At the mention of Wang Yao, the long-haired brute showed no reaction. Instead, he sneered at me and said, “Are you calling Wang Yao to protect you now?”

Another verbal trap. How could I possibly admit to that? I scoffed, “You coward, if you have the guts, face me one-on-one.” Yet, a strange feeling crept into my mind—this guy was never this sharp. How did he respond so quickly this time? It felt as if everything had been premeditated.

But Liu Yina had no patience for these mind games. She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted for Wang Yao at the top of her lungs.

“It’s useless, even if you call Wang Yao,” another voice interjected. It was Big Cat, striding toward us with over a dozen people trailing behind him.

An entire battalion, just to deal with me?

Should I be flattered or horrified?

I glanced around—still no sign of Houzi and Huang Jie. But Wang Yao had arrived, breathless from running. Seeing her rush over so anxiously filled me with an unexpected warmth.

“What now?!” Wang Yao snapped, irritation plain on her face. “Big Cat, what’s the meaning of this?”

The crowd thickened.

“You’re here, Wang Yao,” Big Cat said with a smirk. “I was just about to look for you. Here’s the situation—Zuo Fei beat up Zhou Kun this morning. I figured I should drop by and take a look.” As he spoke, he grabbed the long-haired brute’s swollen face and turned it toward Wang Yao. “Look at what he did to him!”

I almost couldn’t hold back a laugh. Neither could the spectators, who burst into chuckles. The long-haired brute’s face darkened instantly. That confirmed my suspicion—Big Cat was using him. Those earlier taunts were likely fed to him by Big Cat himself.

“Zuo Fei, what happened?” Wang Yao turned to me.

“Well… Zhou Kun demanded two packs of Furongwang cigarettes from Ma Jie, but he’s just a student—where’s he supposed to get that kind of money? I figured I’d talk to Zhou Kun, and then…”

Wang Yao frowned. She clearly thought I was meddling in things that weren’t my business. A flicker of unease shot through me—I started to wonder if I had, indeed, overstepped.

Big Cat seized the moment. “You heard that, right? Zuo Fei started it. I’ve been letting him off the hook for days, and what does he do? He thinks he can walk all over us—”

“Enough with the nonsense,” Wang Yao cut him off impatiently. “What’s done is done. Just pay for his medical expenses and call it a day.” She pulled out five yuan and shoved it into Zhou Kun’s chest.

“This isn’t a big deal. Buy yourself some Red Flower Oil and move on. Now, all of you—scatter! What are you standing around for?”

Zhou Kun stood there, stunned, at a loss for words. He turned to Big Cat for help.

“What are you looking at him for? He’s not your damn father!” Wang Yao snapped. “What, you think it’s not enough? Fine, here’s another five. That’s all you’re getting—this much should cover a bottle of Yunnan Baiyao!” She slapped another five-yuan bill into Zhou Kun’s hand, treating him no better than a beggar.

“Yunnan Baiyao costs over thirty…” Zhou Kun mumbled.

“Baiyao my ass! Can you show a little dignity?” Big Cat cursed, making Zhou Kun clamp his mouth shut.

“Wang Yao, don’t you think you’re being a bit unfair?” Big Cat’s expression turned sour. “Aren’t you protecting Zuo Fei a little too much?”

“Nope. I’m just being reasonable. Isn’t five yuan enough for Red Flower Oil?”

“Come here, let’s talk in private.”

Big Cat strolled toward a trash bin. Wang Yao, completely unbothered, followed him.

With the two of them gone, the rest of us stood there, staring at one another. We could only watch as they spoke in hushed tones, their backs to us. It looked like they were arguing.

Then, Big Cat subtly flicked his hand.

Before I could react, Zhou Kun and his lackeys charged. In an instant, they overwhelmed me, sending me crashing to the ground.

So that was it. Big Cat had deliberately lured Wang Yao away.

Liu Yina and Lin Ke’er screamed, their voices piercing through the chaos. Then came Wang Yao’s furious roar: “Big Cat, what the hell do you think you’re doing?!”

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Right after, Big Cat’s own voice bellowed back: “Who told you to hit him?! Are you insane?!” His performance was worthy of an Oscar.

Fists and kicks rained down on me, trapping me in a whirlwind of pain. This was the eighth time I had been beaten at Dongcheng No. 1 High School.

“Big Cat, tell them to stop!”

“You guys, stop! Stop! Oh? They’re not listening to me? Well, I guess there’s nothing I can do, Wang Yao…”

“Fuck!” Wang Yao cursed and rushed forward to help. But she was just a girl—without a steel pipe like last time, her thin arms and legs couldn’t pull those thugs off me.

“Liu Yina, get me a brick!” Wang Yao shouted, livid.

And then, a voice rang out, calm and indifferent.

“Stop. All of you.”

Zhou Kun and his gang froze. Panting, I struggled to lift my head. Through the gaps in the crowd, I finally saw Houzi.

A dagger gleamed in his hand, the kind you could buy for a few bucks off a rug vendor. Usually, they came dull, requiring sharpening at home. But Houzi’s blade had been honed to perfection—it glistened under the sun as he pressed it against Big Cat’s throat.

Big Cat swallowed hard, sweat trickling down his forehead. On his other side stood Huang Jie, tugging at Big Cat’s ear with an annoying smirk. “Hey, what’s wrong? Weren’t you just having fun a moment ago?”

“You bastard! If you had shown up any later, your brother would be dead by now,” Wang Yao snapped at Houzi.

“Nah, with you here, Zuo Fei was never in any real danger,” Houzi replied nonchalantly.

“Don’t overestimate me. Big Cat didn’t give a damn about my face.”

“Oh, he does. I respect you both,” Big Cat chuckled nervously. “Now, could you please put the knife away?”

“Shut up.” Houzi patted Big Cat’s face and turned to me. “You still alive?”

Sitting up, I crossed my legs and scoffed, “You finished your game?”

“Yeah. I didn’t miss anything important, did I?”

“What do you think?” I gestured to my dirt-streaked, footprint-covered clothes. “I literally just changed into this outfit this morning!”

“I’ll wash it for you!” Ma Jie’s voice piped up from the crowd.

“Get lost.”

He instantly shrank back.

I shot a glare at Houzi. “And you! You seriously showed up over an hour late?”

“No, no, I timed it perfectly. Don’t you think I made the coolest entrance?” Houzi grinned shamelessly.

“Don’t listen to him,” Huang Jie said. “He got into an argument with some guy from Henan. When he couldn’t win, he accused the guy of stealing manhole covers. That went on for over an hour.”

I stared at Houzi. “You’re fucking shameless.”

“Can you three cut it out and focus on the real issue?” Wang Yao finally snapped.

“Ah, right, the matter at hand.” Houzi tapped Big Cat’s face with the knife. “So, how do you propose we settle this?”

Big Cat clenched his jaw, his face pale as a sheet.

“How about we settle both old and new grudges? You stabbed me once before—why don’t I return the favor?”

“Enough!” A group of school instructors finally intervened.

“Oh, now you care?” Wang Yao bristled. “Where were you when they were beating him?”

“The brawl may be overlooked, but the moment a blade is drawn, it’s a different matter.”

The instructors swarmed in, forcefully prying HOUZI away and snatching the knife from his grasp. Throughout the ordeal, he remained astonishingly compliant—so much so that it was almost uncharacteristic of him.

Later, HOUZI explained, “Did you really think I’d actually stab Da Mao in front of all those people? Back in the dorm or that time in the park, those were private matters—no reports, no consequences. But in broad daylight, with so many witnesses? If I had stabbed him, I wouldn’t just get expelled; I might end up in prison. I may be reckless, but I’m not a fool. I was stalling for time, waiting for the instructors to intervene—otherwise, there’d be no way for me to back down from that situation.”

Huang Jie, however, scoffed at his reasoning. “Don’t buy into his nonsense. When he loses his temper, there’s nothing he wouldn’t do. Stabbing Da Mao in front of a crowd? Hell, he might’ve gone as far as killing him. But the moment he sees soldiers or cops, his legs turn to jelly—you know why, don’t you? He was born to be trouble. The second those ten or so soldiers showed up, he nearly pissed himself. I was already thinking of finding him a fresh pair of pants.”

I had no way of knowing which of them was telling the truth; neither of them ever had a straight answer for anything.

Regardless, I gave HOUZI a thorough scolding afterward. Because if he hadn’t handed over that knife, we wouldn’t have had to endure the beating that followed.

The moment the instructors confiscated his weapon, Da Mao roared with newfound confidence, his voice ringing across the entire field.

“Get them! Beat them to death!”

The mob descended upon us like a crashing tide. As I’ve mentioned before, I could hold my own in a one-on-one fight, but against a swarm, I stood no chance. I’d land a punch, only to be met with four or five in return—followed by a barrage of kicks. There was no way to fight back. Once again, I was sent sprawling to the ground. By now, I had grown accustomed to it. I curled up tightly, shielding my head and groin, leaving the rest of my body to endure the storm of blows.

Through the gaps between my fingers, I caught glimpses of the chaos outside. HOUZI lasted a solid two to three minutes, taking down at least four or five opponents before finally collapsing. To my surprise, Huang Jie put up an even fiercer fight—darting and weaving, each punch flooring an opponent, each kick sending another toppling. But even he couldn’t hold out forever. After four or five minutes, sheer numbers overwhelmed him.

Wang Yao cursed furiously, snatching up a brick to join the fight. No one dared lay a hand on her, giving her an unfair advantage—each swing of her brick sent someone crumpling to the ground.

This time, it was the full force of the Nine Princes bearing down on us—at least forty or fifty of them. The uproar was too great; even the instructors couldn’t regain control and had no choice but to escalate the situation to the school authorities. In the end, it took the security department’s intervention to finally break up the fight.

After giving our statements, the three of us slumped on the steps in front of the faculty building, cigarettes dangling from our lips, our faces swollen and bruised, our clothes covered in footprints. Meanwhile, the Nine Princes strutted away with smug arrogance.

HOUZI and Huang Jie bickered over the knife incident for a while, until HOUZI finally declared, “Alright, fine. I took that beating on purpose.”

I scoffed. “Oh, piss off.”

HOUZI chuckled. “Tell me, Zuo Fei, what’s our plan again?”

I exhaled a long stream of smoke. “Once military training ends, the Nine Princes will start collecting protection fees. That’s when we round up the tougher, more rebellious students—the ones who can throw a punch—and take the Nine Princes down together. And what the hell does that have to do with you ‘taking a beating on purpose’?”