207: Among the strong, there are always those who are stronger.
207: Among the strong, there are always those who are stronger.
“Remember to find a designated driver later.”
Jiang Chen picked up his glass and took a sip of beer.
It would be great if it were summer now, icy beer with barbecue, how splendid and liberating that would be.
“Why are you such a nag?”
Shi Qianxi couldn’t help but give him a bemused look.
This guy, seemingly law-abiding, wouldn’t even break basic traffic safety rules, yet he was audacious enough to kidnap even her.
In her life, she seemed never to have encountered such an odd person.
It was quite a coincidence,
the two seemed to magically agree on their impressions of one another.
“The barbecue is here.”
The waiter started to bring out the dishes.
Shi Qianxi, apparently really hungry, had none of the airs of a noble lady; she wasn’t put off by the low-brow street stall, grabbed a skewer of roast meat, and began to eat, then muttered, “Boss, make it spicier.”
“Sure thing!”
“Come on, let’s have one.”
Shi Qianxi held up a disposable plastic cup.
Jiang Chen watched her.
“Don’t worry, I can hold my liquor well, it’s just beer.
I can drink half a case with no problem.
If you don’t believe me, let’s see.”
“If you get caught by the traffic police, I won’t be able to save you.”
“I don’t need you to save me.”
The two of them drank together.
Jiang Chen picked up some chopsticks and started eating the braised peanuts.
More students came for late-night snacks, and two more tables were set up outside.
“Xi Xi, what are you up to?”
At the next table, a guy held his phone, sending voice messages with a gentle tone.
The person on the other end was probably his girlfriend, or someone he fancied.
“Stop sending her messages; she won’t reply to you,” his buddy said with disdain.
The guy was unfazed and sent another message, “I’m out having a late-night snack, are you eating?
Want me to bring you something?”
His buddies all looked at him in silence.
This guy must be hopelessly in love; even without any reply, he still held his phone and continued talking to himself, “It’s okay if you don’t reply.
I’ve changed your contact name to ‘typing…'”
“Pfft…”
Jiang Chen looked at Shi Qianxi.
Miss Shi, flustered, reached for the tissue to wipe her mouth and the table, “Sorry…”
“Bro, can you man up a bit?!”
His buddy was astonished, yet also frustrated.
“Dingdong…”
A WeChat notification chimed.
“She replied to me!”
The guy was overjoyed and hurried to check the message.
“You’re sick!”
The girl’s voice came through the speaker.
“Don’t be mad.”
“See, you’re not replying again.”
Jiang Chen maintained his composure, reflecting profoundly.
There are always bigger fish; there’s always someone better.
He used to be labeled the number one lovesick fool at East University.
Now it seems, he’s far from deserving that title.
“This girl is clearly just stringing you along, can’t you wake up, stop acting like an idiot, okay?”
His buddy really couldn’t stand it anymore.
“Then why isn’t she stringing someone else along?
If she’s stringing me along, it means she’s interested in me,” the guy argued earnestly.
His buddy was at a loss for words, said with a heavy heart, “We didn’t come to your school to see you play the lovesick fool!”
“Aren’t you a lovesick fool too?”
The guy retorted.
His buddy immediately denied it, “Of course not!
I could never be a lovesick fool in this lifetime!”
“Do you have someone you like?”
The guy immediately asked.
His buddy hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
“Yes, what about it?”
“How far have things progressed now?”
“Right now…
we’re still WeChat friends, that’s all.”
Thinking of the girl he fancied, his buddy’s face involuntarily softened and a smile appeared.
“I’m not like you, nobody even wants to deal with you.
Last night during our chat, she sent me a goodnight sticker.
Heh, my dreams were sweet.”
At this point, not to mention Shi Qianxi, even Jiang Chen almost couldn’t hold back.
It seemed they were all “birds of a feather.”
“What’s so funny, eat up, my dormitory locks up at eleven.”
“Aren’t you laughing too?”
Shi Qianxi was dissatisfied.
Jiang Chen suppressed his mirth and took a sip of his drink.
“Jiang Chen, your East Sea University really does have an abundance of talent, eh?”
Shi Qianxi teased.
“I recall someone wasn’t much better before, making her own fiancé avoid her like the plague.
Quite unprecedented indeed.”
“You…”
Shi Qianxi gritted her teeth in anger.
“Are you even a man?
Why are you always picking on us women?”
Facing her punch, Jiang Chen really couldn’t resist much.
He wisely kept quiet and picked up an oyster.
“Boss, add ten more skewers of belly pork, five skewers of kidneys!”
A tall young man walked out of the entrance shouting.
He seemed to have had quite a bit to drink and looked tipsy.
“All right!
Coming right up!”
Jiang Chen wasn’t paying attention, eating the oysters in his bowl, but the other guy’s gaze swept over to him unintentionally.
After a pause, the tall youth’s eyes seemed to sober up a lot, and his cheeks even began to tremble uncontrollably.
Meeting one’s nemesis really made the eyes red with anger.
Lately, he had been tormented by high-interest loans, robbing Peter to pay Paul, all because of this bastard!
“Jiang Chen!”
With a roar, he clenched his fists and strode over with a menacing air.
Jiang Chen turned his head, frowning slightly.
“You know him?”
Shi Qianxi asked.
“Mhm, an alumnus.”
Jiang Chen explained briefly.
“Why does he look like he’s about to eat you alive?
Did you steal his girlfriend or something?”
Jiang Chen couldn’t help but give a wry smile.
He did not have that skill; instead, it was exactly the opposite — he had been robbed of his love.
“No, we had a little conflict before.
He stepped on and broke my watch, and then compensated me for it.”
In response to Shi Qianxi’s puzzled look, Jiang Chen explained briefly.
That’s right.
This guy, charging over like an enraged bull, was none other than Ruan Guang, who had been severely tricked by Liang Zhenlun.
He had stepped on a watch worth over four hundred thousand, didn’t dare to tell his family, borrowed money from loan sharks, deluding himself that he could handle it.
Now, he was beginning to taste the bitter consequences.
“Clang!”
A plastic chair blocking the way was violently kicked aside.
“Jiang Chen, you motherfucker, how dare you show your face in front of me!
Do you have any idea how much you’ve made me suffer!”
Ruan Guang walked up to the table, raised his hand, and started cursing loudly and fiercely.
Miss Shi put down her chopsticks, took pleasure in the misfortune, glanced at Jiang Chen, then quite unrighteously, she slowly shifted her chair backward, as if to indicate “I have nothing to do with this.”
The students eating nearby all curiously turned their gazes.
“What’s the matter?
You look quite well, all flushed and plump.”
Jiang Chen remained composed.
Ruan Guang was taken aback and grew even more furious.
“Quit your fucking nonsense!
If it wasn’t for you, would I owe so much money?
Are you in cahoots with Liang Zhenlun, deliberately trying to screw me over?!”
The guy wasn’t completely dumb.
But now that he realized it, it seemed to be too late.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Playing dumb, huh?
Jiang Chen, I have just now realized, you’re fucking mafia.
Do you believe I’ll go tell the school?!”