Chapter 16

Only two people were left. Seeing Xie Wendong’s ferocity, they both felt some regret. But Xie Wendong didn’t give them a chance to regret—it. He stepped forward and punched the man closest to him in the face; the man quickly dodged. Xie Wendong turned away without paying him any attention and kicked the other man. Before that man could understand what was happening, he felt a sharp pain in his lower body, screamed, and rolled on the ground. The last remaining man, no longer as bold as before, shouted and turned to run. After taking a few steps, he was stopped by onlookers. A burly man pushed him back and said, “Damn it! You want to run before the show’s even over?”
The man hadn’t run far when he turned around and was terrified. Xie Wendong was standing right behind him, his blood-red eyes fixed on him. “He killed someone!” the man screamed, running in circles in the middle of the area. No one made way for him; people watched like it was a fight.
Gao Huiyu went over to Xie Wendong, gently took his hand, and said nothing. She felt an unprecedented sense of security beside him. Xie Wendong gradually calmed down, caught up to the man in a few steps, grabbed his collar, and said, “Come here.” The man stared at Xie Wendong’s back, stunned.
“Haha! Truly, heroes emerge from youth! So young and yet able to defeat four adults—impressive!” The speaker was around forty years old, overweight, wearing gold-rimmed glasses. He stepped forward from the crowd, followed by three others.
Hearing the voice, Xie Wendong stopped and turned to look at the middle-aged man. “You flatter me! Do you need something?” As soon as he finished speaking, Gao Huiyu ran over to the man, took his hand, and said, “Uncle Li, why are you here too?” The man chuckled and said, “I was out on business and happened to pass by. I came in to see how business was going. Who would have thought I’d meet such a young hero!”
Seeing the middle-aged man praising Xie Wendong, Gao Huiyu felt happy and said in a sweet voice, “Uncle Li, he’s my… my friend!”
The man laughed and said, “Xiaoyu, your friend is quite impressive! I saw everything just now. Is he maybe your boyfriend?”
Gao Huiyu’s face turned red as she said in a delicate voice, “Uncle Li, he’s just an ordinary friend! I’m leaving now!” With that, she pulled Xie Wendong’s clothes and walked away. Xie Wendong nodded at the middle-aged man before being pulled out by Gao Huiyu. After the two left, the middle-aged man looked solemnly at the people behind him and said, “Go find out more about this man. I want to know who he is!”

Xie Wendong and Gao Huiyu came out of the dance club and strolled on the street. Xie Wendong asked, “Sis Yu, who was that guy just now? It seemed like you two knew each other well!”
Gao Huiyu smiled and said, “He’s a friend of my father and brother!”
Although it was his first time meeting that middle-aged man, Xie Wendong felt that he wasn’t an ordinary person, which piqued his curiosity about Gao Huiyu’s family. He asked, “Sis Yu, what do your father and brother do?”
Gao Huiyu lowered her head, hesitating and staying silent. Seeing this, Xie Wendong quickly said, “I was just asking casually. If it’s not appropriate to talk about, no need to say anything!”
Gao Huiyu raised her head and looked at Xie Wendong, saying, “I’ll tell you. If I don’t say anything, you might think all sorts of things. Anyway, you’ll find out sooner or later! My brother is the boss of the Triad!”
“What?” Xie Wendong stopped in his tracks, staring at Gao Huiyu in disbelief and asking loudly, “Your brother is the boss of the Triad?”
Gao Huiyu nodded. “Hey, why are you so surprised?”
How could Xie Wendong not be surprised? The Triad was one of the three major forces in City J. Its power could be imagined from the fact that its boss was a figure whose mere step could shake the underworld. He never expected it to be Gao Huiyu’s brother. Suppressing his shock, Xie Wendong said, “No wonder you said your brother was an important person before!” After thinking for a moment, he asked, “Was that guy your brother’s subordinate?”
Gao Huiyu nodded. “Yes. He’s been around since my father was the boss of the Triad. He’s considered a veteran in the gang and is very kind to me too!”
Xie Wendong said, “Hmm, I can see that!” Then, remembering something, he burst into laughter.
Gao Huiyu asked, “Hey! What’s the matter? What’s so funny?”
Xie Wendong took a breath and said, “Rumors are mostly untrustworthy! There were rumors at school that your sister was the lover of the Triad boss! It’s really ridiculous now that I think about it!”
Gao Huiyu blushed and said, “When my brother picked my sister up from school before, some people spread rumors for no reason. My sister got so angry that she never let him pick her up again, but the rumors kept spreading.”
Xie Wendong asked, “Does your brother know about the fight between me and your sister?”
Gao Huiyu shook her head. “He probably doesn’t. My sister never talks to him about things at school.”

Xie Wendong responded with an “oh,” feeling both relieved and disappointed. He hoped that one day he could confront giants like the Qing Gang, but he also knew his current strength was no match for theirs—he would likely be finished with just a flick of their finger. Yet he had a passionate heart and an urge to fight against the strong.

Xie Wendong and Gao Huiyu chatted as they walked, and their relationship grew closer. It wasn’t until after 4 p.m. that Xie Wendong dropped Gao Huiyu off at home. Gao Huiyu wanted him to come in and stay, but Xie Wendong refused firmly due to her presence. After waving at Gao Huiyu, he left.

Early the next morning, Xie Wendong went to Xinxin Billiards Hall to discuss matters with Sanyan. The two talked for a long time in the back room, and no one knew what they were discussing. It wasn’t until after 10 a.m. that Xie Wendong and Sanyan came out.

At the door, Xie Wendong said seriously, “Brother Zhang, once we succeed this time, we’ll have room for growth. But if we fail, they’ll never let us go. Things will get really bad then!”
Sanyan nodded and said, “Brother Dong, I think if we get the details straight, it shouldn’t be a problem to strike at their stronghold with our strength.”
Xie Wendong looked up and sighed, “Whether we can survive in City J from now on depends on this move!” With that, he left Xinxin Billiards Hall.

When he arrived at the classroom, it was already the fourth class. The homeroom teacher was lecturing passionately, gesturing wildly and spitting saliva everywhere. Xie Wendong entered with his backpack, ready to return to his seat, but the teacher called him over and demanded angrily, “Xie Wendong! Where have you been? Why are you here so late?”
Xie Wendong replied, “I’m sorry, teacher. I had to deal with some matters and missed class.”
The teacher pointed at him and said, “A student like you is beyond saving! Get out! Never show up in my class again!” The teacher still remembered the embarrassment Xie Wendong caused him on the first day of school and saw this as an opportunity to teach him a lesson.
Xie Wendong ignored him, sat down at his seat, and said, “You have no right to kick me out of the classroom.”
“You… get the hell out!” The teacher trembled with anger at Xie Wendong treating his words as nonsense.
Xie Wendong looked at him and said, “Don’t forget you’re a teacher. It’s very impolite to swear in front of so many students.”

“You… I really doubt how your parents raised you to turn you into such a scumbag! It seems your parents aren’t very good people either.” The teacher lost his temper. He was used to being domineering at school, and having a student dare to challenge him made him furious.

The teacher’s words angered Xie Wendong even more. He could tolerate being insulted, but not having his parents insulted—Xie Wendong couldn’t forgive him. Slowly standing up, he pulled a knife from his pocket, a decorative knife that would change his fate.

The teacher was shocked to see him pull out a knife. Pointing at Xie Wendong, he asked in a trembling voice, “You… what are you going to do?”

Xie Wendong said nothing. He slowly pulled the blade out and fixed it in place. Then, suddenly, he swung his hand, and a white light flashed as the knife flew toward the teacher. The teacher screamed and fell to the ground. With a “click,” he looked up to see the decorative knife stuck in the blackboard, its blade still trembling.

The teacher swallowed hard and glanced at Xie Wendong. The latter was staring at him with a demonic gaze, his lips slightly curled.

“Oh my god! Someone’s been killed!” The teacher screamed and rushed out of the classroom, heading straight for the principal’s office. Ignoring the astonished looks of his classmates, Xie Wendong walked toward the classroom door. At the door, he gave Li Shuang a signal, then left the classroom. Li Shuang immediately understood what Xie Wendong meant and followed him out.

Meanwhile, the teacher rushed to the principal’s office without even knocking. When he entered, the scene inside stunned him. The principal was sitting on a leather chair, hugging a young female teacher. One hand was inside her shirt collar, while the other hand stroked her thigh. Just as the principal was in the midst of his indulgence, he saw Xie Wendong’s homeroom teacher enter and grew angry. “I told you, Lao Liang, can’t you knock before coming in?!” he said, putting the teacher down from his lap. The teacher’s face turned red; she tried to leave, but the principal held her back.

Lao Liang, used to such situations, quickly regained his composure and shouted, “Principal, there’s… a new student who pulled a knife on me. It seems he wants to kill me!”

The principal rolled his eyes at him, still stroking the teacher’s hand, and said, “With your incompetence, you can’t even deal with a student, and you get so scared. It seems I really need to consider whether to keep using you in the future.”

Sweating profusely, Lao Liang whispered, “Principal, that student’s gaze was terrifying. If you’ve never seen it before, you have no idea… it was really…”

The principal said, “Stop talking nonsense. You’re just being cowardly and making excuses. Go outside first; we’ll talk about this later!” As he spoke, he reached out with one hand to touch the female teacher’s bare legs beneath her skirt.
Lao Liang looked distressed and said, “Principal, you have to help me get even today! He made me look so embarrassed in front of the students!”
Now driven by lust, the principal had no energy to deal with him. Seeing that Lao Liang didn’t leave, he shouted, “Damn it, will you ever stop? Go outside! I’ll come find you in a bit!” When Lao Liang saw the principal angry, he dared say nothing more, turned around, and left, closing the door behind him.
Once he was gone, the principal pulled the female teacher back into his arms and opened his mouth wide, ready to bite her face. But the door opened again as Lao Liang returned, pale-faced. The principal’s sparse hair seemed to stand on end as he cursed loudly, “Lao Liang, what the hell are you doing back here? Get out!” Before he could finish speaking, the principal fell silent because someone else entered—the student in uniform.
Sweating profusely, Lao Liang turned to the principal and said, “It’s not… I didn’t want to come back. It’s him… he…”
The principal released the female teacher and stood up, asking, “What’s your name? How dare you! Don’t you know I’m the principal?”
The student smiled and said, “My name is Xie Wendong. Remember my name! You’ll need it later.”
The principal asked, “Is that you who tried to kill the teacher with a knife?”
Xie Wendong didn’t speak. He strode toward the principal. The principal trembled inwardly and asked, “Stop! What… what are you doing?”
Xie Wendong reached the principal, picked up a bottle of ink from the table, and fiddled with it, saying, “I hope you and the other teachers under you don’t mess with me in the future. You can still be your little emperor, but if not, don’t blame me for bringing you down.”
The principal snapped angrily, “What the hell are you? Talking to me like this? I tell you, at No. 1 Middle School, I’m the biggest. No one can give me orders!”
Xie Wendong replied, “That was before. Things are different now. If you weren’t nearsighted, go look outside the window.” With that, he smashed the ink bottle against the window glass.
The principal glanced at him and slowly walked to the window to look outside. He saw the schoolyard filled with students, most holding sticks. As soon as they saw the principal’s head appear, they shouted in unison, “Wendong Hui! Wendong Hui! Wendong Hui!…” The noise was deafening. The principal was stunned by the scene and stood at the window in shock. It took him a while to recover, and he stared at Xie Wendong in disbelief.

Xie Wendong said nothing. He turned and walked outside. When he reached the door, he stopped without looking back and said, “From now on, I’ll be in charge here!”
The principal stared at the empty doorway and slowly said, “He’s a devil!” Lao Liang and the female teacher stood motionless like wooden statues for a long, long time…
Outside the playground, Li Shuang, Gao Qiang, Zhang Yanjiang, and He Haoran, who were standing at the front, exchanged smiles. Li Shuang said to He Haoran with a smile, “Well? By following Brother Dong, all the underground forces in City J will belong to us! Wendong will eventually be able to unify the underworld!”
He Haoran sighed deeply and said in a low voice, “I’m willing to give my life to Brother Dong. But the only thing that bothers me is Long…”
Li Shuang patted his shoulder and said, “We all respect you as a man of courage. That’s exactly why Brother Dong took you in. I’m not good with words, but I know that once you do something, you shouldn’t regret it. It’s a blessing to follow someone you admire and who has the ability to lead.”