What should have been a perfectly nice meal had ended like this. Su Ke and Li Feifei were still sitting in their original seats. Su Ke's meal had gone to Li Daxing, and Li Feifei had lost her appetite too.
"Come on! Let's go eat somewhere else!" Su Ke stood up. This time, Li Feifei didn't refuse. Maybe she felt a little guilty, because she followed meekly behind him, almost like a newlywed wife.
The cafeteria was already noisy enough, and some students had even secretly snapped a few photos with their phones. After all, the main topics at school were fighting and dating, and this incident involved both. One of them was apparently the son of the head of discipline, and the other was No. 17 High School's campus belle. Just thinking about it was exciting.
There were restaurants outside every school. Their prices were a little higher than the school cafeteria's, but business was still good. Each of them ordered a bowl of California Butter Noodles. As he breathed in the fragrant steam, Han Feng finally relaxed.
"I helped you win a fight. Does that mean we're even now?" Honestly, Su Ke hadn't put much effort into dealing with those three student athletes. It had barely counted as a warm-up.
"Please! As if! You pervert, you think it's that easy?" Li Feifei was surprised that she didn't dislike this violent guy. She wasn't even as nervous as before. She raised a small fist and waved it at Su Ke in warning. "You said you'd agree to anything just now. You can't take it back!"
Her delicate, rosy arm, dainty little fist, and pout made Li Feifei look adorable. Her glossy black hair and smooth, fair skin also gave her a sweet, innocent look.
"Fine, fine. Tell me what you want. If I don't get expelled, I'll agree!" Su Ke spread his hands in surrender.
"Don't worry, you won't get expelled!" Li Feifei sounded certain, as though she already had a solution. "But I haven't decided what I want yet."
Just as Su Ke agreed, a notification sounded in his mind that the mission was complete. He hadn't expected that agreeing out loud would be enough to finish it. His mood immediately lifted, and a smile spread across his face. "All right. Let me know when you've decided!"
Li Feifei nodded with satisfaction. "Hmph. At least you know what's good for you!"
Suddenly, Su Ke gazed at Li Feifei's youthful, pretty face and lost himself for a moment. Without realizing it, he had started to like this feeling. It was warm and sweet.
Without either of them noticing, the distance between Li Feifei and Su Ke had disappeared. They chatted casually like old friends, talking and laughing together.
Just as expected, before the first afternoon class, Su Ke was summoned to the principal's office. It was the first time in his three years of high school that he had entered the administration building, and the first time he had come face-to-face with No. 17 High School's top authority.
The principal's office was spacious and bright. Just inside the door stood a large, impressive-looking desk. Principal Liu Peihua sat behind it, with a tall bookcase behind him, filled with thick, beautifully bound books that gave the whole office a strong scholarly air.
The head of discipline sat on the sofa to the side. At that moment, Li Xueliang was frowning as he looked Su Ke up and down. Li Daxing stood obediently beside him, bruised and swollen. When he saw Su Ke enter, he lowered his head.
"Hello, Principal!" Su Ke took a deep breath. After thinking it over all noon, he wasn't as worried as before. Now that he had claimed the reward for intermediate-level mastery of high school English, he believed transferring schools wouldn't be too difficult, given his current grades. It would just mean giving his parents something to worry about.
Liu Peihua looked to be in his early forties. He had a long face, gold-rimmed glasses, and fair skin. He nodded. "You're Su Ke, right? Why did you get into a fight in the cafeteria at noon?" His voice gave no hint of what he was thinking.
"Principal, Li Daxing had been drinking. He went on a rampage and tried to hit me, so I had no choice but to fight back. The students who were eating there can all vouch for me!" Su Ke had decided to stand his ground. No longer acting timidly as he usually did, he looked Liu Peihua straight in the eye and spoke firmly.
"Li Daxing, did you drink at noon?" Liu Peihua turned to Li Daxing and frowned slightly. He didn't seem to like him much.
"Principal Liu, drinking is strictly prohibited in our cafeteria. It's explicitly against the rules. How could Li Daxing possibly have been drinking?" Li Xueliang immediately started making excuses for his son from the sofa.
"Principal, you can see Li Daxing for yourself. Do you think I could have beaten him if he hadn't been drinking?" As he spoke, Su Ke turned and glanced at Li Daxing. The moment his eyes landed on Li Daxing's face, swollen like a pig's, Li Daxing shuddered and took a step back.
Liu Peihua didn't say anything, but he clearly agreed with Su Ke. Li Daxing might have been only sixteen, but he was already six foot tall, broad and burly. Compared with Su Ke, he was practically a black bear.
"Principal Liu, I've looked at Su Ke's file. His grades have always been poor, and now he's getting into fights. If we don't deal with troublemakers like him promptly, he'll damage the school's reputation!" The head of discipline raised his voice, putting pressure on the principal.
Only then did Su Ke glance at Li Xueliang out of the corner of his eye. He had seen him before, but never paid him much attention. Now Li Xueliang sat on the sofa with one leg crossed over the other, his face gloomy. He had high cheekbones and sunken eyes, and somehow looked even older than Liu Peihua.
"You're the head of discipline. What do you think we should do?" Liu Peihua picked up his teacup and took a small sip. He seemed to consider it for a moment before speaking slowly.
"Su Ke publicly assaulted someone in the school cafeteria. The nature of the incident is extremely serious, and the consequences are severe. I recommend expelling him immediately as a warning to others!" Li Xueliang spoke with righteous indignation, which only made Su Ke despise him more.
"Director Li, I said Li Daxing had been drinking and causing trouble. If you don't believe me, I can get a breathalyzer. One test will show whether I'm lying!" Su Ke turned and stared at Li Xueliang, his fists clenched. If the final decision was to expel him, he wouldn't mind giving the head of discipline a beating before he left.
But Li Xueliang seemed to know he was in the wrong. He ignored Su Ke completely and didn't react at all. With no other choice, Su Ke edged a little farther back until he was standing beside Li Daxing.
"Do you believe I'll beat you every time I see you?" Su Ke lowered his voice until only Li Daxing beside him could just make it out.
"What?" Li Daxing looked terrified. The events at noon had scared him out of his wits. At school, he had always acted with impunity. Not only was he burly, but he was also the head of discipline's son, so he had been used to doing whatever he pleased. But he was still only sixteen, and the sight of Su Ke kicking and beating him kept replaying in his mind.
At Su Ke's words, he instinctively started to back away. But Su Ke moved quickly and followed him. "If I get expelled, I'll beat you every time I see you—until you're too ashamed to show your face. Do you believe me?"
Li Daxing's expression grew more and more terrified. His hands began to tremble uncontrollably.
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