Her family background

Unlike Wang Qingran, Zhang Rui had been Zhong Shengtai's lackey since childhood, trailing after him ever since kindergarten.

Naturally, the two of them were closer.

With his face battered and his nose bruised, Zhong Shengtai didn't dare go home. He and Zhang Rui booked an overnight session at an internet café, planning neither to return to the dorm nor to go to the hospital.

"Hiss..." Zhong Shengtai knocked away Zhang Rui's hand as he tried to apply medicine. "That hurts like hell!"

"Maybe we should just go to the hospital." Zhang Rui worriedly set down what he was holding. His own face still hurt, too.

Who could have imagined it? They had only meant to scare Yao Tao.

Who knew Yao Tao was such a tough customer?

"Fuck, what kind of backing does she have? I'm going to find out!" Zhong Shengtai couldn't let it go.

He was still hissing in pain when his phone rang.

He had secretly asked his father's secretary to look into Yao Tao's background.

How could some brat with no parents be so arrogant?

"Think you're a big shot now?"

The moment Zhong Shengtai answered, his furious expression instantly turned meek. Why was it his father, Zhong Wen?

"Dad?"

"You can't even recognize your own father's voice?!" Zhong Wen roared into the phone. "Ordering my secretary around now, are you? You think I don't know what kind of little shit you are? Did you lay a hand on that girl?"

"I just wanted to scare her. I wasn't actually going to do anything to her." Zhong Shengtai felt horribly guilty saying that.

He had attacked her, only to get beaten up instead.

Admitting that three grown men with an average height of six feet had been slapped left and right by a little girl, every punch landing solidly until their faces were bruised and swollen, would deal a serious blow to Zhong Shengtai's pride.

"You little bastard, get your ass home! You even dared go after the daughter of fallen heroes? Are you fucking trying to squander the fortune I worked my ass off drinking to build even faster?!" How could Zhong Wen not know his own son?

He had always thought his son was stupid, and a bit of a bastard, too. But going after girls like that? Zhong Wen felt he could no longer hold his head up on behalf of the Zhong family!

"You'd better not have touched that girl! Remember what I said!" Zhong Wen bellowed. "Get your ass home! I spent all that money getting you into X University so you could come out with a degree and make yourself look a little better! Not so you could keep acting like a lawless little punk, treating college like the same playground you made of high school!"

"Tell me the truth!"

"Did you touch her or not?"

Zhong Wen sounded as though he wanted to reach through the phone and give Zhong Shengtai a beating.

"I wouldn't dare." Zhong Shengtai was stunned. Yao Tao really was the daughter of fallen heroes.

"What wouldn't you dare do?!" Zhong Wen cursed furiously. "I'm sending Auntie Liu to X City tomorrow. From now on, you'll report to her every single day you're at university!"

"Apologize to that girl!"

"Do you have any idea how many uncles she has who could make your life a living hell?"

"So you're a big shot now, picking on people because their families have no connections, huh?!"

"You little bastard! I never should have pulled strings to get you into such a good university."

"I thought being around decent people would rub off on you!"

"You've really outdone yourself!"

Zhong Shengtai couldn't bear to listen anymore and hung up.

"Little fucker!" In a rage, Zhong Wen hurled his secretary's phone to the floor.

The sleek phone rolled several times across the floor and broke into pieces.

Zhong Wen's secretary: ...

Zhong Wen said, "I'll transfer you the money. Thanks, Li. Good thing you let me know."

Li Wenshuo replied, "You're welcome, boss."

He had simply wanted to protect his job.

Zhong Wen's company wasn't big, but his boss had a reasonably clear head. Li Wenshuo found working for him quite comfortable.

Zhong Wen was the nouveau riche type, having built his business entirely over drinks.

He also knew his own limitations and had pinned his hopes on Zhong Shengtai. Yet while he was finding ways to gild his son's future, his son was doing everything possible to land himself in jail?!

"We're screwed. Her parents were fallen heroes." Zhong Shengtai was a little panicked, but showed no sign of remorse. Instead, he grew agitated. "Yao Tao won't actually go to her uncles, will she?"

At least he wasn't calling Yao Tao a brat anymore. He seemed genuinely frightened.

"Maybe we should swallow our pride?" Zhang Rui was also shocked.

He had only known that Yao Tao's parents were dead, not that they had died as heroes.

She had no parents, but she had plenty of uncles!

Businessmen didn't pick fights with officials. That had been true throughout history.

Her backing was actually that powerful.

No wonder she had dared go off alone with three guys.

At first, Zhang Rui had thought she was scared. He hadn't expected her to have two completely different sides, let alone be so good at fighting.

Then again, it made sense. Her parents must have taught her!

"Swallow our pride, my ass!" Zhong Shengtai cursed. "I'm about to be locked up, and you're still talking about that!"

The thought of his father sending Auntie Liu to look after him left Zhong Shengtai so frustrated he could barely breathe.

Auntie Liu was from his late mother's side of the family.

She was incredibly old-fashioned. Zhong Shengtai had always thought of her as a relic of the Qing dynasty from the last century.

Everything had to follow the rules.

And his idiot father actually thought she was right!

He had finally enjoyed a stretch of freedom, and now his father was bringing Auntie Liu over again!

Zhong Shengtai was utterly fed up.

Even Zhang Rui felt a little intimidated at the mention of Auntie Liu.

When he was little, if he played with Zhong Shengtai for even half an hour too long, she would stare at him nonstop, like a ghost from a TV show.

If Zhong Shengtai's bedtime was nine thirty, he had to start washing up at nine.

Perhaps it was precisely because Auntie Liu kept such a tight leash on him at home that Zhong Shengtai took his pent-up anger out at school.

And Zhang Rui?

He had always thought Zhong Shengtai was cool. Though quiet at home, he knew how to hit back hard outside!

Zhang Rui didn't think Zhong Shengtai was being a delinquent. This was courage. This was loyalty!

This was daring to stand up for his friends!

He didn't think for a moment that what they had done to Yao Tao amounted to picking on an easy target.

"I'm so fucking pissed!" Zhong Shengtai threw a tantrum, scattering things all over the floor.

Within moments, he had turned the internet café's little private room into a complete mess.

"So what should we do? I'll do whatever you say. How do you want to get back at her?" Zhang Rui looked at the raging Zhong Shengtai.

"What should we do, what should we do!" Zhong Shengtai irritably clawed at his hair, making his face hurt even more. "Forget it. Let's go to the hospital first."

"Huh?" Zhang Rui stared at him in disbelief.

"Stop saying huh!" Zhong Shengtai kicked a stool. "If that old woman sees me like this tomorrow, I'll never hear the end of it!"

Zhang Rui thought about it and agreed. "Then I'll settle the bill and cancel the room."

The two of them left the internet café. Night had long since fallen, and the area outside was pitch-black.

Zhong Shengtai walked along cursing, only to bump into someone.

"What the hell is blocking my fucking way?!" Zhong Shengtai shouted.

"Sorry." The young man's voice was like water, but without its gentleness. It was more like ice water, distinctly cold. "I think you bumped into me."

"You motherfucker!" Zhong Shengtai grabbed his collar. "Now any piece of shit thinks he can walk all over me, huh?"

As Zhong Shengtai grabbed him, the young man's hood fell back, revealing his face.