Xu Haoran loosened his grip, and the man he was carrying immediately collapsed to the ground. In the streetlight's glow, his face was covered in bruises, clearly indicating he had suffered quite a bit.
Xu Haoran clapped his hands, looking leisurely at Zheng Laoxi and the bald, burly man, and said mockingly:
"Your friend just bumped into something while walking. I'm a kind-hearted person, and seeing him lying on the ground groaning in pain, I took pity on him and brought him here. You should take him to the hospital right away!"
Zheng Laoxi's face darkened. He had already realized that the three young men who came later were there to cause trouble, and that they had even planned this all along; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to corner He San'er.
Zheng Laoxi said cryptically,
"Dude, I don't understand what you mean. I don't even know that guy! This kid scratched my car, so asking him for some compensation isn't unreasonable, is it?"
Xu Haoran chuckled and kicked He San'er hard in the lower back. He San'er woke up instantly in pain, cried out, and saw Zheng Laoxi standing not far away. He immediately screamed, "Big brother, save me!"
Zheng Laoxi snorted coldly and glared fiercely at He San'er. At this moment, Liu Zhengyi said impatiently from the side,
"You've been exposed, what the hell are you talking about? Get your men out of here!"
"Damn it! You little brat! Watch your mouth! Believe me or not, I'll chop you all up!" The bald, burly man released Su Jun's hand, brandishing a dagger and yelling at Chen Yang and the others. Old Zheng finally came to his senses. He knew this situation couldn't be resolved peacefully. These men had clearly come prepared, and Young Master Fan had already given the order that the kid on the ground had to be taken back.
Thinking this, Old Zheng gave the bald, burly man a look, and the two charged forward without a word. The bald man brandished a dagger, while Old Zheng gritted his teeth and drew a machete from his waist.
Chen Yang's eyes flashed, and he ducked and delivered a side kick. Old Zheng felt a blur before his eyes, a sharp pain in his wrist, and then he realized his machete was gone. Almost instantly, Old Zheng felt a tremendous force on his chest, and he stumbled back several steps, landing on his backside.
Chen Yang delivered two consecutive side kicks, knocking Zheng Laoxi to the ground. He followed up with a powerful elbow strike to Zheng Laoxi's face, sending him sprawling to the ground like a log, his cheek swelling up visibly.
Chen Yang crouched down, grabbed Zheng Laoxi, and slapped him repeatedly to bring him to his senses. Then, he tossed him into the middle of the road like trash. Standing up and turning around, Chen Yang saw the bald, burly man sprawled face-first on the ground, Xu Haoran's large boots pressing against his face, twisting and turning.
Liu Zhengyi, looking utterly dejected, said:
"Damn it! You two bastards! I haven't even made a move! And the battle's over already! So boring!"
Xu Haoran chuckled and said:
"This kind of trash doesn't deserve Captain Liu's patronage!"
Chen Yang chimed in with a laugh:
"Exactly! Your body is precious! Training a pilot costs the equivalent of your body weight in gold! Let alone an ace pilot like you? If you accidentally lose a few hairs, that's money!"
Liu Zhengyi rolled his eyes at Chen Yang's teasing. "Hahaha!" Xu Haoran couldn't help but burst into laughter after hearing this, then looked at Chen Yang seriously and said, "Chen Yang, you're pretty good! How about we spar sometime?"
Chen Yang quickly replied:
"Come on! I practice martial arts to improve my health, not for fighting!"
In his previous life, Chen Yang was Xu Haoran's cousin-in-law, and the two were very close. He naturally knew that Xu Haoran was a martial arts fanatic who couldn't resist sparring with anyone who showed skill, often ending up bruised and battered but still enjoying it. Chen Yang had no desire to spar with this madman.
Looking at Zheng Laoxi, who had been beaten to a pulp by Chen Yang in no time, and recalling Chen Yang's "health-improvement" theory, Xu Haoran couldn't help but roll his eyes several times. Chen Yang walked over and helped the still-shaken Su Jun to his feet, a friendly smile on his face.
"Are you Su Jun?"
Su Jun's mind was completely blank. He'd been inexplicably extorted on the street, his hand almost chopped off; then three incredibly skilled young men appeared and rescued him, and this young man with the warm smile even recognized him!
Su Jun hesitated for a moment before asking,
"Excuse me, who are you...?"
"Oh, my name is Chen Yang, I'm your sister's classmate," Chen Yang said with a smile. "I was just passing by with some friends when we saw these thugs committing violence. I never expected the person we saved would be you... Oh, your sister showed me your picture!"
Su Jun looked at Chen Yang with some skepticism. He knew his sister, Su He, didn't interact much with boys and didn't have any close male friends. In this unfamiliar city of Beijing, suddenly someone claimed to be his sister's friend, and his sister had even shown him his picture.
Could it really be such a coincidence? Su Jun even suspected that Chen Yang was in cahoots with those burly men from before, putting on an act in front of him, and that there might be some other scheme behind it all!
Chen Yang noticed Su Jun's suspicion. He smiled, took out his phone, opened the photo gallery, and handed it to Su Jun, saying, "Su Jun, I really am your sister's classmate. We're good friends. Look, there are quite a few photos of me and her here!"
Su Jun looked through several photos on Chen Yang's phone and found several pictures of his sister and Chen Yang together, looking quite intimate. His suspicions vanished immediately. He handed the phone back to Chen Yang, saying, "Brother Fang! Thank you so much! Thanks to you all for coming; otherwise, I really wouldn't know what to do!"
Chen Yang smiled and patted Su Jun's shoulder, saying, "Come on! Take us to your place!"
After what had just happened, Su Jun's legs were still a little weak with fear. He was also afraid of running into Zheng Laoxi's accomplices again on the way back, so Chen Yang's words were exactly what he wanted. He nodded repeatedly and led Chen Yang and the others towards his place. Only after Chen Yang and the others had walked a distance did Zheng Laoxi and the bald giant help each other to their feet. Zheng Laoxi felt something was wrong with his mouth, spat on the ground, and was horrified to find two bloody teeth sticking out. Chen Yang's elbow strike had really hit hard!
The bald giant groaned a few times and asked,
"Brother, what do we do? Should we call Young Master Fan and report this?"
Zheng Laoxi slapped him on the bald head and cursed,
"Idiot! Isn't that just asking for death?"
Zheng Laoxi knew Fan Zihong's temperament very well. If things went wrong, he would definitely be in deep trouble. Thinking of Fan Zihong's twisted methods of tormenting people, Zheng Laoxi couldn't help but shudder. He said fiercely:
"This can't be let Young Master Fan know! We have to figure it out ourselves. If that doesn't work, we'll bring a few more brothers and kidnap that kid!"
The bald man said, still somewhat shaken:
"But those guys went back with him too. With their skills, even if we call all the brothers, they're no match for them..."
Zheng Laoxi was just a small-time thug leader with only a dozen or twenty men under his command. Even if they all went, they might not be a match for Chen Yang and his two companions.
Zheng Laoxi knew this, and he was still a bit resentful after being beaten up by Chen Yang and his gang. He frowned and thought for a moment, then suddenly his eyes lit up, and he said with a smile:
"Damn it! How could we be so stupid! We should call the police! I've lost two of my molars, that's assault, right? Damn it! I'm going to report this!"
"Report this?" The bald, burly man didn't react for a moment. Zheng Laoxi had already taken out his phone and skillfully dialed a number. After the call connected, he respectfully called out:
"Director Liao..."
...
"Su Jun, you...you live in a place like this?" Chen Yang stared dumbfounded at the cramped, birdcage-like room before him.
This "room" was at most five square meters. After placing a wire bed, there was hardly any space left. A low folding table was piled high with reference books, and the trash can in the corner was overflowing with stacks of instant noodle boxes. The entire room reeked of a strange odor created by a mixture of instant noodles and mold.
Xu Haoran and Liu Zhengyi had never seen anything like it before. They couldn't help but cover their noses and stood outside the door, unwilling to come in—in fact, they couldn't even get in; the room was already packed with just two people.
Su Jun smiled somewhat sheepishly and said,
"Brother Fang, the room is a bit messy. I have classes day and night, so I haven't had time to tidy up..."
"Su Jun, the living conditions here are terrible!" Chen Yang frowned and said, "You should find somewhere else to stay! Also, don't eat instant noodles so often, it won't take your health!"
Su Jun was Su He's younger brother, so Chen Yang naturally cared about him.
Su Jun smiled and said,
"It's okay, I'm not staying here permanently. I'll go back to Southeast after the interview. I'll just have to put up with it for a few days. It's cheaper here."
It was indeed cheaper here. A normal room had been partitioned by the landlord into three or four pigeonholes like this. A three-story house was crammed with forty or fifty people. Moreover, the residents included not only students coming for interviews but also people from all walks of life—a real mixed bag. Chen Yang frowned and said,
"Since you only have a few days left, you should find somewhere else to stay! If not, get a room at a nearby hotel. If you don't have enough money, I can give you some!"
"No need, Brother Fang, this place is fine…" Su Jun quickly waved his hand in refusal.
Just as Chen Yang was about to try and persuade Su Jun again, he heard a loud banging on the door outside the house.
Some residents poked their heads out of their windows and shouted angrily,
"Who is it! Knocking in the middle of the night! What are you knocking on?!"
"Police! Open the door!" a gruff voice responded, and the banging became even more violent.