The group stepped outside.
It was already dusk outside, and the sky was painted with brilliant red clouds.
Standing at the entrance to the road, they looked out and saw three cars approaching from the distance.
Leading the way was a Jeep Wrangler, its roaring engine echoing like waves, unmistakably coming from that car.
The Wrangler sped along fast but steady, kicking up dust as it passed, leaving its tail end for the two Buicks following behind.
Though they were Buicks—not expensive cars—their plates were extraordinary, the kind that could run a red light in public and never get a ticket afterward.
But people who can drive cars with those plates probably wouldn't do anything that would get them criticized behind their backs.
"Old Tai's car is as wild as ever. The engine in that junk heap is worth more than the whole car,"
Seeing the Wrangler in front, Gordon Guo grinned and glanced playfully at Frank Bi and the others. "No need to bet, but how about a guess—who do you think Mia Liao will get out of the car with?"
The Wrangler up front belonged to Tyson Tai, so one of the two Buicks behind must be Allen Ju's.
Evan Lin and Selina Wu stood toward the back of the group.
Soon, the Wrangler pulled up and parked by the roadside. As the car door opened, everyone looked over.
Gordon Guo had already gone ahead to greet them.
The driver’s door opened, and the man who stepped out had slightly dark skin, bright eyes, a faint smile at the corner of his mouth, and an air of arrogance in his features, though he didn’t show it overtly.
"Hey, where’s she? Where’s Mia?"
Gordon Guo slapped Tyson’s shoulder and peered into the car.
He looked inside, but the car was empty.
No one?
"What the...?"
Gordon Guo froze, still in disbelief. "Did Mia really get in Allen Ju’s car instead?"
With that question,
Frank Bi and the others who were lagging behind finally caught on. Hearing that Mia wasn’t in Tyson’s car, they were delighted.
"Ha, Mia must be in Allen's car, right?"
Grace Liu shook her head and grinned. "Gordon, you guessed wrong. Too bad Frank didn’t bet you, or he’d have won."
"Doesn’t matter if we didn’t bet. I still won."
Frank Bi swung his arm and laughed, his face lighting up as he shouted to Gordon Guo and Sylvia Xia, "Hey, you two over there, aren’t you going to come help greet them? Why are you just standing there?"
"Yeah, that car’s already empty—no one’s inside. What are you standing there for, cooling off?"
Calvin Zheng nodded repeatedly in agreement.
Sun Wanwan was already heading toward the two Buicks.
"You guys..."
Listening to Frank and the others, Gordon Guo felt stifled, wanting to say something but the words caught in his throat.
He was about to speak, but Tyson Tai’s hand landed on his shoulder. When Gordon looked at him, Tyson just shook his head and smiled, "Don’t rush."
Gordon and Sylvia were confused.
Just then, the Buick’s door opened.
The one in front—Allen Ju got out, looking pale and emotionally shaken.
"What’s wrong? Are you feeling sick?"
Seeing Allen like that, Frank Bi asked with concern.
Allen Ju shook his head.
Sun Wanwan looked into the car, then frowned.
Because there was no one inside.
Still, Mia was nowhere to be seen.
Then Sun Wanwan, Calvin Zheng, and the others turned their attention to the second car behind.
The car door opened.
Gloria Rong and Leon Lu got out.
No one else was inside.
"Where is she?"
Calvin Zheng asked quietly.
He didn’t ask Allen Ju, but went over specifically to ask Gloria Rong and Leon Lu.
"She’ll be here soon."
Gloria Rong shook her head and sighed, glancing at Allen Ju with a look of anger and pity, clearly feeling he’d been treated unfairly.
"What’s going on here?"
Frank Bi’s smile froze, his face instantly changing.
He’d thought that since Mia wasn’t in Tyson’s car, she must be in Allen’s.
That way, not only could he slap the other side with a comeback, but he also hoped Allen would finally get his wish.
But now, it seemed things weren’t going as expected.
"You guys really thought Mia was in Allen’s car?" Tyson Tai leaned against his Wrangler, smiling at Frank Bi and the others. "Disappointed, Cube?"
Cube.
He was talking about Frank Bi.
Frank’s face had always been square, and his parents, far from being ashamed, were actually proud of it, so they gave him that nickname.
All these years, Frank had been teased plenty, but the nickname "Cube" came from Tyson’s group.
The humiliating nickname made Frank Bi’s face darken even further.
Allen Ju, in a foul mood, raised his head and looked coldly at them. "Say that again."
He practically spat the words through clenched teeth, startling Tyson and the others.
Tyson quickly forced a laugh and waved his hand. "Alright, alright, I’ll stop. My bad, I misspoke."
"But Third Young Master, you shouldn’t take your anger out on me. When we went to the airport to pick her up, I lined up obediently behind you."
"Of course, who would dare to抢 your spot? If you wanted to park up front to pick her up, even if you parked on the tarmac, I doubt anyone would stop you."
"But there’s nothing you can do—Mia just wouldn’t get in your car. You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone else in all of Beijing who’d refuse to get in Third Young Master Ju’s car, right?"
"But Mia just wouldn’t, so she’s special. And because she’s special, that’s why you like her, isn’t it?"
Tyson smiled, his words full of obvious mockery.
He didn’t plan to go head-to-head with Allen, but he was more than happy to deliver a few soft jabs.
Allen ignored him and walked straight toward the courtyard, head down and lost in thought, passing right by Evan Lin and Selina Wu without stopping.
He probably didn’t even notice Selina and Evan.
Gloria Rong, however, nodded to Evan as a greeting.
"Looks like your luck’s not so great today."
Allen’s group headed toward the courtyard, and Tyson’s group followed without hesitation.
Sylvia Xia, who had been verbally slapped by Evan earlier, glanced at him and smiled. "You came today to have Selina show you around, right?"
"Planning to have Selina introduce you to Allen and the others, lay some groundwork?"
Sylvia shook her head, looking regretful. "Too bad."
"Allen’s in a terrible mood today, so your little plan fell through."
"And another thing."
With that, Sylvia stepped closer to Evan, eyes narrowing and her tone turning cold. "People from small places should stay in small places."
"This water is too deep for small fish and shrimp like you. If you keep trying to swim upward, you’ll end up losing your tiny future instead of gaining wealth and glory."
"You’ll lose both the wife and the army, steal chickens but lose the rice—aren’t these all cautionary tales?"
"And all those cautionary tales are yours."
Sylvia was about to continue, but Selina Wu stepped in front of her, eyes cold and ready to confront her head-on.