Chapter 85 — Take Him Out and You'll Be Number Two

Tang Zhi's mother naturally knew of Zou Ruoming, knew that he was one of the school's bullies. But he had never once patronized her stall before, and she had no idea what had gotten into him today, bringing so many of his followers here to eat.

Tang Zhi's mother still felt a measure of fear toward Zou Ruoming. Once, a seafood stir-fry vendor on the snack street had upset Zou Ruoming's stomach with his cooking, and the very next day Zou Ruoming had shown up with a gang of thugs and smashed the man's stall to pieces. That was not all -- the vendor himself had been beaten black and blue and had not come out to set up his stall for days afterward.

The other vendors on the snack street were, naturally, as silent as winter cicadas in the face of Zou Ruoming's tyranny. They scrambled to find out who this person was, and only then did they learn that he was one of the school's Four Great Villains. From that day on, whenever Zou Ruoming graced anyone's stall, that vendor would be as careful as could possibly be, terrified that the slightest thing might go wrong. When settling the bill, they always gave him the deepest discounts, afraid that Zou Ruoming might take offense.

There was more than one barbecue stall on the snack street. Zou Ruoming and his crew had always eaten at a barbecue stall near the front of the street, and Tang Zhi's mother had privately counted herself lucky for it. After all, a small business like hers did not earn much to begin with -- if trouble came knocking, she would not have enough to compensate them.

"Gentlemen, please enjoy your meal... oh!" Tang Zhi's mother carefully set a plate of freshly grilled chicken wings down on Zou Ruoming's table. But the more careful she tried to be, the more things went wrong. As she set the wings down, her hand trembled slightly, and a streak of seasoning flew off the chicken and landed on the leg of a broad-faced fat kid sitting beside Zou Ruoming, leaving an immediate oil stain.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" Tang Zhi's mother was thrown into a panic. She was genuinely terrified of these young masters, afraid that the slightest displeasure would have them up on their feet smashing her stall. "Perhaps... I could wipe that off for you... or I could wash them for you, if you prefer..."

Since being laid off, Tang Zhi's mother had kept the family alive solely on this barbecue stall. Her husband's leg had been injured and he had been bedridden ever since, yet the factory's work-injury compensation had never materialized. She had gone to claim it several times, only to be driven away by the factory management with brutal indifference.

Tang Zhi's mother was the archetypal housewife from the very bottom rung of society -- humble and meek, yet forced to hold up an entire household with her own two hands, earning money to put her daughter through school and pay for her husband's medical treatment.

"Ha, no worries at all!" The broad-faced fat kid showed not a trace of anger. He casually brushed the seasoning off his pants and said with breezy nonchalance, "How could I possibly trouble you, Auntie, to wash my pants? Brother Ming would kill me! Besides, you're going to be an elder soon!"

"You brat." Zou Ruoming flicked the fat kid on the forehead. "Starting to kiss up already?"

"Hehehe..." The fat kid chuckled. The other students who had come with Zou Ruoming burst into unrestrained, brazen laughter.

Tang Zhi's mother stared at the fat kid in helpless confusion, not understanding what he had meant, nor why everyone was laughing. The one thing she did manage to grasp was that it seemed this broad-faced fat kid had no intention of holding her responsible.

Tang Zhi's mother immediately breathed a sigh of relief and ventured carefully, "Then... let me treat you to this meal?"

"How could we accept that? Do you think our Brother Ming is the kind of man who eats without paying?" The fat kid waved a dismissive hand. "Even if he eats other people's food without paying, he certainly wouldn't do that with yours, Auntie. Besides, we'll all be family soon -- money is the last thing that should be an issue."

Hearing the fat kid's words, Zou Ruoming looked distinctly pleased, a smile playing at the corner of his lips. The broad-faced fat kid certainly knew how to read a room -- it seemed Zou Ruoming's usual kindness toward him had not gone to waste.

Tang Zhi's mother was all the more bewildered. She had no idea what this fat kid was going on about -- what did he mean by family and money? What exactly was he talking about?

Just at that moment, Tang Zhi approached from a distance. The fat kid abandoned all pretense of flattering Tang Zhi's mother, sprang to his feet, and began to whistle and wave his arms about, his rotund body swaying with every motion. Zou Ruoming's other followers quickly joined in, whistling and making eyes at Tang Zhi.

"The sister-in-law is here! The sister-in-law is here!" the fat kid bellowed.

Tang Zhi spotted Zou Ruoming and his followers, and the fat kid's nonsense rang in her ears. Her face drained of color. She had never expected Zou Ruoming to track her all the way here, to say such filthy things right in front of her mother.

Zou Ruoming had previously written Tang Zhi a love letter, and she had rejected him without a shred of mercy. But Zou Ruoming seemed not to care in the slightest, pestering her with that shameless grin of his. Tang Zhi did not manage to escape back to the classroom until the class bell rang.

There had been no sign of him for the past two days, and Tang Zhi had thought Zou Ruoming had finally given up after being rejected. She never imagined he would go this far. If her mother thought she was having a romantic relationship at school, how heartbroken would she be?

Tang Zhi stopped in her tracks, not daring to go forward. Zou Ruoming's burning gaze made her lower her head in fear, a blush spreading across her cheeks as shame and anger warred within her.

"Boss, Zou Ruoming's gang is up ahead." Kang Xiaofeng and Wei Zhao were following behind Tang Zhi and had just witnessed Zou Ruoming and his lackeys harassing her. Kang Xiaofeng bristled with anger. "That scum is bullying Tang Zhi."

"Oh? So his name is Zou Ruoming?" Wei Zhao blinked in surprise, recognizing that the man leading the group ahead was actually the very same brute he had pelted with a basketball a few days ago until blood streamed down his face.

"You know him?" Kang Xiaofeng was taken aback by Wei Zhao's response. "He's the number two of the school's Four Great Villains. He's the one I was telling you about. If you take him down, you'll be number two."

"..." Wei Zhao shook his head and let out a bitter smile. It seemed he had already taken this guy down just a few days ago.

"I heard Zou Ruoming was turned down by Tang Zhi when he went after her. I never expected him to sink to such a despicable trick - manufacturing a fait accompli right in front of Tang Zhi's mother." Kang Xiaofeng caught what the broad-faced fat guy was shouting and clenched his fists in agitation.

Wei Zhao didn't think much of it. Zou Ruoming might be detestable, but he had never crossed Wei Zhao and there was no conflict of interest between them, so Wei Zhao couldn't be bothered with his filthy business.

"Sister-in-law, come sit down! Brother Ming's already ordered everything - we're just waiting for you." The broad-faced fat guy winked and made eyes at Tang Zhi, practically squeezing his own eyeballs out of their sockets.