Chapter 2546 — Ying Ziyu's Suitor

"Then you really are out of luck." You Panhu bore him no schadenfreude—only a wave of sympathy. After all, these two were both people he could not afford to cross; if he ran into them, he would be just as unlucky.

"Yeah. Could you give my family a call? Have Old Mian come pick me up—I can't get back on my own, my hands and feet are useless…" Zhao Qibing smiled bitterly. "Do me this favor, and I won't hold it against you that you phoned me over here to get beaten up. We'll call our feud settled."

"Deal!" You Panhu agreed readily. He had no wish to make an enemy of Zhao Qibing either. He had only lured Zhao Qibing here to be beaten because Zhong Yongliang had forced him into it, with no way out. But now that there was a chance to smooth things over, he was hardly fool enough to pass it up.

So You Panhu did exactly as Zhao Qibing instructed and made the call, then asked, "So—want me to help you now?"

"No need. I'll just wait here a while myself…" Zhao Qibing shook his head. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." You Panhu was only being polite. He had Yellow Hair drive the car into the school.

A short while later, Old Mian came rushing over and carried Zhao Qibing back. Once he had gotten to the bottom of what had happened, Old Mian was helplessly exasperated. He gave Zhao Qibing a Small Restoration Pill—the hidden Zhao family still had plenty of such second-grade pills, all of them from the cultivators' market of earlier days.

Once he was back to normal, Zhao Qibing gloomily sought out the old master of the Zhao family.

"Qibing, what were you thinking? Didn't you say you could break your own legs? Why did you go running off to Wei Zhao again?" The old master's expression was rather sour. Zhao Qibing might be none the worse for wear, but what had been lost was the face of the hidden Zhao family!

"Grandfather, I had no choice either. I tried a few times yesterday and couldn't go through with it. Beating yourself—how much courage does that take?" Zhao Qibing smiled bitterly, helpless. "Before, it was always Wei Zhao who broke my legs for me—clean and quick. So I thought I'd go find him. Who knew the man wouldn't play by the rules and broke both my arms instead?"

"That Wei Zhao boy never plays by the rules—don't you know that by now?" The old master himself did not dare contend with Wei Zhao, so since Zhao Qibing had come off the worse, he could only accept it. "Forget it. So what do you plan to do?"

"I… Grandfather, could you help me?" Zhao Qibing asked after a moment's hesitation.

"Me?" The old master glanced at Zhao Qibing's legs and his face twitched. His strength might have reached the level of a Heaven-rank expert, but to break his own grandson's legs with his own hands—that he still could not bring himself to do. It was for this same reason that he had been unable to do away with Zhao Qilei himself, and had to go to such trouble to borrow the hand of the Xuandan Sect, arranging for an accident to befall him during the sect's trial.

They were all his grandsons, after all, and he simply could not bring himself to do it. This time, though, it would be helping Zhao Qibing in his cultivation, not harming him. So the old master thought it over and said, "Let me consider it. I need to adjust my frame of mind."

"Very well." Zhao Qibing nodded. "Then I'll take my leave. Rest well, Grandfather."

……………………

Today, a transfer student arrived at Songshan City No. 1 High School.

At a fancy school like Songshan City No. 1 High School, a transfer student was nothing unusual. But this transfer student was different. When he arrived at the school, the pomp was enormous: four black Mercedes led the way, a Rolls-Royce drove in the middle, and behind the Rolls-Royce four Audi Q7s brought up the rear—rather like the procession of a tycoon's wedding.

A young man in sunglasses, dressed with cool flair, stepped down from the Rolls-Royce in the middle. This was Chen Xiaoba, only son of Brother Ba, the underworld boss of the neighboring city.

"Ying Ziyu, I've finally found where you are!" As Chen Xiaoba got out of the car, he looked at the plaque over the school gate, a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

Chen Xiaoba counted as one of Ying Ziyu's suitors. The story began a few days earlier.

At the time, Chen Xiaoba and a few friends had come to Songshan City for a visit. While eating at a restaurant, they saw Ying Ziyu teaching a lecher who had designs on Chen Xi a lesson. Her heroic, dashing air captivated Chen Xiaoba on the spot.

He was a man of the underworld himself, and he found himself thoroughly interested in a pretty girl like Ying Ziyu—fierce and commanding, yet plainly a world apart from the cheap little street girls. So he went straight up to strike up a conversation. Unfortunately, Ying Ziyu paid him no attention at all; she simply paid the bill and left with Chen Xi.

Chen Xiaoba might be a second-generation gangster, but he was no fool. Here on Songshan City's turf, knowing nothing of Ying Ziyu's background, he dared not rashly do anything out of place. He only snapped a photo of her with his phone, planning to look into her background afterward.

With Chen Xiaoba's background and resources, investigating a person was far too easy. Very quickly, Ying Ziyu's file was laid before him.

Ying Ziyu, female, sixteen, a graduate of Songshan City Fushan Middle School. Formerly the big sister of one of Fushan Middle School's three great factions. Never had a boyfriend. Currently enrolled at Songshan City No. 1 High School, turning over a new leaf and studying hard. At school, she was under the protection of Zou Ruoming, one of No. 1 High School's four great hellions.

The words "never had a boyfriend" made Chen Xiaoba's eyes light up. Excellent—how could he let a top-tier girl like this slip through his fingers? Reading on, he came to Zou Ruoming's file.

Zou Ruoming, male, twenty, one of Songshan City No. 1 High School's four great hellions, a repeat student. His father, Zou Tiandi, was a famous entertainment tycoon of Songshan City, with business interests half legal and half shady. His elder brother, Zou Ruoguang, was the gang boss of the North District.

"Hah…" At the sight of Zou Ruoming's file, Chen Xiaoba gave a scornful sneer. A family like Zou Ruoming's was, in Chen Xiaoba's eyes, nothing but small-time thugs—too low-class to be worth noticing. He had no idea what relationship Zou Ruoming had with Ying Ziyu, or why the man would protect her at school, but Chen Xiaoba was not the least bit worried. He was confident that if he set out to court Ying Ziyu, Zou Ruoming would not dare interfere.

In fact, his guess was correct. Once Zou Ruoming learned who Chen Xiaoba was, he did not dare casually warn him off—because this was a man whose identity he could neither shield her from nor afford to provoke.

On his very first day at Songshan City No. 1 High School, Chen Xiaoba launched a romantic offensive against Ying Ziyu, pestering her relentlessly. She had originally sought out Zou Ruoming, hoping he would help settle the matter, but Zou Ruoming told her the truth: "Miss Ziyu, I really can't shield you from this one. Who could have known he came here specifically for you…"