Hong Li's expression changed suddenly, but quickly returned to normal, and he chuckled, "Are you talking about Yuan Shao? I don't believe he would fall out with Wang Hao and me over this."

This time, Ye Zhan remained silent.

"In all matters, there's just one word: 'reason'," Hong Li continued, "Zou Yang is my brother. If Wang Hao bullies him, I'll seek revenge for him. Even if Meng Liang and Yuan Shao stand here, I'll still argue with reason. They can't do anything to me!"

As he spoke, he shook off Ye Zhan's hand and swiftly kicked towards me again.

"Hong Li, why are you so angry?" a voice drifted lazily from the doorway of our classroom.

I didn't recognize this voice at all, and because I was lying on the ground, my view was blocked by the desk, so I couldn't see who it was at all.

However, upon hearing this voice, Hong Li's expression turned incredulous. Li Jie also turned his head in surprise, obviously unable to believe that this person would show up. Zou Yang looked bewildered, clearly not recognizing the person.

But Ye Zhan, lying next to me, seemed pleased and nudged me, then got up himself, prompting me to stand up as well.

"Xiaobai ge."

"Xiaobai ge."

Ye Zhan and Li Jie greeted the person respectfully.

I looked closely and saw a person walking slowly from the doorway, quite handsome, with a charming smile on his face and an air of nobility that couldn't be imitated by commoners. He walked step by step, unhurriedly, without needing to do anything deliberate, and all eyes were on him. I could even feel the girls in the class holding their breath because of his arrival.

Hong Li's foot was still hanging in the air. When the person approached, he retracted his foot.

"Sū Xiǎobái," Hong Li pronounced the person's name, asking strangely, "What are you doing here?"

"A friend asked me to come over and take a look," Su Xiaobai still wore a charming smile, "to see if I can help Wang Hao. Can I?"

Yucheng Fei, it must be Yucheng Fei! My heart warmed. Yucheng Fei must have foreseen trouble and arranged for someone to take care of me at Chengnan High School again. Thinking of his thoughtfulness, I was even more moved.

Ye Zhan seemed even more excited than I was, rubbing his hands and saying, "Xiaobai ge, you've got to speak well for us."

Su Xiaobai glanced at me and asked with a smile, "Are you Wang Hao?"

Su Xiaobai's voice had a kind of magic that made people feel warm. I nodded quickly, "Yes, I am Wang Hao."

"Okay," Su Xiaobai nodded, then looked at Hong Li, "What's the matter, why is it blown up like this?"

Zou Yang looked at Li Jie in confusion, and Li Jie shook his head at him, obviously not knowing who this person was.

"You came here to help someone without even knowing what's going on?!" Hong Li exclaimed, "Su Xiaobai, Su Xiaobai, I know you always like to meddle in other people's business, but is it too much this time?"

Su Xiaobai still smiled, "This time, a friend asked me to help."

"Who asked you?" Hong Li stared, "Meng Liang, or Yuan Shao?"

"Neither," Su Xiaobai shook his head, "It's someone I can't refuse. So, Hong Li, give me face, let's see how we can resolve this."

Hong Li looked at Su Xiaobai, who just smiled. Hong Li sighed, "Well, since I owe you a favor, let's settle for this. I was going to beat up Wang Hao severely, but I won't touch him now. Just let him pay a thousand bucks, okay?"

My heart sank. If I had to pay a thousand bucks, it would be better to let him beat me up severely.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

I speculated that if Su Xiaobai was summoned by Yucheng Fei, he definitely wouldn't let me pay this thousand bucks, so I kept quiet.

"Can only go this far?" Su Xiaobai asked back.

"Can only go this far," Hong Li said sincerely, "Su Xiaobai, I really didn't expect you to show up."

Su Xiaobai nodded, still wearing a smile, "Alright. You give me face, I'll give you face." Then he looked at me, "I won't ask what happened, but it's good to avoid a beating. Matters that can be settled with money aren't big deals. If you're short of money, come to me!"

I was startled, not understanding what he meant. But Su Xiaobai had already stepped back, smiled at Hong Li, and said, "That's fine, I'll go now!"

Hong Li nodded and smiled back at him. I had to admit, he looked quite ugly when he smiled like that.

"Xiaobai ge, take care," Li Jie hurriedly said.

"Thank you, Xiaobai ge," Ye Zhan added.

Su Xiaobai waved his hand, leisurely walked towards the classroom door, and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared without a trace, just like when he came.

Seeing him come and go like this, I couldn't help but think of a line of poetry: I wave my sleeves, leaving behind no trace of cloud.

Su Xiaobai could live up to this poem.

But, my curiosity about this person grew even more.

After Su Xiaobai left, Hong Li immediately resumed his fierce demeanor, grabbed my hair, and said, "Kid, you have until twelve noon tomorrow to bring a thousand bucks. I won't touch you this time because of Su Xiaobai. But if you dare to challenge Zou Yang again, I'll kill you!"

With that, he strode toward the classroom door, contrasting sharply with Su Xiaobai's elegance.

Zou Yang followed behind him like a dog, and Li Jie grinned at Ye Zhan and said, "I'll go check outside." Then he followed them out.

Ye Zhan breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "Thank goodness Su Xiaobai came, otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to get up."

I hadn't spoken yet when suddenly someone rushed over, grabbing my arm and saying, "Wang Hao, are you okay?"

I turned my head and saw it was Xia Xue. Xia Xue looked worried, helping me dust off the dirt from my body.

"It's okay, it's okay," the thought of Xia Xue seeing me getting beaten like that made me feel embarrassed and uncomfortable.

But being young, getting beaten a few times by someone wasn't a big deal.

"Wang Hao, do you have any money?" Xia Xue asked again, "Do you need me to lend you some first?"

"No, no need," my face flushed even more, then I said, "I won't take the money."

"Huh?" Xia Xue's mouth opened slightly, "Then what will you do?"

"It's okay, I have my ways," I said with forced ease, "Let's just see how things go."

With that, I pulled Ye Zhan and walked out. As soon as we stepped out of the classroom door, the classmates exploded into excited chatter, discussing what had just happened. My mind was in turmoil. Although Su Xiaobai came to help me, he quietly told me that he had no money to give him. But I didn't even know him, how could I take his money? And taking the money would mean admitting defeat, and who knows how Zou Yang would bully me in the future!

So, I decided to go to the internet cafe to find Yuan Shao and the others. This time, I hoped Yucheng Fei would be there.

Ye Zhan understood what I meant, so he left the school with me.

"What kind of person is Su Xiaobai?" I couldn't help asking on the way, "Is he also a troublemaker in our school?"

Su Xiaobai gave the impression of being clean and sunny, completely different from Ye Zhan, Hong Li, and the other rowdy troublemakers.

"Su Xiaobai is not a troublemaker," Ye Zhan said, "But he has a lot of influence at school."

"Why?" I was quite surprised. Even if Su Xiaobai was a second-generation or rich second-generation, he wouldn't be so influential, would he?

"Su Xiaobai is not a troublemaker, but he knows a lot of people, and many people ask him for help," Ye Zhan patiently explained, "Su Xiaobai solves person A's troubles with person A's favor, then solves person B's troubles with person B's favor, and so on. Over time, almost all the troublemakers owe Su Xiaobai favors. It's not just Hong Li, both Li Jie and I owe him favors too. Even if some people haven't asked him for help yet, they may need his help in the future. So as long as Su Xiaobai speaks up, everyone will sell him face."

Ye Zhan smiled and said, "So, everyone also calls him 'Meddlesome Su Xiaobai.' He's very skilled in interpersonal relationships and always maintains good relations with everyone. It may be related to his smile, or his demeanor. But one thing is for sure, even if you know his methods, you can't learn them completely."

"I see. So this Su Xiaobai is really talented," I asked with curiosity, "Does that mean I owe Su Xiaobai a favor too?"

"Yes. When Su Xiaobai asks you for help next time, you won't feel comfortable refusing," Ye Zhan said with a smile.

I felt embarrassed, "Forget it, I don't have any way to help Su Xiaobai."

"You can't say for sure," Ye Zhan chuckled.

I couldn't help asking, "Ye Zhan, we just got beaten up, how can you still laugh?" I had wanted to ask this question earlier. Ye Zhan had been smiling all the way, even though he had been slapped down by Hong Li.

Ye Zhan was stunned for a moment and asked, "What's wrong with getting beaten up? Which guy hasn't been beaten up since childhood? It's just a matter of more or less. Like us, who don't study well all day, getting beaten up is commonplace. But now that we're doing better, we can go beat up others."

"You're so easygoing?" I scratched my head, looking at Ye Zhan who was laughing.

"What else can I do if I'm not easygoing?" Ye Zhan's face was full of youthful vitality, "I've long been used to it, you know. Don't be fooled by our current appearance. We can swagger through the corridors of the freshman building now, and kick anyone we don't like. In reality, who hasn't been beaten up? Take Li Jie, for example, he doesn't know how many beatings he's had since childhood, and even now, who knows when he'll get beaten up again."