Chapter 13

An amazing person? Xie Wendong couldn’t guess who it could be and said, “If I get the chance, I really must meet him! Hehe!”
Seeing his eager expression, Gao Huiyu deliberately said, “He certainly won’t meet someone as insignificant as you!” Then she giggled.
Looking at Gao Huiyu’s playful and innocent smile, Xie Wendong was momentarily stunned. Seeing him stare at her in a daze, her face turned red as she waved her hand in front of his face and said, “Hey! Have you never seen a beautiful girl before?”
Xie Wendong came back to his senses, grabbed her hand that kept waving, and said, “Yes, yes! I’ve never seen such a beautiful senior. I was wondering if such a beautiful senior would be kind enough to have lunch with me?”
With her hand held by Xie Wendong, Gao Huiyu pulled a few times but couldn’t free it. Her face turned as red as if covered with a red cloth. She lowered her head and said in a soft voice, “Okay!”
Looking at Gao Huiyu’s lowered, delicate face, Xie Wendong felt waves of emotion surge within him. It seemed like he wanted to spend his whole life like this. The two stood quietly, neither speaking, as if time had stopped. The scorching sun of September hung in the sky, casting light on their figures. It felt like an entire century had passed before Xie Wendong snapped out of it. Realizing he was still holding Gao Huiyu’s hand, he blushed and released it, whispering as if he had done something wrong, “I’m sorry, senior! I just…”
Gao Huiyu placed her hand over Xie Wendong’s mouth, cutting off his explanation, and said with a smile, “Stop calling me senior from now on. I’m only one year ahead of you in grade! My family calls me Xiaoyu—call me Xiaoyu too!”
Xie Wendong nodded and softly called out, “Xiaoyu!”
Gao Huiyu felt happy and pulled at Xie Wendong’s clothes, saying, “Aren’t you hungry? I’m a little hungry too. Let’s go eat together! I’ll take you to a great place.” With that, she pulled Xie Wendong forward.
In the distance, Xie Wendong’s resigned sigh could be heard: “You said you weren’t hungry just now!” Along with Gao Huiyu’s playful laughter, “Little brother, I’m just teasing you!” Their shadows disappeared at the end of the street.
There was no conversation in the afternoon. That evening, when Xie Wendong returned home and had just finished eating, he received a call from Gao Huiyu. Xie Wendong asked, “Sister Yu, is something wrong?” Laughter came from the other end of the phone, “Nothing’s wrong. I just missed you and wanted to hear your voice! Hey, can’t I call you if there’s nothing wrong?!”
“Sure, sure! I’m always welcome! Have you eaten yet?” “I just finished. It wasn’t pleasant at all!”

“Why?” “Don’t even ask! It’s all your fault! Ever since you had a fight with your sister, she’s been sulking all day long and ignoring everyone. It’s driving me crazy! It’s definitely your mistake!”
“Hey! Miss, you can’t say that. I’ll feel hurt!” “Hmph! I’m ignoring you. I’m going to be with my sister. Bye!”
With a ‘click’, the other party hung up. Xie Wendong shook his head in confusion, not understanding why Gao Huiyu called. Sigh! Girls’ minds are really hard to figure out! Xie Wendong put down the phone and went back to his room to read. In the living room, Xie Wendong’s father saw his son go inside and whispered to his wife, “Could our son be in a relationship?! Haha!”
The next day, Xie Wendong still went to school by running. When he entered the classroom, he saw Li Shuang and walked over to say softly, “Shuang, go find Gao Qiang and Zhang Yanjiang. I’ll wait for you in the small woods!”
Li Shuang agreed without asking why, knowing that whatever Brother Dong did must have a reason. After Li Shuang left, he put his backpack on his chair and left the classroom.
Not long after Xie Wendong arrived in the woods, Li Shuang and the others showed up. Xie Wendong thought for a moment and said, “Let’s discuss a plan to deal with Liu Jinglong! I made a bet with Boss Gao—if we can’t defeat the Black Dragon Brotherhood in half a month, we have to disband!”
Li Shuang said, “Brother Dong, I think we should bring Sanyan over and take him out at once!”
Xie Wendong shook his head. “I haven’t met Liu Jinglong yet. I don’t know what kind of person he is, nor do I know his strength. If I act rashly, I’m afraid I’ll suffer losses. Boss Gao isn’t an ordinary person. The fact that she agreed to this bet shows that the Black Dragon Brotherhood still has strength!”
Zhang Yanjiang took over, saying, “Brother Dong is right. Liu Jinglong alone has no less than a hundred followers among students, plus some hooligans from outside who he’s brought under his control. His influence is definitely significant.”
Li Shuang said loudly, “Yanjiang, then what do you suggest?” Gao Qiang said from the side, “I think we should find a few people and knock him out when he’s on his way home. That’ll solve it!”
Zhang Yanjiang bit his lip and said, “That probably won’t work either. Liu Jinglong is an excellent fighter. If there are too few people, we might not be able to beat him. If there are too many, he might run away when he sees the situation, making things worse! Even if we manage to knock him into the hospital, his brothers are still there. A few of them are as smart as Liu Jinglong. They became his subordinates because he’s loyal, and they also owe him favors. With them around, the Black Dragon Brotherhood won’t collapse, and we’ll only alert them!”

Li Shuang said, “This won’t work, that won’t work—so aren’t we doomed to lose?”
Xie Wendong waved his hand and asked Zhang Yanjiang, “Then what do you think we should do?”
Zhang Yanjiang thought for a moment and said, “It’s best to lure Liu Jinglong and his key followers into a confined area without them being on guard, one that we’ve already set up as an ambush. Only then can we have a chance to take them all out! Once they’re gone, the Heilong Club will collapse too.”
Hearing this, Li Shuang rolled his eyes and said, “It’s easy for you to say. How can we get them into a confined area without them being on guard? Those guys aren’t idiots!”
Xie Wendong suddenly asked, “How many brothers can Liu Jinglong trust?”
Zhang Yanjiang thought for a while and said, “About seven or eight, I guess. These are all people who have shared life and death with him!”
Xie Wendong’s mind was working fast. After considering for five minutes, he said to everyone, “Help me investigate… and then…” Everyone nodded as they listened to Xie Wendong. Finally, Li Shuang said, “Brother Dong, isn’t this…”
Before Xie Wendong could speak, Zhang Yanjiang took over, “Brother Shuang, sometimes you have to use any means necessary. We’re in this business—there’s no room for too many scruples!”
Li Shuang looked troubled and said, “I know that, but I just feel…”
Xie Wendong looked at Li Shuang and said loudly, “Feel what? I’ve never claimed to be a good person. What we’re going to do from now on will be even worse! If you have any doubts, speak up!”
Li Shuang had never seen Xie Wendong like this. He lowered his head and said, “Brother Dong, I was wrong! I won’t say anything else.”
Xie Wendong’s expression softened. “Xiao Shuang, I’m not blaming you. In this world, if you want to survive—whether in the underworld or the legitimate world—as long as you want to survive and thrive, you need to have a cold heart!”
Li Shuang nodded and said, “Brother Dong, I understand. Anyway, I’ll always listen to you!”
Xie Wendong nodded and looked at the three of them, asking, “If you have anything else to say, go ahead. If not, let’s stop here. Everyone, go back to the classroom! I still have some things to think about!”

The three of them said in unison, “None left!” Xie Wendong nodded, signaling that they could go, and then the three walked toward the teaching building. Watching their figures fade into the distance, Xie Wendong strolled alone in the woods, lost in his thoughts: Even if he defeated Liu Jinglong, what good would it do to dominate No. 1 Middle School? Collect some trivial protection money? Sanyan was right—relying solely on the school would never allow him to achieve much; he could only make a little money. But if he wanted quick profits, gambling, prostitution, and drugs came to mind, yet none of these were safe. One mistake could not only ruin him but also drag his brothers down with him. Another option was making money by guarding areas, but now even the profitable ones were taken over by the three major underground gangs, and even the unprofitable ones were occupied by smaller gangs. It seemed he really had to follow the plan he discussed with Sanyan!

Thinking this, Xie Wendong let out a sigh. Once he had made up his mind, there was no reason to change it. He strode confidently toward the teaching building.

Three days later, No. 1 Middle School was surprisingly peaceful. The three powerful gangs hadn’t fought a single battle. But beneath the calm surface, a storm was brewing—a tempest was about to sweep through, and a new order was taking shape.

Three days later, at night, He Haoran was on his way home. The memory of the meeting he’d just had with Brother Long and the others filled him with frustration. No. 1 Middle School was already chaotic enough with Gao Laoda around, and now Xie Wendong had emerged as a new force, making things even more complicated. Fortunately, Xie Wendong and Gao Laoda were at odds, so he didn’t have to worry about trouble from that side. As he was lost in thought, five men appeared in front of him, blocking his path. The leader was not tall, overweight, with a horizontal scar on his face, his eyes fixed on him.

He Haoran was stunned and asked, “Brothers, why are you blocking my way?”

The fat man laughed and said, “You must be He Haoran! My boss wants to meet you. Would you do us the honor?”

He Haoran felt a slight shock. Looking at the men behind the fat man, dressed in No. 1 Middle School uniforms, he figured out what was going on and said, “Your boss is Xie Wendong, right? But I’m not interested in meeting him. If he wants to see me, let him come himself!”

That fat man was Li Shuang. He said, “Hehe, Brother Haoran, are you being a bit too arrogant? But it doesn’t matter. Brother Dong said that if you refuse to walk on your own, we can help you!”

He Haoran narrowed his eyes and said, “You think a few of you can stop me?! Ridiculous!”

Li Shuang’s expression darkened, and he said, “I’ve long heard about you in the Black Dragon Brotherhood. Today, I want to see what you’re made of. Do you dare have a one-on-one fight with me?”

He Haoran was about to speak when a voice from behind made him swallow his words. “Fatty, you’re too impulsive. Have you forgotten what Brother Qiang said to you? Hurry up—Brother Dong will be getting anxious soon!” It was Gao Qiang who spoke.

He Haoran turned to look at the speaker and saw that seven or eight more people had appeared behind him. Leading them was a teenager about 1.77 meters tall—himself. He Haoran laughed heartily. “Your boss really overestimates me. More than ten people coming to invite me—if I don’t go, it seems like I’m being disrespectful!” Before he could finish, he shot toward Li Shuang like an arrow, punching at his face.

But he underestimated Li Shuang. Though a bit overweight, Li Shuang dodged skillfully, avoiding He Haoran’s strike and striking him in the stomach instead. Realizing he couldn’t gain an advantage, He Haoran retreated. The dozen or so people surrounded him. Li Shuang smirked at him. “Heh heh, I’ll remember this welcome punch from you, brother!”

He Haoran inwardly sighed, knowing he couldn’t leave today. Xie Wendong’s rapid rise in just a few days at No.1 Middle School wasn’t by chance. Nodding, He Haoran straightened his back and said, “Take me to see your boss. I want to meet this person too!”

Li Shuang also admired He Haoran for showing no fear despite being surrounded by over a dozen people. He gave a thumbs-up and said, “Good! You’re brave—real man! Let’s go, guys!”

Li Shuang, Gao Qiang, and the others took He Haoran to a restaurant with a “Closed” sign on the door. Li Shuang pushed the door open and said, “Come on in, Brother Haoran!”

He Haoran glanced at Li Shuang, hesitated for a moment, then stepped in. Li Shuang and the others followed in and locked the door behind them. He Haoran tensed up, glanced back, and thought, “At worst, I’ll fight to the death. What’s there to fear?” With that thought, he smiled and followed Li Shuang to the back room. The room wasn’t large, but it was filled with people. In the center, on a leather chair, sat a teenager around sixteen or seventeen, resting with one arm propped behind his head.

He Haoran put his fear aside and asked loudly, “Are you Xie Wendong?!”

As soon as he finished speaking, someone stepped forward and slapped him across the face. “Damn it, how dare you speak to Brother Dong like that!”

He Haoran wiped the blood from his mouth, ignored the person beside him, and stared at Xie Wendong. “I didn’t realize Brother Dong’s way of treating guests was like this!”

“Damn it, kid, you’re looking for trouble!” The person next to him raised his hand, ready to strike. Xie Wendong opened his eyes, waved his hand, and the man retreated upon seeing that. Looking at He Haoran, Xie Wendong smiled and said, “Good! A real man. Liu Jinglong is lucky to have a brother like you. Xiao Shuang, bring over a chair—our guests shouldn’t stand!”
Li Shuang replied and soon brought a chair behind He Haoran, saying, “Brother Haoran, please sit down!”
He Haoran thought for a moment, then sat down and got straight to the point, “Did Brother Dong invite me here just to let me sit idle? Just say what you have to say!”
Xie Wendong lightly tapped the chair arm with his finger. “I want the Black Dragon Brotherhood to be removed from No. 1 Middle School!”