Chapter 39: Cousin
"Yu Qingqing, I'm not your cousin." Xu Huo finished speaking and hung up the phone. The next second, it rang again:
"Xu Huo! Even if a cousin is three thousand miles away, you're being too cold-blooded..."
He hung up again.
It rang once more: "Can you let me finish? Men are all pigs' trotters..."
He hung up again.
After several rounds, Xu Huo finally spoke into the phone: "Speak properly, or I'll turn it off."
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end before a low voice said: "I'm being bullied. My agent tricked me into accompanying a client."
"Where are you?" Xu Huo grabbed his key card and headed out.
"Ruixi Hotel, ninth floor."
Xu Huo paused mid-step, then turned and walked upstairs. After passing two floors, he saw a slender figure sitting on the stairwell steps, her foundation smeared into a mess as she wiped her tears and sent voice messages.
"That fat bastard dared to touch me! I kicked him right in the crotch!"
"...And the agent is no good either. I should have listened to my cousin and gone home to inherit the family fortune. After all, my family is really rich."
"Good that you know." Xu Huo walked over and pulled her up, taking a careful look at her. Though her makeup was ruined, her mental state wasn't bad.
Yu Qingqing looked at him with bright eyes, "Cousin, you're amazing! You actually made it here in five minutes!"
"I'm staying here today." Hearing footsteps in the hallway, he put on a stern face and said: "Why didn't you leave immediately after the incident? Didn't you think about retaliation after hitting someone?"
Just as Yu Qingqing was about to say something, the stairwell safety door was kicked open. A portly middle-aged man rushed out with her agent and two bodyguards. As soon as he saw her, the man reached out furiously to grab her: "You little bitch!"
Xu Huo caught his arm and pushed it back. The man staggered two steps before being caught by the bodyguards behind him.
"Who the hell are you! How dare you meddle in my business!"
"He's Yu Qingqing's cousin, just an extra." The agent didn't take Xu Huo seriously at all and directly said to Yu Qingqing: "What are you standing there for? Come over and apologize to Boss Zhu!"
"Forget the apology." Boss Zhu pointed at Xu Huo, "You! Wash Yu Qingqing clean and send her to my bed. If I'm satisfied, we'll call it even. Otherwise, you two won't survive in Ting City!"
Xu Huo backhanded him away. With a "crack," Boss Zhu screamed, clutching his arm as he stumbled backward, shouting: "Beat him to death!"
The bodyguards charged forward, but Xu Huo effortlessly grabbed one by the arm and sent him tumbling down the stairs. Before he could finish rolling, Xu Huo pressed the other's head against the wall!
Two cries of pain rang out in succession. Xu Huo hadn't even moved from his spot.
"D-d-don't come any closer!" The agent stared at the man approaching him. "Assault is against the law!"
Xu Huo casually slapped him. The agent fell to his knees, spitting out teeth and blood.
Dragging Boss Zhu over, Xu Huo sat down on the steps, staring at the two kneeling side by side. He leisurely lit a cigarette and remained silent for a long time.
Compared to Boss Zhu, the agent was better at reading the room. Trembling, he said: "Brother Xu, let's talk this out. It's not worth getting yourself arrested over a scumbag like me!"
Xu Huo laughed. "Ever heard of Evolvers?"
"Although most Evolvers don't eat people, there are some who do. When you're out committing crimes, they're still hiding in some corner of this city, starving, scratching their hearts out for a bite to eat."
Information about Evolvers hadn't been made public, but with the internet so widespread, any little stir made waves online.
Though they'd never seen an Evolver, Boss Zhu and the others had heard rumors. They knew Evolvers were incredibly strong and fast, and hard to catch after committing crimes. Boss Zhu's two bodyguards were hired for twenty to thirty thousand a month—they weren't weak—but in front of Xu Huo, they were like children, unable to even fight back. And he knew so much about Evolvers—he was one!
Evolvers ate people!
The group suddenly felt their legs go weak.
"What do you want? The hotel is full of cameras. You can't escape either!" Boss Zhu's teeth chattered, terrified that Xu Huo would pounce and eat him alive!
"Don't worry. I'll burn down the surveillance room later." Xu Huo flicked his ash.
Even the two bodyguards started shaking.
"Brother Xu! Brother Xu!" The agent grabbed his leg. "This isn't my fault! That Zhu guy had his eye on Qingqing. He talked to the company's deputy general manager and forced me to bring her here. Otherwise, he'd fire me. My wife is pregnant—I can't lose my job. Who would want to do something so despicable?"
Boss Zhu glared hatefully at his back, but now wasn't the time to settle scores. He shoved Yu Qingqing toward Xu Huo and ran for the stairwell door!
The two bodyguards also considered fleeing, but the next second, the safety door swung open again. Boss Zhu, clutching his throat, whimpered and stumbled backward as if something was dragging him to the wall. His bulky body was lifted off the ground, only his toes barely touching the floor, preventing him from being hanged by his own weight!
"Help... help..." He stared at the bodyguards, but they didn't dare come closer. As if seeing a ghost, they cowered in the corner, not daring to look at Xu Huo.
Boss Zhu's head was engorged with blood, his pants soaked, tears and snot streaming down his face. His eyes rolled toward Xu Huo as he barely managed two gasps: "Spare... me..."
Only then did Xu Huo release him. Looking at the man lying on the ground like a dead pig, he said: "Stop doing bad things. Things are different now."
Then he turned to the agent. "Tomorrow, Yu Qingqing will terminate her contract. Any problems?"
The agent snapped back to reality and immediately said: "No problem! I'll prepare the contract right away and convince the company to waive the penalty!"
Xu Huo nodded, then called Yu Qingqing to go downstairs.
Back in his room, Yu Qingqing pressed herself cautiously against the door. "Cousin, you're not hungry right now, are you?"
Xu Huo turned around and looked at her with a half-smile. "You're right. A girl smells much better than a middle-aged man."
Yu Qingqing's beautiful eyes widened. "Brother, we're family! Blood is thicker than water!"
"Do you know why, in zombie movies, the first thing a zombie does after coming out of its coffin is suck its own relative's blood?"
"Why?"
"Because blood is thicker than water. It's more to their taste."
Yu Qingqing let out a huge sigh of relief and patted her chest. "That's great! We're not blood-related."
"Go wash up. Tomorrow, after you terminate the contract, take a plane back." Xu Huo gave a faint smile.
"No way." Yu Qingqing ran over and grabbed his arm, acting spoiled. "Even if I quit acting, I can stay and take care of you. If you get hungry, I'll go out and lure some bad guys for you to eat. How about that? Isn't your cousin loyal enough?"
Xu Huo's expression shifted slightly. He grabbed her shoulders, turned her around, and roughly pulled down the back of her collar.