Chapter 2445: Another Me 14

Zhou Shuo's car was parked at the restaurant entrance; when Li Donglai got out, he happened to see Li Chi also appear.

Li Chi got out of the taxi and closed the door.

"Little Chi," Zhou Shuo leaned out the car window, his gaze sweeping over Li Chi, "I'll pick you and Donglai up later, no need to take a taxi."

Li Chi's steps halted, his gaze toward Zhou Shuo somewhat bewildered, then he shook his head.

He doesn't need it.

The smile on Li Donglai's face stiffened; he quickly glanced at Zhou Shuo and said somewhat aggrieved, "Shuo-ge, if Little Chi doesn't want to, just forget it."

Zhou Shuo seemed not to notice that oddness, slightly furrowed his brows, and looked at Li Chi.

"Little Chi, when did you become so distant with me?"

Li Chi hadn't yet figured out how to respond.

Or rather, he basically didn't feel he had much interaction with Zhou Shuo.

A voice in his mind sounded first.

Jin Chen's tone drew out, "Distant? Li Xiao Chi, are you close with this person?"

Li Chi's heart tightened, he felt nervous for no reason.

"No, brother, I'm not familiar with him."

He feared Jin Chen would misunderstand, so he didn't pay Zhou Shuo any more attention and quickly walked into the restaurant's revolving door.

Jin Chen hummed satisfied.

The private room was large; the noisy chatter and aroma of food hit him, several tables filled with classmates.

As soon as Li Donglai entered, several close male classmates surrounded him, escorting him to the reserved seats beside the main table, the atmosphere lively.

"Li Chi, sit here."

Someone pointed to the two empty seats left beside the main table, right next to Li Donglai.

Li Chi's steps paused slightly, but he still walked over, pulled out a chair and sat down; a glance came from diagonally opposite.

Zhao Qian, who still harbored a shadow in his heart, nearly jumped under the table, flusteredly grabbed the table edge to steady himself, and looked at Li Chi with suspicion.

Lacking the sharpness from that day at the computer mall, yet he now possessed a chill-inducing aloofness.

Zhao Qian shivered, thinking, "Was Li Chi ever this frightening before?"

He hastily lowered his head, pretending to pick at the vegetables in his bowl.

Several classmates flocked around Li Donglai, flattering him.

"Donglai, with your family's conditions, your grades are surely top-notch; when the time comes for your promotion celebration, don't forget us brothers."

"Exactly, your family's villa is so huge; throwing a party would be impressive!"

Li Donglai smiled restrainedly: "Of course, I'll definitely treat."

Another male student bumped Li Donglai with his shoulder, "Hey, Li Chi wouldn't still be living in your big villa, would he? Donglai, how long does your family plan to keep supporting him?"

"Exactly," someone nearby immediately chimed in, deliberately aiming at Li Chi's direction, "I hate these bloodsuckers the most—no talent at all, sponging off others, eating for free, and always putting on a sour face for everyone to see."

The smile on Li Donglai's face faded a bit as he furtively glanced at Li Chi's reaction.

Yet Li Chi showed little reaction, eating quite earnestly.

Li Donglai's tense nerves eased a little.

Right, Li Chi currently has no evidence; even if he refuted, no one would believe whatever he said.

He lifted his smile again, feigning magnanimity, "Li Chi still has to go to university; since my dad brought him in at the start, we can't just abandon him halfway."

"Going to university?" Someone immediately snorted, "With his grades, what could he possibly get into? Pure waste of money!"

Li Chi turned a deaf ear, earnestly eating the meal Jin Chen had told him to eat well.

Brother had said, health is important.

"Little Chi, remember who just scolded you." Jin Chen's voice carried a hint of lazy menace, "Later, brother will get it back for you."

Li Chi's fingers twitched slightly, he pressed his lips and nodded, then lifted his eyes to scan the crowd.

Halfway through the meal, the atmosphere grew hotter; someone suggested drinking hard liquor.

They, with reckless excitement, ordered several bottles of hard liquor.

Li Donglai and a few close friends exchanged a knowing glance.

Those four male students staggered to their feet, lifting liquor bottles and glasses, wearing ill-intentioned smiles, and approached Li Chi, surrounding him.

Only Zhao Qian stared at his own bowl, wishing he could bury his head in it, pretending not to see Li Donglai's eye signal.

He kept muttering to himself, "Li Donglai this guy, not only refuses to date me, keeps me on a string, and even wants to order me around to teach someone a lesson—what a beautiful fantasy."

The beating he got that day at the computer mall probably knocked some sense into him; damn, it's spooky.

The four young men surrounded Li Chi in the middle, the reek of liquor and a sense of pressure surging forth.

Li Donglai remained seated in his original spot, his face showing timely concern.

Li Chi's gaze slid over their faces, lingering for a few seconds.

Then he suddenly lifted his eyes.

His gaze turned sharp and clear, with a hint of nonchalant scrutiny.

"Fine."

Jin Chen reached out, directly gripping the neck of the liquor bottle, casually weighing it in his hand.

He lifted his eyes, lazily sweeping over the few people before him, and spoke for them, "So, should we say next, take me to the rooftop to play?"

Li Donglai's petty little thoughts were really not worth looking at.

"The few people surrounding him froze, 'Yo ho! Not mute anymore? Nice, you even know how to seek fun now.'"

One male student reacted, laughing lecherously, "Exactly, just go outside to play; what, scared?"

Jin Chen stood up, followed those four male students toward the glass door leading to the rooftop.

Zhao Qian put on his hat, performed a gaze salute, as if he saw his own foolish self from earlier.

Lai Donglai watched his back vanish behind the door, unable to keep from pulling up the corner of his mouth.

The balcony's white railing door was shut.

At first, a few muffled shouts and laughter could still be heard in the private room.

Someone joked, "When a mute opens his mouth, it's just a big ha!"

But soon, that voice changed tone.

It was shrill, full of pain, abnormally sharp.

Several classmates who had been drinking stopped, stared at each other, their faces showing surprise.

……What's happening out there? Nothing will go wrong, right?

The railing door was pushed open.

Jin Chen came back unscathed, walked straight back to his seat, pulled out a chair and sat down.

He even, amidst all the classmates' shocked gazes, picked up his chopsticks, grabbed a piece of chicken leg and put it in his mouth.

I need to eat more—my wife has gotten so thin.

Every time we fight, I'm afraid of breaking my hand.

After a while, the silhouettes of four boys appeared, swaying.

Each one's face was bloodless, drenched in cold sweat.

They hunched over, hands clamped over their abdomens, finding it hard to stand straight, almost having to drag each other in.

Everyone's gaze toward Jin Chen's back held only fear.

Even after his mute point was struck, he could only utter a few 'heh' sounds, unable to say a word; to the classmates, he was just Lai Chi.

Lai Chi beat those four until they lost their voice!

Zhao Qian felt more balanced inside.

Lai Donglai jumped up, staring at Jin Chen in disbelief, 'You……'

What monster is this other personality! He can take on four at once and beat them like this!

Jin Chen leisurely wiped his hands, his gaze sweeping over the stunned classmates around the table, 'Now it's time to settle the score.'

As his words fell, the private room door was pushed open, and a crowd of reporters surged in.