Chapter 56 — He Was Defending Himself!

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"Awoo—" Brother Black Panther's eyeballs bulged outward on the spot... Kang Xiaofeng did not seem to think that was punishment enough, and kicked him again. This time, Brother Black Panther passed straight out cold.

Wei Zhao shook his head at Kang Xiaofeng. That was one of the more fragile parts of the human body; repeated blows to it could easily be fatal. And though Wei Zhao might look cruel, the places he had struck Brother Black Panther were not the vital ones.

Wei Zhao had no wish to see this brother he had only just made at school end up in prison for manslaughter, and that was why he had stopped him from going on: "That is enough. A few more and he will not survive it."

"Ah..." Only after hearing Wei Zhao's words did Kang Xiaofeng come back to his senses from the hot blood of the moment... He stared at Brother Black Panther, whom he had kicked unconscious, as though unable to believe it.

For as long as anyone could remember, Kang Xiaofeng's nature had leaned toward the timid. From primary school through high school, he had hardly ever been in a fight — and yet, deep in his heart, he had always longed to have one good, no-holds-barred brawl.

After all, for a man to have never thrown a punch in a fight — well, that was a regret, however you looked at it. But today, he had done it. The wild, feverish excitement of a moment ago had left him scarcely able to contain himself.

A shrill police siren rose. Several police cars, lights flashing and sirens wailing, drove in through the gates of First Senior High.

Qiu Lingshan was thoroughly out of sorts. Why was it that whenever Captain Yang was away from home, so many things happened in Songshan? First the great bank robbery, and now gang members running amok at a school with guns—

She had heard that this time it was gang members causing trouble with firearms, and Qiu Lingshan dared not be slow about it — this was a major criminal case. The moment she entered the school grounds, she ordered her fully armed men to hold their guns at the ready and charge swiftly toward the scene.

"Listen up, all of you ahead: you are surrounded. Put down your weapons at once and cooperate for lenient treatment." The officer calling out began his announcement at Qiu Lingshan's direction.

Wei Zhao frowned. What were the police doing here? Who had called them? He had not wanted to blow this up into something big. Deep down, he had no wish to see that Song girl again — after the awkward business of yesterday, anyone in his place would be too embarrassed to face her.

With a helpless air, Wei Zhao lifted his head and saw, sure enough, Qiu Lingshan staring anxiously in his direction. He sighed and smiled at her. Since there was no avoiding it, he might as well meet it with candor.

Seeing Wei Zhao here gave Qiu Lingshan a start as well. Her face flushed for no reason at all, and then her expression darkened at once. She had not expected the troublemaker to be Wei Zhao. She glanced at the man lying at his feet, dead or alive she could not tell, and at the frightened looks of the crowd beside him, and instinctively took Wei Zhao for the ringleader of the disturbance.

"Do not move! Hands up!" Qiu Lingshan drew her service pistol and leveled it at Wei Zhao.

That Qiu Lingshan should actually point a gun at him left Wei Zhao somewhat taken aback. Surely this girl was not hoping to use the occasion to get even with him? After a moment's hesitation, he raised his hands.

At this distance, Wei Zhao was entirely confident he could dodge Qiu Lingshan's shot — and confident he could subdue her, for that matter. But there was still a crowd of armed policemen standing nearby, was there not? If they mistook his move for an assault on the police, that would be no fun at all.

"Take them all in," Qiu Lingshan ordered her men, pointing at Wei Zhao and the others.

"Officer lady, Wei Zhao was defending himself — these are the ones who came looking for trouble!" Seeing that the police were actually going to take Wei Zhao away, Kang Xiaofeng grew frantic at once. He no longer quailed before those black muzzles and tried to run forward to explain.

Qiu Lingshan had not expected anyone to speak up for Wei Zhao in such circumstances. But at the word "defending himself," she could not help thinking of the scene from yesterday... Oh, the profundity of the Chinese language — two utterly different words, and yet the same sound.

And so her face went cold again: "What the true situation is, we will investigate. Take them away."

Wei Zhao smiled at Kang Xiaofeng in gratitude and said in a low voice, "This woman has a grudge against me and means to make trouble for me on purpose. It is nothing."

Kang Xiaofeng was stunned. He had never imagined that Wei Zhao and Qiu Lingshan might be at odds. He was just about to say something when Qiu Lingshan came over herself, her lovely eyes wide and round and carrying more than a trace of anger — clearly she had heard what Wei Zhao had just said.

What Qiu Lingshan detested most in ordinary times was the abuse of power for private ends and the use of public office for personal gain. So when she heard Wei Zhao say that she meant to use her position to make trouble for him, she nearly exploded with rage. If she had wanted to make trouble for him, would she have let him go yesterday?

At that thought, a surge of anger rushed up within her, and Qiu Lingshan was angry enough to lose her head. She seized Wei Zhao by the shoulder and said coldly, "What are you muttering about? Trying to get your stories straight? Whatever you have to say, you can say it at the station."

Wei Zhao curled his lip at Kang Xiaofeng, the meaning unmistakable: see? Just like I told you — this little chick came straight for me.

Qiu Lingshan really wanted to kick Wei Zhao, but in the end she held back. She had no intention of getting herself disciplined — or even losing her job — because of him.

Just then, Wang Zhifeng came hurrying over, drenched in sweat, accompanied by the school's principal, Ding Binggong.

At the time, Ding Binggong had been leisurely charting the school's bright future in his office. The board of directors had just allocated another generous construction budget, and he was planning to use the funds to upgrade the facilities and apply for the national model high school designation...

Ding Binggong was genuinely capable — otherwise he could never have risen to the principalship of such a public-private joint venture. The board valued competence above all else; everything else was secondary. If the school did not grow, you were out.

So the rapid development of No. 1 Middle School over the years owed much to Ding Binggong's efforts.

A piercing blast cut across the window, and Ding Binggong frowned involuntarily. How many times had he said it? Firecrackers were strictly forbidden on school grounds.

Ding Binggong sighed. The rich kids at school had always been a thorn in his side. If they simply did not study, that was one thing — but if they would just behave themselves and leave others alone, Ding Binggong would count himself lucky.

Yet during the Spring Festival recently, students had actually set off firecrackers on campus. Ding Binggong was furious and swore he would expel every one of these delinquents who flouted school rules.

Upon investigation, however, Ding Binggong could not help but feel deflated. The ringleader turned out to be Zhong Yongliang from Class Five, Third Year — and the one who had egged him on was Shen Yushu, a girl from the same class...

If Zhong Yongliang's background alone was not enough to shake Ding Binggong's resolve, then Shen Yushu... that young lady was someone Ding Binggong truly dared not touch...

Ding Binggong could not fathom it. She looked like such a pretty, clean-cut girl — how could she have instigated someone into doing such a thing? The more he investigated, the simpler the truth turned out to be: Shen Yushu had not harbored any malicious intent at all...