A Midnight Shock

Lying in bed, letting his thoughts wander as he planned what to do over the next while, Wang Ye suddenly heard someone pounding on the door with a series of "bang, bang, bangs," startling him.

Yes, this was not knocking at all. It was downright smashing the door...

He frowned, seeming to recall something.

It looked like that incident from before was about to play out again. Only this time, it was not happening to him—it involved Song Xiaogang...

The pounding had clearly woken Little Black and Song Xiaogang as well.

"Who is it?" Song Xiaogang called out loudly.

"Open the door. We need to ask Song Xiaogang something," someone outside answered in Chinese.

Hearing that they were looking for him and that they were fellow Chinese students, Song Xiaogang hurriedly rolled out of bed, slipped on his slippers, turned on the room light, and went to open the door.

Wang Ye had wanted to warn him not to open it, but he could not think of a suitable excuse in time.

Song Xiaogang opened the door and saw three male students standing outside. One was tall and fat, one was of average build, neither fat nor thin, and the last was a short, skinny little guy.

"Old Gao, Big Liu, you were looking for me? And this is..." Song Xiaogang asked.

He seemed to recognize the two taller boys, but he had no impression of the short, skinny one.

What happened next was exactly as Wang Ye remembered...

The short, skinny boy looked up at Song Xiaogang and drawled, "You're Song Xiaogang?"

From the sound of his voice, he seemed to have been drinking.

Song Xiaogang nodded. "Yeah, that's me."

He was still wondering what these people wanted with him in the middle of the night.

The moment he finished speaking, the short boy suddenly jumped up and kicked Song Xiaogang.

It happened so abruptly that Song Xiaogang had not reacted at all, much less prepared himself.

The kick landed solidly in his stomach...

Even someone as strong and burly as him found it hard to take such a kick.

"Stagger, stagger, stagger..." He clutched his stomach and retreated several steps.

Wang Ye had sat up by then and clearly saw Song Xiaogang's face turn deathly pale. That kick had obviously been no light one!

"Fucking hell, you were the one who insulted me yesterday, weren't you? I'll let you insult me, you motherfucker..." The skinny boy cursed as he rushed inside, raising his leg to kick Song Xiaogang again.

But Song Xiaogang was prepared this time. He sidestepped and dodged it.

Given Song Xiaogang's build, beating up this skinny boy should have been effortless. Wang Ye knew even better that Song Xiaogang was no mindless brute.

The kid had trained at Tagou Martial Arts School for more than ten years!

With his skills and that physique, saying he could take on ten skinny boys like this one at once would not have been an exaggeration!

Yet for some reason, Song Xiaogang did not fight back at all. One hand clutched his stomach while the other pushed the skinny boy away, and he hurriedly explained, "You've got the wrong person, classmate. When did I ever insult you? I don't even know you."

The skinny boy tossed his long hair and continued cursing. "Fuck you, it was you! Yesterday at dinner, you told someone I was some punk, didn't you? Damn right I'm a thug! And you're exactly who I'm beating!"

Hearing this, Song Xiaogang remembered what had happened.

Yesterday had been New Year's Day. The owner of the Chinese restaurant downstairs had invited all the Chinese students in the preparatory building to have a holiday meal together.

The Chinese restaurant was located in the annex of the preparatory building. It was quite decent, decorated in an antique style.

The owner was also an international student, currently pursuing a doctorate. He had supposedly done quite well for himself here and was an old Moscow hand.

During dinner, the skinny boy had been sitting at the next table over. From beginning to end, he had bragged nonstop about how badass he had been back in China, how no one in his small hometown dared provoke him.

The reason he had gone abroad was because he had injured someone in a fight and come out here to lie low...

Song Xiaogang had been unable to hold back a laugh after hearing that. He had joked to the classmate beside him that the guy was just some punk—what was there to brag about?

That one remark had probably reached the skinny boy's ears, and he had come looking for him tonight...

Sigh, I really have a loose tongue. Running my mouth while away from home really can get me into trouble!

While Song Xiaogang was distracted, the short boy landed several more blows on him, raining them down on his head and face.

It was clear that the short boy had plenty of fighting experience. Though skinny, his punches were anything but light...

Because of the considerable height difference, he had to jump up every time he struck...

Song Xiaogang remained on the defensive and did not fight back at all. Meanwhile, the two boys who had come with the skinny one were deliberately, if subtly, holding Song Xiaogang back.

The two grabbed Song Xiaogang's arms from either side, muttering as they did so.

"Alright, alright, letting off some steam is enough. We're all classmates. Let's keep the peace."

"Stop fighting, stop fighting. That's enough. Don't make it a real fight."...

Their words said they were breaking up the fight, but they held Song Xiaogang's arms from both sides, leaving him unable to move and able only to take the beating.

As soon as the fight began, Little Black's eyes widened. He hurriedly got out of bed and slipped away.

Now, only Wang Ye, Song Xiaogang, and the three boys who had barged in remained in the room.

"Fuck your mother! I'll teach you to insult me! I'll kill you!"

Cursing, the short boy grabbed a jar of Lao Gan Ma from the nearby table and jumped up, swinging it at Song Xiaogang's head...

Wang Ye could no longer stand by and watch. Until then, he had been standing off to the side without saying a word.

But now, he stepped forward, raised his leg, and delivered a flying kick of his own, planting it solidly in the short boy's shoulder.

Wang Ye was no weakling either. Though he had not trained in martial arts like Song Xiaogang, his size was right there for all to see.

That kick sent the short boy flying sideways, crashing into the tall boy who had been helping hold Song Xiaogang back.

"Enough! You think you can bully people? You want to blow this up? Looks like you all want to find out what it feels like to spend time in a Moscow jail! Breaking into someone else's dorm room in the middle of the night to beat them up—do you want me to call the dorm manager?" Wang Ye said coldly.

The short boy had nearly fallen after Wang Ye kicked him away. His head was spinning. Partly because he had been drinking that night and was still buzzed, and partly because that kick had dazed him, he had no idea what had just happened.

Hadn't he been the one beating someone up?

Why was someone beating him now...

When his two drinking buddies saw Wang Ye make a move... no, make a kick, they became anxious. Just as they were about to say something, Wang Ye gave them a fierce tongue-lashing, leaving them speechless.

Because what Wang Ye had said was exactly what they were worried about!

This was Moscow, a foreign country!

Honestly, who would not be worried about getting into trouble if something went wrong...

They had only dared to come because they had drunk a little. Alcohol gave cowards courage, and the short boy had kept bragging about how experienced he was out in society. They had been certain that Song Xiaogang would not dare fight back.

Besides, they had only come to rough Song Xiaogang up. As long as Song Xiaogang did not make a fuss, nothing would come of it.

He had read Song Xiaogang's personality correctly, but he had never expected to run into a Wang Ye who did not play by the rules...