Chapter 124: We Meet Again

As they took turns singing, everyone not only had an emotional release but also got to know each other a little better.

Immersed in the atmosphere of Zhao Yuanyuan’s birthday, Chen Mo finally felt like he had truly returned to the past, to ten years ago.

Everything before him felt so real and tangible—the laughter, the singing, the candid expressions of emotion. It was something he could never have conjured up through imagination alone.

For many days now, a worry had been lingering in Chen Mo’s heart.

He was afraid that one day he would open his eyes and find himself back in that bleak future, ten years from now.

It was like with Su Yuqing; once you’ve seen the light, it’s hard to go back to the darkness.

The same was now true for Chen Mo.

After experiencing wonderful friendships, a budding romance, and the return of his family’s affection, he truly didn’t want to go back to a world where he had lost almost everything.

Watching the happy, smiling faces of his friends, Chen Mo leaned back in a corner, feeling completely at ease.

Paradoxically, the noisy environment made it easier for him to fall asleep.

Soon, Lin Yuxi was the first to notice that Chen Mo had fallen asleep.

He quietly gestured to the others. Everyone found it amazing that Chen Mo could actually fall asleep in a corner despite all the noise.

However, no one disturbed him. They just went on with their fun, enjoying themselves.

Half an hour later, when Chen Mo woke up, he found Su Yuqing sitting quietly beside him. He realized he had unknowingly been leaning against her.

"Did you get enough sleep?" Su Yuqing asked with a gentle smile.

"I haven’t been in such a noisy, dark place in a long time. I can’t believe I actually fell asleep. Is everyone having fun?"

Chen Mo glanced at the others and saw they were still energetically singing and dancing.

A lot more food and snacks had appeared in the room.

Lin Yu’an, Lin Yuxi, and Zhao Yuanyuan were still playing a dice game.

Everyone was relaxed and happy.

This simple, happy life was the kind that could make one lose themselves in it without even realizing.

The group partied at the KTV until six in the evening.

As they were leaving the KTV and had just stepped out of their private room, they came face-to-face with a few thuggish-looking guys with brightly colored hair.

Chen Mo’s group was quite good-looking.

Su Yuqing was a campus belle, and Zhao Yuanyuan and her sister weren’t bad-looking either.

The moment these street punks saw the beautiful girls, they were stopped in their tracks.

Seeing them heading toward his group, Huang Mao immediately stepped sideways to shield Zhao Yuanyuan.

If a conflict broke out, he was determined not to let Zhao Yuanyuan get hurt.

However, as the punks approached, three of them suddenly recognized a familiar face in Chen Mo’s group.

"You three again?" Before they could say a word, Chen Mo stepped forward and looked at the three leading the group.

These were the same three who had robbed Lin Yu’an last Friday night.

Chen Mo had been too pressed for time that day, so he hadn’t been able to settle the score and get justice for Lin Yu’an.

Running into them again today was the perfect opportunity.

The punks had thought they’d hit the jackpot, running into three beautiful girls.

But as it turned out, the girls were with this guy, someone they couldn’t afford to mess with.

Their interest vanished in an instant.

If it were any other students, they wouldn’t have given a damn about some goody-two-shoes from school. Even a school bully could only run rampant on campus; out here, it was their turf—the turf of street gangsters.

Here, a dragon had to coil and a tiger had to crouch.

But this guy was an exception—his turf covered territory both on and off campus.

There was nothing they could do about it.

Especially since their boss was at this very KTV today, in a room not far from where Chen Mo’s group had just emerged.

Their boss had explicitly warned them not to provoke this person. How could they possibly dare to cause trouble with him, especially with their boss nearby?

They immediately pretended they had the wrong people and turned to walk around Chen Mo’s group to leave.

But while they wanted to leave, Chen Mo had no intention of letting them go.

"Hold on."

Chen Mo reached out and clamped a hand on the shoulder of the leader, Yellow Hair, holding him in place.

They had only been avoiding Chen Mo because of his reputation. Yellow Hair was completely caught off guard; Chen Mo looked like he had just barely come of age, so how could he be so strong? His grip was ferocious, like a vise clamping down on his shoulder.

Wincing in pain, he quickly turned around, forcing an obsequious smile. "What’s up? Is there something I can help you with?"

Suddenly, he remembered Friday night, when Chen Mo had tried to buy a knife from them.

’Chen Mo said he didn’t have enough money that day, so he didn’t buy it. Could it be he has enough money today and still wants my knife?’

"Yeah, there is something. You remember last Friday night, don’t you?" Chen Mo said, looking at the three with a cold smirk.

He had just been wondering if Chen Mo was still thinking about his knife. Hearing Chen Mo’s question, he was now sure of it.

He immediately pulled out his knife.

This sudden move scared everyone standing behind Chen Mo.

Huang Mao couldn’t help but curse Chen Mo’s foolishness internally.

’These punks weren’t looking for trouble with us, we should have just let them go and been done with it. Why did Old Mo have to go and provoke them?’

’Now that the knife’s out, this situation is going to be hard to handle.’

His mind raced, trying to figure out how to keep everyone safe if the conflict escalated.

Chen Mo knew they carried knives, so he was already prepared. Besides, he had learned and used the Knife-Seizing Skill countless times before.

Disarming a knife-wielding opponent empty-handed was a feat that even true martial arts masters would find difficult.

But that concept of disarming someone usually refers to an unarmed person trying to forcibly grab the weapon itself from an opponent’s hand.

Unless there’s a massive difference in speed, it’s virtually impossible to do without getting injured.

However, the Knife-Seizing Skill, a technique for fighting armed assailants, was a real and highly practical art.

The Knife-Seizing Skill didn’t teach you to grab the weapon itself; it taught you how to quickly gain control of your opponent’s wrist.

Once you controlled their wrist, no matter what kind of weapon they were holding, you could use a wrist lock to make their hand instantly lose its strength, possibly even forcing them to drop the weapon as their grip failed.

This was the true art of disarming a bladed weapon!

Although its name was the Knife-Seizing Skill, it was a comprehensive art that taught how to efficiently and quickly control an opponent’s wrist, regardless of the type of weapon they were holding.

Chen Mo had used this very technique to subdue numerous criminals armed with sharp weapons.

Against small-time punks like these, who mostly just wanted to intimidate people and lacked the guts to actually use their weapons with full force, subduing them would be child’s play.