Chapter 21: Stinky Guy, Total Turn-Off
Xiao Mei was completely dumbfounded.
Although she had sensed from their recent encounters that Su Chen had changed, she never expected him to have changed this much… to the point of being utterly crude.
"You… are you even a man?!"
Looking at Xiao Mei's flushed face, seething with anger, and her heaving chest, Su Chen gave an evil smirk.
"If you're not sure I'm a man, do you want to come inside and find out?"
"You…"
Xiao Mei quickly crossed her arms over her chest and shouted in a furious, shrill voice:
"You disgusting freak! Such a turn-off! Even if every man on Earth were dead, I still wouldn't let you lay a finger on me!"
"What a coincidence. I'm not that into green tea b*tches like you either."
Su Chen shrugged nonchalantly and smiled.
"Unless you kneel and beg me, then maybe—just maybe—there's a slim chance."
Xiao Mei tried to hurl back more insults, but Su Chen had already turned and ascended into his RV via the steel lift!
She stomped her foot in frustration but had no choice but to turn and leave.
In his past life, Xiao Mei had constantly stirred up trouble, sabotaged Su Chen's relationship with Liu Ling'er, and never once showed him respect—always mocking him for being a poor loser.
Even worse, when Su Chen risked his life to rescue both her and Liu Ling'er, she dragged Liu Ling'er away, abandoning him in danger.
Su Chen's heart had long been filled with disdain for her.
After the sarcastic exchange just now, he felt a little vindicated.
But he wasn't in a hurry.
Zhang Mingyuan, Xiao Mei, and the others weren't truly desperate yet.
When that time came, he would return every bit of what Xiao Mei had done to him—without mercy.
...
Looking at the dirt-covered Xiao Mei, no one needed to ask to understand what had happened.
"Ling'er, thank goodness you left Su Chen early on. He… he's such a turn-off now!" Xiao Mei huffed as she recounted her exchange with Su Chen to Liu Ling'er.
Ah Biao, Zhang Mingyuan, and the others, though furious at Su Chen for ignoring them in their time of need, were powerless to do anything.
As time passed, Zhang Hang's breathing grew increasingly shallow.
"Brother Biao, if this keeps up, Hangzi is going to die!"
One of the henchmen said anxiously.
Ah Biao began pacing restlessly, just as he resolved to head out alone, a faint sound of footsteps echoed from the entrance.
Everyone exchanged glances.
At a time like this, how could there be someone outside?
They quickly stood up and saw a figure collapsed at the entrance.
Looking closer, they realized it was none other than the burly man who had driven away in a van the day before.
Only now, he looked even more miserable than Ah Biao had.
His entire body was sunburned to the point of peeling, his skin red as if it were about to bleed, and he looked like he was on the verge of death!
Several kind-hearted people reached out to help him, only to recoil at the burning heat radiating from his body.
"What… what happened to him?" Manager Dang exclaimed.
Hearing his voice, the burly man struggled to open his eyes.
"Our… our van… broke down halfway yesterday. The others… were all cooked alive by the heat. I… I managed to crawl back…"
Before he could finish his sentence, he passed out again.
Doctor Wang Ye checked for breathing and then shook his head solemnly.
"He's gone. That was likely just a final burst of consciousness before death."
Before anyone could recover from the shock of the man's death, another shout came from behind them.
"Brother Biao, it's bad! Hangzi… he's gone too!"
One of the underlings responsible for watching over Zhang Hang rushed over in a panic.
Everyone hurried back, only to find that Zhang Hang had indeed stopped breathing.
Two people dying in such a short time struck fear deep into everyone's hearts.
Ah Biao remained silent for a long while before finally muttering:
"Let's take care of their bodies first…"
With the heat as intense as it was, if they left the corpses unattended, decomposition would set in within half a day.
A few of the underlings grabbed some sheets, wrapped up Zhang Hang and the burly man's bodies, and temporarily stored them in a utility room.
Once everything was arranged, the others returned to their resting spots, though a heavy atmosphere of despair and confusion lingered in the air.
While Ah Biao was still grieving the loss of his brother, Zhang Mingyuan walked over.
"The dead can't be brought back, Brother Biao. Don't take it too hard," he said softly.
Ah Biao's heart stirred.
Zhang Mingyuan had always treated him like a lackey, barking orders left and right just because of his family background.
Why was he suddenly pretending to be all brotherly and concerned?
Squinting his eyes, Ah Biao nodded.
"Thanks, Young Master Zhang."
"Brother Biao, we need to think about our next move," Zhang Mingyuan continued in a low voice.
"What do you have in mind?"
"From the looks of it, we can't count on the government to help us anytime soon."
Zhang Mingyuan gestured toward the crowd nearby.
"There's over a hundred people here in this hotel. How long can the remaining food supplies last?"
"We need to figure out a way to survive."
Ah Biao fell deep into thought.
Zhang Mingyuan's words had indeed reminded him of a crucial issue.
According to the government's announcements, this heatwave would last at least a week.
Even if they hid in the underground garage and avoided being roasted alive, they'd still face a severe food shortage.
"So, what's your suggestion?"
"Brother Biao, I think we should take control of all food supplies and distribute them according to need. That way, everyone has a better chance of surviving this disaster."
Zhang Mingyuan smiled, his eyes gleaming with cunning intent.
Ah Biao snorted coldly in his heart.
Others might not know, but he was very familiar with Zhang Mingyuan's selfish nature.
"Distribute according to need" and "help everyone survive" were just excuses.
Zhang Mingyuan was clearly afraid there wouldn't be enough food and that he'd starve to death!
He now understood why Zhang Mingyuan was suddenly being so respectful—it was because he wanted Ah Biao to do the dirty work for him!
Still, Ah Biao wasn't going to refuse.
First, he and his brothers needed to survive.
Second, when the heatwave ended, he might still need the backing of the Mingyuan Group.
"I'll do whatever Young Master Zhang says."
"Great! Let's go find Manager Dang!"
Zhang Mingyuan was overjoyed.
Although Ah Biao and his men were strong, there were only a few of them. Even with Zhang Mingyuan and his friends, they had just over a dozen people.
Only by allying with the hotel staff, led by Manager Dang, could they suppress the rest of the crowd!
When Zhang Mingyuan approached Manager Dang and explained his plan, the latter agreed immediately.
His thoughts were exactly the same as Ah Biao's.
It was about survival—and currying favor with Zhang Mingyuan.
With support from both Ah Biao and Manager Dang, Zhang Mingyuan brimmed with confidence.
He asked for a chair, stood on it, and shouted loudly:
"Everyone, please gather around. I have something to say!"
The crowd was confused but curious, and soon, a group formed around him.
"We're in a difficult situation now. To survive, we must work together."
"So from now on, everyone needs to hand over their supplies for centralized management and distribution!"