Bullying the Weak, Fearing the Strong

After the short, long-haired boy steadied himself, he finally figured out what had happened.

He flew into a rage and reached into his pocket, seemingly about to pull something out.

But Wang Ye's words made him calm down.

"Y-You... why did you hit someone? We don't have any grudge against each other, do we?" the short boy said, glaring angrily at Wang Ye.

It was both ridiculous and exasperating.

When he had beaten Song Xiaogang, he had been completely unreasonable. But after Wang Ye kicked him, he started reasoning with Wang Ye...

Song Xiaogang cast Wang Ye a grateful look. He had been utterly humiliated just now, getting punched and kicked without even daring to fight back.

It wasn't because he was timid, nor because he couldn't beat the three men in front of him. He simply had his own concerns!

If Wang Ye hadn't stepped in to help him out, he would probably have had a miserable time today.

The tall, fat guy who had come with them also spoke up. "Hey, hey, you must be new here, right? Never seen you before. This is between those two. Why are you sticking your nose into someone else's business? When you're away from home, don't go looking for trouble."

Wang Ye smiled and spoke unhurriedly. "Now you want to reason with me? Then let me ask you this: when you smashed the door down and came in to beat someone, were you being reasonable? Am I meddling? I just couldn't stand watching it! You two..."

As he spoke, he pointed at the two boys who had come with the skinny boy and continued:

"You dared to get involved in something like this? You really thought I was joking just now? At this point, if the administrator finds out, you could very well be expelled and sent back to China. If I hadn't stepped in and things had really gotten out of hand, you'd have been in for a treat—you could find out what it feels like to sit in a foreign jail. Do you think you're still minors, and no one will do anything if you fight and cause trouble? This isn't China, much less your home! Your parents may spoil you back home, but no one here will!"

His words clearly intimidated the three boys. The high school graduates looked at one another, their earlier arrogance long gone.

They were all seventeen or eighteen, fresh out of high school. In a fit of impulse, they had dared to smash in a door and beat someone up.

That was because they hadn't realized how serious the consequences could be, let alone expected to run into someone tough...

What Wang Ye said was reasonable and easy enough to understand.

Now that the alcohol had worn off, their heads had cleared considerably, and they started to get scared.

More importantly, they couldn't win in a fight, and they couldn't win an argument either...

In terms of build, Wang Ye and Song Xiaogang were both tall and burly—one over six feet, the other well over six-three!

Song Xiaogang hadn't fought back at all earlier, which was why the short boy had found it so easy to punch and kick him...

But things were completely different now. With Wang Ye helping Song Xiaogang, it was two against three.

As for the three of them, the other two boys might have been willing to secretly take sides and lend a hand, but if they were really asked to throw down, there was no way they would dare.

After weighing the situation, the skinny boy realized that things were far too unfavorable for him!

If this kept going, he would have to face two hulking men. That was one man too many...

With his scrawny, chicken-like body, he simply couldn't take it!

At that thought, he immediately backed down and said with an awkward smile, "Yeah, yeah. We drank a little tonight and got carried away for a moment. Let's leave it at that, then. This is over, and... Song Xiaogang cursing at me is water under the bridge too. We're all fellow Chinese. We shouldn't fight among ourselves abroad and let the Russians laugh at us."

By now, Wang Ye had become the main character in the room, while Song Xiaogang, the original protagonist, had become a spectator.

Standing to one side and watching Wang Ye, Song Xiaogang felt rather conflicted.

He was deeply grateful to Wang Ye, because without him, today would have been an enormous humiliation!

A grown man getting brutally beaten by some scrawny runt and not even daring to fight back...

Getting hurt was a minor matter. The wound to his pride was the truly fatal thing!

But he really couldn't fight back...

After saying a few polite words, the short, long-haired boy knew he couldn't get anything more out of this today and wanted to slip away.

He gave his two companions a meaningful look. They understood immediately and started edging toward the door with awkward smiles.

Song Xiaogang's lips moved as though he wanted to say something, but in the end, he remained silent.

Just as the three were about to leave the room, Wang Ye spoke.

"Stop. This isn't over yet!"

The short, long-haired boy stumbled and stopped, then turned to look at Wang Ye.

A bitter smile appeared on his face. After hesitating, he asked, "What now?"

Wang Ye took two steps forward to the doorway, grabbed the short boy by the collar, and hauled him back like he was carrying a chicken.

The guy was probably no more than five-foot-three at most, and he was skinny too. Wang Ye only needed to use a little strength to lift him with one hand.

And yet he had dared to come beat up a burly giant like Song Xiaogang. Wang Ye had to admire his courage.

Maybe this was what they meant by alcohol giving cowards courage...

After downing a little booze, he had forgotten his own limits. He was lucky to have run into Song Xiaogang, that "coward" who hadn't even known to fight back.

Wang Ye's action left the short, long-haired boy embarrassed and angry. He struggled desperately to pry Wang Ye's hand away.

He also shouted, "You're going too far, man! We're all classmates. We'll see each other all the time, so it's best not to do things that offend people!"

Wang Ye grinned. "Too far? Why didn't you think it was too far when you smashed in the door and came in to beat someone?"

The short boy's two companions also looked as though they wanted to come over and help him out.

Wang Ye pointed at them and glared. "Stand there and don't move! Does this have anything to do with you?"

The two immediately froze in the doorway, not daring to move.

They were just kids fresh out of high school too. Maybe they could bully timid, trouble-averse classmates in ordinary times, but when they ran into someone as tough as Wang Ye—fearless, tall, and powerfully built—they truly had no idea what to do...

Wang Ye turned to Song Xiaogang. "Come on. Hit him back exactly the way he hit you!"

Wang Ye had never intended to truly make a big deal out of tonight's incident.

Honestly, if something like this got reported to the dorm administrator or even the police, it would be pretty embarrassing!

Wouldn't that just give the Russians a reason to laugh? These Chinese students had only just arrived and were already fighting among themselves...

He had only stepped in to stop it, then let Song Xiaogang vent his anger. An eye for an eye, and this matter would be over.

Song Xiaogang hesitated and looked at Wang Ye.

Wang Ye smiled, nodded at him, and signaled that he didn't need to worry about anything. He could just hit him!

Just then, the expressions of the two boys guarding the door changed drastically. They hurriedly said, "The administrator is here!"