The next morning, Ye Chen finished breakfast and headed to school.
He had just stepped into the alley when two men appeared ahead of him.
Ye Chen stopped in his tracks; two more stepped out behind him.
Each of them held a steel pipe—clearly local thugs.
Ye Chen frowned at the sight of them.
Hei San glanced at his phone, flicked his cigarette to the ground, and pointed at Ye Chen. "This is the kid."
Surrounded by four men in the alley, Ye Chen showed no panic. Smiling, he asked, "Who sent you?"
Scarface stared at him coldly. "That's none of your business."
Hei San grinned, the scar on his face grotesque.
"Kid, today I'll teach you a lesson on someone else's behalf. Stay low at school and stay away from Li Sitong—some people you can't afford to offend."
"Teach me a lesson?"
Ye Chen gave a cold laugh—and moved.
With God-Tier Combat skills, he appeared in front of Hei San in a flash.
A sharp pain hit Hei San's stomach; he collapsed, face twisted in agony.
Seeing Ye Chen strike, the other three swung their bars and charged.
Ye Chen snorted, caught the pipe coming at him, and kicked.
The pipe landed in his hand; the thug was sent flying by the kick.
Ye Chen spun, the steel pipe whirling like a blur.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The two punks' pipes were knocked away; they wailed in pain.
After flooring them, Ye Chen turned back to Hei San.
"Who hired you?"
Hei San gritted his teeth. "I won't tell…"
Bang!
Ye Chen's fist smashed into Hei San's face.
Blood and a few teeth sprayed out.
"Who hired you?" Ye Chen asked icily.
"I—"
Bang!
Another punch.
"I—"
Before Hei San could finish, another fist landed.
The beaten punks nearly cried. "Bro, at least give our boss a chance to speak!"
Looking at Hei San's aggrieved face, Ye Chen felt awkward.
"Sorry, I thought you'd stay tight-lipped."
Hei San: "…"
After several punches, Hei San's face was badly swollen. Fearing more, he blurted, "Young Master Wu."
"Young Master Wu? Wu Bin?"
Ye Chen quickly connected the dots.
Hei San nodded vigorously.
Bang!
Another punch.
"Sorry, couldn't help it."
Ye Chen flexed his arm, stood up, and walked off.
Hei San's face was now pig-head huge; the three punks stood dumbstruck.
Wasn't he just an ordinary high-schooler? How could he fight like that—and so ruthlessly?!
…Ye Chen reached the school gate and spotted a boy sneaking glances at him.
It was Wu Bin.
Seeing Ye Chen walking perfectly, without a scratch, Wu Bin was stunned.
A puzzled look crossed his face.
Didn't I tell Hei San to teach Ye Chen a lesson? Why's he fine?
As his mind raced, Ye Chen walked over.
"Surprised I'm not bruised and bloody?"
Wu Bin nodded blankly. "H-how are you okay?"
Lately Ye Chen had ruined Wu Bin's plans.
He'd even embarrassed Wu Bin in front of Li Sitong.
Wu Bin had held the grudge and paid Hei San to settle the score.
Yet Ye Chen looked untouched.
Ye Chen sneered, "Your guys were too weak. I hadn't even warmed up before they were all down."
Wu Bin: "…"
Impossible—Hei San's a notorious thug around here.
Ruthless and vicious, that's why they call him Hei San—"Black Three."
Ye Chen added, "I'll remember this. Watch yourself after school."
He turned and walked toward the teaching building.
Wu Bin stood frozen.
Ye Chen couldn't be bothered to ambush Wu Bin.
Childish games weren't worth his time.
He'd rather spend that time with Li Sitong and Xia Yingluo.
He'd only meant to scare Wu Bin.
People like him won't behave until they see consequences.
In the classroom, Ye Chen took out two cups of lemonade and handed them to Li Sitong and Xia Yingluo.
Both girls blushed.
"Ye Chen, thank you."
"Thanks for the lemonade."
Xia Yingluo said, "The National Higher Education Entrance Examination is almost here; I'm getting more and more nervous."
Li Sitong nodded. "Yeah, me too."
Ye Chen smiled. "No need to be tense. If you perform normally your scores will be fine. Overthinking might actually ruin things."
"Mm."
Both girls nodded together.
His words seemed like magic; their nervousness vanished.
Li Sitong grinned, "Thanks for the guidance, Teacher Ye."
Xia Yingluo added, "After Teacher Ye's pep talk, I'm full of fight!"
Just then Wu Bin walked over, eyes gleaming with mischief.
"Hey, did anyone see the livestream? One of our classmates is famous."
"Haha, a Senior Year student dating right before the exam, even claiming he'll be Top Scorer in the National Higher Education Entrance Examination."
Hearing this, Xia Yingluo blushed and glanced at Ye Chen.
Ye Chen's face stayed calm.
Wu Bin gloated, "I already reported it to the teachers—someone's in trouble."
Many students found the clip and turned to look at Ye Chen.
It was the reporter's interview of Ye Chen.
Someone even posted: "Jiangzhou Middle School Senior Year student dates before exam, claims he'll be Top Scorer."
Comments were mostly bashing Ye Chen.
"Dude, dating at this time and still wants to be Top Scorer?"
"A perfect 750? Talk about bragging."
"Such a pretty girl wasted on this pig—what a shame."
…Just then Teacher Wang stood at the door, face dark.
"Ye Chen, Xia Yingluo—come to the Office."
Wu Bin watched, delighted.
"Haha, Ye Chen, thought you were tough? Let's see you squirm out of this."
Ye Chen smiled faintly. "Think this little stunt can hurt me? Naive."
He took Xia Yingluo's hand and walked toward the Office under Wu Bin's livid stare.
Wu Bin then approached Li Sitong.
"Si Tong, Ye Chen's a scumbag. He sneaked off to the amusement park with Xia Yingluo behind your back."
Li Sitong gave him a cold glance. "Whether he's a scumbag is none of your business. Stay away from me; you're disgusting."
Wu Bin: "…"
In the Office, Ye Chen smiled at Teacher Wang.
"Teacher Wang, what's wrong? You look upset—who annoyed you?"