Chapter 157: The Good Show Begins

"Husband, shall I order one more plate?"

Inside a bustling Thai restaurant, sitting in a relatively quiet corner, Jiang An and Tong Yi faced each other. The table in front of them was laden with colorful Thai dishes: Tom Yum soup, curry fish cakes, coconut chicken soup, mango sticky rice, a large platter of mixed fruits, and seafood. For the self-proclaimed foodie Tong Yi, this was pure bliss. With every dish she tasted, she exclaimed how delicious it was, and then, completely abandoning ladylike decorum, she ate heartily while serving food to Jiang An.

"Alright, eat as much as you want! We have the money!" Jiang An said with an indulgent smile.

Tong Yi beamed, blew Jiang An a kiss, and raised her hand to call the waiter.

"Should we drink? I can hold my liquor, you know. Would the little maiden like to keep me company for a few drinks?" she suddenly proposed, deliberately putting on a mischievous, villainous smirk that somehow managed to look utterly adorable.

Before Jiang An could reply, she answered her own question: "No, better not drink right now. We still have to go to the go-go bar to see the ladyboys; we can drink when we get there."

Good grief, she was a young woman with a persistent obsession with ladyboys, and Jiang An didn't even know what to say. He could only sigh at the thought that a fierce and bold life needs no explanation.

Half an hour later.

"So full, I can't eat another bite."

Tong Yi leaned back in her chair, pressing her bulging stomach. In truth, of the table full of food, she had only eaten a small fraction of each dish. Seeing her lingering, regretful gaze, Jiang An smiled and asked, "What, do you wish your stomach was bigger, or are you thinking of packing the leftovers to take home?"

"Taking them home is out of the question. After eating all this, I still feel like our Chinese food is better. It's just that I suddenly feel like I'm being extravagant and wasteful," Tong Yi said, cupping her pretty face in her hands.

"Extravagant? What are you thinking? With just this little bit of food, even if you ate for a million years, you couldn't eat me into poverty."

"That's right, my husband is so rich, what on earth am I sighing for?"

With that, Tong Yi stood up, squeezed herself into the seat next to Jiang An, and coaxed playfully, "Husband, my stomach aches a bit from eating too much. Will you rub it for me?"

"Alright."

Jiang An let her lie in his arms, then pressed his warm, large hand against her soft lower abdomen, secretly channeling his magic to help her digest. The effect was immediate. Tong Yi gazed tenderly at Jiang An's profile, feeling the slight discomfort being replaced by soothing relief. At that moment, she felt immensely happy and fulfilled.

"Brother An, thank you for tolerating my willful antics."

She said this with rare solemnity and seriousness.

A warm look crossed Jiang An's eyes, and with a faint smile, just as he was about to say something, Tong Yi suddenly sat up and pulled him toward the exit. "Let's go, Husband! Time to pay the bill and go see the ladyboys!"

Two hours later, it was already eleven-thirty at night. Patpong Alley was at its most vibrant. The streets were elbow-to-elbow with bustling crowds coming and going. Everywhere one looked, lightly dressed women were uninhibitedly displaying the fine curves of their bodies. Tong Yi and Jiang An had already emerged from the go-go bar, and Miss Tong was chattering away incessantly.

"Husband, you were way too shy! The ladyboy pressed her huge boobs right up against your face and you didn't even touch them. Good thing I touched them, otherwise wouldn't our money have gone to waste?

"Still, fake is fake; the texture was terrible. Husband, mine are definitely real. Tonight, do you want to..."

"Husband, why aren't you saying anything?"

"Husband, do you find me annoying?"

Jiang An hurriedly cut her off and said, "No, not at all. I've been listening to you the whole time."

"That's more like it." Tong Yi grabbed his arm, deliberately rubbing her proud bosom against him, her big eyes brimming with passion—perhaps influenced by the uninhibited performance they had just witnessed, or perhaps for some other reason.

The night was growing late, and it was time to find a place to rest.

Jiang An pretended not to receive Tong Yi's signals. Suddenly, his expression turned cold, and his large hand shot backward, perfectly intercepting a furry male hand.

Tong Yi looked back and saw two tall, robust Western men standing behind them reeking of alcohol. They were disheveled and flushed, each holding a glamorous local woman, staring lewdly at Tong Yi's shapely figure. One of them had wanted to test whether she was a ladyboy and had boldly reached out to grope her, only to be stopped by Jiang An.

"Let go, damn it! Your companion is very beautiful. Spend the night with me, name your price in dollars!" The bald brute whose wrist was caught by Jiang An stammered as he hiccuped, pulling out a wad of crumpled banknotes while speaking in a dissolute tone, his eyes never leaving Tong Yi.

Jiang An applied a slight pressure, and a sharp crack was heard. The big man let out a howl of pain and dropped to his knees because his wrist had been thoroughly crushed, and he was now screeching hoarsely for mercy.

"What did you do to him? Let go!" The other Western man saw things were going south, shook off some of his drunkenness, and swung his fist toward Jiang An's face. However, before his fist had even traveled halfway, Jiang An's heavy foot kicked him squarely in the stomach. The man's face instantly drained of color because although that kick hadn't sent him flying, it had ruptured his internal organs. A wave of agonizing cramps assaulted him, turning his legs to jelly as he dropped to his knees on the ground, in too much pain to utter a single word.

Yet, that wasn't the end of it. Tong Yi was no pushover either; she launched herself into the air with a flying kick that connected squarely with the man's prominent nose. Needless to say, it broke. Tears and nasal blood streamed down simultaneously.

Two tall and sturdy Western men shrieking in agony right in the middle of the street—the spectacle was utterly shocking.

This scene was witnessed by quite a few Westerners in the vicinity who had originally intended to rush over and help, but they instantly extinguished that thought. One of them even gasped aloud, "Bruce Lee!"

"Let's go. They've learned their lesson," Jiang An said indifferently, taking Tong Yi's hand and walking away. Those two men should consider themselves lucky that Jiang An was in a good mood tonight and didn't want to commit murder in the street; otherwise, it wouldn't have ended so simply. He would have sent them straight to meet that feathered deity Jehovah long ago.

"Husband, was my kick just now super majestic?" Tong Yi asked, still exhilarated. With Jiang An by her side, she felt an infinite sense of security, so she wasn't scared in the least; instead, she found the whole thing thrilling.

"Mhm, marvelous," Jiang An nodded.

Tong Yi giggled. At that moment, another figure suddenly darted out from the roadside to block their path.

"Your kung fu is not bad, but as fellow descendants of the Yan and Huang emperors, I'll kindly offer you two a piece of advice. Those two Westerners back there are nothing; your real danger is another group entirely. They've pegged you two as fat sheep and want to fleece you mercilessly. Who told you to flash your money around so lavishly tonight without trying to hide it? Young people, oh young people."

The person blocking their way was a youth in his early twenties, about the same height as Jiang An, but pale and plump with a prominent belly. He looked to easily weigh over two hundred pounds, though his facial features were delicate and refined. It was only because of his chubbiness that he looked round and fleshy. Right now, he stood with his arms crossed, speaking in a pompous, elder-like tone.

"Oh, fatty, you're Chinese too? Are you here on vacation?" Tong Yi was bright and sharp-witted. Seeing that although the fat man's gaze toward her held amazement, he quickly averted his eyes, she developed a shred of favorable impression and asked with curiosity.

The fat man looked speechless, pressed a hand to his forehead, and said, "Did heaven give you a pretty exterior but forget to give you a brain? You completely missed the main point of what I was saying! Please, shouldn't you be asking who that other group is?"

Tong Yi blinked her large eyes and said matter-of-factly, "My husband is right here, what do I have to be afraid of? Besides, you still haven't answered my question."

Hearing this, the fat man curled his lips in disdain, then stared at Jiang An and sneered, "Fine, there's no talking to you two. I've done my duty by warning you. Take it or leave it. Don't think that knowing a bit of kung fu or having some status back home makes you hot shots. You have no idea how ruthless that gang is. Sigh, whatever. I just hope that when I read the newspaper tomorrow, news of your demise isn't in it."

With that, the fat man turned around and walked away without looking back.

Jiang An watched the fat man disappear into the crowd, deep in thought. Tong Yi asked from beside him, "Husband, that guy is quite interesting. Was what he said true?"

"It's true. We were already targeted back at the bar. Your backpack is stuffed with bright red Chinese banknotes; anyone with ulterior motives saw it long ago and was just waiting for a chance to strike," Jiang An smiled.

Tong Yi's eyes lit up brightly as she clapped her hands. "Does that mean there's a good show to watch tonight?"

"I suppose so."

With that reply, Jiang An pulled Tong Yi toward a line of motorized tricycles parked by the roadside, hopped onto a random one, and instructed, "To the best hotel in Bangkok!"

Along the drive, Tong Yi couldn't resist glancing backward. When she finally spotted two suspicious tricycles trailing them in the rearview mirror, she whispered gently in Jiang An's ear, "Husband, I see them. This is so exciting!"

Not long after, they arrived at the most bustling district in downtown Bangkok and walked into one of the most opulent hotels to check in and rest.