Chapter 5

Seeing Xie Wendong lie on the ground unable to get up, Sanyan laughed and said, “Brother, I won!?” Then he turned and picked up his clothes from his subordinate and put them on.
“I don’t think so.” Somehow, Xie Wendong had stood up, his face free of pain, his blood-red eyes gleaming with cold light. “You…” Sanyan realized the strength in those two kicks—it surely wasn’t something a teenager of fifteen or sixteen could withstand.
“Heh, it seems I underestimated you!” Sanyan strode toward Xie Wendong and kicked him in the face. Taking a step back, Xie Wendong didn’t fall. Another kick followed, and he stepped back three times yet still stood there. Blood flowed from his nose and mouth, and his cheeks swelled. Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Xie Wendong smiled faintly.
Even Sanyan felt a bit scared, though he was the one who hit others. “Fall down!” shouting, he used all his strength to punch Xie Wendong. Xie Wendong’s trembling body suddenly crouched, causing Sanyan’s punch to miss as he rushed forward. Xie Wendong’s unsteady body became agile as he quickly drew another knife from his waist and stabbed it into Sanyan’s side. The blade stopped when it pierced the muscle. Xie Wendong pulled the knife back and pointed it at Sanyan, saying, “You were already dead just now.”
Sanyan touched the wound on his side and leaned against the wall, head lowered. Xie Wendong stood quietly, waiting for his reply. Li Shuang was excited and whispered to Gao Qiang beside him, “Hehe, Brother Dong won!” Gao Qiang nodded, his hand on the hilt of the knife at his waist, slowly moving toward the center of the area. Just because Sanyan had lost didn’t mean he lacked fighting ability. Gao Qiang was afraid Sanyan might launch a sneak attack on Xie Wendong out of frustration.
After a while, Sanyan raised his head and looked at Xie Wendong, saying, “I’m not entirely convinced. But a man must keep his word. I lost! From now on, you’re my boss. With just one word from you, I’m willing to give you my life.” With that, he bowed respectfully.
Xie Wendong chuckled, then his vision went dark as he fainted. Sanyan acted quickly, wrapping his arms around Xie Wendong and shouting, “Everyone, go get a car right now!” Before he could finish speaking, Li Shuang had already rushed out to find a car…

Sanyan and the others took Xie Wendong to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with multiple soft tissue injuries, minor internal bleeding, and a mild concussion. He needed to be hospitalized. Li Shuang called Xie Wendong’s family, telling them he had been in a car accident and was now in the hospital. After hearing this, Xie Wendong’s parents asked which hospital it was and rushed there immediately. Upon meeting them, Li Shuang and the others comforted and explained things to reassure them. To add credibility, Li Shuang grabbed Sanyan, whose wound had just been covered with bandages, and said, “Uncle and aunt, it was him who drove and hit Dongge!” Gao Qiang and a few of his brothers nodded vigorously. Sanyan’s face turned red as he scratched his head and smiled awkwardly.

Half a month later, Xie Wendong was almost recovered. The doctor said he would be fine after some more rest. That day, only his parents came to pick him up from the hospital. Sanyan and the others had informed them in advance that they wouldn’t be coming. Xie Wendong also didn’t want his parents to meet those people.

Back home, his parents prepared a big meal to celebrate his discharge. Looking at the table full of food, Xie Wendong felt ashamed. If they knew he had been hospitalized because of a fight, he wondered what they would think. He felt guilty toward his parents, but at the same time couldn’t give up his current lifestyle. During these days of indulgence, he had discovered what happiness really was. Nothing in the world could be more satisfying than being respected by others! At least that’s what he thought now.

He wasn’t sure if what he was doing was right, but one thing was certain: he liked his current life. Maybe he was just born bad. For now, Xie Wendong put his worries aside and happily ate the meal with his parents.

The next day, Xie Wendong carried his backpack and headed to school. From afar, he saw no less than fifty people standing across the street from the school entrance. A smile appeared on Xie Wendong’s lips. Sanyan and Gao Qiang were squatting on the ground, talking while holding cigarettes. Li Shuang, too fat to squat, stood nearby, gesturing wildly and speaking loudly enough for Xie Wendong, who was quite far away, to hear. When the three saw Xie Wendong approaching, they threw away their cigarette butts and stood up. Gao Shuang shouted, “Stand up straight! Dongge is coming!”

The scattered followers quickly lined up in two rows. When Xie Wendong got closer, they all shouted in unison, “Hello, Dongge!” The students passing by instinctively stepped back, and pedestrians on the road turned to look. Seeing this scene, they thought, “Is this some kind of gang?”

Sanyan scratched his head and looked at Xie Wendong apologetically. “Brother Dong, I’m really sorry about last time. Thank you so much for not stabbing me deeper; the doctor told me the wound was near my liver.” Xie Wendong laughed and said, “If I had really stabbed you, would I still have a good brother like you?” Then he reached out to Sanyan. A hint of emotion appeared in Sanyan’s eyes as he tightly grasped Xie Wendong’s hand. Li Shuang and Gao Qiang also came over and placed their hands on top, and the four of them held hands tightly, just like their fates, inseparable and intertwined. None of them spoke, hoping to keep this moment of emotion forever in their hearts. To the underlings below, Xie Wendong was now a true hero; they felt that as long as Brother Dong was around, no difficulty could defeat them. A hero isn’t defined by words but by actions.

After a long while, the four finally separated their hands. Li Shuang took out a bulging paper bag from his pocket and handed it to Xie Wendong, saying, “Brother Dong, this is the money collected this week. It’s way more than before!” Xie Wendong opened it, nodded, and gave it back to Li Shuang, saying, “Use this money to treat everyone to dinner tonight so we can get to know each other better.”

Li Shuang was overjoyed at the idea of eating and drinking. His eyes narrowed as he said, “Thank you, Brother Dong!” Then he turned to the others and shouted, “Gather at the entrance tonight! Brother Dong is treating us to dinner!”

“YE! Long live~!” Everyone cheered loudly, causing passersby on the street to frown.

During the day, there was no conversation. In the evening, Xie Wendong first called home, saying he was having a birthday party with friends and would be returning late. Then he, along with Sanyan, Li Shuang, and Gao Qiang, led over fifty people to a restaurant of moderate size. As they entered, the underlings made a lot of noise, scaring away or driving out the other customers. Sanyan picked a clean table and seated Xie Wendong in the middle, then arranged for everyone to sit down. Xie Wendong, Sanyan, Gao Qiang, and Li Shuang sat together. The restaurant owner, hearing from the waiter that a group of around fifty rough-looking men had arrived, thought he might be in trouble. He hurried out from behind and greeted them with a smile, saying, “Oh! Brothers, it’s really an honor for you to come to my little shop. Please eat whatever you want; I’ll treat you this time!”

Li Shuang glanced at the speaker—a man in his thirties with just as much fat as himself, smiling broadly. Li Shuang waved his hand and asked, “Are you the owner here?”

The owner, seeing that it was a young fat man, didn’t dare underestimate him. He stepped forward and said, “Hehe, I am the owner here. I wonder why young brother brought these people here…?”

“I’m not trying to find fault!” Li Shuang pointed at Xie Wendong beside him and said, “This is my elder brother. He chose you today to treat us all to a meal. You’d better give me a fair price, or else the others won’t agree!”
The boss breathed a sigh of relief. Running a restaurant in City J meant dealing with sensible people who knew what to say to whom. “Look, what are you talking about? Everyone is here because they respect me. Let’s be friends—I’ll treat this meal!”
Xie Wendong waved his hand. “Boss, no need to be so polite. We’re not here for anything else but to have a meal. Just serve your best dishes; we won’t let you lose money.”
The boss laughed and said, “Great! Then I won’t be polite either. I’ll go arrange it—everyone, enjoy your meal!” Xie Wendong nodded, and the boss headed toward the kitchen.
After he left, Li Shuang grinned and said, “This boss isn’t bad!” “Damn, he’s not an ordinary guy!” Gao Qiang muttered. Sanyan glanced at the table, feeling something was missing, then slapped his head. “I was too busy listening to the boss talk.” He then shouted, “Waiter, bring me six cases of beer first!”
A young girl came over, her face red as she asked timidly, “What kind of beer would you like, sir?” Seeing that the girl was pretty, Li Shuang teased her, “Miss, what kinds of beer do you have here? Tell me.”
“We have Pi, 11 degrees, Jiafeng, and Wuxing.”
“Is there anything else?” Li Shuang stared at her.
The girl’s face turned even redder as she whispered, “There’s nothing else.” “Think again, really think…”
Xie Wendong gave Li Shuang a quick shake on the head. “You’re so talkative.” He then turned to the girl and said, “Waiter, just Jiafeng.”
The girl nodded and rushed off. Gao Qiang laughed and winked, “Fatty, your looks are too ‘patriotic’—you scared that poor girl!” “Damn, I’ll go lose weight tomorrow…” Laughter filled the air.
The beer was brought quickly. Soon, a few young men carried in six cases of Jiafeng. Sanyan poured the beer and stood up, saying, “Brothers, let’s raise our first glass to Brother Dong. Let’s drink to his discharge from the hospital.” Everyone stood up together and said, “To Brother Dong!”
Xie Wendong stood up, smiling and nodding. “Thank you all. I should be the one to raise this glass first, but it seems Brother Zhang (Sanyan) got there first. Enough talk—let’s drink!” Everyone shouted, “Drink!” Clinking of glasses filled the restaurant.

Li Shuang poured another glass of wine and stood up. “Let’s raise this glass to Brother Dong. May Brother Dong lead us to build our own empire!” Hearing this, everyone stood up and said, “To Brother Dong! Lead us to build our empire!”
Xie Wendong had just finished one glass, so he had to pour another and raise it, saying, “We still need everyone’s hard work in the future. Achievements are created by all of us! Cheers!” “Cheers!”
As they spoke back and forth, the food hadn’t even been fully served yet, but everyone was already drunk. Northerners don’t focus on the process of drinking; what matters is having fun. This is directly related to their straightforward and generous nature. Those who fight fiercely today might become brothers for life tomorrow. Straightforwardness, generosity, and lack of pretense are innate traits of Northerners. Although it’s hard for friends from the south to understand, I think that’s exactly what makes them endearing.
Xie Wendong and the other three didn’t drink wildly like the other members. They chatted while drinking. Sanyan touched his glass with his hand and said, “Brother Dong, I think we should form an organization. With more and more people joining, it’s hard to control things without a proper organization!”
Li Shuang and Gao Qiang had already thought of this. Li Shuang nodded and Gao Qiang said, “Sanyan is right. If we want to make a name for ourselves, we need our own organization.” Li Shuang continued, “Yeah, just like the Axe Gang in our city—how impressive they are!” (The Axe Gang in City J is an ancient gang in the city; no one knows when it originated. It’s recognized as an organized crime group.)
Xie Wendong lowered his head and remained silent. He also wanted to form an organization, but it was easier said than done. He picked up his glass and took a sip, saying, “I’m not against having an organization, but then the number of people will surge, and everything—eating, drinking, and fun—will rely on the organization. How do you think we can support them?” The three were stunned. Xie Wendong tilted his head back and drained the wine in his glass before continuing, “All the money we have now comes from collecting ‘protection fees’ from students. At most, it’s twenty thousand yuan a month. How can we sustain an organization with such little money? Even if we manage to form one now, it will only lead to our quick breakup.”
Gao Qiang asked, “Brother Dong, so what do you mean…?”
Xie Wendong smiled slightly and fiddled with the glass in his hand. Li Shuang, being impatient, saw that Xie Wendong wasn’t speaking and asked loudly, “Brother Dong, speak up! We’ll listen to you!”
Xie Wendong looked at the three of them staring at him and slowly said, “For now, you should… study hard!”
Li Shuang and Gao Qiang were shocked and blurted out, “Study hard?”

“That’s right. You should study hard now. With the middle school exams in just a month, everyone of you is going to high school. If anyone fails… Xie Wendong won’t spare them. Unless you don’t want to be with me anymore!”
Sanyan was stunned. “So… what about me?”
Xie Wendong chuckled. “You stay here and take control. Grow stronger and expand your influence. Our goal is to take over all the middle schools. The gangsters don’t care about places like middle schools that yield little profit. They don’t want them, but we do. By controlling more schools and young troublemakers outside them, that’s our foundation.”
Sanyan nodded. “Brother Dong, I get it. There are tons of small factions like ours in J City. We’re not even close to the gangsters; we can’t compete with them. If they’re gangsters, we’ll just be a gray society—neither black nor white, right?”
Xie Wendong nodded in approval and said to Li Shuang, “Xiaoshuang, Qiangzi, learn from Brother Zhang more. It won’t hurt you.” Gao Qiang’s face turned red, but he still didn’t understand. “Then why do we need to go to high school?”
Xie Wendong stood up, his eyes shining brightly. “Come with me to take control of No. 1 High School!”
Li Shuang and Gao Qiang were shocked. “Take… control of No. 1 High School? Good heavens!” Li Shuang burst into laughter. “I can’t wait! Yeah! No. 1 High School—famous throughout the province for its hooligans. Haha!!” He turned to Gao Qiang and asked, “Brother Qiang, do you know how many criminals come from our city’s No. 1 Middle School every year?” Gao Qiang shook his head; he really didn’t know, only hearing that it was extremely chaotic there.
Seeing Gao Qiang shake his head, Li Shuang said with a grin, “Hehe! ‘According to incomplete statistics, 8% of the criminals in the province come from J City’s No. 1 Middle School.’ Haha! That’s great!”
Sanyan and Gao Qiang looked at Xie Wendong in disbelief. “Brother Dong, that can’t be right?”
Xie Wendong narrowed his eyes. “I’m not sure about that either. I don’t know where Xiaoshuang heard it from. But it’s highly likely to be false!”
Sanyan and Gao Qiang exchanged a look and said in a dawning realization, “Oh! So it was made up by some people!” Li Shuang hurriedly said, “I’m telling the truth! Believe me!”
“Tch!” Sanyan and Gao Qiang simultaneously stuck up their middle fingers and turned away, ignoring him. Gao Shuang, face red, suddenly stood up and shouted, “Where’s Liu Xinyu? Get out here! You keep lying to me!” A hand emerged from under the table not far away, and a muffled voice said, “Who? Who… who called me?” “…”

Everyone had a great time eating, and one could say they also had a great time drinking. In the end, the bill totaled over a thousand yuan, though the restaurant owner waived the cost of the drinks. They barely touched the food, as their stomachs were already full from beer by the time the dishes arrived.

Xie Wendong didn’t drink much, but still felt a bit affected despite not being a heavy drinker. Though his mind was clear, he felt as if he were floating. Gao Qiang and Sanyan drank quite a bit but didn’t get drunk, while Li Shuang was completely intoxicated. At one point, he held Xie Wendong’s hand and cried, then he grabbed Gao Qiang and laughed heartily, and later tried to kiss Sanyan’s face. In the end, they concluded that they couldn’t let Li Shuang get drunk again—he wasn’t that bad at drinking. Gao Qiang took Li Shuang home. Sanyan offered to take Xie Wendong home, but he politely declined.