Chapter 114: It turned out to be her

Take another close look.

Hua Lei?

It was indeed the girl who had lost her father, whom I had helped outside the Prosperous Hotel before.

Back then, seeing her pitiful, Chen Yongren gave her 10 legal tender and urged Zhang Haifeng to pay more attention to her.

I never expected to meet her here?

Chen Yongren looked Hua Lei up and down; her slightly frail body trembled slightly in the cold wind.

She wore patched‑upon‑patched coarse blue cloth clothing, and a pair of fair, tender hands were now curled up inside the sleeves.

Hua Lei was young; her skin looked fresh and lively, yet it showed a sickly pallor, her hair was black as ink, tied up with a piece of rope she had picked up somewhere.

Her torn cloth shoes exposed her toes, frozen white.

Obviously.

The money I gave her before did not improve her life at all.

Chen Yongren activated his scanning eye and looked at Hua Lei.

Name: Hua Lei.

Age: 17.

Native place: Suzhou-Shanghai.

Codename: None.

Former codename: None.

Current status: Civilian.

Hidden identity: None.

Recent situation: Her mother died early, her father also died in a gunfight at the Prosperous Hotel, she has no relatives left, and now faces the predicament of being forced by relatives to marry someone else.

Hua Lei burst into tears.

"No way, he's an idiot—I refuse to marry him!"

"Please help me, they're all bad people—they seized my family's land and want me to marry their stupid son; is there anyone who can help me?" Hua Lei was so anxious she was about to cry.

Since her father's death, a mysterious benefactor has occasionally sent her money and urged her to study hard and become a useful person.

The school was almost ready to contact her, and Hua Lei thought her life was about to begin anew—who knew she would encounter these things?

The passersby around all kept silent.

They had arrived early, understood what was going on; seeing the young girl alone, her relatives harbored ill intentions.

In these tumultuous times, such things are nothing surprising.

As for helping?

They can barely protect themselves—how could they have the energy to care about others?

"Hua Lei, does anyone else live at your home? We're doing this for your own good," said a man with a plaster on his forehead, grinning.

"Although a married daughter is like water spilled, we're also willing to take you in; from now on we'll be even more closely related," said a horse‑faced man in agreement.

"Exactly, if you bear a son for our family later, we guarantee we won't mistreat you!" said a portly man, clicking his teeth.

Chen Yongren had just scanned them with his scanning eye, then used his insight, and roughly understood what had happened.

Put simply, seeing that she was the only one left in her natal family, her relatives planned to exploit her to the utmost, draining her of all value.

Just as Hua Lei was about to say something, Chen Yongren kicked out three times in succession; the three men, caught off guard, fell to the ground with a muffled groan and passed out.

Being able to help once, Chen Yongren didn't mind helping a second time.

As for future trouble?

Heh~

The onlookers all stared dumbfounded; even Hua Lei hadn't expected that the young man who suddenly appeared before her possessed such strength.

"Are you okay?" Chen Yongren turned his head to look at Hua Lei.

"..." Hua Lei.

Chen Yongren waved his hand, and Hua Lei finally reacted, hurriedly shaking her head and saying, "No, no, it's fine."

"If you're fine, come with me." Chen Yongren said: "From now on, follow me, and no one will bully you."

"Huh?" Hua Lei blinked, seeing Chen Yongren quickly walking away, she hurriedly followed.

The three men who had fallen couldn't get up, and passersby couldn't be bothered to deal with them.

Should we call the police for them?

Not kicking them a couple of times while we have the chance would already be not bad.

……

"Th... thank you." Hua Lei said timidly; "Sir, you saved me—this great kindness and virtue I will never forget; the only way to repay you is to offer myself, to serve you as an ox or horse."

When she said these words, Hua Lei was very awkward, and what she said was utterly improper.

Obviously, she had often eavesdropped on storytelling performances before.

What nonsense—she hasn't even grown her hair properly, yet she talks about offering herself; Chen Yongren casually said "we'll talk later" and continued walking forward with her.

Hearing Hua Lei's words, Chen Yongren suddenly thought of a joke and couldn't help laughing out loud.

In the scenario of a hero saving a beauty, if the man is extraordinarily handsome, the girl will feel she has no choice but to offer herself to repay the young master's great kindness.

If the man's looks are ordinary, putting it bluntly means he's not to a woman's taste—in the next life she'll be an ox or horse to repay the young master's recreation of kindness.

"Sir, what are you laughing at?" Hua Lei asked cautiously.

"Nothing, just thought of something funny." Chen Yongren laughed.

"Oh..." Hua Lei responded, secretly sizing up Chen Yongren.

"He doesn't look much older than me."

I don't know if we'll get along.

No… he hasn't said yet, whether he's willing to take me in.

They arrived at the entrance of a clothing store.

"Sir, what do you need?" The shop owner, being perceptive, saw Hua Lei and Chen Yongren come in together and did not drive them away.

"Prepare a few sets of winter clothes for her." Chen Yongren pretended to reach into his pocket, took out five silver dollars and slapped them on the table.

"All right, sir, just take a look, I guarantee I'll get everything ready for you!" The shop owner, beaming with pleasure, took the money and personally prepared several sets of clothing.

"Sir..." Hua Lei was about to speak, Chen Yongren simply said: "Shut up, don't speak if I haven't let you."

Hua Lei obediently closed her mouth.

Besides clothing, Chen Yongren also bought some cosmetics and such, only stopping after arriving at a hotel.

Seeing Chen Yongren standing at the entrance of a restaurant, Hua Lei's expression became uneasy.

This restaurant not only serves meals, but also has guest rooms for travelers to sleep in.

Are you in such a hurry?

Just after saving me here, you can't wait to bring me to a restaurant?

Turns out they're all the same.

……

Hearing Hua Lei's chaotic thoughts, Chen Yongren felt somewhat helpless.

What is this girl thinking?

"Come in with me." Chen Yongren said to Hua Lei, walked to the counter, took out five silver dollars, and said to the clerk who was settling accounts: "Open a room, prepare a table of food and drink."

"Find a middle-aged woman to attend to the female guest, prepare some hot water, and clean her up."

"The rest is for a tip."

"All right, sir, I will definitely arrange everything properly." The shopkeeper's eyes lit up, he subtly swept the counter, and the five silver dollars vanished without a trace.

Under the guidance of the waiter, they came to an upper room.

Hua Lei was taken to the bathhouse to wash up, the food and drink were quickly set on the table, Chen Yongren sent the waiter away, casually picked up a newspaper, and passed the time.

……

Half an hour later, a knocking sound came from outside the door.

"Sir... I... I'm ready." Hua Lei's voice carried a hint of trembling.

Chen Yongren, with his back to the door, directly said: "Come in."

Not long after.

The door was pushed open, and footsteps sounded.

Seeing Chen Yongren reading the newspaper, Hua Lei stood honestly in place, curiously sizing him up.

"What are you sneaking a look at?" Chen Yongren suddenly looked up, gazing at Hua Lei.