Chapter 63: An Unexpected Reunion
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Sun Xuelin pulled Xiu along and rushed towards the commotion.
Ye Chong frowned, as he was not fond of situations like this. It was too noisy, and the crowd was too dense, such that his area of movement was more restricted. It would also be more difficult for him to have a good grasp of the situation around him.
Ye Chong knitted his brows, but still followed the two into the crowd.
In the center of the commotion, an old man was knocked onto the ground, his belongings scattered about. A middle-aged man was hurling angry words at the old man, "You old geezer, are you blind? This suit of mine costsgold zuan! Can you pay for it if you had damaged it? Look, it’s all wrinkled now, it’ll cost a few hundred zuan to fix it!" The man gave a look of disdain at the elderly. "Look at your pitifully poor self, I guess you can’t really pay for it. Hmph, I’ll count myself unlucky today. What a blind old fool!" The man was all stuck-up and arrogant.
Sun Xuelin was the first to respond, as she pointed furiously at the middle-aged man and retaliated, "You’ve gone too far, how can you spew those useless words when you’ve knocked down an old man? That’s enough, if you speak again I’ll teach you a real lesson! Hmph!" Sun Xuelin rolled up her sleeves, ready to act true to her words.
Xiu went to the old man and helped him up with some difficulty. She carefully brushed off dust from the old man’s body and asked softly, "Grandpa, are you alright?" The elderly was grateful for her help. "I’m alright, little miss, thank you!" Xiu returned a mellow smile.
"You little b*tch, how dare you speak to me like that, didn’t your elders teach you some basic manners? Hmph, I can tell that you’re just as despicable! Hmph, let me tell you -"
Sun Xuelin was absolutely ballistic, her fists wrapped tighter and tighter. Xiu quickly went to placate her before she went berserk. If a fight took place, they would not be in a good position in the face of the law.
The middle-aged man was pleased to see Sun Xuelin holding herself back. "Hehe… Little miss, let me tell you -"
Their confrontation was not noticed by Ye Chong, as he was completely distracted by a tiny holographic case on the ground.
Perhaps the term "case" would confuse one of its actual size, since the case was only five millimeters square in area, small and compact. On its light purple surface was a pattern of two lines spiralling around each other like a corkscrew, and its two sides were slightly depressed inwards. A pinhole was located at the front side, which projected multicoloured light rays that formed a semi-transparent person. The projection was very realistic, and looked like a miniature version of the old man. Holographic cases were usually used to record certain events and were more expensive than memory chips. They were also commonly used for commemorative purposes.
However, what caught Ye Chong’s attention was not the case itself, but the report that was currently being made by the miniature old man.
"Regarding the photon processor’s design, I had combined Fairfax’s annuli and short pulse photon circuits. About this idea, I should mention that I’ve met a young friend on the virtual net who suggested this combination, and thus inspired me to …" This was obviously a report during an academic conference.
Wasn’t the combination of Fairfax’s annuli and short pulse photon circuits a method that Grandpa Xu specialised in? He had even meticulously explained the idea to Ye Chong before. Could this be Grandpa Xu? Ye Chong could not help but scrutinise the old man before him, and find that the old man looked a little similar to Grandpa Xu.
Ye Chong came forward and tested his idea, "Grandpa Xu?"
The old man froze. "You are?" Old Xu looked at the young man before him. Usually, those who knew him called him Old Xu or Professor Xu, while only those who were his relatives or younger family members of his friends called him Grandpa Xu. However, the person before him was a stranger. Could he be a grandson of one of his friends?
Ye Chong knew from his expression that his guess was not wrong. He continued excitedly, "Grandpa Xu, it’s me, Little Y, YC, do you remember me? That Little Y from Aurora!"
"YC! He’s YC!" Sun Xuelin was bursting with anger and nearly went berserk earlier, but she quieted down upon hearing Ye Chong’s revelation. Xiu covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes filled with disbelief. The two girls were stupefied, and exchanged a glance of obvious joy. Ye Chong was completely absorbed in meeting Grandpa Xu that he missed their odd reaction. However, even if he did not, he would not have thought it was related to him.
Grandpa Xu was also astonished, and grabbed Ye Chong’s hands tightly with emotion. "Little Y? You’re Little Y? That’s wonderful! That’s wonderful!" Grandpa Xu was overwhelmed, such that he got a little repetitive in his words. Ye Chong gave a bashful smile! Grandpa Xu immediately recognised that smile and became more assured of his identity!
Sun Xuelin and Xiu, on the other hand, looked as though they had seen a ghost - they did not think it was possible to see an expression like that on Ye Chong’s face. Their faces now were undoubtedly more expressive than Ye Chong’s.
The middle-aged man noticed that Ye Chong seemed to be familiar with the old man, and an idea came to his mind. He shamelessly pronounced, "Ha, you old geezer, you messed up my top-of-the-line outfit that’s worth five golden zuan, better pay up now!"
Ye Chong purposely ignored the middle-aged man and gripped Grandpa Xu’s arms to support him. "Grandpa Xu, let’s go!" Grandpa Xu nodded. "Mm, let’s go!" Sun Xuelin and Xiu supported the old man from the other side.
The middle-aged man grew anxious as they were about to leave, and made a grab for Ye Chong. "No can do, you can’t just walk away like that, you gotta pay me back first. Let me tell you, I’m a man of status …"
Before the middle-aged man could get to Ye Chong, Ye Chong made his move!
With a slight move, Ye Chong clasped onto the man’s throat. As he was about to move in for the kill, Mu anxiously reminded him, "Don’t! Ye!"
Ye Chong paused. Fortunately, Ye Chong now had better control over his strength, or the man would have definitely lost his life.
Ye Chong was confused. "Mu, what is it?"
Mu replied, "Based on my information,killing on the streets would violate the local law, and you’ll be heavily pursued!"
"Oh, law? What’s that?"
"Rules that humans create for their society!"
"Oh, but has that got to do with me? I still don’t really get it!"
"It’s complicated, but this is obviously not a good time to discuss it!"
"Alright, we’ll talk about it later, but what do I do now?"
"Based on my information, threatening is not a bad option! Based on theories in social psychology, your opponent is obviously shocked. With an appropriate level of threatening, the probability of ending this altercation will be over 92%."
"Threatening it is! I’ll try it out!"
The crowd noticed a flash of movement before Ye Chong’s right hand was clasped tightly on the middle-aged man’s throat. The man felt the pressure and struggled desperately with his mouth gasping for air. The spectators also gasped in astonishment.
Ye Chong quietly whispered into the man’s ear, "If you don’t let this go, I’ll kill you!" His tone was light, as if he was only saying something mundane.
The middle-aged man clawed at his throat and coughed incessantly. He was obviously in pain, unable to utter a single word, and his eyes glowed with terror. Ye Chong’s words were like a chilling breeze in winter, and he felt like a naked man in the wind, shivering despite being clothed.
Suddenly, there was a commotion amongst the spectating crowd, and someone shouted, "The police are here!" "Thank goodness, the police are finally here!"