C27 That Set of Clothes on His Body

The woman was visibly upset because the man next to her had lingered too long with his gaze fixed on Ziyuan, prompting her to stir up some trouble.

"Excuse me, miss, which outfit has caught your eye?" an attentive employee promptly inquired.

With a dismissive twist of her lips, the woman pointed at Ye Luo. "That one he's wearing. I'll take it."

"Miss, I'm afraid that's not possible. It's already..."

"Thirty thousand," the woman cut in before the shop assistant could finish.

"It's not a matter of money. Perhaps you could discuss it with this gentleman, or consider a different style? We have several similar options available."

"I want that specific one. Is that not clear?" The woman gave the shop assistant a haughty glance before striding over to Ye Luo.

She approached Ye Luo, sizing him up with a critical eye, then sneered at his previously worn casual clothes, now slightly faded from washing.

"A sparrow, no matter how splendidly dressed, remains a sparrow and never a phoenix. Judging by your original outfit, which altogether wouldn't exceed two hundred dollars, you're clearly not accustomed to wearing something worth over twenty thousand. It's like a mongrel draped in a pedigree's coat – still a mongrel. So, strip it off quickly, lest you soil my clothes."

Ziyuan, standing to the side, listened to the woman's rant. Though seething with anger, she chose not to intervene, instead watching curiously. She was interested to see how Ye Luo would handle the situation, considering he was about to pose as her boyfriend at the Zi family home, a scenario bound to present its own set of challenges. This was a sort of rehearsal.

Ye Luo was repulsed by the woman's self-important demeanor, as if she believed herself to be unrivaled in the world. He had encountered many arrogant individuals before, but none quite as insufferable as her.

"Scram!"

The word erupted from Ye Luo's mouth, resonating with finality.

The woman's face turned stormy upon hearing Ye Luo's dismissal. Even behind her sunglasses, her fury and resentment were palpable.

"You're the first person brave enough to tell me, Li Yuanyuan, to scram," the woman said, turning to the man beside her. "Brother Jiang, did you hear that? I thought this outfit would be perfect for you, and now someone has the nerve to tell me to leave. You have to stand up for me."

The man, Xue Xianjiang, offered a faint smile, well aware that his partner had provoked the situation. But that was of little consequence. His woman had the gall to cause a scene, and he indulged her by casually squeezing Li Yuanyuan's behind before addressing the clerk. "I'm Xue Xianjiang. I'll be taking this outfit today. No problems, right?"

The name 'Xue Xianjiang' caused the sales staff to blanch. They were intimately familiar with it from their first day at Grenia, where they were strictly trained to cater to a list of VIPs, among whom Xue Xianjiang was a key figure.

"Of course not, Mr. Xue. If you want it, it's yours," the manager said, his voice dripping with obsequiousness.

Hearing this, Xue Xianjiang smirked, glanced at Ye Luo, and said haughtily, "Did you catch that? You won't be buying the dress. Take it off."

Ye Luo almost laughed at the duo's performance. He would have been willing to choose another outfit if they had been polite, but their attitudes made him determined to secure this particular set of clothes.

Ignoring Xue Xianjiang, Ye Luo walked over to Ziyuan and said with a slight smile, "This is the one. Go ahead and pay."

Ziyuan, smiling back, agreed, "Okay." She pulled out her bank card and offered it to the clerk, who hesitated to accept it.

"Hmph, just a pretty boy living off a woman, huh? You're trash, and you dare to compete with me?" Li Yuanyuan sneered. "Brother Jiang, this guy doesn't respect you. You can't let him off easy."

"Kid, I'm giving you one more chance," Xue Xianjiang said, his face growing dark as Ye Luo ignored him. "Take off the outfit and apologize to my woman. Maybe then we can let this slide. Otherwise, you won't last long in Linhai. Some people aren't to be trifled with."

Ye Luo glanced at Xue Xianjiang dismissively. "I'm in a good mood right now, so I suggest you take the opportunity to leave. Otherwise, I can't promise you'll even have the chance to run."

"Looking for trouble, are you? Someone come here! Strip this punk and break his legs!" Xue Xianjiang commanded, gesturing to the four bodyguards behind him.

Without a moment's hesitation, the four bodyguards closed in on Ye Luo.

The shop employees and onlookers instinctively stepped back, as if fearing they'd be caught in the crossfire.

Ziyuan, however, remained steadfast by Ye Luo's side, unmoved.

Ye Luo bent down, picked up his clothes from beside him, and handed them to Ziyuan with a calm request, "Hold these for me, so they don't get dirty."

The crowd was dumbfounded by Ye Luo's words. Who worries about their clothes at a time like this?

"Is this guy an idiot?" murmured a bystander.

"It's possible. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so clueless, not even grasping the basic concept that discretion is the better part of valor," another added.

"Okay," Ziyuan replied, dutifully taking the clothes from Ye Luo and stepping aside.

"A couple of fools, morons," many in the crowd thought to themselves.

After passing his clothes to Ziyuan, Ye Luo's gaze shifted to the four bodyguards. His smile vanished, replaced by a chilling expression. His eyes seemed to emit a piercing chill, plunging his adversaries into a deep abyss.

"Go ahead, break an arm and a leg," Xue Xianjiang ordered.

"Sure!" Ye Luo responded before the bodyguards could react. In the next moment, he was already standing before one of them.

"Damn, that idiot. Did he really think Xue Xianjiang was talking to him? And he actually responded? He's got to be out of his mind. They're about to break his arms and legs, and he's still saying 'okay.'"

"Bang, bang, ah!"

"Bang, bang, ahhhh!"

...

A rhythmic sequence of sounds ensued: two muffled thuds followed by a pained howl, repeated four times. By the time the onlookers processed what was happening, they were utterly shocked by the scene before them.

All four bodyguards lay on the ground, each with a broken hand and leg. Blood was splattered across the floor, a stark and jarring sight amidst the glitz of the shopping mall.

How could this be possible?

Xue Xianjiang was dumbfounded. His four bodyguards, though not the top of their field, were formidable fighters, each worth ten men. And yet, they had all been taken down, limbs shattered?

It was at this moment that the onlookers understood why Ye Luo had readily accepted Xue Xianjiang's threat to break someone's arms and legs—he was simply enacting Xue Xianjiang's own declaration.

The realization also hit everyone as to why Ye Luo had given his clothes to Ziyuan to hold and had asked her to step back. He had anticipated the bloodshed and knew it would spoil his clothes, turning them crimson.