Ke Xinghao glared at Zhou Song, his fists tightly clenched.
He and Zhou Song had always been at odds, but their disputes had always been between the two of them—never had they escalated to involving their parents.
Of course, Ke Xinghao knew about the Zhou family that Zhou Song was referring to.
His own family might be nouveau riche, but his father was wealthy enough that breaking into that social circle was just a matter of taking a longer route.
The Zhou family was no towering giant, but it was still not someone like him—a mere nouveau riche—could afford to provoke.
Now that he was an adult, he would no longer act recklessly like before and bring trouble to his father.
But today, if they expected him to bow his head to Zhou Song, that was simply impossible.
“Zhou Song, how old are you now? Running to your parents every time you get into trouble—how childish.”
Ke Xinghao crossed his arms and deliberately mocked him.
As expected, Zhou Song’s face turned red with rage.
However, someone beside him quickly pulled him back and sneered,
“Zhou Shao, do not waste your energy on these poor losers. They are just jealous of your noble background.”
Zhou Song, now enlightened by his companion’s words, lifted his chin arrogantly and looked down at them.
“Ke Xinghao, if you kneel and beg for my forgiveness today, I might consider letting you off.
Otherwise, as long as I am around, you and your gang of poor friends will never have a good life.”
Zhou Song smirked.
“The Zhou family can crush you peasants with just one word.”
“F!”
Ke Xinghao cursed under his breath, veins bulging as he clenched his fists.
“If you have a problem with me, then come at me directly. This has nothing to do with my friends.”
His anger, mixed with helplessness, seemed to amuse Zhou Song.
“If they choose to be friends with you, then they deserve to suffer for it.”
The three girls trembled slightly, their eyes turning red with fear.
Ke Xinghao felt like he was being cornered.
If it were just him, he would not be afraid of Zhou Song at all—he would rather break Zhou Song’s head than back down.
But today, it was not just about him.
Chen Xu and the others came from ordinary families.
They had never interacted with people like Zhou Song before.
Just as Ke Xinghao gritted his teeth, ready to lower his head—
A cold voice suddenly cut through the tense atmosphere.
“As far as I know, the Zhou family only has two sons.
Are you Zhou Hongshen or Zhou Hongkuo?”
—
Zhou Song’s head snapped toward the voice.
A tall figure stood up.
The dim lighting in the bar cast shadows on his face, making him appear even more dangerous.
Chen Xu walked to Ke Xinghao’s side and lifted his gaze to meet Zhou Song’s.
His eyes carried an oppressive force, making Zhou Song’s scalp tingle.
Who is this guy?
How does he know about the Zhou family?
Could it be that Ke Xinghao actually has connections in our circle?
Impossible.
Ke Xinghao attended an ordinary high school—
A school full of commoners.
He was probably the wealthiest student there.
“There is no need for you to get involved, Old Chen.”
Ke Xinghao quickly stepped in front of Chen Xu, afraid that he would get dragged into this mess.
Chen Xu’s family was not well-off to begin with.
If he offended Zhou Song, things could turn out really bad for him.
—
At first, Zhou Song had been somewhat wary of Chen Xu.
But seeing Ke Xinghao’s reaction, he immediately understood—
This newcomer was no big deal.
Maybe he just read something about the Zhou family online.
Thinking that, Zhou Song was about to order Chen Xu and Ke Xinghao to kneel and apologize.
But then, he heard Chen Xu say—
“If Zhou Hongkuo finds out that you are throwing around the Zhou family’s name to cause trouble, what do you think will happen?”
Chen Xu’s words made Zhou Song’s body involuntarily tremble.
Their family was a side branch of the Zhou family.
Because he was the same age as Zhou Hongkuo and they were both taking the college entrance exams this year, his parents had always tried to push him toward Zhou Hongkuo to build a connection.
Zhou Hongkuo had a fiery temper, but he was easy to fool.
It was only because of this ‘friendship’ that his parents had recently been transferred from a branch company to the headquarters.
If Zhou Hongkuo found out that he was flaunting the Zhou family’s name and stirring up trouble outside—
Given his short fuse, he would undoubtedly beat Zhou Song to a pulp.
And his parents’ jobs at the headquarters?
Gone.
Zhou Song swallowed hard and forced himself to remain calm.
Feigning confidence, he sneered, “Hongkuo is my little brother. Of course, he will stand by me. Besides, who the hell are you? Some random poor guy like you—what makes you think you could ever meet him?”
Chen Xu held his gaze for a few silent seconds.
His pitch-black eyes sent an inexplicable sense of foreboding through Zhou Song.
“Oh, is that so?”
Chen Xu said casually, pulling out his phone and dialing a number.
Zhou Hongkuo still felt incredibly guilty about falsely accusing Chen Xu the other day. [chapter ]
So guilty, in fact, that he had deliberately given Chen Xu his number and told him to call whenever he needed anything.
But after waiting and waiting without hearing from him, he had grown restless.
When he suddenly received Chen Xu’s call, Zhou Hongkuo was so delighted that he instantly picked up.
“Hello? Chen Xu?”
“Hm. I have a question for you.”
Chen Xu’s voice came through the receiver, calm and indifferent.
For some reason, as soon as Zhou Hongkuo heard Chen Xu’s voice, he instinctively straightened his back—
And sat properly, as if he was about to attend an important meeting. “Go ahead.”
“Do you know someone named Zhou Song?”
While asking, Chen Xu’s gaze remained locked on Zhou Song, watching as cold sweat formed on his forehead.
Zhou Song’s heart was pounding so hard it nearly leaped out of his chest.
Who the hell is this guy?!
How does he have Zhou Hongkuo’s number?!
His mind raced with escape routes—
Maybe Chen Xu was just bluffing?
Maybe the person on the phone was not really Zhou Hongkuo?
“Yeah, I know him. He is a distant relative from a side branch of our family. I just hung out with him a few days ago.”
Zhou Hongkuo answered without hesitation, but he was puzzled.
Why was Chen Xu suddenly bringing up Zhou Song?
“It is nothing,” Chen Xu said casually.
“I just ran into someone claiming to be from the Zhou family, saying he was going to ‘deal with me.’ I was a bit confused, because I thought the Zhou family only had you and your brother. When did this Zhou Song person suddenly become a Zhou family member?”
Chen Xu’s tone carried a hint of amusement—
But his gaze was as cold as ice.
Zhou Song’s heart plummeted.
It was as if someone had reached inside his chest and crushed it in their grip.
Cold sweat drenched his back.
Chen Xu smiled faintly and extended his phone to Zhou Song.
Zhou Song’s hands were shaking uncontrollably.
His palms were drenched in sweat.
He licked his dry lips, his throat tight, as he reached out—
And took the phone with trembling hands.
Slowly, he brought it up to his ear.
“…Hello?”
“Zhou Song, you are really something. You sure know how to act in front of me.”
Zhou Hongkuo’s voice was clearly laced with anger, and to Zhou Song, it was nothing less than a death sentence.
“I-I-I… Hongkuo, I was wrong! Please do not be angry! I just had a moment of stupidity…”
Zhou Song was so terrified that his entire body went weak.
He was on the verge of tears, frantically apologizing to Zhou Hongkuo.
The arrogance and superiority he had displayed just moments ago were completely gone.
Now, he was like a pitiful dog, desperate to grovel at his master’s feet for forgiveness.
However, Zhou Hongkuo had no intention of forgiving him.
He bluntly declared that he would report everything to their parents.
It is over.
That was the only thought in Zhou Song’s mind.
By the time he snapped out of his daze, Zhou Hongkuo had already hung up the phone.
Chen Xu reached out and took his phone back from Zhou Song’s trembling hands.
Zhou Song, still in a daze, suddenly fell to his knees with a loud thud.
“It was my fault! I failed to recognize your status! Please, I beg you—help me say a few good words to Hongkuo! I was wrong! Everything today was my fault! I will never mess with Ke Xinghao again!”
Zhou Song then crawled over to Ke Xinghao and apologized profusely.
Ke Xinghao was so shocked that he nearly jumped in place.
What the hell?!
This is insane!
What just happened?!
He suddenly felt like Chen Xu was some kind of hidden expert, living in seclusion.
A true master who had kept his talents and wealth a secret.
Obviously, after this, they could not stay and play around anymore.
Chen Xu called for the bill.
Ke Xinghao and the others were still so stunned that they completely forgot to argue over who would pay.
When Chen Xu finished settling the bill, Ke Xinghao accidentally caught a glimpse of the balance in Chen Xu’s account.
Holy sht.
The numbers on the screen nearly blinded him.
For a moment, he could not even count how many zeros were there.
As they stepped out of the bar, Ke Xinghao was still in a dazed state.
It felt like he had just uncovered a massive secret.
Meanwhile, back inside the bar, the group of men who had been following Zhou Song exchanged uneasy glances.
Zhou Song looked completely shattered, like he had just gone bankrupt.
Little did they know—his family was about to go bankrupt.
His parents, including himself, had no real skills or talents.
They had only managed to cling to the main Zhou family for support.
Now that this situation had unfolded, not only was Zhou Song at risk of being completely cast out of the Zhou family, but when he got home, his parents were undoubtedly going to beat him senseless.
Why the hell did I have to run my mouth and provoke Ke Xinghao?!
Back at the lodging, Chen Xu went straight to take a shower.
The sound of water running in the bathroom finally snapped Ke Xinghao and Wang Chengyi back to reality.
The two exchanged looks, then huddled together.
“Old Chen’s family seems… pretty rich.”
Ke Xinghao said cautiously.
Wang Chengyi nodded in agreement.
“Not just rich—filthy rich.”
That Zhou Song had been so cocky because of his supposed connections to the Zhou family.
Yet, Chen Xu had casually pulled out Zhou Hongkuo’s number and called him directly.
This meant that Chen Xu not only knew the real members of the Zhou family—
But judging from his tone on the call, he was at least in the same social class as them.
A strange silence settled between them.
Then, at the same time, both of them blushed.
Ke Xinghao covered his face, which was now red with embarrassment, and buried his head into the blanket.
“AHHHHH!!!”
“What the hell is this?!”
All this time, they had assumed Chen Xu came from a struggling family.
They had spent years secretly covering for him—
Paying for his meals, buying him clothes and mugs, pretending they had bought the wrong size so they could “gift” them to him.
Even for this trip, the five of them had planned to split Chen Xu’s share of the costs.
But in the end… not only was Chen Xu not poor, he was filthy rich?!
Ke Xinghao’s mind flashed back to all his past misunderstandings about Chen Xu.
Like how he once thought Chen Xu was just some weak, pretty boy—only to be beaten up by him.
Or how he had assumed Chen Xu was a failing student and had desperately tried to “help” him, only to later discover that Chen Xu was ranked first in the entire grade.
And now—
He had spent years thinking Chen Xu was struggling financially, only to find out that he was probably wealthier than his own father.
“F! How the hell have I made the same mistake so many times?!”
Wang Chengyi also recalled all the stupid things they had done.
Thinking back on it, it was absolutely ridiculous.
He had believed Chen Xu was weak—only to get beaten into calling him “dad.”
He had thought Chen Xu was a failing student—only to find out he was the top student.
He had assumed Chen Xu was poor—only to realize he might be richer than his entire family combined.
Just then, Chen Xu came out of the bathroom, drying his hair.
Before he could react—
Ke Xinghao and Wang Chengyi grabbed him.
“Spill the truth!”
They demanded.
Chen Xu blinked in confusion, looking at the two hangers they had pressed against his shoulders like makeshift weapons.
Unable to hold back his laughter, he raised both hands in mock surrender.
“Alright, alright. I will tell you everything.”
Ke Xinghao exchanged a look with Wang Chengyi.
The two then shoved Chen Xu onto the sofa, standing in front of him like interrogators.
They were going to get some answers.
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