“Is there an umbrella in the car?” Xiao Luo turned his head to ask Shen Qingyan, seated in the backseat. It was common practice for car owners to leave an umbrella in the car in case of unexpected bad weather.

“Yeah, in the glove compartment,” Shen Qingyan replied. She glanced towards the glove compartment in front of the pa.s.senger seat.

Xiao Luo immediately opened the glove box. There was an umbrella there—but its edges were lined with lace, and it was pink lace, at that. He furrowed his eyebrows. “Err, never mind…”

Xiao Luo got out of the car shortly after he spoke.

The rain poured down relentlessly, and he was immediately soaked from head to toe the moment he stepped out. At the same time, four young men descended from the black Audi sedan that had been tailing them. There looked like hooligans, grimacing with unfriendly scowls on their faces.

“D*mn you, b*stard! Are you looking to die?”

“F*ck him, let's beat the h.e.l.l out of that guy!”

The four young men drew strength from their numbers and charged towards Xiao Luo.

One of them, the one who yelled at Xiao Luo, was swaggering as he led his men from the front. Xiao Luo preempted his attack, and without any warning, sent him flying a few meters back with just one kick. The young man clutched his stomach as he threw up everything he ate for dinner, groaning as he lay on the road in unimaginable pain.

The other three men were shocked, and they held back for a beat. Suddenly, they rushed at Xiao Luo with fierce roars.

Xiao Luo huffed lightly. He landed a clean and accurate right hook on the face of a silver-haired young man. It sent flying the young man with a pathetic scream and left him with a row of b.l.o.o.d.y front teeth. The young man reeled back and crashed heavily on the wet ground. He landed into a large puddle of rainwater with a splash, kicking up sprays of water a meter high.

There were now two of them left, and they were so terrified that they froze, suddenly unsure of themselves. When Xiao Luo turned and glared at them, they nervously pulled out their switchblades and exchanged glances before they charged wildly toward Xiao Luo at the same time.

Xiao Luo laughed with a sneer and stepped forward to meet them head-on. He weaved between the two of them and spread out both arms like two metal rods and struck at their chests. There were but two dull thuds before the two young men spat out thick blood, and they found themselves sailing back in the air as if struck by a speeding sports car.

It had barely been a minute, and the four young men had already been dispatched and lying sprawled on the ground!

Su Li and Shen Qingyan were shocked as they took in the scene. This was too brutal, too barbaric. Had it not been for the fact that they had seen all of this with their own eyes, it would be too difficult for them to imagine that someone like Xiao Luo, who did not seem imposing or menacing in the least, had such terrifying moves up his sleeves.

Xiao Luo raked his gaze over the four people who were writhing on the ground and crying pathetically. There was not a trace of emotion on his face. Then, he walked over to the front section of the black sedan.

Crack!

It was like his left arm was a machine. He effortlessly smashed the front window and then s.n.a.t.c.hed the car key from the ignition.

In debonair fas.h.i.+on, Xiao Luo turned around and strode over to the Jaguar. As he did so, he tossed the car key off the bridge. A river of raging waters ran beneath the bridge, and but not a single one of the four men dared make a sound. They were lying on the road and groaning miserably. It was clear that they had messed up here today.

When Xiao Luo got back in the driver's seat, he brushed his wet hair with a hand. He looked at Su Li indifferently through the rearview mirror and said, “You say that I'm barbaric and violent. Well, I guess you're right. That's exactly the kind of person I am. If I were to consider this some illness, then I think I'm already at death's door, and there's no hope left for me!”

There was a deeper meaning behind his words, and his message was—think as you wis.h.!.+ Xiao Luo had no plans of changing; that was for sure.

After he said that, he stepped on the gas without waiting for Su Li to respond, speeding through the bridge and getting them to the other side of the river.

Su Li bit into her scarlet lips. In a scarcely audible voice, she hissed, “Barbarian…”

Although Shen Qingyan thought that Xiao Luo was excessively barbaric and violent, she was, on the other hand, much comforted by his ability to protect them. “You've gone too far this time, Xiao Luo. On top of beating them to a pulp, you also threw their car keys into the river. I think they'll remember this encounter for as long as they live,” she said.

“Some people need to be taught a lesson before they see reason,” Xiao Luo replied.

“Why does it feel like you're hinting at something?” Shen Qingyan quipped, glancing at Su Li, who was sitting beside her.

Su Li glared at Shen Qingyan. “What are you looking at? Leave me out of your conversation.”

She was, in fact, las.h.i.+ng out at Xiao Luo.

By the time they made their way back to Crescent Bay, it was already ten in the evening.

Not only did it seem like the rain would not be stopping anytime soon, but it appeared to be getting heavier. More puddles were forming on the ground, and when the raindrops. .h.i.t them, the bubbles that were formed seemed to light up like tiny bulbs.

“Huh, why is there someone standing there in the rain? It looks like a girl?” Shen Qingyan exclaimed.

Xiao Luo followed the direction of her gaze. Indeed, he saw a girl curled up, folding her arms around her chest. She sat unmoving in the pouring rain by the streetside next to the main gate leading to Crescent Bay, with her head lowered. Although she was some distance away from the car, she seemed familiar to him at first glance.

Gu Qianxue?

He took a harder look, and he was about 80% sure that it was her—not everybody had that simple yet elegant air about them.

Xiao Luo immediately pushed open the door and bounded over.

“Gu Qianxue?” He stood in front of the girl and called out to her.

When she heard him, the girl immediately raised her head. She had a beautiful face with a cold demeanor, giving her an aloofness that made it difficult for anyone to approach her. She had a pair of exquisitely beautiful eyes and glowing pale skin. Who could it be if not Gu Qianxue? She was as naive as a blank sheet of paper.

“I've been waiting for you, Xiao Luo.”

Gu Qianxue stood up. She was drenched from head to toe. Her face seemed unusually pale, and her hair was soaking wet as well, with some strands clinging to her face. At the sight of Xiao Luo, the coldness in her eyes vanished, replaced by warmth and glee.

“Since you know I live here, why didn't you just let yourself in? Why did you have to wait here in the rain?” Xiao Luo said.

There was a trace of an uneasy smile on Gu Qianxue's face. “Umm, they wouldn't let me in. So I had no other option but to wait here by the gate for you,” she said.

Xiao Luo really could not understand why the girl was so foolish. “Your older sister is so smart, so how are you this dumb? Don't you know to find shelter when it's pouring like this?”

“That's alright, my body's real tough. A little rain like this can't hurt me,” Gu Qianxue responded, shaking her head.

Xiao Luo was shocked. He did not know whether to laugh or cry. “If your dad knew the kind of situation you were in, he'd probably call me out for a cup of tea in the middle of the night,” he said.

Gu Qianxue laughed sweetly. “Xiao Luo, it's great that I managed to find you…”

As soon as the words left her mouth, her eyes fluttered slightly, and she collapsed in a heap.

Xiao Luo jumped in shock, instantly helping her up. “Gu Qianxue, Gu Qianxue…” he called her name several times, but she did not respond. He put his hand on her forehead, and he blanched. “What was all that nonsense about having a strong body? You're burning up!” he muttered.

He gathered the foolish girl into his arms and sprinted into Crescent Bay. There was some medicine to treat fevers and flu in his apartment, and he had to treat her immediately.

In the Jaguar, Su Li and Shen Qingyan sat frozen in shocked silence.

It was Shen Qingyan who came back to her senses first. “Li, they seem to know each other. The girl seems rather innocent, probably in her early 20s. The girls that Xiao Luo are acquainted with are all so pretty. Is this what it means to be blessed?” she said.

There was a conflicted expression on Su Li's face when she heard those words. She was a woman, and her sixth sense told her that the girl was her love rival.