Zhuang Jianhui, upon hearing Ding Shuyan suggest leaving, naturally wouldn't object. Having seen the gyms in Yuzhou, he too had the intention to leave.
They hadn't walked many steps when a chubby figure emerged from the gym's main entrance.
Jiang Ning, standing guard in the distance, squinted slightly. The person he had been waiting for had finally arrived.
Song Sheng wiped the sweat from his face, a hint of self-satisfaction evident. He had just bench-pressed 65kg.
If a real fight broke out, not one of the adults around could best him; they would easily be subdued to the ground.
Thinking this, Song Sheng felt proud.
He was currently a high school freshman with an untrained body, but once he became an adult, continuing his training and pushing his bench press to 150kg wouldn't be difficult.
At that point, who in class could overpower him? Wouldn't he be able to manipulate his classmates at will?
However, the thought of school cast a shadow over him. He had been humiliated by Jiang Ning, kicked over in front of everyone and forced to apologize in front of the entire class, losing face all the way to his grandmother's house.
He could never understand why Jiang Ning, who wasn't tall or muscular, was so strong?
Even now, he could clearly recall the moment he was kicked into the air by Jiang Ning.
He was 175cm tall and weighed one hundred and seventy pounds, yet he was sent flying.
What kind of strength was that?
Even if he tried to kick himself, running start or not, he couldn't manage it!
In short, this grudge couldn't be settled anytime soon, unless he resorted to a sneak attack.
Song Sheng thought of his kitchen knife but quickly dismissed the idea. As much as he wanted to kill Jiang Ning, doing so would have severe consequences. He still needed to attend college, get his diploma, and then it wouldn't be too late to act.
One day, he would achieve a 100kg bench press, and then, in class, he could pin Jiang Ning to the ground and beat him up to regain his lost face.
Until then, he would have to pick on weaker classmates to establish his authority.
With these thoughts in mind, Song Sheng glanced at the people ahead of him.
Just as Zhuang Jianhui and his group were about to leave, they also saw Song Sheng.
From about twenty meters away, Lin Zida whispered, "Do you see that guy? From our school."
Zhuang Jianhui said, "I haven't heard of him."
The school year had just started, and while he had seen a few interesting people at Fourth Middle School, Song Sheng wasn't one of them; Zhuang Jianhui didn't recognize such a minor character.
Ding Shuyan didn't speak. She had spent the summer abroad and had just returned to the country. Today, she came to Yuzhou with her aunt and hadn't yet transferred to Fourth Middle School.
"He's Song Sheng, from Class 8. It's interesting, right at the start of military training Class 8 had a dispute. Someone fought in class during evening self-study, and Song Sheng was the main instigator. He ended up getting kicked and flew through the air," Lin Zida explained, his eyebrows raising as he spoke.
"He truly was sent flying. I heard it from a buddy of mine in Class 8."
Zhuang Jianhui thought he was speaking nonsense. "Sent flying? That guy isn't light; he must be around one hundred and seventy pounds?"
"Yes, I also thought it was a bluff, but the student told it so convincingly. You might remember the other day during dinner, the Transportation Bureau guy, his kid told me," Lin Zida said.
"We both came to Yuzhou at the same time, so how come you seem to know a lot more people than I do?" Zhuang Jianhui gave Lin Zida a glance.
Ding Shuyan listened quietly to the two boys. She had traveled extensively, domestically and internationally, typically exploring with her aunt during the school holidays. Experienced and broad-minded, she didn't take student fights seriously.
She even found them disdainful; what era was this to be fighting? It was immature and juvenile.
Being a girl, she instinctively disliked violent behaviors, although she hadn't avoided fights in her own childhood.
Song Sheng, slightly farther away, didn't hear their conversation. Otherwise, he might have held a grudge.
Facing someone directly in a fight was something he wouldn't dare do; he was bad, not stupid. His family lived in the urban area of Yuzhou City, and his parents were both working professionals. As a result, they were well-informed about all matters big and small in Yuzhou. They knew whom one could provoke and whom one couldn't.
Zhuang Jianhui and his group were definitely among those whom one should not provoke.
At that gathering, one of his family members, a highly respected elder who usually sat in the seat of honor during meals, specifically mentioned that the new leader of Yuzhou City also shared the surname Zhuang.
Song Sheng understood—he couldn't afford to provoke Zhuang Jianhui, but that didn't mean he was afraid of him. Pushed to the brink, he was ready to risk it all, even if it meant a life for a life!
Song Sheng gazed at the girls among the group, a flash of amazement and greed passed through his eyes.
However, any intersection between them was destined not to occur. Despite being strong himself, being able to bench press 60kg at sixteen, he couldn't cross the class barrier. He could only flaunt his strength within his classroom, as the gap in their social statuses was simply too vast.
Unless he could bench press 600kg and become an Olympic champion.
What mattered the most now was how to get his revenge. Maybe he could find someone to inquire about Jiang Ning or get some people together and beat him up. He couldn't believe that Jiang Ning could handle several opponents alone.
Song Sheng's eyes darted around, suddenly realizing he didn't seem to have any friends he truly connected with.
Forget it, the fiercest animals always walked alone, while cows and sheep moved in herds.
And Song Sheng was his own fierce beast.
He walked towards the main road; his home was only a few hundred meters from there, a mere three to five minute walk.
As Song Sheng left, Jiang Ning also made his move. His speed was incredibly fast, crossing a distance of tens of meters in an instant. He moved like a specter, unnoticed in the bustling city.
Song Sheng thought about the start of school tomorrow. It was supposed to be the day for handing out textbooks, and over the summer break, he had attended a preparatory class and had prelearned much of the curriculum. He was sure he would perform well in the monthly test.
By then, the homeroom teacher would definitely value him more and bullying those honest students with poor grades would become easier.
After all, wasn't school all about grades?
Wasn't it natural for students with good grades to bully those with poor ones?
Song Sheng felt he had understood something profound, a kind of pleasure bloomed on his face, pulling his lips into a cruel, strange smile.
He took a step as if not stepping on the ground but on the faces of weaker classmates. The pent-up malice of the past few days seemed to stomp down with him, and, unconsciously, he exerted more force.
Right then, Jiang Ning swung a stick, empowered by the day's accumulation of electricity in his body. How immense was that strength?
The stick, wrapped in a breaking sound, fiercely struck Song Sheng's lower leg.
"Bang! Crack!"
Two dull, crisp sounds merged together.
Song Sheng staggered and fell.
The violent smash on his leg—how excruciating was that pain?
An intense, unbearable pain spread, contorting Song Sheng's face into a gruesome grimace.
He looked at his leg in horror. Under his shorts, his lower leg wavered slightly like the tentacle of an octopus, still there yet uncontrollable as if it wasn't his leg at all.
"Ah!"
"Ah, my leg, my leg!"
That kind of fear, like a dark cloud overhead, filled him with a profound sense of emptiness and confusion.
His muscles went limp in an instant, his body lost support, and he collapsed onto the ground. The pain from being on the ground broke out in a cold sweat all over his body.
"My leg is broken, ah!"
Song Sheng screamed loudly, the sound was extremely mournful, almost like slaughtering a pig, drawing the concerned glances of passersby.