BTO CH45

Shao Zhan suddenly closed in, his invisible pressure causing Shen Wenhao’s reactions to slow down. He stammered out: “In… in the alleyway near our dorm building…”

Meng Guowei watched as Shao Zhan, without saying a single word, brushed right past his class representative and dashed out the door.

The impression Shao Zhan had always given Meng Guowei was one of total composure; even on the stage of the Mathematical Olympiad, he had never shown a trace of nervousness.

Meng Guowei was thoroughly bewildered—why had he gotten into such a frenzy the moment he heard Xu Sheng was in a fight?

Meng Guowei forced himself to calm down. He had to face the problem unfolding right now with a clear head. What was done was done; what mattered now was how to resolve it. He comforted his panicked class representative, which served equally as a way to comfort himself: “It’s fine. Since Hou Jun and the others have already rushed over, it shouldn’t be a big problem. I trust Hou Jun. That kid looks mischievous, but he’s actually very mature at heart. He can definitely handle this properly. I have complete faith in him!”

Shen Wenhao nodded frantically: “Right, Monkey brother can definitely stop him. Even if Monkey brother can’t, there’s still Kaizi and Ziqiang. With the three of them, it shouldn’t be a big issue.”

Meng Guowei followed close behind, striving to match the pace of his star student Shao Zhan as they rushed together toward the scene.

Taking the steps two at a time, Shao Zhan gripped the handrail. By the time he reached the last few steps, he lost patience entirely and leaped straight down.

He had assumed his main worry would be whether Yang Shiwei said something in front of the others, but the moment he actually heard the news, he realized none of that mattered.

Wind whistled past his ears.

Shao Zhan’s mind was consumed entirely by thoughts: How is Xu Sheng right now?

Yang Shiwei is not easy to deal with.

Is he hurt?

Shao Zhan had never run so fast before. Covering a distance of less than eight hundred meters, his heart was already pounding wildly halfway there.

Having abstained from swearing for ages, Shao Zhan was provoked by Xu Sheng so intensely that he reverted back to his old habits in an instant, spitting out a low “Fuck.”

Is he an idiot? What the hell was he rushing out to fight people for?

Meng Guowei’s physical stamina couldn’t keep up with the youth. Middle-aged weight gain severely hampered his speed, and his desk-bound office lifestyle had left him with a beer belly; that minuscule amount of physical activity was nowhere near enough to get him to the crime scene immediately.

Panting heavily after reaching the bottom of the stairs, Meng Guowei said, “Wenhao, you run ahead. Don’t wait for me.”

Shen Wenhao stopped: “Teacher Meng?”

Meng Guowei pulled a key from his pocket, bending over to unlock the bicycle parked downstairs—the yellow shared bike standard-issued by Lüzhou Base to chaperoning teachers: “…Teacher is getting old and can’t run. I’ll ride a bike.”

“…”

Before rushing over, Shao Zhan had envisioned many possible scenarios.

The only scene he had never anticipated was the one currently before his eyes.

At the same time, behind Shao Zhan, the sound of bicycle wheels approaching from afar came to an abrupt halt. The yellow bike that had frantically sped over wobbled into an emergency stop with a sharp screeech.

Meng Guowei, who had arrived on the yellow bike, had likewise never expected the scene that unfolded before him.

At a single glance, there was no trace of Class 7’s “mature at heart” class monitor.

“I dare you to keep talking! Who the fuck gave you permission to spout bullshit without knowing who my Zhan-ge is?!”

“Say one more fucking word, I double dare you!”

“You think students from Linjiang Sixth High only know how to study, huh? Let me tell you, not only do we study, but our hands-on fighting skills are top-tier too! Our school’s students have always pursued all-around excellence in morality, intelligence, physical fitness, aesthetics, and hard work!”

“You probably don’t even know whose hands you’re dying by. Tell you what, I’ll show mercy and inform you: I am your Lord Jun!”

“…”

Ten people were locked in a wild brawl inside the dim alleyway. Because there were so many people and the scuffle was so chaotic, it was impossible at first glance to tell who was wrestling with whom. Midst the chaos, a single blue plastic slipper zoomed out from the battlefield with a whoosh, tracing a high arc in the air before landing smack in front of Shao Zhan and the others.

Shao Zhan: “…”

Meng Guowei: “…”

Shen Wenhao: “…”

Until a Honghai student in a green military uniform at the center of the fight was yanked off the wall by a slender hand with tightly clenched knuckles—having clearly just been slammed violently into the wall, and before he could recover, he was slammed face-first into the ground by that very same hand.

BANG!

The boy in the black T-shirt had originally been blocked by the others until those fighting on the outer ring shifted to the side, finally revealing him from the crowd. The teenager had his back to them, his collar tugged sideways from the fight, the black cord wrapped around his neck. After pinning the guy down, he slowly squatted, his other hand resting casually over his knee, looking as if it took zero effort.

While the others tangled together were hard to distinguish, this lord was exceptionally easy to identify.

One could recognize him by his silhouette alone.

Meng Guowei hurriedly dismounted the yellow bike. Dismounting onto the ground, he couldn’t even be bothered to park it, letting the bike fall straight onto its side: “—Xu Sheng!”

Xu Sheng’s hand pinning Yang Shiwei down paused.

“Everyone stop right now! Let me see who dares raise another hand!”

Meng Guowei’s roar was immensely effective; the moment he yelled, the commotion on both sides instantly quieted down.

It was precisely this lull that allowed them to clearly see Class 7’s “mature at heart” class monitor, Hou Jun, fighting so hard that the slipper on one foot had flown off while he held the other slipper in his hand as a weapon, swatting people barefoot.

Meng Guowei nearly passed out on the spot.

“I am the homeroom teacher of Class 7 from Linjiang Sixth High! Students of Honghai Fourth High, you stop as well! If you don’t stop right now, I will notify your school leaders! Engaging in cross-school fights at Lüzhou Base during National Defense Education will result in disciplinary action! You are all still young, and the road ahead of you is long!”

“Old Meng?” Only then did Hou Jun remember the stupid thing he had done. “Fuck, I forgot. I had Wenhao go get Old Meng…”

Tan Kai: “If I’d known, why look for Old Meng? Men should solve problems with their fists.”

Hou Jun: “Tactical error! How was I supposed to know the Honghai guys were so beatable?!”

“…”

A few seconds later, the people tangled together separated, and those lying on the ground scrambled back up.

Xu Sheng hadn’t fought enough; this was barely anything.

Yet he had no choice but to let go. The moment he released his grip and raised his eyes, he saw Shao Zhan walking right up to him.

Xu Sheng was squatting. The harsh glow of the streetlight only reached the mouth of the alley, leaving only scattered light filtering deeper inside. Shao Zhan stood backlit in front of him. As their eyes met, neither took the initiative to speak.

Xu Sheng’s original intention was to finish off this gang of Honghai dumbasses before Shao Zhan got back, not even planning to tell Shao Zhan they had come looking for him. Yet here he was, caught red-handed mid-fight: “I…”

Xu Sheng didn’t manage to get past “I.”

Because Shao Zhan had already crouched down, looking him straight in the eyes: “Did you get hurt?”

Xu Sheng never expected Shao Zhan’s first words to be this. Given the situation between him and Yang Shiwei, it was blatantly clear he had been pinning Yang Shiwei down and beating him. If anyone were to be asked if they were hurt, asking Yang Shiwei would be far more appropriate: “…No.”

Meng Guowei finished calling the person in charge of Lüzhou Base, who informed him that Honghai Fourth High would immediately send someone over. Hanging up the phone, Meng Guowei interrupted the conversation between Shao Zhan and Xu Sheng: “Xu Sheng! Get up! Stand in a row—Linjiang on the left, Honghai on the right! Stand straight against the wall! Have you all lost your minds, fighting inside the base, huh?!”

“…”

“Hou Jun, put your slipper back on!”

“…”

They hadn’t stood for long before Honghai’s dean of students arrived on a yellow bike. After getting a rough overview of the situation, he took the Honghai group back to their own residential area for discipline.

The Honghai group wasn’t afraid of teachers; being this obedient right now was entirely because they had just been beaten senseless.

“And you, Xu Sheng,” after the Honghai group left, Meng Guowei turned to the key suspect apprehended at the “crime scene.” “You’re quite something, aren’t you? In less than two days, you managed to create a stage for yourself—and a cross-school fight no less—”

Xu Sheng’s hair had dried, hanging over his forehead. While everyone else stood pressed against the wall, he stood for a moment before simply leaning back against it.

Meng Guowei: “Stand up straight for me!”

Xu Sheng reluctantly straightened up.

Meng Guowei: “Which of you wants to explain what happened?”

No one spoke.

Meng Guowei: “Just a moment ago, each of you was acting so heroic. Now you’ve all gone mute?!”

Still, no one spoke.

In the silence, unexpectedly to Meng Guowei, Shao Zhan stepped out from the nearby shadows and walked over to stand beside Xu Sheng. He was still wearing his military uniform, though not as neatly buttoned as during the day; he had unbuttoned his shirt while running earlier, and now his collar was slightly disheveled and open. Meng Guowei watched with wide eyes as his star student stepped into the row of fighters as well.

“It has nothing to do with them,” Shao Zhan said. “That gang was coming for me.”

Meng Guowei: “…?”

What was his genius boy, municipal model student, and pride of Linjiang Sixth High saying?!

As for the people he beat up himself, Xu Sheng dared to own up to it: “It has nothing to do with him. I was the one who hit them.”

Shao Zhan: “Shut up.”

“…”

Meng Guowei’s boiling rage mysteriously extinguished after Shao Zhan spoke.

He had been blinded by anger earlier, overlooking the fact that other Class 7 students had joined in the fight too. If this were just an ordinary brawl, Xu Sheng jumping in alone would be one thing, but Hou Jun and Tan Kai wouldn’t follow along senselessly.

Something wasn’t right about this; there had to be another reason behind it.

Cross-school fighting was originally something that warranted severe punishment, but with Shao Zhan stepping in, the situation grew complicated. In the end, Meng Guowei waved his hand: “Don’t just stand here like poles. I’ll settle this account with you back in the dorm.”

After returning, Meng Guowei called Hou Jun out individually. Hou Jun hesitated at first, refusing to speak, but finally spilled the whole story. Meng Guowei fell silent after listening.

Hou Jun: “I didn’t want to say anything at first, but they were way too out of line. Heard they were even the Study God’s old classmates. What kind of classmates are those? Who acts like that?!”

Having taught for many years, Meng Guowei had seen all kinds of situations.

He had encountered plenty of instances where students were gossiped about due to family background or circumstances.

High school was somewhat better, but younger students lacked mental maturity; sometimes even discussion without malicious intent could inflict harm, let alone something so explicitly spiteful.

Although Meng Guowei didn’t say it out loud, his stance softened considerably inside. The scales tilted, and he couldn’t bring himself to hand down formal disciplinary punishments: “Even so, you shouldn’t have fought! Does fighting solve problems?! Tomorrow morning I want to see four self-reflections, no less than three thousand words each! I don’t care if you get any sleep tonight or not, you must hand them in first thing tomorrow morning!”

In the end, Hou Jun returned to the dorm carrying a stack of A4 paper from Meng Guowei.

“Brothers, Old Meng said we have to write self-reflections,” Hou Jun sighed, handing out the paper. “No less than three thousand words, and tomorrow morning we even have to go on stage to read them in front of all four schools…”

Writing a self-reflection was a first for them.

Tan Kai: “Gotta say, it’s pretty thrilling. My high school life can be considered complete now.”

Hou Jun looked around: “Where are Zhan-ge and Sheng-ge?”

Tan Kai took the paper: “Don’t know, not long after coming back, they went out one after the other…”

Xu Sheng hadn’t sat in the dorm for long before slipping back out, intending to buy medicine at the snack shop. While standing against the wall earlier, he had noticed Hou Jun and the others had varying degrees of scrapes. However, just as he reached the entrance of the shop, he spotted a familiar back.

“Seventy-eight,” the shop owner handed over a plastic bag. “Here’s your change.”

Inside the plastic bag were disinfectant liquid and band-aids.

Xu Sheng rubbed his nose, beaten to the punch, and could only walk back with Shao Zhan: “I was just planning to come buy some medicine. Monkey and the others scraped their hands… you sure move fast.”

Shao Zhan didn’t respond to his words as the two walked side-by-side into the dorm building.

Their dorm was at the end of the hallway, right next to the corridor windowsill. Just as Xu Sheng was about to push the door open to go in, Shao Zhan stopped in his tracks, abruptly grabbing his wrist and pulling him to the side.

By the time Xu Sheng snapped back to reality, his back was already pressed against the edge of the windowsill.

Shao Zhan set the bag on the windowsill, tearing open a cotton swab package with one hand while keeping his grip on Xu Sheng’s wrist with the other. Looking at Xu Sheng’s hand held in his grip, one couldn’t tell at all that these hands fought so ruthlessly. His prominent knuckles had minor scrapes, the wounds very shallow, imperceptible unless looking closely. Shao Zhan lowered his voice and said: “…Didn’t even know you were hurt?”