Chapter 16: Losing Patience.
"Don't get me wrong," he said mockingly. "It's cute, really. You're like the charity case of charity cases. Helping this guy out must feel like feeding a stray dog."
The insult hit harder than it should have, and Chen Hua's lips quivered. But she forced herself to speak. "At least I don't spend my time bullying people to impress others."
Lu Sheng's smirk faltered for a moment, but Zhao Lin quickly came to his rescue. "Oh, please," she said, her voice dripping with venom. "You think you're better than us because you're defending him?, News flash, Chen Hua, your little act of kindness doesn't make you special. If anything, it simply makes you seem even more pathetic."
The laughter that followed was cruel, echoing through the café like nails on a chalkboard. Chen Hua shrank in her seat, her confidence wavering.
"Being so pathetic must really run in her family, doesn't it?" one of Zhao Lin's friends chimed in. "I heard her dad's barely holding onto his job. Guess being useless is genetic."
"Yeah," another added. "Maybe that's why she's hanging out with Lin Mu. Birds of a feather flock together, right?"
Lin Mu's jaw clenched as he listened to their taunts, his knuckles white as he gripped his cup which now had several fine cracks all over its surface, with just a bit more pressure, the innocent cup would've shattered in the blink of an eye.
He glanced at Chen Hua, who was trying to keep her composure, but her eyes were glistening with unshed tears.
The rest of the café's patrons sat in uncomfortable silence, their gazes flicking between the two tables. None of them made a move to intervene. Some looked sympathetic, while others seemed more interested in avoiding trouble.
Lu Sheng leaned closer, his voice dropping to a mock whisper. "You should just leave, Chen Hua. Take your freaky boyfriend and go. You're only embarrassing yourselves by staying here."
Chen Hua opened her mouth to reply, but her voice failed her. A single tear slipped down her cheek, and she quickly wiped it away, refusing to let them see her cry.
And that was the last straw.
Lin Mu slowly stood, his chair scraping against the floor. The sound was soft, but it carried an unexplainable weight, silencing the laughter instantly.
When he looked up, his eyes were no longer the warm, dark brown they had been moments ago. Instead, they were pitch black, like two endless voids that seemed to pull the very light from the room.
The café fell deathly silent.
Lin Mu's voice was calm, eerily so, as he spoke. "If anyone of you wretched existences value your pitiful lives, I suggest you all leave this café. Now."
Unfortunately, No one moved. Zhao Lin's group quickly broke into a fit of laughter at his threat. They found it completely hilarious that the powerless Lin Mu would actually have the gull to threaten them.
"..." Lin Mu simply remained silent, as if he couldn't be bothered to waste his voice on them.
Zhao Lin's confident smirk was gone, replaced by a disdainful sneer. Her friends exchanged amused glances, wondering whether one of them should just stand up and beat the foolish boy Infront of them to submission or to simply toy with him Abit to relieve their boredom.
Lu Sheng, the most vocal of the group, Didn't waste any time in rising to the challenge. "Hahahaha, I never thought I'd hear such a hilarious joke. Just what are you gonna do, huh?, Lin Mu?. Do you really think you alone has what it takes to tell us what to do?." Lu Sheng began taking calm strides towards Lin Mu, his hands began giving off a molten glow as flames blazed around them.
Lu Sheng stopped walking when he was face to face with Lin Mu, for some reason, those Void like eyes of his gave him an uneasy feeling but when the thought of who he was going against came to mind, he threw caution to the wind and threw a flaming punch towards Lin Mu's face, not caring whether that hit would scar him severely.
" Next time, you should keep your mouth shut when being spoken to!." Lu Sheng sneered wickedly. Unfortunately his wicked sneer turned into a stunned look when Lin Mu's left arm grabbed his flying fist.
"..."
" H-How on earth are you?" Lu Sheng almost stuttered due to shock.
Everyone's heart went cold as they watched Lin Mu's hand slowly burning yet his expression remained as void as ever, even as the smell of burning flesh permitted the air.
" Bastard, you really are a freak!"
Lu Sheng was completely dumbfounded by the sight, he tried pulling his hand away but, Lin Mu's grip remained firm.
Lu Sheng became flustered and threw several fists at Lin Mu with his other hand but Lin Mu easily evaded all of them while remaining in place, his feet still stuck to the ground without moving an inch.
Zhao Lin was in disbelief while staring, her eyes widened. "What the... How is he just standing there?, Is he glued to the floor or something?"
One of her friends was also stunned. "He's not even flinching!, Lu Sheng's flames can melt steel, and the bastards still holding it as if he can't feel a thing.
' He's just doing this to show off!, I bet he's been waiting for a moment to embarrass us!. But how in Buddha's name did Lin Mu get an ability?, and from the looks of it, he's got more than one.' Zhao Lin found it hard to believe what she was seeing.
"Embarrass us?, Lu Sheng's the one looking like an idiot right now. How is he missing every hit?" A guy with dark hair in the group couldn't believe his eyes as well.
"Shut up!, Lu Sheng's just testing him! He'll land a blow any second now." One of the girls in the group reprimanded. Sadly fate didn't seem to be on their side.