I have no idea how much strength I used. I only know that I put every ounce of my energy into it, that the brick shattered into pieces upon impact, and that Changmao collapsed without even a twitch.

"You son of a b*tch!" Even then, I refused to let him go. I sent a ruthless kick his way.

But in the very next second, his gang swarmed me, hurling me to the ground once more, raining punches and kicks upon me with even greater ferocity than before. They cursed as they struck: "You b*st*rd! You dare lay a hand on Brother Kun? Tonight, we’re gonna end you!"

Lin Ke’er stood at the side, pleading desperately for them to stop, but her voice was drowned out, utterly ignored.

"F*ck..." A voice broke through the chaos.

Changmao staggered to his feet, shaking, his face twisted with fury.

The others immediately paused. "Kun-ge, are you okay?" "Kun-ge, come finish him!"

"Step aside. I'll end him myself."

Changmao bent down, picking up the shattered pieces of brick.

"Zhou Kun, stop!" Lin Ke’er rushed to grab his arm.

"Get the hell off me!" He flung her away violently, sending her crashing to the ground.

I wanted to help her up, but after taking my fourth beating of the night, I no longer had the strength.

"F*ck!"

The brick smashed against my face. My vision instantly darkened, my consciousness teetering on the edge.

"You m*th*rf*ck*r!"

A second strike. My head buzzed, the world around me spinning.

Just as he raised his hand for the third blow—

Boom!

Changmao’s entire body was suddenly sent flying.

Through my blurry vision, I saw a wiry, shadowy figure leap over me and pounce on the fallen Changmao like a wild beast. His fists came down in a relentless barrage, like Donnie Yen in an action flick.

Changmao let out a pained howl. His gang rushed forward, but strangely, none of them dared intervene. They merely stood around, nervously muttering:

"Houzi, stop!"

"Houzi, Kun-ge didn’t mess with you, did he?"

"Get the f*ck out of my way!" Houzi’s voice was a snarl, his rage palpable. "This b*st*rd dared to lay hands on my brother?! I’m gonna f*ck*ng kill him tonight!"

Houzi had arrived. At last. And he was utterly terrifying.

My mind swam in and out of focus.

Someone suddenly held me close. I forced my eyes open—it was Lin Ke’er. Tears streamed silently down her face, falling onto my bruised skin.

Between ragged breaths, I whispered, "See? I could protect you before, and I can still protect you now."

"Don’t talk, please don’t talk… I’ll take you to the hospital…" she choked out, struggling to support me, but I was far too heavy for her.

Houzi strode over then, rubbing his hands together awkwardly. "Sh*t, man… Sorry. I got caught up in a game and totally forgot. When I finally remembered, I ran straight here…"

Changmao’s gang seized the moment to drag him away.

"Houzi-ge, let’s talk later. We need to get Zuo Fei to the hospital first."

"Yeah." Houzi jogged to the roadside to hail a cab.

Just then, a guy and a girl came running over. The guy was handsome, the girl beautiful—they looked like a perfect match.

"Lin Ke’er, what the hell happened? We waited for you forever at the restaurant."

"He’s my classmate. He just beat up Zhou Kun," Lin Ke’er replied quickly. "I’ll explain later. Right now, we need to get him to the hospital."

She pulled me into her arms, my head resting against her soft chest. A faint, delicate fragrance enveloped me.

In that moment, I thought—if I were to die like this, it might not be so bad.

Houzi flagged down a taxi. The guy and girl turned to him.

"Houzi-ge," they greeted him respectfully.

Houzi glanced at them before sneering at the guy. "That Zhou Kun from your Nine Princes gang? He’s a f*ck*ng idiot. Lucky I didn’t beat him to death today."

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

The guy’s expression grew awkward. "Zhou Kun does get a little out of hand sometimes… As his friend, I never knew how to rein him in. We were just supposed to have dinner tonight with Lin Ke’er. Zhang Xuan invited me along to talk some sense into him."

"Yeah, Houzi-ge," the girl added. "Lin Ke’er is my best friend. You think I’d let her get tangled up with someone like Zhou Kun? That’s why I brought Xing Qiu along—we were going to help persuade him. But… things got out of hand."

Houzi said nothing more. He simply helped me into the cab.

Lin Ke’er climbed in beside me, then turned to them. "Xing Qiu, Zhang Xuan, you two should go home. I’ll thank you properly another time."

The car pulled away and stopped at a clinic.

Houzi half-carried me inside while Lin Ke’er paid the fare.

Truth be told, I wasn’t too badly hurt. Most of it was just superficial wounds. The worst was the brick to the head—just a few stitches, nothing major.

As the doctor stitched me up, Houzi fidgeted anxiously, scratching his head like a restless child.

I sighed. "Houzi, I’m fine. Relax."

"Nah, it’s not that," he muttered. "I didn’t finish my game. Can I leave now?"

I was speechless.

"Just go."

"Cool. Call me if you need anything."

Lin Ke’er walked him out. She was gone for quite a while.

When she returned, I raised a brow. "Took you long enough."

She hesitated before explaining, "Houzi-ge said he hadn’t eaten yet, so he borrowed five yuan from me. I only had a ten, but he insisted on breaking the change at a shop first."

"…"

I was at a complete loss for words.

Houzi—does he ask everyone for money?

Once my stitches were done, the doctor put me on an IV drip.

Lin Ke’er asked, "How long will this take?"

"Two or three hours," the doctor replied.

She hesitated. "But by then, the dorms will be locked."

The doctor chuckled. "No worries. You can stay here for the night."

Her cheeks flushed instantly.

I quickly reassured her, "It’s fine. You should go back. I can stay here on my own." Lin Ke'er glanced at her watch and said, “I can stay with you for a little while longer.”

To be honest, hearing that left me slightly disappointed. If only she could stay the night with me.

I lay on the bed as the doctor inserted the IV, and Lin Ke'er draped a blanket over me.

Once the doctor left, she sat beside me and said, “Thank you.”

“For what? I overheard everything—your two friends could’ve handled it. I just messed things up with my unnecessary intervention.”

Thinking about it, I couldn’t help but feel a little regretful. Lin Ke'er had planned her way out, and I had ruined it for her.

“It’s different. They could only try to persuade him, but whether Zhou Kun would listen was another matter. But now, after what you did and what Houzi did, Zhou Kun won’t dare bother me again.” She gently tucked the blanket around me.

I felt relieved, though I didn’t want to show it too much, so I simply said, “That long-haired guy was too arrogant. He had it coming.”

“Yeah, the Nine Princes are all like that—one more reckless than the other. Just looking at them makes me sick.”

“Well, not all of them. That Xing Qiu guy seemed decent.”

“Him…” Lin Ke'er hesitated. “Zhang Xuan genuinely wanted to help me, but as for Xing Qiu…”

I understood immediately. “Not necessarily sincere, huh? Makes sense—he and Zhou Kun are brothers, after all.” Then I added, “But from now on, with me around, I won’t let anyone bully you again!”

She froze for a moment, then her eyes turned red, a shimmer of tears welling up in them.

“Hey, why are you crying?” I panicked and instinctively reached out to wipe her tears, completely forgetting the IV in my hand. The sudden movement sent blood rushing back through the tube, and I winced in pain, quickly lowering my hand.

“Don’t move.” Lin Ke'er wiped her own eyes. “I’m just… moved. You helped me before, and you’re still helping me now.”

Hearing that made me feel even guiltier. I murmured, “I’m really sorry… for two years ago—”

“Stop.” Lin Ke'er gently pressed her fingertip against my lips. “I know… You were just overwhelmed back then.”

I pushed her hand away. “Even so, I shouldn’t have treated you like that.”

She fell silent for a moment before finally saying, “I wasn’t blameless either. I was the one who spread the rumors about us dating.”

“What? Why?” I was stunned.

“Because…” She lowered her head, speaking softly, “If people thought I was your girlfriend, they wouldn’t bully me. So I made up the rumors myself. For a while, everyone’s attitude toward me changed. Some even called me ‘Fei’s wife,’ and they treated me with so much respect. Every day felt wonderful. But I never considered how you felt… I’m the one who owes you an apology.”

“So that’s how it was…” I let out a bitter chuckle. “Forget the past. Let’s talk about the future. I, Zuo Fei, swear that as long as I’m at Dongcheng No.1 High, no one will dare lay a hand on you!”

Lin Ke'er gazed at me, dazed for a long moment.

I grinned. “Are you so touched you’re about to cry again?”

She replied, “I don’t dare cry—once I start, I won’t be able to stop.” Then she quickly changed the subject. “By the way, how do you know Houzi?”

“Binzi introduced us.”

“Oh, so after all that, you still relied on Binzi.”

After just one day at this school, the last thing I wanted was for people to say that. I hastily defended myself, “I can protect you on my own too!”

“Alright, I’ll be waiting for that.”

She smiled, her face blossoming like a flower. For a moment, I was completely mesmerized.

“Hey, what are you staring at?” Lin Ke'er waved her hand in front of my face. “It’s getting late—I need to go. See you tomorrow.”

Before I could even react, she had already left—so swift, so decisive, without a hint of hesitation.

By the time my IV was finished, it was past midnight, so I had no choice but to sleep at the clinic. The next morning, I returned to school, quickly washed up, and headed to military training. However, because of the bandage on my head, the instructor wouldn’t let me participate. Instead, he had me sit under a tree and rest—an unexpected blessing in disguise.

While they trained, I pulled out my phone and played games, living more comfortably than an immortal. During breaks, my classmates would gather around and chat, some occasionally glancing my way and whispering to each other. I was used to it and couldn’t care less.

After a while, Liu Yina strutted over and purred, “Hey, handsome, add me on WeChat?” Her tone was flirtatious.

I hesitated for a moment. Wasn’t she the one who insulted me yesterday? Why the sudden change in attitude? Still, I gave her my WeChat.

It wasn’t until later that I found out—word had already spread about me smashing Zhou Kun with a brick.

Apparently, Zhou Kun had it rough. First, I hit him with a brick, and then Houzi pummeled him with dozens of punches, leaving his face swollen like a pig’s head. They had to send him straight to the hospital for emergency treatment.

As for Houzi… I still couldn’t quite figure him out.

This was only my second day here, but I had already heard plenty about the school’s underworld. There were the Nine Princes among the guys, the Twelve Roses among the girls, plus a whole bunch of other factions. But no one had ever mentioned Houzi before.

He looked skinny, almost frail, yet when he fought, he was terrifyingly swift and ruthless. Zhou Kun didn’t even dare fight back.

The Nine Princes were supposed to be so powerful, even extorting protection fees—so how did Houzi manage to beat one of them so badly?

I needed to find an upperclassman and get some answers.