The man stood up and blew a smoke ring before he came over and asked Little Charmer, “Who is this guy? This is getting interesting. He's talking about laws with you guys!”
Qin Guan did not take the man’s sneering seriously. He just went on, “I don’t know what’s on your mind. You think this petty thing humiliated you, so you wanna punish me? You dare not kill me. You're all locals, so you must know that the police knows you quite well. If I end up in the hospital because of you, you’ll be sent to jail. If don't though, you won’t be satisfied. So why don't we fight?
The smoking man was stupefied. Qin Guan went on to say, “A man must bear the consequences of his own actions. I’m alone, yet you ask others for help. Is that because you’re too weak, or because you want others to commit your own crimes for you?”
Hearing that, Little Charmer got a little worried. He turned to the smoking man and said, “Boss, back me up. This guy is talking nonsense.”
The smoking man threw his cigarette butt to the ground and snuffed it out with his shoe. Then he turned to Little Charmer and said, “Since it’s no big deal, we’ll stay here and cheer for you. You need to settle this on your own, though.”
This was how Beijingers acted. They were well-educated and stood by their own principles.
The man’s words instantly eased Qin Guan’s nervousness. He had guessed right. In his past life, he had known a labor contractor from Beijing, who had been a well-known local boss. He had told Qin Guan over dinner once that Beijingers had their own principles. After a fight, you could even chat with your opponent and become friends with him, as long as your differences were not irreconcilable.
Qin Guan waved at Huang Jiajia, suggesting that the girls back off. Little Charmer took off his jacket and revealed his muscles.
The two young men started fighting in the middle of the alley. Qin Guan had never fought with anyone in his past life. Although he was stronger now thanks to his frequent exercising, he was still at a disadvantage because he had no fighting experience.
Little Charmer launched three punches, and the third one hit the corner of Qin Guan’s mouth. His lips started bleeding, the blood dropping to the ground along the corner. The girls covered their mouths with their hands. They dared not scream, in case Qin Guan got distracted. They had already come to know the consequences of their behavior.
Qin Guan was in a daze for a bit. He dodged another punch heading for him and puckered his lips, feeling a bloody smell rushed into his mouth.
Irritated by the smell, Qin Guan went back to his sloppy style. “Results are everything. Graceful fighting is nonsense!” Suddenly, Qin Guan became violent. He rushed up to Little Charmer and clutched him by the shoulders, inertia causing both of them to tumble to the ground.
The smoking man was about to light a cigar when he saw Qin Guan’s move and unconsciously pressed the lighter into his hands. The flame jumped up and almost burned his hair. He hastened to move the lighter away and press it again. After lighting his cigar, he turned his head and saw the two young men clutching at each other hard and rolling about in the small alley.
The alley was still an alley though, so they kept bumping against the walls on each side all the time.
Watching the two young men rolling about on the ground like flipping pancakes, Huang Jiajia could not help laughing out loud, despite the fact that there were still tears in her eyes.
Qin Guan became desperate. His eyes flashed red as he decided to maintain his good image. He gave Little Charmer a kick, and Little Charmer kicked him back.
By the time Qin Guan had narrowly gained control over Little Charmer, both their clothes were wet with sweat and mud. They made for a very funny scene.
The smoking man laughed out loud and patted Qin Guan on the back. “Hey, buddy. For my sake, let Little Charmer go. From now on, I promise you that Little Charmer will not cause you any trouble. If you're in the area and you get into trouble, call me and I'll help you.”
Qin Guan agreed. He loosened his hands and rose to his feet. As he dusted himself off, he said, “Alright. You’re a Boss, right? Actually, it was no big deal. We can just let it go.”
The Boss, whose name was Bu Qinglu, was delighted by the respect Qin Guan had showed him. He patted Qin Guan’s shoulder once again and said, “Okay. Next time you come here, it's my treat.” Then he asked his friends to take away Little Charmer, who had been pretending to be dead on the ground.
Qin Guan led the girls out of the alley without saying a word.
Huang Jiajia pursed her lips. Qin Guan's fair skin had turned black and blue, and there were still bloodstains on the corner of his mouth. Seeing her handsome, gentle tutor get so rough, she suddenly felt that what she had longed for had been worthless. She felt a little lost. She was somehow afraid that Qin Guan would not want to tutor her or see her anymore.
As she thought of that, Huang Jiajia anxiously tugged at Qin Guan’s shirt and whispered, “To be honest, clubbing is boring. I’ll be a good student from now on. Will you still tutor me?”
Qin Guan felt relieved. Huang Jiajia’s smokey-eye makeup had been ruined by her tears, but he tried to keep a straight face as he said, “Alright, but it will depend on your performance. It’s too late today. You girls go back home and we’ll talk about it next time.”
The girls looked at Qin Guan and nodded like chickens. Then they took a cab and headed back home.
When the girls had left, Qin Guan could no longer put up a brave front. He grimaced in pain and flipped the dust off his body. “Jesus, it hurts so much. And they say a punch won’t make you feel anything. Liars!”
The next morning, Qin Guan got up from his bed in a daze. He was hurting all over his body and for the first time, he had slept in.
His roommates had already used the washroom. When they saw Qin Guan, they were all shocked. Rubbing his eyes, Qin Guan asked, “What’s wrong? Why are you all looking at me like that?”
Wang Lei could not help asking, “What did you do last night? Didn’t you look in the mirror when you got up?”
Qin Guan did not figure out what was happening until Liu Xiaoyang passed him a mirror from the upper bunk. Qin Guan took the mirror and had a look. Gee! He was pretty sure even his own mom would not recognize him if she'd been there.
Actually, Qin Guan had not been severely injured, but as a rookie, he had not known how to protect his face during a fight.
Little Charmer’ punches had been really cunning and accurate.
The first punch had hit Qin Guan’s eye, the second punch the corner of his mouth, and the third one his cheekbone. When Qin Guan had gone back to his dorm, he had already had three nasty bumps on his face. Instead of bringing down the swelling with cold compresses, Qin Guan had tumbled into bed and gone straight to sleep. As a result, the right side of his face now looked like yeast bread, and his left eye was just like a panda's.
Ye Dong, the oldest boy in the dorm, could not bear to look at Qin Guan. He got out a bottle of tincture of capsicum from the box under the bed and skillfully applied it on Qin Guan’s face.
Qin Guan briefly told his roommates about the previous night.
Ye Dong and Mu Lejiang did not say anything, but Liu Xiaoyang, the youngest boy, seemed quite interested in fighting. “Gee, why didn't you ask me for help? I’m a top warrior…”
Hearing that, Ye Dong started mocking Liu Xiaoyang, “We have no such rules in my hometown. We don’t ask questions, we get straight to the fighting. Asking for help! It’s fighting, guys! A real fight doesn't wait.”
Liu Xiaoyang replied disdainfully, “You don’t get it. Rules are a must in the world of Beijing gangsters.”
Ye Dong put the lid back on the bottle and yanked Liu Xiaoyang, saying, “You seem pretty excited about fighting. How many times have you fought?”
Suddenly, Liu Xiaoyang looked like a deflated rubber ball. He seemed very upset as he said, “None! They complained that I was too young. I've never gotten a chance. Plus, my mom is basically my shadow. I haven’t even watched a fight!”
Mu Lejiang said nothing. He ruffled Liu Xiaoyang’s hair before he walked out of the dorm.
Before everyone left, Ye Dong said, “Freshman Party is on tonight. Keep it in mind. It’s in the university auditorium.”
They all promised to meet there and then headed to class.
Qin Guan also went to class, despite his swelling face, which had become the talk of the town. Wang Lei, the fourth eldest boy in Qin Guan’s dorm, was laughing all the way through the class. Indeed, Qin Guan’s face looked nothing like his previous good looks.
The students on the right of Qin Guan could only see the malformed side of his face. The girls were feeling worried and sorry for their Prince Charming, while the boys seemed to gloating.
The students on the left of Qin Guan could see the pretty side of his face. With the dark circle around his left eye and his fair skin, he looked exactly like a giant panda, the most protected animal in China. Seeing that image, the boys and the girls on his left could not help laughing.
When the class was finally over, Qin Guan decided not to leave his dorm for the rest of the day. His roommate Wang Lei brought his food to the dorm.
When it got dark, the boys headed to the university auditorium together. No one in Qin Guan’s dorm put on a performance that night. None of them had been born to be artists, but they were a good audience.
When all the seats were occupied, the curtain parted. The host and hostess showed up on the stage and gave an opening speech. Qin Guan enjoyed it very much.
There was group dancing, solo dancing, a choir, an instrumental performance, etc. Most acts had a solemn atmosphere about them. To the boys, the party seemed too boring. They could not figure out why Qin Guan had enjoyed it so much. Qin Guan, though, knew that such a solemn performance would be quite rare in the near future. The Freshman Party was sure to be full of garish acts and crazy dancers.