Chapter 34: How Dare You Touch My Woman

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Chapter Thirty-Four: You Dare Lay a Hand on My Woman?

After leaving Du Fanhao’s office, Zhuo Nan found himself with nowhere to go. Returning to school was out of the question. He still had not decided what to do when he saw Zhao Jiawen, so to avoid an awkward encounter, he could only lie low for the time being.

He had originally planned to go shopping with Fu Xinxin on Sunday, but now that he had nothing else to do—and since he really had not seen her in a long time—Zhuo Nan decided to go to Sixth High School to meet her after class and walk home with her. He hailed a taxi and headed over.

When he arrived at the school gate, he discovered that it was still early. Classes ended at half past five, and it was only four. He could hardly stand like an idiot outside the school waiting for her. Zhuo Nan was a handsome man, but he had no interest in being admired like some kind of fool.

Besides, although Sixth High School was a key school in the city, it also had plenty of street punks. Even a provincial key school like First High had its share of young thugs, let alone Sixth High. Wherever Zhuo Nan stood, he carried an imposing presence. If the local punks mistook him for someone who had come to cause trouble, he would only be inviting unnecessary complications.

Zhuo Nan was not afraid of trouble. One phone call from him could summon hundreds of hooligans. But that would be far too conspicuous, and completely contrary to his principles.

The best solution, therefore, was to find a cold-drink shop across from the school and sit there until school let out.

The shop was small but neat, with four little tables arranged in orderly rows. Each table held an attractively designed drinks menu. Zhuo Nan had barely found a seat when a young woman of about twenty approached him. She was ordinary-looking, but her smile was sweet.

“Student, what would you like to drink?”

Without looking at the menu, Zhuo Nan replied, “A cup of bubble tea.”

Teenagers these days all seemed to love it. Zhuo Nan remembered drinking bubble tea himself at that age in his previous life. Now he could treat it as a taste of nostalgia.

“Please wait a moment,” the girl said warmly before turning back toward the counter, presumably to prepare the ingredients.

Zhuo Nan sat there idly. Fortunately, there was a rack of newspapers and books nearby, filled mostly with magazines. He walked over and casually picked up a copy of Football Club.

As he remembered, the football league in Country Z was still known as Fake A at this time. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. The name really was fake enough to be laughable.

He returned to his seat with the magazine. Since he had nothing better to do, he might as well read to pass the time. Before long, his bubble tea was placed in front of him. Zhuo Nan smiled at the girl, then lowered his head and continued reading.

At that moment, four youths of around seventeen or eighteen entered through the door.

The leader had dyed his hair yellow and wore an earring in his left ear. His tight T-shirt bore a skull, and his jeans were riddled with holes. Zhuo Nan did not need to examine the others. He already knew exactly what sort of people they were.

They were obviously local punks from around Sixth High School.

Pretending not to notice them, Zhuo Nan continued reading, while secretly listening to their conversation.

After entering, the yellow-haired youth glanced sideways at Zhuo Nan. Seeing him alone with a schoolbag on his back, he assumed Zhuo Nan was a student from Sixth High, perhaps one who had skipped class. He had never seen the boy around the school before.

The yellow-haired youth decided that if no companions appeared, he would drag Zhuo Nan into an alley later, frighten him, and squeeze a little money out of him. From then on, he watched Zhuo Nan with deliberate interest.

Once seated, Yellow Hair called toward the girl, “Four iced black teas.”

The girl was clearly frightened of them. She answered timidly and did not dare raise her head to look at them even once.

Zhuo Nan continued to read with an indifferent expression. Then the youth sitting beside Yellow Hair spoke.

Unlike Yellow Hair, this fellow was not dressed so outrageously, but he was still a spectacular specimen. He stood less than five foot seven and was so thin he looked like a bundle of kindling. Around his neck hung a silver chain as thick as a little finger—whether it was truly silver or merely aluminum, no one could say.

He began speaking loudly and arrogantly, as though no one else in the world mattered.

“Brother Yellow, I found the girl you told me to look into. Her family works at the steelworks, and she usually takes Bus Twelve home.”

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The moment Zhuo Nan heard the words “steelworks,” he became fully alert. Instinct told him that the girl they were discussing was Fu Xinxin.

Yellow Hair tilted his head and stared at the thin youth. “Are you sure?”

The thin youth wore a self-satisfied expression. “Brother Yellow, don’t you trust me? I happen to have a friend who works at the steelworks. We were drinking the other day, and when I mentioned the girl, he knew exactly who I meant.”

Yellow Hair immediately grew smug. With a lecherous grin, he said, “Damn it, I asked her out and she dared refuse me. This time, I’m going to force the issue.”

His companions immediately chimed in.

“That’s right. For Brother Yellow to take an interest in her is her good fortune. What a cheap slut, turning down the kindness she’s been shown…”

By then, Zhuo Nan had set down his magazine. His face darkened as he walked over to them.

The four were chattering away merrily when Zhuo Nan suddenly appeared beside their table. They flew into a rage. The thin youth sprang to his feet.

“What the hell do you want?”

Zhuo Nan looked at him coldly.

Seeing that the situation was turning ugly, the girl hurried over from behind the counter and pulled at Zhuo Nan’s arm.

“Student, they’re the local bosses. You should leave quickly.”

Being called “boss” made Yellow Hair and the others feel immensely pleased. Their smug expressions grew even more pronounced.

Zhuo Nan turned to the girl. “Thank you, but I’m not leaving. If anything gets broken, I’ll pay for it.”

With that, he removed her hand from his arm.

Hearing the arrogance in his voice, Yellow Hair thought, No one has ever dared challenge me around Sixth High. The other three immediately shot to their feet. Yellow Hair pointed at Zhuo Nan and sneered.

“Kid, are you looking to get beaten?”

The four had spent so long bullying students around Sixth High that they rarely needed to use their fists. Usually, all it took was a sufficiently vicious glare to make students back down. Those who were timid and cautious would avoid them if they could, turning around the instant they saw them.

In all his years on the streets, Yellow Hair had never encountered a student who dared talk back. He did not take Zhuo Nan seriously. After all, there were four of them, and although the boy looked sturdy, four against one should have been effortless.

That would have been true if Zhuo Nan were an ordinary man.

But what kind of person was Zhuo Nan? He might as well have been Superman, short of wearing his red underwear on the outside. He stared coldly at Yellow Hair’s arrogant face. He had seen countless expressions like that, and every one of their owners had ended up beneath his feet.

Little Yellow Hair, could you possibly be tougher than Ghost Man?

Once he moved, he meant to end things decisively.

Yellow Hair suddenly heard a sharp whistle split the air. It was the sort of scene usually found only in martial-arts novels, yet he truly heard it—a fierce gust seemed to rush toward him.

Zhuo Nan’s lower body remained perfectly still. Only his right hand moved, striking like a venomous snake darting at its prey. He seized one of Yellow Hair’s fingers and wrenched it upward with all his strength.

Crack!

Yellow Hair let out a horrifying scream.

Zhuo Nan had snapped the finger cleanly. It was still attached only by a strip of skin; otherwise, it might already have fallen away.

The other youths had never seen anyone so ruthless. Terror spread across their faces.

Still gripping the broken finger, Zhuo Nan applied more pressure. Yellow Hair immediately shrieked even more miserably.

The girl beside the counter had already gone deathly pale. These punks had lorded over the area around Sixth High for years, and now someone had finally taught them a lesson. At the thought, some color returned to her face, and an unspoken delight stirred in her heart.

People said that all ten fingers were connected to the heart. With a finger broken like that, the pain was unimaginable.

Yellow Hair wailed and screamed, regretting everything. If only he had known, he never would have entered this cold-drink shop. He had intended to drag the boy into an alley and deal with him there, but somehow he had ended up falling into the boy’s hands first.

And as far as he knew, he had not even offended him.

Zhuo Nan glared viciously at him and spoke in a tone that allowed no refusal.

“All of you, kneel.”

Yellow Hair’s companions looked at one another helplessly.

Zhuo Nan increased the pressure on the finger by another degree. Tears streamed down Yellow Hair’s face as he screamed, “Kneel, damn it! Do you want me to die here?”

After shouting, he dropped to his knees first. Yellow Hair understood perfectly well that, at a time like this, the only sensible thing was to play the coward.

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Seeing their leader reduced to such a pathetic state, and Zhuo Nan’s ferocious expression, the three underlings obediently knelt as well.

The girl was delighted, but she did not dare show it. It would be foolish to cheer now. Once the young man left, Yellow Hair and his companions would surely take their anger out on her.

Because of the pain, Yellow Hair’s features had twisted grotesquely, yet he continued begging.

“Big brother, please let go. Please, let go! It hurts! I’m dying here!”

Zhuo Nan regarded him with contempt. He hooked a nearby chair with his foot and pulled it behind him, then sat down. He still did not release Yellow Hair’s finger.

Once seated, he spoke with amusement. “So you’re Brother Yellow, are you? You and I had no quarrel to begin with. But I happen to be in a foul mood today, and you had the misfortune to run into me. So consider yourself unlucky.”

Yellow Hair looked utterly miserable. He felt as though he would rather die.

Usually, he was the one who went looking for trouble whenever he was in a bad mood. Who could have imagined that today he would run into someone far more ruthless than himself?

“Big brother, sir, grandfather—please let me go! How could I ever call myself Brother Yellow in front of you? Call me Little Yellow Hair, Little Yellow, Little Hair—call me nothing at all if you like! I beg you, please let go. I’m going to die from the pain!”

Yellow Hair continued pleading from his knees, but Zhuo Nan remained unmoved.

Zhuo Nan glanced at the girl and motioned for her to bring over his bubble tea. Only then did he speak.

“Yellow Hair, I want to ask you something.”

Zhuo Nan controlled the situation with effortless ease, carrying himself like a man who feared no one and yielded to no one.

Yellow Hair immediately responded, his face still twisted with misery. “Grandfather, ask whatever you like. I’ll tell you everything I know.”

Damn. Who would have thought this kid had such a quick tongue?

“Get lost. You’re not worthy of being my grandson.”

Zhuo Nan scolded him contemptuously, then asked, “The girl you were talking about just now—does she attend Sixth High?”

A man like Yellow Hair had survived this long not only because of his ruthlessness, but also because he knew how to read people. The moment Zhuo Nan mentioned the girl, Yellow Hair immediately understood what this was about.

He hurriedly explained, “Big brother, she really is a student at Sixth High. But I swear I haven’t done anything to her. I asked her out several times, but she ignored me, so I was thinking of trying something else. Then I happened to run into you…”

Zhuo Nan grew even angrier. He twisted the finger outward.

This time, Yellow Hair screamed so loudly it seemed to shake the room. Zhuo Nan struck him across the face with his left hand and shouted angrily, “Shut up!”

Yellow Hair finally fell silent. The pain in his hand did not lessen in the slightest; if anything, it grew worse. Beads of sweat as large as soybeans rolled down his forehead one after another.

“Damn it. She’s my woman, and you dare lay a hand on her?”

Zhuo Nan cursed furiously, then turned to the thin youth.

“You said your friend works at the steelworks. What’s his name?”

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