Seeing the burly men on the motorcycles, who were even carrying iron rods, Lin Hao's face grew darker by the second.
'Damn it, who did I piss off? There's no way I can win a fight. My only option is to go with them.' He thought to himself and gave a slight shake of his head.
Seeing him shake his head, the thugs' faces twisted into ugly scowls, clearly unhappy.
"You dare shake your head? Fine, let me give you a taste of this rod, then we'll go," one of the muscular thugs raised his iron club, breathing heavily, his face as red as a chili pepper.
Sensing the situation deteriorating, Lin Hao's expression instantly turned servile. He forced a hurried smile and said,
"Honorable gentlemen, I didn't mean it like that. I'll go. I'll go with you, alright?"
He didn't even have a chance to ask why they were targeting him, and he didn't dare to.
He also didn't want to get beaten up for no reason.
"Hmph, consider yourself smart. Get on the bike," the blonde guy gestured with his hand.
In for a penny, in for a pound. Lin Hao said a silent prayer and got on the back of the other's motorcycle.
"Wait."
Someone suddenly spoke up, causing both Lin Hao and the blonde guy to freeze.
"What's the matter? He's already on the bike; why aren't we leaving?"
"Blindfold him. We can't let him know the secret location."
Hearing his companion's words, the blonde guy seemed enlightened. He shot a cunning look at Lin Hao and signaled.
The corner of Lin Hao's mouth twitched several times. He really wanted to curse, but now wasn't the time. Reluctantly, he could only obediently follow their instructions.
"Fine, let's just get this over with quickly," he sighed.
'What kind of people are these? They don't seem like human traffickers, nor do they seem like real gangsters. Their movements are so clumsy, like it's their first time playing this role. But their strength isn't fake; I'd definitely lose in a fight.' Lin Hao pondered silently.
If he thought they were human traffickers, he would have run long ago. But this bizarre situation made him stay to see it through.
The monotonous sound of the motorcycle engine continued for who knows how long before finally stopping. Blindfolded, Lin Hao couldn't tell where he had been taken.
"Get off. We're here. You can take the blindfold off now," the blonde guy said.
Lin Hao nodded and removed the blindfold. Before him appeared a scrapyard full of abandoned old cars.
'Huh? This place seems to be on land owned by the Su family. Could it be Su Chen? Damn it, I don't remember provoking you.'
He quickly grasped the situation, feeling deeply frustrated at being wronged like this.
However, he was somewhat reassured. Although Su Chen was usually arrogant, he probably wouldn't go so far as to kill him. The worst-case scenario was getting beaten up unjustly.
"Did Su Chen hire you to do this?" he probed.
The three burly men flinched the moment they heard that name. They turned their faces away and started whistling innocently, pretending they hadn't heard anything.
"Ah, did you say something? Anyway, it doesn't matter. Get inside the warehouse," one of them said, urging him to move quickly.
Seeing their awkward performance, Lin Hao's facial muscles twitched slightly. He shook his head and sighed, then stepped into the old warehouse.
Lights flicked on from all directions. In the center of the room was a chair, its back turned towards him.
The chair slowly swiveled around, revealing Su Chen's figure. He sat with his legs crossed, holding a glass of red wine, his gaze looking down on Lin Hao with the contempt of a superior.
"Well, well. I didn't think you'd actually dare to come here."
His tone was cold and aloof, putting on airs as if to show everyone that he and Lin Hao were not on the same level.
This demeanor, with its arrogant expression, was a world apart from the ugly look on his face when Yue'er had dismissed him. It was hard to believe the same person could be both a petty villain and someone acting with such overwhelming, sky-high arrogance.
Lin Hao felt that Su Chen was a bit... chuunibyou. But he probably shouldn't say that out loud.
He stepped forward until he was face-to-face with Su Chen and said, "Did I really have a choice?"
Su Chen took a sip of his wine and then threw the expensive crystal glass to the ground.
CRASH!
Shards of glass scattered everywhere, making everyone jump.
He stepped forward, jabbing his index finger into Lin Hao's chest, forcing Lin Hao to take a slight step back.
"That's right. Before me, you have no chance of escape," Su Chen said, the corner of his mouth curling into a smug smirk.
'Damn, is there something to be proud of here? Did his brain short-circuit from the humiliation earlier?' Lin Hao cursed inwardly.
He never liked Su Chen, but he'd never seen him this unhinged before. Suffering a massive blow to his ego was the only explanation he could think of.
Su Chen clasped his hands behind his back, slightly hunched, and started circling Lin Hao.
"I am the scion of a prominent family, the young master everyone admires. Wealth and status are things someone like you can't even compare to. Academically, I may not be at the top, but I'm firmly in the top 10. In sports, I'm second to few in the school. My social activities are among the most vibrant..."
He walked and talked, listing his qualities one by one. The more he spoke, the more the corner of his mouth curled up, and the more he puffed out his chest with pride.
If there was such a thing as a 'child of destiny' in this world, it was him. Any single one of the things he listed was enough to make many people envious.
He grew more and more fervent as he spoke, his words pouring out endlessly. He talked from the moment he was born until now. He rambled about everything under the sun, his monologue growing longer and more tedious.
'Damn it, how long are you going to keep bragging?' Lin Hao cursed silently, his head starting to buzz.
In a way, this incessant rambling could be considered a form of psychological attack.
He really wanted to punch that loudspeaker of a mouth, but doing so would only make things worse for himself.
It wasn't until over ten minutes later that Su Chen felt his throat getting a bit dry and stopped to take a sip of water.
After his long bout of boasting, his complexion looked much brighter. Now he looked less like a failure and more like the admired young master again.
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 frustration in his heart.
"Ha! See? You're not even worth the dirt under my fingernail. So why do you insist on clinging to Yue'er? Clearly, I am far more worthy of her than you are."