Chapter 127: Standing Up For Her

“Miss Du, who is he?”

Well looked unhappy and asked stiffly, clearly displeased with this Lin Mu who had suddenly appeared and ruined his plan.

“He is my friend. I’m sorry, Well, I have to go now.”

“Lin Mu, let’s leave.”

Du Xiaoyue looked at Lin Mu deeply. She wasn’t a foolish woman; of course she wouldn’t choose this moment to bring up past grievances or discuss their once existing engagement.

Well didn’t say anything. Instead, he gave a dark look at the people behind Du Xiaoyue, then gave a subtle signal. Immediately, a large man who looked like a bodyguard stepped forward and grabbed Du Xiaoyue’s arm.

Du Xiaoyue stumbled as her slender arm was firmly held in the large man’s grip. A sharp glint flashed in Lin Mu’s eyes as he, too, took a step forward.

“I think you might not have heard me clearly. So I’ll say it again: don’t touch my friend!”

Letting out a cold laugh, Lin Mu spoke slowly.

For the last part, he repeated himself, saying it in six different languages in turn. At the same time, his hand landed on Du Xiaoyue’s arm.

With just a light touch on the large man’s hand that held Du Xiaoyue, the man trembled violently as if shocked by electricity. He staggered backward several steps, frowning tightly and shaking his hand repeatedly, appearing to be in considerable pain.

Pulling Du Xiaoyue to his side, Lin Mu smiled softly at the group. “It’s getting late. Everyone should head home now. It wouldn’t do for anyone to get into any accident and worry their family.”

After saying these two sentences, Lin Mu took Du Xiaoyue and walked toward where he had parked his car earlier. After what had happened, he naturally couldn’t let her get a taxi alone back. Who knew what else might occur?

Since he decided to help, he should see it through to the end. He figured he might as well drive Du Xiaoyue straight home himself.

“Young Master, what next?”

At this moment, a man beside Well bent slightly, whispering the question into his ear.

“Teach him a lesson. Just don’t kill him.”

Well scoffed, watching the retreating figures of Lin Mu and Du Xiaoyue with absolute indifference. Judging by his expression, this wasn’t the first, or even the second, time he’d done such things.

The man beside him immediately nodded and acknowledged the order. Then he pulled a gun with a silencer attached from his waist, raised it, and aimed at Lin Mu. However, he didn’t target any vital spot, aiming instead for the thigh.

With a soft pfft, the silenced pistol fired a bullet. The gunman, highly confident in his marksmanship, cracked a small smile.

He was no stranger to this work. As a former Marine, he had been known for his accuracy during his service. Within a hundred meters, he could hit whatever he pointed at without fail.

Working for Young Master Well, his marksmanship had proven very useful. Each time he ‘taught someone a lesson,’ he inflicted the maximum pain and terror without taking a life.

This ability to warn others off without causing real trouble for Young Master Well was exactly why Well valued him so much.

He was confident his shot could sever the muscle tendon in the kid’s thigh. In the next moment, that kid should drop straight to his knees; the intense pain would make it impossible for him to walk.

However, before the complete smile could even form on his face, his neck suddenly tightened. He felt instant suffocation; then he realized his toes couldn’t even touch the ground.

At the instant the gun fired, Lin Mu had already vanished. In the next second, he appeared beside the gunman, gripping the man’s neck with one hand. With a slight exertion, he effortlessly lifted the man into mid-air.

The sudden change sent Well stumbling backwards in panic, nearly falling. Lin Mu’s ghost-like speed truly terrified him; inside, he was screaming “Martial arts!”

Back in the day, a famous Huaxia martial arts movie star had conquered the whole world after entering United States’ Hollywood, making Huaxia’s martial arts a global phenomenon.

In fact, many foreign languages had lacked a word for martial arts before he appeared. After his rise, they all adopted a term based on it.

Now, Lin Mu’s martial skill, looking as if he were possessed by a ghost or spirit, seemed far more frightening than any movie scene. No wonder Well looked utterly terrified.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t casually try to hurt others. If you really intend to act, you should at least first find out what your opponent is really capable of. Otherwise, things could turn out very badly.”

Lin Mu’s smile carried a chilling edge, making Well nod frantically, unable to utter a word.

“You should count yourself lucky today. In this foreign land, I ran into an old friend I haven’t seen in years. I’m in such a good mood I don’t feel like killing anyone. Now get lost!”

With a flick of his hand, Lin Mu sent the gunman he was holding flying like a projectile. The man smashed into a car parked by the roadside, denting half its side.

The incredible strength displayed in Lin Mu’s arm made the eyes of several people near the road bulge.

People from the West valued physical training highly. Their youths were often powerfully built, frequenting gyms regularly, resulting in excellent physique.

Witnessing Lin Mu fling the man so casually with astonishing power, a shadow of fear touched their hearts regarding this seemingly not overly muscular Eastern man.

Lin Mu swept his deep gaze over everyone present. All of them shivered involuntarily, afraid they might be the next one to fly away.

Seeing everyone cowering fearfully, Lin Mu gave a satisfied nod. He turned and walked back to Du Xiaoyue’s side, offering a gentle, spring-like smile. “Let’s go. I’ll see you home.”

After everything that had happened, Du Xiaoyue was completely sober now. She nodded silently and followed behind Lin Mu as they both left.

“So, where do you live?”

Once in the car, Lin Mu suddenly remembered: this wasn’t Donghai; they were in Manhattan, New York. He had no idea where Du Xiaoyue lived.

“My place is a bit far from here. Actually, this is the first time I’ve ever been to this area.”

Du Xiaoyue managed a bright smile, inexplicably offering an explanation. She found her own behavior a bit odd. To hide her inner turmoil, she hastily turned on the car’s GPS and typed an address.

Lin Mu drove, following the GPS directions, leaving the bustling city center of Manhattan behind and entering the quiet streets of late-night New York.

“How did you end up in New York?”

Neither spoke during the ride, making the atmosphere feel awkward. Finally, Du Xiaoyue broke the silence, turning to look at Lin Mu as she asked.

“A friend here is having some trouble. I came to help them solve a problem,” Lin Mu replied casually. He glanced at her and gave a soft laugh. “This is actually my first time abroad. It’s interesting seeing so many foreigners with blonde hair and blue eyes everywhere.”

“Yeah, it’s a foreign country, so naturally, there are many foreigners. But after a while, the novelty wears off. You start missing people back home, with black hair and yellow skin.”

“Seeing you today, I realized you’ve changed completely. You’re not the same at all – how you look, how you act, and that amazing skill. The you I met before is completely different.”

“If there weren’t still a few similarities in places, I wouldn’t even have dared to recognize it was you.”

Du Xiaoyue studied Lin Mu carefully, very curious about his transformation. After all, this man in front of her had once been her fiancé, that infamous weakling.

“Change was natural. After all, I died once!”

Lin Mu shook his head with a wry smile. “Walking through death’s door and coming back, I woke up having completely forgotten everything before. Perhaps it was for the best. It gave me a fresh start, a whole new life. I abandoned everything from my past.”

“Yes,” Du Xiaoyue murmured, echoing his words, “it is quite good, leaving the past entirely behind.” Suddenly, she seemed a little sad.

Lin Mu wasn’t stupid. He understood what Du Xiaoyue meant. He had abandoned his past cowardice, and similarly, he had abandoned that engagement that had once brought him so much trouble.

“Right, did you come to New York alone?” Lin Mu didn’t want to dwell on the past. He truly couldn’t remember many things. Sensing the awkward mood, he quickly steered the conversation elsewhere.

“Yes,” Du Xiaoyue admitted. She took a deep breath, then turned to look out the car window with a pale smile, her eyes becoming unexpectedly moist. “I came to this city, one of the world’s most prosperous capitals, to prove my true worth. To be more than just a bargaining chip for my family, traded away for mere scraps of benefit.”

Lin Mu inwardly sighed. Du Xiaoyue’s situation reminded him of Luo Bingyun, who was also struggling on her own far from home.

Both were essentially alone in a strange place, trying to make it on their own. Perhaps Luo Bingyun’s circumstances were slightly better, but both shared that same lonely, stubborn, and resilient heart.

The car eventually parked beside a three-story villa on a roadside street. In New York, elite professionals lived high up in commercial apartment blocks. Ordinary people typically inhabited these common three-story villas.

This setup was essentially the opposite of the situation back in Huaxia.

“Go inside and rest early now. Places like that before… best not to go back,” Lin Mu said, smiling kindly at Du Xiaoyue.

“Thank you,” Du Xiaoyue lowered her head slightly, avoiding direct eye contact. “If you hadn’t appeared so suddenly tonight, I might have faced a massive problem.” She whispered this, then quickly opened the passenger door and hurried into her small front yard. Only at her doorstep did she finally pause and glance back.

Lin Mu’s car remained parked by the road. Du Xiaoyue lifted her hand and waved silently toward the vehicle. She then took out her keys, unlocked the front door, and slipped inside.

Seeing Du Xiaoyue safely home, Lin Mu sighed for reasons he couldn’t quite name. He sat quietly for a moment in the parked car before finally starting the engine and driving straight back to the Luo Family Manor.

Du Xiaoyue went up to her bedroom on the second floor. From the window, she could clearly see the street below. Leaning dreamily against the window frame, she stared fixedly at Lin Mu’s car.

Even after Lin Mu departed, she continued to stare out at the spot where his car had been for a long time afterwards. In her beautiful eyes now rested traces of sadness and faint disappointment. How different things might have been if she and Lin Mu hadn’t met so early on in life.

But sadly, life offered no hypotheticals, only concrete endings. World worked on outcomes, not ‘what-ifs’.

With a sigh tinged with resignation, Du Xiaoyue finally closed her bedroom curtains. A moment later, the light in her room quietly turned off.