Seemingly only noticing that Xu Zhengyang wasn't wearing a cotton-padded coat, but just an ordinary black trench coat, Li Bingjie said with concern, "Zhengyang, you're dressed so lightly, aren't you cold? Should I go buy you a down jacket?"
"No need." Xu Zhengyang smiled, lowered his head slightly and whispered in Li Bingjie's ear, "Have you forgotten that I'm a god? I'm immune to heat and cold."
"Really?" Li Bingjie turned to look at Xu Zhengyang, asking with a mixture of doubt and joy. She tilted her head back slightly to create distance between her face and Xu Zhengyang's mouth.
"How about I take a shirtless walk with you?"
Li Bingjie smiled and turned her head away, continuing to take small, unhurried steps.
"Bingjie".
"Um."
"Why don't you act like a master at all?"
"What?" Li Bingjie asked in confusion.
Xu Zhengyang sighed and said as he walked, "At least your cousin came here to protect and take care of you, right?"
"Um."
"How is this a complete lack of respect for you?"
Li Bingjie said apologetically, "Zhengyang, she... she heard it from my mom, that's why she has a prejudice against you. Please don't be angry..."
“I don’t care what prejudice she has against me.” Xu Zhengyang’s expression calmed down and he said softly, “The important thing is that she doesn’t seem to care about your feelings at all… Hmm, it sounds like I’m one of those gossipy old women in the village.”
Li Bingjie's apologetic expression was broken by Xu Zhengyang's words, and she smiled again, saying, "That's just her personality, always on the go. Aside from taking me to school and accompanying me there, she always goes out to play whenever I get home."
"Hmm. She's pretty skilled, isn't she?"
"Um."
"Well, these thugs in here are in for a rough time." Xu Zhengyang couldn't help but laugh.
Xu Zhengyang was unfamiliar with the living environment here, judging things based on the situation back home. Jiang Lan was classmates with a district police chief from the Dunshipo Police Station and entrusted him to take good care of Li Bingjie. Although there were many street gangs and criminal organizations in various parts of the United States, and the crime rate of robbery and shooting was extremely high due to lax gun control, with such a police chief around, ordinary thugs, even those in the underworld, wouldn't dare to easily provoke the group of people with Li Bingjie.
In China, if you have an uncle who is the head of a police station, which big gangster in the whole township would dare to mess with you?
Li Bingjie laughed and said, "Actually, it's not what you think. I've been living a very peaceful life here. It's just... it's just that..."
Thinking of me?
"Um."
Xu Zhengyang chuckled and couldn't help but raise his right arm to put his arm around Li Bingjie's shoulder.
Li Bingjie stiffened for a moment, but did not break free. Instead, after a few seconds, she gently rested her head on Xu Zhengyang's shoulder.
On the street, some local young people gathered in twos and threes or chatted enthusiastically. Occasionally, couples would walk by, and when they saw Xu Zhengyang and Li Bingjie, who were clearly of East Asian descent, they would give them a friendly smile. Some would even wave and greet them politely.
Li Bingjie was slightly embarrassed, while Xu Zhengyang smiled faintly and returned a polite smile to everyone who gestured to them.
People may have different skin colors, races, and nationalities, but they are all still human beings.
It's not as dangerous as portrayed in the news and movies; the environment here is quite harmonious and peaceful. In fact, the interactions between people are much warmer than in China; strangers greet each other politely. It feels good.
As he walked, Xu Zhengyang said softly, "I've been to the Heavenly Court for the past two years."
"Is the Heavenly Court the same as Paradise?" Li Bingjie asked softly, without a trace of surprise.
I guess so.
"Isn't it beautiful there?"
"Yes, it's beautiful, very beautiful..." Xu Zhengyang exclaimed.
Li Bingjie felt a chill and leaned closer to Xu Zhengyang. She looked longingly at the snowflakes drifting in the deep blue sky above and asked, "Immortals, are they living carefree and happy lives?"
Xu Zhengyang thought for a while, then smiled and said, "It is quite a happy occasion."
"I really want to see what heaven is like..."
"I'll take you there if I have the chance."
"real?"
"Yes." Xu Zhengyang nodded seriously.
Li Bingjie smiled happily and softly hummed the song that Xu Zhengyang loved to listen to most:
"People say heaven is wonderful, where immortals live a carefree life, but how many tears lie behind their success... Jade palaces and towers, piled high with gold and jade, are no less beautiful than the celestial realm in the mortal world..."
Xu Zhengyang listened, somewhat lost in thought, and sighed inwardly. Yes, the mortal world is not much worse than the fairyland. In fact, the mortal world is much better than the fairyland. It's just that most people in this world dream of living a life like paradise, but who knows that paradise today is really... a bit too miserable.
Just then, the roar of a car engine came from behind. Xu Zhengyang's muscles tensed instantly, but he did not stop his slow steps or turn around to look.
With a screeching screech of brakes, the black Ford sedan sped past Xu Zhengyang, almost brushing against his clothes. A chilling gust of wind swept through the car, causing the falling snowflakes to swirl back into the air.
"Ah!" Li Bingjie screamed and hugged Xu Zhengyang tightly.
Xu Zhengyang stopped in his tracks.
The Ford sedan stopped in front of Xu Zhengyang and Li Bingjie. The door opened, and Jiang Huiying bent down and stepped out of the car.
However, before she had fully gotten out of the car, she suddenly heard a dull but huge impact sound, boom!
The Ford sedan lurched forward, and the previously open door slammed shut behind it. Jiang Huiying reacted with lightning speed, lunging forward and leaping out the instant the door closed. Although she wasn't injured by the door, she rolled awkwardly on the snow before nimbly standing up, drawing her pistol in a flash, and cautiously looking around.
The Ford sedan had already moved forward more than four meters, and the trunk was severely deformed by the force of the impact, with the trunk lid twisted and sticking up.
Ling Qing and Li Chengzong had already caught up quickly.
Ling Qing and Li Chengzong saw it all clearly from behind: Xu Zhengyang had kicked the back of the car. But how could that kick have caused such damage to a car?
After Jiang Huiying realized there was no danger around, she noticed the severely damaged rear of the Ford sedan. Frowning, she walked over and examined the damage. What happened? In that moment of extreme tension, she couldn't recall what had just occurred.
Once her emotions had calmed down a bit, Jiang Huiying suddenly remembered that she had been coldly watching Xu Zhengyang and Li Bingjie before getting out of the car.
It seems that Xu Zhengyang lifted his leg at that moment?
Could he have kicked him? Impossible!
"Hey, let her go!" Jiang Huiying poured all her confusion and anger onto Xu Zhengyang.
Li Bingjie loosened her arms from tightly hugging Xu Zhengyang, but did not break free from his embrace. Her beautiful face still showed lingering fear as she said in a trembling voice, "Cousin, you, you just... were you going to... hit us?"
"I just wanted to scare him! This toad only wants to eat swan meat." Jiang Huiying walked up to Xu Zhengyang angrily.
Xu Zhengyang's face was extremely cold as he reached into his pocket to take out his phone.
"Don't move, what are you doing?" Jiang Huiying suddenly raised her gun and pointed it at Xu Zhengyang's forehead.
Xu Zhengyang completely ignored her, seemingly oblivious to the gun pointed at him. With a grim face, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number:
"I am Xu Zhengyang."
"Ah, Xu, Zhengyang, is something the matter?"
"I am currently in Dunsbo, M country, with Bingjie."
"What?" The person on the other end was clearly taken aback, pausing for a couple of seconds before saying, "Oh, Bingjie, is she alright?"
"Very good." Xu Zhengyang said coldly, "There's a woman named Jiang Huiying here. Did you arrange for her to take care of Bingjie?"
Yes, that's right, that's right.
"I don't want to see her again. Let her go back."
"Oh, okay, I'll call her."
Xu Zhengyang hung up the phone, then put his arm around Li Bingjie's shoulder, turned around, and walked back.
"Zhengyang, was that Mom just now?" Li Bingjie was a little dazed. She heard a voice from the phone that sounded like her mother's, but she could hardly believe that Xu Zhengyang would speak to his mother in a commanding tone.
"Hmm." Xu Zhengyang nodded, his face grim.
Li Chengzong shook his head, sighed, and followed. Lingqing stared blankly at Xu Zhengyang for a long time before she came to her senses and hurried after him.
Jiang Huiying stood there, gun raised in bewilderment. Who had Xu Zhengyang called just now? Why did he mention her name? And why was he so arrogant and domineering?
Just then, her phone rang in her pocket. Jiang Huiying snapped out of her daze and angrily shouted at Xu Zhengyang, "Hey, stop right there! Bingjie, are you crazy? Why do you have to be with this kind of scum?"
As she spoke, Jiang Huiying took out her phone and answered it, holding it to her ear.
The person walking slowly back ahead didn't even glance back at her.
"What?" Jiang Huiying was stunned again as soon as she answered the phone. Her eyes were filled with anger, confusion, and a hint of fear as she looked at Xu Zhengyang.
Over the phone, Jiang Lan directly ordered Jiang Huiying to return to China immediately and not to stay there for even a minute longer! Then, Jiang Lan calmly asked Jiang Huiying what she had done to offend Xu Zhengyang, but because Jiang Huiying was lost in thought and forgot to answer, Jiang Lan became angry and scolded her severely, warning her that if she wanted to live, she should never appear in front of Xu Zhengyang again and should immediately get back from the US!
A loud bang came from the phone, followed by a series of busy tones.
Jiang Huiying was momentarily confused, and a surge of anger rushed to her head. What was going on? What was so great about Xu Zhengyang? Why was her aunt speaking up for him?
Enraged, Jiang Huiying slammed her phone to the ground. Still not satisfied, she smashed her pistol against the twisted and mangled rear of the Ford sedan. Then she froze. Just now… could it really be that Xu Zhengyang kicked the car forward, causing it to slide several meters, and the rear was so badly damaged? Did he have that much power? Otherwise, why did her aunt seem so wary of Xu Zhengyang?
Just then, two SUVs roared from a distance and came to a sudden stop in front of Jiang Huiying's car.
Several burly, extremely fierce-looking men jumped out of the car, each with a menacing expression.
The leader, a burly man who looked like a brown bear, exaggeratedly raised his arms and shouted: "Hey guys, look here! This Chinese bitch is here! Ah, great! She seems to need our help. Hey, hey, Beast Beauty, what's wrong with you?"
Several people burst into laughter and surrounded them.
Jiang Huiying gritted her teeth and growled, "Get out of the way!"
"Hey, she seems really angry."
"Yeah, she's really good at fighting, oh yes, she's good at something called kung fu..."
Two men, their faces bruised and their eyes swollen, pulled out pistols, pointed them menacingly at Jiang Huiying, and cursed, "You bitch, you think you're so tough? I'm going to smash your breasts, pierce your mouth and your genitals..."
Jiang Huiying was furious, but dared not move for a moment. She was confident that she could dodge a gunshot and quickly take down three burly men with her superior skills, but the other side had two guns, and her own gun had just been thrown into the shattered trunk of the car.
Xu Zhengyang and his group, who had already walked dozens of meters away, turned around.
Lingqing's face suddenly turned frosty as she quickly ran towards them. Without her drawing her gun, she already held a black pistol in both hands. Her seemingly thin and small body swept over like a whirlwind.
The burly men over there hadn't even noticed anyone rushing over. Just as they were about to make a move, a clear, cold voice rang out in their ears: "Stop!"
The group turned around and saw a slender, frail girl with a cold, icy expression and short hair standing a few meters away, holding a pistol in each hand, the dark muzzles of the guns pointed at them.
"Hey little girl, that's a toy you're holding..."
"puff!"
Before the man who was leading the group, who looked like a brown bear, could finish his playful words, he saw the girl's right hand holding the gun twitch slightly, and the tip of her leather boot tremble. He looked down and saw that a piece of the wide, thick toe of her boot had been shot off.