Thugs at the School Gate

Chapter 7: Hoodlums at the School Gate

The English teacher walked to the podium and immediately played a long listening comprehension exercise. It was a long, garbled stream of audio that left Su Ke feeling completely bewildered, his head spinning.

Among his subjects, only Chinese and English were things Su Ke was relatively good at. His grades in math, physics, chemistry, and biology all hovered right around the passing line. Even he didn't understand why he hadn't chosen the liberal arts track back then.

However, aside from the listening portion which he found difficult, Su Ke's English scores could reach around 110 points. Of course, out of a total of 150, this was already his best performance.

If it weren't for the Flower Picking System, Su Ke would have undoubtedly ended up in a third-rate vocational school after the college entrance exam, or perhaps he would have chosen a major where it was easier to find work. But now, everything had changed, and his future was filled with suspense.

The English teacher was an elderly woman, an excellent educator who had been rehired after retirement. She was nearly sixty years old and named Liu Shuzhen. Whenever her class rolled around, she would inevitably check if the students had memorized the assigned short essays. If they couldn't recite them, they immediately faced the fate of having to copy them out several times.

Her teaching philosophy was to let English take root in one's bones. As long as you heard a certain phrase, you shouldn't have to think about grammar; you should be able to write it correctly out of pure habit. A good memory paired with a tireless pen was her principle.

However, Su Ke had always been like air in the classroom, and his grades were decent enough, so he was rarely singled out for checks.

The class ended quickly amidst the students' trepidation as the bell rang. Most of the students felt a sense of excitement, like survivors of a disaster. Generally, the classroom would become very lively after an English lesson.

That morning, Ma Ke had revealed the campus "sex fiend" incident that was trending on the No. 17 High School message board. It immediately swept through the class and became the topic of conversation during the break. Although Su Ke tried his best to avoid having his abnormality discovered, some troubles had a way of finding him on their own.

"I really don't know who that sex fiend is. If I catch him, I'll have to beat the piss out of him!" Wang Xiaogang, the class sports representative, said with great bravado. To be fair, although this sports rep was about the same height as Su Ke, he was very burly and looked like a tough guy.

"That's for sure. But the post said he has fair skin, bright eyes, and blushes whenever he speaks—he's clearly a sissy! Wang Xiaogang, you could take him down with one finger, absolutely!" Li Wei, standing by Wang Xiaogang's side, chimed in with a timely bit of flattery.

It was said that Wang Xiaogang's family was in the timber business and was quite well-off. By sticking close to him, one could often get free meals and drinks. Because of this, several students always followed his lead, acting as his lackeys.

"Haha, the way you put it, why do I feel like the post is talking about our class's own Su Ke!" Wang Xiaogang stood up, walked from his seat to Su Ke's side, and shouted loudly, "Su Ke's appearance fits the description perfectly. He's a typical pretty boy!"

Su Ke had been keeping his head down the whole time. Especially when he heard them talking about the sex fiend incident, he didn't even dare to breathe loudly. Who would have thought that Wang Xiaogang would pinpoint the real culprit so accurately? He was so terrified that he lost his composure, completely ignoring the insults Wang Xiaogang was hurling at him.

Because Su Ke had always been introverted and had no close friends in class, always appearing silent and withdrawn, people often made fun of him. However, his reaction was usually just silence; once they felt it was boring, they would naturally disperse.

Li Wei, the lackey, played along with Wang Xiaogang perfectly. He trotted over, muttering, "Yeah, yeah, Wang Xiaogang, your eyes are sharp! Isn't it just this pretty boy Su Ke? Su Ke, look up, let me see if you're blushing!"

If Su Ke didn't realize they were mocking him by now, he might as well have been dead. Yet, he was completely helpless. He couldn't even bring himself to retort loudly; he only kept his hands under the desk, clenching them into fists until his veins stood out.

"That's right, Su Ke. Lift your head up and give us a smile!" Wang Xiaogang said, reaching out to lift Su Ke's chin, much like a hoodlum harassing a woman in a TV drama.

"That's enough! What's the point of bullying your own classmate?"

Suddenly, a sharp reprimand interrupted Wang Xiaogang's movements. Wang Xiaogang raised an eyebrow and turned his head, only to see that it was Wei Lan, the class study representative. The young girl had delicate features and a gentle personality, usually speaking in soft, quiet tones. He didn't know why she had suddenly flared up.

"What's it to you? I'm just messing around with this pretty boy! Are you feeling sorry for him?" Under normal circumstances, Wang Xiaogang wouldn't have lost his temper, but now that Wei Lan was scolding him in front of the whole class, he felt like he had been slapped in the face. He glared at her and said harshly.

To his surprise, Wei Lan didn't look the least bit afraid. She met Wang Xiaogang's gaze and said, "Is bullying a classmate a sign of strength? If you're so capable, why don't you go pick a fight with those hoodlums at the school gate?"

"You—" Wang Xiaogang took a sudden step forward, looking somewhat annoyed and embarrassed. Fortunately, Li Wei grabbed his arm and pulled him back to his seat.

Wang Xiaogang had indeed been hit where it hurt by Wei Lan. Who dared to provoke those hoodlums at the school gate? They never stopped a fight without drawing blood, and even he had been forced to pay "protection money" several times. His face turned from blue to white, and he wished he could slap Wei Lan across the face.

Su Ke had looked up when Wang Xiaogang started to get angry, a hint of bloodlust appearing in his eyes. He was deeply grateful to Wei Lan for her righteous words. If Wang Xiaogang had actually tried to strike, even if he couldn't beat him, he would have fought back with everything he had.

It wasn't until Wang Xiaogang returned to his seat that Su Ke looked toward Wei Lan. He usually had no interaction with the study representative and hadn't even spoken a few words to her.

Seeing Wei Lan cast a glance his way, his cheeks actually began to flush again. He smiled at her to show his gratitude.

The bell rang, and the conflict came to an end with the sound, but Su Ke had already decided to treat Wei Lan as his friend, even if it was just his own one-sided wish.

The school was at its liveliest when classes let out, and the gate was especially crowded. Everyone was rushing as if their lives depended on it, wanting to get home quickly. Su Ke was pushing his bike and had just exited the gate when he saw three hoodlums surrounding a girl.

"Hey beauty, why don't you come hang out with us?" a hoodlum with dyed yellow hair and a very "non-mainstream" look said with a leering grin. One hand grabbed the girl's handlebars, blocking her path.

Two other hoodlums stood beside him, shirtless, seemingly on purpose to show off their chest tattoos. They puffed out their chests, surrounding the girl in the middle.

The girl was very anxious, but no matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't break free from the three hoodlums' encirclement. She looked around in desperation, hoping someone could help her.

"Beauty, your skin is so nice, can I give you a kiss? Don't worry, a kiss won't get you pregnant!" The yellow-haired hoodlum had a smile on his face and actually reached out to touch the girl's cheek.

Su Ke had seen scenes like this many times before. Every single time, without exception, he would just push his bike and walk away without hesitation. But this time, he stopped. His hands, gripping the handlebars, were trembling slightly from the force.

Because the girl surrounded by those three hoodlums was someone he knew.

It was Wei Lan, the girl who had just stood up for him.