Chapter 8: A radiant figure
A confrontation and fight like this was undoubtedly the sort of thing that attracted the most attention and commotion at university. Played out before everyone's eyes, it was conspicuous, hot-blooded, reckless, and melodramatic.
But Su Can was no fool. Nor was he one of those protagonists in films and novels who always had a gang behind him wherever he went, or had trained in martial arts, or relied on a powerful physique, striding about with imposing vigor, with people constantly delivering themselves up for him to crush and bring to heel.
Su Can knew that Zhang Xiaoqiao, whom he had met on their first day in the dorm, did not like him. If this had not been the university canteen, not in full view of everyone, not amid a crowd of well-fed spectators with nothing better to do than watch a fight-if he had simply run into Zhang Xiaoqiao in trouble somewhere secluded-Su Can, who carried the soul of his unsuccessful former self and still had some sympathy, might have stepped forward to stand beside him. But he had never intended to earn a disciplinary warning for fighting on behalf of a roommate who did not like him. He treasured his days at university and his peaceful campus life with Tang Wu. He did not want to be dragged into some sudden incident that overturned everything before him.
Qian Zhongyuan, standing in front of Zhang Xiaoqiao, and the four boys beside him, generally over six feet tall, were not merely decorative. They were proud, imposing, and self-possessed. Having made their way to this university, they must have been figures of some standing in their own circles.
Su Can also knew that charging in for a fight would not make them submit to him sincerely. In