Chapter 29 — What Was Bound to Come, Came

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The last class of the afternoon was a self-study period. Zhong Yongliang rose from his seat and walked over to Wei Zhao, rapping twice on his desk with his knuckles.

"What is it?" Wei Zhao lifted his head and asked flatly, a flicker of impatience in his eyes.

Kang Xiaofeng turned around too, staring at Wei Zhao and Zhong Yongliang with some astonishment, unable to fathom how the two of them had come to harbor a grudge—after all, Zhong Yongliang was not a man Wei Zhao could afford to provoke.

"If you've got the guts, come with me," Zhong Yongliang said, brash and arrogant.

"Sorry, no time. I have self-study." Wei Zhao lowered his head and went on leafing through the math textbook in his hands.

"Scared already? Spineless coward," Zhong Yongliang sneered. "You can dodge the first day, but not the fifteenth. Just wait till school lets out."

With that, he turned and went back to his own seat without so much as a backward glance.

"Say, brother, how did you offend this big shot?" Kang Xiaofeng whispered to Wei Zhao. "He's not someone to cross. Is there some misunderstanding here?"

Wei Zhao smiled bitterly. Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding? I had no quarrel with him—so why the hell would I make an enemy of him? Isn't it all because of Gu Mengyao? If not for her, would I have gone and kicked Zhong Yongliang's backside yesterday? Of course, none of this could be said to Kang Xiaofeng.

"It's nothing. Earlier this morning, Zhang Naipao stuck out a leg to trip me, and I ended up stepping on his foot. That's probably what it's about," Wei Zhao said, pinning the matter on the morning.

"Ah!" Kang Xiaofeng was startled, and his brows knit at once. "Zhang Naipao is the type who never forgets a grudge. Looks like Zhong Yongliang has come to make trouble for you on his brother's behalf."

"No matter. Let them do as they please. What can they do to me in school?" Wei Zhao shrugged indifferently. In his eyes, however arrogant and domineering Zhong Yongliang might be, he was still just a student.

He thought back to those war-torn years of his, to braving death amid a hail of bullets—an enemy of Zhong Yongliang's caliber was simply too childish. Just like today's morning exercises, Wei Zhao had taught Zhong Yongliang a lesson by rather underhanded means rather than beating him soundly.

If Wei Zhao had truly wanted to hurt someone, Zhong Yongliang would be lying in the morgue by now.

"What do you mean?" Kang Xiaofeng sighed. Wei Zhao had only just transferred here, so it was only natural he didn't know a thing or two about the school. So he explained, "Zhong Yongliang and his crowd are the tyrants of this school. Plenty of students who crossed them got beaten up—some couldn't even come to school for days."

"That ruthless?" Wei Zhao hadn't expected Zhong Yongliang and his lot to beat people so badly they couldn't attend school. That was hitting rather too hard.

"Yeah. Ah, it's my fault for not warning you earlier," Kang Xiaofeng sighed. "If you'd said a few soft words back there, maybe this would have blown over. But now…"

"Now what?" Wei Zhao asked with keen interest.

"Now it's going to be a real mess," Kang Xiaofeng said with some indignation. "Zhang Naipao, that little bitch—looks just like a milk bubble, but he never lets a slight go unanswered, petty as they come. Over a thing like this—when he was clearly in the wrong first—he actually went and got Zhong Yongliang to take revenge. He's a real piece of work, that one."

"Forget it. Let them do whatever they want. Don't you worry—I'm not so easy to push around." Wei Zhao patted Kang Xiaofeng on the shoulder to set his mind at ease.

Kang Xiaofeng pursed his lips as if to say something, but in the end did not speak.

What was bound to come would come in the end. Before the final "big class" of the day, Zhong Yongliang came looking for Wei Zhao.

The so-called "big class," also called evening self-study, was something many schools had. After school let out at half past four, there was a half-hour break, and at five o'clock the "big class" formally began, lasting an hour and a half with no break in between.

"If you're a man, come with me." This time Zhong Yongliang's words were even more provocative than before—last time he had merely said "if you've got the guts," but now he had resorted to "if you're a man."

Wei Zhao was a man, of course, but neither would he lose his temper over Zhong Yongliang's bullying tone. Still, he understood that today's business would have to be settled one way or another, sooner or later. It was plain to see that Zhong Yongliang was the sort of man who never let go; as he himself had said, you can dodge the first of the month, but never the fifteenth. Wei Zhao had no need to hide from him, yet it was proof enough that Zhong Yongliang was a man who would not stop until he got what he wanted.

"All right, I'll go with you." Wei Zhao nodded and rose to his feet.

At that moment many in the class had not yet left the room. They had taken notice the first time Zhong Yongliang came looking for Wei Zhao, so when he appeared before Wei Zhao a second time, he naturally became the focus of the entire class.

But the instant Wei Zhao agreed to go with him, the whole class erupted. Many sighed inwardly that Wei Zhao, on his very first day, did not know the rules and had somehow incurred the wrath of the school tyrant Zhong Yongliang; still, what most of them felt was sympathy.

"I'm coming with you." Kang Xiaofeng spoke as though he had made some great decision, shooting abruptly to his feet with the stirring valor of a soldier marching to his execution.

Kang Xiaofeng's heart had been wrestling with itself all along. Today was only his first day of knowing Wei Zhao, yet he felt the two of them got along remarkably well. In the dull and dreary life of senior year, how rare it was to find a friend you could actually talk to.

Zhong Yongliang was formidable in the school, and Kang Xiaofeng had no way to stand against him. All he could do was stay at Wei Zhao's side and see whether he might lessen the clash between them.

"Damn, Kang Xiaofeng, you tired of living? Speaking up for him?" The sight of a classmate of his own standing up for a newly transferred outsider sent a surge of fury through Zhong Yongliang. This was provocation - a challenge to his authority within the class.

Under Zhong Yongliang's intimidating gaze, Kang Xiaofeng quailed a little, yet he did not shrink back. Instead he lifted his chin. "Zhong Yongliang, Wei Zhao just transferred here and doesn't know the rules of the class. Don't hold it against him..."

"The hell, now you're lecturing me? Who do you think you are?" Zhong Yongliang flew into a rage outright. Doesn't know the rules, my foot - the man had drenched him in urine; how could he let it go so easily? Kang Xiaofeng's offhand tone inflamed him all the more. "Since you're so eager to stick your neck out, you come along too. Damn it, if I don't beat the life out of you both today, I'm no Zhong Yongliang."

Kang Xiaofeng's expression stiffened, and his body gave a slight tremor. All his life he had been the well-behaved sort of student. Though some combative, masculine instinct lurked in his bones, in truth he had never once thrown a punch in a fight.

Wei Zhao did not truly need Kang Xiaofeng's help, but the young man's wholehearted loyalty moved him deeply. He clapped him on the shoulder. "It'll be fine. We'll go together."

Kang Xiaofeng took heart at Wei Zhao's words, thinking to himself that the worst that could happen was they both took a beating. So he squared his chest and followed Wei Zhao toward the classroom door.

The sight of Kang Xiaofeng only fed Zhong Yongliang's anger, and he seethed with frustration. A classmate of his own, actually helping an outsider - he would teach this ingrate a lesson he would not forget.