Howard

Li Xian and David started their drinks, enjoying the evening. Li Xian patiently listened to the stories David shared about how he and his sister struggled after their parents died in an accident.

"Why didn't you go live with your aunt? From what I saw, your uncle is a pretty nice guy, and your aunt cares a lot about you two."

Li Xian asked, sensing a lot of love from the couple towards David and Olivia earlier in the morning.

"It's not that they didn't invite us; the hotel is the only property left from our parents. Our aunt's family settled in a different city. My sister and I didn't want to let go of their inheritance."

David explained with a bit of sadness in his voice as he recalled vague memories with his parents.

"Oh! Little Davis is here... But he didn't come to greet us?"

Just as Li Xian was about to console David, he was interrupted by a loud voice behind him.

Li Xian turned back to look at the person who spoke. He saw a group of five people—three men and two women.

All of them appeared to be around David's age, but the three men were physically larger than David, especially the one who spoke, Howard, who was quite muscular.

Observing their expressions, it was clear they were looking at something nasty with mischief in their eyes.

"Howard! My name is David, not Davis. I don't think I am close to you guys. Please, don't disturb our evening here."

Surprisingly, David retorted back, making everyone look at him in confusion, even Li Xian turned back to look at David in a new light.

"Oh ho! Looks like little Davis has grown up now. He's even saying that we are not his friends, right, John?"

Soon, Howard, the muscular guy, came out of his confused state, and an unknown rage seethed through his mind after getting a retort from David, who usually acts meek in front of him.

According to him, David should act like a rat that saw a cat. He didn't know why, but it always gave him some kind of pleasure that he didn't get anywhere. He couldn't help but ask one of his buddies in a sarcastic manner.

"Yeah! Looks like little Davis is craving for some deep talk."

John, the one Howard asked, responded with a cunning smile on his face as he looked at David while rubbing his hands.

The remaining people in the group also looked at David, waiting for his response with amusement.

"Stop creating trouble here, Howard! I'm here with my friends today; please go on your own, or else I will call the police and also inform the boss."

David didn't back down; instead, he responded back strongly, making the group flinch a bit. They knew that the boss of the restaurant wasn't someone they could offend easily. They also knew that the boss wasn't a pushover like David.

Most importantly, the police meant trouble for them.

Howard and his group gave a vicious look to David before leaving.

Seeing them leaving, David heaved a huge sigh of relief. His legs were a bit shaky due to extreme nervousness, which had calmed down by now.

Li Xian didn't say anything, except patting his shoulder.

"Be careful with those punks. Quickly finish here and go home."

Right after that, the boss came to them, saying he had been keeping an eye on the situation from the very start.

"Yes, boss, thanks! We will be leaving now."

Li Xian responded on behalf of David, feeling that those folks would not let David off that easily. It's better if they can go back to their hotel quickly; the city is still vibrant at this time.

David also agreed, understanding the situation better than Li Xian. But he didn't want to lose face in front of his new friend, and that's why he acted this way.

After paying the bill, they both rushed out of the restaurant, ready to head back to the hotel. This was the only dark alley they had to cross; after that, a lot of people would still be on the road, making it difficult for the punks to trouble them under the lights.

But as Li Xian expected, just as they were close to reaching the exit of the alley, five people walked out from the shadows, obstructing their path.

"Little Davis! It would have been good if you had acted as usual. But you unnecessarily acted brave. I know that you are trying to impress this foreigner buddy of yours? But he is still a foreigner; he will leave after some days."

It was Howard and his buddies. He didn't like how David threatened him, and as such, he wanted to teach him a lesson.

"Maybe David is interested in this guy in that way, haha!"

One of the girls, whose nose was pierced with a big nose ring, commented ambiguously, making everyone burst into laughter.

David's face turned livid due to anger coursing through him. It was alright that they were bullying him, but now they were even dragging Li Xian, whom he considered a good friend.

"Is that truly real? I mean, why would you get angry over that, otherwise?"

The other girl asked with a bit of surprise, covering her mouth with her hands, acting absurdly.

David looked at Li Xian in an apologetic manner, but seeing that Li Xian was unbothered about all of these, he felt relieved.

"Do you guys truly not afraid of the police? I will call them right now."

David took his mobile out and threatened them. But as soon as he opened the dial section, John took a step forward and snatched his mobile with a gleeful smile on his face.

"Alright, Little Davis! Stop using the same old trick. There are no cameras here, and no one will believe what you say. I just want you and your buddy here to apologize for your rude behavior today, and then we will let you go. Of course, you have to kneel in front of me and apologize like usual."

Howard said, eyeing both David and Li Xian a bit threateningly. There was no more smile on his face; he truly needed that apology from them for hurting his ego.

Everyone turned serious after seeing this. They knew that if David and his buddy didn't do as he said, they would suffer.

David also felt that, and for a moment, he didn't know how to respond. He kept his head low, as though deciding on what to do.

Seeing that David was not responding to him, Howard's face twisted, and the anger in his eyes intensified.

"Ahhh."

Just as they were waiting for David's response, they saw Li Xian take two steps forward with his fist tightened and his elbow bent, punching towards Howard's face.

Howard got stunned for a second, but he quickly responded, trying to dodge the fist. However, the speed at

 which the fist came, his body couldn't respond.

Li Xian's punch landed fair and square on Howard's nose, sending him back for about five to six steps as he screamed while clutching his nose. His nose was bleeding profusely; Li Xian didn't spare any of his strength in that punch.

His strength was definitely on the elite tier of the world right now, even though it was still a bit away from top tier. Still, it wasn't something that these rogues could withstand easily.

David looked up, hearing the scream in confusion. But seeing the scene that was unfolding in front of him, he couldn't react at all. By the time he reacted, everything was finished.

The two girls hurriedly rushed away from there, not even giving their pals a second look as soon as Li Xian made his move. The remaining two guys looked stunned and confused due to the unknown development.

But soon they came out of their stupor, as they saw Li Xian move two more steps towards John with his leg raised in a horizontal kicking manner.

John, being the one who was going to get hit, tried to use his hands to block the incoming leg, while the other, seeing Li Xian's back, viciously punched towards Li Xian with his full strength.

"Ahhh."

Li Xian also used his full strength on that kick, and John's hands couldn't stop his full force, forcing him back. Li Xian's kick landed on John's stomach, making him rise about 20 cm from the ground as he flew back for a meter or two before falling back with a heavy thud.

John clutched his stomach and started screaming due to the extreme pain coursing through him.

The other guy also cleanly landed his hit on Li Xian, which made him stumble forward with a bit of pain on his shoulder. Even Li Xian was surprised by his body strength; before, that punch would have dislocated his shoulder, but right now, he just felt some pain.

Seeing Li Xian didn't even suffer much, that guy again moved towards Li Xian, trying to hit him on his face this time.

Just as the fist was about to land on his face, Li Xian ducked a bit and hit the guy on his stomach, making him clutch his stomach as he backed away two or three steps to cope with the pain.

Li Xian then quickly stood up and took two steps closer to that guy, bending a bit. He gave an uppercut to that guy, completely finishing him off.

He didn't stop; seeing the guy falling back, completely knocked out, he hurriedly moved to Howard, who was standing up, before kicking him in his stomach with his knee and then a punch on his cheek to knock him out too.

He didn't knock John out, as he needed him to take them away from there.

"This, This..."

David finally talked, looking at the two guys who passed out and John, who was still wailing due to extreme pain, in a stuttering manner.

"Alright! Let's get away from here before anyone notices. Don't talk about this with your sister or anyone else for now."

Li Xian said, already starting to walk from there. David also looked at the scene one last time before rushing to catch up with Li Xian.