Chapter Eighty-Six: The Little Witch He Could Not Avoid

The girl turned out to be that little devil, Hannah Quinn.

I was startled and quickly turned away so she could not spot me. What the hell was going on? Hadn't her sister taken her away? How had she suddenly popped up here again? Why was it that wherever I went, I ran into this female fiend? Was I ever going to live in peace?

I had had enough of her. Since she had not seen me yet, the smartest thing was to keep my distance. Without so much as greeting Joanna White, I shoved my way out of the crowd and returned to my seat, planning to suggest going home as soon as Joanna had had her fun.

Hiding there, I finally felt a little safer. There were so many people in the haze-filled hall, and the lights were so dim. Surely the little devil would not find me. That would be too much to ask, wouldn't it? I drank my beer and kept a wary eye on the dance floor below.

A stir caught my attention. A burly man in a black suit had dragged a young fellow out from the crowd and flung him to one side. Instantly the dance floor erupted into chaos, with people scrambling out of the way. From my elevated vantage point, I could see clearly that a fight had broken out below.

Fights like that happened in such places all the time, so everyone may have moved aside, but no one panicked. The security guards would be here any moment to deal with it, and things would soon return to normal.

To prevent injuries and keep the trouble from spreading, the club's security staff quickly switched on the lights. Only then did I clearly see that the fighters were none other than Hannah Quinn and the youths who had been dancing around her earlier. Once again I witnessed the little devil's terrifying strength. With a swift turn she lashed out with a flying kick, and one young man was sent sprawling onto his back. Then one of the two men in black suits by her side stepped forward, seized the youth by the collar, and dragged him out of the dance floor. Under the protection of the other black-suited man, Hannah continued hunting for her next victim.

Those dozen or so youths had originally relied on their numbers and not taken the little devil seriously, but after she kicked down three of them in succession, they could no longer bear it. Together they surged forward, intending to gang up on her. Hannah was thrilled, lifting her leg to kick again, but the black-suited man behind her saw that there were too many of them and feared something might go wrong. He rushed ahead, struck with his left hand and elbowed with his right, dropping the two men at the front at once. In less than a minute, all the remaining youths except for one who fled in terror had been dealt with cleanly and decisively. The other black-suited man seemed to have the sole duty of hauling the fallen men out of the way. Once there were too many bodies on the floor, he dragged them out two at a time. In no time at all, the scene was swept clean.

Only then did the club's security staff finally arrive. Of course they knew the two men in black suits were not to be trifled with, while those dozen youths were just a bunch of punks. So under the pretext of quelling the disturbance, they simply drove all of those badly battered young men out of the hall.

I turned my gaze back to Hannah and discovered something that made my head ache. Somehow Joanna and Hannah had already met and were now chatting away happily. I saw Joanna raise a hand and point in my direction. Following the gesture, Hannah looked straight at me.

My heart sank.

My first instinct was to bolt immediately. One Joanna was already enough to give me a headache. Now, with the little devil added to the mix, just thinking about it sent a chill through me. This lineup was far too formidable. If I did not slip away quickly, then by the time they came over, I might not even get the chance to wish for death.

The scene was cleared, the lights dimmed again, and the music resumed. The club returned to normal. I, of course, did not escape, because Hannah and Joanna had already come over. The two black-suited men had vanished into the darkness on either side.

Holding Hannah's hand, Joanna came to stand before me and introduced her to the little devil. "Hannah, this is my friend, Darren Tang. Come on, sit with us. I haven't seen you in years. You've grown into such a lovely young lady."

Hannah, recognizing me at once, stared in disbelief. While she spoke to Joanna, she said, "Sister Joanna, ever since you went to America to study, I haven't heard a word from you. My sister's been especially busy these past two years, and even when I saw her a few times she never mentioned you. I was nearly dying of longing." All the while, she kept sizing me up with a look full of amusement.

Joanna smiled. "Then let's have a good talk. By the way, Darren, this is the younger sister of my superstar classmate, Selena Quinn. Isn't she adorable? When she was in primary school, I helped tutor her in a lot of subjects."

I gave a bitter smile and was about to say that I knew Selena's younger sister too, when Hannah suddenly slipped right up beside me and held out her hand with a smile. "Hello. I'm Hannah Quinn. You must be Darren Tang, right?" As she spoke, she glared at me fiercely.

I froze, not understanding what the little devil was up to, but it was clear she did not yet want Joanna to know that she and I were acquainted. So I took her hand as well and merely said, "Please, have a seat."

Joanna pulled Hannah down beside her and asked, "Hannah, didn't your parents move to T City with you? How did I run into you here? Did you come to visit your sister? It's been years, and you've changed so much. Those kicks were incredible. Who taught you?"

Hannah said, "I'm staying at my sister's place for a couple of days. I said I wanted to come out and have a look around, but she insisted on sending two bodyguards with me. Such a nuisance! I can protect myself just fine. Let me tell you, I've been training in tae kwon do for years now. Even my coach says I'm a genius and that I improve very quickly. Recently I was selected for the city's women's tae kwon do team, and we're preparing for next year's national championship. Hmph, those ordinary thugs couldn't withstand a single kick from me."

As she spoke, she deliberately glanced at me.

I pretended not to notice, took out a cigarette, lit it, and smoked. I did not want to provoke this fiend and invite more trouble onto myself. Since she was pretending not to know me, silence was my best shield.

Joanna held Hannah's hand affectionately and said with concern, "How did you end up fighting with those punks? There were so many of them. Good thing your sister sent bodyguards with you, or no matter how capable you are, how could you handle so many at once? Next time you mustn't be so naughty. A nightclub is not the sort of place a girl your age ought to come to. It's very easy for something dangerous to happen."

Hannah snorted and said pointedly, "No one cares about me, no one worries about me, and when I want to go out and have some fun, no one will even keep me company. Unlike you, Sister Joanna, you're so lucky. You've even got a knight in shining armor. Those punks actually wanted to take advantage of me. They must have been blind to think I was easy to bully."

She glanced at me again and gave a heavy, contemptuous sniff.

Joanna laughed. "Nonsense. Didn't you have two bodyguards? Do you think I don't know what kind of men your sister employs? They were all former special reconnaissance soldiers. Ten or eight little punks would be nothing to them. Unlike this one of mine here, who looks so frail he probably couldn't even fight. A knight in shining armor, indeed."

My head truly hurt now. The little devil clearly looked down on me. She knew I had another girlfriend, yet here I was entangled in something vague and ambiguous with Joanna, and I had no way to explain it. As the younger sister of Joanna's friend, of course she would look down on me.

To escape this awkward scene, I stood up. "All right, you two talk. I'm going to the restroom."

With that, I quickly left and hid myself far away.

When I reached the outside of the hall, I lit another cigarette. I had barely taken two puffs when my neck suddenly tightened. Someone had come up from behind, wrapped their arms around me, and leaped onto my back. Then Hannah's syrupy voice sounded in my ear. "Darren, you little rascal! I never thought you'd be such a playboy, not even sparing my sister's best friend! Tell me, why did you leave this morning without even saying goodbye? I looked for you half the day! What, can't you cope because you have too many girlfriends?"

I frowned. "Don't be so impertinent. Get down."

Hannah clung to me even tighter in mock coquetry. "No! If you don't give me a satisfactory answer, I'm not coming down. Otherwise I'll go ruin your game and tell Joanna that you have another woman. Let's see how you explain that to her!"

I laughed in exasperation. "Go ahead and tell her if you want. I have nothing to hide, so I don't fear anything. Joanna and I are nothing, and she knows I already have a girlfriend. You think you can threaten me? Save your breath."

"You're lying!" Hannah said. "I'm not blind. You think I can't see the way you and Joanna look at each other? Those eyes, that expression! Don't tell me you're going to claim it's all just brotherly friendship!"

I sighed. "Believe what you like. I don't owe you an explanation. Are you coming down or not? If you don't, I'll spank you."

Hannah giggled mischievously. "Go on then. Don't forget I've got two bodyguards right behind me. Either one of them could come over and knock your teeth out with a single finger. Let's see if you dare."

I have always hated being threatened. Though I truly was afraid those two bodyguards might come over and clobber me, I could not swallow her bullying words.

Without another thought, I swung my hand back and gave her soft, rounded little backside a smack, then said coldly, "And do you think I dare? If you've got the nerve, call your bodyguards over."

In truth I had not used any force at all, but Hannah already had an injury there, and the blow touched the sore spot. She cried out softly and quickly let go of my neck, climbing down with a frown. "You actually hit me! Fine, you've got some guts. Hmph! Just wait and see how I ruin your fun later. Don't come crying to me and begging for mercy then!"

I turned around and found the space behind Hannah empty. The black-suited men had not followed her at all.

Hannah suddenly made a face and laughed. "Hurry back. Joanna will start wondering soon. I only slipped out by pretending I was going to the restroom. If she sees you with me here, let's see how you explain it!" With a bright, girlish laugh, she turned and ran back into the hall.

I thought to myself, what did I have to be afraid of? She was the one pretending not to know me. I had not deceived Joanna. Besides, Joanna is not my girlfriend. What does that wild girl think she can threaten me with? Absolutely ridiculous.

Fine. Let's see what kind of tricks you can play.

Still, thinking of Hannah's unfathomable and frightening methods, I remained somewhat uneasy. Who knew what that lawless little devil might pull off?

Ah. What a headache.