Chapter 1

Chapter 1

As the summer vacation came to an end, Blue Sea City No. 1 High School welcomed its entrance exams.

Known as a provincial key high school, No. 1 High School is famous for its rigorous curriculum and challenging exams. The teachers in the exam-setting group are often referred to by students as "living Yama," dedicated to equally tormenting every student. If anyone manages to walk out of the exam hall smiling, it would be considered a serious dereliction of duty.

The exam bell rang, and the atmosphere in each exam hall instantly tensed up.

Meanwhile, on an old street next to No. 1 High School, Xie Ci was being cornered by a group of boys wearing sports school uniforms, with dyed hair and perms, in a garbage-strewn alley.

His consciousness was somewhat hazy, making it hard for Xie Ci to grasp the situation.

He should have been on an island in Slinga State, chasing after the scoundrels who had kidnapped Gu Yufeng, not here facing a bunch of immature delinquents.

Yet, the dull pain in his temple, the swelling on his lips, and the stench of decay in the air were all too real, constantly reminding him that everything before him was indeed happening.

"If you don't pay up today, I'll make sure you leave here on a stretcher!" shouted the blond-haired boy standing five steps away from Xie Ci, idly tapping a baseball bat in his hand. "Out of respect for our old customer, I've already given you three days. Don't push your luck!"

"Today's the entrance exam. Can't you wait until after the exam? Missing it will get our parents called!" a timid boy in a No. 1 High School uniform beside Xie Ci interjected.

"Still thinking about exams?" The buzz-cut boy with a pockmarked face next to the blond sneered. "If you don't pay up, neither you nor your cousin will be going to school anymore. What exams are you talking about?"

The surrounding sports school boys laughed along.

"Chen Zhanpeng, weren't you so quick to promise when you borrowed money for internet cafes? Now that it's time to pay back, you're full of excuses. Keep stalling, and I'll break one of your legs first!"

"Didn't you say your cousin just got his paycheck? Let him pay for you."

"A parasite living off someone else's family should help pay back the money."

"Exactly," the blond-haired boy said, looking Xie Ci up and down with disdain. "Even your parents didn't want you. If it weren't for Chen Zhanpeng's family taking you in, you'd probably be begging under some overpass."

"Xie Ci, you're the captain of No. 1 High School's basketball team, right? I remember there's a wealthy second generation in your team who's quite generous. If all else fails, ask him for some money. Those wealthy second generations don't care about such small amounts."

After talking for a while, the group grew annoyed when Xie Ci remained silent, as if he didn't care about them at all.

Xie Ci, standing at 1.9 meters tall, was the tallest among them. With broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and a straight back, his school jacket zipped all the way up, he didn't look stiff but rather accentuated his upright posture.

Girls often said he had an impeccable bone structure, paired with flawless facial features. Standing there expressionless, he was the absolute focal point in any crowd. Combined with his extraordinary athleticism, he was the backbone of the school basketball team and the universally acknowledged school heartthrob of No. 1 High School.

It was said that Xie Ci had won first place in the national middle school math competition during junior high and entered Blue Sea City No. 1 High School as the top scorer in the entrance exam, garnering significant attention in the city.

Unexpectedly, after entering high school, he completely slacked off, and his grades plummeted. Within two months of the school year, he dropped from first place to the bottom of his grade, drawing much ridicule.

Some media even sensationalized his downfall with headlines like "Supernova Collapse," but he never responded to any of it.

Xie Ci was known for his reclusive and taciturn nature, indifferent to everyone. But when provoked, he could be truly ferocious in a fight.

Just a couple of days ago, two senior students from the sports school were beaten so badly they ended up in the hospital. When their parents inquired, they dared not say a word, fearing retaliation from Xie Ci.

The group of boys, seeing Xie Ci remain silent, shouted loudly but inwardly felt a bit intimidated.

Chen Zhanpeng, noticing their uneasy expressions, grew anxious and nudged Xie Ci with his elbow, whispering, "Bro, can you help me pay this back first? I'll return it next week... Bro? Bro?"

The buzz-cut boy with the pockmarked face frowned. He hated Xie Ci's aloof demeanor, yet the girls seemed to love it.

"Xie, are you fucking deaf or stupid?"

The flat-headed, pockmarked face walked up to Xie Ci, impatiently raising his hand to slap his face. "Didn’t you hear me telling you to pay up?!"

But before his hand could reach Xie Ci’s face, it was suddenly caught.

The flat-headed, pockmarked face had no time to dodge, feeling a sharp pain in his wrist, and couldn’t help but scream in agony.

"Old Lin!"

"You’re asking for it! Let him go!"

Xie Ci gripped the face twisted in pain, fished a pack of cigarettes from the man’s pocket, and casually tossed him into the corner. Ignoring the group of cursing hooligans around him, he leisurely pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and placed it between his lips.

The nicotine worked instantly. Xie Ci exhaled a puff of white smoke, his tense and irritable mood easing. As his thoughts settled, he finally turned his attention to the situation at hand.

Xie Ci scanned the alley filled with a colorful group of delinquents, about seven or eight of them. At the end of the alley, two motorcycles were parked, with similarly permed sports school boys sitting on them, watching the scene unfold as if backing up their companions. On the back seats of the motorcycles sat two girls wearing heavy makeup and miniskirts.

This scene felt eerily familiar.

Xie Ci vaguely recalled a time in high school when he had been extorted, nearly paying a heavy price for it.

Back then, his parents’ marriage had been opposed by both families, but they had insisted on marrying and having a child. His father had cut ties with his family over it, and his mother had also drifted apart from hers.

But love ultimately lost to reality. Shortly after he was born, they divorced. His mother remarried and settled abroad with her new husband, while his father, dedicated to his art, went abroad for further studies and stayed for ten years. At the time, he, not even a year old, was left in the care of his grandmother in the countryside.

His grandmother was old, plagued by illness, and often couldn’t take care of him, gradually becoming overwhelmed.

When he was eight, his aunt, who often visited, suddenly offered to take him in and care for him.

His aunt’s family lived in the city, and his uncle held a high-paying job at a big company. Their living conditions were much better than his grandmother’s, but he didn’t want to leave the place he had grown up in and hoped to stay and take care of his grandmother.

"Xiao Ci, your uncle is a kind-hearted, honest man, always smiling and never losing his temper. His salary is several times higher than others, and taking care of one more child is no problem at all! Besides, your aunt has watched you grow up. If you go to her, I’ll feel at ease."

When his grandmother said this to him with joy, he wavered.

He didn’t want to disappoint his grandmother, and he also thought that if his grandmother got rid of him, the burden, she might live a little easier.

When he first arrived at his aunt’s house, for a while, he truly felt like he had found a home. His gentle aunt, kind uncle, and a cousin his age gave him the illusion of having a complete family.

Until one night, he was awakened by the sound of a fierce argument and saw his drunk uncle raising a stool to hit his aunt.

The living room was a mess. His aunt was beaten and tried to hide, stepping barefoot on broken porcelain, leaving behind a few glaring bloodstains.

His cousin, Chen Zhanpeng, was crying in fear. It was the first time he had witnessed such domestic violence, and he was also terrified.

Summoning his courage, he rushed out, intending to take his aunt to the bedroom, but she pushed him in front of his uncle instead.

The stool that was raised high came crashing down toward his head.

He was beaten until his head was bleeding and was sent to the hospital, where he received three stitches on his forehead. If he hadn’t instinctively avoided a fatal blow, he might have died.

Afterward, his aunt sat by his hospital bed, crying and apologizing, while his sobered uncle also bowed his head and begged for forgiveness.

He thought it was an accident, but after that, his uncle’s target of abuse shifted from his aunt to him.

And every time his uncle chased him to beat him, his aunt would always lock herself and her son in the bedroom beforehand, turning a blind eye to what was happening outside.

At first, his aunt would buy him snacks and cook a good meal to "comfort" him afterward, but eventually, it turned into cold remarks—"Why don’t you dodge when he hits you?", "Why does he hit you and not Peng Peng?", "You’re only good at studying, not smart at all."

When his grandmother came to the city to visit him, he originally wanted to tell her everything.

But when his grandmother and aunt talked about his daily life with such joy, he couldn't bring himself to say anything.

At that moment, he realized deeply that he couldn't rely on anyone.

He understood what it meant to live under someone else's roof and learned to protect himself. Except for meals and necessary activities, he locked himself in his room.

From elementary to middle school, he didn't have many happy memories. Besides dealing with his uncle's domestic violence, he also faced his aunt's emotional abuse. Especially as the gap between his and his cousin's grades grew wider, every time he brought home his report card, he had to face his aunt's cold expression and some sarcastic remarks that she thought he wouldn't understand. Suddenly, many trivial matters would arise, making it impossible for him to focus on his studies.

He learned to hide himself, deliberately performing poorly, always scoring slightly lower than his cousin.

When his aunt was happy, he could have a few peaceful days.

When he had no leverage, rough resistance wouldn't bring the desired results. In the rules of adults, he was no different from a baby. Fighting against the odds would only hurt himself.

Rather than struggling and sinking deeper into this foul quagmire, it was better to be a patient hunter, quietly waiting for the day he became an adult.

Perhaps the violent gene was inherited. His cousin became addicted to the internet, and his uncle, in an attempt to cure him, cut off the home's internet. The enraged cousin smashed the entire study.

His aunt doted on her only son and soon replaced everything, only for it to be smashed again, and then bought again, repeating the cycle.

His cousin started stealing money from home to go to internet cafes, later borrowing from classmates. When his uncle found out, he borrowed from the gang of hooligans at the sports school. Every time he couldn't repay, he would be left to clean up the mess.

Fighting and brawling could lead to expulsion, and not being expelled was his bottom line.

He not only wanted to go to university but also the best university. This was the way out he had found for himself.

For this, he had been extorted several times.

And this time, he couldn't help but fight with these kids, and it still escalated. Someone called the police, and they were taken to the station for questioning.

Some idiot had hidden two fruit knives, over thirty centimeters long, in his bag. This was reported to the education bureau, and they wanted to make an example of it.

His aunt and uncle, who rushed to the scene, not only didn't speak up for him but instead scolded him for corrupting his cousin, causing him to get beaten. In front of the officers, they subtly suggested he had violent tendencies.

In the end, his cousin and the gang of hooligans were all cleared, but he had no one to back him up and was left to take the blame. No matter how he explained, it was useless.

He was notified of his expulsion from the school.

Thinking it was already irreparable, he was surprised when his homeroom teacher, who usually didn't like him, stood up to vouch for him, thus saving his student status.

Xie Ci looked at the yellow-haired boy, his tone relaxed and low, without much fluctuation, as if he hadn't just knocked someone down with one move: "How much did you borrow?"

Xie Ci suddenly spoke, startling the yellow-haired boy, who looked at the pockmarked face being helped up and angrily said, "Eighty! With interest, eighty, a total of one hundred and sixty!"

One hundred and sixty was a huge sum in high school.

Xie Ci remembered that his cousin Chen Zhanpeng's weekly allowance was fifty, while he only had forty, and that was for breakfast.

Giving this one hundred and sixty meant he would have no money for food for a month.

"Who borrowed it?" Xie Ci asked.

"Him, Chen Zhanpeng!"

The yellow-haired boy said, already impatient.

Xie Ci then asked, "Why did he borrow it?"

"Borrowing money to go online! Are you looking for trouble?!" The blond guy pointed a baseball bat at Xie Ci, "There are so many of us, we're not afraid of you!"

Xie Ci: "Chen Zhanpeng borrowed money to go online and owes you one hundred and sixty, what does that have to do with me?"

The flat-headed pockmarked guy, clutching his wrist, shouted, "What do you mean it has nothing to do with you? He has no money, so of course you have to pay!"

Xie Ci ignored him, holding a cigarette and beckoning the blond guy to come over.

The blond guy was momentarily confused about what Xie Ci wanted, thinking he was finally going to hand over the money obediently.

After all, there were ten of them, surely even Xie Ci would be scared, right?

"That's more like it, pay up early and save everyone's time." The blond guy extended his palm towards Xie Ci, his tone somewhat smug.

"Not paying back the money is indeed his problem, whether you want to beat him to death or cripple him, it's up to you."

As he spoke, Xie Ci pressed the cigarette butt into the blond guy's palm, extinguishing it, "Don't bother me with this trivial matter again, understand?"

"Ouch—"

The blond guy winced in pain, cursed, and raised the baseball bat to swing at Xie Ci, "You son of a—"

The baseball bat was halfway through its swing when Xie Ci snatched it away, and before the blond guy could react, the bat was pressed against his chin.

"If I remember correctly, your name is Zhang Xingxing, right? Second-year class three at the sports school, living in Hui'an Community on North Lanxin Road, parents run a fruit shop in the old town."

Xie Ci looked into the widened eyes before him, his tone still unchanged.

But it was this calm face that scared the blond guy, who faintly sensed a threat in Xie Ci's tone: "How do you know that, what do you want?!"

"What do you think?"

Xie Ci's gaze swept over everyone around, "Anyway, my life is worthless, what wouldn't I do?"

If there's one thing high school students fear the most, it's their parents.

At the mention of parents, these arrogant delinquents immediately shut up, not even daring to look Xie Ci in the eye, afraid he might say, "I know your home address too."

Xie Ci casually tossed the baseball bat aside and turned to leave.

The sound of police sirens grew closer, reaching their ears.

Were they coming this way?

Why were they so much earlier than last time?