My Superpower Is Kind of Cute

Chapter 6: A Chance Encounter

Under my impassioned criticism, the onlookers around us began chattering and pointing, their voices rising in a cacophony of gossip. The short guy looked a bit flustered, but he still swore up and down that he’d genuinely found the wallet. The young woman standing beside me took a deep breath, wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead, and said to us somewhat sheepishly, “That wallet… it seems… it really was mine.” “Huh?” Hearing this, I paused for a moment and said, “There are a lot of people here; he won’t dare to retaliate. We don’t need to spare a thief like that any face.” Thinking she was afraid the short guy might come after her later, I glared fiercely at him again. The girl shook her head and said, “It’s not like that. If he’d snatched it, how could I not have known…? I was just walking too hurriedly and didn’t secure my wallet properly.” “Maybe he did steal it?” I asked, not giving up. The short man was getting annoyed by now. “Are you trying to pin this on me or what? The girl herself said it fell out. Let me go already.” “It sounds like he’s telling the truth. When I walked by just now, I saw this young lady’s wallet in her back pocket—half of it sticking out. She was taking such big strides that it fell out on its own.” The speaker was one of the onlookers. I glanced in the direction of the voice and was instantly nine-tenths convinced. The guy had the face of a total pervert—the kind who spends all day staring at girls’ butts, let alone a beauty like her. “Sorry about that,” the young woman said, sticking out her tongue slightly as she tucked her wallet back in—this time stuffing the whole thing into the back pocket of her tight denim shorts. The gesture sent the hearts of all the men in the crowd racing. I thought about it and realized she was probably right. I’d just heard her shout “wallet”—normally, if someone were being mugged, the first thing they’d say would be “Ah, a thief!” or ““I’ll beat the crap out of you, you son of a bitch,” or something like that. It wouldn’t be possible for her to call out so softly like that. Of course, if she hadn’t admitted it, that short guy would probably already have been hauled off to the police station by us. I couldn’t help but look at the girl with newfound respect, gave her a thumbs-up, and said, “This is way more effective than a sting operation.” The crowd that had been gathered around the short guy all backed off and started to leave. Most had already gone, while a few lingered nearby, their small eyes constantly darting toward the girl. The short guy got up indignantly, brushed the dust off his clothes, and glared at me several times. Frowning, I said, “Even if you glare at me like that, I’m not going to get pregnant. If you know what’s good for you, get out of here fast. Don’t think I don’t know what you were up to just now. If someone hadn’t stopped you, that wallet probably wouldn’t be at the police station—it’d be at your place.” I said this mainly because I resented his good fortune. Anyone with eyes could see he’d had ulterior motives just now, but since the girl had already confessed herself, there was no way to pin a crime on him. Another reason was that I’d already confirmed he wasn’t hiding a knife between his legs—unarmed, he’d be no match for me… Only then did the short guy tear his gaze away and leave the place in a huff. “Thank you.” As the crowd dispersed, the girl thanked me once more, her eyes fixed on me as she extended an invitation. “Would you like to join me for afternoon tea?” I shook my head and, in a stilted, formal tone, managed to squeeze out two sentences: “No, thank you. It was just a small favor—nothing to mention. You should go back to what you were doing. We’ll stay in touch.” With that, I turned and walked away—talking face-to-face with such a beautiful woman while holding a magical cup in my hand just felt a bit awkward. “Oh, may I ask your name, sir?” Seeing me walk away like that, the young lady mimicked my tone and called out from behind me. I froze in my tracks, turned back to her with a faint smile, and said softly, “My name is Red Scarf.” Then I strode off. Qi Yun was hanging around beside me, sighing constantly in pity for me. “What a gorgeous girl—why didn’t you just go up and ask for her phone number?” I shot him a glance. “Even if I got it, what’s the point?” “It could help build a friendship,” Qi Yun said with a mischievous grin. “Once her affection for you hits the max, then… hehehe…” “Do you think this is some kind of dating sim? Or one of those 18+ games?” I said with a look of disdain. “Do you really expect that just picking up a wallet will make her give herself to you? Even the bourgeoisie wouldn’t exploit the common people like that…” In the end, I decided to go back to my lottery shop to tend to business. After serving my last customer, I took a taxi to Zhao Leichuan’s villa complex. Zhao Leichuan’s villa was located in a relatively remote area, surrounded by high-end residential neighborhoods. The area was spacious, filled with luxury cars and mansions, with ample distance between each villa and lush greenery all around—and, of course, the property fees were exorbitant. Standing at his front door, I could see the place was already decked out with lights and decorations, buzzing with festive activity. From the private pool came the sounds of men and women frolicking and flirting. Qi Yun let out a gasp and had already dashed inside. Since no one could see him anyway, I just let him run wild. “Hey, Meng Shao.” “Come on over, Meng Ge, let’s have a drink.” Walking through the garden, I was surrounded by Zhao Leichuan’s rowdy friends and their friends’ friends. I’d met them all before while drinking, so they all recognized me. After greeting each of them in turn, I made my way to the villa’s grand hall, which was just as packed with people. smoke-filled, with people drinking, hitting on girls, and shooting the breeze—everyone was busy with their own thing. The scene gave me the illusion that I’d somehow ended up in paradise. Zhao Leichuan came up beside me, slung his arm around my shoulder, and handed me a can of beer. I took a few sips, then pulled an exquisitely wrapped gift from my chest and shoved it into his hands. “You’re here now—why bring a gift?” Zhao Leichuan gave me a sly look. “Is there some prank stuff in there for me?” It seemed he remembered the gift he’d given me last time. What goes around comes around, after all. I shook my head and said earnestly, “I’m not as clueless as you. You’ll definitely find what’s inside useful.” “Well, thanks in advance, buddy.” Zhao Leichuan glanced at it, still a bit skeptical, and set my gift aside with the rest of the pile, planning to open them one by one tomorrow. We went out to the second-floor balcony together, enjoying the cool summer night breeze, and I asked him quietly, “How are you going to clean this up tomorrow? Won’t the neighbors complain?” I knew Zhao Leichuan’s parents were always in Jiangnan dealing in leather—they might not come back for ten days or even half a month—which was why he dared to wreak such havoc. Zhao Leichuan shrugged it off. “What’s there to worry about? I’ll hire a couple of part-timers tomorrow, and everything will be sorted out. One of the villas next door is unoccupied, and the other one was making even more noise than I am lately—they certainly won’t dare complain.” “Let’s hope so.” I looked up at the night sky; there were hardly any stars tonight, and they weren’t very bright. “It’s been almost a year since you graduated—don’t you ever think about finding a job?” Zhao Leichuan shot me a disgruntled look. “I was in such a good mood today—why do you have to say things like that?” Suddenly, as if he’d just remembered something, he turned and walked off the balcony, flashing a mysterious smile. “Oh, right. Wait here—I’ll introduce you to someone.” Without waiting for my reply, he went downstairs. A few minutes later, he came back up, leading a young girl who walked gracefully by his side. “Red Scarf?” The young woman recognized me at a glance and spoke with a hint of surprise. “It’s you?” I looked at her in surprise. I hadn’t expected Zhao Leichuan to invite her as well—it really is a small world that we’d run into each other here. Before Zhao Leichuan could introduce us, the girl stepped up to me, clasped her hands together, and—mimicking my manner from earlier that afternoon—stifled a smile as she said with a straight face, “Our green mountains remain unchanged.” I awkwardly replied, “Then let the green waters flow on forever.” I thought to myself that I might have shown off a bit too much this afternoon… Zhao Leichuan, meanwhile, looked completely bewildered. “What kind of nonsense are you two spouting?”