Chapter 11: Whose Youth Isn’t Passionate?
Chapter 11: Whose Youth Isn’t Passionate?
Lu Liangjie wasn’t afraid of Xun Tuizhi at all. He was bigger, more popular, and came from a better family. But he feared Qin Muchu, who stood behind Xun Tuizhi, and it wasn’t an ordinary fear.
The Qin family’s influence in Ruiyun was immense. Others might not feel it directly, just thinking they were incredibly rich people. But as the son of a wealthy family himself, Lu Liangjie knew very well what that so-called “immense” truly meant.
In his youthful pride, hadn’t he wanted to be reckless, to rush forward, knock out this lackey’s dog teeth, and stomp on his dog head!
But reason told him he could not.
Although he wasn’t a good student, he wasn’t stupid. In fact, he was much more mature mentally than his peers. At least he understood what it meant to endure, to bear the pain cutting into his heart.
His father had told him that someone who couldn’t be hard on themselves would never be able to be hard on others.
Watching Xun Tuizhi’s scornful smile directed at him, seeing the pointing fingers of his classmates around him, in the end, Lu Liangjie could not hold back. Most importantly, he couldn’t face the cowardice in his own heart. Anger overwhelmed reason.
He suddenly grabbed a utensil from the table and threw it at the smug-looking Xun Tuizhi. The distance was short; no need to aim carefully. It hit Xun Tuizhi right in the face. Like someone with his hair standing on end, he shouted, “Xun Tuizhi, you’re just one of Qin Muchu’s dogs! What are you so proud of!”
This all happened too fast. Xun Tuizhi didn’t expect this usually rational Lu Liangjie to actually dare to hit him in a moment of impulse. Lu Liangjie’s roommates were even more surprised, and even Yang Qi was momentarily stunned.
Xun Tuizhi went somewhat crazy, flying into a rage. He also picked up a utensil from in front of him and threw it at Lu Liangjie. Seeing this, Yang Qi caught it with one hand.
“Get him! Beat him to death for me!”
Xun Tuizhi ordered the few guys beside him to pounce together towards Lu Liangjie and the others. The scene immediately descended into chaos.
More and more onlookers gathered at the side, including the group led by Zhuang Zhoufeng, who had his hand bandaged. Seeing this, they all broke into wide smiles.
“‘Beat him to death’? I really wonder if these lackeys know how to write the word ‘death’. If they could so much as touch a single hair on that Fool Yang, I’d write my surname upside down,” said one of Zhuang Zhoufeng’s followers, whose surname was Tian.
Zhuang Zhoufeng laughed, “Heh, mind your own business. Fight, the more broken they get the better. Best if they draw out Qin Muchu quickly. Waiting to see the fun, haha!”
“Boss is wise, not telling those lackeys about the incident with Fool Yang, letting them kick an iron plate. Otherwise, how could we see such a spectacular scene?”
Just as Zhuang Zhoufeng and the others were anticipating the brawl to escalate, they heard a clear, sharp shout from a girl.
“What are you all doing!”
A group consisting entirely of girls came up the stairs and entered the second-floor cafeteria. Among them, a girl in white was undoubtedly Chen Xiaoxiao. The rest were student council officials and members. The formidable girl Du Sisi and the girl who had lost her bag that day were also notably present.
“Xun Tuizhi, you’re bullying people again!”
Du Sisi quickly walked over, taking the lead, separating the guys who were about to start grappling. She pointed at Xun Tuizhi’s nose and scolded.
“Du Sisi, this is my business. Stay out of it!”
Xun Tuizhi, who had usually been somewhat polite to Du Sisi, now wore a look of annoyance.
“You! How dare you! You’re bullying people and still think you’re in the right?”
In the formidable girl’s view, it was clear Xun Tuizhi was bullying someone, and his attitude also disgusted her.
“If you keep arguing, you’re all going to the administrative office!”
Chen Xiaoxiao tugged at the easily angered Du Sisi, her pretty brows furrowed together as she swept a glance at Xun Tuizhi.
That glance from Chen Xiaoxiao sent a jolt through Xun Tuizhi, completely restoring his calm, but a flash of malice crossed his eyes. The anger on his face didn’t diminish under his self-control; instead, it seemed to increase. He spoke to Chen Xiaoxiao with extreme disrespect, “Vice-Chairman Chen, could you please figure out who’s right and who’s wrong before speaking? Don’t jump to conclusions without distinguishing right from wrong like Du Sisi! It was clearly Lu Liangjie who struck first just now. Want to go to the admin office? Fine, I’d like to see if anyone will stand up and give me justice after I’ve been both insulted and hit.”
“Xun Tuizhi, you have some nerve, daring to yell at even Sister Xiaoxiao!” Hearing this, before Chen Xiaoxiao could say anything, Du Sisi completely lost her temper, glaring at him fiercely.
“Hmph!”
Ignoring Du Sisi and the others, Xun Tuizhi turned and pointed at Yang Qi, saying coldly, “Fool Yang, you just hide behind women then. Hide behind women your whole life. Last time when Zhuang Zhoufeng hit you, Chen Xiaoxiao stopped it. This time too. You’re just lucky. Let’s see if you have such good luck next time!”
After saying that, he finally addressed Chen Xiaoxiao, “If Vice-Chairman Chen wants me to go to the admin office for some investigation, just send someone with a message. I’ll be there whenever called!”
“Let’s go!”
Xun Tuizhi led his few companions downstairs, acting extremely arrogantly.
Everyone was somewhat dumbfounded because everyone knew Xun Tuizhi was Qin Muchu’s lackey, and Qin Muchu was pursuing Chen Xiaoxiao. For Qin Muchu’s lackey to treat Chen Xiaoxiao with such an attitude was truly surprising. Could Xun Tuizhi really be so enraged that he dared to be so arrogant towards the woman his master liked?
Something unusual was surely afoot.
“This Xun Tuizhi is really too much! He’s just one of Qin Muchu’s dogs. What’s he being so arrogant about! And how exactly did Qin Muchu train his dog? Raised him like this!”
Du Sisi’s almond-shaped eyes widened round with anger, even hating Qin Muchu by association.
The student council members and officials felt the same way. The remaining onlookers also looked somewhat angry. Other things didn’t matter, but how dare a mere lackey speak to our Goddess like that? If it weren’t for the fact that this dog’s claws were too sharp and his master too formidable, who knew how many hot-blooded youths present would have rushed forward to crush him flat.
And it was precisely at this moment when everyone was furious but dared not speak out, that one person stepped forward. He strode towards Xun Tuizhi, reached out a hand, grabbed Xun Tuizhi by the collar, and pulled him backwards. Xun Tuizhi was yanked back entirely, like a little chick being lifted.
“You said I’ve always been hiding behind women. That’s fine. But you can’t speak to the School Belle Goddess of our Ruiyun High School like that. You must apologize to the Goddess! Now! Immediately!”
This person was, naturally, Yang Qi. A cold laugh echoed in his heart as he held Xun Tuizhi, squeezing out a face full of anger. His words shocked everyone listening. Wasn’t this exactly what they dared to think but not do? In their youthful vigor, their eyes steamed with fervor.
“What the hell are you doing!”
“You guys!”
Xun Tuizhi, being held by Yang Qi, couldn’t move at all. He immediately called on his companions. Seeing this, those few guys prepared to pounce on Yang Qi, but Yang Qi casually pushed them aside with his other hand, one by one, knocking them all to the ground as easily as pulling up grass.
Yang Qi continued to hold Xun Tuizhi, roaring with a face full of anger like a wild man gone mad, “Apologize! Apologize to the Goddess right now!”
Xun Tuizhi originally thought his actions just now would not only intimidate those present but also achieve his other goals. He didn’t expect someone like this to appear, and even more didn’t expect that person to be Yang Qi. The most unexpected thing was that Yang Qi’s grip was so strong. Wasn’t this Yang Qi previously someone Zhuang Zhoufeng and his gang could beat up whenever they wanted? Could all that have been fake?
“Why should I apologize!”
Xun Tuizhi hardened his mouth, stubbornly refusing to apologize.
“If you don’t apologize, not only will I not agree, but none of the students here will agree either. They won’t stand by and watch their Goddess being treated like this by a lackey like you!”
Yang Qi said coldly, then looked at the onlookers present and asked loudly, “Do you agree?”
“We don’t agree!”
Lu Liangjie and Du Sisi were almost the first to respond to Yang Qi in unison. Seeing this, others who had already been holding back their energy also shouted, “We don’t agree!”
They didn’t stop at one sentence; slowly it unified.
“Apologize! Apologize right now!”
Whose youth isn’t reckless? Whose hot blood wouldn’t burn? They just hadn’t found the channel to vent it or the battlefield to fight on. At this moment, everyone present—whether they truly admired Chen Xiaoxiao, were stirred up by Yang Qi’s actions and words, or simply had a certain chord struck in their hearts—all shouted loudly.
This sudden turn of events, this passionate display of youth, made them crazy with exhilaration!
“You will apologize!”
Yang Qi chuckled, then holding Xun Tuizhi, walked towards a window on the second floor. With one hand he pushed the window open, and with the other he lifted Xun Tuizhi out the window, suspending him in mid-air.
The shouting stopped abruptly. Everyone was terrified by this scene.
This Fool Yang from the rumors, who had suddenly become smart, was too savage! Holding him out like that, if he wasn’t careful, Xun Tuizhi could fall. The second floor wasn’t high, but falling from there, forget dying, he’d definitely break an arm or a leg.
They thought that was terrifying enough, but who would have thought Yang Qi, holding Xun Tuizhi, actually lifted him a bit and gave him a shake! Everyone watching felt their hearts leap into their throats.
At this moment, no one could see Yang Qi’s expression, but they already imagined him as a demon—a demon who had saved the Goddess and stirred their passionate blood.
They naturally couldn’t imagine that Yang Qi’s expression now was completely devoid of the earlier madness, having returned to extreme calmness. Looking at Xun Tuizhi hanging in the air, trembling and thoroughly frightened, he whispered with a faint smile, “You acted quite well just now. If I hadn’t been watching your micro-expressions for a while, I might have been fooled too. I’m just curious why you did all this. The consequence of doing this is only one: your master will definitely be disliked by Chen Xiaoxiao because of you. If an ordinary person did this, I might conclude they acted foolishly out of anger. But you’re definitely not ordinary; your earlier anger was all fake. Since you’re an expert at managing emotions, you shouldn’t have done such an illogical thing.”
Yang Qi stared at Xun Tuizhi, seeing a different kind of fear flash in his eyes, as if afraid someone had seen through his thoughts. He continued, “You’re a smart person. You clearly know the ultimate consequence of everything you do. So I guess your goal was precisely to make Chen Xiaoxiao dislike Qin Muchu, right? Probably all the trouble you caused at school under Qin Muchu’s name before was done behind Qin Muchu’s back, too. You want to make Qin Muchu’s name even more foul.”