Chapter 129 — Get in My Way and I'll Kick You

"I see you eating barbecue all the time, and I don't think it's all that great. Improve the recipe—it'll be more comfortable for you to eat too!" Wei Zhao clapped Kang Xiaofeng on the back of the head. "What are you thinking about?"

"Heh, nothing, nothing." Kang Xiaofeng shook his head. "Improving it for my own eating is fine too."

Wei Zhao smiled and shook his head, not taking the bait. To Kang Xiaofeng, it must have looked like he was pursuing Tang Zhi, but Wei Zhao did not bother to explain. He had already made bold proclamations over at Tang Zhi's side today; explaining further would be hard to justify.

During the lunch break, the senior year section of the teaching building was rather quiet, lacking the bustle and clamor of the first and second years.

Wei Zhao and Kang Xiaofeng stood by the window at the end of the corridor. The March sunlight was bright but not scorching; falling on their bodies, it felt warm without being harsh.

The trajectory of his life had begun to change from the moment the old man saddled him with that baffling, ridiculous mission. The original him had belonged to a world of tension and danger; now, it was plain and gentle.

"Boss, it's Bu Ruoming, together with Zhong Yongliang." Kang Xiaofeng pointed at the athletic field, beneath a basketball hoop.

Wei Zhao looked over and indeed saw Bu Ruoming and Zhong Yongliang talking about something. Both stood sideways, so Wei Zhao could not make out their lip movements. In fact, he did not have any extraordinary gift like telescopic X-ray vision; even from the front at this distance, he would not have been able to tell what they were saying.

"What does Bu Ruoming's family do?" Because of Tang Zhi, Wei Zhao knew he would inevitably clash with Bu Ruoming again. Friday had merely been the beginning.

"Bu Ruoming—his father is a real estate developer, started out as a labor contractor. I hear he's ruthless, always withholding workers' wages," Kang Xiaofeng said. "But Bu Ruoming's older brother, Bu Ruoguang, is a local thug boss in the North District. Whenever the workers make trouble, Bu Ruoguang brings his men over to beat them. Once they're scared enough, the workers don't dare come back..."

"Oh? You seem to know quite a lot of detail?" Wei Zhao found it a little strange. Bu Ruoming was not even in their class, yet Kang Xiaofeng was so well informed.

"Bu Ruoming is always bragging about that stuff—it's also why he gets along so well at school," Kang Xiaofeng explained. "Most people at school know about his glorious history!"

"Aren't they afraid someone will go after his family?" Wei Zhao twisted his mouth. Small-time thugs, huh? One of these days he would have Yang Huaijun sort out the older brother, and that would settle him.

As they spoke, they saw Bu Ruoming and Zhong Yongliang part ways. Bu Ruoming headed toward the school gate, while Zhong Yongliang walked back toward the teaching building.

In truth, Bu Ruoming had only sought out Zhong Yongliang to confirm Wei Zhao's background once more. He had taken a heavy loss on Friday, and naturally he could not just let it go. If he did not reclaim his face, he would have no place left in this school.

He needed to find his older brother Bu Ruoguang and discuss how best to handle this.

Wei Zhao and Kang Xiaofeng returned to the classroom. Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu were watching videos as usual, and Zhong Yongliang had dragged a chair into the aisle beside Gu Mengyao, sitting there giggling along foolishly—though whether his IQ was high enough to understand the cartoon plot in the video was anyone's guess.

Seeing Wei Zhao come in, Shen Yushu tapped her finger to point at Zhong Yongliang.

Wei Zhao noticed that he and Shen Yushu were developing more and more of an unspoken rapport. If she had not been Gu Mengyao's best friend, he would not have minded a little flirtation with her, to fulfill his dream of not making this trip in vain.

Shen Yushu found Zhong Yongliang utterly annoying and could not shoo him away. Now that Wei Zhao had walked in, she naturally meant to borrow his hand to drive Zhong Yongliang off.

Wei Zhao gave a faint smile, nodded, and strode quickly toward Zhong Yongliang. Zhong Yongliang seemed to sense that Wei Zhao came with ill intent, but sitting there, he could not think of any reason Wei Zhao would have to move against him; besides, Zhong Yongliang told himself he had not offended Wei Zhao in the past few days.

What did Wei Zhao care what Zhong Yongliang thought? He walked over and kicked the leg of the chair Zhong Yongliang sat on, flipping it over outright and sending Zhong Yongliang sprawling onto his back.

"Don't sit here blocking the way!" Wei Zhao did not even glance at Zhong Yongliang; he simply stepped over him.

Silence!

A deathly silence!

Although the classroom had always been quiet during the midday break, with only the occasional whisper here and there, at this moment every head shot up, and everyone stared in astonishment at the scene unfolding before them.

Before Wei Zhao transferred in, Zhong Yongliang had been the bully of the class, but Wei Zhao's arrival had changed all that. The incident during the school's group exercises had already filled everyone with awe and respect for Wei Zhao, and today's affair made these people feel all the more keenly just how arrogant and domineering he could be.

Over a reason that was no reason at all, merely blocking his way, he had sent Zhong Yongliang sprawling flat on his back with a single kick. Who in the class, indeed who in the whole school, would dare to do such a thing?

Even Bu Ruoming, one of the other four notorious troublemakers, would not dare to be so brazen.

"Wei Zhao..." A flicker of venomous resentment crossed Zhong Yongliang's eyes. He was unwilling to accept it; he wanted to leap up and fight Wei Zhao for all he was worth. But he did not dare. Zhong Yongliang clenched his fists tightly, his heart filled with humiliation and helplessness.

Wei Zhao, you just wait. Bu Ruoming will deal with you. Enjoy your few days of swagger while you can. Zhong Yongliang silently picked himself up off the floor, set his chair back in its place, and sat down again.

Gu Mengyao stared in astonishment at Wei Zhao's retreating figure. This guy really was a born thug; that kick had been fierce, but it had style. A man like that, she thought, did give a girl a fair sense of security.

"Yao Yao, haven't you noticed? Wrigley's Gum really is handsome." Shen Yushu gave a thumbs-up, a little starry-eyed with admiration.

"Xiao Shu, are you smitten with him?" Seeing the infatuated look on Shen Yushu's face, Gu Mengyao felt a faint discomfort in her heart.

"Hehe, maybe just a little. But don't worry, Yao Yao, I won't compete with you for him." Shen Yushu said with a giggle, "Your choice is my choice, after all..." "You!" This time Gu Mengyao really did not know whether to laugh or cry, and rapped Shen Yushu on the head with her knuckles. She could not figure out what Shen Yushu was thinking, why she was still so caught up in the old business. Was it because of Wei Zhao, or because of herself?

Gu Mengyao could not say. The feeling was very strange.

"Was it you who just gave Wei Zhao that signal, telling him to do that?" Gu Mengyao asked in a low voice.

"Ah? You saw that?" Shen Yushu was taken aback. "I did it for your sake... otherwise he'd just be sitting there smirking, and it was so annoying."

"You're hopeless, I give up. But Xiao Shu, you really ought to mind the consequences. If Wei Zhao keeps carrying on like this, he'll probably get expelled in a few days. Do you think he has deep connections like everyone else?" Gu Mengyao smiled bitterly.

"Wasn't he sent here by Uncle Qing? That ought to count as having connections, wouldn't it?" Shen Yushu had seen through to the essence of the matter. "Besides, it was Uncle Chu who arranged it, so I doubt there'll be any problem."