Seeing the burly, strong-looking guys on the bikes, who even carried iron rods, Lin Hao's face grew darker by the second.
'Dammit, who on earth did I piss off? Fighting is out of the question. The only way is to go along.' He thought to himself and gave a slight shake of his head.
Seeing him shake his head, the thugs' faces visibly twisted in displeasure.
"You dare shake your head? Alright then, let me give you a taste of this rod first, then we'll go together." A burly guy lifted an iron baton, huffing and puffing, his face as red as a chili pepper.
Sensing the situation worsening, Lin Hao's expression suddenly turned servile. He forced a hurried smile and said, "Sirs, I didn't mean that. I'll go. I'll go with you, okay?"
He didn't even have a chance to ask, nor did he dare ask, why they were intimidating him.
He also didn't want to get beaten up senseless for no reason at all.
"Hmph, consider yourself smart. Get on the bike." The blond guy gestured with a flick of his hand.
Having made his choice, he had to see it through. Lin Hao silently prayed and got on the other person's bike.
"Wait."
Someone suddenly spoke up, causing both Lin Hao and the blond guy to freeze.
"What's the matter? He's already on the bike, why aren't we going?"
"Blindfold him. Can't let him know the secret location."
Hearing his comrade's words, the blond guy seemed enlightened. A cunning glint appeared in his eyes as he looked at Lin Hao and signaled.
The corner of Lin Hao's mouth twitched a few times. He really wanted to swear, but right now, he couldn't. Reluctantly, he could only obediently follow their instructions.
"Alright, make it quick," he sighed.
'What on earth are these guys? They don't seem like human traffickers, nor do they seem like real gangsters. Their actions are so clumsy, like they're acting this role for the first time. But their strength isn't fake; in a fight, I'd definitely lose.' Lin Hao thought to himself.
If he thought they were human traffickers, he would have run long ago. But this bizarre situation made him stay a while longer.
The steady hum of the engine went on for who knows how long before finally stopping. Blindfolded, Lin Hao couldn't judge where he had been taken.
"Get off the bike, we're here. You can take off the blindfold," the blond guy said.
Lin Hao nodded and removed the blindfold. Before his eyes appeared an abandoned, derelict car scrapyard.
'Huh, this place seems to be on land owned by the Su family. Could it be Su Shen? Son of a... I don't remember offending you.'
He quickly grasped the current situation, feeling very annoyed at suffering this unjust treatment.
However, there was also some relief. Su Shen might be domineering normally, but at least he wouldn't go so far as to kill him. The worst-case scenario was getting unjustly beaten up.
"Did Su Shen hire you to do this?" he probed.
As soon as the three burly men heard that name, they flinched. They turned their faces away, whistling as if they hadn't heard anything.
"Huh? Did you say something? Ah, doesn't matter. Get inside the warehouse." One of them said, urging him to go in quickly.
Seeing this awkward scene, Lin Hao's facial muscles twitched slightly. He shook his head and sighed, then stepped into that old warehouse.
Lights flicked on from all directions. In the center of the room, a chair swiveled around, its back facing him.
The chair slowly turned. Su Shen's figure was revealed. He sat with his legs crossed, a glass of red wine in his hand, looking at Lin Hao with the disdainful gaze of a superior.
"Well, well. I didn't think you'd dare to come here."
His tone was aloof, putting on airs as if to show everyone he and Lin Hao were not on the same level.
This demeanor, with his pretentious expression, was worlds apart from the unsightly look he had when Yue'er dismissed him earlier. A petty person and a lofty, imposing figure. Yet they were the same person.
Lin Hao felt Su Shen was a bit... chuunibyou (delusions of grandeur). But it wasn't appropriate to say it outright.
He stepped forward in front of Su Shen, their eyes meeting as he said, "Could I have not come?"
Su Shen took a sip of wine and then flung the expensive crystal glass onto the ground.
Crash!
Shards of glass flew everywhere, startling everyone.
He stepped forward, poking his index finger straight into Lin Hao's chest, forcing Lin Hao to take a slight step back.
"That's right. Before me, you have no chance to escape." Su Shen said, the corner of his mouth curling up in smug satisfaction.
'Damn, is this something to be proud of? Did he feel so humiliated earlier that his brain circuits fried?' Lin Hao cursed inwardly.
Usually, he didn't like Su Shen, but he'd never seen him this neurotic. Suffering a major blow to his ego was the only explanation he could think of.
Su Shen clasped his hands behind his back, pacing with a slightly hunched posture around Lin Hao.
"I am the scion of a powerful family, a young master admired by everyone. Wealth and status are things your kind can't compare to. My academics, though not the top, are definitely within the top ten. In sports within the school, I lose to very few. Social activities are the most vibrant..."
He paced and spoke, listing his qualities one by one. The more he spoke, the more his mouth curved upward, his chest puffing out with pride.
If there were such a thing as a child of destiny in this world, that person would be him. Any single one of the things he listed would be enough to make many people admire him.
He spoke with increasing fervor, saying more and more. He talked from his birth to the present day. He rambled from east to west and north to south, talking more and more.
'Dammit, how long are you planning to show off?' Lin Hao cursed silently. His head was starting to buzz a bit.
In a way, this endless prattle could also be considered a form of mental attack.
He really wanted to punch that loudspeaker of a mouth, but doing so would make him the one suffering greater losses.
Only after more than ten minutes did Su Shen feel his throat getting a bit dry, so he stopped to take a sip of water.
After bragging for so long, his complexion had improved considerably. Now he didn't look like a loser anymore but more like the young master admired by everyone.
He gently wiped the water from the corner of his mouth with his hand, letting out a heavy, satisfied breath as if he had vented all the pent-up frustration in his heart.
"Ha, see? Clearly, you're not even worth the dirt under my toenails. So why do you insist on clinging to Yue'er? Clearly, I am far more worthy of her than you are."