As the name suggests, "Kaochang" is a barbecue restaurant with a great atmosphere. Each table has an electric grill, and you can order your own food.
Erpang used a bottle opener to pry open four or five bottles of beer in a row, holding up the glass bottle with an imposing air: "Let's see who dares to say that I, Fatty, am stingy to death and only know how to freeload off others!"
Lin Chengshuang, with a chicken cartilage in her mouth, clapped for him: "Fatty is awesome! Fatty is generous! This is the first time Fatty has been so generous, how can we little guys not give him face? Waiter, bring ten more plates of pork belly!"
"Uh..." Ji Li took a spot against the wall, plugged in his phone to charge, and started another game.
No matter how noisy the people around him made, they wouldn't bother him. After the message popped up on the screen that his accumulated game time had expired, he looked up at the time and realized it was already past seven o'clock.
The people at the table had moved from drinking to playing dice and rock-paper-scissors. Ji Li hadn't touched the food in front of him at all. He unplugged the charging cable and stood up, saying, "I'm going back now."
It wasn't completely dark outside yet, but the temperature was lower than during the day. A few meters to the right of the entrance to the food street, a small alleyway extended. Because it was cramped and poorly lit, few people frequented it. In addition, the cement road surface was rugged, so students jokingly called it "Geda Alley".
Students were coming and going at the uphill entrance when suddenly someone stepped out of the crowd and turned into the deep alley.
Ying Yunsheng turned the corner and stopped in the alley.
A large group of people was standing about five or six meters ahead; a quick glance revealed about twenty of them.
Leading the group were none other than Xiong Yi, Xiong Er, and Xiong San from last night, their school uniforms covered in marker graffiti; the people behind them were clearly not students, all tall and burly, standing in a row with their arms crossed, looking quite like gangsters from an old-fashioned movie.
The leader, who had a buzz cut, looked him up and down and said, "Isn't this that kid surnamed Ying? You asked us to teach him a lesson?"
Xiong Yi heard the veiled sarcasm in his tone and gritted his teeth: "After I teach him a lesson, I'll find a way to help you win over Xu Shuling."
The man with the buzz cut laughed out loud: "Sure."
Ying Yunsheng finally spoke: "You said it would only be resolved between you and me in private."
Xiong Yi spat and took two steps forward: "You actually believe that, you bastard?"
Ying Yunsheng hummed in agreement: "I really didn't expect you to be so afraid of me."
They even specially invited a dozen or twenty people over.
Xiong Yi's expression changed: "Damn, you..."
"Thump—"
Ying Yunsheng kicked the other person directly, without holding back as he had on the stairs, sending the person flying three or four meters away, his body slamming heavily against the concrete wall.
Before anyone could react, they watched helplessly as Xiong Yi curled up in a ball, clutching between his legs and howling in pain, while they themselves felt a chill run down their own bodies.
Ying Yunsheng smashed the nose of Xiong Er, who was lunging at him, making him see stars. He then grabbed Xiong Er and tossed him like a sack of potatoes toward Xiong San, who was rushing toward him.
The two of them were thrown out and piled on top of each other like a human pyramid.
No matter how slow the others were, they couldn't just stand by and watch anymore. With a command from the crew-cut man, more than a dozen figures attacked from the front and back, rushing towards the center of the alley.
A teenager who is not yet an adult has no chance of fighting against such a large group of thugs.
But now, in this one-against-many situation, no one has been able to gain any advantage from him.
It's not that no one can hurt him, but that he doesn't react at all when he is hurt. His pain receptors seem to be dead. Occasionally, when eye contact is made, what is revealed in his eyes is enough to terrify anyone who sees him.
Xiong Yi watched him from behind, his breathing gradually becoming rapid.
Ying Yunsheng wasn't like this before.
For at least the past year, since he met the other person, he has always been available whenever needed, always taciturn, always cautious, and when they occasionally dragged him into a fight, his movements were incredibly clumsy. In short, he would do whatever it took to blend into the crowd and be inconspicuous.
But now that summer vacation is over, I don't know what triggered him, but suddenly he refused to be a dutiful follower anymore. In the class placement exam, he made a stunning leap from mediocre to top, and last night's kick almost sent him to his death.
Xiong Yi clenched his fist and suddenly raised his voice: "Go! All of you go! If it's done, I'll treat you to a meal at the Crown Club!"
A thug nearby taunted, "Boss Shen is so generous!"
"I refuse to believe that a dozen or so people here can't teach him a lesson!"
Xiong's eyes blazed with anger: "Anyway, this guy surnamed Ying has no parents, so even if he gets beaten to death here, you won't be responsible!"
Ying Yunsheng's tiger's mouth was numb from being punched by a thug. He kicked the other man away and suddenly turned around.
Xiong Yi's eyes widened in surprise. His reflexes beat his brain to thought, and as he backed away, he suddenly stumbled. The next second, the other person was already right in front of him.
He was knocked backward by a punch, and for a few seconds he was completely stunned. Then, he felt a burning sensation under his nose, and blood instantly rolled out.
Before Ying Yunsheng could retract his hand, the sound of wind breaking rang out behind him.
In the chaos, it's unclear who first picked up a piece of tile that had fallen to the ground and smashed it against the back of his head.
"Smack—"
"Drip-drip-drip-"
Suddenly, the urgent sirens of police cars blared outside the alley, followed by a flurry of footsteps.
The crew-cut thug's expression changed upon hearing the voice: "You actually called the police?"
"Brother Cun, are we stopping?"
"If you want to go to jail, then stay here!"
"Uh..." A flash of light outside the alley, and a loud shout abruptly interrupted the conversation: "Who dares to fight over there?! Police! Stop right there! Stand at attention!!"
When Xiong Yi got up from the ground, the helpers he had called had already fled in a hurry. He said a harsh word, "I will never let you off the hook," and ran into the other end of the alley without looking back.
The thugs around disappeared, leaving only Ying Yunsheng in the alley. He stood there watching the group leave, remaining silent for a full ten seconds before finally moving his shoulder.
Small fragments of rubble rolled down from the collar and fell to the ground.
The sirens were still blaring, but the police officer who had just shouted "Don't move!" was nowhere to be seen.
Ying Yunsheng walked out of the alley, and the dim shadows of the trees in front of him returned to the sight of pedestrians coming and going.
At that very moment, the sirens suddenly stopped.
Ying Yunsheng stopped and turned his head.
What did you just do?
Ji Li stood against the wall, looking up from his phone: "What? What did I do?"
"You didn't make that sound just now?"
What was that sound?
Ying Yunsheng didn't say anything, but suddenly reached out and grabbed the other person's wrist, flipping the phone in his palm over, instantly revealing the image on the screen.
Happy Landlords (a popular card game).
Ying Yunsheng was stunned for a moment.
Ji Li's gaze swept over the hand that was clasped around his own and landed on the damp cuff of his short-sleeved school uniform: "Your arm is bleeding."
The night wind was strong, making the lights from the roadside stalls flicker, and the smell of sand, gravel, and strong cooking fumes choked people.
"Remember to get a tetanus shot." After saying this, Ji Li easily broke free from the other person's hand and turned to walk out of the street.
A note from the author:
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 3
Chapter 3
video tape
The next day was Sunday, and the school rang the bell on time to start evening self-study.
Ji Li packed up his belongings at his seat, threw them into his suitcase, grabbed the handle, and went to his new classroom.
The classroom for Class 1 of the Arts stream was still on the first floor. When he entered, he could clearly hear that the people around him were speaking a notch softer. He didn't pay attention, randomly picked an empty seat by the window, took out his textbooks and workbooks one by one, arranged them on their stand, and then opened the English test paper.
The corridor was filled with the noise of students moving into the new classrooms, and anyone who peeked out could see a strange sight: within a one-meter radius of him, everything was empty.
Lin Chengshuang calls this phenomenon the prestige of academic geniuses.
Why are you still here?
Lin Chengshuang leaned against the window frame: "Isn't this just a final expression of my reluctance to part with you?"
Ji Li: "Your classroom is on the fourth floor?"
"Uh..." Lin Chengshuang's classroom is not only on the fourth floor, but it is also on the opposite side of the school gate from her original classroom, forming a perfect diagonal connection with it in the entire teaching building.
"Where's Erpang?"
Lin Chengshuang rolled her eyes at the sky: "That fatso went back to school and immediately ran to his goddess to help her move books and curry favor. How could he possibly care about his brothers?"
Ji Li put down his pen and walked out of the classroom through the back door: "Is everything here?"
Lin Chengshuang was so excited that tears welled up in her eyes: "From now on, you're my real dad!"
Then I threw him a box.
When Ji Li lifted the lever, he glanced at the book and came across the picture of the red-clad female ghost on the top cover. He really couldn't understand the other person's interests.
The box he was given was full of comic books and novels, while Lin Chengshuang picked up another box containing textbooks and led the way up to the fourth floor.
Starting from the third floor, the humanities classrooms were transformed into science classrooms, and the walls of the corridors were covered with a row of large famous quotes and inspirational sayings.
Just as I glanced at the wall where I had stopped, something suddenly bumped into me from behind, its sharp corner hitting my back.
Ji Li steadied himself by holding onto the railing and turned his head.
Ying Yunsheng had stacked textbooks higher than his head. He stared at him for almost two seconds before he seemed to suddenly realize something and opened his mouth to say, "Sorry."
The other person was still wearing short sleeves, with empty cuffs and a turned-down collar, and a dark brown scab was faintly visible on the back of their neck.
Ji Li shook his head: "It's nothing."
For some reason, the gazes of those around him kept drifting towards him, and when he turned to look, he immediately looked away as if he were doing something wrong. He was a little puzzled when Lin Chengshuang called him from above.
Ji Li didn't ask any questions and picked up the box again.
Ying Yunsheng was the top science student in this class placement exam, and he turned into the corridor after only going up to the third floor.
Lin Chengshuang craned her neck to look in that direction.
Ji Li: "Are you still coming or not?"
Lin Chengshuang didn't even turn his head: "Did you see that?"
"What?"