Chapter 54

There are only three classes today, and school ends at 11 o’clock. Lao Si is an outgoing person; right after lunch, he suggested going out to have fun. Lao Liu asked, “Brother Si, where shall we go? We’re not familiar with this place!”
Lao Si replied, “That’s exactly why we should explore! First, let’s stroll around near the school to see if there’s anything interesting.”
The young people were delighted to hear about going out to have fun. Only the eldest grumbled, “It would be great if there was TV to watch. I want to watch the NBA!”
“Tch~~~ Boring!” Lao San and Lao Si said at the same time.
They came out of the south gate of the school. Across the street, there was a row of over a dozen restaurants. The eldest stuck out his tongue and said, “Can all these restaurants make money together?”
Lao Ma (Lao Er’s name didn’t sound good, so everyone called him Lao Ma) said, “Elder brother, don’t you know that students from H University are very wealthy? During festivals or holidays, these restaurants are always full. I think this street must be a prime location!”
Lao Ma was right. Although not all students from H University were rich, many came from wealthy families, especially the children of provincial leaders and city leaders from various places, most of whom studied here. Some even joked that H University was like a large adult daycare center.
Xie Wendong and the others went to the north side of the school and found a pretty nice disco, named Xin Qingnian. It was quite large, capable of holding over a thousand people. Most of the visitors were students, with the most coming from H University, along with some from other schools.
This disco had a unique advantage: it was located between H University and the Medical University, so it had a steady stream of customers. The fact that it could operate there meant the owner must be quite capable. When Xie Wendong entered, he glanced around and indeed saw five or six hooligans drinking in a corner of the disco. Xie Wendong knew they were there to keep an eye on things.
Xie Wendong was very interested in this disco. He needed a base in H City, and this place was undoubtedly the best. He thought about calling Jiang Sen that night to bring in his secret team and try to secure a foothold in H City first.
Noticing Xie Wendong’s distracted gaze, Lao Si asked, “Xiao Qi, have you found a girl you like? Haha!”
Realizing he had been misunderstood, Xie Wendong shook his head and said, “No… I’m just looking around!”
“No need to explain. I get it! Are you still a virgin…?”
Xie Wendong’s face turned red. Remembering that he had spent a night with Gao Huiyu, he casually replied, “Of course not!” Well, after all, men care about their pride.
“Is that so? I don’t think so!”

Xie Wendong stopped pestering Lao Si and found an empty spot to sit down, thinking about ways to take control of this place. He knew that though he held absolute power in City J, he wasn’t as powerful in City H. First, he had no reputation there; second, City H was the provincial capital with complex relationships, unlike City J; third, as an outsider, it wasn’t easy for him to establish a foothold there. Even the mighty Tiger Gang had suffered a crushing defeat in City J!

The others didn’t have as many worries as Xie Wendong. They ordered seven cups of Coke. Lao San and Lao Si went dancing, while the rest looked around for pretty girls.

After a while, Lao Si ran back and said to everyone, “Hey! I saw the girls from our class! Haha, there’s a whole group of them, and a few girls I’ve never seen before but who are really pretty!”

“Where?” Lao Ma stood up to look, but even though he was standing on tiptoes, he couldn’t see anything.

Lao Si smirked and said, “Damn, can you even see anything? Sit down! You’re so anxious. With your ‘height’!” Since Lao Ma came from a rural area, his habits made Lao Si look down on him. Lao Ma’s face turned red, and he stayed silent.

The eldest brother, understanding the situation and not wanting Lao Ma to feel embarrassed, stood up, pulled Lao Si along, and said with a smile, “Come on, Lao Si! Take us to meet them! We should get closer to our classmates!”

Lao Si pushed the eldest brother forward and joked, “Okay, but you have to greet them first!”

“Damn you… (swear word, omitted)”

Seeing that Xie Wendong was still sitting there in a daze, Lao Si pulled him along. “What are you doing, Xiao Qi? Dreaming of marrying a wife? Hurry up, I’ll introduce you to some pretty girls!” Before Xie Wendong could figure out what was going on, he was dragged away by the tall and strong Lao Si, who weighed over 200 pounds.

When they arrived at the group of girls, the eldest brother was pushed to the front. Stammering, he said, “Hi! Are you all from Class 1, Law Department 98?”

Hearing his voice, the girls turned their attention to his face, making him blush all the way to his neck.

A girl with big eyes smiled and said, “Yes, how did you know?”

“We’re from the same class too. I’ve seen you before!” Lao San, who had somehow returned to the group, pushed the eldest brother aside and spoke loudly.

The girls looked at Lao San doubtfully. “Really? Why haven’t I seen you before?”

“There are almost 200 students in our class. Besides, it’s only been five days since school started. It’s normal if you don’t remember me! Haha!”

“Oh, you’re right!”

“Because he often skips class, of course you wouldn’t know him! Haha!” Lao Si laughed. “Since we’re all classmates, why not hang out together?”

The girls agreed readily after hearing this. At first, everyone was shy, with men and women sitting separately, but before long they got to know each other and sat together, chatting freely. Lao San even invited one of the girls to dance. Xie Wendong sat at the edge, glancing at the stairs leading to the second floor, which was not open to the public and blocked by walls, making it impossible to see what was upstairs. But his intuition told him that most of the onlookers were likely there, and he needed to find a way to check it out.

Lost in thought, Xie Wendong appeared somewhat aloof, which instead caught the attention of the other girls. A girl with big eyes sat down next to him and called out loudly, “Hey!” Due to the noise in the dance club, Xie Wendong wasn’t paying attention and didn’t hear her at all. The girl seemed upset and thought, “Why act so cool?” She pushed his arm and called out again, “Hey!” This time it caught Xie Wendong’s attention, and he turned to look at her doubtfully.

The girl said petulantly, “Tch! Finally you’re paying attention. Are you trying to act cool or lost in thought?” Annoyed but keeping it hidden, Xie Wendong smiled and asked, “What do you want?”
“I thought you must be lonely sitting here alone, so I came to chat! What’s your name?”
“Xie Wendong.”
“I’m Huang Lei. It seems like you’re not very talkative!”
Xie Wendong laughed and said, “Oh, you’re the first person to say that. My friends have never told me that!” He felt this girl’s personality resembled Gao Huiyu, so he stayed cautious, thinking it better to avoid trouble—having one Gao Huiyu was enough for him.

As Xie Wendong and the girl chatted intermittently, chaos broke out in the crowd. It turned out that Lao San was dancing with a girl when a thin thug, attracted by her beauty, approached her. At first, Lao San noticed him but ignored him. But the thug grew bolder and even placed his hand on the girl’s chest. The girl screamed and stepped back several steps, while the thug laughed lewdly.

As mentioned earlier, Lao San hadn’t been a good person since middle school—hot-tempered and prone to fights. Seeing the girl he was dancing with being harassed, his anger surged. Without thinking, he punched the thug in the face and cursed, “Damn you! If you haven’t touched a woman, go touch your own mother!” The thug was hit squarely by Lao San’s punch and flew far away with his head tilted. Seeing a fight, the people around them stepped back.

Lao San wouldn’t give up. In a few steps, he reached the thug who was about to get up and delivered a fierce kick. The thug couldn’t bear it and screamed in pain. The guys in Xie Wendong’s dormitory saw Lao San fighting and rushed over. The leader stepped forward and grabbed Lao San, saying, “Lao San, enough! Stop fighting! If you keep going, something bad will happen!”
Lao San, panting heavily, looked at the thug curled up on the ground and shouted, “You little bastard! Remember this—don’t let me see you again, or I’ll beat you every time I see you!”
The thug lay on the ground, his eyes filled with hatred, but it quickly disappeared as he begged, “Big brother, I was wrong! I won’t dare do it again!”
The leader quickly said, “Alright, just leave now!” Then he turned to Lao San and asked, “What happened? Why did you fight?”
“Damn it! He bullied Tong Dan!” Lao San pointed at the girl he had been dancing with. The girl had tears in her eyes and nodded repeatedly.
The leader said, “It’s enough since we already hit him. We’re not from around here; we don’t know anyone here. Fight less in the future, or it will harm us instead!” The leader was 21 years old, much older than the others, and more sensible.
Lao San nodded in understanding. The thug silently leaned on the wall and left the club. After going outside, his eyes glowed with resentment as he headed to the nearest phone booth.
The club soon returned to normal. The few people watching over it had gotten up, but seeing the fight end quickly, they smiled at each other and sat back down. After this incident, Lao San had no mood to dance either, so he sat down with the others to chat. Xie Wendong, having seen that thug’s look before leaving, knew he would definitely seek help. He said to everyone, “Let’s go. That thug might bring people to block us later.”
Lao San, annoyed, said, “What are we afraid of him for? What can he do by bringing people? We’re not afraid of him! Damn!”
Huang Lei, who had spoken to Xie Wendong earlier, thought he was cowardly and said unhappily, “We’re not afraid. If you’re scared, just leave first, you coward!”