Leaving the supermarket, Henry was heading home when he heard a girl’s cry for help from a small path by the community wall, "Help! Help!"
Henry immediately rushed over.
Across the street, some passersby, including a few middle-aged men, heard the cry and looked towards the path. Initially, they seemed ready to help but hesitated after seeing the situation.
At the entrance of the path, Henry saw several groups of people fighting. No wonder the middle-aged men hesitated.
Seeing Henry rush to the entrance, the girl who cried for help waved at him, "Uncle, Uncle, help, help!"
Beside her was another girl holding her arm, seemingly trying to push her out, but she was calling for Henry's help.
Henry was stunned. It was the girl he met on the bus!
Damn, calling me uncle? Do I look that old?
Henry glanced around. Despite the groups fighting, it was clear who was outnumbered. Some were two against one, some three against two, and one group had five or six people beating two or three who were already on the ground.
"Stop!" Henry shouted, charging at the nearest group of two against one.
The two thugs turned, glaring at Henry. Before they could threaten him, "Bang! Bang!" Henry kicked them flying.
Henry wasn't acting randomly. He saw the beaten one was a young guy with glasses, clearly a Harbor Springs University student, while the attackers were thugs.
The other groups, hearing their companions’ cries, stopped.
Henry saw all the beaten ones looked like students and immediately charged at the next group.
"You're dead!"
The thugs thought Henry was just another student. One, clearly the leader, pulled out a gleaming watermelon knife. But before he could swing it, Henry kicked him in the chest.
With a clatter, the knife fell, and the leader flew back.
"Fight!"
The thugs, thinking Henry was just another student, charged at him.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
They attacked in a fan shape but were kicked away in the same shape, landing all over the place.
The girl who cried for help and her friend were stunned, not expecting to call a top fighter.
Due to the lighting, she hadn’t even seen Henry’s face clearly.
The thugs, writhing on the ground, struggled to get up. The leader, glaring at Henry, spat, "Just you wait!" and ran.
Damn, still threatening me?
Henry was about to chase him when the beaten students surrounded him, saying, "Brother, let it go, let it go!"
Henry looked at the girls, then at the beaten students, thinking: Aren’t you all together? Why stop me from dealing with them?
But he quickly understood. These students, mostly from rural areas, feared the thugs' revenge.
Henry shook his head, seeing the thugs had fled, and turned to leave.
"Uncle," the girl’s friend called, "Thank you!"
The girl nudged her, whispering, "Why call him uncle?"
Her friend was confused, thinking: Didn't you call him uncle?
The girl had seen Henry's face and was embarrassed. Her friend calling him uncle again was even more awkward.
Henry felt awkward too, just nodding and walking away, thinking: Better leave before they call me grandpa!
As Henry neared the community gate, he heard the girl calling, "Hey, hey, wait!"
Henry rolled his eyes, thinking: Such rudeness! If uncle is wrong, call me brother!
Turning, he saw the students, including the girl’s friend, heading towards Harbor Springs University, except the girl who chased him, blushing and looking cute.
Henry had thought she was a high school student, but she was a university student, probably a local since she took the bus home.
"What's up?" Henry asked, expressionless.
"Um," the girl blushed more, "Can I have your number? I... I don’t mean anything else. Those thugs will come back, and I want to ask for your help."
"Ask for my help?" Henry asked, "You’re all Harbor Springs University students, right?"
The girl nodded.
Henry continued, "Tonight was a coincidence, right? There are so many students at Harbor Springs University. Even if they come back, they might not recognize you. Besides, your school has security, and you can call the police. Why ask me?"
The girl hesitated, then said, "It wasn’t a coincidence. The girl with me is my friend. She borrowed money outside school and can’t repay it. The lenders came for the debt. I felt sorry for her and called our male classmates for help, but there were too many of them. So..."
I see.
Henry said, "If you borrowed money, find a way to repay it. If the interest is too high, report it."
The girl said, "But we borrowed first. Reporting it would get us in trouble. Besides, what’s the point? They won’t face severe punishment. They’ll come back and trouble us. I saw you’re a good person. You helped our principal’s wife today. She was so fierce, claiming to know all the big shots, but she was polite to you. I think you can handle these thugs."