Yu Holea didn’t walk away. She just smiled a little.
"Let try, Grandma. Just once. If no one buys, I’ll leave right away."
The old lady squinted at her, then sighed.
"Fine. But don’t get in my way."
Yu Holea bowed a little and stepped behind the stall. She looked at the jars full of dried things—rose petals, jasmine, mint leaves, chrysanthemum flowers...
Xu Tian showed up a few minutes later, panting. "This your next stall?"
Yu Holea nodded. "Help boil water."
"Okay!" Xu Tian grabbed the kettle and rushed off.
Holea picked a few ingredients and made a mix.
She crushed a bit of dried orange peel, added a pinch of mint, a few rose petals, and just a touch of licorice root.
When the water boiled, she poured it into a teapot with the herbs and waited.
A few seconds later, a soft, fruity sll filled the air. It was warm, cozy, and kind of... magical.
The wind picked up a little and carried the sll to nearby people.
A group of teenagers passed by and stopped.
"What’s that sll?" one girl asked.
Another sniffed the air. "It slls so good!"
Yu Holea smiled and waved at them. "Want to try a flower tea sample? It’s good for your skin and helps you sleep."
The girls giggled and ca closer. She handed them tiny paper cups.
"Wow, this tastes amazing!"
"It’s like drinking flowers!"
"I wanna buy one!"
More people noticed the crowd and joined.
Soon, the small tea stall was surrounded.
The old lady stared with wide eyes. She hadn’t seen this many people at her stall in years.
She blinked, then muttered, "What kind of magic is this girl using?"
Holea made more tea, using different herbs. One mix helped with digestion. Another helped with headaches.
People loved it.
anwhile, at the spice stall, Liu iyu was sweating.
"Ugh, this slls too strong. Sir, do you have sothing that’s not chili or pepper?"
The vendor looked annoyed. "It’s a spice stall. What else do you want?"
She forced a laugh. "Right, haha..."
She tried to smile at a few villagers. "Spices make your cooking better! Buy so...?"
But no one stopped.
She glanced to her side—and saw the crowd at Yu Holea’s tea stall.
Her eye twitched.
"Why is she always stealing the spotlight?"
She stomped her foot.
"No... I need to do sothing," Liu iyu muttered. She started walking toward Yu Holea’s tea stall, determination in her eyes.
But before she could take another step—
A hand grabbed her arm hard and yanked her back.
"Ack—!" she gasped.
A sharp, cold tal pressed against her neck. A knife.
Liu iyu froze in fear.
"Don’t move," a low voice growled in her ear.
She trembled. Her mouth opened, and she shouted as loud as she could:
"HELP!! SOE!!"
Everyone turned. The happy crowd at the tea stall suddenly stopped talking. Even the aunties with tea in their hands froze.
A man—dirty clothes, wild hair, and crazy eyes—was holding Liu iyu from behind. One arm wrapped around her shoulders, and the other held a knife to her neck.
"STAY BACK!" the man shouted at the crowd. "Don’t co any closer! I’ll hurt her!"
So people scread. Others backed away fast.
The tea cups dropped from their hands and shattered on the ground.
Liu iyu was shaking all over. Her eyes were full of tears now.
"P-please... let go," she begged.
"I said don’t move!" the madman barked again, holding her tighter.
Everyone stood still. Too scared to move. Too afraid to make it worse.
Even Yu Holea didn’t rush forward. She was watching carefully, eyes sharp like a hawk.
The audience in the live stream was anxious,
"Oh god! Can soone save our iyu? Please! I don’t want anything to happen to her."
"Why is Yu Holea just standing there? She should help!"
"Indeed! Can’t she see that Liu iyu is in danger?"
"Maybe because Yu Holea is holding a grudge against Liu iyu."
"At tis like she shouldn’t be thinking about a grudge!"
Just then, Fang Jinhai—who had been helping a noodle vendor nearby—heard the shout.
When he saw what was happening, his heart dropped.
"IYU!!" he yelled, dropping the bowl of noodles he was holding and sprinting over.
"Stay back!" the man warned, dragging Liu iyu a step back and pointing the knife at Fang Jinhai now.
Fang Jinhai stopped, panting hard, fists clenched. His eyes were locked on iyu.
"Please... don’t hurt her. You don’t need to do this," Fang Jinhai said slowly, trying to calm him down.
The madman’s eyes darted around. "I don’t trust any of you! You’re all the sa! No one ever listens to !"
"No one’s trying to hurt you," Fang Jinhai said gently. "Let her go. She’s not the one you’re angry at."
Liu iyu whimpered. "Jinhai... I’m scared..."
"You’ll be okay, iyu," Fang Jinhai said, trying to keep his voice strong. "Just hang on a little more."
He turned toward the madman and said,
"Take as the hostage! Please leave her!"
The audience in the live stream was moved:
"My god! Fang Jinhai is such a gentleman!"
"I want a lover like Fang Jinhai!"
The madman stared at Fang Jinhai, breathing heavily. His grip on Liu iyu tightened.
"You’d take her place?" he asked, voice shaking like the wind in dry leaves.
Fang nodded without hesitation. "Yes. Just let her go."
For a mont, everything was still. No one spoke. Not the crowd. Not Yu Holea. Not even Liu iyu, who was frozen in shock, tears still running down her cheeks.
Then the madman slowly loosened his grip. "Fine... but don’t try anything stupid."
He shoved Liu iyu forward, and she stumbled into Fang Jinhai’s arms.
He caught her gently.
"Go, iyu," he whispered. "Run to safety."
She looked at him, panicked. "No—Jinhai—"
"Go!" he said, louder this ti.
Reluctantly, she ran behind the crowd, people moving aside to let her through. So aunties held her, trying to calm her down.
The madman now pointed the knife at Fang.
"Co here. Slowly."
Fang Jinhai walked forward, step by step, his heart pounding like a drum in his ears.
The madman grabbed him by the collar with one hand, keeping the knife close with the other.
"Good," the man muttered. "Good. You all will listen now."
But just as he started to turn to face the crowd—
Fang Jinhai moved.
In a flash, he slamd his knee into the madman’s stomach.
"UGHHH!"
The man doubled over.
Fang grabbed his wrist, twisting it hard.
The knife clattered to the ground.
Cheers and gasps echoed through the market.
"GET HIM!" soone shouted.
However, the madman was very powerful, and he pushed Fang Jinhai away and ran away.
Fang Jinhai fell to the ground, and his head spun.
Yet no one blad him and started to praise him,
"This young man is so brave! He dared to act so courageously!"
"Indeed, what a fine young man! To save his beloved, he didn’t think once and was ready to offer himself as a hostage!"
The audience in the live stream was moved too,
"Fang Jinhai is truly the dream boyfriend of everyone!"
"I wish I could have him!"
"Where is Yu Holea? She should treat Fang Jinhai! She is a doctor! It is the doctor’s responsibility to care for the injured."
"Why is Yu Holea getting dragged out again and again? Does she owe them anything?"
"But she remained silent when she should have helped!"
"And how would she have helped? She is a girl, too!"
Liu iyu rushed toward Fang Jinhai and dropped to her knees beside him.
"Jinhai!" she cried, her voice shaking. "Are you okay?!"
Fang Jinhai groaned softly, trying to sit up, but winced in pain. His right arm hung strangely, and he leaned slightly to one side.
"Don’t move!" iyu said quickly. "Don’t move, okay?"
She held him gently, tears pouring down her cheeks.
"Why did you do that?" she sobbed. "Why did you take my place? You could’ve died..."
Fang gave a weak smile. "I couldn’t let him hurt you..."
iyu cried harder. She leaned forward and hugged him tightly.
"I’m sorry," she whispered.
"I’m so, so sorry... for everything. You saved . I’ll never forget this, ever."
The crowd watched silently. Many were wiping away their own tears.
Then iyu looked around, panicked. "Is there a doctor here? Anyone? Jinhai is hurt!"
People looked at each other. No one moved.
She turned toward the crowd and shouted,
"Yu Holea! You know dicine, don’t you? Co out! Jinhai needs help!"
But no one answered.
She looked around again.
Yu Holea... wasn’t there.
Liu iyu’s face darkened. Her voice rose.
"Where is she?! She was just here at her tea stall! Where did she go?!"
Still, no one spoke.
"Coward!" iyu scread.
"She ran away while soone was bleeding on the ground! What kind of doctor does that?! What kind of person?!"
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