After Zhou Rui edited the text message, he sent it to the fat boy Song Bin, then sent a short email to the working group, saying that the copyright-related documents would be prepared as soon as possible. However, other matters, such as going to Beijing North, needed further discussion.
It would be so boring to refuse. What if he wanted to travel around Beijing after the college entrance examination?
He closed the N97 gracefully, making a crisp sound.
To be honest, flip phones have their own charm. Although they had been gradually marginalized in the later smart era, at least for people of Zhou Rui's generation, they held a unique, magical feel.
Although the system was Symbian, with a delayed response and a low level of intelligence, that sound was very nice. In 2009, what kind of bicycle would you want?
Just as he was about to say something to Li Wenqian, an arrogant voice came from the corner.
"You are Zhou Rui?!"
A figure suddenly flashed out from the darkness on the side and blocked their path.
He was wearing ruffian jeans, a fancy short-sleeved shirt, a non-mainstream hairstyle that made him appear more than ten centimeters taller, and tattoos on his arms.
Zhou Rui frowned and calmly pulled Li Wenqian behind him.
This guy almost had the word "gangster" carved on his face.
And they weren't the kind of bad boys in school, but actual gangsters who had already entered society.
Zhou Rui's expression remained unchanged as he said in a deep voice, "No, my name is Guo Sheng."
The thug was obviously stunned for a moment, but his expression immediately turned to anger. "Are you kidding me?!"
Zhou Rui thought, Did he see through me so quickly? It seemed that he had a clear purpose and knew what I looked like.
"Who are you?"
"Who am I? Be more observant in the future! When you see Brother Hao, you should bow and greet him! I'm in charge of this area!"
Zhou Rui complained in his heart, Who the hell has ever heard of Brother Hao? Have you watched too many Young and Dangerous movies? You're protecting me? Will the police recognize me? Will the principal recognize me? Will your mother recognize me?
"Then what?"
"Then? Are you stupid? Then?!"
This guy was foul-mouthed and extremely arrogant.
In an instant, Zhou Rui's temper flared. He wasn't a good student before. He often fought in his first and second years of high school and was never someone afraid of trouble.
He subconsciously wanted to go up and kick this guy.
But Li Wenqian, behind him, held him tightly.
"Zhou Rui, you're in your third year of high school. You can't fight. You promised Aunt Yao and swore an oath."
Zhou Rui sighed and felt helpless.
This place wasn't far from the school, and he wasn't the bad guy across the street.
But he was a student with only 40 days left before the college entrance examination.
Winning or losing a fight could cause trouble.
Seeing that Zhou Rui didn't yell, Brother Hao thought that he was frightened. He pointed at Zhou Rui and said, "I heard you've been very arrogant lately. Did you offend someone you shouldn't have? Are you jumping up and down, kid?"
This kind of scoundrel had no knowledge at all and couldn't even organize his words. He just used all kinds of dirty words, harsh language, and repetitive phrases.
Zhou Rui gradually calmed down.
"I understand. Someone in school is upset with me? I'm looking for you to help, right? But you have to tell me who it is, otherwise, how will I know who to be afraid of when I see you next time?"
Brother Hao was very satisfied with Zhou Rui's attitude and nodded. "You have good manners! Next time you see Ah Sheng, stand aside. Do you hear me?"
At this moment, Guo Sheng, who had been hiding in the corner, shouted, "Damn! Brother Hao! He's trying to trick you! Are you selling me out? Didn't we agree to just humiliate him anonymously?"
Zhou Rui's eyes shifted, and he knew what was going on.
"So you're Guo Sheng's elder brother. I've heard a lot about you. I'll have a good talk with Guo Sheng tomorrow. Brother Hao is really loyal to his friend. Can I take a video? Then I can let my classmates know how righteous Brother Hao is. Let everyone know that Guo Sheng is protected by Brother Hao. That way, you can be recognized when you protect this area in the future."
Brother Hao scratched his head and asked, "Shoot a video?"
"Yes, the school is so big, and there are too many people who don't know that Guo Sheng is protected by Brother Hao. We have to let them know how difficult Guo Sheng is to mess with. If we tell others, it will also give Brother Hao a lot of face, right? Come, let me take a photo for you, and you can say: 'I am Brother Hao. I am protecting Guo Sheng.'"
Before Brother Hao could figure out the key point, Guo Sheng, still in the corner, could no longer stay hidden and hurriedly shouted, "No!"
This Zhou Rui was going to kill him! If the video was taken and spread out, he would be completely ruined!
He just liked dealing with these thugs to appear respectable, but he didn't want to become a thug himself. He certainly didn't want to be expelled, and he was even more afraid of letting his parents know.
Zhou Rui! You're so vicious!
Seeing Guo Sheng jump out himself, Zhou Rui's originally raised corners of his mouth slowly disappeared, and his tone turned playful.
"Guo Sheng, a classmate from the same class, isn't this a bit too much?"
This idiot couldn't hold it in and jumped out.
Zhou Rui hadn't intended to humiliate Guo Sheng that day. From a certain perspective, it wasn't an exaggeration to say that Zhou Rui had saved his life. After all, if the pen hadn't ended up in Zhou Rui's hands, it probably would have ended up in Guo Sheng's eyes.
But this guy turned against his benefactor and got some social workers to stop him.
No matter how tonight ended, Guo Sheng had become an enemy.
Guo Sheng had already come out, so he no longer concealed his intentions. He pointed at Zhou Rui and said, "Zhou Rui, don't be so arrogant. Aren't you very powerful at school? How dare you kick me!"
Zhou Rui looked at the surveillance camera on the streetlight, thought for a moment, and a good idea came to his mind.
He then took out his shiny new N97 and recorded a video of the two of them standing together.
"You're really brainless. You haven't thought about the consequences of doing this. If I send this video to the Dean of Studies, do you think he'll make an example of me at this point in time?"
Even adults might not think clearly about the consequences of their actions, let alone a high school student. Guo Sheng had originally just wanted to ask Brother Hao to humiliate Zhou Rui, but when he heard Zhou Rui's words, his face suddenly turned pale.
Unfortunately, Brother Hao was a bad boy and didn't care about all this.
He just thought that Zhou Rui was very arrogant.
"You're so fucking arrogant? Do you think I'm nothing?!"
As he said this, he pretended to walk up to Zhou Rui and slap him in the face.
Slapping someone in the face had always been the favorite way of gangsters. It was extremely humiliating and could also satisfy their need for face.
However, the hand didn't move.
Because Zhou Rui held the N97 in front of him and smiled sincerely.
"I don't know how much Guo Sheng has done for you, but I can use money to get rid of the trouble. The latest Nokia N97 mobile phone has not been officially released in China yet. It's worth more than 5,000 yuan. You could get 4,000 yuan by reselling it. How about I exchange it for peace?"
Zhou Rui's mouth curled up again, and his smile was sincere.
But in his heart, he was sneering.
Brother Hao looked at the obviously very advanced "N97" mobile phone, and his heart was unconsciously moved.
5,000 yuan!
This was a huge sum of money in 2009.
At least for a low-level bad boy like him, it was a huge sum of money, enough for him to live a carefree life for a while.
Guo Sheng just lived in the same community as him and wasn't his biological brother, so asking him to step up was just like treating him to a meal.
In front of 5,000 yuan, a meal was nothing?!
Guo Sheng, who was behind Brother Hao, felt uneasy.
Instinctively, he felt that the situation had escalated from threats and humiliation to snatching Zhou Rui's cell phone.
But when he thought about the video in Zhou Rui's phone of him and Brother Hao standing together, he felt that it would be safer if he snatched the phone.
Little did they know that this was Zhou Rui's original intention, including filming the video in front of the two of them, just to give Guo Sheng an incentive to grab the phone.
Zhou Rui smiled like a devil, with his back to the camera on the streetlamp, and his phone almost in Brother Hao's hand:
"Let's make friends, Brother Hao. You'll protect me from now on. There are other gifts, and I'll stop provoking Guo Sheng again. How about that?"
Under the camera, the evidence was conclusive.
Robbery of more than 5,000 yuan would be sentenced to more than three years but less than ten years, depending on the severity of the crime.
The offense of being an accessory was less serious, but it was still a criminal offense.
And everyone was a senior in high school. Guo Sheng had become an adult. What Zhou Rui was holding in his hand was not the latest mobile phone, but Brother Hao and Guo Sheng's life.
At least, that's Guo Sheng's life.
College entrance exam? Maybe in the next life.
Brother Hao was a dead man, so he had nothing to lose.
Zhou Rui liked the new phone very much, but it wasn't a loss to exchange it for Guo Sheng's life, right?
If there was a grudge, it must be taken immediately, and the person must regret it for the rest of his life.
Leave here and report the case as soon as possible. The phone would be returned to him in the same way it was taken away within 24 hours at most. The only difference was that those two brainless guys would be in trouble.
Just when Brother Hao was about to snatch the phone and Guo Sheng was hesitant, an angry shout came from behind.
"What are you doing? Coming to No. 1 Middle School to cause trouble?!"