The auntie warned them, fearing she might get burned by association, so she took the chance to slip away to one side while that group of ragtag hoodlums hadn't noticed them and pretended to browse through some goods.
But from the corner of their eyes, they couldn't help but keep an eye on the situation, secretly praying in their hearts that the handsome young man wouldn't be crippled by the group.
Wen Rou's seat faced the entrance, and when she heard the auntie's warning, as well as the hurried evasion of their neighbors, distancing themselves from the matter,
she knew that it must be the same group of ragtag hoodlums from last night.
Wen Rou immediately put down her chopsticks, no longer in the mood to continue eating.
Her heart fluttered with anxiety. Hadn't Mu Jinyu said that he would handle these troubles? Why had they returned?
Then, she turned her head to look at Mu Jinyu, who seemed to be unharmed, his clothes still neat and without a speck of dust, and thought, could it be… that he actually hadn't gone over, and after just making a round nearby, had come back to claim credit without doing anything?
Feeling that this guess was highly probable, a sense of disappointment inevitably rose within Wen Rou's heart.
But she wasn't one to disregard the bigger picture and quickly stood up, went over to Mu Jinyu's side, and pushing him, she called out anxiously, "They've come looking, and they've probably brought a lot of people with them, you better hurry to the kitchen or the bathroom and hide…"
Mu Jinyu didn't share Wen Rou's panic, continuing to eat his food with ease and without a hint of tension, "Hide? Why should I hide? If they want to come, let them come, it's no big deal."
"What do you mean no big deal?" Wen Rou, seeing him so casual, nearly burst into tears of anxiety, "They were beaten so badly by you yesterday, they must be here for revenge…"
"Come for revenge?" Mu Jinyu cut off Wen Rou, took a sip of radish and pork rib soup, and laughed, "Don't worry, they're not here to cause me trouble, but to apologize to you, to help your restaurant return to how it was."
"Apologize to me?" Wen Rou was startled for a moment, echoing Mu Jinyu's words, then snapped back to reality, feeling that it was impossible, and somewhat upset with Mu Jinyu for joking with her at such a time, she called out again, "Stop joking around. You better go hide."
Mu Jinyu remained seated, unmoved as a mountain, and took another sip of the soup, "Hide? Why? They're already here."
Upon hearing this, Wen Rou let out an 'ah' and hurriedly turned her head to look.
Indeed, at the entrance, a blonde young man led the way, followed by a group of people, the same ragtag hoodlums from yesterday who had caused a commotion in the restaurant, with their numbers even greater than before by a dozen or so.
Seeing this, Wen Rou's heart fluttered, internally thinking they were doomed. They had been caught red-handed.
She stomped her foot lightly in annoyance and took the plunge, walked towards them, and demanded, "Whatever your issue is, aim it at me, don't…"
She didn't finish her formidable words when she was stunned into silence by the actions of the hoodlums following them.
Seeing Wen Rou appear, the hoodlums, who initially looked as if their parents had died, forcibly squeezed out a tearful smile and then bowed respectfully to her, exclaiming in unison:
"Miss Wen Rou, we're sorry, the disturbance the other day was our fault, please forgive us."
An apology?
Were they really apologizing?
Were they truly apologizing to me?
As Wen Rou saw them bowing in apology, her previously cluttered mind suddenly went blank.
In the end, only the words that Mu Jinyu had just said to her remained, that they had come to apologize to her.
It turned out he hadn't lied to her!
It turned out that he hadn't just walked around the vicinity and returned after chickening out, but had actually gone to solve the trouble for her...
Wen Rou's mind was in chaos, from meeting Mu Jinyu last night until today, various conversations with him kept resurfacing in her mind.
Meanwhile, at the small restaurant across the street, the aunties and uncles who had been secretly glancing over with the corners of their eyes were shocked to see the rowdy hooligans—who had always been lawless—entering Wen Rou's shop not to create trouble but to apologize to her.
They found it unbelievable, almost as if their eyeballs were about to pop out of their sockets.
How was this possible? These people were always unbridled and dared to do anything; how could they possibly be bowing their heads to apologize to Wen Rou, a frail woman?
"You guys, look, they actually..."
As they stood dumbfounded, they saw the gang, taking out beautifully packaged gifts from their black plastic bags and apologizing to Wen Rou,
"Miss Wen Rou, this is a small gesture of our apology, please do accept it!"
Were they really offering an apology?
Everyone heard this and couldn't believe their ears, but their feet involuntarily moved toward the small restaurant, eager to hear what they would say and see what they would offer as an apology...
Wen Rou watched the hooligans who usually bullied her mercilessly stand before her now, obedient as quails, bowing and presenting their gifts as an apology, her heart filled with mixed emotions.
She knew that without Mu Jinyu's help, it would have been impossible for them to not only apologize but even to stop bullying her.
Bowing her head to look at the various gifts they were holding—ginseng, deer antler, watches, necklaces, high-heeled shoes, cosmetics...
Wen Rou smiled faintly. Although she didn't know how Mu Jinyu had frightened them so much that they were apologizing to her, she was not a woman who was truly weak and easily bullied.
She wouldn't choose to be nervous and afraid, wavering her hands and exclaiming, "Oh no, no need, as long as you know your mistake that's good, just don't do it again in the future..."
She was not that foolish woman. Due to their harassment, her business had suffered greatly, and she had lost a lot of money, so she felt fully justified in accepting their apology gifts.
She didn't need Mu Jinyu to tell her to accept them, so Wen Rou softly instructed, "Mmm, put it over there on the counter."
"Yes, yes..." The hooligans, upon hearing this, looked at Wen Rou with endless gratitude, dared not look any longer, hurried with the gifts toward the counter, set them down, and then obediently came to Mu Jinyu's side, nervously asking, "Master Mu... can we leave now?"
Mu Jinyu, who hadn't stopped eating since they entered, looked up at the door upon hearing their question, saw the horrified expressions of the aunties and uncles outside, and responded in a low voice, "Go, and don't come back here to cause trouble!"
"Yes, yes... we won't dare anymore..."
After receiving Mu Jinyu's orders, the group replied, then scampered out the door like dogs that had lost their homes.
The aunties and uncles at the entrance, who had unconsciously moved closer to see the commotion, thought they were about to be beaten when the hooligans suddenly rushed out. Instead, to their surprise, the gang bypassed them, even apologizing,
"Sorry, so sorry, we almost bumped into you, we're leaving now and won't come back..."
The bystanders stood there, dumbstruck.
Was this still the group of lawless hooligans they remembered?