Yang Zi burst out laughing. "Perfect," she said. "He's sprawled out like a giant turtle on its back!"
Everyone took a look. Da Huan was on his back with his limbs splayed outâhe really did look like a giant turtle. One by one, they all started laughing.
Da Huan's face flushed red with humiliation. As he struggled to his feet, he roared at his companions, who still hadn't grasped the situation, "What the fuck are you gawking at? Is this a show? Get over here and help me pound these student punks!"
With a loud CLATTER, the three men drinking at the next table all shot to their feet. Cursing, they charged toward Zhao Yuan and his friends.
"Beat those bastards!" Liu Zhu roared as he jumped to his feet, having been itching for a fight. In his eyes, Lin Xue and the other girls were treasures, goddesses. For these lowlifes to dare and hit on themâit was utterly intolerable!
Liu Zhu reached out, grabbed the beer bottle in front of himâhalf-fullâand hurled it at the three approaching thugs. At the same time, he snatched up a stool, held it with the legs facing out like a weapon, and charged with a loud roar. Wang Rongfeng and Wu Yan were a bit slower to react, but neither of them flinched. They followed Liu Zhu's lead, first throwing their bottles and then grabbing stools to charge.
Three beer bottles whistled through the air toward the three thugs, forcing them to dodge. A direct hit from a bottle heavy with beer would have surely split their heads open. They avoided the bottles, but in doing so, they lost the initiative. Liu Zhu and his friends descended on them, jabbing and swinging wildly with their stools.
While Liu Zhu and the others were fighting, Zhao Yuan didn't stay idle. He took a step forward and kicked Da Huanâwho had just struggled to his feetâsquare in the chest, sending the man flying back to the ground. Da Huan felt as if an elephant had stomped on his chest; there was a searing pain, and he couldn't breathe.
'Who the hell is this kid? How are his kicks so heavy? I feel like he broke my ribsâŠ' Da Huan clutched his chest in agony. It didn't look like he'd be getting off the ground anytime soon.
Zhao Yuan turned and rushed to back up Liu Zhu and the other two.
He had now reached the Mid Stage of Muscle Strengthening, and his physical abilities far surpassed those of an ordinary person. He might not fare well against a true combat expert, but dealing with a few common thugs was no problem at all. Besides, he had his brothers from Dorm 301 right there with him.
In a matter of moments, Zhao Yuan and his friends had beaten the three thugs to the ground.
Da Huan struggled to his feet again, but he'd lost all nerve to fight. He spat a parting threat, "If you have any guts, you'll wait here! I'm going to get my guys to come sort you out!" Then, along with his three companions, he scurried away in disgrace.
With the thugs gone, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The four girls worriedly asked if Zhao Yuan and the others were injured. Liu Zhu and Wang Rongfeng, who had never enjoyed this kind of attention from girls before, put on a nonchalant act despite the aching spots where they'd been hit. They waved their hands coolly and said, "We were just taking care of a few punks. No way we'd get hurt."
Once they were sure no one was hurt, the four girls relaxed. Yang Zi even joked, "I had no idea you guys were such good fighters. You've done this before, haven't you?"
"Her Majesty the Queen, you're mistaken this time," Wu Yan said, flicking his hair as he started to brag again. "We're all good students; we rarely fight. But when we encounter bad guys, we won't hesitate to stand up and fight! Sigh, what can you do? We just can't help being model young men."
The nickname "Her Majesty the Queen" was given to Yang Zi by the group after she sang "First Empress." Yang Zi herself was quite fond of the nickname and didn't object to it.
Zhao Yuan cut off Wu Yan's bragging. "We can't stay here. Let's go." He pulled a few hundred yuan from his pocket, handed it to the barbecue stall owner, and said, "The extra is to cover the cost of your stools."
"Leave? Why? We haven't even finished eating yet." Wu Yan paused, then the realization dawned on him. "Are you worried those thugs will actually call people and come back for us?"
Zhao Yuan nodded. "Better safe than sorry. It wouldn't matter if it was just us guysâthe worst that could happen is we get beat up a bit. But Lin Xue and the girls are here."
"You've got a point. Let's go, quickly." Wu Yan's expression turned serious; he didn't want the girls getting into trouble either. Everyone else agreed with Zhao Yuan's plan, so the group immediately left the barbecue stall and headed back toward West Hua Medical University. On the way, they all complained. "What a downer." "Seriously. We were all having such a good time, and then this happens."
Wu Yan took the blame on himself. "It's all my fault. I shouldn't have picked this place. How about this? To make it up to you, I'll treat everyone to a meal in a couple of days."
"Awesome!" everyone cheered in unison. The gloomy mood instantly lightened.
ăNot long after Zhao Yuan's group left the barbecue stall, Da Huan returned, bringing more than a dozen men armed with bats and clubs.ă
"Where are they?"
After scanning the area and seeing no sign of Zhao Yuan's group, Da Huan immediately grabbed the stall owner, yanking him forward to interrogate him.
"Gone," the stall owner said. He was terrified of these kinds of thugs; if they held a grudge against him, his business would be ruined.
"Gone? Where'd they go?" Da Huan demanded.
"I-I don't know..." the stall owner said, his face a mask of misery. "They wouldn't tell me something like that, right?"
"You at least know which way they went, don't you? I'm warning you, don't lie. Or I'll make sure you can't run this stall here anymore!" Da Huan threatened, his face twisting into a vicious snarl.
"Well..." The stall owner silently apologized to Zhao Yuan and the others before raising a hand and pointing in the direction they had gone.
"Brother Cheng, what do you think?" Da Huan turned to a bald man with a thick gold chain and asked cautiously.
"After them!" Brother Cheng waved a hand and declared, "I promised I'd help you get your revenge, and I'll see it through to the end!"
"Brother Cheng, you're a true man of honor!" Da Huan immediately gave a thumbs-up, sucking up to him as he followed Brother Cheng and his men, quickly chasing in the direction Zhao Yuan's group had gone.
They were fast. In just a short while, they spotted Zhao Yuan's group up ahead.
Rage flared in Da Huan's eyes. He shot out a trembling finger and shrieked, "Brother Cheng, that's them! The ones who beat me up are those bastards right there!"
Brother Cheng gave Zhao Yuan and the other male students a passing glance before his gaze landed on Lin Xue and the girls.
At the sight of them, his eyes instantly lit up.
Lin Xue and the other three girls were all quite beautiful. Moreover, they had an innocent purity unique to students, a world apart from the gaudy floozies you'd find elsewhere. They immediately captivated Brother Cheng, and a lecherous desire began to stir within him.