The long-haired man glared fiercely at John Green: “You think you’re so tough? Compensate? Compensate your mother! Do you think you can afford to pay for these clothes of mine?”

John Green’s face turned bright red from the insult, but after that one outburst, the long-haired man didn’t press further and turned back to his own table.

Worried that staying any longer would cause trouble, John Green quickly paid the bill and left with the group of interns.

They had just left the night market when the roar of motorcycles sounded behind them. Two Xingfu 250 motorcycles sped up and blocked their way, while more than a dozen rough-looking men pedaled up on the latest gear-shifting bicycles, surrounding them.

From their clothes and demeanor, it was obvious these were all street thugs. John Green’s face paled; he hadn’t expected that just taking his students out for a meal would land him in this kind of trouble. But as their teacher, he had to stand up for them. Bracing himself, John Green walked over. He saw that the long-haired troublemaker from earlier was among them and immediately realized these people must have been called by him. With a polite smile, John Green said, “Hey, buddy, my sister accidentally got your clothes dirty just now. How about this: I’ll give you fifty yuan so you can buy a new one, how does that sound?”

Looking at the long-haired man’s denim jacket, it was clearly a cheap stall item from the wholesale market, worth at most thirty yuan. Offering fifty was already giving him plenty of face.

The long-haired man looked at John Green with disdain, then suddenly kicked him hard in the stomach: “Get lost! Damn it, you think you’re something just because you have money?”

Although John Green was burly, he was still a scholar at heart. The kick sent him sprawling onto the road. Megan Clark and David Brooks hurried over to help him up.

Sophie Harris walked up angrily: “What right do you have to hit someone?”

The long-haired man leered at Sophie Harris. To be honest, it was rare to see such a pretty girl in this county town. He pretended to be suave, lit a cigarette, took a deep drag with his thumb and middle finger, then blew a cloud of smoke at Sophie Harris, making her cough violently.

Seeing Sophie Harris humiliated, John Green bravely stood up and shouted, “You’d better leave now! I’m a doctor at the county hospital. If you don’t go, I’ll call the police!”

These were all local hooligans. Hearing John Green’s words, they all burst out laughing. The long-haired man pointed at John Green: “So what if you’re a doctor? Just another professional thug! What the hell are you bragging about?”

John Green’s face flushed: “You…”

The long-haired man jabbed both hands at John Green’s nose, exuding a domineering air: “Shut the hell up! Say one more word and I’ll smack you, you hear me?”

John Green was actually intimidated by the long-haired man’s aggression.

The long-haired man pointed at the wine stain on his jacket: “I, Henry Reed, am not an unreasonable guy. How about this: these two girls come with me to see a movie, and we’ll just forget this ever happened.”

A chill ran down John Green’s spine. He’d heard of several notorious thugs in the county, and Henry Reed was one of them—famous for fighting and being ruthless. He had dozens of underlings who always fought in groups, never one-on-one. Just a few days ago, they’d caused trouble at the county hospital several times, and even the director couldn’t do anything about them.

Hearing that this was Henry Reed, John Green instinctively started to back down. As a doctor with some social standing, there was no need to stoop to the level of these hooligans, right? He forced a smile and said, “Oh, so it’s you, Brother Qijin. I’m actually pretty close with Brother Erzi. We’re all on the same side, aren’t we?” The Junior he mentioned was another well-known thug in the county, who had once been hospitalized for an injury in John Green’s ward, so they’d had some contact. John Green had no choice but to bring up his name, hoping Henry Reed would let it go for Junior’s sake.

Henry Reed rolled his eyes: “Who the hell are you? Who’s on the same side as you? Get the hell out of here, this has nothing to do with you!” He cursed John Green in his heart for not knowing the situation. Everyone on the street knew that he, Henry Reed, and Junior were rivals. This guy actually brought up his enemy’s name—just asking for a beating.

John Green kept smiling: “How about this, I’ll give you a hundred yuan, and let my sister apologize to you!”

Megan Clark was so scared she was about to cry. Hearing John Green ask her to apologize, she nodded repeatedly: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

Sophie Harris said coldly, “Why should we apologize? So many grown men bullying a girl—aren’t you ashamed?”

John Green was afraid Sophie Harris would get into more trouble and hurried to stop her from saying anything else.

But Sophie Harris showed no fear at all: “This is a law-based society now. What, you want to cause a public disturbance? Do you even respect the law? Don’t blame me for not warning you—disturbing public order is a crime!”

Henry Reed wasn’t about to be intimidated by a little girl. He grinned and moved closer: “You’re really cute, little sister. Inviting you to a movie isn’t against the law, is it?”

A lazy voice rang out: “Henry Reed, why don’t you take a good look at yourself in the mirror? If you scare this young lady, I won’t let you off!”

John Green turned pale at Ryan Bolton’s bold words. This kid didn’t know his place—how could he talk to Henry Reed like that? Who knew how this night would end.