Chapter 32 — Two Fading Figures

Wei Zhao did not for a moment believe that Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu had some secret crush on him. He could guess well enough why the two of them had come: that little minx Shen Yushu loved a good spectacle and had dragged Gu Mengyao along.

"Just here for the show," Wei Zhao said indifferently.

"Why do I feel like that was Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu from our class?" Kang Xiaofeng was rather excited. "Boss, don't tell me you've won the favor of two beauties?"

"You think too much." Wei Zhao gave the back of Kang Xiaofeng's head a helpless smack. "If I'd known you were this much of a talker, I'd have let Zhang Naipao's blow land on your skull and knock some sense into you."

"Heh heh..." Kang Xiaofeng laughed heartily. Three years of high school, three years of eating dirt, and who would have thought that on the eve of graduation he'd finally get a moment to strut. Looking at the three former schoolyard tyrants sprawled on the ground behind him, Kang Xiaofeng felt an indescribable rush of satisfaction.

"Brother Liang, you all right?" Gao Xiaofu's injuries were lighter, and his belly no longer hurt so much. Once Wei Zhao had gone, he hurried over to Zhong Yongliang's side and helped him up from the ground.

"I'm fine," Zhong Yongliang said, his face dead white. From the look of him, the words rang a little hollow.

"Brother Liang, what do we do about this? Just swallow it?" Gao Xiaofu asked, deeply aggrieved.

"Damn that bastard, we really took a beating today," Zhong Yongliang cursed viciously. "Who'd have thought the kid had some moves? I nearly fell for his tricks."

"It's all my fault for letting my guard down." Seeing the ugly look on Zhong Yongliang's face, Gao Xiaofu hurried to admit fault first, lest the man vent his anger on him.

"That's not on you." Zhong Yongliang waved a hand. He himself had been thoroughly manhandled by Wei Zhao; there was no blaming anyone else. They simply were no match for the man. "With just the three of us, we don't seem to be his match anymore. If we want to teach him a lesson, we'll have to bring in outside help."

"How about we talk to Zou Ruoming and get him to step in?" Gao Xiaofu suggested.

"Not him. If he finds out about this, we'll have lost face so badly we won't be able to show our heads in school again," Zhong Yongliang said with a wave of his hand. "I'll go find some people on my dad's side."

……………………

Wei Zhao and Kang Xiaofeng made it back to the classroom safely, and many classmates who had been worried for them breathed a sigh of relief. Most of them thoroughly disliked the arrogance and bullying of Zhong Yongliang and his lot, though a少数 few took a spiteful delight in the spectacle and were faintly disappointed to see Wei Zhao and Kang Xiaofeng come back unscathed.

But what puzzled everyone was that Zhong Yongliang, Gao Xiaofu, and Zhang Naipao did not return to the classroom. Even when the big lecture began, the three were nowhere to be seen—which could only mean something.

Zhong Yongliang did not want Zou Ruoming to learn of this, yet he ran into him anyway on the athletic field.

Gao Xiaofu, supporting Zhang Naipao, trailed behind Zhong Yongliang. The three of them staggered along crookedly like deserters from a routed army.

"Zhong Yongliang, what happened to you three?" Zou Ruoming was playing basketball on the field and spotted the three figures approaching from a distance, vaguely familiar. A closer look and it turned out to be Zhong Yongliang and the others.

Zhong Yongliang cursed his luck under his breath. When you're down on your luck, even cold water gets stuck between your teeth. How had Zou Ruoming just happened to see them? As one of the four great young hoodlums of the school, Zhong Yongliang cared deeply about his face. Now that another hoodlum had seen him in such a sorry state, if word got out, his reputation as one of the four would be finished.

"It's nothing..." Zhong Yongliang did not want to say much. He waved a hand and quickened his pace.

"Hey, Liangzi, did someone beat you up? Who did it? Tell me and I'll fix him for you." Seeing the sorry state of the three, Zou Ruoming could hardly fail to guess they had lost a fight. He spoke with great bluster.

Zhong Yongliang knew Zou Ruoming's skill well enough. He was the best fighter among the school's four great hoodlums, and he had dealings with people from the underworld too—a genuine knife-and-gun tough.

But what had happened today was simply too humiliating, and Zhong Yongliang did not want too many people to know. So he waved his hand. "It's nothing. The few of us were sparring among ourselves and got a little carried away..."

Since Zhong Yongliang insisted on saying nothing, Zou Ruoming could hardly press further. Watching the backs of the three as they walked away, Zou Ruoming shook his head. "Ah, your own people fighting your own people? And beating each other half to death? Why don't I believe it?"

"Boss, where do you live? Let's walk home together after school." Kang Xiaofeng was still riding the high of the moment, filled with heartfelt admiration for this newly appointed boss of his.

Wei Zhao's heart lurched. The business of walking home with Gu Mengyao tonight absolutely could not be allowed to leak out. He himself did not much care, but Gu Mengyao would certainly object.

With that thought, Wei Zhao said, "My home's really far. You go on ahead. I'll leave a bit later."

"Then I'll wait for you. At least we can walk out to the school gate together." Kang Xiaofeng was reluctant to part, wanting to talk with Wei Zhao a while longer. He had never imagined there would come a day when Zhong Yongliang was beaten so badly he could not even get up.

"All right then..." Wei Zhao knew that if he kept making excuses, it would rouse Kang Xiaofeng's suspicions. Walking together to the school gate was harmless enough; once they got there, he would simply wait until Kang Xiaofeng was far off before climbing into Uncle Qing's car.

Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu had long since gathered their things and left the classroom. Wei Zhao had deliberately staggered his timing from theirs, dawdling a while before he slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked out of the classroom with Kang Xiaofeng.

"Boss, let me tell you a secret..." As they stepped out of the classroom, Kang Xiaofeng suddenly lowered his voice and spoke in a whisper.

"What secret?" Wei Zhao looked at Kang Xiaofeng, puzzled. What was with this kid, acting all mysterious?

"I live really close to Tang Zhi, the The Blossom Guardian of the common folk..." Kang Xiaofeng gave a lewd grin, then said, "Actually, I often see her riding her bicycle home."

"Damn." Wei Zhao smacked the back of Kang Xiaofeng's head. "What's going on in that head of yours, kid? How is that even a secret? So you live near her. What does that have to do with me?"

"You really aren't interested in her?" Kang Xiaofeng asked, somewhat unconvinced.

"It's not that I'm not interested. It's that I've never even seen what she looks like. Asking me to be interested in someone who doesn't exist to me, that's impossible." Wei Zhao said with some amusement. "All right, hurry on back. I need to get going too."

"Okay, Boss. See you tomorrow then." Kang Xiaofeng waved at Wei Zhao and vanished into the after-school throng...