The red-haired guy must like Shen Qing; Chu Xu only just noticed.
No wonder when Shen Qing was talking to him just now, she had looked at Chu Xu with such bitter hatred.
So he was just a simp.
Well, simps didn't matter, as long as they didn't provoke him, everything was fine.
But if he crossed the line... Chu Xu wouldn't even spare Jinchuan's face.
After the food was served, the group finished eating quickly.
This wasn't a gathering to linger over; they still had to climb the mountain later.
Before long, they were done.
Chu Xu rolled his neck and went to the restroom.
The red-haired guy had been glancing at Chu Xu from time to time during the meal, and seeing him leave, he followed right behind.
"Hey, kid, stop right there."
Chu Xu turned around to see the red-haired guy with a cigarette hanging from his mouth, walking straight toward him.
"You're Chu Xu, right? I don't know how you managed to become Brother Chuan's friend, but some circles aren't meant for you to just squeeze into and play with. People at the bottom should stay nicely at the bottom; don't go dreaming about climbing up."
The red-haired guy was extremely arrogant, speaking with a thoroughly condescending posture.
Chu Xu found it quite amusing. Of course he knew the reason.
Earlier, this kid had assumed Chu Xu came from a background of his own and was best not offended, since birds of a feather flock together.
But as soon as Chu Xu claimed to come from an ordinary family, the kid's sense of superiority had instantly shot through the roof, which was why he dared to chase him out here to say all this.
This type of person was the classic arrogant rich brat relying on his father—if he didn't run into trouble now, he would surely cause trouble later.
Yet this kind of verbal attack had no effect on Chu Xu whatsoever. Instead, he asked, "And then?"
"Shen Qing is mine. You stay away from her, or don't blame me for not showing you any respect."
Chu Xu frowned. Should he just slap him a few times?
Guys like this generally hadn't received a proper beating from society; otherwise, they would never be so full of talk and so lacking in spine.
...
Forget it. He had things to do later, and he'd give Jinchuan some face.
"Don't let there be a next time."
Chu Xu glanced at him and walked straight away.
"What the hell, who do you think you are putting on an act? Don't walk away!"
When Chu Xu returned, the others were already ready to set off.
Jinchuan had just finalized the route.
As they came out, Chu Xu glanced up at the sky; it was already starting to drizzle, and it would definitely pour later.
"Chuan, it's starting to rain. Are we still going?" Wu Jiamin looped her arm through Jinchuan's, feeling the dampness in the air.
"It's fine, let's start walking. If it gets too heavy, we'll head back." Jinchuan remained utterly unbothered.
Chu Xu sighed inwardly. He had never met anyone with such a stubborn obsession.
Still, what could he do? Having agreed, he had no choice but to follow along.
Following the guidance of a video, Jinchuan quickly led the group onto the correct path.
It was a paved pathway, but there were no streetlights on either side.
They had to be extra careful walking on the slippery ground.
Chu Xu walked at the very front, and right behind him was the red-haired punk.
Terrified that Chu Xu might snatch Shen Qing away, the kid kept his eyes glued on him.
Chu Xu couldn't understand these people's way of thinking. Could a romance won through simping ever last?
The prerequisite for being together was always mutual affection; she had to be after something from you, after all.
Just as Chu Xu had anticipated, the rain began to fall harder.
Wu Jiamin reached out her hand to feel the raindrops falling on her skin and said, "Let's go back. It's raining too hard."
And they had only been walking for ten minutes...
Jinchuan sighed helplessly. His plan had fallen through yet again; even the weather was conspiring against him.
"We'll come again next week, no one's getting out of it." He was already planning for next week.
Chu Xu glanced at him sideways and asked, "Is climbing this mountain an absolute must?"
Jinchuan nodded. "An absolute must. But I remember you used to love night-climbing and cycling, Chu Xu. How come you don't want to move at all now?"
"If you had to work shifts totaling over ten hours every day, you wouldn't be in the mood for outdoor sports either," Chu Xu said, lines of dark frustration crisscrossing his forehead.
There was simply no way to communicate with a rich second-generation heir who had chosen to lie flat at home right after graduation.
Though, strictly speaking, Chu Xu was a rich second-generation heir himself.
His situation was different, however.
Ever since his father's first wife died in an accident and he married Li Yue, Chu Xu's treatment had started going downhill.
On the surface, he was still the young master of the Chu family, but in reality, he was worth less than dirt.
As the rain intensified, the group hurried back to the parking lot.
Shen Qing was in a foul mood and complained irritably, "My clothes are soaked."
The red-haired kid immediately chimed in, "Let's go, we'll go buy some right now."
"Forget it, let's just head back early. I want to take a shower," Shen Qing said with a frown.
She had only come along to curry favor with Jinchuan, never expecting night-climbing to be such a hassle. She was never coming again.
Catching sight of Chu Xu again, Shen Qing's mood plummeted even further.
She had thought he was also a rich kid, but it turned out he was from an ordinary family. With looks like that, what a waste.
Experience told her that when looking for a boyfriend, you couldn't just look at good looks—family background was far more important.
Noticing Shen Qing looking at Chu Xu, the red-haired kid grew unhappy again. He strode over and snapped, "Hey, I'm warning you one more time, if you—"
Before he could finish, the sharp, resounding crack of a slap suddenly echoed across the open-air parking lot.
"Slap."
The red-haired kid felt a burning, stinging pain across his face and froze in shock for a moment.
In all his twenty years, no one had ever slapped him across the face—this was a first.
"I already told you not to let there be a second time," Chu Xu said, his eyes dark and gloomy.
He had a pretty good temper, but even he couldn't stand being provoked to this extent.
"What the—"
Recovering from his shock, the red-haired kid lunged at Chu Xu, but the two other guys in their group grabbed him and held him back.
"Let me go! I'm gonna beat the living daylights out of this asshole!"
"How dare you hit me? You're finished! Do you even know who my dad is? I'm going to break your hands..."
Shen Qing was stunned, clearly not expecting Chu Xu to resort to physical violence so directly.
Jinchuan and Wu Jiamin hurriedly rushed over as well.
"What's going on?" Jinchuan asked.
"Are you okay, Chu Xu?" Wu Jiamin asked.
The fact that both of them rushed over to check on Chu Xu the moment they arrived showed clearly who their real friend was.
"I'm fine,"
Chu Xu looked at the raving red-haired kid and said, "Don't ever invite me again if you're going to have people like this around."
Jinchuan didn't know what had happened, but he knew Chu Xu; he had practically never seen him lose his temper, let alone hit someone.
Therefore, the red-haired kid must have pushed him too far.
Jinchuan's face darkened instantly. Glaring at the still-screaming redhead, he said in a deep voice, "Enough, we'll talk about this back in the car."
Friendships had levels, and Jinchuan hadn't thought much of someone like the redhead in the first place.
He understood the kid's motives all too well.
Since Jinchuan had spoken up, the redhead didn't dare refuse to show him some face. He shot Chu Xu a vicious glare and cursed angrily,
"Damn it!"
"His dad is a public security precinct captain. It's fine, we just won't bring him along next time," Jinchuan said as he walked over, casually handing Chu Xu a cigarette.
As for the redhead, Jinchuan didn't even want to dignify him with attention.
Chu Xu lit the cigarette, took a drag, and said, "Associate with whoever you want, I just can't stand the sight of him."
"Don't mention it." Jinchuan smiled, planning to drive Chu Xu back as soon as they finished smoking.
The redhead's anger hadn't subsided yet.
To be slapped in front of a woman and not be able to return the blow—his pride had taken a serious hit.
He glanced at Shen Qing standing nearby and dropped a fierce threat, "Damn it, if Brother Chuan weren't here, I'd have had him locked up one way or another. Daring to hit me, has he got a death wish?"
He thought this would make him look formidable, but Shen Qing remained expressionless, wishing only to get home as quickly as possible.
This made his anger flare up even higher; right now, he felt like beating up any stray dog that happened to walk past.
As they reached the cars, he suddenly noticed someone standing near the rear of his vehicle.
Walking closer, he saw a drunk young man urinating directly against the rear tire of his Audi A6.
The bellyful of rage he had been holding in finally found an outlet.
Yelling furiously, the redhead charged forward.
"What the—"
"I'm going to beat you to death, you piece of trash!"
"Pissing on my car, I'll—"
Spewing a string of curses, he used both hands and feet, beating the drunken youth until the man howled in agony.
"Ow, stop hitting me, stop hitting me..."
After thrashing the man wildly for five minutes, the redhead was exhausted and stood panting heavily to the side.
"Damn it, beating you to death, you asshole, how dare you piss on my car, damn it."
Hearing the commotion, everyone except Chu Xu gathered around.
Jinchuan frowned, thinking to himself that this might have gone a bit too far. Beaten to this extent, the police were bound to come.
"Damn it, are you going to dare do it again? You looking to die?" Having vented his frustration, the redhead felt much better, as if his lost face had finally been recovered.
He turned to check Shen Qing's expression, but it remained entirely unchanged...
Having taken a beating, the drunk had sobered up considerably. He roared, "You guys are done for! I'm going to ruin all of you! Just you wait..."
With that, the drunk whipped out his phone and poured out his grievances through a flood of snot and tears, describing the beating he had suffered in the most pitiful light possible.
By this time, the redhead had also calmed down a bit and realized he might have stirred up real trouble. Subconsciously, he wanted to run, but seeing Jinchuan standing nearby, he stayed put.
What was there to be afraid of? Brother Chuan was right here.
...