C2 The Thief Was Caught

"Get your hands off me, you thief!"

His furious shout echoed down the street like the roar of a tiger in the forest, drawing the attention of many curious college students to Feng Manlou, all wondering what had happened.

Xia Lan, who was waiting for her friend outside the bubble tea shop, jumped at the sound. She turned to find the source and was shocked to see the young man who had yelled pointing at her with a flyer.

The man's eyebrows were knitted in anger, and she quickly gestured in defense, "I'm not a thief, you've got it wrong... Hey, what are you doing?!"

Mid-explanation, she realized that a stranger was behind her, his long tweezers already slipping into the pocket of her trousers where her phone was!

Was a thief trying to steal her phone?

Almost instinctively, Xia Lan clutched her pocket and darted aside like a startled deer.

Others nearby noticed the tweezers in the man's hand and quickly stepped back, forming an impromptu circle around the thief in front of the bubble tea shop.

Liangzi, startled by the sudden outburst, nearly dropped his tweezers. Regaining his composure, he found himself under the wary gaze of several college students, some of whom had already discreetly begun recording him with their phones.

Not daring to linger, he jabbed the tweezers towards Feng Manlou, "Kid, you'll regret this!" With that, he turned and quickly walked away.

[Thwarting a thief once, +10 Heroic Points.]

Watching the thief retreat and the message on the screen, Feng Manlou let out a deep breath, feeling his body go limp with relief.

That scared the daylights out of me. I thought it might come to blows. Thank goodness, a thief's conscience is always uneasy.

Wiping the nonexistent sweat from his forehead, Feng Manlou decided it was time to make a quick exit.

Who knew if the thief would seek revenge? Better safe than sorry.

As he was about to leave, a slightly anxious voice stopped him.

"Excuse me..."

"Yes, can I help you?"

It was the innocent-looking beauty whose phone had nearly been stolen.

"I just wanted to say... thank you. If it hadn't been for you, my phone would be gone..."

Feng Manlou smiled, dismissing the gratitude with a wave, "No need to thank me, it was nothing. I've got to run, take care." With that, he walked away.

After taking action, it's wise to keep one's identity and reputation under wraps. Indeed, I am a man who won't be outdone by Jing Jing or defeated by Zi Dan!

"I... I'd like to buy you a milk tea if you're free?" Xia Lan said, seeing him about to walk away.

"Milk tea?"

"Yes..." Xia Lan nodded, her cheeks tinged with a blush.

Her parents were both high school teachers in Handong City, and they had raised her with strict discipline. She had never so much as asked a boy out for milk tea alone, let alone dated.

Feng Manlou pursed his lips, ready to gently decline.

Remaining on the snack street was not the smartest move. For one, the thief might return for revenge, and more importantly, he had just acquired a new system that demanded his immediate attention.

I'm sorry, beautiful lady. Your invitation, shy as it may be, is hard to turn down, but I am a man who has lived two lifetimes. I'm not the kind of guy who gets weak-kneed at the sight of a pretty face.

The evening breeze caressed the air, and the stars twinkled brilliantly.

After 9 PM, the snack street thinned out with fewer students around, turning into a haven for couples.

At the milk tea shop, Xia Lan ordered two teas and two slices of cake. As she was about to pay with her phone, Feng Manlou handed over fifty yuan to the cashier first.

"No, it's my treat. You shouldn't pay!" Xia Lan quickly unlocked her phone to pay.

"On a date, the gentleman never lets his lady pay," the cashier said, accepting the money and placing it in the register before sliding two coins back to Feng Manlou with an approving thumbs-up. "You're a lucky man; take good care of her."

Both Feng Manlou and Xia Lan blushed deeply.

With a shy demeanor, Xia Lan didn't even grab the cake before hastily heading upstairs as if escaping.

Well then... As someone who's been single in two lifetimes, Feng Manlou truly didn't know how to refuse a lady's thanks. His last shred of reason simply led him to choose another milk tea shop, one further away from where the trouble had occurred.

Cradling milk tea and cake, Feng Manlou grimaced as he ascended to the second floor. The markup was staggering—two cups of milk tea and two slices of cake cost less than 10 yuan to make, yet he was charged 48 yuan. It felt like daylight robbery!

No wonder his predecessor only ever drank 'Beauty Le' and steered clear of milk tea shops.

Hold on!

A lightbulb went off in Feng Manlou's head. Why not sell milk tea himself? It was bound to be more lucrative than handing out flyers. With his mind made up, he decided to watch some instructional videos on making milk tea and then pitch the business idea to Da Bai and the rest.

Sanqiu, whose family owned a factory, had plenty of pocket money. He could be the major investor, with the others contributing smaller amounts. Feng Manlou figured he could offer his expertise in exchange for a stake in the business. Although he'd earn less from dividends, it was a safe bet. Even if the venture tanked, he'd only have wasted time, not the hard-earned cash saved from distributing flyers.

Halfway through his journey, Feng Manlou abruptly stopped, nearly facepalming. What was he thinking? With the system at his disposal, there was no need to peddle milk tea. He could simply use the system to give his life a cheat code.

With this realization, Feng Manlou cheerfully hummed a tune as he bounced up the stairs.

By the window, Xia Lan was idly fidgeting with her fingers, a sight that took Feng Manlou by surprise. In this day and age, someone not glued to their phone was as rare as a giant panda!

At the sound of his approach, Xia Lan looked up to find Feng Manlou, tray in hand, gazing at her in astonishment. Remembering the cashier's earlier mistake, her cheeks flushed once more.

The place was unusually empty, creating an intimate atmosphere that felt almost like a date.

Feng Manlou set down the tray, handed Xia Lan her milk tea and cake, and took a seat. "Let's get properly acquainted. I'm Feng Manlou, from East Sea Vocational Technical Institute. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"My name is Xia Lan, a freshman at East Medical University. I'm delighted to meet you."

"East Medical University?!" Feng Manlou exclaimed, clearly impressed. "I didn't realize you were such an academic achiever. That's really impressive!"

"I wouldn't go so far as to call myself an academic achiever. I was just fortunate that the college entrance exam featured questions I had practiced regularly," Xia Lan said modestly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Sigh... I figured as much," Feng Manlou sighed.

"What did you figure?" Xia Lan inquired, her curiosity piqued.

"About your academic performance!" Feng Manlou stated earnestly. "I've finally figured out why I never became a top student. It's not because I didn't enjoy studying; it's just that I was unlucky. I never came across the questions I'd studied when it came time for exams. If only my luck had been as good as yours, I might have been your classmate."

"Ah?" Xia Lan was momentarily taken aback by his unconventional reasoning. When she noticed the corners of his mouth turning up in a smile, she realized he was teasing and let out a chuckle herself. "Good luck comes with practice and tackling more problems."

Their initial awkwardness dissolved with the exchange of humor, and they quickly became more at ease with each other, chatting about their reasons for being on snack street that day.

Feng Manlou learned that Xia Lan was at the milk tea shop waiting for her roommate. They had planned an evening adventure to explore and indulge in the delights of snack street.

"It's getting late; aren't you worried the dorms will be locked?" Feng Manlou asked, his curiosity evident.

"At a prestigious school like East Medical University, I'd expect the dorms to have strict curfews, probably no later than 9:30 PM."

"I'm not sure. Yuvwei mentioned she's on good terms with the dorm supervisor, so returning an hour or two late shouldn't be an issue," Xia Lan explained.

"Really?" Feng Manlou shrugged, his tone light.

He wasn't certain about the flexibility of dormitory rules at top-tier institutions, but he suspected that exceptions could be made. After all, relationships often pave the way for accommodations.

"Lan, are you okay? The thief didn't hurt you, did he?"

A tall girl, fashionably dressed, hurried up the stairs and paused briefly when she noticed a boy sitting across from Xia Lan. She quickly approached.

"Lan, you gave me such a fright. How did you end up encountering a thief? Are you hurt?" the girl inquired with genuine concern.

"I'm fine, thanks to Feng Manlou. If it weren't for him, my phone would have been stolen," Xia Lan said, her eyes welling up as she saw her roommate.

She had always been well-protected by her parents and had never faced anything so frightening before.

"As long as you're okay, that's what matters. Phones can be replaced if stolen."

Another boy came up the stairs, handsome and clad in designer wear, carrying three milk teas and a cappuccino cake.

"Who's this?" Xia Lan asked, having never met the boy before.

"This is Guo Rundong, a friend from my foreign language college," Zhang Yuvwei introduced him warmly. "Rundong, meet Xia Lan, my roommate."

"Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you," Guo Rundong greeted her with courtesy.

"Hello..." Xia Lan was puzzled. Yuvwei had planned a girls' night in, so why did she bring extra guests, especially boys?

Feng Manlou, having lived two lifetimes, was no stranger to romantic ploys, even without personal experience. He could see right through their intentions as they both pointedly ignored him.

A mere freshman and already playing matchmaker in such a worldly way.

Observing Zhang Yuvwei more closely, Manlou noticed her flashy diamond earrings, which seemed out of place with her otherwise modest attire, and he couldn't help but scoff.

It appeared that these earrings were a perk of her efforts to set Xia Lan up—a gift from some wealthy admirer.

"Yuvwei, this is Feng Manlou. He's the one who scared off the thief," Xia Lan interjected, noticing the pair's disregard for Manlou.

"Feng Manlou... That's an unusual name. I've never heard of the Feng surname before," Zhang Yuvwei said with a smile, extending her hand. "Hello, I'm Zhang Yuvwei, Xia Lan's roommate. Thank you for your heroic act."

"No need to thank me; it's what I should do." Feng Manlou didn't delve into the history of his surname nor did he offer his hand, simply responding with a detached air.

He was uncertain about the number of men Zhang Yuvwei's hand had been in contact with, which made him reluctant to shake hands with her.

While he didn't object to a woman having past relationships or even living with a partner, he took issue with someone who would sell out a roommate for personal gain, as they likely had a history of compromising their own values.

Selling oneself out and being with a boyfriend out of love were entirely different matters.

"Heh, you're pretty cool," Zhang Yuvwei said with a sheepish smile, withdrawing her hand and taking a seat next to Xia Lan. She then began to enthusiastically promote Guo Rundong to her. "Lan, Rundong is incredibly talented. He's fluent in English, French, and Spanish. You've always wanted to improve your spoken languages, right? He's the one to go to for help in the future."

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