"Dr. Liu, leave this to me. You saved my son's life. If anyone dares to touch you, I swear I'll take their entire family's lives." Wang Dashan strode over and slammed his knife onto the table.
"Mingxing, hold your dad back and put the knife away. Harmony brings wealth; let's talk this out calmly." Liu Banxia picked up the knife and handed it to Wang Mingxing.
"Brother Liu, that won't do! You're our guest today. These people aren't leaving until they apologize." Wang Mingxing shook his head firmly, gripping the knife so tightly his knuckles turned white.
A headache was starting to throb for Liu Banxia. He hadn't expected things to escalate . Deep down, he was truly grateful to the father and son. They ran a business; this wasn't just an act.
"Qiu Mingyuan, Wang Xiaoyan, keep an eye on Wang Mingxing and Qiaoqiao. Liang Xiaolin, pull Brother Wang back. Jiao Jiao, watch Tang Dou." Liu Banxia rattled off a series of commands.
The onlookers were stunned. Was he about to make a big move? Otherwise, why clear the area?
"Dr. Liu, are you treating this like resuscitating a patient? What should I do?" Qing Kewa asked curiously.
Liu Banxia rolled his eyes. "Just like in the hospital, you observe the internship. That's all."
The girls were genuinely furious at encountering these people. Even though they harbored a slight animosity towards Qing Kewa—who could blame them when she dressed so beautifully and provocatively?—Qing Kewa was, after all, on their side and couldn't be bullied.
But hearing the conversation between Qing Kewa and Liu Banxia, and then thinking about the recent tempo of events, it really did resemble the rhythm of an emergency rescue, and they couldn't help but be amused.
"You just know how to stir up trouble," Liu Banxia said helplessly, then turned to the group opposite them.
"Let me formally introduce myself: I'm a doctor, a surgeon. We doctors don't bully others based on our position, nor do we tell bald-faced lies. What we can do is treat illnesses and save lives."
"So, being a doctor makes you all that, huh? Come on, I'm right here. You try touching a hair on my head," the man in front of him said malevolently.
"Why would I touch you? You're not a pretty girl," Liu Banxia said with a smile.
"We surgeons may not have other skills, but we're very proficient in human anatomy. For example, if a skewer were inserted here," Liu Banxia gestured, "there's a 90 percent chance it wouldn't be fatal. But if it were here, that would be dangerous. There's an artery inside; a minute's delay, and resuscitation would be impossible.
"Here isn't a big deal either. The intestines are quite slippery and often evade penetrating foreign objects. However, there's still some risk; it could tear the mesenteric artery.
"This spot is also fine. At most, it would cause a pneumothorax. It wouldn't injure the pulmonary artery. Worst case, a pulmonary alveolus gets cut. No need for a major thoracotomy; minimally invasive surgery can fix it."
As Liu Banxia spoke, he extended his finger and drew circles on the man's body.
This fellow was already putting on a brave front; his courage was fueled only by the crowd of onlookers. Now, as Liu Banxia drew circles on him, he felt as if a steel skewer had already pierced his skin.
"Also, you have jaundiced eyes, and when you pushed me just now, I noticed hepatic palms on your hands. When you shower, check if you have any spider angiomas. It's highly probable you have liver cirrhosis," Liu Banxia continued.
"When you spoke earlier, I also smelled a strong ammoniac odor from your breath, a foul stench. There's a high probability your kidney function isn't up to par; at best, it might be early-stage renal failure."
DING! Diagnosis complete. Received 50 experience points, +30 proficiency to Diagnosis skill.
Liu Banxia was stunned. It could work too?
"You... you... who are you trying to scare?" The guy became even more flustered. Even if he didn't understand "jaundice" or "hepatic palms," he knew his breath stank.
"Why would I try to scare you? Are you a child? You're a grown man. I heard you singing earlier, and you sounded pretty good. Why harbor such lewd thoughts?" Liu Banxia said.
"Bing-ge, Bing-ge, who's causing trouble for us?"
Just then, a group of about twenty men rushed over from the street.
The man Liu Banxia had drawn circles on saw the reinforcements arrive and his courage instantly returned. The one who had been singing, lying on the ground, also scrambled up.
"Oh, so you're connected, huh? Calling for backup? Dare to give me a chance to call some friends too?" Liu Banxia took out his phone from his pocket.
"Go on, call them if you've got the guts! I refuse to believe this is over today," the lead singer said, his face vicious.
As the situation escalated, the onlookers who were eating and watching couldn't sit still. So many people had gathered; it looked like blood might actually be spilled.
"Got balls. Just wait until my people get here. Whoever runs is a coward's son," Liu Banxia shot him a contemptuous look, dialed a number, and put the phone to his ear.
"Hello, 110? I want to report a crime."
The bolder onlookers who wanted to keep watching nearly choked. This was his idea of calling for backup? He was calling the police?
"Yes, there's a gang fight, possibly involving restricted knives. Crucially, it involves a foreign national. That's right, a foreigner. A lady from Russia. These men are making trouble because they're lusting after her," Liu Banxia said, glancing at the opposing group with a smirk, then continued.
"Yes, yes, that's right, here on North Horse Road's barbecue street. Yes, yes... hey, hey, don't run! Whoever runs is a coward's son! Come back!"
Who from that group would dare to stay? When an incident, big or small, involved foreign nationals, it was never a minor affair.
"Quick, tell the police officers that the people ran off so they don't need to come. Otherwise, we can't even eat," Liang Xiaolin said.
Grinning, Liu Banxia handed the phone to Liang Xiaolin. When she looked at the screen, it displayed "Boss Shi."
"Hello? Hello? What on earth did you say?" Shi Lei's voice came from the phone. Though not very loud, Liang Xiaolin found it hilarious.
"Alright, that's settled. It was just a farce. Everyone, back to eating. And don't even think about dining and dashing; Brother Wang has a business to run," Liu Banxia called out.
"Just you wait. When we get back to work, see how Dr. Shi deals with you," Liang Xiaolin said, stuffing the phone back into his hand.
Now everyone understood. The supposed call to the police was just a feint. They were both amused and exasperated by Liu Banxia's mischievousness, but thankfully, the little trouble was resolved.
As for Liu Banxia, just as he was about to sit down, he noticed the phones from the troublemakers were still on the ground. Four phones in total: two had screens smashed black, but the other two were undamaged.
"Looks like someone's still watching their stream. Have any of you ever live-streamed?" Liu Banxia asked curiously.
"I haven't, but Yanzi often posts short videos of her yoga classes," Qiaoqiao said.
"Hello, everyone." Liu Banxia aimed one of the phones at himself and waved.
"What are you doing?" Liang Xiaolin asked curiously.
"Just a casual chat. Hello, everyone! Anyone still there? If so, I'll chat with you for a bit," Liu Banxia said, then took a bite of a squid skewer.
"Haha, there really are people here, all spamming '1'. Listen up, everyone, don't send any gifts or anything. If you do, it'll just go to that nasty piece of work, that scumbag from earlier."
"I'm just killing time chatting with you. Seriously, stop following these kinds of streamers. All they do is play those trashy little games. Is that really interesting? It just lowers everyone's standards."
"There are plenty of gaming streamers and singing streamers. And if you just like watching pretty girls, there are even more of those. Yanzi, have you ever thought about live-streaming your yoga?"
"Ah... are you asking me?" Wang Xiaoyan, who was also eating, was startled.
Liu Banxia switched the phone's camera view and panned it across the table. "The one eating lamb skewers and wearing a baseball cap, that's a genuine yoga instructor. I'll get her account ID or whatever it is later, and you all can follow her."
"Seriously, we follow these streamers for entertainment or to appreciate beauty. Don't bother with the messy ones. Life is already hard enough; why not look at beautiful things?"
"Yanzi, what's your account ID? Enter it; everyone's asking. They're also asking where your yoga studio is and how to sign up."
Liu Banxia said, handing the phone on its stand to her.
Wang Xiaoyan quickly took it. She'd never considered being a streamer before, but now it seemed like a pretty good idea. She could just set up the phone, do a few simple moves, and that would be it.
"Um... I don't know if they got it. It seems like someone tried to contact me; a notification just popped up," Wang Xiaoyan said after fiddling with it for a moment.
"Haha, keep the phone as a souvenir. Let's see if they have the guts to call and ask for them back," Liu Banxia said with a laugh, then picked up Liang Xiaolin's beer mug.
"Brother Wang, you were truly righteous today. I won't say much more; I'll remember this. I can't drink too much, as I have surgery tomorrow. I'll finish this remaining half-mug." With that, Liu Banxia chugged down the better part of the mug of beer.
"Brother, if you're so polite with me, I won't be able to show my face anymore," Wang Dashan said without further ado, downing a full glass just as a server brought a fresh pitcher of draft beer for another table.
"Brother Liu, Brother Liu, can I have a little?" Wang Mingxing asked eagerly.
"Just stay put. Don't be disobedient. You even dared to play with a knife," Liu Banxia glared at him.
Wang Mingxing didn't dare to utter a peep and obediently sat down. This is my life-savior; I have to listen to him.
Wang Dashan looked quite pleased. Because of the delay, the skewers on the table had grown cold, so he had them replaced with a fresh batch.
"Brother Liu, that 'calling for backup' move of yours was awesome!" Qiu Mingyuan gave him a thumbs-up.
Everyone burst into laughter. They'd seen similar things in online skits or memes, but no one had expected Liu Banxia to actually pull it off.
Indeed, the little interlude hadn't dampened anyone's spirits in the slightest. It was just Liang Xiaolin who seemed a bit miffed, occasionally glancing at her now-empty beer mug.
How could this guy be so thoughtless? Why did he drink from my mug?