Fighting

"Zhang Ruofeng, this fight you got into is pretty serious." The academic counselor looked helplessly at Zhang Ruofeng, who seemed distracted. Zhang Ruofeng felt just as helpless.

"You know what happened, counselor. They were the ones who started it," Zhang Ruofeng said helplessly.

"They started it?" The counselor's eyes nearly bulged with anger. "The university doesn't stop you from going out to eat and drink, but do you realize that getting into a fight can seriously affect your graduation? And in the worst-case scenario, you could be expelled!"

"Yeah, I know. But if someone hits me, I'm definitely going to hit back," Zhang Ruofeng said calmly.

"Is that what you call hitting back?" Seeing that Zhang Ruofeng was still talking back, the counselor grew even angrier. "You hit them so badly they ended up in the hospital! One of them even got a concussion!"

"..." Zhang Ruofeng said nothing, only turning his head away with a distant expression. The counselor found it even more of a headache.

"Go back. Just go back and wait for the school to decide on your punishment." The counselor waved him away. Out of sight, out of mind.

Zhang Ruofeng left the office with a sigh and touched his tightly bandaged left hand. The pain from last night's brawl still lingered.

The day before, Zhang Ruofeng had been in a bad mood, so he'd invited a few friends out for barbecue. They'd all spent three years together in the Anime Club and were naturally very close. Who could have guessed that halfway through their meal, Xin Mu, the girl who'd come along with them, would be confessed to by a younger student from the same college? Still, they'd seen this sort of thing before, so everyone stayed relaxed.

Mu Mu was known among their friends as an ice queen, so she would probably turn him down. Zhang Ruofeng lit a cigarette, ready to enjoy the show, when a few friends beside him patted his shoulder. "Hey, Xin Mu's getting confessed to. Zhang Ruofeng, aren't you going to do anything?"

"Huh? What am I supposed to do?" Zhang Ruofeng asked, looking blank.

"This... You really are the male lead in an anime," his close friends said, all facepalming.

"Sorry, I can't accept. There's someone I like." Xin Mu rejected him outright and even pushed the flowers in her hands back toward him. The young man stared dumbly as they fell to the ground.

"Hey, hey, senior, if you don't want them, fine, but don't throw them on the ground," jeered the boys who'd come with him. Only then did Zhang Ruofeng take a good look at them. He saw that they'd been drinking, and his brow furrowed. With her reputation as an ice queen, Xin Mu was usually direct with people. She merely frowned, said nothing, and turned back to the table.

"Senior, that's a pretty bad attitude." One of the young man's friends took a drag on his cigarette and stepped forward, looking ready to pat Xin Mu on the shoulder. Apart from the one who'd confessed, the others seemed happy to watch the show.

"Stop messing around. If you keep this up, it won't be funny anymore, and you'll embarrass your friend." Zhang Ruofeng was seated to Mu Mu's left. He rose slightly and blocked the young man's hand.

"Get out of the way. I know you people. You're just a bunch of basement-dwelling shut-ins, right?" The young man flared up when Zhang Ruofeng got in his way. He'd probably had quite a bit to drink; even Zhang Ruofeng, who'd been drinking too, could smell the alcohol on his breath.

"Come on, let's go." Seeing things take a bad turn, the young man who'd made the confession tried to talk his friend down. Zhang Ruofeng's friends had all stood up, and quite a few people were watching them.

"Why should we go?" Another boy came forward. "Afraid of a shut-in?" Zhang Ruofeng frowned even harder. These guys looked like they'd had a lot to drink. Xin Mu had also stood up by now.

"Younger students, it seems you've got the wrong idea about shut-ins." Xin Mu said coldly, "We're just people who like anime and games. You have no right to insult my friends."

"So what if I insulted them?" Zhang Ruofeng was getting a headache. The young man yanked his hand free and even swung a fist at him, but Zhang Ruofeng caught him by the wrist again. "The school's punishments are strict. Sober up and leave. If you go now, we can pretend none of this happened."

This time, the boys behind the one Zhang Ruofeng had grabbed looked surprised. Even Zhang Ruofeng's friends were astonished. He'd managed to stop the other guy's attack after drinking so much? Was this really the same Zhang Ruofeng they knew, the one with no social awareness who didn't realize Xin Mu had feelings for him? The quiet, even-tempered Zhang Ruofeng who got along with everyone?

Zhang Ruofeng was getting irritated, too. He'd worked so hard to act like a quiet, mild-mannered person around his friends. Was he really about to let them see through him today? "I'll say it again. Take your friend and leave. This won't end well for anyone if you keep this up. You..." Zhang Ruofeng said.

"!" Before Zhang Ruofeng could finish, the troublemaker, furious at being stopped in front of everyone, kicked at him. The people around them cried out in alarm.

"Ruofeng!" Xin Mu cried out in surprise. But when she saw what happened next, she was so startled she covered her mouth with her hand. Zhang Ruofeng's raised knee met the sole of the troublemaker's foot, and the boy lost his balance and fell onto the ground. Seeing their friend down, the others rushed forward in a rage.

"Don't get involved," Zhang Ruofeng said to the friends who'd come out with him. He turned around and took a punch to the face. Blood instantly ran from the corner of his mouth. "Heh, it's been a while..." The heavy blow swelled his right cheek, but he didn't step back. Everyone who'd been ready to fight, whether on his side or the troublemakers', paused. "It's been a long time since anyone pissed me off this much!!!!"

After that, Zhang Ruofeng could barely remember what had happened. But the counselor's words today made it clear that he'd lost control again the night before. He did remember that, as a child, he'd often been bullied. Skinny little Zhang Ruofeng had been the biggest loser whenever he played games with his friends; games without any girls usually ended in defeat.

"Man, I was pathetic back then." Zhang Ruofeng rubbed his chin. When had he gotten so strong? He thought back quietly, and then a few fragmented scenes flashed through his mind. Zhang Ruofeng crouched on the ground, clutching his aching head.

"I think that's when it started." Zhang Ruofeng lit a cigarette. He couldn't remember why, but starting in middle school, he'd trained in all sorts of ways. He'd learned grappling techniques from his uncle, who'd served in the military, and studied boxing, Wing Chun, and Jeet Kune Do online. It was all because the school bullies had made his life miserable. "Come to think of it, they stopped coming to school after eighth grade." Zhang Ruofeng suddenly recalled those long-forgotten events. It felt strange, but so much time had passed that he couldn't quite make sense of it all.

"I thought that after getting into college and joining the most shut-in club around, I'd managed to hide my past pretty well." Zhang Ruofeng held the cigarette between his lips and shook his head.

"Zhang Ruofeng!!" Just as Zhang Ruofeng was lost in his thoughts, a sharp female voice from behind shattered his reverie. He knew without turning around that Xin Mu was calling him. But the moment he came to, he realized he was standing in the middle of the road, with a car speeding toward him from barely five meters away.

"Looks like it can't stop in time." Zhang Ruofeng felt no panic at all. The world before him seemed to slow down in an instant. From the corner of his eye, he saw Xin Mu rushing toward him like a madwoman, her long hair flying in the wind, her big eyes brimming with tears and terror. She was usually so cold-faced that, in that moment, Zhang Ruofeng almost wanted to laugh.

"Xin Mu, I'm sorry. I know you like me, but is it because your parents got divorced? Why can't I bring myself to like anyone?" A bitter smile had just risen in Zhang Ruofeng's heart when the screech of brakes abruptly cut off every thought.