Not only was there a lot of foot traffic, but the area was also packed with performances and all sorts of food stalls.
Tian Yaru had a lively personality, and in no time, she was hitting it off with a few other girls in cosplay next to her.
The group giggled and played freely within the parade, having a wonderful time.
Zhao Rui wasn't interested in this kind of event. He strolled along slowly, trailing behind them.
He wouldn't have known if he hadn't been following, but after a short while, he discovered that many of the pretty girls had "Flower Guardians" protecting them.
During the parade, Zhao Rui saw three creeps try to get close to the costumed girls up ahead, only to have their acid-numbness acupoints struck by the people behind them.
One of them went too far and was secretly kicked right out of the parade. He fell to the ground, wailing in pain.
But this was a common sight, so it didn't cause any commotion.
Zhao Rui couldn't help but think to himself, 'No wonder President Tian and his wife don't let her hang out here. This place is crawling with creeps!'
After more than an hour of this, Tian Yaru finally started to feel tired. She said goodbye to her new friends and dragged Zhao Rui to a nearby food street.
Then, she enthusiastically scarfed down a ton of street food.
"Is it really that good?"
"Of course it's good! My mom never lets me eat this stuff!"
With no regard for her image, Tian Yaru puffed out her cheeks, gnawing on a freshly grilled, heavily seasoned squid skewer and enjoying every bite.
Zhao Rui's mouth twitched. 'Somehow,' he thought, 'she doesn't seem quite as pretty anymore.'
After wandering around and filling their stomachs, the two returned to the changing room and changed back into their own clothes.
After they left and had wandered onto a quieter side street, Tian Yaru turned to Zhao Rui and said, "Alright, you've kept me company for half the day. I'll tell you where those guys are."
"But I'm not making an appearance!"
"No problem!"
Zhao Rui nodded.
The two of them quickly got in the car and headed for the area near First High School.
These street punks often hung around the area, forming cliques and getting into fights, even when school was out for the holidays.
The car drove slowly past the mouth of an alley. On this scorching summer day, there weren't many pedestrians out and about.
"It's too hot. Those jerks must have found a place to cool off. Uncle Wang, head to the pool hall up ahead. It's just around the corner."
Hearing the order, the driver, Uncle Wang, immediately turned the car and headed for the pool hall.
This driver, Uncle Wang, was no ordinary person, but a Third-level Martial Artist.
He was likely a former special forces soldier.
The car rounded a corner and, in less than a minute, pulled up in front of a rather dilapidated-looking pool hall.
"Uncle Wang, drive off. We'll go hide around the corner over there!"
Tian Yaru seemed to be getting into her role from a spy movie, throwing herself into the clandestine surveillance with great enthusiasm.
Zhao Rui followed her, and they hid in a distant corner by a residential building, a spot from which they had a clear view of the pool hall's entrance.
"You seem to be very familiar with this place!"
Watching the girl crouch down and act all sneaky, Zhao Rui couldn't help but ask.
"That's not important!" the girl said, her eyes still glued to the pool hall entrance.
Seeing this, Zhao Rui didn't press the matter and followed her gaze.
The tall buildings blocked the heat of the blazing sun, leaving behind a stuffy, shaded area. The occasional gust of wind that blew through was hot and dry.
After crouching for five or six minutes, Tian Yaru suddenly stood up straight. "This is exhausting," she whispered. "You keep watch. I'm taking a break!"
With that, she took a step back, squatted down against the wall, and started playing on her phone.
Zhao Rui shook his head and continued to watch the pool hall. It wasn't like he had anything better to do that morning anyway.
After another half an hour of waiting, Zhao Rui's eyes suddenly lit up. Several teenagers in outlandish outfits emerged from the pool hall, their arms slung over each other's shoulders.
Zhao Rui hurriedly called out to Tian Yaru.
The girl immediately shot to her feet, leaned over to look, and said excitedly, "That's them! The leader with the blue hair is called Brother Pao. The others are his flunkies."
Zhao Rui focused his gaze, his eyes narrowing. He recognized one of them. It was one of his younger brother's classmates from school.
'No doubt about it.'
Zhao Rui now knew what he needed to. He memorized their faces, then stood up and said, "Okay, I've got it. Let's head back. It's getting late."
"Aren't you going to beat them up?"
Tian Yaru said, stunned.
"Who said I was going to beat them up?"
Zhao Rui smiled and strode towards the back of the building.
"Hey, wait for me!"
Tian Yaru immediately hurried after him, pouting as she said, "You're a liar! You're definitely going to come back and deal with them secretly. You just don't want anyone to know, and that includes me."
"You little rascal, you know a lot, don't you? Aren't you afraid I'll silence you for good?"
"Hmph. You're a rascal too. You're only two years older than me!"
Tian Yaru rolled her eyes at Zhao Rui and huffed as she walked toward the Audi that was now pulling up nearby.
Half an hour later, the car dropped them off back at Tian Yaru's villa.
The house was still empty. President Tian was usually busy with his business and rarely came home on time. Sometimes he had to go on business trips out of town and would be gone for days.
As for Ms. Song, being a rich man's wife, her social calendar was more than full. She was probably at some high-end spa getting a skin treatment right now.
"You've been playing all morning. Go do some studying. I'll be back tomorrow."
After seeing Tian Yaru safely home, Zhao Rui prepared to leave.
"If you go tonight, be careful. They have… knives!"
Seeing Zhao Rui on his way out, Tian Yaru thought for a moment before shouting after him.
Zhao Rui couldn't help but smile, though he didn't reply. 'It's a shame she doesn't know any Martial Arts,' he thought. 'Otherwise, I could have brought her along.'
「Soon, evening arrived.」
Zhao Rui changed into a black tracksuit, put on a face mask, and rode his bike to the same neighborhood from that morning.
He hid his bike, stayed clear of the security cameras, and quietly approached the pool hall.
In the hazy night, scattered stars glittered like diamonds on a velvet curtain.
After waiting patiently for about two hours, the group finally stumbled out of the pool hall, swaggering and acting cocky.
Zhao Rui followed from a distance, keeping to the shadows.
He saw them hit on a few punk-looking girls by the side of the road before heading down another street.
Zhao Rui wasn't in a hurry and continued to follow.
Another ten minutes passed before they walked into a small, street-side courtyard about two miles from the school.
"Boss, can you lend me some more cash? I'm broke!"
"Lend money? All you know is how to ask for money! How much business have you brought me this month? If you don't start pulling your weight, I'll fucking cripple you!"
The voice coming from inside was powerful; you could tell just by listening that this was a trained practitioner.
Zhao Rui glanced around, then used the wall to launch himself up onto the roof.
Peering down quietly from the roof, he saw Brother Pao—the guy from that afternoon—trembling as he lay on the ground.
A wide-nosed young man whose arms were covered in tattoos was prodding him with his foot.
"Just because school's out, you stop making contact? If I had to rely on you lot to make money, I'd starve! Now get the hell out of my sight!"
The wide-nosed young man gave Brother Pao a hard kick, driving him and his flunkies out.
The punk-looking girls were as timid as quails and were about to leave with Brother Pao's group.
The wide-nosed youth shouted at them with a sneer, "Where do you think you're going? Get over here. I'll take you out for some barbecue."
Then he spat in the direction Brother Pao had gone. "Useless trash!"
The girls glanced at each other, then timidly made their way over.
"Damn, it's not like I'm gonna eat you. Ask around! When have I ever mistreated a woman?"
He then whistled toward the room behind him, and a moment later, five or six shirtless, tattooed men emerged.
"Let's go! Time to eat!"
The wide-nosed man yelled, then led the group of men and women out of the courtyard.
Zhao Rui watched them leave with a cold expression. Then, with a swish, he leaped down from the roof and quickly entered the house.
The moment he opened the door, a thick wave of smoke hit him in the face, nearly making him choke even through his mask.
The house was sparsely furnished: a coffee table, a sofa, a large fish tank, a TV, an air conditioner, and a small stool.
Used tissues and cigarette butts littered a mahjong table.
Zhao Rui glanced around before heading into the bedroom, which, in contrast, was quite clean and tidy.
He used the moonlight to start searching the cupboards in the bedroom.
He hadn't been searching long before he pulled a small medicine bottle from a drawer. The bottle had two words on it: Carefree Pill.
Zhao Rui wasn't sure what this stuff was, but judging from the earlier conversation, it was highly likely that the Qi-Introducing Pill his brother had bought came from this man.