Chapter 3009: Taming the Stubborn 26

Airport, 3 p. m.

Chenshu leaned against the load-bearing pillar behind the duty-free shop, wearing a black baseball cap with the brim pressed low, shading half his face, an orange-flavored lollipop between his teeth; his slightly long wolf-tail hair was tied into a small bunch at the back, with a few strands of gray-white highlights left loose, hanging at his neck.

Not long after, a familiar figure appeared in the direction of the exit.

He was a youth about Chenshu's age, with a shiny bald head, wearing a flashy Hawaiian shirt and ripped jeans, shouldering a bulging hiking pack, looking left and right, his expression somewhat tense.

Seeing him, Chenshu instinctively wanted to go meet him, but as soon as he took a step, he sensed something was off.

Pite's gaze swept over him; their eyes briefly met in the noisy crowd, but Pite didn't give him his usual bear hug and start chattering about his achievements since they'd parted.

On the contrary, Pite didn't even stop, nor walk toward Chenshu; he lowered his head and quickened his pace, marching straight ahead in the opposite direction.

Something's wrong.

His repeated experience skirting danger made Chenshu tense his nerves and observe quickly.

Sure enough, about ten meters behind Pite, mixed among the pick‑up crowd and ordinary travelers, several men in casual jackets formed a loose encirclement and tailing formation.

What's worse, Pite's earlier panicked glance still caught the attention of one of them.

That glance still gave him away.

Before the suspect's gaze could lock onto him, Chenshu nimbly vaulted over the nearby metal railing, aimed at the direction Pite was fleeing, lowered his posture, and gave chase.

Ahead, Pite apparently also noticed the pursuit behind him and the movement on Chenshu's side, and flung his heavy hiking pack to the ground.

"Over here!" Chenshu quickly caught up to him, lowered his voice and shouted at a corner, simultaneously grabbing Pite's arm and yanking him sharply into the corridor; immediately behind them came hurried footsteps and lowered shouts.

"What's going on!" Chenshu asked while running, his breathing steady; his baseball cap had been blown off when he jumped the railing earlier, revealing the little tuft of tied‑up hair sticking up at the back, bobbing as he ran.

Pite wailed, his voice urgent and aggrieved: "You didn't send word last time, and those people caught me! Good thing I reacted fast—ahhh!" His breath grew unsteady, his words broken: "They asked where you were, I said I didn't know, they didn't believe me and tailed me! I dodged them for days, barely shaking them off, never expecting they'd catch up again!"

No wonder. Chenshu frowned; the last time he'd dealt with Lao Qin at the abandoned factory, he should have sent Pite a safety signal, but after he got injured and passed out, he'd completely forgotten—luckily Pite had no other talents, but his escape skills were top‑notch.

"Over here!"

He hadn't finished saying that when a few more people came running from the corner ahead, blocking their path.

Chenshu halted abruptly, grabbed the back of Pite's shirt—still surging forward from inertia—and pulled him back; Pite's neck was jerked, his whole body yanked backward, nearly toppling over.

Chenshu pushed off the railing, flipped his body upward, and turned into another passage.

With the airport crowds too thick, Chenshu led Pite through various lounges and corridors in the nooks and crannies, heading wherever there were fewer people, and while running he took out the few who came at him fastest.

Pite hadn't seen Chenshu in a long time—their last meeting was over a year ago; now, seeing him again, he noticed Chenshu looked much healthier, his skills sharper than before, like a piece of jade that had been polished—brighter, smoother, and keener.

They ran to the end of an empty corridor; Chenshu pushed open a door, hauled Pite inside, shut the door, and bolted it.

Leaning against the door, Pite let out a long breath, still shaken, and looked at his friend beside him: "No wonder, Brother Chen! You're still as awesome as ever!"

"But what now? They've sent a lot of people this time; it looks like they were lying in wait. We're both unarmed—bare‑handed—so being surrounded would be trouble."

Chenshu said nothing, his brows slightly furrowed; a head‑on clash wouldn't work, the opposition outnumbered them, and causing a big scene in an airport was out of the question.

"I'll make a call." Chenshu whispered, pulling out his phone from his pocket.

Pite's eyes lit up; his gaze toward Chenshu brimmed with expectation and admiration. "Could Brother Chen have already built his own power base in Yu Cheng in less than a year? No wonder, Brother Chen! He's found his footing so quickly!"

He watched eagerly as Chenshu pulled out his phone, his heart shouting, "Here it comes, here it comes—I'm about to see Brother Chen's connections in Yu Cheng!"

The next second he heard—his best buddy, whom he'd admired since childhood as incredibly awesome, calm and extraordinarily capable in a crisis—speak into the connected phone, "Honey…"

Pite: "?"

"What honey? Whose honey? Brother Chen came to Yu Cheng on a mission, didn't he!!!"

However, after Chenshu uttered that into the phone, his face suddenly darkened and his voice turned cold: "How is it you."

"Hello, Mr. Chen." Chu Yi's voice came through the earpiece, audible traces of deliberate respect: "President Jin is in the middle of a very important international cooperation meeting; his phone is on silent and left in the office. May I ask if you have any urgent matter? I can relay it for you."

That line was practically a classic.

So classic that Chenshu rolled his eyes at the other end of the line; now that this was happening to him, he felt nothing but annoyance, not any semblance of coincidence.

But right now was clearly not the time to dwell on that; footsteps approached again from outside the stall.

"Tell Jin Chen, I'm in danger at the airport."

Chenshu didn't even have time to give a specific location when he heard a click—the stall's door handle was being turned from outside.

Chenshu's eyes turned cold; he spun and kicked the door.

The door panel slammed hard into the person's face outside; he screamed, blood gushing from his nose as he fell backward.

Taking the opportunity, Chenshu rushed out; sure enough, three men were still guarding outside, and Pite bellowed as he charged out to help, his bald head flashing under the lights, fists and feet flying—though not pretty, his effort was full‑throttle.

In the midst of the fight, Chenshu's peripheral vision caught the man he'd knocked down; as he struggled, the collar of his neck pulled open a bit, revealing a small section of an eerie tattoo—a marking he had never seen on any other organization or faction.

Chenshu felt heavier inside, but there was no time to ponder, as more people poured in from both ends of the corridor.

"Brother Chen! Too many people!" Pite shouted after taking a hit, grimacing.

Chenshu feinted a punch, drove back the man in front of him, grabbed Pite and sprinted toward the emergency exit, with the pursuers hot on their heels.