Several boys, including Ping Ge, changed their expressions drastically and immediately greeted him respectfully.
This is a deep, calm, and composed young man with a very strong physique. He is clearly a guy with excellent physical abilities and would definitely be a good fighter! He seems to be of a much higher status than the other people.
This guy is a senior in high school named Tian Liang. He's a track and field athlete, a special sports recruit, with top-notch physical abilities. He's a daredevil fighter and an outstanding boy at the city's No. 1 High School. Even this "Brother Ping" and other boys treat him with deference.
"What's going on with you guys?" Tian Liang asked, looking at Ping Ge.
Ping is a first-year high school student named Zhou Ping. He's an excellent student, though these days good students also like to hang out, because it's a fun and exciting way to live. High school life is quite stressful, so hanging out in their spare time is a good way to relax.
As long as it doesn't interfere with his studies, it's understandable. He's considered a relatively outstanding student in his first year of high school. Because of his good grades, the teachers turn a blind eye to some of his behavior, which makes him very popular. The few guys around him who are also not good students all fawn over him. They hope he'll be the one to take the blame if anything happens.
However, Zhou Ping was, after all, a freshman in high school. Although he was doing quite well, he still had to obediently bow his head and acknowledge the juniors and seniors as his underlings.
Faced with Tian Liang's question, Zhou Ping gritted his teeth before answering, "I like Zhao Ran, who is in the first year of high school. This guy brought Zhao Ran to class today, so I came over to ask him what his relationship with Zhao Ran is!"
"Oh? Is that so?" Tian Liang nodded slightly and went to observe Li Yang. Actually, he had noticed the problem as soon as he arrived. Few boys could remain so calm when surrounded by so many boys. Even he himself felt a little nervous when suddenly faced with five or six boys surrounding him. Although he was a sports recruit with excellent physical strength and was quite skilled in fighting, he was still a little nervous facing an attack from five or six boys.
Huh? This person looks so familiar. Where have I seen him before? Who is he? So calm and composed, seemingly oblivious to Zhou Ping and the others' attack, his eyes deep and unfathomable…
"Ah—you, you, you are Li, Li Yang?" Tian Liang's mind went blank for a moment. He finally searched his memory for a name, and he shuddered, almost falling to the ground. Cold sweat poured down his forehead.
"Oh, you know me?" Li Yang was also surprised. Before his senior year of high school, he had always kept a low profile. Back then, his grades were terrible, he had no money, and nobody paid any attention to him. Even after he became somewhat famous in his senior year, he rarely appeared on campus. How could anyone still recognize him? And remember him so vividly? He had been away from the city's No. 1 High School for more than half a year, and someone still remembered him.
"You, you really are Li Yang? Last year's top scorer in the college entrance examination! He came from our city's No. 1 High School and is now studying law at Jiangdong University!" Tian Liang rattled off a whole bunch of information as if reciting a memorized document.
"I think so. How do you remember so clearly? Do you have a crush on me?" Li Yang told a very lame joke!
But no one laughed; they wanted to cry. Although they had never met Li Yang, they had all seen his photos and were very familiar with many of the legends surrounding him.
Everyone, including Zhou Ping, shuddered at this. They had all seen Li Yang's photo; it was on the school's honor roll, listing all of his achievements and inspiring the next batch of freshmen to emulate him and strive harder. But none of them had ever imagined that the guy in front of them was the renowned, illustrious senior from the city's No. 1 High School—Li Yang!
Chapter 688: Li Yang, I challenge you!
Li Yang's lame joke sent chills down everyone's spines. They all looked at Li Yang with awe, shrinking back, unsure of what to do, wishing they could turn tail and run away immediately.
Rumor has it that Li Yang was a formidable fighter back in the day and had close ties with gangsters outside the school. He said that those who hung out on campus were just small-time thugs, while the real big shots were those who were involved in organized crime outside the school. They couldn't compare to the people outside.
"Senior Li Yang, I'm Tian Liang. You might not have heard of me, but I know you. Your charisma back in the day at No. 1 High School was truly amazing. I was just a nobody back then, so of course someone as important as you wouldn't look down on me... It's all a misunderstanding. Zhou Ping must have lost his mind. Please don't take him seriously!" Tian Liang forced a fawning smile and bowed and scraped as he pleaded with Li Yang.
"You two have a good relationship?" Li Yang asked, glancing at him and Zhou Ping. This time, Zhou Ping wasn't as cowardly as Tian Liang; instead, he glared defiantly at Li Yang, seemingly still unconvinced.
"My relationship with him is alright!" Tian Liang replied with a smile. But seeing Zhou Ping staring at Li Yang with his bull-like eyes, he felt a little anxious. He wanted to go over and kick him a couple of times to make him bow his head, admit his mistake, and apologize to Li Yang, but it wasn't convenient for him to go out.
"Oh, just a casual relationship. Does he appreciate you standing up for him?" Li Yang said leisurely. Young people are so hot-tempered. If it were him back in high school, he would have kicked this kid away long ago. But now, he's a big shot, a person of status and position, so naturally he has to have composure and refinement, and can't easily stoop to the level of a little brat. Even though he himself wasn't even twenty years old.
"Yes! Of course I'll accept it! Zhou Ping! Did you eat shit? Did your head get wet? Hurry up and apologize to Li Yang!" Tian Liang could tell that Li Yang was dissatisfied with Zhou Ping, this hothead, so he became anxious and roared at Zhou Ping.
Yes, Zhou Ping was like a calf just out of its mother's arms. Seeing a tiger, he didn't know it was a tiger and thought it was a big cow in a different outfit, so he dared to go up and butt the cow and provoke it.
But by the time you realize how serious it is, you might already be turned into a pile of excrement and someone has already excreted you. What good will it do to regret it then?
Therefore, Tian Liang couldn't let Zhou Ping regret his actions only after he was ruined; he had to wake him up beforehand. This kick finally had some effect, but not a positive one—it had the complete opposite effect.
Tian Liang forgot that Zhou Ping was a stubborn mule, refusing to move no matter how you lead him or beat him. Otherwise, he wouldn't have abandoned being a good student, achieving good grades while also going out and causing trouble, leading a bunch of guys around showing off their muscles.
So after being kicked, Zhou Ping jumped up, his neck stiff and eyes red, pointing at Tian Liang and Li Yang and yelling, "Tian Liang! Don't go too far! You're so scared of someone you almost wet your pants! What's so great about him! I just don't accept him. Why should I apologize to him? Is it wrong for me to like that girl? Humph, what kind of society is this? I'll compete with him fairly, I'll duel! I will never back down, I will never admit my mistake!"
Tian Liang was furious, cursing himself for being such an idiot for meddling in this idiot's business. Was he an even bigger idiot than the idiot? But since he had already gotten involved, he was now in a bind and had to see it through to the end, otherwise people would say he was disloyal and didn't care about his brothers.
"You want to have a match with Li Yang, don't you?" Tian Liang said to Zhou Ping with a gloomy face. *You idiot, you'll have to get past me first.* This was, in a way, giving Li Yang plenty of face.
"Not bad. Isn't he very powerful and good at fighting? Forget about his grades, I'll fight him and see who wins. The winner gets to pursue Zhao Ran. The loser withdraws! Do you dare to agree?" Zhou Ping was arrogant, as if he were Ximen Chuixue, a swordsman who could dominate the world, and as if Zhao Ran would definitely be his woman if he won.
Tian Liang felt like he was going crazy. How could this guy be so clueless? Sigh, young people are such a headache.
"Li Yang, what do you think we should do? Why don't I fight him first? He's no match for you anyway. It would be like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, a waste of resources and lowering your status. I might as well go and deal with him!" Tian Liang turned to Li Yang and said with a smile. He was thinking that if he went up, perhaps he could leave Zhou Ping some leeway and let him suffer less. But if Li Yang went up, he didn't even dare to think about what the outcome would be.
"No need, I'll handle my own affairs. Since this kid is so sincere, I'll go and keep him company!" Li Yang also felt that this kid was being unreasonable, like he'd been kicked in the head by a donkey, practically a mentally challenged child. He felt he should step in and help correct him, reducing some of the burden on society. Besides, this involved Zhao Ran, so he couldn't rely on others; he had to resolve it himself.
"Do you dare accept my challenge?" Zhou Ping asked, pointing his index finger at Li Yang's nose, mimicking the gestures of gangsters in movies. It was as if it were incredibly cool.
But Li Yang thought his behavior was stupid, and the job itself was even more stupid.
"You think you can beat me?" Li Yang asked, looking at him with a half-smile.
"Nonsense!" Zhou Ping said arrogantly.
"Oh. That's good. Are you sure Zhao Ran will like you?" Li Yang asked again.
"Of course, I have good grades and I'm handsome!" Zhou Ping boasted smugly.
"Let me tell you, if you want to fight me, I'll take you on. But Zhao Ran, forget about it. You'd better just lie in bed and fantasize about Sister Feng. But be quiet when you're masturbating, don't disturb the other guys in the dorm!" Li Yang smiled sinisterly. He wanted to provoke this kid; he was really annoyed with him and wanted to provoke him.
"Damn it..." Zhou Ping was indeed enraged; he was still a naive and clueless young man. He threw a punch straight at Zhou Ping's face.
Those around immediately exclaimed in surprise, praising the speed and strength of the movements.
But in Li Yang's eyes, it was just an ant crawling, not only as slow as a snail, but also as weak as an ant farting. So Li Yang just stood there quietly, without moving. Until his fist was almost to Zhou Ping's face, he kicked out with lightning speed. Zhou Ping was sent flying without any suspense, flying backwards in the air, and then crashing heavily to the ground with a loud thud.
The moment he landed, everyone's eyes popped out of their sockets, and they fell to the ground with him. They'd never seen such a boring fight before—a one-hit kill! There wasn't a single exciting moment. Why didn't they fight for hundreds of rounds before deciding the winner?
The common people don't know that when masters clash, they can finish in no time, extremely quickly.
Chapter 689: What a Huge Green Hat
"Zhou Ping, are you alright!" Tian Liang exclaimed and rushed over to help Zhou Ping up.
"I, I'm fine..." Zhou Ping's face was pale, but he was a stubborn only son. Even though he was sweating profusely from the pain, he still gritted his teeth and said it didn't hurt.