Chapter Ninety-Two: Robbing KFC?

In a KFC near the train station in North Yang City, the place was fairly busy on this Saturday night, though not so crowded that there was standing room only.

At a corner table on the first floor, Cen An'an was gnawing indignantly on a fried chicken leg with her small cherry lips.

What a blunder. A terrible blunder. If only she had pressed the matter then and there! Her brother-in-law was simply too wicked. Yet KFC fit every condition her brother-in-law had promised about the restaurant... and that left Cen An'an with absolutely no way out.

But even if it was KFC, she still could not let her brother-in-law off the hook. So although she was terribly unhappy, she did her utmost to order every relatively expensive item on the menu.

"An'an, you ordered three family buckets, five grapefruit mojitos, and six cod-and-chicken-leg burgers. Can you even finish all that?" Xue Tian'ai said with a bright smile, sipping iced coffee as he looked at her.

"Even if I can't finish it, that's fine. At least this much food should be enough to make you treat me once, you bad brother-in-law!" Cen An'an pouted and went on, "And brother-in-law, you didn't need to spell out everything I ordered so clearly! If you were writing this, those few lines you just said would be shameless padding!"

"Really?" Xue Tian'ai touched his chin in thought. "Still, I do have a friend who does write like that."

"Really? Really? What's your friend's name?" Cen An'an asked, blinking her big eyes.

"The Invincible Husband in the City," Xue Tian'ai answered solemnly, showing no embarrassment at the most mortifying title imaginable.

Qin Mengxue's face darkened at the name. Once before, when Xue Tian'ai had teased her, he had claimed he was acting out a scene from that very book... what on earth kind of thing was it?

"Ugh! Even the title sounds unreliable! It's probably just some trashy little smut novel that pads out everyday life!" Cen An'an complained as she shoved an egg tart into her mouth.

Xue Tian'ai only gave a faint smile and said no more, instead turning his gaze toward the huge screen on the second floor of KFC.

The screen was playing a concert video of a female singer on repeat. She was beautiful, her flowing black hair like a waterfall, reflecting the stage lights with an almost dreamlike shimmer.

Her proportions were exquisite, and in the hanfu she wore at the moment, with the faint mist drifting across the stage, she looked like a fairy descended to earth.

"Hm? Brother-in-law, what beauty did you see? Why are you staring so hard?" Cen An'an asked with a wicked grin, raising her voice a little.

After hearing that, Qin Mengxue instantly turned her gaze to Xue Tian'ai as well, though the look in her eyes was now full of killing intent. "Xue Tian'ai, what are you looking at?"

"Nothing at all, nothing at all..." Xue Tian'ai hurriedly raised both hands and waved them, protesting his innocence. Then he paused and continued, "I just think the song this singer is performing is pretty nice. What's her name?"

"What? Brother-in-law, you're not joking, are you? You don't even know Butterfly Yu Bing?" Cen An'an widened her eyes in shock and looked at Xue Tian'ai as though he were an alien.

"Heh heh, I don't. Is she really that famous?" Xue Tian'ai asked with an awkward smile.

"Xue Tian'ai, it would be more accurate to call her a diva," Qin Mengxue explained. "Butterfly Yu Bing is a singer who rose to great fame in the last few years in this country. Her signature style is sorrowful, classical-style love songs, so not knowing her is actually quite normal."

"Brother-in-law, let me whisper a little secret to you," Cen An'an added from the side. "My sister is actually one of Butterfly Yu Bing's fans!"

"An'an, I heard all of that," Qin Mengxue said, lifting a cup of iced coffee from the table and taking a small sip. She did not seem to care much about Cen An'an's so-called whisper.

But at that very moment, the front door of the KFC was suddenly kicked open, and four masked men in black burst inside. They were all powerfully built, their faces covered by balaclavas that left only their eyes exposed, and each of them held a black pistol.

"Robbery! Everyone get down on the floor! Put all your valuables beside you! Move it, or I'll shoot you!" one of the masked men roared.

The customers in the KFC all froze, and then, in the blink of an eye, the whole place exploded into chaos. Panic spread instantly, and the crowd turned into a boiling mess.

Qin Mengxue and Cen An'an were obviously terrified as well. Both women leaned toward Xue Tian'ai.

"Xue Tian'ai, what do we do?" Qin Mengxue asked, clutching one of his arms, her body trembling a little.

"Brother-in-law, brother-in-law!" Cen An'an grabbed his other arm and hid behind him.

"It's fine. Don't worry. Stay calm and crouch down first. These people are probably only after money. As long as we hand it over, nothing should happen," Xue Tian'ai comforted them quietly. He shifted slightly to shield the two women with his body and motioned for them to crouch down.

Feeling his protection, Qin Mengxue and Cen An'an gradually calmed a little and knelt down as well, though both of them still clutched tightly at Xue Tian'ai's clothes.

Xue Tian'ai himself was not especially panicked, but inwardly he was rather speechless. A robbery? Why not go rob a jewelry store, for heaven's sake? What use was there in robbing a KFC? And why had he been so unlucky lately? Just two days ago he had dealt with an assassin called Chain, and today, after being tormented to death by a day of shopping, he ran straight into a robbery... He really should have checked the almanac before leaving home.

Then Xue Tian'ai suddenly felt a strong sense of incongruity. Crouching there, his eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the four men.

One of them was carrying a burlap sack, going from customer to customer and plundering whatever valuables he found. Another was pointing a gun at the trembling cashier and threatening her to hand over the cash from the register.

A third was hiding behind the door to KFC, watching the outside warily. The last man was holding a gun and scanning the entire restaurant.

Yet aside from the one standing by the door, the other three robbers had distracted, unfocused looks in their eyes. They did not seem to care what the customers were putting into their bag, nor did they care how much cash the cashier handed over... These men seemed more like they were searching for something.

Though he had some doubts about their behavior, Xue Tian'ai did not intend to act yet. With his eyesight, he could clearly tell those guns were real. If he made a rash move without a plan, he could certainly avoid a mere few bullets, but the other customers in the shop would be another matter. If anyone innocent was hurt, that would be disastrous.

While Xue Tian'ai was mentally planning the sequence of attacks should he decide to intervene, the robber carrying the burlap sack had already come before him.

"Kid, hand over everything valuable on you. And the two women behind you too—give up all your valuables!" he barked.

Xue Tian'ai looked at him and was just about to say something when he suddenly noticed a flash of joy in the robber's eyes.

The robber then shouted to his companions in Spanish, "Hey, over here! I think I've found that woman!"

Hearing his companion's cry, the other three robbers all looked delighted. Aside from the one at the door, the other two moved toward Xue Tian'ai's side.

"Which one, which one?" another robber replied in Spanish as well.

"Look, exactly right! She's the same as in the photo. The Phaeton parked at the door really is hers!" the robber said, still speaking Spanish, and he lifted a little finger to point at Qin Mengxue.

Hearing their exchange, Xue Tian'ai's expression instantly turned cold. Spanish—of course he understood it. Only then did he finally realize what that strange sense of incongruity had been.

These people were not robbers at all. Their purpose was not money. They were after the Qin Mengxue behind him.

Qin Mengxue's face had also gone pale. Though she was not particularly fluent in Spanish, she had understood the general meaning.

"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and pack the money, and as for the woman behind you, get up!" The robber did not even look directly at Xue Tian'ai. He tossed the burlap sack in front of him and pointed his gun at Qin Mengxue.

With the dark muzzle aimed at her, Qin Mengxue's face went even whiter, and the hand clutching Xue Tian'ai began to tremble uncontrollably.

"I'm terribly sorry, but it seems I don't have anything valuable on me," Xue Tian'ai said as he suddenly stood up, placing his body squarely between Qin Mengxue and the gun.

"Kid, if you don't have money, then get out of the way! Let the woman behind you hand it over!" At once, three black gun barrels turned toward Xue Tian'ai.

"Sorry, but it looks like neither of them has much money either," Xue Tian'ai said with a faint smile. Facing three guns, he showed no fear at all and still blocked Cen An'an and Qin Mengxue behind him with his body.

"You..."

"The police are coming! Deal with it now!" the man at the door suddenly shouted in alarm.

It seemed someone had taken advantage of the chaos to call the police. Outside the KFC, the sound of sirens was growing closer and closer.

Hearing the sirens, a ruthless gleam flashed in the eyes of the three robbers. One of them even roared, "If you won't get out of the way, then die!"

Bang. Bang. Bang.

As soon as the words fell, three dull gunshots rang out at the same time.