Chapter 116: How to "Flatter"

The Michelin food scouts hadn't arrived, but life had to go on regardless.

Currently, the relationship between Bai Renzong and Han Jiayi was only a thin veil away from becoming an official courtship. Aside from the lack of physical contact, they were indistinguishable from a real couple.

"I'm heading out now," Han Jiayi said to Bai Renzong before leaving. "Remember to come by for lunch early."

"I know," Bai Renzong nodded. "Drive carefully. Don't drive in high heels; you'll get fined if the police pull you over. Got it?"

"Got it!" Han Jiayi chirped happily, waving her little hand at him as she stepped out.

"That Han Mumu..." Bai Renzong shook his head with a smile and returned to his room to attend to some business.

He was usually quite busy, and he spent most of his spare time preparing material for his gaming and movie content.

Preparing gaming material also allowed him to conveniently work toward achievements in the Connoisseur app, specifically the one for earning platinum trophies in fifty different games. After all, once he earned a platinum trophy for a game, it meant he had gained a solid understanding of it.

After playing for a while in the morning, he changed his clothes and prepared to head to Yijiaxuan for lunch.

"I'll order two set meals today and have Jiayi eat with me," Bai Renzong planned to himself as he peddled his bike.

Since Han Jiayi always watched him eat anyway, they might as well eat together. It would save her from having to rush back to the kitchen and missing her own lunch.

"Yes, that's the plan..." With this thought, Bai Renzong turned his bike around a corner.

Passing through the alley ahead would lead him straight to Yijiaxuan, but suddenly, two large men blocked his path, one in front and one behind.

Bai Renzong stopped his bike, a bad premonition washing over him.

He observed the two burly men. The one in front had a crew cut and stood about 1.85 meters tall; although he had a bit of a belly, he still possessed solid muscles. The one behind was bald, standing exactly 1.8 meters tall, but his girth seemed to match his height. Standing there, the two of them looked like two walls completely blocking the alley.

It was clear they knew he was heading to Yijiaxuan and had been lying in wait.

*Damn it...* Bai Renzong frowned. *Are these thugs from the Huanshi Group? They really have no sense of sportsmanship, do they?*

Fortunately, he had practiced real combat with a senior from the gym just yesterday, so Bai Renzong felt a bit more confident. He possessed some capacity to fight back.

Especially in this current situation—a narrow alley and tall opponents—wasn't this exactly the environment where "Pencak Silat" could shine?

"Come with us quietly," the crew-cut man said, reaching out to grab him. "Someone wants to see you."

"Sorry, I'm in a rush to eat," Bai Renzong nimbly stepped back, avoiding the man's hand.

To his surprise, this action seemed to provoke them. The bald man charged at him like a rhinoceros. "Don't waste my time!"

Bai Renzong was startled, but he focused his mind and activated "Lightning Reflexes." The bald man's movements slowed down instantly.

Although this was his first time engaging in real combat outside the gym, he had a feeling: *I can do this.*

A month of repetitive training had built muscle memory for basic free-combat stances. As long as his reaction time kept up, he could absolutely apply it to a real fight.

He had plenty of time to think and decide on his counterattack sequence.

As the bald man's hands were about to grab his shoulders, Bai Renzong swung his hands to strike the man's wrists, neutralizing the force of the grab. He then pushed forward with his palms, striking the bald man's chin.

An attack from this angle sent shockwaves through the jaw directly to the brain, causing a mild concussion.

Despite the man's bulk, the blow left him reeling. Bai Renzong followed up by swinging his left elbow into the bald man's face, forcing him to turn sideways, then circled behind him and slammed his right elbow hard into the back of the man's neck.

This strike avoided the thick muscles and targeted the cervical spine to maximize the impact.

After taking this blow, the bald man collapsed to the ground. He struggled but couldn't get up, instead sitting on the floor and groaning while rubbing his head.

Just then, the other man with the crew cut regained his senses and lunged at Bai Renzong, claws bared.

Having just used "Lightning Reflexes," Bai Renzong felt his eyes stinging and knew he couldn't activate it again immediately, so he turned and ran.

The crew-cut man was stunned, then chased after him, shouting, "Stop right there! Don't run!"

Bai Renzong had already planned this: the man's beer belly was about to burst his belt; there was no way he could outrun him. The plan was to take down the bald guy, then make a tactical retreat... or rather, a tactical maneuver to wait for his eyes to recover from fatigue, then use a second "Lightning Reflexes" to defeat the crew-cut man.

After running a few steps, Bai Renzong felt his vision clearing. He turned around to face the man once more.

"Damn it! You're fast!" the man grumbled, reaching out again. "I told you, someone wants to see you!"

This time, Bai Renzong blocked the man's left wrist with his own left hand, deflecting the grab. He then used his right elbow to press against the man's elbow joint, pivoting with the man's momentum while sweeping his leg against the man's ankle.

The man felt his balance shift and crashed to the ground, his right arm twisted behind his back by Bai Renzong.

Bai Renzong immediately seized the opportunity to grab the man's wrists, pinning him down firmly by kneeling on his shoulders and using his own body weight.

He felt a sense of relief: *Good, the plan worked. The terrain was in my favor, and they didn't attack at the same time, otherwise, this would have been really troublesome.*

He barked at the man, "Speak! Who sent you? Was it Huanshi..."

Just then, a seductive, sugary female voice sounded from behind him: "What are you doing?"

"It's not what it looks like! This is self-defense; I'm absolutely not bullying them!" Bai Renzong quickly turned to explain, only to see a girl wearing a cropped, off-the-shoulder, low-cut T-shirt and denim hot pants.

She had long, wavy hair reaching her back, and her features... well, they were quite exquisite with makeup, though a bit heavy. He couldn't say if she looked the same without it. However, her figure was balanced and graceful; standing just 1.6 meters tall, she was petite yet slender, with excellent proportions that made her legs look incredibly long.

"Oh?" The girl crossed her arms, looking at Bai Renzong with interest. "I thought you looked quite delicate, but you're unexpectedly good at fighting. Lao Liu, Lao Ma, how can you two be my bodyguards with this level of skill?"

Her voice was sweet and sugary, but it was too cloying, lacking the natural charm of Han Jiayi.

"Miss, it's because you told me not to hurt him, so I didn't dare go all out," the man on the ground, Lao Liu, said helplessly. "Otherwise, I would've knocked this brat out with one punch!"

"What... is going on here?" Bai Renzong frowned, asking suspiciously, but he didn't let go.

"Alright, let go of Lao Liu. He won't hurt you; it's me who wants to see you," the girl said with a pout. "We've actually met... you didn't see me, but I saw you in the kitchen. I'm Yang Hua's fiancée, my name is Lu Yao. You can call me Yao Yao."

"Ah..." Bai Renzong blinked, then quickly released Lao Liu. "My mistake, my mistake! Why didn't you make that clear?"

"The Miss only said she wanted to see you, nothing else. How the hell was I supposed to make it clear?" Lao Liu rubbed his shoulder, glaring at him defiantly. The subtext was: *Don't blame the Miss, blame yourself.*

"Fine, I'll take the blame," Bai Renzong nodded. "So, Miss Lu, what do you need from me?"

"Oh, let's talk in my car," Lu Yao said with a spoiled frown. "How could I say those things in public?"

Bai Renzong actually disliked her deliberate, spoiled tone. By comparison, Han Jiayi was much more natural.

"Let's just talk inside the shop. We can eat while we chat," Bai Renzong replied, pointing to Yijiaxuan.

"I don't want to eat that woman's food," Lu Yao hummed, crossing her arms. "Xiao Hua doesn't like her."

"Then you can watch me eat," Bai Renzong said with a faint smile. He was annoyed that someone would talk about his future girlfriend that way.

"Fine, then I'll make it short," Lu Yao knit her delicate brows and stomped her foot. "Teach me how to fawn over Yang Hua."

"What the f*ck?!" Bai Renzong's eyes widened in shock. "That question... I think that's a bit difficult."

"But every time you fawn over him, he seems so happy," Lu Yao said, puzzled. "But no matter how I try, he's never very happy. It must be that my method is wrong."

"Stop..." Bai Renzong raised a hand to interrupt her. "If you keep going, this part is going to get censored."

Lu Yao sighed in frustration. "Ugh, I feel for my old 'simps' now. Only after becoming one myself do I realize how hard it is to fawn over someone."

Saying this, Lu Yao turned to Bai Renzong with a smile. "Let's make a deal. You teach me how to..."

"Please use the word 'praise'," Bai Renzong said with a slight smile.

"You teach me how to praise Xiao Hua, and I'll give you some perks..." Lu Yao said, smiling excitedly.

"Perks?" Bai Renzong frowned, asking skeptically, "What kind of perks?"

"You're a content creator, right? I'm the owner of Lanwafang. I can give you vouchers for free meals to give to your fans as a perk," Lu Yao quickly replied.

This was a perk that actually tempted Bai Renzong. His fans would be quite pleased with vouchers for Lanwafang. He hadn't been a content creator for long, and he couldn't afford to miss out on such perks for his audience.

"Fine!" Bai Renzong nodded readily. "Anyway, let's go inside. It's burning up out here..."

Lu Yao lowered her eyelids, looking slightly dissatisfied, but after weighing her options, she agreed. "Fine. But I can't let others see me. I'm not eating here, either. Xiao Hua won't be happy if he finds out."

With that, Lu Yao turned to Lao Liu behind her. "Go check on Lao Ma. I'm going inside to sit for a while."