"By the way," Yu Chengfei remembered something. "You should get along better with Su Xiaobai. If you run into trouble, you can go to him. The gangsters at your school still like to give him face."

This wasn't the first time Yu Chengfei had told me to befriend Su Xiaobai. But he had no idea that I had given Su Xiaobai a good beating that night. I felt uneasy because I hadn’t followed Yu Chengfei’s advice and just muttered a low “Hmm.”

Nan Nan started singing again, "Pigsy~ carrying his wife~ over one hill after another~ out of Gao Village~ enjoying the scenery~ heading to the Cloud Lodge Cave~ hurry up~ don't let the Monkey King catch up~ ya ya~ yo yo~"

"Stupid woman," Yu Chengfei muttered.

"Say that again and see what happens?" Nan Nan, lying on Yu Chengfei’s back, said viciously, "You’re the stupid one."

…

I could still hear them bickering from a distance, along with Yu Chengfei's frequent cries of pain.

When I returned to the dorm, Liu Zihong and the others had been waiting for me.

"Brother Hao, you’re finally back," Gong Ning said. "We thought Hong Li and his gang got you. We were about to gather people to look for you, we were so worried!"

I laughed. "Don’t worry. With Maizi gone, they wouldn’t dare mess with me."

After the incident yesterday, I was taken to the police station, Hong Li was sent to the hospital, and the other participants were taken to the security office. Ye Zhan and the others unanimously claimed they saw Maizi hitting a girl in the cafeteria and intervened because they couldn't stand it. With Zhang Ling as a witness, the case was settled, and Hong Li's group had to admit it.

The school’s disciplinary notice would be posted the following Monday. In the meantime, I was idle all day, sleeping until noon, eating, then sleeping again, and getting active at night, wandering through the dorms.

Since stabbing Maizi (not many knew the truth), my reputation grew, and people greeted me wherever I went. Some first-year students, like Ye Zhan and Li Jie, considered aligning with me, but I had no intention of establishing my own gang at Chenggao for now, so I politely declined but kept the option open. I told them, "If I ever decide to, I’ll come to you, and we’ll make a big impact at Chenggao."

When I said this, I felt my blood boiling, almost imagining myself standing at the pinnacle of Chenggao. I wanted to do this, but Yu Chengfei and Nan Nan wanted me to focus on my studies. So, I decided to study well, not causing trouble unless someone provoked me. If anyone dared to mess with me, they shouldn’t blame me for retaliating.

For several days, I wandered around the first-year dorms. I couldn’t say everyone knew me, but at least 80 to 90 percent did. The rest had at least seen me. Everyone greeted me as Brother Hao, offering cigarettes, making me feel a bit embarrassed. According to Gong Ning and the others, "Brother Hao is the leader of the first-year students." Only I knew how hollow that title was.

Since I was always in the dorm and never went to class, I rarely saw Xia Xue. My biggest fun was leaning on the dorm window during class time. Across the way were the girls' dorms, and Taozi might walk by.

Taozi was punctual. After figuring out her routine, I could usually catch her.

"Hey, Taozi!" I called from the window, enjoying the gentle breeze.

Taozi, with her dorm mates, would laugh, while she blushed and walked quickly, not looking at me, but after a few steps, she’d glance back.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"Fool."

Though I couldn’t hear her, I could guess from her lips.

I loved this game. Once, I overslept and faintly heard someone calling me.

"Wang Hao, Wang Hao!"

I jumped up and opened the window. It was Taozi’s dorm mates, four or five girls laughing. Taozi, blushing, tried to stop them but failed as they held her firmly.

"Why didn’t you call our Taozi today?" one girl, Su Wan, whose ladylike name belied her boldness, teased. "She’s been waiting and was so distracted walking here!"

"Su Wan, don’t talk nonsense," Taozi, embarrassed, tried to cover Su Wan's mouth, but the other girls held her back.

The group laughed again, enjoying teasing Taozi.

"Sorry, ladies, I fell asleep." I leaned out the window, basking in the warm sun and cool breeze, feeling great after my nap.

"It’s fine, keep sleeping," Taozi said quickly. "Don’t listen to them."

"Hold her down, don’t let her talk," Su Wan ordered, and the girls playfully restrained Taozi, even covering her mouth.

"Wang Hao, what should you do?" Su Wan, hands on hips, demanded. "An apology won’t cut it!"

"What do you suggest?" I smiled.

"Treat us to dinner tonight!" Su Wan hugged Taozi’s shoulders. "Give you two a chance to make up. How about it?"

"Sure," I laughed. "I’m bored anyway, let’s go."

"Alright, it’s settled," Su Wan said. "After evening self-study, come pick us up, and we’ll go to 'Big Tail' across from the school."

"No problem!" I shouted, genuinely excited.

Big Tail is a small restaurant that mainly sells spicy hotpot. Even with a large group, it wouldn't cost much.

"Oh, and you can bring a few friends," Su Wan said with a smile. "We girls are looking for boyfriends too."

"Sure thing, leave it to me!"

&&&&&&

In the evening, I brought Liu Zihong, Gong Ning, Li Mu, and Ou Jiahao to Taozi's classroom. Su Wan and her friends were already waiting, and they all came out together, with Taozi shyly trailing behind.

Seeing Taozi made me happy, and I couldn’t help but joke with her. I jumped next to her and said, "How have you been, my dear wife?"

"Stop joking around," Taozi said, blushing. "Where's Xia Xue? I haven't seen you with her lately."

"She broke up with me again," I shrugged helplessly.

"So now you're here to bother me?" Taozi looked at me, clearly displeased.

"It's not bothering," I said. "We're just going out for a meal, don't overthink it. Plus, tonight's mainly about finding boyfriends for your lovestruck roommates. I even brought my four kings."

Taozi burst into laughter. "What four kings? They all look as skinny as chickens."

"Skinny but muscular!" I said. "We work out every night, and we can easily do fifty push-ups in one go."

"Keep boasting," Taozi said, giving me a sidelong glance.

"It's true! Want me to do fifty right now? If I do, you have to let me kiss you."

"No way, you just want to take advantage of me," Taozi said, clasping her hands behind her back and talking to her roommates.

Su Wan came over and whispered, "Brother Hao, I asked you to bring some guys, but why did you bring these? They’re not even as handsome as you. How are we supposed to like them?"

I looked at my excited four kings: bespectacled Liu Zihong, scrawny Gong Ning, lewd-faced Li Mu, and snobbish Ou Jiahao. I sighed and said, "You want a handsome guy? I’ll go find one for you right now."

"Great, hurry up! If you don't find one, you can forget about getting Taozi," Su Wan said happily.

I rushed to Ye Zhan’s class and called him out from his card game. "Come on, buddy, I’ll introduce you to someone."

"What’s going on? I’m not looking for a girlfriend," Ye Zhan said, confused.

"Come on, stop playing hard to get. I’m introducing you to a beauty, Su Wan. Come have dinner with us," I said, hooking my arm around Ye Zhan’s shoulder. Though Su Wan was bold and loud, she was quite good-looking.

Ye Zhan was well-known in our grade, and Su Wan and her friends recognized him immediately. As soon as he arrived, the girls squealed in excitement, clearly smitten. Su Wan rushed to me, saying admiringly, "Brother Hao, you’re amazing! You brought our grade’s heartthrob. Tonight, you must take Taozi and never come back!"

"Su Wan, give me a break," Taozi said, looking exasperated.

I looked at Ye Zhan. "Heartthrob? Him?"

"Of course," Su Wan said, looking at Ye Zhan with a lovestruck expression. "There aren’t many guys who get voted as campus heartthrobs, and Ye Zhan is one of them!"

Taozi’s roommates gathered around Ye Zhan, chattering excitedly. He was busy dealing with each of them, while Liu Zihong and the others were completely ignored.

"Brother Hao, why did you bring Ye Zhan? He’s stealing our thunder," Gong Ning said, almost in tears.

"Don’t worry," I reassured them. "Even if Ye Zhan had three heads and six arms, he could only handle one girl. You still have plenty of chances." Hearing this, Liu Zihong and the others finally relaxed, gearing up to make their moves.