C3 A Gift from a Friend!

Hu Yang furrowed his brow and gave the wine bottle in his hand a shake, asserting, "I can assure you that this wine was purchased from the Red Cherry Chain Store. If it turns out to be a counterfeit, I'm going to demand compensation from them right now!"

"If you don't believe me, we can go downstairs this instant!" Wan retorted with equal determination.

Clutching the wine, they descended the stairs and strode into the Red Cherry Chain Store, one after the other.

The cashier, a young woman, inquired politely of the visibly irate Hu Yang, "How can I help you today?"

Hu Yang declared with moral indignation, "You're blatantly selling fake wine here. I'm going to report you!"

The cashier took the bottle with a hint of nervousness, scanned the barcode quickly, and her face fell.

"Sir, these two bottles of wine were not sold by our store."

"Are you blatantly lying to my face? A renowned wine that costs over two thousand yuan a bottle, and you just deny selling it? Would you believe me if I said I'm about to call the police?" Hu Yang's expression grew stern as he voiced his displeasure.

"Sir, feel free to do whatever you think is necessary," the salesgirl responded with composed defiance.

Hu Yang scrutinized her, realizing she didn't appear guilty in the slightest.

Wan, now doubtful, questioned, "Hu Yang, could you have gotten it wrong? Was the wine not bought from this store?"

"How could that be? Chi Bo himself went in to pick it up while I waited outside. He even mentioned he knew the staff here well and could get a wholesale price," Hu Yang said, raising his voice intentionally for the cashier to hear.

"I don't know any Chi Bo," the cashier girl replied, taken aback. Her eyes then widened as she recalled, "Now that you mention it, this morning a man brought in two bottles of wine for temporary storage. He came back to retrieve them after an hour or so. I caught a glimpse of the bottles he brought in – they looked like Maotai."

Hu Yang's heart sank as he realized the gravity of the situation.

"Hu Yang, it seems you've been duped," Wan said with a sigh.

The cashier seemed to grasp the situation, casting a complex look in our direction.

Numbers flashed in Hu Yang's mind's system: Zhang Na +9, Wang Wei +6, Wan +19!

Damn, I'm being collectively scorned!

I'm not an idiot. Why the contempt? I just overtrusted Chi Bo and got played!

How did this guy, my classmate from elementary through middle school, turn out so rotten?

"We need to confront him! Cheating his own classmates, he's inhuman!" Wan fumed, her fists clenched with righteous indignation.

Hu Yang nodded, pulling out his phone to call Chi Bo.

Chi Bo's smug laughter came through the phone, "Hu Yang, you're right. The wine isn't from Red Cherry Chain Store. But what makes you think I gave you fake wine? Hahaha, if you have proof, come find me. I'm at the Glasses Noodle Shop on Hundred Lane Street."

System Points: Chi Bo +18, Zhao Hu +22!

Hu Yang bristled with annoyance. This jerk had the nerve to mock me after swindling me!

"Hu Yang, let's take care of him!" Wan seethed, having heard Chi Bo's taunting laughter.

The girl who had stumbled into my life was showing true loyalty.

"But Chi Bo isn't there by himself."

"Who's with him?"

"Zhao Hu. He's a big guy, rumored to be a master of Sanshou."

Hu Yang's face hardened. Zhao Hu must have been right next to Chi Bo; otherwise, I wouldn't have received those mocking points so quickly.

"Don't worry, I've got your back! He won't be able to touch you," Wan declared, standing tall.

Hu Yang couldn't help but smile wryly at her naivety. Did she really understand how formidable others could be?

But for now, we were just going to talk, not necessarily to start a fight.

After all, Chi Bo and I go way back. Since he moved to Cragvalley for work, I've often helped him out, even loaned him money on several occasions.

He never repaid the loan, and I never pressed him for it, trusting he wouldn't want to burn bridges with me.

Hu Yang hailed a cab, and with Wan in tow, they quickly located Chi Bo.

As expected, there was Zhao Hu, sleeves rolled up, his brawny arms on full display as he guzzled cold beer with Chi Bo.

"Hu Yang, come over and join us for a drink. You've arrived just in time to pick up the tab. Haha!" Chi Bo slapped the stool next to him, invitingly.

Is this guy for real? Ignoring the issue of the counterfeit wine is one thing, but to brazenly expect me to foot the bill?

"Hu Yang, how can you associate with such a person?"

+22, +25...

Wan's disdain was relentless!

"Hu Yang's a scaredy-cat. I've always got his back in any trouble!" Chi Bo chuckled with a smirk.

+8, +9, +7...

Zhao Hu gave Hu Yang a scornful look as the system points kept ticking up: +10, +15, +18!

Hu Yang watched the system's points climb with mixed feelings. In just an hour, he'd racked up over 300 more.

With his previous balance, he now had over 700 points. It looked like he could afford something new.

But first things first, he had to address the current situation.

"Chi Bo, you conned me with fake wine. How are we going to settle this?"

"You're just gullible, that's all..."

Chi Bo's disdain added another +7 to Hu Yang's tally.

Exploiting someone's goodwill and trust for personal gain, such people truly deserve a thrashing!

If he's going to be ruthless, then so will I!

Hu Yang couldn't stand it any longer. He lunged forward and threw a punch at Chi Bo's forehead.

Caught off guard while seated, Chi Bo instinctively dodged, but not enough to avoid the blow. His head took a solid hit, leaving him momentarily dazed.

"Has Hu Yang been training or something?"

The punch wasn't hard enough to knock Chi Bo out.

Even if Hu Yang had put his full force into it, it likely wouldn't have done much damage to Chi Bo, who was used to roughhousing.

Still, Chi Bo was clearly hurt. He sprang up, head cocked, and bellowed at Hu Yang, "Hu, you dare hit me? I'll show you what's coming to you today!"

As he spoke, he reached out with both hands, ready to lunge at me.

After landing a punch, Hu Yang felt a surge of confidence. He had reflexively used the simplest technique from the "Subduing Tiger Fist" called "Horizontal Fist Waving Tiger," and to his surprise, it had left Chi Bo dazed and confused. Such an outcome would have been unthinkable before.

Hu Yang was eager to spar a few more rounds with Chi Bo, but just then, Wan stepped in swiftly, positioning herself between them. She pointed at Chi Bo and declared in a sweet yet firm voice, "I'll take care of this scoundrel."

"You?" Chi Bo was taken aback for a moment before bursting into scornful laughter.

A spark of inspiration struck Hu Yang, and he said with feigned confidence, "With you stepping in, Wan, I'm totally at ease today!"

Instantly, the points in the system ratcheted up several notches!

From Chi Bo's ridicule: +5, +6!

From Zhao Hu's contempt: +12, +13!

Wan didn't utter another word. In a flash, she leapt up and unleashed a Whirlwind Kick straight at Chi Bo!