Around 8 o’clock, the social event was coming to an end.

The students started the third wave of excitement, pairing up to dance ballroom dances.

Some people approached Jiang Lin and Zeng Hongjie, wanting to invite them to dance.

Zeng Hongjie pushed Jiang Lin forward and said, “Sorry, we already have dance partners.”

The male student stared at her in shock, “Isn’t it supposed to be a mixed-gender pairing?”

Jiang Lin laughed, “There are only a few girls here. Go find a male classmate.”

She and Zeng Hongjie linked arms and walked over.

When they saw Sun Qinghui, Jiang Lin handed him the camera, saying, “Take care of this. Don’t drop it.”

Sun Qinghui asked, “What are you two doing? Can’t you share a dance partner with me?”

Jiang Lin smiled, “After we finish this song, I’ll take over the camera for you.”

Jiang Lin didn’t want to dance with other male classmates.

She feared that Cheng Rushan might feel jealous.

Even though he wasn’t home, she knew he would be upset if he found out she was dancing with other guys.

She knew that if he danced with other women, she would feel jealous too.

Zeng Hongjie, seeing the sparkle in Jiang Lin’s eyes, teased her, “You’re so happy dancing with me. Be careful, or Cheng Rushan might get jealous.” Zeng Hongjie, who was a bit taller than Jiang Lin, was dancing the male steps.

Jiang Lin asked, “It seems like Su Xingyun is interested in you. Have you considered him?”

Zeng Hongjie replied, “I’m afraid of the girl from your class scratching me.”

She spun Jiang Lin around and then pulled her back. “She went to ask Su Xingyun to dance, but he refused.”

Jiang Lin turned around and saw, “Actually, Su Xingyun is a good person and quite upright.”

Zeng Hongjie said, “But I didn’t feel a spark when I first met him.”

Jiang Lin responded, “So you think love must be instant attraction? That’s not realistic. Instant attraction doesn’t last long; feelings are cultivated through spending time together.”

“Like you and Cheng Rushan?” Zeng Hongjie laughed, knowing that Jiang Lin and Cheng Rushan didn’t start with feelings but developed them later.

Jiang Lin agreed, “Yes, I don’t deny it. What you call instant attraction is just seeing a pretty face. Don’t deny it.”

Zeng Hongjie laughed, “That’s true. If Su Xingyun had Wen Sheng’s looks, I might be interested.”

Jiang Lin said, “Stop it, Wen Sheng is still a kid.”

Zeng Hongjie sighed, “What a pity. Do you think if I wait for him, will he grow up eventually?”

Jiang Lin looked at her in surprise.

Zeng Hongjie quickly laughed, “Just kidding. Don’t get scared.”

Jiang Lin replied, “Scared? But from our relationship, I don’t support that.”

Zeng Hongjie said, “Oh, don’t be so serious. I’m just saying. I just like seeing pretty people and things. Wen Sheng is as pleasing to me as you are. Don’t worry.”

Jiang Lin responded, “Your attitude makes me more worried. I think you might marry someone just because they’re good-looking without considering their character. That’s dangerous and can lead to meeting irresponsible, bad men.”

Zeng Hongjie quickly reassured her, “I promise I won’t. I guarantee that if I ever start a relationship, I’ll consult you and ask for your advice to screen them.”

Jiang Lin and Zeng Hongjie got along well from the start.

After both entering the university, they met different types of female classmates in their respective classes and dorms.

Comparing these experiences, they found each other to be very compatible in terms of personality and character, and their friendship grew rapidly.

As one dance ended, Jiang Lin took over the camera from Sun Qinghui, letting him go dance while she managed the camera and took some photos of Zeng Hongjie.

At that moment, Huang Xiangyu swaggered over.

,He went straight to the music equipment and reached to press the recording machine.

The student in charge immediately stopped him, “If you want to dance, go ahead, but don’t touch the equipment.”

Huang Xiangyu cursed, “Mind your own business. I’m going to touch it.”

He kicked the student aside and slammed the recording machine off.

The music abruptly stopped, and the students and teachers dancing were all confused about what happened.

Huang Xiangyu stepped onto a chair, drew his gun, and pointed it around, shouting, “I’m looking for Jiang Lin. This woman has been playing games with me, messing around…”

“Huang Xiangyu!” Jiang Lin interrupted him.

Huang Xiangyu put on a self-satisfied smirk, thinking she must be afraid.

He planned to publicly announce that Jiang Lin was willingly involved with him, though she was actually deceiving him.

He intended to show her a lesson in front of so many students and teachers, intending to drag her away and ruin her reputation.

He thought this would embarrass her and make her feel compelled to turn to him.

Su Xingyun and Zeng Hongjie, among others, gathered around to criticize him.

Huang Xiangyu was enraged when he saw Su Xingyun.

He pointed his gun at Su Xingyun and said, “You annoying kid, I swear I’ll shoot you if you keep bothering me!”

Seeing the gun, teachers and students all backed away in fear.

Liu Jianwu, who had come to watch the show, planned to go back and prepare his lesson.

When he heard students shouting that a thug with a gun was causing trouble, he rushed back.

“Hey, buddy, you should talk things out instead of waving a gun around,” Liu Jianwu said, not knowing Huang Xiangyu’s background and mistaking him for someone from the local police station.

Huang Xiangyu spat in disdain, “Old fool, you don’t know anything. Get out of my way!” He cocked the gun, but didn’t take the safety off.

Huang Xiangyu’s lackeys cheered him on, patting Liu Jianwu on the bald spot, punching Su Xingyun, or teasing the female students.

Jiang Lin looked coldly at Huang Xiangyu and said, “Put down your gun, or I won’t be polite!”

Huang Xiangyu laughed loudly, waving the gun around recklessly. “How interesting! Why don’t you show me how you’re not polite? Come on!” He leered at Jiang Lin and made lewd gestures.

Jiang Lin replied sharply, “Drop dead!”

While Huang Xiangyu was enjoying the sight of her angry, radiant face, Jiang Lin quickly closed her eyes, pressed the shutter of her camera, and a bright flash went off, blinding Huang Xiangyu.

“Ah—” Huang Xiangyu yelled and covered his eyes.

In the blink of an eye, Jiang Lin leaped up, twisted Huang Xiangyu’s wrist holding the gun, and threw him over her shoulder. “Bang—” Huang Xiangyu was slammed hard onto the ground!

She also seized the gun from him.

Huang Xiangyu and his eight henchmen were stunned, unable to react immediately.

Their eyes were still dazzled by the flash!

Huang Xiangyu didn’t expect Jiang Lin to have such strength.

He wasn’t easily defeated, though.

He yanked his arm back, got up, and tried to grab Jiang Lin, saying, “You damned woman, you’ll know what real fun is when I—”

“Ah—”

Zeng Hongjie delivered a powerful kick to Huang Xiangyu’s groin, causing him immense pain and making him double over, clutching his injured area and hopping around.

“Ah—” Huang Xiangyu let out a pained scream but lacked the strength to fight back.

Jiang Lin didn’t stop there.

She stepped forward, grabbed Huang Xiangyu’s greasy hair, and yanked him down.

She then kneed him forcefully in the face, making contact with a “thud” that rendered him unconscious from the pain.

Jiang Lin kicked him, sending him sprawling on the ground.

The surrounding teachers and students were stunned, unable to react as Jiang Lin’s fierce actions left them in shock.

“Brother Yu!” A few of Huang Xiangyu’s thugs yelled, “Ah— we’ll get revenge for you!”

They charged towards Jiang Lin and Zeng Hongjie.

Jiang Lin shouted, “Beat up the scum! Beat them up!”

Zeng Hongjie added, “Beat up the thugs!”

Su Xingyun, Sun Qinghui, and several male classmates rushed to the scene.

Although they were outnumbered individually, the sheer number of classmates made a significant difference.

With so many students involved, the thugs couldn’t handle the crowd.

While eight or nine thugs might intimidate one or two people, they couldn’t withstand the collective force of many students.

The thugs’ attempts to retaliate were futile as they were being thoroughly beaten.

Many of the male students, who had no dance partners, were eager to join in the fight against the troublemakers.

During the day, the thugs might have intimidated the students, especially with their guns, but at night, in the dim light, and with the large number of students, they were less intimidating.

The thugs had weapons like steel rods and wooden sticks, but they never got the chance to use them as they were quickly overpowered and lost their weapons.

At this point, He Changjiang and his two companions arrived.

They had previously searched for Huang Xiangyu but couldn’t find him.

After asking Huang Xiangyu’s shady friend, they learned he had gone to the Provincial University to cause trouble.

The three of them hurried to the university, worried they might be too late and that the woman might get hurt.

They were concerned that if something went wrong, Fang Chengguang and Cheng Rushan might blame them.

When they arrived, they saw a chaotic fight on the playground.

The three were wearing face masks to avoid being recognized by Huang Xiangyu, but they didn’t expect the scene to be like this.

They heard a clear female voice shouting on the playground: “This bastard, bullying girls everywhere, taking advantage of his connections to do whatever he wants. Students, beat him up! We have hundreds of people; it’s worth it!”

The woman started listing Huang Xiangyu’s crimes, including causing Chen Yue’s death and assaulting girls.

The students, filled with righteous anger, dragged the henchmen who tried to run back and beat them mercilessly.

At first, Huang Xiangyu was still conscious, and they were fierce, threatening, and cursing, but eventually, only screams and wails were left.

Zhao Quanyou and his companions were stunned: “!!!”

Zhao Quanyou said, “Looks like we’re not needed.”

Du Qiang said, “Didn’t expect her to be so powerful.”

He Changjiang replied, “Let’s leave.”

Du Qiang asked, “Do you think Huang Xiangyu will trouble the students tomorrow?”

He Changjiang looked back at the scene.

There must be three to five hundred teachers and students on the playground.

Who would Huang Xiangyu dare to bother? He’s a fool if he thinks he can handle hundreds of students.

As they were leaving the school, they ran into Fang Chengguang and Cheng Rushan driving up.

He Changjiang instinctively led his group to avoid them.

Zhao Quanyou asked, “Why don’t we let Chengguang know?”

He Changjiang said, “Why would I care if they know? If you want to tell them, go ahead.”

The two followed him.

He Changjiang, seeing them follow, emphasized again, “I still stand by what I said. A beautiful woman is trouble. Throughout history, beauties bring misfortune. Take Chen Yuanyuan for example…”

Du Qiang interjected, “Changjiang, Jiang Lin is not Chen Yuanyuan.”

He Changjiang replied, “That’s because there’s no Dorgon or Wu Sangui! If there was a Dorgon, you’d see if Cheng Rushan is Wu Sangui!”

Du Qiang and Zhao Quanyou hadn’t read much and knew little about history.

They only knew Chen Yuanyuan was a great beauty, and they didn’t understand much else, so they just let He Changjiang ramble on without questioning it.