At 1:00 PM, Jinchuan arrived punctually outside Chu Xu's apartment complex.
Getting into the passenger seat, Chu Xu asked, "An M9? You're not driving your 911 today?"
Jinchuan handed a cigarette to Chu Xu and said, "We're heading to Yong District later. Driving the 911 would be pure torture."
Jinchuan was already smoking, so Chu Xu lit up as well.
He rarely smoked; a single pack could easily last him a month. He had forgotten exactly when he started, but his heaviest smoking phase had been during his college part-time jobs.
"It's a few hours round trip, no wonder you showed up right at one." Chu Xu rolled down the car window and flicked the ash.
"Can't be helped," Jinchuan complained. "I told her to take the high-speed rail, but she insisted on being picked up. Who knows where she picked up that habit."
Though he complained, there was no sign of impatience on his face. Second-generation heirs like him who were still dedicated to pure romance were rare nowadays; the girl was quite fortunate.
Chatting all the way, Jinchuan suddenly thought of something and asked, "I heard your family ran into some trouble?"
Chu Xu nodded. "Something like that. But it looks like it's getting resolved."
The autopilot allowed Jinchuan to relax his focus a bit. He glanced sideways at Chu Xu and said, "Want me to ask my family?"
Chu Xu shook his head. "No need, I can handle it."
"Alright then."
Chu Xu was genuinely grateful for Jinchuan's offer to help in a time of need, but a gap of tens of millions couldn't be bridged just by a word from him. Nobody's money came from the wind, and besides, Jinchuan was only a second-generation heir.
They set off a little after one and didn't arrive in Yong District until past three.
Chu Xu knew Jinchuan's girlfriend; they had been dating for years without changing.
"Well, well, who do we have here? If it isn't Master Chu! How do you finally have time to come out? Last time I asked you out for dinner, you wouldn't budge no matter what. Did the sun rise from the west today?"
Wu Jiamin started making sarcastic remarks the moment she closed the car door.
Chu Xu only felt a headache coming on. "I was genuinely exhausted last time. Try to understand, will you?"
"Who knows..." Wu Jiamin pouted and started talking to Jinchuan.
Left in peace, Chu Xu adjusted his seat to catch a nap. Just as he was about to fall asleep, his WeChat notification tone chimed.
Chu Xu took a glance—it was a message from Jiang Mu.
Thinking it might be important, he opened it:
"What are you doing?"
Was this her taking the initiative to chat with him? Chu Xu smiled slightly and replied:
"On the way back to the main city."
"Where did you go?"
"Yong District."
It took quite a while for Jiang Mu to reply; she must have been busy.
"Dinner tonight."
"Together."
Looking at the two consecutive messages, Chu Xu froze. She was asking him out to dinner on her own initiative... Wasn't this how a story began?
He was somewhat happy, but he had to refuse. He was heading out with Jinchuan later; he couldn't just bail on the guy.
"Can't tonight, made plans with a friend."
Meanwhile.
Being rejected left Jiang Mu feeling somewhat upset. Although she understood that everyone had their own affairs, this was the first time she had ever asked a guy out—only to be turned down. It certainly didn't put her in a good mood.
She couldn't even be bothered to reply, setting her phone aside to resume working.
"Doudou, go contact Bosi Technology. Don't they have a new project? Have them brief us on it."
Since dinner was rejected, work was the only way to fill the time.
Wang Doudou, standing nearby, sensed that Director Jiang had suddenly turned foul-tempered. Terrified, she scurried off the moment she received the order.
It was terrifying—Director Jiang's mood had been so erratic lately...
***
They didn't get back to the main city until close to six.
Just as Jinchuan had said, it had stopped raining, but the ground was still slick.
"You're not still going, are you?" Chu Xu asked.
Wet and slippery conditions were the absolute worst for hiking, carrying a high accident rate.
Jinchuan shrugged to show he had no fear. "What's to be afraid of? We'll go take a look; if it doesn't work out, we'll turn back. The others are already on their way."
"Your friends?"
"Yeah."
Chu Xu had thought it would just be the three of them, but they had invited others as well.
Another forty-some minutes later, the M9 finally reached the mid-mountain parking lot.
Having spent the whole afternoon sitting in the car, his backside was sore.
As soon as they stepped out of the parking lot, several men and women could be seen chatting and laughing ahead. Spotting them, the group hurried over.
"Bro Chuan is here!"
"Is this sister-in-law, Bro Chuan?"
Then, a red-haired guy in the front started handing out cigarettes.
Jinchuan lit one up before introducing them. "This is Chu Xu, my buddy. And this is your sister-in-law."
Seeming accustomed to being introduced this way, Wu Jiamin didn't look shy at all.
"Hello, Brother Xu. Hello, sister-in-law."
"Sister-in-law, Brother Xu."
With a cigarette hanging from his lips, Chu Xu nodded. "Hello. Just call me Chu Xu."
When it came to forms of address, Chu Xu didn't care; they could call him whatever.
"Sister-in-law, Brother Xu."
A young girl standing nearby also stepped over to greet them.
"Hello." Chu Xu nodded and was about to walk forward when he noticed her extending a hand.
Were they going to shake hands?
Without overthinking it, Chu Xu reached out and gave her hand a brief shake.
"Brother Xu, I'm Shen Qing," Shen Qing said with a smile on her face.
Chu Xu nodded in acknowledgment.
Then the group continued chatting and laughing as they set off.
Unnoticed by anyone in the back, the red-haired guy glared straight at Chu Xu, a faint hint of malice flashing in his eyes.
Naturally, Chu Xu had no idea he had already been marked down as a rival in love; if he knew, he would have felt deeply wronged.
It was only seven o'clock, and when Jinchuan asked Wu Jiamin if she was hungry, she admitted she was a little bit.
That made him decide to grab dinner before heading up the mountain. His original intention was to pack some dry rations and just climb, but he couldn't let his girlfriend starve.
Finding a private-kitchen restaurant, Jinchuan ordered a few dishes and urged the waitress to hurry with the food.
"Bro Chuan, I saw a video saying there's a trail on the south side that's great for night hiking. It's not very steep either, just rather long."
"How many kilometers?" Jinchuan asked.
The guy checked his phone and said, "Close to twenty kilometers, it looks like."
"Holy crap, that long?"
Jinchuan shook his head and said, "No way, let's pick another one."
Hiking twenty kilometers—that was absolute murder.
Chu Xu glanced at Jinchuan and said, "Didn't you say you love night hiking? Wouldn't a distance like this be more of a challenge?"
"We could try it if it wasn't raining, but forget it with the rain. What if something happens?"
Of course, what he worried about most was his girlfriend; if she hadn't come along, he would have jumped at the chance to try it. After all, he had come fully equipped today with a shell jacket, hiking backpack, and trekking poles.
Naturally, the gear of the others in the group was pretty much the same.
Still, Chu Xu was quite curious about where Jinchuan kept meeting these younger girls who loved night hiking.
Outside the window, orange streetlights flickered, and a magnificent building in the distance appeared to be a hotel.
Chu Xu glanced at the sky, then checked the weather forecast. It was going to start raining within the hour. But so as not to ruin everyone's mood, he kept quiet about it.
"Is Brother Xu still a student?" Shen Qing suddenly chimed in from the side.
Chu Xu put his phone away and shook his head. "Graduated."
"Oh, so you're working then? What kind of job do you do?" Shen Qing asked with a smile.
She figured this would make her seem approachable. To guys who hadn't seen a young girl in ages, it probably worked. No doubt they'd be smitten by this point.
But to Chu Xu, this girl was quite childish; meeting someone for the very first time and immediately interrogating them about their background was rather impolite.
The first rule of entering society was not to act overly familiar and treat strangers like close friends.
"The financial industry," Chu Xu said succinctly.
"Does Brother Xu's family work in that too?" Shen Qing pressed on.
Seeming casual, she was actually probing his background.
He had really thought this girl was innocent; looking at her now, innocent his foot.
Chu Xu could bet that the moment he dropped his next sentence, this girl wouldn't have the slightest interest in talking to him anymore.
"My parents are both ordinary factory workers. They're still working their shifts right now."
Jinchuan looked at Chu Xu in bewilderment, and the latter gave him a subtle look.
"Ah? Oh, right."
Just as Chu Xu had predicted, Shen Qing instantly lost interest. The smile vanished from her face, and she went back to playing on her phone.
That speed of facial expression turnaround could rival a high-speed rail.
Actually, dating a girl like this wasn't bad—you never had to wonder if she loved you, because she only loved your money. Once you knew the outcome, there was no need to harbor any illusions.