Chapter Ninety-Two: The Imperial Guard, protect His Majesty!

The woman had not even finished ordering when the shop owner shot her a glare and barked at her.

He had a wild mop of hair, a face rough with stubble, and a scar that ran from his cheek down to his lip.

The instant he looked up and glared, the woman jumped so hard that even the curse she had been about to hurl died in her throat.

“Don’t think I wasn’t watching.”

The owner flexed his jaw slightly, his expression ferocious enough to frighten anyone. “If you won’t queue properly, then get lost.”

The mother and daughter stood there, stunned for a moment. The woman brushed back her hair, then pointed at the owner again.

“You’re just a bully who picks on the wea—”

“Eh?” The owner let out a quiet sound.

Then he turned and snatched up the cleaver from the chopping board.

With that stance of his, cleaver in hand, the mother and daughter’s legs went weak.

“Get out!”

At that one word, the two of them bowed their heads and hurriedly slunk out of the line.

The owner glared fiercely at their backs, then flung the cleaver back onto the board.

When he turned to face Lin Ze and the others again, his face was full of smiles, kind and genial, with no trace left of the menace from moments before.

[Friendly reminder: everyone in the livestream may now resume breathing.]

[Damn, not gonna lie, when the owner glared just now, I really didn’t dare take a deep breath.]

[That scared me to death. What was he before? He had such insane pressure.]

[So cool. Just because of what he said, next time I go to Ancient City, whether it tastes good or not, I’m buying ten portions!]

“What flavor do you want?”

“Huh…” Lin Ze gave the owner a thumbs-up.

There were only four flavors on the menu.

The signature ones were plum and barbecue, and Lin Ze ordered twenty yuan of each.

The owner weighed out forty yuan’s worth, then dropped it into the oil to fry, shaking the wok as he worked.

“You all are just too young, and too good-looking. That’s why people like this bully you so much. Even if you tried to look fierce, I bet you couldn’t really pull it off.”

“Relax. With me here, I see every bit of the crowd that comes through in a day. I can’t control what happens in other places, but here with me…”

The owner smiled at everyone. “Anyone who cuts in line won’t get a bite.”

“Strong stuff, boss.”

The chicken racks in the pan gradually turned golden, and the aroma began to drift out.

“Boss, have you ever thought about acting? Just those two moves you made earlier were incredible—stronger than a lot of actors.”

Lin Ze asked from the side.

Chen Nan looked at Lin Ze, unsure whether he was joking or serious.

“Don’t be silly. How could I ever act in a film?” The boss waved a hand. “Besides, who would even hire me?”

“You have to know what you’re good at, and then work hard at it. My fried chicken racks are good, so I’ve been frying them for half my life.”

He lifted the chicken racks out of the oil, put them into a basin of seasoning, and expertly coated them.

“Boss, that’s deep insight right there. But I think you definitely have movie talent. If I ever make a film, could you do a cameo for me?”

“Sure.”

The boss packed the two portions into bags and handed them to Lin Ze. “As long as you pay.”

[Is this foreshadowing? Is Brother Lin planning to enter the film industry now?]

[No way. Brother Lin should at least unite the music scene first, then take on the screen.]

Lin Ze laughed and agreed. “All right, boss. We’re off.”

Lin Ze carried one portion in each hand, while the others ate with bamboo skewers.

Chen Nan saw that Xiao Qian was having a hard time, so he even skewered pieces of chicken rack and fed them to her.

Not to be said, this place really was tasty. The chicken racks were fried to a wonderfully crisp finish, and the seasoning was just right.

The group walked and ate. Just as they were nearing the end of the street, they saw the mother and daughter from before appear again.

This time, however, they were accompanied by a bald man with a gold chain, a small leather bag tucked under his arm, and tattooed sleeves.

As the group approached, the bald man raised a hand, and from the corner of the street four young men in narrow trousers and flat-soled shoes stepped out and lined up behind him.

“I told you long ago that we aren’t easy to mess with.” The woman pushed up her glasses, a sneer curling at the corner of her mouth.

Lin Ze and the others fell silent.

Chen Nan unconsciously shifted a little closer to Li Xiyan.

It was perfectly normal not to watch variety shows, and perfectly normal not to know some niche celebrities.

The problem was: what era was it now, and what was with these four guys with areca nut tattoos on their heads? What, was this some kind of cultural revival?

Standing there, Lin Ze honestly feared that the five people across from them might suddenly break into a street dance routine.

“What is it you want?” Lin Ze asked helplessly. “We have cameras over here. We’re filming a show, and it’s being recorded the whole time.”

“Filming a show?”

The bald big brother froze, then quickly straightened up and touched his forehead, smoothing down the nonexistent hair there.

“What platform are you on? You’re doing outdoor livestreaming too, right? Then why are you bullying our little sister?”

The others were dressed in hanfu, and the people across from them had apparently mistaken them for another outdoor livestream crew.

“When did we ever bully your sister? Are you people even making sense?”

Lin Ze was so exasperated he could barely form a question mark in his head.

There wasn’t a shred of logic in any of this.

“Cut the crap. What do you plan to do? Follow the rules of the road, or settle this privately?”

The bald big brother rubbed his head and struck a few poses he evidently thought were quite dashing.

“What road rules?” Lin Ze really had no idea what road rules were supposed to be.

“Don’t play dumb. The road rule is that you go into our livestream room, send me a super gift, and then say three times that Brother Huo, I was wrong.”

Huo let out two cold laughs. “As for settling it privately…”

“That means we each call in our people, shut down the livestream, and have a real fight right here.”

When Lin Ze heard that, he immediately grinned.

So it seemed today’s drama was destined to happen, whether it should or not.

“Fine. One super gift is no small amount anyway. We’ll think about it.”

As he spoke, Lin Ze turned around, ran up to the camera, and said into the lens, “Brothers, we’ve been storing up troops for a thousand days to use them for one moment…”

The moment he said that, everyone watching the livestream on the other end burst into laughter as well and quickly put on their clothes.

“Await my command!”

Then Lin Ze turned back to the bald man and gave a cold smile.

“You can forget about the super gift. Come on, I’ll choose the second option.”

“Huh?” The woman’s eyes widened. “Do you think we’re easy to push around?”

Huo twitched the side of his bald head. “Well, look at you, refusing the face I’m giving you, huh?”

With that, he tilted his head, and the four young men behind him came forward.

Lin Ze took a step back.

“Imperial Guard! Protect the carriage!”