C6 Chapter 6

“Are those three wearing Taoist robes?”

I looked at them. They looked at me. Then, all of a sudden, they burst out laughing.

“Dude! Our cosplay looks pathetic next to you—you’re the real deal! What are you supposed to be, a local? Hahaha, you nailed it!” said a chubby guy with glasses.

“Cosplay? What are you talking about?” I asked, totally confused.

The other two started peeling off what they were wearing. “Man, this is miserable. Chubby, next time you wear this yourself—don’t drag us into it. And what’s with the ‘surprise the new guy’ thing? What, you trying to scare the new kid with some ‘industry veterans’?” said a quiet, mild-mannered guy.

“Glasses, cut him some slack,” said the more muscular one.

“Bun, you’re the best. Hey, new guy—nice to meet you,” Chubby said with a grin.

Just like that, I met the four of them:

And they very affectionately started calling me “Country Boy.”

I let out a long sigh. “Damn it. You three animals. Fine—I’ll take it.”

After we finished setting up the dorm, I turned down their suggestion to go check out campus and headed straight for a clothing store. I couldn’t let this “local” look keep spreading. Besides, I’ve got money.

I picked out a few outfits and changed. Looking in the mirror—oh man, I was handsome again. Once I had myself looking like a city guy, I strutted around campus like I owned the place. Honestly, the school wasn’t bad. Nice scenery, and plenty of pretty girls too...

Then something ugly caught my eye. A few big guys had a girl surrounded, whispering to each other. She clearly didn’t know them. She tried a few times to slip around them, but they kept blocking her. And that girl—why did she look so familiar?

“Liang Jing?” I finally recognized her. Well, she’d always been pretty, but I didn’t expect her to get targeted this fast. Should I step in or not? I wrestled with it. I wasn’t scared of those punks—I was scared of Liang Jing. I was afraid I’d take the punks down… and then Liang Jing would take me down.

Just as I watched, those guys were already getting handsy with Liang Jing. Her arms were full of bags, and she was struggling to fend them off. I couldn’t stand it anymore. I came up from behind, yanked Liang Jing back, and planted a kick right into the guy in front. The kick sent him stumbling back about 15 to 18 feet. Even with three or four of his buddies behind him, none of them managed to catch him.

Yeah, right—like that was hard. I’d been dealing with all kinds of monsters since I was a kid, including some freakishly strong ones. The biggest perk of taking them down is you end up with a piece of their strength. So even though I was only sixteen, dropping a whole group of guys wasn’t exactly a challenge.

They just stared as their tall buddy got launched by one kick, all of them looking stunned. I lifted my chin—message loud and clear: “Who’s got a problem? Step up.”

People nearby were already watching. The tall guy I’d kicked shot me a glare and pointed at me. “Kid, I’ll remember you!” And then… he actually walked off.

Seriously? That’s it? I stood there, dumbfounded. What kind of spineless move was that? If I stole my dog’s bone, he’d go a few hundred rounds with me. This guy takes one kick and bolts?

“Trash,” I muttered, flicking my hand like he wasn’t worth the air.

“Thank you,” Liang Jing said behind me.

I turned around and pulled a goofy face. “Ma’am, you forgot me already? It’s only been a minute.”

The second she saw it was me, her soft expression snapped into something else entirely. “Oh, it’s you—Wu Xiaogang! Running into you again, huh? Wait a second—what are you wearing? Are those all designer brands? So you were pretending you were broke, and you scammed me out of my cab fare! Pay me back my fifty bucks—right now! You liar!” With that, she actually dropped everything she was holding and swung at me.

Seriously?! She saved all that energy for me instead of the creeps? If I’d known, I wouldn’t have bothered saving her.

“Wait—just let me explain! I didn’t suddenly get money until after we split up!”

“You expect me to believe that? That might fool a toddler. Pay me back—now!” Liang Jing shot back, relentless as ever.

“Hey, I literally just saved you!”

“So what?!”

“Seriously? You’re unbelievable. No good deed goes unpunished!” I wailed dramatically.

“Enough. Carry this stuff for me, and I’ll forgive you.” Liang Jing pointed at the luggage on the ground.

Me: “.......”

After hauling everything all the way to her dorm building, she suddenly called out to me. “Wait here. I’m buying you dinner.”

Me: “Can I say no?”

“No.”

So I stood downstairs for another half hour. Then she took me to a huge dining hall—the campus East Dining Commons.

But since we were already there, it didn’t matter where it was. Filling my stomach was what mattered most.

Right when I was eating like it was the best thing on earth, Liang Jing suddenly leaned in and said, “I need to tell you something.”

I poked around at the food on my plate and glanced at her. “What is it? And hey—if you’re not gonna eat what’s on your plate, hand it over. Don’t waste it!”