For a moment, Mu Rong Shao and his cronies looked as if they didn't believe what they were hearing.
"I'm positive I didn't hear that right," the second generation rich kid finally said after a long pause.
"I said that Feng Zhi Ming is the person I like! That's why I will not go out with anyone else! Not even you, classmate Mu Rong Shao!" Lisa repeated vehemently.
As for me, I wasn't sure how to react. No doubt Lisa was using me as a shield, though it was only because I was the sole person brave enough to stand up to Mu Rong Shao and his lackeys. I wondered if I had just made a huge mistake. I didn't think the normally shy and timid Lisa would resort to something like this.
Mu Rong Shao narrowed his eyes. "Don't you think it's rude to steal someone else's woman, classmate Feng Zhi Ming?"
"I'm not your woman to begin with!" Lisa stormed. "I'm Zhi Ming's woman!"
"No, you're not." I sighed heavily. "You are you, you don't belong to anybody. You're not a possession."
"Stop acting so pretentiously!" One of the cronies yelled and charged at me, his fist glowing with evolution energy. "How dare you steal our boss's woman?!"
"I already said that I'm not!" Lisa protested hotly. Then her eyes widened and she tugged my arm. "Zhi Ming! Watch out!"
"Don't worry." I caught the guy's fist. His eyes widened and he stumbled back, ripping his hand away from my grip. His jaw dropped.
"How…?"
"What do you mean, how? I'm an evolver, just like you. Why are you so shocked? There's no way an evolver can't block an attack from another evolver, right?"
"Get him!"
Unable to face reality, the lackeys of the Mu Rong family hurled themselves at me. I gently pushed Lisa back a few steps further, and then turned to face them.
Thanks to my increased stats, the movements of the thugs appeared too slow to me. I could easily evade all of them, but even if they somehow landed a hit, they probably would have little effect on me thanks to my abnormally high Endurance and Spirit.
For now, I just slid to the side, avoiding a punch. Jumping up to allow someone's foot to whip past under me, I then kicked off the wall and spun away from a barrage of fists and kicks. Weaving through the multiple assailants who tried to surround me and restrict my maneuvers, I dodged their attacks by a hair's breadth, ducking or stepping back, or twisting out of the way. A kick went past the spot where my solar plexus would be, and an elbow swung through the space where my neck occupied a second ago.
Should I counterattack? With my Strength and Willpower, I might accidentally deal a lot more damage than I intended to…and I didn't want to get into trouble. Sure, I could mitigate the consequences by claiming self-defense, but they could counter by arguing that I used excessive force if all these dudes somehow ended up in the hospital.
Not to mention, Mu Rong Shao was from a rich family, and could afford all the legal fees and best lawyers. On the other hand, I couldn't put such strain on my family. My dad wouldn't spare any expense to help me, but obviously I didn't want him to bear that sort of financial burden in the first place.
It was best to stay out of trouble.
That didn't mean I was going to do nothing and let them get away with trying to assault me, though. It simply meant I had to seek revenge in a more intelligent manner.
The nearest thug threw another punch at me, and I hooked my foot around his ankle, bringing it up and using his momentum against him. He cried out before crashing onto the ground, sprawled. His comrade couldn't stop in time and accidentally stepped on him. I then hopped about and tapped his knee with my foot, causing it to buckle. Then I spun away from his comrade, and with a slight push, altered his trajectory so that he would collide with the second guy, causing all three to lay tangled in a heap.
Using a similar maneuver, I tripped the fourth guy, and while he was flailing about and trying to regain his balance, I helped him by placing a hand on his shoulder and pushing him back up. He flared and tried to swipe at me, but he didn't realize that I had subtly adjusted his position so that he could serve as a shield. His comrade was unable to pull his punch in time and his fist thudded right into the back of his erstwhile teammate.
"Whoa, watch it. Why are you attacking each other now?" I asked sarcastically. The fifth guy growled as he ignored his crumpling comrade and kicked at me, but I slid to the side. While his leg was still up in the air, I "accidentally" stepped on his other foot and knocked it out from under him, sending him crashing face first onto the ground with a crunch. I grimaced. "Watch it, the floor is slippery."
"Why, you…!" Mu Rong Shao growled, and his evolution energy flared up like a nova. I frowned and readied myself with a defensive stance. Even though he didn't seem like the type to dirty his own hands, it appeared that he had an amazing amount of power for an evolver. As expected of a second generation rich kid, they probably nurtured him with all sorts of medicinal supplements or enhancement surgeries or something. I had to be careful. But before he could do anything, a stern voice cut through the corridor.
"What is going on here?"
Instructor Cole was stomping along the path, glaring at us. Mu Rong Shao didn't hesitate to point at me.
"Instructor Cole! You're finally here! This guy went mad and started beating up my friends for no reason!"
"What?! Stop lying!" Lisa shouted. "They were the ones who attacked Zhi Ming first!"
"I didn't beat anyone up," I added with a shrug. "They all fell on their own. If you don't believe me, you can check the video recording."
I pointed at the security cameras installed in the corridors. If those weren't enough, I had a recording of my own in my glasses.
"We saw it too!" one of the class 3 students said, raising a hand. "Instructor Cole, those thugs attacked classmate Feng Zhi Ming, but he ran away, and they ended up tripping and falling."
"Yeah! I witnessed it too!"
"They were so clumsy!"
"You…!" Mu Rong Shao snarled, but when he caught sight of Cole's narrowed eyes, he wisely backed off. He turned away, leaving his subordinates sprawled on the ground, unconscious. I actually pitied them. "I'll go call the medics."
"I can handle them," Lisa offered, already using her healing abilities. She didn't heal them fully, though, just enough for them to regain consciousness and crawl back to their feet. They jolted when they caught sight of Cole glowering at them.
"S…sorry, Instructor! We won't do it again!"
"We…we'll be taking our leave now!"
They fled after their departing young master, who passed by a smirking Fan Kai. I scowled. I hadn't noticed that bastard being present the whole time. I didn't think he would help me, but I couldn't shake off the feeling that he was planning something by sticking around and watching the fight. He wasn't the only one. My classmates were around as well, including Lou Qian, who was spectating quietly the entire time.
Why didn't any of them offer to help? Maybe they thought I had everything under control?
I shook my head and turned to Lisa instead.
"Are you all right?"
"Yeah." Lisa nodded gratefully. "Thanks to you. But I'm more worried about you. Classmate Mu Rong Shao has connections. I'm afraid he'll seek revenge later."
"If he troubles you again, let me know," Cole said, folding his arms. "I'll be speaking to Principal Xiao Zhang regarding this. Just because his family is rich doesn't mean he should get away with everything." He grinned and raised his smartphone. "Don't worry, I just downloaded the videos from the security cameras. I'll give them an inspection. If you guys are telling the truth, then I have evidence that you're not at fault here. The Mu Rong family won't be able to do anything to you."
"At least not legally," Lisa murmured softly. "I'm more worried of what classmate Mu Rong Shao will do in the shadows."
"I'll deal with it when the time comes," I replied with a sigh. "Well, as long as you're fine, that's the most important thing. I'll be going back to class now."
"W…wait!" Lisa grabbed my hand before I could rejoin a waiting Pang Fei, who was standing outside the classroom and giving me a thumb's up. I raised an eyebrow as I turned back to her. She fiddled with her fingers shyly. "I, um, was telling the truth earlier."
"Yeah, I know. And I appreciate it." I nodded at Instructor Cole. "Thank you too, sir. I appreciate the support."
"No, not that!"
Lisa's face was bright red. She lowered her head for a moment before looking up, resolute. Her eyes darted to where Lou Qian and the rest of class 4 was, and she steeled her resolve. Clenching her trembling fists, she took a deep breath.
"I was telling the truth when I said that you…you are the person I like. I like you, classmate Feng Zhi Ming!"
"Uh, okay?" I thought she was using me as a shield, but this was coming out of left field. Lisa pressed her hands to her chest.
"Please…please go out with me!"
"Um, that's…" I glanced at Cole, hoping for help, but he was grinning for some reason. He shrugged.
"Well, you're her knight in shining armor. From what she said, I think this is the third time you've saved her?"
Shouldn't he be more concerned? Wasn't he her uncle? Why wasn't he…I dunno, panicking or disapproving?
"Young people should deal with their own matters." Cole placed a hand on my shoulder and grinned. Then he leaned over and lowered his voice to a whisper. "That said, if you ever hurt my dear, precious Lisa, I will not forgive you."
I actually shuddered from that.
Turning back to Lisa, I saw that she was watching me expectantly. It wasn't just her. Everyone in the corridor was cheering or whispering to each other excitedly, unable to grasp the sudden turn of events.
"Oh my goodness?! Did Lisa just confess?! Our school goddess?!"
"She confessed to Feng Zhi Ming in front of everyone?!"
"Big news! Everybody, this is big news!"
"I need to upload and stream this! Ugh! Where's the uploading function?! The video's not recording properly! I missed the confession!"
"Don't worry, you can still record the reply!"
Lou Qian had her hands to her mouth, while Pang Fei was staring at me, his jaw agape. Other familiar faces bobbed about. Lei Shu whistling at the back, while Nian Qing was cheering along with some of the male classmates.
"Accept it!" Nian Qing shouted, which was echoed by the other guys! "Don't turn her down, you moron!"
"Um," Lisa appeared to realize what she had just done, looking around frantically. Her face was redder than ever, and I could almost see steam erupting from her ears and the top of her head. She looked as if she couldn't believe she just did that, and she was struggling to salvage the situation. "You don't have to reply straightaway! I'll wait for you!"
She was about to turn around and run off, but I cleared my throat to stop her.
"No need to wait, I already have an answer."
"Eh?" Lisa turned around in surprise, and I nodded warmly and offered a gentle smile to help her calm down. Then I opened my mouth to give my reply.