This is probably how Phoenix feels right now.
"Since it's fate, we have no choice but to accept it."
Phoenix seemed to smile, then uttered a classic line from "A Chinese Odyssey": "Let's start this relationship right now! It's ordained by heaven, isn't that enough to make us arrogant?"
Just as Chen Xiao and Phoenix were preparing to "begin this destined relationship"...
Below the coffee shop on the deserted street, the three unscrupulous bosses of the deserted street gathered together, along with their number one follower, Fatty, and the new coffee shop waitress, Champagne Girl.
"It's been more than ten hours!"
Zhu Rong glanced at the time anxiously: "Have you come up with a solution yet! That kid Chen Xiao has been stolen right under our noses! What are we going to do? How are we going to find him? Where are we even going to look?!"
Old Tian thought for a moment. His expression became much calmer, and he smiled leisurely, "Actually... although we were very anxious at the time, now that I think about it, it's probably not as terrible as we were worried about. I think Chen Xiao may not be in any danger."
"Why?" Zhu Rong frowned in displeasure.
"It's simple, analyze!" Old Tian suddenly perked up, sitting up straight. His expression was three parts mysterious and seven parts sneaky: "Think about it! First, someone who has the ability to take someone away from the three of us and still manage to hide it from us! Such a person must be a top-tier expert! Since they are a top-tier expert, then presumably, given their status, they probably wouldn't make things difficult for a young child."
Zhu Rong sighed: "That makes sense. Anything else?"
"Secondly, the other party may not necessarily have malicious intent." Old Tian laughed, "At that time, we were fighting against Yaksha. If this mysterious expert had malicious intent, wouldn't it have been better if he had intervened to help Yaksha while we were locked in a fierce battle? But the other party did not do that, so I guess the other party may not have any malicious intent towards us."
"Third, one thing is certain: the other party is not part of Yaksha's group. If they were, they would have already stepped forward to help Yaksha, but they didn't. That alone is enough to explain the situation."
Old Tian smiled and said, "He's a master, and he doesn't seem to have any ill intentions. He's not one of Yaksha's gang either. He just took Chen Xiao away. I think he might be after Chen Xiao, and he might even have some connection to Chen Xiao."
Zhu Rong listened, suppressed his anxiety, and thought about it for a while. He also felt that there was some truth to it, so he frowned and said, "Even if what you said makes some sense, are we just going to sit here and wait like this?"
"What else can we do?" Old Tian retorted. "We didn't even notice when they took the person away from us! Now we have no idea where they are. If they were determined to escape, they could reach America in just over ten hours! We have no clue whatsoever. Where can we look? The only thing we can do is stay home, do what we normally do, and if they have any intentions, if it's kidnapping, they will naturally contact us."
With that, Lao Tian stood up, dusted off his clothes, and prepared to leave.
"Where are you going?" Zhu Rong frowned.
"Go open your shop and do business, huh?" Old Tian said, sounding quite surprised. "Don't forget, I also have a car repair shop! On the abandoned street, my shop has the best business among the three of us!"
Opening a shop to do business?
Zhu Rong was so angry that he rolled his eyes and almost set fire to Lao Tian's hair on the spot!
What kind of worthless business can you do on an unfinished street?
But Lao Tian walked away leisurely, swaggering off. Zhu Rong's eyes widened, about to erupt in anger, when Gong Gong tugged at her clothes.
"Why are you pulling me! Just say what you have to say!" Zhurong glared at him. Gonggong, being henpecked, naturally didn't dare to raise his voice at his wife. He chuckled and said, "I think there's something strange about Lao Tian. It's like he knows..."
"What does he know!" Zhu Rong exclaimed anxiously.
“Aunt Zhurong,” Champagne, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up. She also smiled slightly and said, “I think things don’t seem too complicated.”
"Um?"
“Of all of you, Uncle Tian spends the most time with Chen Xiao and is the most familiar with her, right? In terms of personal relationships, he and Chen Xiao should be the best. Isn’t that right?” Champagne, after all, had been an innkeeper. Her tone was naturally calm and composed as she slowly said, “We all know Uncle Tian’s character. Since he’s not worried at all, he probably already knows who secretly took Chen Xiao away, and he’s sure that person won’t make things difficult for Chen Xiao.”
After saying that, Champagne also walked out.
Zhu Rong finally sighed and spat out a harsh "Pah!": "Fine! I'll trust you guys for now!"
After saying that, she glared at her husband and said, "What are you still doing here!"
“I…I’ll stay with you,” Gonggong replied meekly.
"Do I need your company? Get out there and open the shop for business!"
Gonggong thought to himself... Doing business? Just now, Old Tian... you even...
But the shrewish wife spoke up. Gonggong never disobeyed Zhurong, so he had no choice but to run away as well.
The fat man was left alone to face the agitated Zhu Rong. His heart pounded with dread; he knew all too well that whenever this old lady Zhu Rong was in a bad mood, it meant he was in deep trouble…
really!
"You fatso! Come here!"
"Uh...Grandma." The fat man forced a fawning smile. "Look, should I go back to the kitchen and get busy...The coffee shop is open for business today..."
"Bullshit!" Zhu Rong cursed. "What business can a coffee shop possibly have! You, the cook, are just someone we're paying to keep! Besides cooking three meals a day, you don't do anything else worthwhile!"
The fat man felt extremely wronged, thinking to himself: It's not like I wanted to stay here and be your cook...
Zhu Rong stared at the fat man, his eyes darting around, then suddenly slammed his hand on the table:
"I've got it! Perfect... It's raining, so I can discipline the child. I've got nothing else to do anyway! Your performance last night was absolutely terrible! As your great-aunt, I've been training you so rigorously lately. And yet you're still such a coward! You panic at the first sign of trouble! What happened to all the skills I taught you? When it comes to the crucial moment, all you do is cover your head and lie on the ground with your butt sticking up! Do you think you're an ostrich? You think covering your head will stop the enemy from spanking you?"
The fat man gave an awkward smile and said, "I...I'm a little nervous."
Seeing the fat man's pathetic expression, Zhu Rong felt a surge of resentment and angrily said, "I've taught you so much! You practiced those two fighting techniques quite well, but why do you go limp when it comes to actually using them? Are you even a man?!"
The fat man chuckled dryly: "I didn't want it to be like this either..."
"Don't want to? Bah! I don't think you're a man at all!! It seems I haven't trained you enough! I need to intensify your combat training! Only through real combat can you improve rapidly!"
Zhu Rong spoke with righteous indignation.
Upon hearing this, the fat man immediately shrank by half. If he hadn't been holding onto the table, he probably would have collapsed to the ground long ago.
Live-fire training?