Zhang Xue hadn't expected Liu Xiong to act so recklessly and, even in her capacity as the Student Council President, she had been unable to control him, which made her feel embarrassed. If it weren't for the fact that Liu Xiong had a relative who was a PE teacher at the school, she would have criticized him right there and then.
When asked, she simply responded, "I will talk to him again."
She said this, however, without much confidence.
With no immediate resolution, Hong Jiaxin had no choice but to go play badminton with the Sorority members while Luo Yang was supposed to deliver beauty stream water to Chen Jie. Thus, he rode his bicycle out of the school, heading towards Xiaoshulin Market.
Suddenly, he saw people arguing up ahead. It appeared that there had been an accident. A motorcycle was lying on the ground, and a woman was grabbing another motorcycle's handlebars, refusing to let go. The young man with a long face tried to leave, attempting to pry the woman's hands off.
From the looks of the scene, the accident wasn't serious. The woman had a gash on her thigh, from which blood was flowing heavily. The young man with the long face seemed to be unharmed.
Vaguely, he recognized the young woman. She seemed to be a teacher from Dongfeng Middle School.
Luo Yang pedaled closer and asked, "What happened here?"
The young man with the long face, seeing that he was just a teenager, glared at Luo Yang and said viciously, "Mind your own business! Get lost!"
Originally, Luo Yang had approached because he thought the young woman was a teacher from Dongfeng Middle School.
Hearing the aggressive tone of the young man with the long face, Luo Yang thought that even if the young woman wasn't a teacher from Dongfeng Middle School, he would still intervene.
"You hit someone and think you can just run away?" Luo Yang sneered.
"Are you looking for trouble?!"
The young man with the long face jumped off his bike, let it fall to the ground, and swung his fist at Luo Yang.
Having anticipated the young man's physical response, Luo Yang was not surprised. Sitting on his bicycle, and without even getting off, he grabbed the incoming fist with his left hand, pulled back, and the young man with the long face stumbled forward.
Immediately afterward, Luo Yang slapped the young man's face back and forth with his right hand.
Slap, slap, slap...
A series of crisp slaps resonated, and the young man's face quickly swelled, adding a comical appearance to him, although the trace of blood at the corner of his mouth was somewhat jarring.
Luo Yang kicked out with his left foot, knocking the young man to the ground, then dismounted his bike.
"Sister, did he hit you?" Luo Yang asked.
"Yes. He burst out from this intersection; it's definitely his fault. His motorcycle doesn't have plates," the young woman answered.
Having initially understood the cause of the accident, Luo Yang casually glanced at the young woman's body to ensure she was more scared than hurt, only suffering from a flesh wound.
He then walked over to the young man with the long face, grabbed his collar, lifted him up, and delivered two more slaps.
After hitting him, he said, "Pay her 500 yuan."
The young man with the long face defiantly said, "We'll see about that! I'll deal with you!"
Slap, slap, slap...
During the pause between the slaps, Luo Yang warned, "If you don't pay, I'll knock your teeth out!"
Slap, slap, slap...
"I, I, will pay, pay, pay..." the young man with the long face finally caved, panicked.
While Luo Yang wasn't a street hardened thug, he understood a principle well: when scholars encounter soldiers, it's best not to argue. A fist was both a time-saver and effective.
"Hand over the money," Luo Yang urged.
"I'll call someone to bring the money over. Just wait a moment," the young man with the long face said tremulously.
He made a call and merely said, "I'm on the path by the bamboo grove, someone is demanding money from me, bring some over," then hung up.
After about 5 minutes, there came the sound of motorcycles speeding towards them from down the road. The thunderous noise alone indicated that several motorcycles were approaching.
As the motorcycle group emerged from the turn, the young woman's face turned pale with fright as she looked at Luo Yang and exclaimed in astonishment, "They might be after us. What should we do?"
Luo Yang reassured her, "Don't be afraid. I'll handle it."
At this point, he could not just leave the young woman alone. Depending on the situation, if the newcomers were to start a fight, he would first cripple two of the thugs, which would naturally scare off the rest.
In the blink of an eye, the motorcycle group had drawn near.
"Brother King Kong! Help me, it was him who hit me!" the man with the elongated face pointed at Luo Yang.
Luo Yang merely smiled without a word.
The newcomer was none other than Chen Zhiyun.
He asked, "What's going on?"
The man with the elongated face then said, "Brother King Kong, this woman bumped into me and then claimed I bumped into her. She called this young man to beat me and demanded I pay her. Brother King Kong, please take my side."
Seeing the man with the elongated face had his face beaten to a pulp, Chen Zhiyun knew Luo Yang was responsible.
"How much money do you want him to pay?" Chen Zhiyun asked.
"500 yuan," said Luo Yang.
Immediately, Chen Zhiyun ordered the man with the elongated face to compensate the young woman.
The man with the elongated face, completely baffled, blurted out, "Brother King Kong, why are you siding with him and not me? And you're making me pay?"
Chen Zhiyun scoffed, "Do you know who he is? My cousin's sworn brother. He's letting you off easy by not asking you for fifty thousand yuan. If you don't pay up, even I can't help you."
Hearing this, the man with the elongated face was terrified. Without a second word, he hastily took out his wallet and gave 500 yuan to the young woman.
Seeing the young woman had an injury on her leg and was still shaken, unable to lift her motorcycle, Luo Yang helped pick the motorcycle up from the ground and asked, "Do you want me to take you to the hospital?"
The young woman nodded, "Yes."
So, Luo Yang turned to Chen Zhiyun, asked a young man to ride the bicycle to the front of Laixi Bar at Xiaoshulin Market, and then he took the young woman's motorcycle, giving her a lift to Dongfeng Hospital to get her wounds dressed.
At the entrance of Dongfeng Hospital, the young woman asked, "Young man, where do you study?"
Luo Yang answered, "At Dongfeng Middle School."
The young woman laughed, "I'm a teacher at Dongfeng Middle School, my name is Huang Lijuan."
The first time he saw the young woman, Luo Yang felt she looked familiar, but he couldn't confirm right away that she was a teacher at Dongfeng Middle School.
"Teacher Huang, what grade do you teach?" Luo Yang asked.
"I'm the secretary of the Youth League Committee."
"Is the sports director of the student council under your jurisdiction?"
"Yes, what about it?"
Luo Yang then told her about Liu Xiong and asked if she could help. He knew that Hong Jiaxin seemed indifferent on the surface, but she actually wanted to participate in the table tennis competition.
Huang Lijuan agreed, "I can help you with this. Come to the Youth League office tonight, and I'll call Liu Xiong to come over and personally allow you to participate."
On the way, she noticed Luo Yang's good skin and wanted to ask whether it was natural or if he used skincare products. She was too embarrassed to ask earlier, but now that they were chatting, she followed up with, "Your skin is so hydrated, is it natural?"
Luo Yang laughed, "No. I mix herbal skincare products myself for washing my hands, face, and bathing, which gives me such good skin."
Women love beauty, and Huang Lijuan was no exception.
She wanted that skincare product, and Luo Yang said he would give it to her in the evening. He had two bottles with him, but those were meant for Chen Jie.
After the doctor had dressed Huang Lijuan's wounds, she had to pass by Xiaoshulin Market on her way home, so Luo Yang took a lift to Laixi Bar.