CHAPTER 578: CHAPTER 578: IT’S A FRIEND

"Let them go, if you have anything to settle, settle it with me. Don’t involve my friends." The boy raised his head, looking at the man with medium-length hair with tear-streaked eyes.

"That’s hilarious. You’re still trying to play the hero here? Better take care of yourself first before you talk." The man with medium-length hair was filled with disdain and mockery toward the boy’s words.

"You look pretty good, with nice proportions. Be my model, the kind that doesn’t wear clothes. I promise I’ll paint you beautifully and make you the most beautiful woman at the art exhibition." The man with medium-length hair eyed Ariel up and down as he spoke.

"You don’t need to say it, I know I’m the most beautiful." Ariel flicked away the hair blown into her mouth by the wind and spoke.

Xu Ke didn’t say a word, instead, he directly expressed his dissatisfaction with the man’s earlier comment through his actions. He manually snapped the man’s wrist.

The man’s smile had not faded when his wrist was snapped.

"Ah!" A piercing scream came abruptly and sharply, like nails on a chalkboard, raising goosebumps all over and making one shudder with discomfort.

"My hand, my hand!" The man cried, holding his broken hand, gasping wide-mouthed, his earlier arrogance vanished without a trace.

"How can you break his hand? Don’t you know that a painter’s most important asset is his hands? And he has a competition next month, how could you be so cruel?" The man holding the boy’s right arm looked at Xu Ke with disapproval, eyes filled with the question of how he could be so malicious.

"But to a painter, his work is just as important. You destroyed my friend’s painting; why can’t we break his hand? Besides, his mouth was just running off." Ariel responded coolly, fiddling with her nails.

Ariel tilted her head, looking at the other side, her expression extraordinarily innocent.

"The painting can be redone, but once the hand is broken, how can he paint?" The long-haired man’s associates were seething at Ariel’s words, their faces livid, words squeezed out through clenched teeth.

Ariel shifted her gaze to Xu Ke.

"His hand can be reattached in a hospital, and afterward, he can paint normally. It won’t affect the flexibility of his fingers." Xu Ke, like Ariel, wore an innocent expression.

Watching the couple’s twisted reasoning, really, it was enough to infuriate anyone.

The boy knew he shouldn’t feel this way, but thinking about his hard work being torn apart and now the culprit’s hand being broken, requiring surgery and rendering him unable to hold a brush, he couldn’t help but feel joy, a sense of satisfaction.

The boy lowered his head, biting hard on his lower lip, afraid to laugh out loud, shoulders trembling as he suppressed the laughter.

The boy’s trembling reminded others of his presence. The two people holding him vented their anger on the boy, "Alright, you broke my brother’s hand for your friend, now your friend is in our hands, I’ll break both of his hands and see how he holds a brush afterward." The man said viciously, applying force, causing the boy to genuinely feel the pain coming from his arms.

The boy bit his teeth in silence, not wanting to become Xu Ke’s weakness, "You guys should leave, they have more men. Don’t worry about me anymore. The fact that you spoke up for me and taught them a lesson makes me very happy and grateful. There’s no need for you to stay involved in what’s left." The boy looked earnestly at Xu Ke and Ariel, suppressing the fear of possibly having his arm broken.

"Abandoning friends is not my style." Xu Ke said, looking at the fear and concern in the boy’s eyes.

"You should think carefully. If you hurt my friend’s finger today, I’ll slowly break each of your fingers one by one, and I mean it." Xu Ke’s gaze fell on several people, like a drop of water falling into a pan of oil, causing an explosion of fear, making them believe without a doubt that if they broke the boy’s arm, Xu Ke would indeed break their fingers one by one. It was an unusual experience that no one wanted to repeat.

They exchanged glances, instinctively taking two steps back, loosening their grip on the boy.

Realizing that the hold on him wasn’t as strong anymore, the boy broke free from the two behind him, running towards Xu Ke.

The distance between the two groups wasn’t far to begin with, and the boy quickly reached Xu Ke’s side after just a few steps.

"Are you okay, is your hand hurt?" Ariel asked.

"No, just my painting was torn, nothing else." The boy replied to Ariel with a rosy smile, then bowed solemnly to the two, speaking, "Thank you for today, but you really should leave. Their families have some influence, and I don’t want to drag you into it."

"But we’re already involved now." Xu Ke responded calmly, looking at the other side.

The boy seemed taken aback by Xu Ke’s words, momentarily stunned, before apologizing, "I’m sorry."

"Can you show us a little respect? You’re actually having a chat here! Have you no shame?" One of the guys, completely ignored, couldn’t help but say.

"Sorry, forgot you were here. Go ahead, speak." Xu Ke looked at them, showing no sign of apology, and said.

Xu Ke’s words made them breathe heavily with anger, but remembering Xu Ke’s habit of snapping hands without warning made them afraid to confront him, a typical case of bullying those weaker than them.

The three of them glanced at Xu Ke, not daring to speak, instead targeting the boy.

"He Ziyun, you’re something, having the guts to have someone ambush us and set us up. Today we won’t hold it against you, but we won’t forget this. Someday we’ll settle the score. Make sure he stays glued to your side, or when we catch you alone, you’re done." One of the men said, pointing at He Ziyun’s nose.

"We’ll remember this, we’ll meet again."

"I’ll remember the grudge of my broken hand."

Each of the three men spat out a vicious warning before quickly casting a glance at Xu Ke, seeing nothing from his indifferent demeanor. They quickly fled in a hurry, their backs looking slightly pathetic, contrasting sharply with their earlier threats, making you want to laugh.

Ariel didn’t hold back, laughing loudly.