He’s got some courage… but not much of courage.

— "I really thought No. 10 was finally going to stand up… but nope! Pfft-hahahaha!"— "The girl needs a moment to calm down. (Funny)"— "Hahahaha! I'm dying! If you're gonna brag, at least include me next time, hahaha!"

— "(Come on now) Brother Cao, don't tell them about your summer job in Shuliya, they'll be scared to death!"— "Fight, fight, fight! Let's go!"— "Don't be shy—if you get killed, we'll start a crowdfunding campaign for your grave. (Covers mouth, crying)"

At that moment, silence fell.

Seven or eight guys stood there, staring blankly at Cao Shengming. The looks on their faces were as complicated as trying to solve a quadratic equation.

As for the girl, she was completely at a loss.

Her face was full of disbelief, and she stood frozen for a moment before finally blurting out, "Wait… Big brother, you—"

"Big what?! Big brother who?! Do we even know each other?!"

Cao Shengming quickly waved his hands, looking serious.

"Alright, you guys carry on. I was just passing by, you know? A casual onlooker, just here for the fun! Nothing to do with me, really. Let's go, we're busy people!"

And with that, he grabbed the photographer and bolted from the scene.

"Brother, are we really gonna ignore this?"

"Come on, you're so strong! You could totally handle it!"

Cao Shengming rolled his eyes.

"Did you see how huge that guy is?! If you tore off that arm and threw it in the market, people wouldn't know if it was a human limb or a slab of beef!"

"And how exactly do you expect me to handle it? You want me to just hand over my head on a platter?"

"But..."

The photographer hesitated, glancing back. "But if we don't do something, that girl is seriously in trouble… Oh crap, look! They've already grabbed her!"

Cao Shengming turned around.

Sure enough.

Just a few steps away, the big guy in charge had already reached out his beefy hand, grabbing the girl by the neck.

She looked as helpless as a little chick in his grip, her terrified screams laced with sobs.

"..."

Cao Shengming clenched his teeth.

"Damn it. My stupid sense of justice!"

He took a deep breath.

"Alright, let's go. Listen up—if we're gonna do this, we can't hesitate. Go all in! No holding back! I've dealt with punks like this before. These days, the bad guys are only afraid of people crazier than them. The second we show weakness, we're dead meat!"

With that, he squared his shoulders, rolled up his sleeves, and strode back toward the scene.

The photographer gulped, grabbed a brick from the roadside, and followed nervously.

Just as the girl was about to get hurt—

Cao Shengming thundered, "STOP! Let go of that girl! If anyone's getting grabbed, it should be me!"

Everyone: "..."

The big guy frowned, looking him up and down. "What's with this scrawny little monkey? You looking for a beating?"

The second he loosened his grip, the girl scrambled behind Cao Shengming, panicking.

"Big brother… big brother, save me!"

"Don't be scared," Cao Shengming said firmly.

Then, in a bold, dramatic move, he wrapped his right arm around the girl, pulling her into his embrace.

The girl gasped, stunned by his unexpected dominance. She looked up at him in awe.

"Big… big brother… you—"

Cao Shengming remained cold and composed, his eyes fierce.

Fixing his gaze on the gang of punks, he declared, "She's coming with me today. If anyone dares to stop me—let's see if they've got the guts!"

The photographer standing nearby was speechless. "Damn… this is actually kinda cool. Even throwing in Cantonese for effect…?"

Meanwhile, in the live chat.

Over 200,000 viewers were completely blown away by Cao Shengming's sudden burst of charisma.

— "(Shocked) HOLY SH*T! That was SO COOL!"— "My god, since when was No. 10 this badass?! The way he talks… ugh, perfection!"— "Okay, okay, it's a little cringe but also ridiculously cool."— "(Covers mouth, crying) It's over! That girl's totally falling for him now—no escape!"— "(Nosebleed) His English is shaky, but his Cantonese? Flawless."— "(LOL) I knew it—he must've worked a summer job in Hong Kong back in the day!"— "PFFFT HAHAHA, can we please stop bringing up his summer job?!"

Even the thugs looked taken aback. They hesitated for a moment before their leader snapped out of it.

"Boy, you've got guts," the big guy growled. "But let's see how you actually plan to take this girl from us!"

With that, he and his gang started closing in.

Cao Shengming remained calm, patting the photographer's shoulder.

"Hand me the camera. Can't go into battle empty-handed."

The photographer gulped. "Wait… you're not planning to hit them with it, are you?!"

Seeing the gang advancing, he didn't dare hesitate. He quickly handed over the camera while gripping his brick tightly.

"Sht, sht, sht!*" The photographer was breathing heavily. "Alright, I got this! No chickening out!"

"Good!"

Cao Shengming held the camera in one hand, the girl in the other, and sneered at the gang.

"You idiots better watch yourselves. If I run away now… don't you see my big brother here already picked up a brick?!"

The photographer froze, suddenly feeling the brick in his hands turn scorching hot.

"Uh… Brother… what do you mean…?"

Cao Shengming ignored him and smirked at the gang.

"Back in the day, my big bro fought his way from Bolan Street to Tsim Sha Tsui… and from there to Causeway Bay! Who hasn't heard of my bro's name in the Hongxing gang?!"

"Since you've messed with my big bro today… I can only say one thing: you're digging your own graves!"

Then, with dramatic intensity, he turned to the photographer.

"Big brother! You saved my life today—I will never forget this kindness! My brother's got urgent matters to attend to, so we'll be leaving first!"

And with that—

Cao Shengming grabbed the girl and ran for his life.

The photographer: "..."

The livestream: "..."

— "(Covers mouth, crying) Photographer: Bro… you're really out here showing off, chasing a girl, and using me as a human shield?!"