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At four in the afternoon, Yang Kaiming finally sent a WeChat message. Qi Xing, who was dozing off with his head propped up, instantly perked up upon seeing the new message.
"Everything is arranged. Just lead the people over."
Qi Xing sat up excitedly then stretched his neck and Ye Xingzhou, who was chatting with Mr. Chen and the others, glanced at him. Qi Xing pretended not to notice.
Just wait and see.
……
After playing for most of the day, the elders were tired and planned to head back.
Mr. Chen returned to the small villa in the back to rest. Qi Xing and Ye Xingzhou helped send his old friends off one by one. Once it was just the two of them left, Qi Xing tilted his chin at Ye Xingzhou and said, "My grandpa plans to stay here for dinner tonight. Do you want to stay too?"
Ye Xingzhou asked, "Have dinner here?"
His tone was skeptical as Mr. Chen hadn't indicated he wanted to stay for dinner earlier.
"Ah, it was a last-minute decision but there are no vegetables left here, so I plan to go to the village behind the mountain to buy some. Can I borrow your car? Or you can take me there."
Qi Xing lied without blinking. His grandpa certainly didn't plan to stay for dinner. He would rest for a while and then go back. He had just privately told Mr. Chen that he would leave with Ye Xingzhou.
Mr. Chen had even asked him why he was leaving with Ye Xingzhou if their relationship wasn't good. Qi Xing casually made up a story about wanting to discuss work matters. What he needed to do now was to trick this bastard in front of him away.
Ye Xingzhou looked at him but didn't respond immediately.
Qi Xing deliberately provoked him, "What's wrong? Why are you unhappy? If you're not happy, then forget it. If you want to flatter my grandpa then at least show some sincerity. It's a waste of my grandpa's effort to help you get introduced to those people."
Ye Xingzhou replied, "Is there no food at the farm here? No workers to do the buying? Do you even know what is edible and what isn't?"
Qi Xing snapped, "Why are you so annoying? Are you going or not?"
"Let's go." Ye Xingzhou said no more and turned to get the car.
Qi Xing snorted coldly and followed him.
The nearest village required going around the back of the farm and up the mountain will take over twenty minutes by car. Qi Xing sat back in his seat while playing on his phone and completely ignoring the person next to him.
Ye Xingzhou drove while occasionally glancing at him, his fingers tapping thoughtfully on the steering wheel.
"Have you been here before?" Ye Xingzhou suddenly asked.
Qi Xing's attention was still on his phone as he casually replied, "I've been here. My grandpa always calls people to buy vegetables from this village whenever he comes here and I came along once."
What he said wasn't a complete lie but whether Ye Xingzhou believed it was up to him. Anyway, he had already tricked him out and that was all that mattered.
After driving for more than ten minutes, the mountain road became narrower, leaving only a single lane for cars. On one side was a dense forest and on the other was a large expanse of farmland with houses faintly visible on the other side of the fields.
When they reached a fork in the road ahead, Qi Xing sat up straight and said, "Stop."
Ye Xingzhou looked around, "Here?"
"Yes, here. Your car can't go into the village. You wait here. I'll walk through the fields."
Qi Xing's expression couldn't hide his smugness, "Just wait. I'll be back soon."
He opened the car door to get out but Ye Xingzhou followed him, "I'm going with you."
"No need and just stay here."
Before Qi Xing could finish his sentence, a pickup truck pulled up behind them and six or seven rough-looking men got out while holding bricks and wooden sticks.
Qi Xing hadn't expected them to arrive so quickly and frowned. He had initially wanted to leave first to avoid raising Ye Xingzhou's suspicions later.
But never mind as watching Ye Xingzhou get beaten up would be entertaining too.
Ye Xingzhou cast a cold glance at the unfriendly group, who had surrounded their car. The leader, a burly man, asked in a gruff voice, "Are you Ye Xingzhou?"
Ye Xingzhou remained calm, "What's the matter?"
The thugs exchanged glances and nodded at each other before rushing forward.
Ye Xingzhou's expression darkened.
The leader charged at him and Ye Xingzhou swiftly kicked him in the chest, quick and fierce, then snatched the brick from his hands. He immediately turned to block a stick coming from behind as the brick shattered above his head and he swung the remaining piece at the nearest thug's forehead.
Four or five people attacked him at once but despite being outnumbered, Ye Xingzhou held his ground.
Qi Xing watched in shock and instinctively took a step back. Seeing Ye Xingzhou fight so fiercely, he suddenly remembered that he had landed a few punches on him before, perhaps Ye Xingzhou had been holding back on purpose.
As Qi Xing pondered whether he should take the opportunity to escape, someone finally noticed him and swung a stick directly at him.
Qi Xing kicked out, shouting, "Are you crazy? Ye Xingzhou is over there!"
The thugs ignored him and just relentlessly swung their sticks at him. Qi Xing struggled to defend himself, "Where the hell did you come from? Do you even know who I am? Is this how you get paid to do your dirty work?!"
The situation was completely unexpected. Clearly, it was nothing like what he had been told!
Qi Xing was both angry and anxious and not noticing the brick coming from behind aimed at his head. Ye Xingzhou kicked away a thug blocking his path then grabbed the stick from him and swung it to block the blow aimed at Qi Xing.
Hearing the noise, Qi Xing turned around just in time to see the brick shatter in front of him. He stared in shock and momentarily forgot to react.
The thugs, perhaps surprised by how difficult they were to deal with, became enraged. The leader suddenly pulled out a watermelon knife from his pocket and swung it at Qi Xing, who looked easier to handle. Ye Xingzhou kicked him in the chest which sent him flying.
Qi Xing stumbled back and grabbed Ye Xingzhou's arm as he did.
Ye Xingzhou, in a low voice, shouted "Run!" as he swung the stick to fend off the next attacker and dragged Qi Xing with all his might out of the encirclement.
Qi Xing was pulled along while stumbling a few steps before looking up to see Ye Xingzhou's tense, sharp profile. Finally coming to his senses, he gasped for breath and quickened his pace, plunging into the forest.
In the wild mountain forest, there was only a muddy, slippery path. They rushed deeper in like headless flies, who’s forced to seek refuge in the denser vegetation on the mountainside to evade their pursuers.
Qi Xing's heart raced. He couldn't understand how things had turned out this way. Wasn't he just here to watch Ye Xingzhou get into trouble? Why had he also become embroiled in this mess? Damn Yang Kaiming!
Lost in thought, Qi Xing suddenly slipped and fell sideways.
He stepped into thin air and beside him was a steep slope. In the moment he began to slide down, Ye Xingzhou reached out and grabbed him then pulled him back up with all his strength. The momentum sent Qi Xing back to the top of the slope but Ye Xingzhou himself tumbled down while rolling awkwardly down the sharp, rocky slope.
Qi Xing panicked and shouted, "Hey!"
The footsteps of the group behind them were not far away and would catch up soon. Ye Xingzhou had already rolled down the slope and disappeared from sight.
Qi Xing's heart raced to his throat. He quickly looked around.
What he should do now was to keep running up and find a hidden place to hide until those people gave up and left.
But instead, he gritted his teeth, cursed under his breath and without hesitation, crouched down then turned his back and slowly slid down the muddy path while holding onto the protruding rocks.
A few minutes later while panting, Qi Xing reached the bottom and looked up. All he could see were dense bushes and the blue sky above.
He breathed a sigh of relief and scanned the area. Soon, he spotted Ye Xingzhou who’s half-lying in a bush while looking disheveled.
Looking down at his bloodied palms, Qi Xing hissed in frustration and reluctantly made his way over.
Ye Xingzhou was leaning against a rock. His high-end suit is tattered with blood on his face and arms. His eyes were closed and it was unclear if he had fainted from the fall.
"Hey, are you dead?" Qi Xing kicked him lightly, afraid that this person might actually be seriously hurt, so he instinctively softened his kick.
After waiting a moment without a response, Qi Xing felt uneasy and crouched down, then hesitantly leaned closer to see Ye Xingzhou's face, "You..."
Ye Xingzhou's closed eyes suddenly opened with his dark pupils staring straight at him.
Qi Xing jumped back in fright while flailing to retreat but Ye Xingzhou grabbed his arm and said hoarsely, "Don't move."
"Are you pretending to be dead? Is it that fun to scare people?" Qi Xing was a bit annoyed.
Ye Xingzhou replied, "You should curse less."
Qi Xing scoffed, "Do you still have the mood to care about that? Look at our situation!"
After saying that, he lost interest in Ye Xingzhou and pulled out his phone to call for help but to his dismay, the battery was dead.
Qi Xing was so angry he almost smashed his phone. He turned to Ye Xingzhou, "Where's your phone?"
Ye Xingzhou checked his pocket and frowned, "It's gone. It probably fell out when I rolled down."
Qi Xing was furious, "Ever since I met you, nothing good has happened."
Ye Xingzhou seemed to have recovered a bit. Although he looked disheveled, his gaze was sharp. Without his glasses, his eyes seemed to pierce right through Qi Xing.
Qi Xing felt uncomfortable under his stare and was about to curse when Ye Xingzhou asked, "What do you mean that you paid someone to do dirty work?"
Qi Xing was momentarily speechless.
Why was he asking about that? Just fight if you want to!
Ye Xingzhou noticed his reaction, "Did you bring those people here?"
Qi Xing feigned ignorance, "How could I? Am I crazy? Why would I bring people to attack myself?"
He would deal with Yang Kaiming later but he would never admit it in front of Ye Xingzhou.
A mocking look appeared in Ye Xingzhou's eyes, "You reap what you sow."
Before Qi Xing could get angry, Ye Xingzhou continued, "Since I fell down the mountain half-dead, shouldn't you be cheering? Why did you follow me down?"
Qi Xing was at a loss for words.
Indeed, why had he followed him down?
He had wanted nothing more than for Ye Xingzhou to be seriously injured or dead but when he saw that bastard roll down the mountain, he just slightly hesitated but still followed.
Qi Xing thought that it was because he was a person with a conscience; after all, Ye Xingzhou had fallen because he had tried to save him.
Though he wanted to kill this beast, that was a separate matter. He couldn't abandon someone in danger; that wasn't his style.
"You're the beast, not me."
Qi Xing cursed but despite saying that and being called out for his failed revenge made him feel embarrassed and angry. Seeing that Ye Xingzhou was clearly not going to die, he stood up and kicked him again, "Get up."
Ye Xingzhou replied flatly, "I can't get up. I twisted my left ankle and can't walk."
Qi Xing looked over and saw that Ye Xingzhou's left ankle was indeed swollen like a bun, he frowned, "…Then you stay here. I'm leaving first. I will just find someone to rescue you once I get out of this hellhole."
Without waiting for Ye Xingzhou to object, he turned and walked away.
After walking a bit, he looked up and saw that the sun was already slanting and it would soon be dark.
Qi Xing stopped in his tracks, hesitating.
If he left and then came back to find someone, who knows how long that would take? Leaving Ye Xingzhou, an injured person, alone here seemed quite unethical. What if a wild animal came at night? Regardless of their grudges, Ye Xingzhou had fallen because of him.
Thinking of the beast's previous coercive behavior, he felt angry again. Someone like him should be left here to fend for himself!
After pacing in place a couple of times, Qi Xing rolled his eyes and turned back.
Ye Xingzhou was still leaning against the rock with eyes closed. He only opened them when he heard footsteps.
Seeing the coldness and shadow in Ye Xingzhou's eyes, Qi Xing felt even more displeased and cursed himself for meddling. He walked back to Ye Xingzhou's side and crouched down again, "Fine, fine, I'll be a good person to the end and carry you."
Ye Xingzhou looked at him with his eyes hiding a complexity that Qi Xing couldn't understand and didn't want to.
"Do you want me to carry you or not?" Qi Xing urged impatiently.
Ye Xingzhou replied, "Aren't you leaving?"
Qi Xing snapped, "What if I really leave and you die here? Hurry up and get on."
After a moment of silence, Ye Xingzhou suddenly raised his hand and grabbed Qi Xing's arm again.
Before Qi Xing could struggle, Ye Xingzhou's voice was even hoarser than before, "Since you've come back then don't even think about leaving again."