2 Chapter 2 At the End of the Road

At that moment, a sound more grating than the slamming of a door suddenly assaulted Xu Ke's ears.

"Xu Ke, kicked out, huh? I always said you couldn't compare to me."

A man dressed in a tailor-made Armani suit, with an Omega watch on his wrist, holding ninety-nine vibrant, bloomed roses, walked up.

He watched Xu Ke with a mocking gaze.

Li Jun.

Siao Jia's ex-boyfriend.

Li Jun was full of vigor, a stark contrast to Xu Ke, who had stumbled and was in a sorry state.

Xu Ke gritted his teeth, "Was it you who pulled this stunt?"

"Don't put it so harshly," Li Jun said with a smile, "Siao Jia came to me on her own, saying her brother needed money, and you had none, so naturally she had to find me."

"I left Siao Jia for you to take over, but it seems you're no good at it."

"You bastard." Xu Ke's eyes gradually reddened, and his fists clenched even tighter.

Li Jun mockingly took a step back, "What? Are you going to hit me? I'm so scared, Xu Ke."

With that said.

Li Jun arrogantly raised his hand and smacked Xu Ke's face repeatedly, making a loud slapping noise, "But who lets me be a friend of your boss? I'm just afraid you, the poor wretch, wouldn't dare to hit me for worry about losing your job."

Xu Ke was so angry he ground his teeth.

Li Jun grew even more excited, cruelly taunting Xu Ke, "Oh, and I forgot to tell you, Siao Jia was not bad in bed, but she's no match for those models, just barely passable."

"Hahaha."

Li Jun laughed loudly, growing more pleased with himself as he watched Xu Ke look defeated.

"You goddamn asshole."

Xu Ke roared and swung his fist.

Li Jun, who had anticipated Xu Ke's punch, dodged immediately, taunting, "Can't even land a punch on me, loser."

But Li Jun, weak as he was, slipped while dodging and fell hard to the ground, screaming, "Ahh..."

At that moment, the door opened.

Siao Jia burst out, her face changing color, "What happened?"

Li Jun immediately clutched his stomach, "I was just saying hello, when he punched me in the stomach."

Without a word, Siao Jia slapped Xu Ke across the face.

"Slap."

In the corridor, the sound of the slap was sharply audible.

Siao Jia scolded angrily, "You've really disappointed me."

Xu Ke's cheek swelled red, utterly astonished.

Li Jun framed him, and Siao Jia actually believed it without any hesitation?

He still couldn't believe Siao Jia would be so ruthless.

A gleam of triumph flashed in Li Jun's eyes.

Xu Ke took a deep breath and laughed coldly, "Fine, if you're so heartless, why should I keep face for you?"

Xu Ke's eyes showed a ferocious crimson hue.

Seeing this, Siao Jia grew even angrier, "What? You want to hit me?"

"Dare to touch me and see? My brother and Li Jun will never let you off!"

Xu Ke shouted, voice thunderous, "These two wimps? I could knock them out with one punch!"

"Try it then!"

Li Jun was immediately displeased, who was he calling a wimp?

He was certain Xu Ke wouldn't dare to strike!

Seeing this, Xu Ke turned his head to glare at him, "Heh, I've never seen someone so eager to die."

If Li Jun was going to accuse him of hitting someone, then he might as well do it for real!

Before Li Jun could react, Xu Ke kicked out fiercely.

Bang!!

The sound exploded in the corridor, and Li Jun, caught off guard, was kicked so hard his face distorted, and he screamed, "Ahh..."

He hadn't expected Xu Ke to actually strike!

Right in front of Siao Jia's face!

Siao Jia panicked, "You..."

"What about me?!"

Xu Ke roared, "Keep it up, I'll kill you both."

Seeing this, Siao Jia finally became scared.

She had not expected the usually nice-guy Xu Ke to really lose it and become violent when pushed to the edge.

At that moment.

"Good son-in-law, what's the matter?"

Chang Xiujuan, who hurried out, painfully helped Li Jun up and turned to berate Xu Ke, "Didn't I tell you to get lost? Why haven't you left yet?"

Li Jun had been kicked so hard that he was retching bile, but he did not dare to speak, cowering in fear.

Without his bodyguards around, how could he possibly fight Xu Ke?

Xu Ke looked at the furious mother and daughter and the shrinking Li Jun, then smirked with contempt, "Siao Jia, since you've been kept, let me give you some advice—practice your skills. Li Jun says you perform much worse than the fresh models."

With that, he turned and left.

Siao Jia's face instantly turned green as she protested, "What do you mean 'kept'?!"

But Xu Ke paid no attention and walked away.

The propped-up Li Jun, watching Xu Ke's retreating figure, showed a look of agonized resentment, "Dare to go against me? Just you wait..."

...

Xu Ke's newly purchased apartment.

A message from the gym read, "You've been fired, you've been absent for three days, no salary for you this month."

Xu Ke wasn't surprised, and he scoffed at himself, "Three years of career, love, all gone because of my blindness."

"My parents in Jiang City even used up all their savings, borrowing from relatives, and with my night and day tutoring and part-time work, made the down payment for this apartment."

"And now, nothing left."

Xu Ke laughed bitterly.

Just then.

A text message popped up, "… Payment of 8134.56 yuan for housing loan principal and interest will be deducted before February 28. Please deposit an additional 6829.44 yuan."

Another message, from a college roommate, "Bro, my wife has been nagging lately, and… could you lend me five thousand to pay her back? If you can't manage, three thousand will do."

An app repayment notification, "… 2534.69 yuan will be automatically repaid from your balance, savings card, etc. on February 09, log in to …"

The notification sounds kept coming.

Xu Ke felt his blood gradually turning cold.

So much money, how could he pay it back?

He was completely out of resources.

At this time, a voice message from Xu Ke's mother arrived.

He looked down and played it.

His mother still rambled on,

"Ke, are you asleep? Do you have enough money? If not, you must tell Mom, I still have some. Marriage is important, don't take it lightly."

"By the way, I've saved a set of gold jewelry for when you and JiaJia get married… I started saving since you two began dating, to use for your marriage…"

Tears began to well up in Xu Ke's eyes.

"Your father has been afraid to spend money lately, so he quit smoking. Even though he scolded you last time, he truly wants the best for you, not wanting you to take on so much debt because of marriage. Don't hold it against him."

"He went out to borrow money from your Uncle. You know how stubborn your father is, so tough and hard-nosed, and your Uncle can be so prickly. They're bound to argue."

Xu Ke's hand holding the phone trembled uncontrollably.

"The pig farm business is doing okay; the price of pork has gone up quite a bit, so don't worry about us."

"You should eat more vegetables, more fish, don't be too stressed, don't work too hard, and tell us if you have any issues. Don't keep it to yourself."

"Mom is going to bed now."

The voice message ended there.

"Clang."

The phone dropped to the ground.

Leaning against the wall, Xu Ke suddenly grasped his head with both hands, bit his lips firmly, but still, a woeful sob squeezed through his clenched teeth. His eyes were bloodshot, tears streaming down like rain…