Chapter 211: SHE YANKED MY HAIR!
Ranon was going to do business with Hazel as his partner, so he took her here to talk about that with Desgar, too. But it was only a surface level of his excuse to bring Hazel along with him and meet with this old man.
He didn’t expect anything aside from a nice chat and a good evening, but when he stepped out of Desgar’s office, he saw something that he didn’t expect at all.
In the ring, Hazel was fighting against a red-haired woman. She looked out of place in her floral dress. Who would fight with a dress on?
"Is that your wife?" Desgar asked, standing next to Ranon, who was too stunned to speak.
"Yes." Ranon frowned. He knew Hazel could fight, but what happened? He was gone for less than half an hour, and she had already found an opponent?
"She has light feet," Desgar commented upon seeing the way Hazel dodged the attack from the red-haired woman.
Hazel was well aware that she was wearing a dress, so it was not convenient for her to use her feet; thus, she avoided most of the attacks while looking for an opening.
"She’s good with her hands, too." Desgar remarked as he watched Hazel successfully land a hit on the other woman’s stomach.
Ranon crossed his arms. "Hm. She’s good with her hands."
Hearing that, Desgar glanced at Ranon, who looked unbothered. His words sounded off, as if there were a different meaning in them.
Dalton approached Ranon with Alen and Elric following behind him. "I don’t know what’s happening. I tried to stop them, but your wife insisted that she would be fine and that she wanted to do it!" He looked panicked because he thought Ranon would be angry.
Ranon had entrusted his wife to them, but now she ended up fighting in the ring.
Meanwhile, the other people cheered for Hazel and Linda. It was not every day they could witness such a fight between two women.
All of them stopped whatever they were doing and focused on the ring.
"I have tried to stop her, I really have, but she didn’t want to listen." Dalton tried to explain himself. The three of them had persuaded Hazel not to do it since Linda was quite skilled. She had been training here for years.
"Don’t you want to stop her?" Elric finally spoke when Ranon didn’t do anything.
"Why should I?" Ranon’s eyes were fixed on his curly-brown-haired woman. He didn’t miss any of her movements.
"She can get hurt."
Ranon smiled when he heard Elric’s concern. He appreciated it. "She is enjoying herself. It’s a good thing if she doesn’t hurt the other woman."
"What?" They looked confused, and Desgar scolded them to look closely at the ring; only then did they understand what Ranon meant.
He didn’t need to worry about his wife, because Hazel could handle the fight well. Linda was panting heavily by now; she looked as though she was out of breath, and her movements became clumsier.
Linda used too much force behind every punch and kick, which didn’t land on her opponent. On the other hand, Hazel moved just enough to dodge her attacks. She barely used her strength, and when she did, her punch would connect well. She didn’t waste her energy.
"Your wife knows how to fight?" Alen was stunned; he then looked in Ranon’s direction and saw a proud smile on his lips.
"Yes," Ranon said. He watched Hazel indulgently. It was a good call to bring her here. He noticed that she started working out, so why not up the game and let her have a proper exercise?
Ranon would always be there to protect her, but it was a good thing for her to be able to protect herself.
"She is incredible," Dalton commented.
In the ring, Linda grew even more frustrated with how the situation unfolded. She thought she could teach this woman a lesson or two, especially when she was too cocky to fight her in a dress.
However, it didn’t end up well. Linda found it difficult to land a punch on her, and the more she failed in her attempt, the more agitated she became.
Linda screamed angrily, forgetting about her surroundings; all she wanted to do was to hit this woman as hard as she could. The smile on her face was exceptionally annoying, as if Hazel were taunting her, and that was what she was doing.
Hazel knew how to provoke her opponent, especially this one, who was still wet behind the ears. Knowing how to punch and kick wouldn’t make you a good fighter. If your enemy could easily manipulate your emotions, then you were doomed.
Fighting was not always about strength. It was a physical confrontation as much as it was psychological.
Hazel was having a good time. She was not as upset with the nonexistent date as she used to be.
However, to her surprise, someone approached her from behind and pushed her to the side. He pushed her with such force, that Hazel was caught off guard, causing her to lose her balance.
"Enough!" That man said, trying to stop Linda from advancing further.
However, when Linda saw Hazel stumble, she saw it as an opportunity to attack Hazel, so she lunged forward.
Hazel saw it, but she was struggling to find her balance; she could barely dodge her, yet her long hair was caught in her grip, and Linda didn’t miss her chance to yank it down forcefully.
She didn’t manage to punch or kick Hazel, but she grabbed her hair. At least, it would hurt.
Hazel stumbled forward, and she almost raised her leg to kick Linda out of instinct, but then she felt a strong hand wrapped around her waist, and she found her footing again.
The next second, Hazel heard a sharp cry filled with agony, and the pain on her scalp ceased. She looked up and saw Ranon’s furious expression.
That expression and the pain in her hand managed to get Linda back to her senses. She clutched her hand that Ranon had grabbed earlier. She was not sure what he did, but it was so painful, she thought he had broken her bones.
"Stop it, Linda!" The man who pushed Hazel aside and caused her to lose her balance chided Linda lightly. "Are you out of your mind?"
Linda pursed her lips. She was still not happy because the result was not as she wanted, but she couldn’t continue with her stubbornness, especially not when Ranon and her brother had gotten to the ring and stopped them.
It had gone too far, and she had taken the fight too personally.
"I am sorry; I got carried away," Linda apologized, which didn’t sound sincere at all. She even tried to change the narration. "I am sorry if I hurt you. Are you okay?"
Hurt me? The only time you hurt me was when that man caught me off guard, and you yanked my hair. She didn’t even count how many times my punch landed on her.
Hazel thought to herself, but she smiled regardless. "I am fine." She rubbed her head. "But I think you need to put some ice on, because my punches will leave bruises."
Now, Hazel was satisfied to see the anger behind Linda’s fake concerns. She looked as if she wanted to claw at Hazel, especially when she hugged Ranon and looked at him sheepishly.
"Thank you."
"I told you to look around the area, not to mess around," Ranon chided, but he smoothed her messy hair.
"Sorry," Hazel said docilely.
"Mr. Leighton, I apologize for my sister’s behavior to your wife," the man said, but Ranon dismissed him.
"It was a good fight." Ranon took Hazel’s hand. "Until you interfered." He then took his wife down from the ring before Linda or her brother could say anything else.
Meanwhile, Hazel was relieved that Ranon was not angry with her, but her head hurt. Linda yanked her hair with all her might, and now her scalp was burning.
She rubbed her head, and Ranon noticed this.
"Does it hurt?" He placed his hand and caressed the spot lightly, his brows furrowed.
"It hurts..." Hazel buried her face against his chest and whined.
She looked so different from her fierce self, who was fighting in the ring just a moment ago, that even her demeanor changed. It astounded Dalton and the others, who approached them.
Currently, she looked like a spoiled woman.
"She yanked my hair."
Ranon kissed her head. "It will never happen again. No one yanks your hair, except me."
Hazel: "..."
That didn’t sound right. Why did she feel that his last comment was lewd?
But Hazel wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Dalton and the others also felt awkward when they heard Ranon’s words.
They didn’t know their longtime friend could be that shameless.
Later on, Ranon took Hazel to Desgar’s office to talk about business. He intended to renovate this place and utilize the members of this training ground.
It would be one of Ranon’s business ventures. Hazel didn’t have any objections, but she felt this business was more of a personal matter than a profit alone, which she didn’t mind.
By the time they finished discussing, it was late at night, and Hazel was starving.
"I want to eat lamb chops in the Imperial Restaurant," Hazel demanded. It had been so long since she had one, and obviously, Ranon would fold to her request, though the restaurant was in the opposite direction from their home.
Ranon was driving, and mellow music was played in the car; the traffic was still crowded, even though the night grew quieter.