Breaking Your Dog Legs

Gradually, everyone dispersed. Zhang Chen watched the chemistry teacher leave, an indescribable feeling stirring within him.

It looks like there really is a problem. More importantly, she's Wang Yizhi's cousin, and Yi Zhi is going to stay at her house for two months.

The more Zhang Chen thought about it, the more uneasy he became.

If I tell Wang Yizhi to her face that there's something wrong with her cousin, she might reject me outright and never speak to me again. But I can't just tell her not to stay at her cousin's house either. I can only figure out first whether her cousin really has a problem.

"Yi Zhi, are you going home at noon?" Zhang Chen asked.

"My cousin will pick me up at the school gate once she's done with work. Today's my first time going to her place," Wang Yizhi said.

"Alright, then. I'm going to the office for a bit. I'll be back soon." After saying that, Zhang Chen headed toward the teachers' office, intending to investigate Xie Wen.

Standing at the office door, Zhang Chen saw one or two students still beside Xie Wen's desk. Once they came out, he immediately turned and walked in.

Xie Wen was sitting in the office, sorting through books on her desk with both hands. The sight of her red nails made Zhang Chen intensely uncomfortable.

Zhang Chen walked up to her, bowed respectfully, and said, "Hello, Teacher. My name is Zhang Chen. I'm a student in Class 3, Grade 9."

The instant he finished speaking, Zhang Chen used his psychic power to knock a gel pen near the edge of the desk onto Xie Wen's side.

"Ah, Teacher, I'm really sorry." Zhang Chen quickly put on an embarrassed expression.

"It's alright, it's alright." Xie Wen bent down as she spoke to pick up the fallen pen.

But at that moment, after sweeping his gaze around and confirming no one was paying attention to him, Zhang Chen suddenly opened his mouth wide enough to fit a small washbasin and lunged at Xie Wen's neck. The instant he reached her neck, he hurriedly pulled back.

How strange. If there were Ghosts or anything else, there's no way I wouldn't have reacted just now. Strange... but there's clearly something wrong with those nails. Zhang Chen frowned, unable to make sense of it.

"Is there something you need, Zhang?" Xie Wen seemed not to have noticed anything unusual about him. After picking up the pen, she spoke gently.

"Nothing. I just like chemistry and things like that, so I hope you'll teach me more in the future," Zhang Chen said.

"Of course. Chemistry is a very important subject. You can come ask me anything," Xie Wen said kindly.

"Thank you, Teacher. Oh, and your nails are beautiful. I won't disturb you any longer. If you ever need help, you can come find me." Zhang Chen emphasized the word "nails." Yet the flicker of anxiety on Xie Wen's face did not escape his eyes. Though it appeared for only a moment, it was quickly concealed by a smile.

Zhang Chen turned and left. Meanwhile, Xie Wen stared at her nails for a long time in the office before finally coming back to herself and resuming her work.

Wang Yizhi had been the only one left in the classroom, but when Zhang Chen returned, there were three more people there. One of them was a notorious delinquent in their grade.

His name was Lei Xiaori, and he was in the same grade as Zhang Chen. Since entering middle school, he had relied on having people outside school backing him up. He loved bullying timid classmates and extorting protection money. Once, when Tan Fei had been alone at an internet café, Lei Xiaori had taken money from him.

Zhang Chen had never liked the sight of him. He had been even angrier after Tan Fei told him about it, but he had been alone and weak. Picking a fight would have been suicide. Things were different now, though.

Lei Xiaori stood in front of Wang Yizhi's desk with two lackeys. Zhang Chen had no idea what they were saying, but it certainly wasn't anything good.

"Hey, you three over there. This is the classroom for Class 3, Grade 9. If you have no business here, please leave." Zhang Chen saw that they had actually come after Wang Yizhi. Though fury burned in his gut, he held it in because Wang Yizhi was there.

The three of them turned around at once and stared at Zhang Chen for a while. Then Lei Xiaori spoke. "Fuck, who the hell are you? You think I'll leave just because you tell me to? Believe it or not, I'll break your dog legs!"

Zhang Chen said indifferently, "The teacher will be here soon. Aren't you leaving?"

"Fuck, you really don't understand what I'm saying." Lei Xiaori looked ready to rush over and beat Zhang Chen viciously, but one of his lackeys spoke up. "Brother Ri, we only just got the last incident settled. If a teacher really comes in a moment, we'll have to make another trip to the administration building."

"Since when do I need you to teach me how to do things?" Lei Xiaori frowned and slapped the lackey across the face, frightening Wang Yizhi behind them.

Still, Lei Xiaori was not completely reckless. He led his lackeys past Zhang Chen and deliberately rammed him hard with his shoulder. Yet Zhang Chen did not move an inch. Soon, a voice came from the doorway.

"Kid, when you're walking down the road in the future..."

Before he could finish, Zhang Chen turned and stared at Lei Xiaori's feet. With a thud, Lei Xiaori fell flat on the ground. His two lackeys hurried over to help him up. After finally getting to his feet, he shot Zhang Chen a vicious glare and limped away.

Zhang Chen could not be bothered playing with that bunch of trash. He quickly walked over to Wang Yizhi.

"Did those people do anything to you?"

"Nothing. They just asked for my phone number, and of course I didn't give it to them. But what about you? What if he gets revenge on you later?" Wang Yizhi was worrying about Zhang Chen instead, which made his heart feel warm.

"Don't worry about me. Look at these muscles. You can pinch them if you want—they're real. Those guys are all skin and bones. How could they possibly be my match?" Zhang Chen deliberately flexed the muscles in his right arm and waved it around in front of Wang Yizhi, making her laugh nonstop.

"Beep beep beep~~~~" As Wang Yizhi covered her mouth and giggled, the phone in her pocket rang. After answering it and giving two brief acknowledgments, she hung up.

"My cousin's done over there. She told me to go down," Wang Yizhi said.

"Then let's go." Zhang Chen did not care at all about those little delinquents, but this cousin of hers left him unsettled. Once Wang Yizhi went back with her that night, there would be nothing Zhang Chen could do.

When the two arrived at the school gate with their backpacks, a pure white Mercedes-Benz slowly drove over and stopped before them. Wang Yizhi's cousin was sitting inside.

"Sis, this is my classmate, Zhang Chen." Wang Yizhi quickly introduced him.

"We've already met. Get in. Zhang Chen, would you like to come eat with us?" Xie Wen's gentle voice came from the car.

"Not this time. I'll come over with Wang Yizhi next time." After thinking about it, Zhang Chen still refused. Going over rashly this time was not a good idea. If Xie Wen really had a problem, then inviting him over meant she must be prepared. It was not that Zhang Chen was afraid; he was just afraid of dragging Wang Yizhi into it.

After waving goodbye to Wang Yizhi, Zhang Chen watched her turn back to look at him from inside the car, and a feeling of happiness rose in his heart. Yet as he watched the Mercedes-Benz drive away, he still could not put his mind at ease.

Forget it, forget it. It's only one afternoon. Nothing should happen. I'm probably worrying too much. He shrugged and went to Auntie's Intestine Noodles nearby to deal with lunch. He finished the large bowl of intestine noodles in just a few bites, though he still felt unsatisfied.

"I haven't eaten that sort of thing in half a year. Even when my stomach is full, I still feel a little hungry." Thinking of those wandering ghosts made Zhang Chen start drooling again. He shook his head and decided against it, wiped his mouth, and prepared to return to the classroom for a nap.

The moment Zhang Chen stepped out of the restaurant, he saw a group of eighteen- or nineteen-year-olds staring at him from across the street. Lei Xiaori stood among them, handing out packs of cigarettes one by one and even using his lighter to light them for the others. He looked like a lifelong lackey, and the sight disgusted Zhang Chen.

This guy really holds a grudge. He called people over this quickly. Better take them somewhere less crowded and teach them a proper lesson. After thinking it over, Zhang Chen took off running into a nearby alley.

The moment the group saw Zhang Chen run, they immediately chased after him. "Fuck, kid, don't run if you've got guts!" Angry shouts rang out behind him. Zhang Chen ignored them and kept running. After turning four corners, he saw the dead end ahead and smiled faintly.

"This will do."

After waiting a short while, seven or eight youths from the streets, along with Lei Xiaori, finally caught up.

"Fuck, kid, you can really run. Let's see where you can run to this time." A vicious-looking blond-haired man at the front pulled a Xiaodao from his waist and walked toward Zhang Chen. The others behind him did not move, as though they were watching a show.

"Fuck, I said I'd break your legs, and I'll definitely break them. Brother, beat him to death for me." Seeing Zhang Chen trapped in the dead end, Lei Xiaori was ecstatic.

Zhang Chen sized up the blond-haired man approaching him. He was slightly shorter than Zhang Chen, but he seemed to have some muscle. When the blond-haired man reached him, he said,

"If you don't want to die, kneel down."

Zhang Chen smiled faintly. Seeing the contempt in Zhang Chen's expression, the blond-haired man roared, "Fuck, you're courting death!" Then he thrust the sharp tip of his knife toward Zhang Chen's body.

Yet the next second, the blond-haired man froze in the middle of his stabbing motion. His mouth moved as if he wanted to say something, but no sound came out. It was sealed shut, leaving him unable to speak.

The people behind him could not understand what was happening. Brother Blond had always been able to seriously injure the other side in every fight, so what was going on today? Why was he not moving at all?

"Did something happen? Guangzi, Egg, you two go see what's going on." A man in sunglasses sent two more people forward. One was fat and the other thin. One pulled out a Xiaodao, while the other took out an iron rod, and they cautiously approached. Yet the same thing happened. The moment they reached Zhang Chen and were about to attack, they froze as though someone had pressed pause on a movie.

"Fuck, Little Lei, what kind of background does this kid have? This is too damn weird." The man in sunglasses shouted at Lei Xiaori beside him.

"Brother Gang, he's just a student from the class next door. What background could he possibly have?" Lei Xiaori became scared after being shouted at by the sunglasses-wearing man called Brother Gang.

"Fuck it, all of you, go together! Let's see what trick this kid is playing!" The man in sunglasses gave the order.

The remaining few pulled out knives and charged forward. But before they could reach Zhang Chen, the three frozen men were suddenly sent flying backward, crashing into the group and knocking them all to the ground. Zhang Chen moved, rapidly appearing before them and punching each person once in the knee.

"Ah~~~~~" Wails rang out. Zhang Chen had not used his full strength, but each punch had still knocked their kneecaps out of place.

"You bunch of idiots. Let's see whose dog legs get broken." Zhang Chen could not be bothered with them anymore. He slowly walked out of the alley and headed back toward the school...