"Boss, teach me the inner power!" The next day during class, Garlic Head approached, his face alight with excitement.
"Get lost!" Xiang Ri waved him off irritably. He had lost count of how many times he had rejected such requests—at least a hundred, all from those who, after witnessing his extraordinary "inner power" at the Judo Club yesterday, wanted to become his disciples. Both men and women, all of them.
Fortunately, these people had heeded his "kind" advice and refrained from gossiping or spreading wild rumors; otherwise, the number of hopefuls would have surely exceeded a hundred.
"Boss, even if you don't care for me, think of it like this! After all, I'm the one who gets along with you the best. If I get bullied, it won't reflect well on you, right?" Garlic Head pleaded with a mixture of emotion and reason.
"No way!" Xiang Ri's face remained cold and unyielding.
"Boss, Big Brother, Old Master, Immortal, Almighty..."
"Call me one more time and I'll flatten you!" Xiang Ri shook his fist in a menacing gesture.
Garlic Head immediately took several steps back, terrified. "I won't, I won't!"
Chu Chu, unable to stand it any longer, spoke up: "Xiang Ri, why are you scaring Wei like that?"
"I have no choice," Xiang Ri shrugged. "The kid's a masochist. If you don't scare him, he won't leave."
"Serves you right for showing off so ridiculously yesterday!" Chu Chu said, casting a withering glance at him.
Many people, unable to approach Xiang Ri directly, had turned to plead with her, the one who bore the "Xiang" family mark, hoping she might speak a few good words on their behalf and allow them to learn the extraordinary skills.
This put Chu Chu in a difficult position. She couldn't bring herself to refuse her old friends, and even her cousin, after hearing about someone's formidable "Sky-splitting Fist," had asked her to make an introduction.
But a single sentence from Xiang Ri immediately shut her down: "If you want your husband to not be the only one of his kind in the world, then go ahead and agree to their requests!"
It was undeniable that Xiang Ri had completely captured Chu Chu's heart. The moment she heard those words, any lingering thoughts of helping others evaporated. Deep down, she still wanted her beloved to remain the most powerful and unique person in her life!
But with that came a new dilemma. By the end of the morning, her ears were practically deafened by the incessant chatter of her friends. Had it not been for the start of class, she was certain she would have snapped by now. Naturally, she held some resentment toward the one responsible for all of this.
"Chu Chu, don't be like this. Smile a little. Be good, or you'll get wrinkles!" Xiang Ri teased, watching her, but when she continued to scowl at him, he added, "It's the last class now. We'll be heading home soon. And if I remember correctly, we don't have anything scheduled for the afternoon either. We could take it easy at home!"
"No way!" Chu Chu finally spoke, though her tone was heavy with resentment. "In the afternoon, I can relax, but you can't!"
"Really?" Xiang Ri exclaimed dramatically.
"Hmph!" Chu Chu snorted in frustration. "Don't forget what you promised Qing. You're supposed to go to her class this afternoon and listen to her lecture!"
"Did I?" Xiang Ri asked, genuinely surprised. He had forgotten all about it.
"You're lucky Qing didn't hear you say that, or she'd be furious with you!" Chu Chu warned sternly. "Did you forget what happened last night when you came home so late? One of your punishments was that you'd accompany Qing to her class this afternoon!"
"This truly is a severe punishment!" Xiang Ri murmured to himself, suddenly struck by an idea. "Chu Chu, aren't you going this afternoon?" If that were the case, wouldn't he have the opportunity to be alone with his disciple? Sitting so close, perhaps they could make a few subtle gestures without anyone noticing? As the thought delighted him, Xiang Ri couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.
"What would I go for?" Chu Chu looked at him suspiciously, unable to understand why he asked. "I have other things to do this afternoon, so I won't be accompanying you. If you're really bored, why not talk to Qing?" Then, her tone shifted abruptly, becoming stern. "But I warn you, don't even think about bullying Qing, or I won't let you off!"
"Do I look like the kind of person who would do that?" Xiang Ri replied with a grin, though a small pang of unease tugged at his heart.
Chu Chu scoffed and was about to say something when the bell for the end of class rang, causing her words to turn into just two: "Home!" She stormed ahead, leaving her seat.
Xiang Ri couldn't help but shiver. Instinctively, he felt that Chu Chu might know something. Otherwise, why would her gaze have been so piercing just now? Of course, he was not foolish enough to ask directly—provoking her ire was not something he could afford. So, he silently followed her out of the classroom.
Outside the classroom, Shi Qing was already waiting, seeming to have arrived even before the bell rang. However, this wasn't what concerned Xiang Ri; his mind was still uneasy, wondering how much the little lady had figured out.
About ten meters from the large school gate, a group of over twenty youths, clearly troublemakers, had gathered.
"Boss, why hasn't he come out yet? I'm starving!" A young man with dyed blonde hair complained to a youth with a mole between his eyebrows and a cigarette in his mouth.
"Wait a bit longer, school's over now. He should be out any minute," the mole-faced youth replied, his tone calm and patient.
"Damn it, when he comes out, I'll make sure he'll never forget it for the rest of his life!" the blonde youth spat with venom.
"Xiao Jin, how many times have I told you not to act on impulse?" The mole-faced youth frowned, his patience thinning. "Remember, don't go too hard. We just need to follow the employer's instructions and break one of his legs. Don't cause any trouble for me!" The "trouble" here referred, of course, to a potentially fatal injury.
"I know, Boss!" Xiao Jin promised, but his eyes betrayed a hint of skepticism. Then, his expression brightened with excitement. "But seriously, Boss, this job is too easy! The employer is paying us so much, damn it, if this happens every day, we'll be rich!"
"Don't get ahead of yourself. We can only hope that the employer's information is accurate, that the target is really just an ordinary person. If he has some powerful background, we'll need to grab the money and run as fast as we can," the mole-faced youth said gravely, a trace of concern in his brow. If he hadn't worked with the employer a few times before, he would never have taken a job without confirming the target's real identity.
Xiao Jin, however, showed no concern: "It's probably not a big deal. Mr. Ma knows us so well; he wouldn't do anything to harm us!"
"Let's hope so."
"By the way, Boss, do you remember what the guy looks like?" Xiao Jin suddenly asked excitedly.
"What is it, Xiao Jin?"
"Boss, is that him?" Xiao Jin pointed to a young man who had just appeared at the school gate, blending in with the crowd.
The mole-faced youth narrowed his eyes. "Wearing glasses, right hand bandaged—looks like it's him!"