My Youth Begins With Loving You - CH 35.2

Chapter 35.2: I love you, so will you come back? (4.2)

The hoodlums in the alley moved to rush out, but Chen Mo was walking in. Concerned, Miao Yuan walked over to take a look—a shining white sword reflected the pale moonlight. She yelped in shock, but quickly covered her mouth, not daring to make a peep out of fear of disturbing him.

Chen Mo really wanted to turn around and tell Miao Yuan, “Don’t be scared. There won’t be any problems.” But one hoodlum had already lost his patience and rushed over. The sword flickered and the cold air was stifling. Chen Mo slanted his body and dodged. With a flick of his wrist, the baton made contact with the assailant’s wrist. A hair-raising scream and a terrifying shatter sounded.

Chen Mo furrowed his brows, realizing he had come down too hard.

A few of the hoodlums’ eyes grew bloodshot. They cast aside their hostilities with each other and banded as one force. The blade clashed against the baton and metal screeched against metal. Chen Mo located their joints and swung over. Within the blink of an eye, two more men fell.

“Don’t come over!” Chen Mo yelled. “I won’t be able to hold back.” He kicked aside a guy who was clutching his knee and rolling in pain on the ground.

The dimly lit areas near the walls hid a few figures. Their eyes emitted a dark light full of rage, hostility, and vigilance. Chen Mo hooked a broken brick with his foot, kicked it up, caught it with his hand, and smashed it. The red brick broke in midair and scattered all over the ground.

Chen Mo used his baton to stir the dust in the air. His eyes were expressionless as he looked at them.

Someone from the corner couldn’t help but let out a heavy laugh. “Bro, don’t be like this. Give us a way out.”

Chen Mo lifted his brow. “You guys aren’t fighting anymore?”

The other side gave a hollow laugh.

“Go on and wait then. I’ve already called the police.” Chen Mo collapsed the baton and stowed it away. One of the hoodlums was familiar with it and his face dropped. It’s not that he hadn’t played with an ASP baton. Rumours of the baton’s power weren’t unfounded. He hadn’t seen, let alone heard of a person who could receive a strike from the baton unscathed. Originally, his plan was to dawdle around until Chen Mo lowered his guard, then steal the baton away. But now, he didn’t even dare think of enacting that plan. Perhaps the repercussions from this man would be even greater.

“Chen Mo…” Miao Yuan called out in a small voice.

Chen Mo turned to see Miao Yuan clutching her arms to her chest as she carefully sidestepped her way along the wall to him. The incandescent street lights lit up her frightened eyes, and Chen Mo’s heart suddenly softened. He tried to rally a tender smile and opened his arms. Miao Yuan relaxed and her bright eyes fell solely on him, without a care for anything else.

A hoodlum who had been sprawling on the floor suddenly rolled and jumped up, tackling Miao Yuan. She only saw a black figure before taking a reflexive step back. The hand swiped at her nose, and she yelped as cold sweat formed on her back.

“Pretty quick on your feet.” Chen Mo swept her a glance. With the flip of a wrist, he choked the baton across her assailant and dragged him up until his feet dangled and twitched as he let out ragged breaths.

“Chen Mo?” Miao Yuan was beyond shocked and tears started forming.

“Don’t be scared. It’s okay now.” Chen Mo used his gaze to signal her to stick close behind him. She quickly ducked behind his body and clutched the back of his shirt with both hands. Occasionally, she would peek her head out to take a look.

“Yo, bro. You’re… going to kill that guy… ” One hoodlum said anxiously from inside the alleyway.

Chen Mo released his grip on the man he had raised in the air and kicked him aside like a burlap sack. The man lay in the middle of the alleyway grasping his neck, convulsing, and coughing nonstop.

“All good. A little bit more and I really wouldn’t be able to guarantee his life. Be better behaved and don’t get on my nerves.” Chen Mo looked up slightly and swept his gaze across the hoodlums before looking down again. He suppressed his strength and like the flip of a switch, his demeanor lost its dangerous aura and he was once again the Chen Mo she knew.

For the hoodlums, getting thrown into jail after a gang fight was a minor issue. At most, they’d be locked up for half a month. They could treat it as a vacation. But the man in front of them would reap lives if they got too close. For fights, everyone knew that they had to adapt to the circumstances. One of them stealthily dragged away the man lying on the ground. Meanwhile, everyone huddled and crouched in two groups, shrinking against the wall.

When the criminal investigation squad’s He Jianguo arrived on the scene, he saw precisely this spectacle. On one end, Chen Mo hugged Miao Yuan and whispered sweet, comforting words to her. On the other side, two groups of ten or so hoodlums with knives and steel pipes crouched in the opposite corners shaking. Old He lost his smile. He walked over to shake hands with Chen Mo. “Ah, Xiao Mo, I heard that you called for the police. You freaked me out! I dropped everything to rush over, thinking that you had used excessive force for self-defense.”

Chen Mo smiled. “Had they not been this scared, that really might have happened.”

Miao Yuan was well-behaved by nature and upbringing. Growing up, she had never seen two adults duking it out. Moreover, she had never had anyone try to tackle her. So this time, she really was scared. Chen Mo held her as he tried to calm her down for a good while. But her tears continued to fall and Miao Yuan’s hands tightly clutched his shirt. Thank God the Armed Police uniform was made of sturdy material, or else she really would have ripped a tear in it.

Old He motioned with his eyes. Lowering his voice, he asked, “Your wife?”

Chen Mo looked down at Miao Yuan and discovered that she currently was fully occupied with crying and paid him no heed. Thus, he had no qualms about carrying that title. Old He smiled and elbowed him. “The knight in shining armour saving the pretty damsel in distress.”

Chen Mo gave a bitter laugh. Pretty my ass. Can’t you see that she’s so scared she’s crying?

“Not bad. She’s very pretty. I’ll let you continue to look. You two truly are meant to be. Originally, your previous one left, but this one…” Old He whispered in Chen Mo’s ear.

Chen Mo’s smile faded. “She’s the original one.”

Old He was taken aback. He solemnly pressed Chen Mo’s shoulder. “Mm, a long-lasting love. Not bad. I like it.”

While talking, a few criminal investigation policemen had already handcuffed the troublemaking hoodlums. They gathered all their weapons into a pile and a police officer came over to stow them away. The hoodlum with the broken wrist couldn’t help but shout, “You officers and soldiers can just carry weapons as you please? That guy over there has an illegal weapon!” With that shout, a chorus of agreement sounded as curses broke out from the group of hoodlums.

He Jianguo had a police superintendent with him who smiled and walked over. He suppressed his voice into something quieter as he said, “Captain Chen, I’m doing as directed. Don’t take offense.”

Chen Mo took out the ASP baton and placed it in his hand. The superintendent looked and laughed. He turned and waved his hand. “Take a good look. It’s an ASP baton. It isn’t against the law!”

“Motherfucker…” The hoodlums started cursing.

The superintendent casually extended the rod and twirled it. “You’ve probably used this for ages.”

“Yes,” Chen Mo responded.

The superintendent brought it under the light to see the scratches. Then he flipped his grip on it and smacked it against the wall before returning it to Chen Mo.

“You’ve played with one before?”

The superintendent smiled and made a comparison. “I have a navy version. Twenty-one inches. It’s slightly longer. Maybe when you have the time, you can show me how to use it.”

“I should have the time,” Chen Mo stowed the ASP baton away in his pocket.

Old He detained the hoodlums and corralled them into the car. He held the collar of their shirts with one hand while cursing, “If you wanna fight, take it outside the city. Don’t fight in the city. After you guys are done fighting, contact public sanitation. Burn what needs to be burned and clean what needs to be cleaned.”

Chen Mo and Miao Yuan went to the police station for witness accounts. Miao Yuan heard Old He curse a string of Guanzhong dialect curses as smoothly as wind and water. She couldn’t help but chuckle. Chen Mo let out a sigh of relief and wrapped his arm around her shoulders,  letting her lean against his chest.

The knight in shining armour saving a damsel in distress. Indeed. And it seems like the results were pretty good too.

Those in the police station had all heard of Chen Mo’s name. Moreover, with Old He present, they all interrogated them respectfully. After recalling what had happened, Miao Yuan was shocked all over again and shyly looked at Chen Mo. Her eyes seemed to glisten with what must be tears. When Chen Mo gave her his hand, she immediately latched on and wiped her tears with it. The one recording Miao Yuan’s testimony was an older aged woman. She looked at Miao Yuan, then at Chen Mo before revealing a sly smile. Miao Yuan slowly turned red and forgot her fears.

After making the testimonies, the police left to enter them into the case file. Miao Yuan and Chen Mo sat to one side waiting. In a moment of boredom, Miao Yuan became curious about Chen Mo’s baton and pressured him to show it to her. She wondered how it was like magic, popping up one moment and then disappearing the next.

Chen Mo hesitated. He reluctantly took it out and placed it in her palm.

“How do I do it?” Miao Yuan tried to figure it out. She even copied Chen Mo’s gesture but it still didn’t lengthen out.

“Don’t play with it anymore,” Chen Mo said, taking the baton from her. Miao Yuan was slightly shocked, and as she thought back to the sniper lens incident, she became unhappy.

Regardless of his reaction speed, Chen Mo’s intuition was always very quick. He immediately discovered that Miao Yuan had become sullen. It just so happened that Old He had come over to greet him. He warmly shook Chen Mo’s hand and half-jokingly said, “Thanks for helping us, but in the future, don’t go so hard.”

Chen Mo felt a little embarrassed and nodded, saying, “Got it.”

Autumn’s colours became more pronounced. When Miao Yuan and Chen Mo had come out of the police station, the night wind already carried a noticeable chill.

She looked ahead and saw Chen Mo’s towering, mountain-like figure in the darkness. This was a man who let others feel immeasurable strength. With him in front, it seemed like all the ghostly spirits and dangerous threats retreated in fear.

But…

Miao Yuan thought, Why does he always treat me as an outsider?

She balled her fists and thought of what Momo had said to her: “Don’t make yourself suffer. Dare to demand your terms.”

“Chen Mo!” Miao Yuan mustered up her courage. “I need to talk with you about something!”