Chapter 94: Drop-Dead Gorgeous

"The food here is so terrible, and you still dare to charge us?!"
A burly man shoved aside a waiter and shouted loudly.
Everyone in the restaurant, both upstairs and down, turned to look. Xia Yu glanced over as well, seeing seven or eight men, all of them cut from the same cloth. He then looked at their table—the food on it had been devoured without a single scrap left.
A dine-and-dash?
Xia Yu frowned. He hadn't expected that people still dared to eat without paying these days.
"What's happening here?"
Liu Hua, who had been serving food, hurried over when she heard the commotion.
The waiter, frightened, stammered, "Boss, they haven't paid yet but are trying to leave."
"So you're the owner here, huh?"
A fat man fixed Liu Hua with a cold sneer.
In truth, he was the owner of another hotpot restaurant just down the street. With a new place opening up nearby—obviously competing for business—and seeing it packed for several days in a row while his own was deserted, he was anything but pleased.
But he wasn't a fool. After learning that the new owner was just a single mother with no background, he had brazenly gathered some acquaintances to cause trouble.
Only by wrecking this restaurant could his own hope to survive.
"That's right, I'm the owner," Liu Hua said anxiously. "Gentlemen, if you have any complaints, let's talk it out. Why won't you pay for your meal?"
"The wine is fake, and the oil is gutter oil! Serving us this garbage—it's lucky we don't make you pay us, and you still want us to settle the bill?!" The fat man's voice was loud enough for all the other diners to hear.
As expected, everyone present bristled.
Even if it was obvious these men were trying to skip out on their bill, who could eat with any appetite after hearing something like that, whether it was true or not?
"You... Gentlemen, you can't say things like that carelessly," Liu Hua pleaded. "I personally ordered the drinks and bought the ingredients. It's absolutely not as you say."
"If the flavors aren't to your liking, you can just say so. But don't slander our restaurant, claiming we use fake wine and gutter oil. Who would dare eat here after hearing that?!"
"Heh, who's slandering you? You're the owner, of course you'd say that," the fat man sneered.
"Boss, is it true? You wouldn't actually use gutter oil, would you?"
"Yeah, boss, that would be really heartless."
Several customers couldn't help but demand answers.
Liu Hua, on the verge of tears, explained, "Please listen to me, everyone. I really don’t use gutter oil. I personally select all the ingredients, and they’re all healthy."

"Oh, I remember now—you’re the owner of the Sichuan Spicy Hotpot next door."
"Everyone, don’t worry. This guy is notorious for his dishonesty. The food at his place is meager and overpriced, and the service is terrible. My friends and I went a few times and never went back."
"That’s right, I remember him. He’s always yelling at his staff, too."
Some people recognized the fat man—they were college students from the nearby universities who had eaten at most of the restaurants in the area.
"Oh..."
The crowd relaxed, glaring at the fat man and his cronies with disgust. They had already suspected them of dining and dashing; now, knowing who he was, his motives were all too clear.
The fat man's face darkened, and he jabbed a finger at the students who spoke up for Liu Hua. "Say another word and I’ll teach you a lesson, you hear me?"
The students, intimidated, fell silent.
Liu Hua now understood what was happening. Angrily, she said, "Brother, what you’re doing is just plain wrong."
"You’re a business owner, too. Even if you skip out on the bill, why try to ruin me?"
"If you think I’m taking your customers, we can compete fairly—why stoop to this?"
Clearly, the fat man had no interest in reason. Exposed, he flew into a rage and dropped the pretense: "Heh, you opened up shop here without so much as a hello, trying to steal my business. You’re the one in the wrong, aren’t you?"
"If you won’t play by the rules, don’t blame me for doing the same."
"Your restaurant’s not bad. Why not sell it to me? Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you don’t lose money."
"In your dreams! Why should I hand my restaurant over to you?" Liu Hua snapped.
"Why?” the fat man said arrogantly. “See these friends of mine? If you refuse, we’ll just show up every day and eat for free."
"Let’s see how long your place lasts. Better to hand it over now than wait until you’re bankrupt. How about it?"
"You... You’re going too far!"
Liu Hua’s eyes brimmed with tears of fury. As a woman, she had no idea how to handle such a situation—especially when her adversary refused to be reasonable.
"Godfather, they’re being so mean, bullying my mother!"
Liu Xiaomi cried out in anger. Though she was only seven, she’d seen her share of hardship and was far more mature than most children her age.
"Don’t worry. I’ll deal with them," Xia Yu comforted her. "Just stay right here."
With that, his expression darkened, and he rose to go downstairs.
"Leave the money, apologize, and get out!"

As Liu Hua stood there at a loss, Xia Yu descended the stairs, fixing the fat man and his group with a piercing, icy stare.
"Who do you think you are? Really got the guts to meddle in my business?"
The fat man and his cronies turned, glaring menacingly at Xia Yu.
"Don’t you know? On this night market street, nobody dares disrespect Big Fatty."
"Oh? Respect you?" Xia Yu looked at him with utter disdain. "You think you deserve it?"
"Whoa, who is this guy? He’s so handsome!"
"He’s really got guts. I admire that."
"He’s gorgeous! I love a guy with both looks and a sense of justice."
Most of the other diners were college students, outraged by the abuse of power but too afraid of the fat man’s gang to step in.
Now, someone had stood up and was doing what they only dared wish for. Naturally, they felt a surge of excitement—especially since Liu Hua was clearly an honest, hardworking woman, which made them sympathize with her even more.
Men and women alike now looked at Xia Yu with admiration and respect.
Yet anxiety crept in as well—after all, the other side had numbers. If a fight broke out, wouldn’t Xia Yu be beaten to a pulp?
"What did you say?!"
The fat man’s eyes bulged in fury. With so many people watching, being insulted by a mere kid was unbearable. He roared,
"I think you’ve had enough of living. Boys, get him!"
"Damn it!"
His cronies, not taking Xia Yu seriously, swore and rushed at him.
"Oh god, I can’t watch this."
"Poor guy—he’s done for. I can’t look..."
Many of the young women couldn’t bear to see Xia Yu beaten to a pulp, so they covered their eyes.