Chapter 53

I’m no hero, but unmatched in vision.
I’m a scoundrel, utterly arrogant!
Xie Wendong—a boy of just eighteen—established the Wendong Gang in City J. Within just three years, it rose rapidly, defeating several major gangs, absorbing smaller ones, and even taking over the Triad, becoming the largest gang in City J’s underworld. The gang’s death warrant, known as “Blood Killing,” was feared throughout the area; none who received it survived.
In August 1998, it was time for H University to start classes. Xie Wendong was delayed by five days due to gang matters.
On the 19th at noon, he stood alone in front of H Station, watching the crowded crowd, passing vehicles, and towering buildings, feeling a surge of excitement. This was where he would spend four years—everything seemed strange yet familiar, just like City J, a bustling desert. Who would rule here in four years?!
Xie Wendong took a taxi to H University. After walking around the campus, he was surprised by its size—it was many times larger than his previous school.
In the afternoon, after an hour of asking around, he finally found his class advisor in the main building—a gray-haired man of medium build named Fu.
“You’re Xie Wendong, right? Why did you arrive so late? Classes have started for five days already!” the advisor said impatiently.
Eighteen-year-old Xie Wendong hadn’t changed much; he was just taller, around 1.75 meters—only average height in the Northeast. His appearance remained unchanged; he wasn’t handsome, but rather pleasant-looking, especially with his narrow eyes that sometimes flashed with light. Men might call it a cold glint, while women would likely describe it as an electric spark.
Xie Wendong naturally had a charming aura that didn’t require effort—it showed in every move he made.
Hearing the advisor’s words, he simply replied calmly, “There were some family matters to handle. Please forgive me, sir.”
The advisor said nothing more. Everyone knew that adult education programs had lax management, and there were many students like him who hadn’t arrived even five days after classes started. The advisor asked Xie Wendong to pay the tuition fees, and it took another hour to complete various procedures. Then the advisor led him to the student dormitory.
As they walked, the advisor wondered why Xie Wendong, having been admitted to the law school, had chosen adult education instead. Xie Wendong simply brushed it off, saying it made no difference and that he preferred the freedom of adult education. The advisor shook his head, showing his confusion.

After arriving at the student dormitory, the counselor led Xie Wendong to a dormitory that could hold six people (full capacity is eight). After giving a brief explanation to the people inside, he left. There were already six people in the dormitory; only the upper bunk by the window was empty, while another bunk was piled with miscellaneous items. Xie Wendong glanced at the six people in the room, smiled, and walked over to the upper bunk by the window.

The person in the bunk below him, holding a water bottle, spoke first, “What’s your name? I’m Zhang Zhisheng from City J. What about you?”

Oh, a fellow townsman! Xie Wendong looked at this guy, who had big eyes and a middle part in his hair, but was quite handsome. He nodded and said, “I’m also from City J. My name is Xie Wendong!”

“Oh, Xie Wendong! What? You’re Xie Wendong??” Zhang Zhisheng wasn’t sure at first but suddenly remembered the pride of middle school students in City J—the one who dominated the local underworld also went by Xie Wendong. He stared at him in surprise, thinking they couldn’t possibly be the same person!!! “Are you that legendary high school figure—Xie Wendong?!”

Not wanting to cause unnecessary trouble, Xie Wendong replied, “Hehe! We just share the same name, but we’re not the same person!”

Zhang Zhisheng let out a sigh, somewhat disappointed, and said, “I thought so… How could Xie Wendong end up here!” Seeing Xie Wendong’s smiling eyes, he quickly added, “I’m not talking about you. I mean that Xie Wendong who’s the leader!”

The other five found Zhang Zhisheng’s story interesting and gathered around to ask, “Leader, tell us more! What’s this about Xie Wendong being the leader? Go on, tell us!”

Zhang Zhisheng laughed, took a sip of water, and began to recount Xie Wendong’s legendary deeds. Xie Wendong himself added a few words from the side. Since they were all young people, they quickly became familiar with each other. The other five also introduced themselves to Xie Wendong, and they ranked themselves by age.

The leader was Zhang Zhisheng, Xie Wendong’s fellow townsman with big eyes; the second in line was Ma Wenheng, short and chubby, somewhat resembling Li Shuang; the third was Zhang Xuesong, with a buzz cut and a height of about 1.78 meters, from County W, and also a fighting expert in high school; the fourth was Bai Minghao, from City S, about the same height as the third but much fatter; the fifth was Cai Wei, from City M, 1.82 meters tall, a typical strong man from the Northeast; the sixth was Wang Qinghui, from City S—the same place where Xie Wendong obtained the shotgun. Xie Wendong was the youngest, ranking seventh.

Everyone was very friendly. Seeing that Xie Wendong hadn’t brought anything, they pulled him out to buy daily necessities. There were two large shopping malls right across from H University, with countless small stalls nearby. After being introduced by the six of them, Xie Wendong bought a bunch of things—big and small—and after wandering around the malls, he spent over 500 yuan in no time. He felt pain in his heart; this wasn’t money from the gang—it was given to him by his father before he left.

By the time everything was bought, it was almost evening. Lao Si suggested that they go to a restaurant for a meal, as they had only met Xie Wendong the previous day and were going to spend four years together—so the fastest way to build rapport was over food.

Xie Wendong had no objections and said, “I’m the last one to join, so I’ll treat everyone!”

The others cheered and quickly helped carry Xie Wendong’s purchases back to the dormitory before heading to the restaurant near the side door of H University. The food there wasn’t cheap, but it wasn’t overly expensive either—Xie Wendong thought it was reasonable. The seven of them drank a whole box of beer; he couldn’t remember how much Zha Pi drank. Later, when they returned to school, they were all staggering and unsteady on their feet. Most importantly, after that meal, they all became friends.

There were few classes in the adult education program—only two to four classes a day. Xie Wendong had just arrived and wasn’t very familiar with the environment, so he planned to spend a few days in peace.

Early the next morning, while everyone was still asleep, Lao Da woke up first. Checking his watch, he saw it was already 7 o’clock. He quickly got out of bed and shouted, “It’s time! Get up! Class is starting!”

Hearing the loud noise, everyone turned over but covered themselves with the blankets and continued sleeping soundly. Lao Da thought to himself, “This is your fault!” With a grin, he grabbed an iron basin (Lao Si’s) in one hand and a shoe brush in the other.

“Bang! Bang!!…” The clanging sound filled the dormitory as Lao Da walked back and forth, shouting, “Get up! Get up!”

“Damn it!” Xie Wendong sat up with messy hair. He had drunk too much the night before and still had a throbbing headache. He stared blankly at Lao Da, who was dancing around below. Sighing, after five minutes, Xie Wendong finally came to his senses. He sighed again and quickly got out of bed, washed up, and got dressed. The others also gave in to the noise and got up one after another.

After breakfast, everyone went to the classroom, which already had no fewer than a hundred people. They sat wherever there was space, and Xie Wendong and the others found seats at the back. When the class bell rang, the teacher cleared his throat and started teaching.

This class is civil law, taught by a young teacher who is quite energetic and humorous. He is a lawyer himself, and when explaining legal provisions, he adds many interesting examples to make the dry content much more vivid. Of course, he earns a pretty good salary for each class—100 yuan!

After class, Lao Si kept looking around in the front row. Seeing this, Lao San asked curiously, “Lao Si, what are you looking for? Is there a treasure somewhere…?”
“Dang, you’re so dumb. I’m just checking if there are any pretty girls in our class!”
“Oh! Can you tell if someone is pretty just by looking from behind??”
“That depends on one’s eye for beauty. I don’t know about you, but I’m confident in my taste—I definitely won’t miss a ‘good catch’!”
After a while, Lao Si pointed ahead and said softly, “Look, quick! What about that girl in the third row from the front?? You can tell she’s beautiful just by looking from behind! Hehe!”
Everyone followed his gaze and nodded in agreement. Xie Wendong found it funny and looked over. Lao Si was pointing at a girl in white. Although they couldn’t see her face, her long, smooth black hair was enough to spark imagination.
Lao San scratched his head, tore off a page from his notebook, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it in the direction of the girl. The paper ball traced an arc through the air and landed right on the back of her head. The girl touched her hair and turned around. Everyone stared intently. At the moment she turned, they were all stunned and quickly lowered their heads to their desks. Only Xie Wendong kept his head up. When he saw the girl turn back and look his way, he smiled and nodded. But she rolled her eyes at him and muttered, “Shameless!”
Since practicing Tai Chi, Xie Wendong’s temper had changed a lot—or rather, he had become more composed. Even though he was unhappy inside, his expression remained unchanged. To put it bluntly, he became even more inscrutable.
The girl’s voice wasn’t loud, but everyone next to Xie Wendong heard it clearly and hid their smiles behind their hands.
Lao San pulled down Xie Wendong’s clothes and laughed, “Dang, I’m really impressed. Lao Si’s eye for beauty is amazing, haha~!” It turned out that the girl’s appearance was so “unattractive” that Lao San couldn’t bear to look at her again.
Lao Si muttered softly, “Dang, it really fits that saying—looking from behind makes you want to commit a crime, from the side makes you want to regress, and from the front makes you think it’s self-defense!”
Hearing Lao Si’s words, everyone, including Xie Wendong, burst into laughter. Xie Wendong smiled secretly—it seemed he was about to have an interesting college life ahead.