"Hey, beautiful lady, you're something else. Come have a few drinks with your brother." A tall, burly man at the next table leered at Xiang Honglian with an indescribably lewd expression.
"Yeah, beautiful lady, come and have a few drinks. Keep your brother company at the table, and your brother will keep you company in bed. I'll make sure you have a good time." Another man with messy hair stripped down to his thermal underwear, opened his mouth wide, and started swearing. Seeing his companions laughing loudly, he got even more excited and, shaking his double chin, prepared to continue.
"Go home and let your mother keep you company!" Xiang Honglian abandoned all ladylike demeanor, stood up, put one hand on her hip, and started cursing. With the other hand, she gripped her chopsticks, ready to throw them down if anyone said another word. "You bunch of good-for-nothings! Can't you all do better? Get some official position or make some money, then you wouldn't have to resort to this kind of thing to take advantage of women! It's truly shameful for men to end up like this!"
Her fiery actions and piercing words struck at the heart of the men's weakness. Judging from the attire, demeanor, and hairstyles of the six men at the table, Xiang Honglian instantly found their sore spot. She single-handedly neutralized their arrogance, without needing any help from Lin Yao and the others.
After a long silence, the man who was the most lecherous finally replied, "How do you know I don't have money? I have plenty of capital. If you don't believe me, come home with me and see for yourself."
The men were clearly embarrassed. After hearing another lewd remark, they chuckled, and then a few men whispered some crude remarks among themselves, making sure not to let the other side hear them. Their voices and expressions were no longer as flamboyant as before.
"Eat your food properly! Don't throw it all up later!" Lin Yao shouted from his chair without getting up. His angry glare completely ruined his usual pretty boy image in the office, making his colleagues look at him with new eyes.
No sooner had Lin Yao finished speaking than the least dressed and most vulgar man suddenly opened his mouth and spewed oil into the boiling hot pot, scalding his companion across the table with a loud cry.
She hurriedly turned her head. The lewd man spat out another mouthful, spraying the tall, muscular man who had initially been harassing Xiang Honglian from the neck down, making him look utterly disgusting.
The female office workers watching the scene at that table gasped in unison, covering their mouths with one hand and pressing their chests with the other. The men's behavior was so disgusting that if they didn't control themselves, they might follow in their footsteps and vomit together.
"I'm going to the restroom." Ming Xinyue couldn't take it anymore and politely said this before leaving.
There were many people who reacted even faster than Ming Xinyue. Cai Na was the first, Zong Ping was the second, and Zhu Youmei was the third. The three office staff members of the International Trade Department rushed to the restroom without even saying goodbye.
Next was Gu Panpan, an office worker in the domestic trade department. This classically beautiful woman pressed her mouth tightly, nodded to everyone, and then left behind Ming Xinyue.
Although Xiang Honglian also felt nauseous and wanted to vomit, she felt a greater sense of pleasure. This pleasure made her persevere and she didn't laugh out loud. She just stared at the lively scene at the table. She felt so relieved that she was willing to continue feeling nauseous to watch the show.
It has to be said that men are more oblivious. Chen Zhili was completely unaffected. He glanced at the situation over there, said dismissively, "Serves him right," and then scooped a piece of cooked fatty beef from the hot pot and stuffed it into his mouth without even blowing on it to cool it down. Lin Yao was quite impressed by Chen Zhili's "smooth talk."
They were definitely too full to eat anymore, so the men slunk away, paying the bill and leaving behind a cacophony of laughter. Xiang Honglian finally couldn't hold back any longer. Seeing the men's fate made her feel incredibly satisfied, and combined with her own satisfaction, she felt extremely pleased.
"Come on, buddy, let's drink!" He clinked glasses with Lin Yao again. Only then did he say what Lin Yao had been waiting for: "I'm going to the restroom. We'll drink again later. Let's drink to our hearts' content today."
Lin Yao agreed, thinking that he would drink Erguotou later, at least it wouldn't make his stomach bloated. He really didn't expect that a slender girl who weighed less than a few pounds could hold so much beer in her body. He decided to drink Erguotou instead, as he was good at it. He could handle five pounds without any problem, but he would have to go to the toilet if he drank more than five pounds.
"Little grass, is it fun?" Lin Yao asked the little grass in his mind.
At this moment, only Lin Yao and Chen Zhili were at the table. Chen Zhili was busy eating and didn't have time to pay attention to Lin Yao, so Lin Yao started to talk to Xiaocao.
"It's alright, I just punished them casually." Xiaocao's tone was joyful, but she deliberately pretended to be nonchalant, which Lin Yao noticed. "The most hooligan and the second most hooligan will not be allowed to drink alcohol anymore, and they can't even eat hot pot. The others just got minor ulcers and were given a little fuss. I only spared the one who didn't say anything bad about him, since he didn't cooperate with the hooliganism, so I let him go."
"That serious?" Lin Yao was somewhat surprised. He had only intended for Xiao Cao to punish those men slightly, but he hadn't expected that Xiao Cao's actions would cause them lifelong regret.
Lin Yao couldn't imagine anyone being able to completely cure the stomach ulcer caused by Xiao Cao. Although he was extremely disgusted by the men's behavior, Lin Yao hadn't planned to punish them in this way; it was all Xiao Cao's own idea.
"Of course, they all deserve it! Who told them to humiliate girls like that? We girls can't let this happen to us." Xiaocao's tone was very firm, clearly indicating that she already considered herself a girl. This behavior made Lin Yao break out in a cold sweat, thinking to himself that there was a girl living inside him, and he couldn't describe the awkwardness of it all.
"As long as you like it, and you're happy, I wholeheartedly support you!" Lin Yao still had to say the polite words, because this was the second time Xiao Cao had made a decision on her own, and the first time it was entirely for her own benefit, so Lin Yao had to support her no matter what. "Xiao Cao is really amazing!"
"Of course!" Little Grass smiled proudly.
Lin Yao could imagine the feeling of the little grass proudly shaking its head, because at this moment he felt the two leaf axes of the little grass in his chest suddenly swing open, carrying many leaf strands and flying past like a whisk.
The women returned to their seats together, chatting and laughing, which attracted the attention of the diners nearby.
Lin Yao quickly asked to go to the restroom, as he really couldn't hold it in any longer. He had only stayed behind to avoid suspicion, lest the boss think that everyone was going to skip out on the bill.
Lin Yao, who was relieving himself next to the urinal, confirmed his earlier judgment. The six women caused a stir in the entire hot pot restaurant hall, and even the men in the restrooms were talking about them. They were generally saying that they were "good quality" and had a strong feminine charm, which made Lin Yao grit his teeth. Is that how you describe women? "Good quality"? Do they think they are commodities?
It has to be said that women nowadays know how to make good use of their assets. Generally speaking, women with a bit of good looks will not flock to popular consumer places like hot pot restaurants. Even if there are some good ones, they will only go out alone with men to socialize or enjoy their time together. Women would never choose a place like a hot pot restaurant when they get together, after all, this is not Sichuan, and hot pot culture has not penetrated into people's souls.
Yang Lihong, the boss of Hongyuan, did not require the women to wear uniforms. Perhaps because the company mainly deals in foreign trade, he believes that women should have their own style and personality, and that it would be inappropriate to wrap up their individuality with uniforms. Therefore, the six female office workers, each with their own unique style of dress, stood out even more.
When Lin Yao returned to his seat after washing his hands, he was met with the allure of several women. Two middle-aged men, who appeared to be quite drunk, were surrounding Lin Yao's seat. Chen Zhili, who had been engrossed in eating, was busy pushing and shoving the two men, as they were already showing signs of making unwanted advances under the guise of toasting.
Whether the two men were simply unable to control their pursuit of beauty due to excessive drinking, or were using the excuse of being drunk to take advantage of others, was unknown. However, Lin Yao clearly couldn't let these scoundrels ruin his colleagues' reputations, so he immediately rushed over, grabbed one of them by the neck with each hand, and choked the two men until their tongues stuck out.
The panic in the two men's eyes showed that their previous behavior was entirely due to taking advantage of the situation while they were drunk. This discovery made Lin Yao even more disgusted. These days, more and more people are putting their lust into action. It's nothing like the restraint that his parents described from 10 or 20 years ago. Back then, even if you had lustful thoughts, you had to show some manners. Now, people just come up and harass you with all sorts of excuses. If a woman shows the slightest hesitation, they will start to touch her inappropriately.
"Get out! If you come any more, I'll beat you to death!" Lin Yao pushed the two men away from his table with both hands.
The two men stumbled, but after regaining their balance, they both bent over and coughed. Lin Yao had just grabbed their necks, almost making them faint from suffocation. Now that they finally had fresh air to breathe, they coughed and gasped for breath, looking rather aggrieved.
"You think you can harass women after just a couple of drinks? How come you didn't fall to your deaths on the way here?" Lin Yao glanced at the two men, unable to contain his anger, but unsure how to deal with them.
These two men used the excuse of offering drinks to harass women. Although their motives were malicious, they did not commit any insulting acts or say any vulgar things. This situation does not preclude the existence of people who genuinely pursue beauty.
Although both men were middle-aged, it was possible that they had never been married or were divorced, so Lin Yao couldn't make a judgment and could only express his emotions by cursing, a common way for ordinary people to do so.
"Oh my, Linzi, you're truly my idol!"
Xiang Honglian was initially full of praise for Lin Yao's behavior. She recalled how he had defended her when she dragged him to a class reunion a while ago, and felt even more grateful to the boy. She thought that if Lin Yao were a little richer, he would really be a suitable marriage partner.
Xiang Honglian had no choice but to exclude Lin Yao from her marriage plans. Her family had been terrified of poverty. Her mother had died because they couldn't afford surgery, and the family had watched helplessly as she passed away. She would never forget the desolation, grief, and helplessness she felt. Therefore, she was determined to have money, even if it was just to prevent her aging neighbor from suffering the same fate. She was determined to pursue money.
In this world, even a hero can be driven to his death by a single penny, let alone a mere woman like her.
Therefore, even if Xiang Honglian felt that Lin Yao was indeed a good person with a good image, she would never have the idea of choosing him as her life partner. The influence of a person's experiences on their values and worldview is too profound, and it is not something that can be convinced by a few grand principles.
Xiang Honglian understood the principle that no one in this world is more foolish than anyone else, but she was even more certain that these principles could not be applied to herself.
"Yes, yes, he's my idol too." Zhu Youmei joined in the fun, and for once, she and Xiang Honglian reached a consensus. She didn't hold back in praising Lin Yao, because Lin Yao's performance just now was just too manly, which was an attraction that no girl could resist.
The thought of a man using force to fight for himself and eliminate evil is chilling.
Lin Yao suddenly became the most sought-after man among the women. Chen Zhili, who had previously resisted the two men, was ignored because he was too gentle. Although his behavior had some effect and prevented the two men from taking advantage of him, such a gentle attitude and behavior would eventually stop their harassment.
It seems that every woman harbors a deep longing for violence, specifically violence that is powerful enough to protect her.