“Tch, you dare bully my precious Ke'er? Just wait, I'll make sure you regret it!”

“You wouldn’t even dare,” Xing Qiu said as he casually walked over and gently embraced Zhang Xuan.

“Ugh, you two are so nauseating, go flaunt your love somewhere else!” Liu Yina exaggeratedly shooed them away.

Lin Ke’er remained silent, as did I, for we both knew what kind of person Xing Qiu truly was.

“Ke’er, join us,” Zhang Xuan urged, tugging at Lin Ke'er's arm. “If not, should I have Wang Yao personally talk to you?”

“Ah, please don’t. Just the thought of seeing your leader gives me a headache.”

“Hahaha…” Zhang Xuan laughed heartily, “Of course, Wang Yao is someone even Da Mao trembles before.”

“Don’t talk nonsense, Da Mao only does that because he’s indulging the women,” Xing Qiu chuckled.

The more they spoke of their school affairs, the less I felt able to contribute to the conversation, standing there feeling like an outsider.

Da Mao, Wang Yao—none of it piqued my interest, not even if they were the heads of the Nine Princes or Twelve Roses.

To me, only the naïve would bother giving themselves such titles. Back in our school, the so-called Four Kings were nothing more than people who got wiped out without a fight.

Thankfully, the training session ended soon after, and they all returned to their respective groups. I finally had the chance to sit down and continue fiddling with my phone.

The afternoon dragged on, and once we were dismissed, I prepared to head to dinner. Just as I was leaving the sports field, someone called out to me from behind. Turning around, I was surprised to see Xing Qiu. I initially thought he was coming for revenge, quickly scanning the area for any potential weapons.

I spotted a brick and rushed over to grab it. Xing Qiu froze. “What are you doing?” I replied, “Quit the nonsense, if you want to fight, come at me.”

Xing Qiu chuckled. “If I wanted a fight, why would I come alone?”

I glanced around, and indeed, he was by himself, no backup in sight.

“What do you want?”

He handed me a cigarette. “I was being a bit reckless earlier, just joking around with Lin Ke'er. It’s a bad habit of mine—always messing with women. Zhang Xuan has scolded me about it several times already.”

His tone seemed genuine, so I took the cigarette, lit it, and said, “You really need to fix that habit of yours, getting too handsy for no reason.”

“Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry about that,” he scratched his head and smiled. “How about lunch tomorrow? Just the four of us—me, you, Zhang Xuan, and Lin Ke'er. I really want to apologize properly to her.”

“Sure,” I replied easily, thinking that Xing Qiu didn’t seem like a bad guy.

Little did I know, I was far too naive. This was all part of his scheme, one that would lead to both Lin Ke'er and I facing significant trouble.

But that’s a story for later.

We finalized the details for tomorrow’s lunch and walked together to the dormitory entrance before parting ways. He had to go pick up Zhang Xuan.

After dinner at the cafeteria, I remembered HOUZI was still sleeping in the dorm. I brought him a portion of fried rice. When I arrived at 305, he was alone, the place still as dead as ever.

I woke him up, and he devoured the meal quickly, then asked, “The Nine Princes didn’t cause you any more trouble, right?”

“Nope,” I answered.

“Good, let’s go meet someone,” he said, pulling me by the arm as he led me outside.

Confused, I followed. We arrived at another dorm where a few students were playing cards. One of them, a chubby guy, greeted HOUZI, “HOUZI, you’re here!”

HOUZI nodded and pointed at me. “Da Mao, this is Zuo Fei. You should’ve heard of him.”

I froze, realizing that the man in front of me was none other than the leader of the Nine Princes. He seemed kind enough, not fierce at all.

Da Mao gave a small nod. “Oh, I heard. You knocked Zhou Kun down with a brick, right? He deserved it, beating people up three times a day…”

“Four times,” HOUZI corrected.

I shot HOUZI a resentful glance—really, was it necessary to quibble over the exact number of times?

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“Right, four times,” Da Mao said. “That guy was too arrogant. He had it coming. HOUZI, you didn’t need to come all the way here just for this.”

It was clear that Da Mao respected HOUZI, at least in terms of face.

HOUZI muttered, “I think every one of the Nine Princes needs a lesson.”

Da Mao’s expression shifted slightly, but he said nothing.

HOUZI continued, “Zuo Fei is my brother. You Nine Princes better watch yourselves from now on, don’t run into him by accident.”

Da Mao’s face grew darker.

“Let’s go,” HOUZI said, grabbing my arm and slamming the door behind us.

“We’re staying up again tonight, I’m going to sleep a little more,” HOUZI said, dropping back onto his bed.

Though HOUZI had been forceful earlier, I couldn’t shake the feeling that he had gone a bit too far. Da Mao had been nothing but respectful to him. But then again, this was just how HOUZI was, and it wasn’t really my place to judge. His dorm was a mess, full of cigarette butts and plastic wrappers. I tidied up a little, sweeping the trash outside.

While I was cleaning, I noticed several people outside pointing and whispering. One of them came up and asked, “What’s your relationship with HOUZI?”

“We’re friends.”

“HOUZI has friends?!”

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, nothing,” the person waved his hand dismissively.

I grabbed his arm. “Wait, what do you mean?”

He hesitated. “Haven’t you noticed? There’s no one else in his dorm.”

“Yeah, where did they all go?”

“They moved out. No one wants to stay in a dorm with him.”

“Why?”

“He’s always borrowing money from people, and never pays it back.”

He jerked his arm free and walked away.

I turned to look at HOUZI, who was still sound asleep. I closed the door quietly and left.

The next day, I sat beneath the tree again for the entire morning. The instructor said it was fine for me to rest there, but I couldn’t wander around. After we were dismissed, Xing Qiu came to find me, reminding me of our lunch plans. He told me that Zhang Xuan and Lin Ke'er would join us soon and that we should go ahead to the restaurant.

Once we arrived, I thought of HOUZI and decided to call him. I told him I was having lunch with Xing Qiu and asked if he wanted me to bring him something. HOUZI was thrilled and said yes, please bring him some food.

I had no idea that this phone call would end up saving both Lin Ke'er and me.

After finishing the call, I asked the waiter for something ready-made. She said there were only steamed dumplings, so I ordered two baskets. The food was packed, but Zhang Xuan and Lin Ke'er still hadn’t arrived. I decided to go give HOUZI his meal, promising I’d be back in under ten minutes. Xing Qiu agreed, even offering to help me by packing some vinegar.

As I stood up, I suddenly felt a sharp blow to the back of my head, and everything went dark with stars filling my vision.

“D*mn it, I was planning on waiting to make my move,” Xing Qiu sneered, kicking me again.

I collapsed to the floor, only to see him holding a large ashtray in his hand. At that moment, three or four people rushed in, holding me down tightly.

“What do you want?” I asked.

“What do I want? You’ll find out soon enough,” Xing Qiu said ominously.

Pinned to the ground, unable to move, I realized Lin Ke'er was likely about to get dragged into this as well. I prayed she wouldn’t come. But, of course, my thoughts didn’t go as hoped. Less than a minute later, the door opened, and Lin Ke'er stepped inside.

Seeing me pinned to the ground, she gasped and rushed over to try and push the men away.

“Xing Qiu, what is this?” Lin Ke'er stood up defiantly.

“It’s nothing, I just need to have a little chat with you,” Xing Qiu said as he walked over to lock the door.

“Where’s Zhang Xuan?”

“She’s not coming. She doesn’t even know about our lunch today.”

“You…” Lin Ke'er pulled out her phone, ready to call for help. Xing Qiu pressed down on her phone, a sinister smile playing on his lips. "Do you really think I'd let you make that call?"

I cursed, but before I could say another word, the four men restraining me unleashed a flurry of kicks and punches. Well, great—this was my fifth beating. Realizing that cursing was futile, I clenched my jaw and fell silent, fixing Xing Qiu with a murderous glare.

"What exactly do you want?" Lin Ke'er asked, her voice tinged with helplessness. "Think carefully—I’m already part of the Twelve Roses."

Xing Qiu’s expression changed, but he quickly composed himself and spoke with unsettling earnestness. "Ke’er, this has nothing to do with whether or not you’ve joined the Twelve Roses. I just wanted to speak my heart. You must have noticed—I really like you. Will you be my girlfriend?"

"Are you insane?!" Lin Ke'er shrieked. "Do you even care how Zhang Xuan would feel?"

I stared at Xing Qiu, recalling the way he had once embraced Zhang Xuan with such apparent devotion. Now, looking at him, I felt nothing but disgust—his hypocrisy repulsive, his actions sickening. And for Lin Ke’er, I felt only pity. Perhaps this was the misfortune of being a beautiful girl—forever the object of unwanted affections.

"It doesn’t matter anymore," Xing Qiu said coolly. "I’m simply following my heart. Ke’er, say yes. I’ll take care of everything. I swear, I won’t let you suffer even the slightest harm."

"Never!" Lin Ke'er’s voice was firm and unyielding. "I don’t like you, and I will never be your girlfriend! I'm warning you—let me and Zuo Fei go immediately, or you will regret it!"

Xing Qiu fell silent, as if struck by a heavy blow. He slumped into a chair, his face suddenly ashen and lifeless.

Seeing his state, Lin Ke'er's tone softened. "Xing Qiu, Zhang Xuan loves you deeply. Be good to her."

Xing Qiu gave a slow nod, his face seeming to age a decade in mere moments.

"Well? Are you going to let us go or not?" Lin Ke'er demanded, turning to the men restraining me.

They hesitated, their eyes flickering toward Xing Qiu.

Xing Qiu rose to his feet. "Ke'er... is there really no chance?"

"None." Lin Ke'er’s voice was like steel.

"Alright then." Xing Qiu let out a long, weary sigh. "Let’s part on good terms. Have a drink with me. And promise me... don’t tell Zhang Xuan about what happened today." He poured two glasses of liquor and handed one to Lin Ke'er.

Lin Ke'er took the glass without hesitation, downing it in one swift motion. "Satisfied? Can we leave now?"

Xing Qiu nodded.

Lin Ke'er turned toward me. Just as I exhaled in relief, I saw her body waver—then collapse.

Xing Qiu caught her in his arms, then burst into triumphant laughter.

In that instant, I understood everything. It had all been an act—an elaborate deception to make Lin Ke'er drink that poisoned wine.

"Xing Qiu, you son of a b*tch!" I roared, only to be met with another ruthless beating. "If you have any guts, kill me now! Otherwise, I swear, I’ll make you pay for this!" My vision blurred with rage, but my body refused to rise.

Xing Qiu ignored me, carrying Lin Ke'er toward the door. I dragged myself forward, only to be yanked back once again. I no longer even shielded my head, blindly struggling to stand, but I was powerless—utterly helpless.

Never had I wished so desperately for strength. If only I were Binzi, I’d kill every last one of them.

But I wasn't.

And so I could do nothing but watch.

Watch as Xing Qiu opened the door.

Watch as he stepped outside.

Watch as Xing Qiu was sent flying back into the room.