing?"

The young man spoke, staring at them with exceptionally bright and sharp eyes.

The three gangster-like men immediately stopped their disturbance and turned their gazes over in unison.

"Fuck, I haven't even asked you yet, and you're questioning us instead?"

A fat, hulking man swung his fist and walked straight toward them.

"This kid looks pretty wild. Is he from the Three Wolves Gang?"

Another one had a cigarette dangling from his mouth, squinting sideways, looking very relaxed, Xiaosa.

"Judging by his stance, probably. Let Big Fool test his mettle."

The last man was wearing a undershirt in the dead of winter, revealing his tattooed arms and brandishing a dagger in his hand.

Having a weapon in hand seemed to give him an extra bit of arrogant confidence.

Swish!

A fierce gust of wind suddenly blew through the dim hallway, looking like a flash of lightning suddenly striking.

Accompanied by a muffled "bang" sound, the fist-waving brawny man fell headfirst into the wind and passed out.

The cigarette butt dangling from Xiaosa's mouth was blown out directly by the wind.

The dagger in the Flower-Armed Man's hand instantly vanished, only to be grabbed by another hand and pressed against his own neck.

The two of them trembled in their hearts and looked closely.

They saw that the young man who had clearly been standing at the front of the hallway just a moment ago had abruptly appeared right beside them.

His movements were unimaginably fast, leaving them completely unable to react.

"B-B-Big Bro, please don't be rash! Be careful, don't hurt your little brother..."

Recovering his wits, the Flower-Armed Man couldn't help stammering as his attitude instantly turned utterly humble.

The cigarette dangling from Xiaosa's mouth dropped to the ground as he swallowed hard with great difficulty.

He knew they had run into a supreme master today!