Chapter 538: Chapter 538: Strength in Numbers
Xiao Qing crazily and foolishly declared she wanted to pursue Xu Xiangbei, nearly causing Xu Xiangbei to drop his glass in shock. But he needn’t worry, as Gu Xiangyi and Song Yuting coldly glared at Xiao Qing together, the air suddenly filled with hostility.
The situation seemed to say, Xu Xiangbei might not be our boyfriend, but you aren’t allowed to touch him. If you dare to lay a finger on him, you’ll regret it.
Xiao Qing looked like a child who knew she had made a mistake, her face bitter, tears brimming in her eyes as she lowered her head: "What do you mean, isn’t it too domineering?" But when she raised her head again, her expression returned to normal, showing a silly smile, "Alright then, I give up."
Although Xiao Qing didn’t possess the striking beauty of Song Yuting and Gu Xiangyi, she was still a delicate and fair girl with some charm. Her slender waist was quite appealing, and being friends with her wasn’t bad.
Xu Xiangbei couldn’t help but smile wryly: "You’re talking about me, right? I feel like you’re treating me like something to fight over. Xiao Qing, don’t give up so quickly, you should try to fight for it too."
Xiao Qing pouted, speaking candidly: "Dr. Xu, although I like you, I won’t try. If I don’t try, the worst that can happen is not having a boyfriend. If I do try, I’m afraid I might lose my life, given how fierce they were just now."
Gu Xiangyi and Song Yuting gently clinked glasses, like a pair of refined ladies reciting poetry under the moon, no trace of hostility left: "Who are you calling fierce? Us? NO, we’re girls, harmless, everybody loves us, how could we be fierce?"
Gu Xiangyi covered her mouth with a shy laugh: "Girlie, men aren’t worth the fuss. What’s the point of fighting over them? Men will betray you, but girlfriends are always girlfriends. Let’s all have a drink together as good friends."
The three girls clinked glasses together, while Sun Ze, grinning obsequiously, tried to clink glasses with Xu Xiangbei.
Xu Xiangbei chuckled: "I told you, you can’t treat me like some object to fight over; I’m not a thing at all..."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Xu Xiangbei realized he misspoke again, and suddenly felt awkward, provoking even greater laughter from Gu Xiangyi and the others. The onlooking Sun Ze showed a hint of sympathy—it’s often said women are as fierce as tigers, and there’s certainly some truth to that.
After eating and drinking to their fill, Gu Xiangyi and Xu Xiangbei accompanied Song Yuting to the entrance of the dormitory, where Xu Xiangbei gathered the courage to bid her farewell. The scene felt like a replay of their final goodbye after graduating high school.
During high school graduation, Xu Xiangbei had felt utterly uncertain about the future, completely unsure about his relationship with Song Yuting, filled with anxiousness as though he were standing in fog, unable to see anything clearly.
This time, however, Xu Xiangbei was calm and confident, smiling as he asked Song Yuting: "What’s your phone number? Actually, after graduation, I tried calling you, but you seemed to have changed your number."
Song Yuting’s eyes showed a hint of shyness as she took Xu Xiangbei’s phone from his hand and entered her number: "I lost my original phone, and I felt like no one anyway would call, so that number became obsolete. I got a new number here in Earth Sea."
As she entered the number, the sunlight shone on her face, gilding her hair with a golden hue, making her face look radiant and extraordinarily beautiful.
"Stay in touch, old friend."
Song Yuting made a sound of acknowledgment, nodding, her eyes rimmed red all at once, as she too recalled the scene of their breakup the year they graduated high school. That day, after returning home, she cried for over an hour, grieving not only the loss of Xu Xiangbei but also those three dreamlike years of youth.
Xu Xiangbei and Gu Xiangyi slowly drove away from the Academy of Traditional Medicine. Gu Xiangyi pointed out a small path to Xu Xiangbei, which ran along the school’s wall, joining the highway from there, saving twenty minutes on the drive back to the Purple Gold Villa.
Driving the Porsche along the little road by the wall, they saw a patch of small woods beside the road, the woods lush and verdant.
Just then, through the trees, a person was seen running frantically, with more than a dozen young men pursuing behind him.
The runner was evidently growing exhausted, panting heavily, accidentally stumbling on a branch, causing him to fall, and when he managed to get up to run again, he was easily captured by his pursuers.
These youths grabbed the captured man like holding an animal, twisting his arms behind him, marching him forward.
Xu Xiangbei instantly recognized the captured man as Lv Junxian, the one who lent him a bicycle.
Realizing Lv Junxian was in danger, Xu Xiangbei slammed on the brakes, bringing the car to a steady stop, opened the door, and ran over.
He shouted angrily: "What are you doing? Let him go!"
Lv Junxian appeared utterly exhausted, evidently after struggling, his clothes were torn, his glasses reduced to just one lens, looking very pathetic.
The ones who captured him, their faces were sullen, although skinny, all were strong and brawny youths, fierce in appearance, surrounding Xu Xiangbei like a tide.
Gu Xiangyi, sitting in the Porsche, saw so many people surrounding Xu Xiangbei and felt a bit nervous, hurriedly taking out her phone intending to call the police, but after thinking it over, she put the phone back.
She gently pressed a button on the front panel of the car, and the storage box for placing the water cup beside the driver’s seat opened slightly, containing several cans of charcoal coffee.
Gu Xiangyi twisted one open, turned on some music, and sat in the car, smiling as she watched Xu Xiangbei in the small woods.
Lv Junxian also recognized Xu Xiangbei, giving a bitter smile: "How come it’s you? They’re looking everywhere for you, but couldn’t find you, yet you walked into a trap yourself. Has your brain been kicked by a donkey?"
Surrounded by dozens of youths, Xu Xiangbei smiled, calm and composed, saying: "Lv Junxian, thank you, your bicycle is beside the reception room. They’re looking for me, what do they need me for?"
A cold laugh rang out as President Sun in charge of sales walked up to Xu Xiangbei from the crowd.
A bandage covered his face marking a wound inflicted by a punch from Xu Xiangbei, sounding a bit airy as he talked due to three missing front teeth from the punch.
President Sun wore a sinister grin: "Student, your memory is poor. You injured my men, knocked out my front teeth, and let my subordinates escape. Of course I would seek you out, this time you can’t get away. Our Great Era Company elites are all here; you’ve opposed our Great Era Company; you’re finished. But I’m broad-minded. If you’re willing to join our Great Era Group, I’ll forgive you, not only letting you go, but also making you our company’s business backbone. How about it? Think it over."
Xu Xiangbei finally realized these youths were all from the sales network under the Great Era Company, President Sun’s subordinates.
