"That's not Xie Jian!" Ren Weiwei was dumbfounded.
Yes, the girl did look similar, and yes, the girl was probably prettier than her, but Ren Weiwei knew that the girl Lan Xiang had been calling Jian'er wasn't Xie Jian! Not at all!
Xie Jian was confused by Ren Weiwei's reaction. Of course, she was herself. How could she not be?
Lan Xiang reasoned with Ren Weiwei. "Hey, what do you mean she's not Xie Jian? Her surname is Xie, given name Jian, so she's Xie Jian!"
"But she isn't the one in the picture you showed us last time!" Ren Weiwei was starting to doubt Lan Xiang's stories.
"Ah, I got it." Xie Jian found out the reason. She took off a silver ring from her index finger.
All of a sudden, Ren Weiwei's jaw was agape. The weird girl's appearance transformed to that of the Xie Jian she knew!
"You, you're really Xie Jian?" Ren Weiwei cast aside her doubts and became nervous.
"Yeah, I forgot I was wearing a disguise ring." Xie Jian rolled the silver ring back and forth.
"Hey? How come I see no difference?" Lan Xiang inched his face closer to Xie Jian's.
"Idiot, it doesn't work for you." Xie Jian covered her face with her bag.
Suddenly, a peck arrived on her left cheek. Lan Xiang smiled mischievously. "I was just messing with you."
Xie Jian's entire face was red. Where did my confidence from my last visit go? Why do I become embarrassed so easily?
Seeing the two's display, Ren Weiwei smiled wryly.
After Xie Jian put her disguise ring back on, the group of three went into a restaurant.
There, Ren Weiwei spent a lot of time gushing over Xie Jian.
"Hey? How come I'm not aware of my internet celebrity status?" Xie Jian wasn't that active on social media. The only pictures she posted were those that Lan Xiang took of her, ahem, with some exceptions, ahem.
"Well, you're really pretty and you have this reputation of being cold to other people. Plus, you're the heir of a rich conglomerate. Basically, you're like someone out of a novel." Ren Weiwei sipped on her beverage.
Xie Jian was surprised. "That's all it takes to become popular?"
"What do you mean? It's really hard to get all those prerequisites!" Lan Xiang was passionate. He was an avid Webnovel reader after all, although he hadn't read any the past few weeks...
Xie Jian shrugged. She didn't really desire any fame on the internet. "Should I private my Weibo..."
As they were enjoying their meals, outside of the restaurant, two thugs were planning something.
"Hongtian Restaurant is a dud now. We need to find another one to steal from- ahem, conduct business with."
Wen Kang nodded his head. The reputation of Punk Thug Gang was not doing so well these days. A video circulated on the Hongliu City circle of the internet. Just a single person took down all of the thugs in the vicinity. Although the identity of the person couldn't be seen, the attire of the beaten-up thugs were recognizable.
"Hey, it's all because you underestimated the kid! If not, they would still be terrified of us."
Wen Kang was not at all scared of the kid that single-handedly beat up all of his men. After all, he could do so too. "If I see that kid, he'll be sorry he messed with us!"
The fatty's eyes sparkled. Even though I messed up, he's still willing to take revenge for me!
They entered the restaurant.
The servers and cashiers saw a fatty enter the restaurant, and the towering figure of a person behind him. They were terrified.
Wen Kang hadn't showed his face to the public in quite a long time.
This time, Lan Xiang noticed them immediately, especially the fatty. He nudged Xie Jian.
"Jian'er, look, it's the fatty you kicked out last time."
Xie Jian glanced at them. "Are they here to cause trouble again?"
Ren Weiwei didn't understand what was going on.
The fatty looked around the restaurant. He caught a glimpse of Ren Weiwei, with two other people. The latter was facing the other way, so he didn't see either of their faces.
"Boss, look! It's a pretty girl!"
Wen Kang saw Ren Weiwei as well and licked his lips. A bulge appeared on his shorts, disgusting the customers who waited in line beside him.
He told the fatty to wait in line as he approached Ren Weiwei. "Hey, pretty girl."
Ren Weiwei was startled. She still wasn't used to getting hit on. "W, who are you?"
Wen Kang turned to look at her companions and saw Xie Jian.
Woah, woah! Two-in-one harvest, sweet!
"Say, would you two come to my place tonight?"
As for Lan Xiang, Wen Kang didn't even acknowledge his existence.
Xie Jian rolled her eyes as she felt the lustful looks that the punk-looking ass gave her. It was the usual, after all.
Lan Xiang sighed. "Let's leave this place. It's been contaminated."
He grabbed both Xie Jian and Ren Weiwei's hands and dragged them to the exit.
"Block them! Don't let them exit!"
The fatty rushed to the scene, widening his eyes.
He naturally recognized Ren Weiwei's companions. The girl who kicked him and the guy who beat his men up! They were both very strong!
If his boss was not here, he would just get up and leave the place. However, Wen Kang gave him a courage boost.
"...Are you sure you wanna do this?" Xie Jian was really annoyed. Both times she went out with Lan Xiang recently, they were interrupted by these annoying people!
"Hehehe, you won't be able to say that when my boss arrives!"
Wen Kang smiled lustfully, staring at the behinds of both Ren Weiwei and Lan Xiang.
Ren Weiwei's worldview was being challenged at this point. Is this the phenomenon called "being hit on"? I thought it would feel good, but now it's just annoying!
Xie Jian turned around, a shadow casted upon her. It was Wen Kang's towering figure.
"Little girl, if you don't want to come, then I'll force you to, hehe!"
Suddenly, he felt the girl's aura rising. It stopped at Level 6 Attribution Form.
"Boss, boss! This is the guy that sullied our reputation!" The fatty interjected.
Wen Kang turned his attention to Lan Xiang, who stood there rubbing wax out of his ears.
"Ah, you're this little girl's boyfriend? How apt! I'll get revenge on you by stealing her!"
His aura spiked, surpassing that of Xie Jian's. The atmosphere became overbearing, so much so that the patrons of the store had no choice but to turn their heads down.
Level 7, Budding Spirit.
Xie Jian didn't seem fazed. She touched the ring on her finger and planned to take it out before Lan Xiang pat her shoulder.
"Don't worry, I'll handle this." Lan Xiang's aura started to rise.
Xie Jian was shocked. How come Xiang had such a majestic aura...?
What's more, he's in Attribution Form realm?
"Xiang...?"
Lan Xiang looked at her. "I'll explain later."
"Eh, but he's in Budding Spirit realm. Surely..."
Before her doubts, Lan Xiang simply smiled, putting her at ease. Anyways, if push came to shove, she would just interfere.
"You? You'll handle me, you say? An Attribution Realm cultivator, such as yourself? Hahaha!" Wen Kang guffawed, his saliva spewing rain to the customers.
Lan Xiang looked left and right. "Let's take this outside."
Wen Kang grinned. "You want more people to see your humiliating defeat? Fine by me."
Outside, two people looked at each other.
Both of them seemed like they didn't think the other was a big deal.
Ren Weiwei on the side was worried. "Goddess Xie, wouldn't he be beaten up? He has no cultivation."
"Call me Sis Jian. And don't worry, he told me to relax." Xie Jian felt inexplicable confidence that Lan Xiang would win against the hooligan. "Also, can't you sense his realm? It's Attribution Form."
"Eh? But I remember... him having no cultivation before he got into a coma."
"I don't know either. Say, how long have you known him?"
The two girls talked to each other, ignoring the battle between Wen Kang and Lan Xiang. They were both relaxed.
Lan Xiang went into a stance. Wen Kang recognized that stance, it was the same one in the video.
"So it is you! Prepare to get pounded then! Hahaha!"
Wen Kang launched himself against the ground, leaving a footprint on the concrete. Lan Xiang exhaled, a faint trace of orange and red visible in his breath.
As Wen Kang got near him in a moment, Lan Xiang extended his arm, grabbed Wen Kang and threw him to the ground! Cracking sounds echoed throughout the street, attracting attention from the passers-by.
Ren Weiwei and Xie Jian also stopped talking to watch Lan Xiang's moves.
Wen Kang stood up immediately, coughing up blood. "Didn't expect you to be this strong. I underestimated you a little bit. But... this is not enough!"
He threw a punch, the air around his fist seemed to be heating up due to his speed.
Lan Xiang deflected the direction and it went into the ground, before he threw his own punch directly at Wen Kang's face! This time, actual fire was exhausted out of his fist!
Wen Kang quickly dodged, but his hair was too late. It... burned up.
"Ah, goddamn! You dared to turn me bald?! I'll kill you!" Wen Kang tackled Lan Xiang, but the latter dodged it fairly easily.
Lan Xiang grabbed Wen Kang's foot and threw him upwards, and jumped after him. With a punch, he launched Wen Kang even further upwards!
"Aiya!!! Ah, save me! Mommy!" Wen Kang shrieked like a girl. His abdomen was bleeding, and his mouth was as well, but that didn't pry his attention away from the fact that he was falling from such a great height!
Boom!
He crashed onto the ground, his eyes rolling back. The fatty was shocked.
He didn't expect that even Lan Xiang could beat their boss up!
In an instant, both him and Wen Kang were gone.