The scruffy thugs had rushed off impatiently, and Mu Jinyu glanced at Wen Rou, a look of surprise and admiration flashing in his eyes.
Originally, he had thought Wen Rou was the kind of saint who, though fragile and weak, would consider others even when bullied.
But her display just now was soft on the outside and tough on the inside, which made him respect her even more.
It also proved that he hadn't helped the wrong person.
"Heh..." Mu Jinyu chuckled lightly and continued to eat his meal.
For Wen Rou, of course, there was no more time to eat.
After the gang fled in disarray, the stunned aunties and uncles around finally caught on, although they didn't know why the thugs had submitted to Wen Rou. Whatever the reason, based on their recent behavior, it seemed they wouldn't bully Wen Rou anymore.
That said, the neighbors no longer needed to go to that nearby, disgusting, and overpriced "Fly Restaurant."
Thus, they all enthusiastically streamed into the small restaurant and called out to Wen Rou, "Xiaorou, you really got some skills! We saw them charging over menacingly and were so worried for you, but it turns out you had already handled them."
Wen Rou gave them a soft smile and spoke gently, "It's not really my doing—it was..."
She paused, about to tell them that Mu Jinyu had solved the problem, but unsure if he wanted to be mentioned, she changed her statement,
"It was a friend who helped me out, and I need to thank him later."
Upon hearing this, Mu Jinyu smiled faintly, remaining silent. He didn't want to make a fuss and be swarmed with endless questions by the aunties and uncles.
"Then you're really fortunate."
"Yes, otherwise if the thugs had gotten to her, her life would've been ruined."
"..."
After the uncles and aunties praised her for a bit, they didn't dwell on the subject much longer, since, aside from wanting to know how Wen Rou had managed to rid herself of the thugs, they were primarily there to fill their stomachs.
"Hey Xiaorou, it's been so long since I last ate here. As usual, I'll have a large bowl of beef noodles and a basket of steamed dumplings," said an auntie.
"Same here, the usual for me too—a duck leg rice and a seaweed egg soup, and take your time, we'll wait," another joined.
"I'll stick to the usual, Xiaorou. Ah, it's truly nice at Xiaorou's place, tasty and clean. That Fly Restaurant nearby, I almost threw up last time I ate there."
"Lucky Xiaorou's shop is open, otherwise I'd probably have started bringing my own lunch."
"..."
The crowd buzzed, ordering food from Wen Rou while complaining about how awful the nearby Fly Restaurant's food was.
Wen Rou didn't say much, just nodded with a smile, took their orders, and then told Mu Jinyu to eat slowly before she turned, her slender waist swaying as she headed to the kitchen.
Once Wen Rou had left, the faces of the uncles and aunties twisted oddly, recalling how she had just spoken to Mu Jinyu to eat slowly, and what she had said about that friend...
Could it be this young fellow before them?
They hadn't seen it before when Blond Thug had asked Mu Jinyu if they could leave because he was blocked by a group of thugs, so they could only guess, not confirm.
"Hey, young man, was it you who helped Xiaorou with her trouble, the friend she just mentioned?"
The elderly lady who had earlier warned Mu Jinyu to hide approached and asked him.
Upon hearing this, Mu Jinyu stopped eating, smiled at her, and said, "Ma'am, you're overthinking it. I'm just an ordinary guy, how could I have such abilities?"
"That makes sense." The elderly lady looked him up and down, and seeing nothing particularly remarkable about his appearance or demeanor beyond being handsome, she noted that he seemed quite ordinary.
Then, she asked, "Hey, when those people came rushing over, didn't I tell you to hide quickly? Why didn't you hide? You just kept sitting and eating?"
After swallowing a spoonful of soup and wiping his mouth, Mu Jinyu casually said, "I didn't expect there to be so many of them. I was so scared that my legs went weak, and I couldn't run. I thought I was done for, but I didn't die, so now I'm just eating to calm my nerves."
"Oh." The elderly lady and the eavesdropping crowd nodded as if everything suddenly made sense.
So he was too scared to run, and that's why he kept sitting there eating.
Thinking this, they no longer associated Mu Jinyu with Wen Rou's mysterious and powerful friend and lost interest in chatting with just an ordinary person.
Soon after, they started chatting among themselves about Wen Rou's mysterious friend, wishing they could meet him too so those thugs wouldn't come to collect protection money from them anymore.
Mu Jinyu simply smiled at this and continued eating leisurely; there was plenty of food on the table, and he always had a big appetite, so finishing it wouldn't be a problem.
Wen Rou cooked very quickly. In no time at all, she had prepared the meals the group of elderly men and women had ordered.
And unlike Mu Jinyu, who could afford to eat at his leisure, these elderly customers needed to finish quickly to get back to their own shops and work.
So, in just a short while, they hurriedly finished their meals, paid the bill, and left satisfied.
Seeing that there were no more customers, Wen Rou washed her hands and went over to Mu Jinyu, then stopped in surprise.
She had thought that Mu Jinyu was still eating because he was waiting for her to finish her work so they could eat together. However, upon arriving, she found that Mu Jinyu had cleaned up all the dishes, leaving nothing behind.
Even the few bites of rice that she had started to eat were all gone.
Wen Rou was stunned and blurted out, "How could you eat everything? Even my leftovers..."
As she spoke, she felt somewhat embarrassed, and a rosy blush spread across her cheeks.
"Oh, I thought you weren't going to eat them," Mu Jinyu replied casually, wiping his mouth with a napkin.
"..." With that said by Mu Jinyu, what could Wen Rou say? She could only shoot him a coy look and shyly lowered her head.
"Here, let's see how much it is." Mu Jinyu took out a One hundred coins note, slapped it on the table, and pushed it towards Wen Rou.
"Huh?" Wen Rou snapped back to reality, quickly said, "No need, I got this meal. You've helped me so much already. Besides, didn't you treat me to a meal this morning?"
Mu Jinyu frowned and said, "I almost ate it all by myself. How could I let you treat me again? Take it, just give me a 10% discount."
Upon hearing this, Wen Rou finally understood why Mu Jinyu had even eaten her leftovers. Feeling a bit warmed by the gesture, she no longer insisted, took the money, settled his bill, and then handed him the change.
Mu Jinyu took the change, put it in his pocket, bid Wen Rou goodbye, and prepared to leave.
With Wen Rou's trouble fully resolved, he didn't have much else to worry about her. He planned to check on his five properties, to see how the renovations and surroundings were.
Wen Rou glanced at Mu Jinyu's retreating figure, hesitated for a moment, and then called out, "Hey, Little Mu, were those guys specially called by you?"