Chapter 34: Enemies Often Cross Paths-Filho biológico não é tão bom quanto o filho adotado? Se você se arrepender, não me procure!(O sonho solitário do garoto de rua)

Since the situation had been clarified, the supermarket staff naturally apologized to Lin Tian in the presence of the police officers. However, they did not utter a single word about compensation. Lin Tian understood that they would certainly be unwilling to pay, so he shifted his focus to the three security guards.

"Don't you think you owe me an explanation for your behavior just now?" He then looked at the two officers. "Officers, I'm not very familiar with the law, but may I ask if I can press charges against them for how they treated me earlier?"

Upon hearing this, the three guards panicked. Although they were accustomed to bullying others by abusing their power, they still understood the principle that "the wise man submits to circumstances." Before the officers could respond, they spoke up first: "Little brother, it was our fault earlier. We apologize to you now."

Lin Tian remained silent. Seeing this, the three gritted their teeth and said, "How about we each give you a hundred yuan as compensation?"

"Three hundred yuan?"

"Yes, three hundred yuan."

Seeing the flicker of interest in Lin Tian's eyes, the three felt a wave of relief. Spending this small amount to settle the matter was not too great a loss.

"Fine," Lin Tian replied.

The three pooled their money and handed it over. "Should we ask him to write a letter of settlement?" one of the male guards whispered to the others. The female guard rolled her eyes at him, as if silently saying, "Write what? Aren't you embarrassed enough?"

After this farce was resolved and the two officers had left in their vehicle, the supermarket manager—who was also the person in charge—walked down from the second floor. As the guards expected, he looked utterly displeased and immediately barked, "Both of you are fired! Get out!"

The two male guards were naturally furious. They threw their hats to the ground and snapped, "Don't bother barking at us, we'll leave on our own!"

The three of them began to walk away in a huff. The manager suddenly shouted, "Come back! I didn't say I was firing you!"

The female guard showed no respect, and without looking back, she coldly retorted, "If they're gone, I'm not staying in this dump either. Go to hell, you idiot!"

"You..." The manager, whose face turned beet red after being berated to his face, felt a tightness in his chest. In a fit of rage, he shouted, "Fine, fine! Having offended me, I don't believe any place in this city will hire you again!"

The three paid no mind and walked a good distance away. Witnessing all of this, Lin Tian felt unsettled for a long time, questioning himself, "Did I go too far?"

He had no time to ponder, as the manager was walking straight toward him. "Hey, kid! This whole thing started because of you, didn't it?"

Lin Tian was annoyed by the manager’s tone and walked away without sparing him a glance.

"Are you deaf? I'm talking to you!" The manager hurried to catch up and reached out to grab him.

Lin Tian didn't even look at him; he simply flicked his hand with impatient force. The manager, looking stout and heavy, toppled over like a small mountain.

"Ouch, it hurts!" A pig-like shriek echoed as the manager clutched his eyes, unable to open them in pain. Nearby onlookers covered their mouths to stifle laughter at the ridiculous scene.

"Stop laughing! None of you are allowed to laugh!" He struggled to push himself up, cursing at the crowd in his disheveled state. Taking advantage of the distraction, Lin Tian walked away.

"Phew, finally away from that idiot." No sooner had he finished his thought than he heard murmurs under a nearby tree:

"What a piece of trash. We're all just workers; does he really think he's someone important?"

"Exactly. If this place doesn't keep us, there are plenty of others! I hope he manages to keep that manager seat for the rest of his life and never gets fired; otherwise, it’ll be hard to find him when we want to beat him up!"

"Can you two stop complaining? Think about where we're going from here."

"That's easy. It's hard to find a high-paying job, but can't we easily find another security job for three or four thousand?"

"True. I've been a guard for years now, I'm practically numb to it. Maybe we should just quit and become 'street thugs' again—streaming games is much more comfortable."

"Yeah, I think that could work."

"Wow, you two are real talents!" The woman shook her head in frustration. She couldn't forget the days when she was a "street girl," starving three times a day—the skinniest she had ever been since entering society. She didn't want to revisit that.

The two men, however, seemed to have taken a liking to the idea of regressing in life. Seeing her genuine anger, they finally dropped the subject.

"Forget it. It's still early, let's take our things and find somewhere to eat." With that, they picked up their suitcases and bags and set off. As for where they were going, that remained unknown.

Lin Tian watched them leave from a distance, wondering if he would ever end up like them. As he stood dazed, a sharp honking sound startled him.

"Hey, are you blind? Do you have a death wish, standing in the middle of the road?"

Lin Tian felt the voice was familiar. He turned his head and was taken aback. Tang Rumeng had not expected the person she was yelling at to be the same one who had infuriated her earlier.

"It's this damn guy again. If I had known, I would have told the chauffeur to just step on the gas and run him over!"

Seeing her grim, enraged expression, the middle-aged man in the driver's seat asked cautiously, "Miss, what's wrong?"

"Focus on your driving! It's none of your business, so don't ask!" Tang Rumeng snapped at him. She then noticed that the carefully wrapped gift on the dashboard seemed to be damaged. With a sinking heart, she opened it and was immediately thrown into a panic.

"It must have been that sudden braking earlier that caused the two jade pieces to collide." It wasn't a major issue—the jade was still intact, save for a tiny mark from the impact. But Tang Rumeng required perfection. Since it was no longer perfect, it had lost its value as a gift.

Thinking of the family banquet in a few hours and the fact that her last-minute gift had been "ruined," she was filled with fury. She flung the car door open, stepped out, and chased after the youth who was about to leave.

"You damn jerk, you're driving me crazy!" As she spoke, she swung a hard slap at him.

Sensing something behind him, Lin Tian dodged the blow and reflexively countered with a strike of his own.