Chapter 31 — A Profound Lesson

"Sister Yaoyao, Wei Zhao really is pretty tough," Shen Yushu said to Gu Mengyao beside her.

"What does his being tough or not have to do with me?" Gu Mengyao was shaken too. If yesterday's kick that sent Zhong Yongliang sprawling had been a sneak attack, and what happened in the restroom today had been a cheap, shameless trick, then this was undoubtedly genuine skill.

Gu Mengyao knew exactly what kind of person Kang Xiaofeng was. She had never spoken to him, but that sort of boy was the timid type who ran far away from any fight. So the only one fighting alone here was Wei Zhao.

She looked at Gao Xiaofu and Zhang Naipao on the ground. Both were clutching a single spot on their bodies and groaning, which meant Wei Zhao had probably taken them down with just one move each.

"He's qualified to be your shield now. After what happened today, Wei Zhao's name is going to ring loud through this school. When that happens, which of those flies buzzing around you will dare come near?" Shen Yushu said with a giggle.

Gu Mengyao gave a "hmph" and said nothing.

After putting Gao Xiaofu and Zhang Naipao down, Wei Zhao patted Kang Xiaofeng on the shoulder. "You okay? Heh."

"I'm fine." Kang Xiaofeng shook himself out of his shock. He had not expected Wei Zhao to be so fierce, dropping Zhong Yongliang's two top henchmen in a couple of moves. A true master really did keep his talents hidden. "Brother, you're a real badass."

"Zhong Yongliang, I didn't want it to come to this, but you forced my hand. No other way." Wei Zhao walked toward Zhong Yongliang with an air of innocence.

Zhong Yongliang was not one to be scared off so easily. Wei Zhao might be formidable, but he had been watching, and it was all clever trickery: he had kicked Gao Xiaofu when he wasn't paying attention and snatched the chair leg from his hand, then caught Zhang Naipao off guard and swung the chair leg at him.

So Zhong Yongliang did not believe Wei Zhao was all that impressive; he figured the man had mostly gotten lucky. He reached out, and a dagger settled into his hand, which made him feel a little more secure.

"Wei Zhao, spare me the useless talk. If I don't kill you today, I won't be able to show my face in this school again." With that, Zhong Yongliang flashed the gleaming dagger and lunged at Wei Zhao.

Wei Zhao had not expected Zhong Yongliang to resort to such an extreme measure. The boy acted without any thought for the consequences. If a murder happened at school, no matter how much pull his family had, they would be in for a world of trouble.

Wei Zhao decided to teach him a profound lesson. Otherwise, if the one standing here today had been someone else, that person would very likely have been stabbed. As Zhong Yongliang's dagger thrust toward him, Wei Zhao seized his wrist in one grip.

By now Zhong Yongliang was nearly insane. Even with his wrist caught by Wei Zhao, he kept twisting his body, trying to use the momentum to drive the dagger into Wei Zhao's flesh, while shouting like a madman, "Wei Zhao, I'll damn well kill you!"

The instant Zhong Yongliang charged, Shen Yushu could not help covering her mouth. She knew what Zhong Yongliang was capable of, and she did not know whether Wei Zhao could dodge such a strike. She wanted to call out and stop Zhong Yongliang, but it was already too late.

Still, when Wei Zhao caught Zhong Yongliang's wrist, Shen Yushu breathed a sigh of relief, and Gu Mengyao, standing off to the side, seemed to let out a faint breath as well.

Wei Zhao tightened his grip. Zhong Yongliang suddenly felt as if his wrist were clamped in iron pincers, tighter and tighter, until the pain set his whole arm trembling and his hand instinctively sprang open. The dagger clattered to the rooftop.

Wei Zhao grabbed a fistful of the incredulous Zhong Yongliang's hair, dragged him roughly to the edge of the rooftop, and shoved hard, pushing half of his body out over the side.

"Aaaah—" Zhong Yongliang screamed. He felt his body pitch abruptly downward, and a layer of cold sweat broke out on his forehead at once. For the first time, the fear of death enveloped Zhong Yongliang. He did not want to die.

Only when half his body hung outside the rooftop did Zhong Yongliang breathe again. His lower body had not been thrown over the edge with it, but even so, he felt soaked through with cold sweat.

Wei Zhao, still gripping Zhong Yongliang's legs, pushed him a little farther out. Zhong Yongliang's whole body convulsed. He could no longer care about his dignity and howled, his voice thick with tears, "Wei Zhao, I was wrong, let me go, don't throw me down, I was wrong, I really was wrong—"

Wei Zhao said nothing and pushed Zhong Yongliang's legs forward again.

"Brother Lin, Brother Wei Zhao, I'm begging you, let me go, I won't dare again, I'll never dare provoke you again—" Zhong Yongliang was so terrified his voice came out wrong, and he shook uncontrollably all over.

"Yesterday I kicked you. I admit I was in the wrong," Wei Zhao said faintly.

"Brother Lin, you were right to kick me. It was my fault. From now on, kick me whenever you feel like it..." Zhong Yongliang had been scared out of his wits.

"I said it was my fault, so it was my fault. I'm not the sort who likes to throw his weight around." Wei Zhao's voice turned cold, and the hand gripping Zhong Yongliang's right leg suddenly let go...

"Ah—" Zhong Yongliang had not expected Wei Zhao to actually let go. He screamed at once, convinced his life had reached its end. But after screaming for quite a while, he realized he was still dangling in midair and had not fallen at all...

Zhong Yongliang felt a warm surge between his legs. He had wet his pants.

"Good, good. Yesterday was your fault, but I forgive you. It's all right, it's all right..." This time Zhong Yongliang did not dare say anything reckless and only dared to speak along the lines Wei Zhao wanted.

"I hope you remember what you said today." Wei Zhao gave a sudden yank, hauling Zhong Yongliang back from the rooftop and dumping him on the ground.

Zhong Yongliang felt as though he had just made a trip through the gates of hell. He was soaked all over, as if he had just been caught in the rain.

If Wei Zhao had wanted to kill Zhong Yongliang, it would have been simplicity itself, but he knew very well that this was a school, not the war-torn wilderness of North Africa. He could not kill Zhong Yongliang—at least not here in the school, in full view of everyone.

"Let's go." Wei Zhao smiled at Kang Xiaofeng.

"Holy crap, Wei Zhao, you're way too fierce, aren't you? You actually made Zhong Yongliang submit!" Kang Xiaofeng had never imagined Wei Zhao could be so ruthless, and his admiration for him poured forth like the rolling waters of the Yangtze flowing east: "I, Kang Xiaofeng, have made up my mind—from now on I'm sticking with you. You're my boss from here on out."

"Don't be so hot-headed in the future. Fighting is never a good thing. Courage is fine, but don't go charging in blindly." Wei Zhao laughed.

"I got it." Kang Xiaofeng looked a little embarrassed. "Boss, there's a girl over there looking at you..."