Chapter 35: Encountering Thugs
Suddenly, Kieu Ly felt a wave of embarrassment wash over her.
Why on earth was she sitting by the lake with this kid?
He wasn't even legally an adult yet.
She stood up abruptly.
"Let's go buy the pen and head back to study."
Toan Phuong cheerfully got up to fetch his bicycle and mounted it.
But just as he got on, a group of young men pushed him off.
This area was far from the luxury neighborhoods—frequented by all sorts of people.
Toan Phuong had never hung around here before.
He never imagined that the first time he came to enjoy the breeze, he'd run into a bunch of thugs.
He didn't care much if he got robbed—but what scared him was the thought of Kieu Ly being harassed.
And of course, the worst-case scenario happened.
One of the men approached Kieu Ly, reaching out to stroke her cheek.
"You're gorgeous. Come have some fun with us."
Seeing that, Toan Phuong immediately stood up, stepped between them, swatted the man's hand away, and growled:
"Get lost."
The thugs burst out laughing.
"Look at this little punk. Trying to play hero?"
With that, they rushed toward him, throwing punches.
Knowing he was no match, Toan Phuong focused on protecting his vital spots while using his body as a shield for Kieu Ly.
Kieu Ly was panicked and terrified.
She looked around, hoping to call for help—but the lake was huge, in the suburbs, with only a few scattered people around.
And those few were minding their own business, oblivious to the scuffle.
Just as she was frozen in indecision, Toan Phuong leaned into her shoulder and whispered:
"Get ready to run."
Then, he turned to face the thugs, spotted the weakest point in their formation, and kicked hard—twice—sending two of them sprawling.
He grabbed Kieu Ly's hand and ran.
Thanks to being mentally prepared, she was able to keep pace.
Her body wasn't as strong, and she quickly grew tired—but having him pull her along helped.
Still, some of the thugs gave chase.
After sprinting for quite a distance, they finally reached a main road.
Toan Phuong ran straight to the traffic police booth and gasped:
"Officer, we were attacked!"
The traffic police officer saw the two students in front of him, bent over and out of breath, bruised and clearly shaken.
He believed them immediately and dispatched two officers to go back with them to the scene.
Seeing the police, the thugs quickly scattered and disappeared.
Kieu Ly retrieved the bicycle that had been left lying by the lake.
Then she and Toan Phuong went to find a pharmacy.
At the pharmacy, Kieu Ly bought some Salonpas patches, antiseptic, and cotton swabs.
She told Toan Phuong to sit down on a bench, then carefully checked him over to see where he was hurt.