"Screw you, you ungrateful bastard!" the man cursed loudly and reached for Lin Mengjie's neck.

Ye Qing frowned, utterly disgusted by the man's behavior. It was one thing to fail at hitting on someone, but to strike a girl was utterly unmanly!

Ye Qing casually pushed the table, its corner hitting the man in the waist. The man screamed in pain and fell to the ground.

"You dare lay a hand on me!" the man struggled to his feet, yelling, "Guys, help me out here!"

The men at the next table were already watching the scene. Seeing Ye Qing get involved, they had stood up and, at the call, rushed over with whatever they could grab, like bottles and chairs.

"Oh no, no fighting, please, not my tables!" the stall owner cried out in desperation, but it was useless.

Ye Qing stood up, pulled Lin Mengjie behind him to protect her, and faced the aggressive men without fear. He grabbed a chair nearby and with a clattering sound, knocked all those men to the ground. It was over quickly; Ye Qing hadn't even exerted much force, and the men were crying and whining, running away disgracefully.

Lin Mengjie stood behind Ye Qing, admiring his effortless moves and couldn't help but beam with joy. Once the men had left, she cheered and ran to hug Ye Qing, saying, "Ye, you are so amazing!"

Lin Mengjie had a nice figure, so when she threw herself on Ye Qing, pressing against him, it sent shivers down his spine. He quickly stepped back, creating some distance, though his face still held a trace of awkwardness. To cover it up, he turned and went over to the stall owner, handing him some money, "Here's some money for the damages, and could you pack up two dishes for me?"

"Huh?" The stall owner was stunned; he had encountered many brawls before but had never been compensated. That Ye Qing actually gave him money was unprecedented! After a moment's shock, he hurriedly turned to start cooking.

Lin Mengjie approached, surprised, "Ye, are you hungry?"

Ye Qing replied, "No, I'm not."

"Then why order two dishes?" Lin Mengjie asked curiously.

"Aren't you hungry?" Ye Qing replied, "Let's take these two dishes home, it's not great being out late."

Lin Mengjie then remembered what she had said to Ye Qing earlier, and playful stuck out her tongue, "Hehe, just so you know, I'm not hungry either!"

"You're not hungry?" Ye Qing asked in surprise, "Then why did you call me earlier…"

"That was just because I wanted you to come and keep me company!" Lin Mengjie clung to Ye Qing's arm, "Ye, I get scared going back alone. Maybe you could pick me up next time?"

Ye Qing thought for a moment and said, "Shenchuan City isn't very safe, especially under the current circumstances. It's inconvenient for you to go home alone. How about this? Starting tomorrow, I'll have Black Bear follow you. It'll be safer with him around!"

Lin Mengjie's expression suddenly changed, and she stopped talking, only glaring angrily at Ye Qing.

Ye Qing wasn't sure what Lin Mengjie was thinking. After the dishes were ready, he took them, turned to her, and said, "Let's go home."

Lin Mengjie ignored Ye Qing, turned her head, and stormed off to the car, driving away. Ye Qing followed her in his car, and when they got back to the apartment he had rented, Lin Mengjie rushed upstairs without saying a word to him.

Ye Qing took the dishes into the living room where Chen Jun and Hou San were staring straight at him. These guys had been playing cards earlier and were puzzled to see Lin Mengjie come back fuming.

"Come on, have some food," Ye Qing set the dishes on the table, "Southern specialty, perfect for a late-night snack."

"You know what? I'm actually a little hungry now!" Chen Jun put down his cards, limped over, and joined them. Hou San and the others weren't far behind, grabbing chopsticks and opening a few bottles of beer to dine together.

While eating, Chen Jun asked, "Ye, I noticed Manager Lin seemed upset. What happened exactly?"

"Upset?" Ye Qing was taken aback, "I really don't know."

Hou San was surprised, "Really? You two came back together, and you don't know what happened?"

Ye Qing just shrugged his shoulders; he truly didn't understand a girl's mind. Otherwise, he wouldn't have ended up following Lin Mengjie back like this.

"What exactly did you two do outside just now?" Chen Jun asked.

Ye Qing didn't hide anything and recounted what had happened earlier. When he mentioned that he wanted Black Bear to drive Lin Mengjie to and fro, everyone in the room was first stunned and then burst into laughter, leaving Ye Qing utterly baffled.

"What's so funny? Why are you laughing?" Ye Qing asked in astonishment.

Chen Jun, trying to suppress his laughter, said, "Ye, don't you realize what's actually going on?"

"What's going on?" Ye Qingqi asked.

"Ye, I don't know how to say this, but, look, you were smart enough to get into Northern University, clever and brave, there's hardly anything that can be hidden from you. Yet, how can you not see such a simple thing?" Hou San looked at the puzzled Ye Qing and said, "Ye, don't you get it? Manager Lin likes you!"

"What?" Ye Qing's eyes widened, and he was too shocked to respond immediately, as the statement took him by surprise.

"If Manager Lin didn't like you, why would she give up the comfortable life at home and travel thousands of miles to Shenchuan City to help you work? If she didn't like you, why would she get so mad at what you say? If she didn't like you, why would she ask you to go out with her in the middle of the night?" Hou San articulated these rhetorical questions one after another and finally looked at Ye Qing, "Ye, you're lucky. A girl as beautiful, intelligent, and capable as Manager Lin is really rare nowadays, you must grasp this opportunity well!"

"You're right, you're right!" Chen Jun leaned in and said, "Ye Zi, I bet if you go knock on her room door now, she'll definitely open the door for you!"

Ye Qing, clearly stunned by what Hou San said, questioned incredulously, "Why would I go knock on her room door?"

"Come on!" Chen Jun and Hou San, along with others, widened their eyes collectively and exclaimed in unison, "What do you think?"

Ye Qing then came to his senses, furrowed his brow, and said, "Stop it, Manager Lin is my friend, you shouldn't speculate wildly!"

"Ye, it doesn't matter whether we speculate wildly or not, what's important is how you feel!" Hou San said, "Manager Lin is such a great girl; you really can't miss out on her. If you miss this chance, there won't be another one like it."

Ye Qing sighed and didn't say anything more. The girls around him were all excellent and had their own unique qualities. But honestly, he had never had any inappropriate thoughts about them. Firstly, before his brother Ye Jun was safely back, he didn't plan on thinking about these things. Secondly, he truly didn't feel any romantic attraction toward these girls; they simply weren't his type.

"Ye Zi, I think Third Brother is right!" Chen Jun said, rubbing his palms together, "If you miss this chance, there won't be another. Manager Lin obviously has feelings for you; if you don't take action quickly and make the relationship official, it'll be too late for regrets once Manager Lin changes her mind!"

Ye Qing felt awkward and shook his head, "I'm not yet thinking about marriage."

"Oh come on, who's talking about marriage?" Chen Jun replied, "What era are you living in? There are plenty of people who cohabit before marriage. The key is to secure the relationship first. Be a man, Ye Zi. Don't be shy or act like a virgin. I don't believe that you college students are really as prudish as old scholars. Go upstairs; I assure you, Lin's room door isn't locked. Tonight is your chance, seize it!"

Hou San also chuckled and egged him on, "Yeah, even if you don't marry later, at least you should have once possessed her!"

Honestly, Ye Qing's heart was racing; he couldn't help but recall the scene he witnessed when he drove with Lin Mengjie that day. The erotic and romantic visions were constantly assaulting his thoughts, as images of Lin Mengjie's graceful figure flashed through his mind.

After a long silence, Ye Qing suddenly stood up and firmly shook his head, "Stop talking; I won't go up. In my life, I can only be with one woman, and that's the most important respect between spouses!"

Everyone in the room looked at each other, then all at once turned their gazes to Ye Qing. Hou San said, "Ye, isn't that a bit too conservative?"

"What do you mean 'conservative'?" Chen Jun waved his hand, "If being conservative means being old-fashioned, then, well, back in ancient times, men had multiple wives. I'm telling you, this is just a distorted view; there are no eras with such rigid thoughts!"

"Everyone has different ideas; you are you, I am me. Just because you want more doesn't mean you should negate my beliefs!" Ye Qing paused, then said, "Moreover, I believe that as a man, if you can't be with a woman for a lifetime, you shouldn't undress her. That's a basic sense of responsibility!"

After speaking, Ye Qing went upstairs, leaving everyone in the living room speechless.

After a while, Chen Jun finally turned his head to look at the corridor and said, "Do you guys think there is something wrong with his psyche?"

"I think what Ye said is correct, it indeed shows responsibility. But well..." Hou San elongated his tone, glancing over the others, "Between a man and a woman, if it's consensual, who cares about responsibility? Anyway, I will definitely not have just one woman in my life!"

The group immediately burst into laughter. Chen Jun nodded repeatedly, "Same here! Same here! Damn, we are in the bustling big city of Shenchuan City, what's all this fuss about responsibility? The girls here are way more experienced than us. I came here with the mentality of learning; you gotta enjoy yourself before getting married!"