“The specifics of the plan will be revealed when the time comes. For now, we don't even know if Wang Yao will agree to it. In the meantime, I’ll continue recuperating, Huang Jie will keep gathering intelligence, and Zuo Fei will remain at school. Just remember—stay away from the Ninth Prince. Wang Yao can’t be there to protect you at all times.”

For the next few days, school life remained uneventful. I was still excused from military training, spending my days idly playing on my phone under the shade of a tree. In truth, my head injury had long since healed, but I left the bandages on, enjoying the privileges they afforded me. Every noon and evening, I brought meals to Houzi and Huang Jie. Thankfully, my family was well-off enough to support them; otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to sustain their expenses. I had advised them to quit gaming, but my words fell on deaf ears. They would rather spend their last coin on a premium membership than on anything practical.

Wang Yao frequently brought the Thirteen Roses to visit me. Sometimes five or six of them, other times seven or eight. Either way, I was constantly surrounded by beautiful girls, basking in the envy of others. Under Wang Yao’s lead, they often teased Lin Ke’er and me, turning her face crimson with embarrassment each time. As for me, my heart was set on Lin Ke’er—yet, on occasion, I couldn't resist stealing glances at Wang Yao. Each time I did, guilt gnawed at me.

One evening during self-study, while the girls were playing around in the corridor, Wang Yao suddenly pulled me aside, her expression shrouded in mystery. My heart leaped to my throat, but I forced myself to appear nonchalant.

“Hey, when are you and Lin Ke’er going to make it official?”

So that’s what this was about.

I exhaled in relief. “I want to as soon as possible, but she’s still thinking it over.”

“You’re hopeless. When a girl says she’s considering, she’s just being coy. You need to push a little, take decisive action—cut through the hesitation like a blade through tangled vines.” She paused, then stuck out her tongue playfully, correcting herself from the more suggestive phrase she had nearly blurted. The sight of her teasing expression made my heart race.

“I just feel that revenge should come first,” I admitted. “Romance can wait.”

She furrowed her brows. “When will that be?”

“After military training.” By this point, I trusted Wang Yao completely, so I told her without hesitation.

A flicker of contemplation crossed her face before she nodded. “Got it. That’s only a few days away. Best of luck.”

With that, she extended her hand.

I hesitated for a moment before reaching out to meet it. Her palm was soft, smooth.

Wang Yao giggled. “Hurry up and settle things. I can’t wait to marry Lin Ke’er off—it’s not often we come across a decent guy! But if you ever hurt her… well, you’ll have me to answer to!” With a wicked grin, she pinched my waist hard.

This was the first time I’d been this close to Wang Yao. By all rights, I should have been overjoyed, yet staring into her clear, unguarded eyes, I felt nothing but shame for my errant thoughts. She was so straightforward, so utterly free of hidden intentions—what was I thinking?

That night, I made up my mind. I would stop harboring foolish notions about Wang Yao. My focus belonged solely to Lin Ke’er—she was the one who deserved my protection. Wang Yao, on the other hand, I would cherish in my heart as a friend, nothing more.

Later, when I rejoined the group, Lin Ke’er pulled me aside and whispered, “What did Wang Yao say to you?”

I winked at her. “She told us to hurry up and make it official.”

Flustered, Lin Ke’er lowered her head shyly. I reached out to brush her hair, but she dodged away, her movements gentle yet firm.

That night, as I lay in bed, I counted the remaining days. Three more until the end of military training. Three more days until our counterattack. Hopefully, nothing would disrupt our plans before then.

The lights went out, and only then did Ma Jie return to the dormitory. Before long, I heard quiet sobs coming from his bed.

At first, I ignored him, thinking he was just heartbroken over some girl.

But his crying grew louder, the sound muffled by his blanket yet still filled with anguish.

Finally, I lost my patience. “What the hell are you crying for? Like some weepy girl in a drama?”

The sobs stopped instantly.

Just as I was beginning to doze off, they started up again, even louder this time. Furious, I jumped out of bed. “Do you have a screw loose? It’s the middle of the night!”

Once again, silence.

I climbed back under the covers. Moments later, the wailing resumed.

That was it. I ripped his blanket away. “One more sound and I’m throwing you out of here.”

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Ma Jie sat up, his face streaked with tears. Between gasps, he stammered, “F-Fei… Fei-ge… Zhou Kun wants cigarettes… two packs of Furong Wang… If I don’t get them by tomorrow, I’m done for!”

I nearly burst out laughing. “Weren’t you all buddy-buddy with the Ninth Prince? You even got Zhou Kun to beat me up last time. And now he’s extorting you?”

Ma Jie sobbed harder. “I… I bought him spicy snacks, but he said they were too hot and slapped me twice. Then he told me to get him cigarettes—two packs of Furong Wang, over 400 yuan! I don’t have that kind of money…”

I immediately understood. Zhou Kun was simply toying with him. It was obvious—Ma Jie was weak, spineless, and an easy target. If he wanted to stay in Zhou Kun’s circle, he had to pay a price.

I wasn’t particularly close to Ma Jie, nor did I have any reason to care about his troubles. “That’s tough, but I don’t have money either,” I said, turning over to sleep.

He continued crying. I figured he’d eventually tire himself out, but he wept until past one in the morning. Even when I got up to use the bathroom, he was still at it. Truly a pitiful sight.

I tried to ignore him, but his cries only grew louder, as if he were sobbing directly into my ear. I turned over—and nearly jumped out of my skin.

Ma Jie was standing right next to my bed. No wonder his voice sounded so close.

“Fei-ge… please help me…” He was practically convulsing from his sobs.

Annoyed and desperate for sleep, I finally relented. “Fine, fine! Just go to bed already.”

At the time, I thought I’d simply come up with an excuse to turn him down in the morning. But fate had other plans.

While I was still having breakfast in the cafeteria, Ma Jie suddenly dragged Zhou Kun—also known as the Long-Haired Man—to my table.

“I heard you’re stepping in for Ma Jie?” Zhou Kun smirked, his expression dripping with malice.

Since the last time Houzi had beaten him so badly he landed in the hospital, I hadn’t seen him around. He looked much healthier now.

I stared at him blankly for a moment before recalling my words from last night. Now, I was well and truly trapped—backing down outright would make me look weak.

Hesitating, I finally muttered, “Well… isn’t that a bit much? Ma Jie’s just a student—where is he supposed to get the money for two packs of Furong Wang?”

At that moment, I was still considering my options—if Zhou Kun were to reject me outright or retort with a sharp “What does this have to do with you?” I would simply take the easy way out, saying we were just dormmates, and I was merely putting in a good word. If he wasn’t willing, then so be it.

But Zhou Kun gave me no such opportunity. Without a word, he knocked my bowl of food onto the ground.

“And who the hell do you think you are to plead on his behalf?”

That was it. I lost my temper instantly. He was forcing my hand, escalating the situation beyond return!

I had never taken a liking to this long-haired bastard—in fact, he was the one who had beaten me up four times in a single day! Without hesitation, I swung a heavy slap across his face, followed by a swift kick from atop the table, striking him squarely in the neck. Zhou Kun crumpled to the floor. I leaped down after him, pouncing onto his body. I mimicked HOUZI’s moves from that day—coincidentally also the signature combat style of Donnie Yen—raining down punches like relentless cannon fire.

I must have landed a dozen or so blows before he went completely still, his nose and mouth streaming with blood. I had long since grasped my own strength—when it came to one-on-one fights, I truly feared no one. Fortunately, it was still early morning, and he hadn’t been accompanied by any of his cronies. A crowd quickly gathered, but they were just there to watch the spectacle.

I couldn’t afford to linger—who knew when one of the princes would show up to back him up? Keeping my composure, I wiped the blood off my knuckles using Zhou Kun’s shirt and sneered, “Now tell me, do I have the right to plead for him?”

With that, I rose to my feet, turned to the dumbfounded Ma Jie, and commanded, “Let’s go.”

The crowd instinctively parted for us. I strode out of the cafeteria, head held high, feeling like an absolute legend.

Ma Jie trailed behind me, repeating in awe, “Fei-ge, that was incredible. Fei-ge, you’re amazing.”

I was basking in my own pride too—this fight had been clean, efficient, and decisive. Zhou Kun hadn’t even had a chance to fight back. Since I had eaten before the altercation, I now returned to the dorm to freshen up. Ma Jie, eager to please, immediately tidied up my unmade bed and even took my dirt-caked sneakers, which had been sitting around for days, to scrub them clean. Surprisingly, the kid was meticulous—when he returned, my shoes looked as pristine as new. Amused, I bestowed him with a nickname: “Little Wife.” From then on, I made him run my errands, and just like that, Ma Jie officially became my lackey.

But while I was feeling smug, I was also acutely aware that I had stirred up a hornet’s nest. Zhou Kun was one of the Nine Princes—there was no way he’d take a beating and let it slide. HOUZI had warned me repeatedly not to mess with them, and even Wang Yao had gone out of her way to appeal to Da Mao on my behalf. We had been so close to making it through to the end of training unscathed—only three days left—and yet, I had still managed to kick the hornet’s nest at the last moment.

I called HOUZI to report what had happened. He simply said, “Got it. Huang Jie and I will head over now.”

After hanging up, I waited beneath the big tree. Since everyone was still in training, Zhou Kun wouldn’t be coming for me just yet. Each session lasted forty minutes—plenty of time for HOUZI and Huang Jie to arrive, so I felt relatively at ease.

What I hadn’t expected was that even by break time, there was still no sign of them. I knew those two had probably gotten caught up in their games again—just like the first time I had called HOUZI to fight for me, only for him to get so engrossed in playing that I ended up waiting from noon till nightfall!

I hurriedly dialed HOUZI’s number again—but it was already too late. Zhou Kun had arrived, flanked by four or five other students.

He looked rough—his entire mouth was swollen—but the arrogance in his eyes remained undiminished.

“You’re pretty good at fighting,” he sneered.

“No, you’re just too weak,” I shot back, despite knowing full well the dire situation I was in. At the same time, I cursed HOUZI’s unreliability under my breath.

Just then, Liu Yina rushed over and stepped in front of me. “Zhou Kun, what do you think you’re doing?”

Lin Ke’er, who had been watching from a distance, quickly followed. “Zhou Kun, Da Mao already said to leave Zuo Fei alone. What more do you want?”

Zhou Kun chuckled. “So the rumors were true—you really went and found the Thirteen Roses as your backers. No wonder you’ve been acting so cocky.”

Truth be told, I was moved by Lin Ke’er and Liu Yina standing up for me, but at the same time, it was humiliating. No man wants to be protected by women. Zhou Kun must have picked up on this, which was why he kept mocking me in this way.

I knew it was a trap, but I had no choice but to walk straight into it. “Step aside. I can handle this.”

Handle this? Who was I kidding? I was outnumbered—I didn’t stand a chance.

Zhou Kun grinned even wider. “That’s right. You girls stay out of it—this is a matter between men.”

Seeing that she couldn’t control the situation, Liu Yina quickly suggested, “How about we call Wang Yao and have her talk to you?”