Chapter 97: Please Don’t Fire Me

"Damn it, this kid dared to hit Iron Brother!"
One of the underlings shouted and charged forward, baring his teeth and claws.
Qin Xuan didn’t even glance his way. With a backhanded punch, he sent the man flying.
"Kid, do you know who I am?"
The bald man in sunglasses, who had just been slapped by Qin Xuan, glared with a gloomy face. "I’m Iron Brother from the Iron Banner Society. You slapped me today, and I’ll pay you back a hundred times over!"
With that, he swung a slap at Qin Xuan’s face.
Smack!
Qin Xuan dodged effortlessly and, with a swift backhand, landed another slap on the other side of Iron Brother’s face. Now, both sides of his face were swollen and red, making him look like a pig’s head.
"Son of a—!"
Iron Brother, now enraged, drew a fruit knife from his jacket and lunged toward Qin Xuan’s stomach.
"Someone’s going to get killed!"
"Run, or we’ll get dragged into this."
The onlookers, seeing the knife, recoiled in terror. In a flash, the once-busy Chinese restaurant was deserted. Only Qin Xuan and the gangsters remained.
"Lawless," Qin Xuan muttered coldly. In a blur, he moved and drove his elbow hard into Iron Brother’s stomach.
Iron Brother howled in pain, doubled over, and crouched on the floor, the knife clattering to the ground.
Three more underlings, who were about to help, realized they couldn’t even see Qin Xuan’s movements. They froze in terror. The one sent flying by Qin Xuan still hadn’t gotten up, pretending to be dead on the side.
"Iron Banner Society, huh? Don’t let me see you near Jinling University again, or I’ll beat you every time I see you."
Qin Xuan’s voice was icy as he secretly sent a message to Zhao Long.
Soon, information about the Iron Banner Society arrived.
It was a sizable gang in the southern part of Jinling, several times stronger than the Black Wolf Gang. Under the protection of the Li family, they swaggered about collecting protection fees and were one of the main enforcers for the Li family’s loan company.
At this moment, the three underlings who had stayed back hurried to help Iron Brother up and fled. The one who’d been knocked down scrambled after them. "Guys, wait for me..."
In the blink of an eye, they had all vanished.
"Qin Xuan, the Iron Banner Society works for the Li family, and they’re not weak. You might be in trouble for going against them," Su Muqing said, approaching with a worried look.
"You really think I’d be afraid of them?"
Qin Xuan smiled.
"Of course not. But it’s clear now the Li family has lost control of these gangs."
Su Muqing frowned.
"Hehe, Little Qin Xuan, you’re so heroic!"
Liu Qianqian clapped enthusiastically from behind.
"Not as heroic as you," Qin Xuan retorted, shooting her a look. "Alright, let’s keep eating. It’s getting late, we should head back soon."
Everyone’s spirits remained untouched by the scene; with all the other customers gone, the place felt quieter.
Only then did the cashier girl, who had been hiding, cautiously poke her head out. With a blush, she walked over to their table, glancing shyly at Qin Xuan. "Th-thank you..."
"It’s nothing. Tell me, do they come here often to collect protection fees?"
Qin Xuan asked, picking up a bite of food.
"It wasn’t this bad before, but recently they’ve been coming several times a month. The boss says he can’t keep the restaurant open much longer..." Tears welled up in the girl’s eyes.
If the restaurant closed, she’d lose her job. What would she do then?
Just then, a middle-aged man slipped out of the kitchen and barked, "Get back to work!"
The girl jumped and hurried back to the cashier’s counter.
The man turned to Qin Xuan, his eyes glinting with a shrewd, calculating look. "Young man, you might be tough, but the Iron Banner Society isn’t to be trifled with. You scared them off, but what if they come back for revenge? You’ll have to pay for the loss, young man."
"And you are?" Liu Qianqian asked.
"I’m the owner of this restaurant," he declared, puffing out his chest.
"Heh. So when trouble breaks out, you hide, but when it’s over, you come to extort your customers? What kind of logic is that?"
Qin Xuan chuckled.
"Exactly! If it wasn’t for Little Qin Xuan just now, your staff would’ve been dragged off!"
Liu Qianqian glared at him, annoyed.
The owner was unfazed. "Coming out then would’ve been suicide. Those guys just make a scene and leave. They wouldn’t dare really hurt anyone."
"You just stood by and watched your own employee get bullied?"
Su Muqing’s voice was cold, and her impression of the owner plummeted.
"Ladies, I’m so sorry, but there’s nothing I can do. Even if you chase them off now, if they come back with more people, who will suffer? Us, of course. Young man, you’d better think this through."
There was a hint of threat in his voice, as if he wouldn’t let them leave unless Qin Xuan paid some compensation.
"Utterly ridiculous," Qin Xuan shook his head, surprised by the man’s cowardice. He wouldn’t face the Iron Banner Society himself, but now he dared threaten customers and demand compensation.
After all, Qin Xuan had just helped get rid of the problem for him. Who knows what might have happened otherwise?
"Alright, let me make a call," Su Muqing said, frowning as she took out her phone.
She didn’t want to call Li Shihao, but at this point, only the Li family could keep the Iron Banner Society in check.
"Qingqing, you finally called me." Li Shihao’s voice was gentle and attentive.
"Are you..."
Su Muqing frowned; she could hear a woman’s coquettish voice in the background.
"Heh, I’m at a university reunion, ran into some old classmates."
Li Shihao hastily explained.
"I have something to ask you."
She changed the subject.
"Anything, just say the word."
"The Iron Banner Society is under your family’s control, right?"
"The Iron Banner Society? What happened, did they bother you?" Li Shihao sounded very concerned.
"Yes, you could say that."
"I’ll call them right away and teach them a lesson! How dare they!" Li Shihao promised furiously, then hung up.
Su Muqing put her phone away.
The middle-aged owner, listening in, broke out in a cold sweat. Was this woman someone important? Had he just threatened the wrong people?
"How much compensation do you want? I’ll pay you. But on one condition," Su Muqing said.
He quickly replied, "Miss, there’s no need for that! You helped chase off the Iron Banner Society. I should be thanking you! But, Miss, what’s your condition? I’m just a small business owner, please don’t make things hard for us..."
Su Muqing pointed at the cashier girl. "That girl doesn’t need to work here anymore. If you can’t even guarantee her safety, what’s the point?"
The cashier girl looked surprised, not sure what was happening.
She was too far away to hear their conversation. It wasn’t until the owner walked over and told her, "Ye Xiaoyu, from today onward, you don’t have to work here,"
that the cashier girl, Ye Xiaoyu, was startled. "Boss, please don’t fire me, I beg you..."
She was terrified and didn’t know what she’d done wrong. If she lost this job, what would she do next?