As I walked back to the classroom, the bell for class rang. The students around me surged towards their respective classrooms like a tide. If it were the old me, I would have hurriedly made my way to class too. But now, after experiencing so much, my mind seemed to become even more composed. Despite the crisp ring of the bell and the bustling crowd, I strolled back as leisurely as if taking a casual walk.

Strolling back to the classroom, I glanced through the glass from outside to make sure the teacher hadn't entered yet before pushing the door open and walking in. The normally noisy classroom suddenly quieted down. I wasn't sure how many people could recognize me in my current state. But Xia Xue was the first to jump up, crying as she ran into my arms, leaving all the students in the class dumbfounded.

"You finally came back! Waaah~ I was about to ask the homeroom teacher to call the police," Xia Xue's emotions overflowed, moving me deeply.

"Alright, alright," I patted her back. "I'm fine. Let's attend class first, and we can talk later."

I helped Xia Xue back to her seat. Quick-witted Liu Zihong had already stood up and let Xia Xue sit down. Oujiahao, Li Mu, and the others, regardless of whether it was time for class or not, all rushed to gather around my desk, showing concern. "Brother Hao, are you okay?" "Brother Hao, you finally came back." "Brother Hao..." I looked at them, feeling touched. Even in my current dejected state, they still cared so much about me, far more than some others.

I subconsciously turned to look at Zou Yang, and indeed, he was looking at me with a smug expression. But as soon as he saw me, he immediately restrained his smile and lowered his head. "Amusing, huh?" I snorted. "You'll have your chance to laugh later. Let's take it slow." Zou Yang lowered his head, afraid to say a word. It seemed like he had been intimidated by me.

Just like... the old me.

"Brother Hao, don't mind him," Liu Zihong deliberately said loudly. "Bullies like him are cowards at heart and still have the nerve to stick around!"

"Alright, alright," I punched Liu Zihong lightly and whispered, "I never saw you so cocky before."

Liu Zihong stuck out his tongue and didn't say anything more. I asked them all to return to their seats, and the teacher also came in, officially starting the class. Xia Xue and I continued to chat through small notes. She already knew about the incident with Brick kidnapping me and knew that Brick was seeking revenge for Peach. So, she was very worried about my safety, even asking Su Xiaobai to plead with Brick. When I learned that Xia Xue had gone to Su Xiaobai again, I felt a little unhappy, so I wrote on the note, "I'll handle my own affairs in the future, no need for Su Xiaobai's help!" Xia Xue then wrote, "Don't push him away. Yes, he may be a flirt, but he's still a good person, always willing to help others. We might need his help in the future."

My impression of Su Xiaobai was actually quite good, but he flirted with Peach right in front of me last time, making me really uncomfortable. Seeing that I was indeed unhappy, Xia Xue understood and wrote, "Okay, I won't ask him for help anymore. Now, tell me, what happened these past few days?" I wrote briefly about Brick using a brick to attack me. Of course, I didn't have the courage to say that Peach and I got married under Brick's coercion, just that we reached an agreement and wouldn't cross paths in the future.

The highest form of lying is nine truths sandwiched between one lie. This story I made up, the beginning was basically true, but towards the end, I started to add some fiction. I even said that Peach and I reasoned with Brick and he agreed to let me go, making it seem like I handled the situation well. It seems like I have a talent for storytelling since then.

After reading it, Xia Xue touched my head affectionately and whispered, "You've been through a lot these past few days! Does it still hurt?"

I chuckled and said, "Once you touch it, it doesn't hurt anymore. Just don't take your hand away." My knack for teasing had improved again.

Xia Xue was touching my head, and this action was visible to the teacher. The teacher coughed a few times and looked at us, saying, "What are you two doing? Don't behave like this in class." Xia Xue blushed and quickly withdrew her hand. I said, "Teacher, my head hurts, so I asked Xia Xue to massage it for me." My head was wrapped up like this, and the teacher wasn't blind, so he had no choice but to allow Xia Xue's behavior, and Xia Xue helped me massage my head for the entire class.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

After finishing the story about Brick, Xia Xue asked about transferring schools. I told her I wouldn't transfer for now, which made this girl so happy that she laughed during class. After all, she had been so worried. After she finished laughing, she asked, "What about Mai Zi?" I said, "You don't need to worry about that. I'll take care of it myself." Xia Xue nodded, showing her trust in me.

As for confronting Mai Zi, I had some ideas. Naturally, I had to unite with Ye Zhan. I had three or four brothers on my side. Although their fighting abilities weren't great, at least they wouldn't turn and run when I was in trouble. On Ye Zhan's side, there were also five or six brothers, seasoned rascals who, although not as strong as Mai Zi's group, still had some fighting ability.

Adding it all up, there were about a dozen people, definitely the top force in the freshman year. Mai Zi was in the sophomore year, and although he had only five or six regulars, once he called for backup, there would probably be many more.

So if we were to fight, we had to catch them off guard. We couldn't just stupidly arrange a time and place; that would be like sticking our necks out to be chopped off. After sorting all this out, I felt quite pleased, feeling like the plan was almost half successful.

However, I was afraid that Brick would cause trouble for me again these days, so I couldn't let him know that Xia Xue and I were still together, lest it ruin my plan to deal with Mai Zi. If he didn't help, that would be fine, but he couldn't come and spoil my good fortune. But Xia Xue was quite clingy, wherever I went, she followed, making it easy for Brick to find out.

So I said to Xia Xue again, "Ni Zi, let's discuss something."

"Sure, what is it?" Xia Xue continued to massage my head, now smiling through her tears.

"Although Brick let me go, I'm worried he still holds a grudge. So, let's keep a low profile these days and not be seen together until this blows over," I appealed to her with reason and emotion.

Upon hearing this, Xia Xue became anxious, "Why? Why do we need Brick's permission to be together? Don't be afraid of him. Let him try to hit you with a brick again, I'll confront him!"

Xia Xue's temper was indeed impatient. From the way she reacted when Zou Yang bullied me before, it was clear that she couldn't stand seeing me mistreated. This pampered girl had never suffered any injustice herself. It seemed quite difficult to ask her to temporarily avoid being seen with me to avoid Brick's trouble.

"It's not that," I said softly. "It's not about being afraid of Brick, but I don't want to be enemies with him. Think about it, he's Peach's brother, and I owe Peach so much. How could I bring myself to oppose Brick?"

Although Xia Xue was wilful, she was still a reasonable girl. Upon hearing this, she fell silent. In her heart, she also felt sorry for Peach. So, she finally nodded, "Alright, I won't be seen with you for now. But we have to write letters to each other!"

In an era before cell phones became ubiquitous, writing letters was one of the most cherished activities for couples.

"No problem!" I readily agreed. Writing letters was no big deal. Sending ten or twenty letters a day was not a problem.

With my mind made up, I began to plan. After lunch, I cleared out the other people from the dormitory and called Liu Zihong, Oujiahao, Li Mu, and Gong Ning, the four of them, for a small meeting.

"I'm planning to confront Mai Zi. What do you guys think?" My opening statement startled them all.

The four of them looked at each other, thinking they had misheard. After all, Mai Zi was like a god in our school. Which student would dare to provoke him? After confirming they hadn't misheard, they each began to express their opinions.

"Brother Hao, are you kidding?" "Brother Hao, isn't this too much?" "Brother Hao, the stakes are too high. Shouldn't we consolidate our forces in the freshman year first?" "Brother Hao, I'm not opposed, but I just feel like we're doomed to fail."

Their opinions were remarkably unanimous, all indicating that they didn't see any hope.

This was something I had expected long ago, so I wasn't surprised. Instead, I said, "Don't worry, I'm confident in dealing with Mai Zi. The most important thing is that you guys are willing to cooperate with me. Think about it, after we defeat Mai Zi, won't we shine in school?"

Their expressions relaxed a bit, evidently finding the carrot I dangled enticing enough. Once we defeated Mai Zi, we would become the new legends. I continued, "Have you forgotten how Mai Zi bullied us that night in the grove? Don't you want to get revenge? Can you just swallow your pride?"

This was provocation. The four fell silent, apparently having never thought of seeking revenge. They thought it was only natural to be beaten by Mai Zi. After hesitating for a while, Gong Ning said, "Well, I've secretly thought about revenge while lying in bed. But that was just my fantasy. I imagined myself punching Mai Zi in front of many people, and Mai Zi crying and calling me grandpa."

Gong Ning's words made everyone laugh, and the atmosphere slowly became livelier. Li Mu also said, "I've not only fantasized about beating up Mai Zi, but also about beating up Old Dog and Brick. I often think, if I could beat them all, how awesome would I be?" Oujiahao added, "The person I most want to beat now is Mai Zi. That day in the grove, we were utterly humiliated."

I laughed, "The most miserable one was me. He spat a mouthful of phlegm on my face. It still makes me sick to think about it."

Everyone laughed. Gong Ning said, "Brother Hao, we even agreed not to mention this in front of you, but unexpectedly, you brought it up yourself and so casually. Brother Hao, forget about anything else, I truly admire you!"