As a key provincial high school, Yizhong is notorious for its tough exams and difficult courses. The teachers in the question-setting group are often referred to as living Yama by the students, dedicated to mercilessly crushing every student. If anyone walks out of the exam room with a smile, it’s considered a serious dereliction of duty.

As the exam bell rang, the atmosphere in the exam rooms suddenly became tense.

Meanwhile, in an old street next to Yizhong, Xie Ci was cornered in a garbage-strewn alley by a group of boys dressed in sports school uniforms, with dyed hair and permed styles.

His mind was a bit hazy, making it hard for Xie Ci to grasp the situation. He should have been on an island in Silingjia Prefecture, chasing after the gang that kidnapped Gu Yufeng, not here facing a bunch of little punks who hadn’t even fully grown up yet.

But the dull pain at his temple, the swelling at the corner of his mouth, and the stench in the air were all too real, constantly reminding him that everything in front of him was indeed real.

“If you don’t pay back the money today, I’ll make you lie down and leave!”

The boy with yellow hair stood five steps away from Xie Ci, casually tapping the baseball bat in his hand. “I’ve already given you three days, considering you’re an old customer. Don’t push your luck!”

“Today’s the school entrance exam; can’t you wait until after the test?” A boy in Yizhong’s uniform next to Xie Ci timidly chimed in.

“Still want to take the exam?” The boy with the buzz cut and pockmarked face scoffed. “If you don’t pay, you and your cousin won’t be going to school anymore. What’s the point of taking the test?”

The surrounding boys from the sports school laughed along.

“Chen Zhanpeng, weren’t you super eager to borrow money to go online? Now that it’s time to pay back, you’re making all sorts of excuses. If you keep dragging this out, I’ll break one of your legs first!”

“Didn’t you say your cousin just got his paycheck? Let him help you pay it back.”

“A parasite raised by someone else should help their host pay back the money.”

“Exactly.” The yellow-haired boy looked down at Xie Ci with disdain. “Even your parents don’t want you. If it weren’t for Chen Zhanpeng’s family taking you in, who knows where you’d be begging under some overpass.”

“Xie Ci, you’re the captain of the Yizhong basketball team, right? I remember there’s a rich second-generation kid on your team who’s pretty generous. If it comes down to it, just ask him to lend you some money. Rich kids don’t care about this little amount.”

After a long rant, the group noticed that Xie Ci remained silent, seemingly not taking them seriously, which made them a bit annoyed.

Standing at 1.9 meters tall, Xie Ci was the tallest among them, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. His posture was straight, and the zipper of his school jacket was meticulously pulled up to the top, giving him a look that was anything but stiff; instead, it accentuated his upright demeanor.

Girls often said he had an excellent bone structure, and with his impeccable features, he stood there expressionless, becoming the absolute focal point in the crowd. Coupled with his extraordinary athletic ability, he was the backbone of the school basketball team and recognized as the school hunk at Yizhong.

It was said that Xie Ci had won first place in the national middle school math competition during his junior high years and had entered Lan Hai City Yizhong with the top score in the entrance exam, garnering a lot of attention in the city.

However, after entering high school, he completely slacked off, and his grades plummeted dramatically. Within two months of school starting, he dropped from first place to the bottom of the rankings, attracting a lot of ridicule.

Some media even used the title “Supernova’s Fall” to report on him, but he never responded to any of it.

Xie Ci had a solitary personality and didn’t like to talk, often ignoring everyone. But if someone really provoked him, he could be quite the fighter.

Just a couple of days ago, two seniors from the sports school were sent to the hospital after a fight, and when their parents asked about it, they didn’t dare say a word, fearing retaliation from Xie Ci.

As the group of boys looked at Xie Ci, who was silent, they were loud in their taunts, but deep down, they felt a bit intimidated.

Seeing their expressions change, Chen Zhanpeng, who was scared and anxious, nudged Xie Ci with his elbow and whispered, “Bro, can you help me pay this back first? I’ll pay you back next week… Bro, bro?”

The buzz-cut boy frowned, clearly annoyed by Xie Ci’s pretentious demeanor, yet the girls seemed to love it.

“Hey, Xie, are you deaf or just dumb?”

The buzz-cut boy stepped in front of Xie Ci, impatiently raising his hand to slap his face. “Can’t you hear me telling you to pay back the money?!”

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

The buzz-cut boy didn’t have time to dodge and felt a sharp pain in his wrist, unable to suppress a scream.

“Old Lin!”

“Looking for death! Let him go!”

Xie Ci held onto the distorted face in front of him, reached into the guy’s pocket, pulled out a pack of cigarettes, and casually tossed the guy aside against the wall. Ignoring the group of cursing punks around him, he leisurely took a cigarette from the pack, put it in his mouth, and lit it.

The effect of the nicotine was immediate. Xie Ci exhaled a puff of white smoke, feeling his tense and irritable emotions ease. Once his thoughts settled, he could finally focus on the situation at hand.

Xie Ci scanned the group of colorful delinquents in the alley, about seven or eight of them. At the end of the alley, two motorcycles were parked, with similarly styled boys from the sports school sitting there watching the show, as if supporting their companions. On the back seat of one motorcycle sat two girls in heavy makeup and short skirts.

This scene felt oddly familiar.

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

Back then, his parents’ marriage faced opposition from both families, but they insisted on getting married and having children. His father cut ties with his family over it, and his mother also distanced herself from hers.

But love ultimately succumbed to reality. Shortly after he was born, they divorced. His mother remarried and settled abroad with her second husband, while his father devoted himself to art, going abroad for further studies for ten years. At that time, he was left to be raised by his grandmother in the countryside.

His grandmother was old and sick, often unable to care for him, gradually becoming overwhelmed.

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

His aunt lived in the city, and his uncle had a good job at a big company, so 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 and honest man, always smiling and never losing his temper. His salary is several times higher than others, so taking care of one more child is no problem! Besides, your aunt watched you grow up. If you go to her place, I’ll be at ease.”

When his grandmother said this with joy, he wavered.

He didn’t want to disappoint his grandmother, and he also thought that if his grandmother got rid of him, she might have a lighter life.

When he first arrived at his aunt’s house, he did feel like he had found a home for a while. His gentle aunt, kind uncle, and a cousin his age made him feel as if he truly had a complete family.

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

The living room was a mess, and his aunt was hiding everywhere, barefoot on the broken porcelain, leaving behind glaring bloodstains.

His cousin, Chen Zhanpeng, was scared to tears. It was the first time he had seen such domestic violence, and he was frightened.

He mustered his courage to rush out, intending to take his aunt to hide in the bedroom, but unexpectedly, his aunt pushed him in front of his uncle.

The high stool raised above came crashing down on his head.

He was knocked unconscious and sent to the hospital, with three stitches on his forehead. If he hadn’t instinctively dodged the vital spots, he might have died.

Afterward, his aunt sat by his hospital bed, crying and apologizing, while his uncle, now sober, bowed his head to admit his mistakes and begged for his forgiveness.

He thought it was an accident, but afterward, his uncle’s target of domestic violence shifted from his aunt to him.

And every time his uncle chased him to hit him, his aunt would always lock herself and his cousin in the bedroom, ignoring the situation outside.

At first, his aunt would buy him lots of snacks and cook a big meal to “comfort” him afterward, but later it turned into cold remarks like, “Didn’t you know to dodge when he hit you?” “Why does he hit you and not Zhanpeng?” “You only know how to study, you’re not smart at all.”

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

But when his grandmother chatted with his aunt about his daily life, the joy on her face made it impossible for him to say anything.

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

He learned what it meant to be dependent on others and how to protect himself. Aside from eating and necessary activities, he locked himself in his room.

From elementary school to junior high, 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 in grades between him and his cousin grew larger, every time he brought home his report card, he had to face his aunt’s cold face and some sarcastic remarks that he thought he couldn’t understand. Many trivial matters would suddenly pop up, making it impossible for him to study peacefully.

He learned to hide himself, deliberately failing exams, always scoring slightly lower than his cousin.

When his aunt was happy, he could enjoy a few days of peace.

When he had no leverage, violent resistance wouldn’t yield the desired results. In the rules of adults, he was no different from an infant; fighting against a rock would only hurt himself.

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

Perhaps the tendency for violence was hereditary; his cousin developed an internet addiction. To help him quit, his uncle cut the internet cables at home, and the crazed cousin smashed the entire study.

His aunt spoiled this only son, and soon after, they replaced everything again. It was smashed, then bought again, repeating this cycle.

His cousin started stealing money from home to go to internet cafes, later borrowing from classmates, and when his uncle found out, he borrowed from this group of delinquents. Each time he couldn’t pay back, he would come to him to clean up the mess.

Fighting and brawling could lead to serious consequences, possibly expulsion. Not being expelled was his bottom line.

He not only wanted to go to college but also aimed for the best university. This was the path he sought for himself.

For this, he had been extorted several times.

And this time, he couldn’t hold back and fought with this group of kids, resulting in a bigger mess. Someone reported it to the police, and they were taken to the police station for questioning.

He didn’t know which idiot had hidden two thirty-centimeter fruit knives in their bag. This was reported to the education bureau, and they wanted to make an example out of it.

When his aunt and uncle rushed over upon hearing the news, they not only didn’t speak up for him but also scolded him for leading his cousin astray, saying his cousin got beaten because of him, implying to the officers that he had violent tendencies.

In the end, his cousin and the group of delinquents washed their hands of the matter, leaving him alone to take the blame, and no matter how he explained, it was futile.

He was notified of his expulsion from Yizhong.

Just when he thought it was irreparable, unexpectedly, the homeroom teacher, who usually looked down on him, stood up to vouch for him, which saved his student status.

Xie Ci looked at the yellow-haired boy, his tone relaxed and low, with no fluctuations in his voice, as if it wasn’t him who had just knocked someone down with one move. “How much did you borrow?”

Xie Ci suddenly spoke, startling the yellow-haired boy. He glanced at the buzz-cut boy who was being helped up and angrily said, “Eighty! Plus interest, that’s a total of one hundred sixty!”

One hundred sixty was a huge sum for high school students at this time.

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

Giving them this one hundred sixty would mean he wouldn’t have money for food for a month.

“Who borrowed it?” Xie Ci asked.

“He did, Chen Zhanpeng!”

The yellow-haired boy said, already losing his patience.

Xie Ci continued, “Why did he borrow it?”

“To go online! Are you looking for trouble?!” The yellow-haired boy pointed the baseball bat at Xie Ci. “There are so many of us; we’re not afraid of you!”

Xie Ci replied, “Chen Zhanpeng borrowed money to go online and owes you one hundred sixty. What does that have to do with me?”

The buzz-cut boy, holding his wrist, shouted, “What do you mean it has nothing to do with you? If he doesn’t have money, of course, you have to pay it back!”

Xie Ci ignored him, holding the cigarette and beckoning the yellow-haired boy to come over.

The yellow-haired boy was momentarily confused about what Xie Ci was up to, thinking he was finally going to obediently pay.

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

“Now that’s more like it. Pay up early to save everyone’s time,” the yellow-haired boy spread his palm in front of Xie Ci, sounding a bit smug.

“Not paying back the money is indeed his problem. Whether you beat him to death or cripple him, do as you please.”

Saying this, Xie Ci pressed the cigarette butt into the yellow-haired boy’s palm, extinguishing it. “Don’t bother me with this trivial matter again, got it?”

“Ah—”

The yellow-haired boy winced in pain, cursing, and raised the baseball bat to swing at him. “You son of a—”

Before he could react, Xie Ci snatched the baseball bat away and, before the yellow-haired boy could respond, pressed the bat against his chin.

“If I remember correctly, your name is Zhang Xingxing, right? Second-year class three at the sports school, living in the Huian community on Lanxin North Road. Your parents run a fruit shop in the old city.”

Xie Ci looked into the wide eyes in front of him, his tone remaining unchanged.

But it was this calm face that scared the yellow-haired boy, and he faintly sensed a threat in Xie Ci’s tone. “How do you know that? What do you want?!”

“What do you think?”

Xie Ci glanced around at everyone, “Anyway, I have a worthless life. What can’t I do?”

If you were to say who high school students feared the most, it would undoubtedly be their parents.

As soon as parents were mentioned, this group of arrogant delinquents immediately fell silent, not even daring to look up at Xie Ci, fearing 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 his ears.

Were they coming this way?

How could they arrive so much earlier than last time?