“Damn it, this is too outrageous! Where the hell is Zhao Feng? Why hasn’t he left the school yet?”
Huang Dabiao stood in the pouring rain, drenched like a drowned rat. Water dripped from his shiny bald head onto the ground as his frustration reached a boiling point.
“Speak up, you damn monkey! Brother Dabiao is asking you a question!” Li You chid in, his tone sharp.
“I saw Zhao Feng go to evening self-study. He didn’t leave the school after class. Maybe he’s staying in the dorms?” Hou San replied, his voice uncertain.
“Why didn’t you say that earlier? You made us wait the whole night for nothing. You’re buying supper!” Huang Dabiao growled, livid.
“I don’t have any money,” Hou San muttered. “I spent my last bit of cash this morning on a pack of Hongtashan cigarettes, but Zhao Feng snatched them during morning self-study.”
“Again with the bad luck!” Huang Dabiao sighed heavily. “Fine, let’s call it a night. When the rain stops, everyone can just head ho.”
That night.
The torrential rain continued relentlessly, washing away the sumr heat. It wasn’t until seven in the morning that the skies cleared.
As for Huang Dabiao and his gang? They had a miserable night. With no taxis available in the middle of the night near the school, they were forced to huddle in the bike shed, shivering in the cold and wet. Unsurprisingly, the entire group ended up catching severe colds. By morning, they were all at the hospital, hooked up to IV drips, and demanding that Huang Dabiao foot the bill.
Huang Dabiao’s misery deepened. Already sick with a bad cold himself, he now had to cover everyone’s dical expenses. Furious and bedridden, he couldn’t even get up.
Hou San and Li You didn’t escape their fates either, both needing cold treatnts and IVs. They took leave from school to recover in the hospital.
By the ti Zhao Feng heard the news during morning self-study, he was utterly surprised. Apparently, Huang Dabiao and his gang had been waiting for him last night but got wiped out by the storm. Now, they were all in the hospital. It seed almost supernatural.
Zhao Feng chuckled to himself. He hadn’t even made a move on Huang Dabiao, and yet the guy had already taken himself out of the ga.
After a week of intensive review, thanks to Huang Qiaoqiao’s dedicated tutoring, Zhao Feng’s science scores had improved dramatically. Soon, the citywide high school mock exam arrived.
This mock exam was no small affair. The city had 18 high schools and nearly 10,000 students participating. To simulate the format of the national college entrance exam, all students were randomized and assigned admission tickets. They were then distributed across different high schools to take the test in unified sessions.
Second High School, located in the outskirts of the city, was an inconvenient place to get to. Zhao Feng, unfortunately, was assigned to this school’s testing site. Coincidentally, Bai Jiaxin was also assigned to Second High.
On the other hand, Huang Qiaoqiao and Jin Fugui were luckier—they got to stay at their ho school, First High, for the exams.
Early morning.
The Route 2 bus swayed and rattled as it approached the First High bus stop.
Zhao Feng, carrying a lightweight bag with his iron pencil case wrapped in a black cloth, stepped onto the bus. The tal case in his hand looked more like a brick than a pencil holder. Tossing a ga token into the fare box, he felt the stifling heat hit him like a wave.
The bus was packed to the brim, as crowded as a can of sardines. Every seat was occupied, mostly by elderly n and won. Students heading to the exam, dressed in casual clothes, were cramd into the aisle. Among them were even a few older n—halfway to being senior citizens themselves.
For years now, it seed as though every bus seat in the city was dominated by elderly folks. No matter the destination or ti of day, they always managed to occupy the seats, leaving office workers and students to stand awkwardly in the aisles. Even if a seat was free, nobody dared to sit, knowing they’d have to give it up anyway. Respecting the elderly was a virtue, after all.
Beep!
The bus suddenly accelerated, and the passengers swayed to the left under the inertia. Zhao Feng grabbed a handrail and scanned the familiar faces in the crowd. In the back, he spotted his class president, Zhu Yiqun, standing near the rear door. Further back, Qian Dapeng was huddled in a corner. And then, in a particularly awkward spot in the rear corner, he saw soone else—a familiar female figure.
“Bai Jiaxin?”
Zhao Feng furrowed his brows as his gaze locked onto the girl. It was indeed Bai Jiaxin, the school’s renowned beauty, often nicknad "Little Li Jiaxin" after the famous Hong Kong actress Li Jiaxin. The latter was once crowned Asia’s most beautiful woman, a dream girl for countless n. Bai Jiaxin, with her natural beauty and youthful charm, was no less captivating.
Today, Bai Jiaxin had ditched her usual blue-and-white school uniform in favor of a floral dress and pristine white sneakers. Her long hair was tied back with a red hair clip, and she carried a small pencil case in her hand. Unfortunately, her choice of transportation had landed her in a less-than-ideal situation.
The bus was packed to the point of suffocation, and Bai Jiaxin had been squeezed into a corner with no room to move. To make matters worse, an older man had positioned himself in front of her, effectively trapping her. His hands gripped the overhead bars on either side, blocking her escape.
The man’s triangular eyes and malicious grin made his intentions all too clear.
Feeling uncomfortable, Bai Jiaxin glanced toward Zhu Yiqun and Qian Dapeng, silently pleading for help.
Zhu Yiqun, however, was spineless. He pretended not to notice.
Qian Dapeng was even worse—he turned to stare out the window, ignoring the situation entirely.
With no one to turn to, Bai Jiaxin’s unease grew as the older man inched closer.
WHAM!
A black bag swung through the air, landing squarely on the older man’s face. The force knocked him back three steps, and he nearly lost his footing.
The man’s triangular eyes widened with rage as he glared at the cold-faced teenager in front of him. “You little brat! How dare you attack —”
WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!
Before he could finish, the black bag ca down again and again. The man collapsed to the floor, clutching his head with one hand and his chest with the other. “Ahh! You’ve killed ! I have a heart condition! Soone take to the hospital!”
The surrounding passengers quickly backed away, not wanting to get involved. Whispers spread through the crowd.
“He’s in big trouble now. A hospital visit could cost tens of thousands.”
“The kid was just trying to help the girl. Too bad he ran into an old scoundrel.”
“That shaless old man was harassing the girl and now wants to scam him? Disgusting!”
“People like him deserve worse. Good for the boy!”
Zhao Feng swung his bag casually, sneering. “Shaless old man. First, you harass my girl. Now you want to scam ? Tired of living, huh? Fine, I’ll just toss you off the bus.”
With that, he yanked open the wide bus window, letting a cold wind rush in.
Bai Jiaxin stared, wide-eyed and speechless. Her stunned expression quickly gave way to a flicker of admiration. Did Zhao Feng just call her his girl? This guy... even when dealing with a scamr, he couldn’t resist taking advantage of her.
anwhile, the older man froze. This wasn’t how things were supposed to go. He had envisioned a trip to the hospital—CT scans, MRIs, blood tests, maybe even an extended stay with so fancy supplents.
What was the aning of opening the window?
Was the kid really planning to throw him out?
Before he could think further, Zhao Feng grabbed him by the collar with one hand and his belt with the other. With a burst of strength, he hoisted the man into the air and toward the window.
Terrified, the man clung desperately to the window fra, his legs kicking frantically in midair. “rcy! Please let down! I don’t have a heart condition—I’m perfectly healthy! I was just pretending!”
[--------------------------------------------]
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