The journey went pretty smoothly, and the two of them caught the bus and arrived at Chuzhou City's bus station a few hours later.
Lin Xi also learned that the woman in front of him was named Bai Bing. From her demeanor and words, he could vaguely tell that she probably came out traveling alone after having some conflict with her family.
Just as the two of them stepped out of the bus station, they saw a row of men in sunglasses, dressed in black outfits, approaching them, and the middle-aged man leading them said,
"Miss, the master sent us to pick you up."
Bai Bing's face showed a worried expression. When she called home from the bus, she learned that her grandfather's illness had worsened due to her running away.
"Lin Xi, give me your phone number." Bai Bing was clearly anxious at this moment, obviously wanting to hurry back.
But as she spoke, her fair face turned red for once. She hadn't expected herself to suddenly ask for Lin Xi's contact information.
The middle-aged man in black completely ignored Lin Xi before, assuming from his shabby attire that he was clearly a migrant worker from the countryside.
Such a person was worlds apart from the young lady, or even from him.
So he didn't regard him at all, but now he glanced at Lin Xi with confusion.
Usually, their young lady never showed any kindness to other men, let alone asking for contact information.
However, he really couldn't see anything special about Lin Xi, except for being a bit handsome, just like an ordinary person.
Lin Xi shrugged his shoulders, indicating he didn't even have a phone, so how could he have a phone number?
Bai Bing was taken aback, clearly not expecting Lin Xi to not even have a phone, and she was even more surprised when she took out her white Apple from her bag.
"Here, I dropped it on the mountain once, and I'm planning to get a new one!" Bai Bing handed over her phone, her delicate face turning even redder, realizing her reason wasn't very convincing.
She immediately called the middle-aged man in black beside her and walked towards the silver-white BMW not far away, leaving Lin Xi standing there in surprise.
After a moment, Lin Xi looked at the seemingly new Apple in his hand and thought, "Is this some kind of extra benefit?"
Without pondering too much, Lin Xi walked forward, contemplating whether to find someone to ask how to get to Jiangnan University.
Just at that moment, a middle-aged man with a kindly face jogged up to Lin Xi, "Hey there, young fella, where are you headed? I can give you a ride."
"Huh?" Lin Xi glanced at the middle-aged man, realizing he was a black-market driver from the station.
"Don't worry, young fella, I promise to take you anywhere you name in Chuzhou City, fair prices, quick and punctual!"
"Oh, how much to Jiangnan University?" Lin Xi touched the three thin red bills in his pocket, thinking he should save a bit.
"Fifty bucks, I'll get you there in twenty minutes." The man assured with a pat on his chest.
"That's not too bad, even cheaper than a taxi!" Lin Xi secretly estimated the twenty-minute distance and agreed.
In the car, Lin Xi sat in the front passenger seat, watching the black-market driver take various shortcuts, overtake cars, all at great speed.
There were even several times they almost collided with other cars, and he cursed at several pedestrians, saying their dog eyes were on their backsides, how dare they walk like that!
This was completely different from his previously mild image, poles apart.
But Lin Xi could understand, these people must grab every minute and second to make a living.
Thinking if it weren't for having just three hundred yuan, he could pay a little more for the ride.
A hint of surprise crossed the middle-aged man's face beside him, usually with the way he drove, no passenger didn't turn pale and lose their wits.
And yet this young man dressed like a migrant worker remained calm and composed, not showing the slightest ripple on his serene face.
"This young fella must be a fool!"
The middle-aged man couldn't figure it out, finally reaching this conclusion.
If he had known that Lin Xi used to chase targets in such unimaginable car-chasing craziness, he wouldn't have thought that.
"We've arrived, young fella." The middle-aged man smiled at Lin Xi beside him, stopping by a place called the Pink Hotel.
Lin Xi was taken aback, was this Jiangnan University?
"Sir, did you make a mistake? I said Jiangnan University." Lin Xi questioned in confusion, suspecting the man had misheard earlier.
"How could it be a mistake? Are you trying to skip out on your fare?" The previously gentle-faced man turned hostile, speaking coldly.
"Ha."
Lin Xi understood then, this was clearly bullying an outsider.
However, he was too lazy to deal with such people, so he took out a hundred-yuan bill and handed it to the middle-aged man, "Here, give me fifty in change."
To Lin Xi's surprise, the man gave a cold smile and didn't take it, but slowly said, "When I said fifty, I meant US dollars."
"So with that little money, it's not enough!"
Click, the door also happened to lock at this time.
"Ha, try scheming against me and you get addicted!" Lin Xi thought to himself, grabbing a copper lucky cat from the seat of the car.
He had noticed this lucky cat before, thought it was quite nice.
Holding it, it felt good, Lin Xi smiled faintly, and before the middle-aged man's eyes, he applied a bit of inner strength.
Crack!
The copper lucky cat instantly shattered into several pieces.
"Here, catch!" Lin Xi handed the pieces to the horrified middle-aged man, saying, "This quality is terrible, wouldn't you say?"
"Yes, yes." The middle-aged man quickly took the pieces, nodding repeatedly.
"Damn!"
The middle-aged man's heart was now in turmoil, realizing he had messed with someone he shouldn't.
This copper lucky cat was specially custom-made, the quality was excellent, although hollow inside, even a hammer wouldn't easily crush it into pieces, at most dent it.
"Please get off." The middle-aged man wiped the cold sweat off his forehead, knowing the most urgent thing now was to get this god off the car.
"Aren't you going to take the fare?"
"No, no, it's my blessing to give you a ride!"
"Oh, we can't just let it go like this, show me your wallet!" Lin Xi's face turned cold, someone dared to scam him, usually they'd end up at the bottom of the sea abroad.
"Ah." The middle-aged man's face was full of hesitation, but thinking of the hand that had crushed the lucky cat, if it were to crush his hand, it would surely shatter.
In a moment, Lin Xi was standing by the roadside of the Pink Hotel, holding a stack of loose cash, taunting the middle-aged man who had just started the car, "So poor, only five hundred bucks!"
"Next time I take your car, remember to bring more money!"
Bam!
Not even ten meters away, the middle-aged man's car crashed into a roadside tree.
Lin Xi walked into the Pink Hotel, since he got dropped here, might as well ask someone how far Jiangnan University really was.
Entering the hotel, the first impression was that it was clean and tidy, second was the casually dressed middle-aged woman at the front desk, somewhat attractive, but compared to Bai Bing, it'd be like comparing a white radish to ginseng.
Evidently, the place wasn't big, this woman should be the owner.
She should be familiar with this area.
"Boss lady, just a question, how far is Jiangnan University from here?" Lin Xi went forward, at this moment, the boss lady was also looking at Lin Xi.
She glanced at Lin Xi's attire with a hint of disdain, then replied nonchalantly, "Jiangnan University? It's quite a distance from here."
"But it's not open yet, young man, what are you going there for?"
"To study." Lin Xi paused, replying without hesitation.
"There aren't many people there now, nothing much to eat either, and accommodations are super expensive, why not stay here tonight?" The boss lady warmed up at the prospect of doing business.
"And I won't charge you for the room, just enjoy a top-notch massage once!"