Chapter 33

Part Two: The Allure of Business. Chapter 33: It takes a villain to tame a villain.

Just after they started high school, the school organized ten days of military training for the new first-year students. Zhang Ke did not mind it. At sixteen, although he had inherited his parents' good looks, he was too thin and his skin was pallid. He looked like a pretty boy, not quite a genuinely sunny, handsome young man.

After ten days of military training, his appetite had grown considerably. Instead of getting thinner, he had gained quite a bit of weight. His skin had not tanned and remained fair, but unlike its previous pallor, it now had a healthy glow. His muscles had firmed up, his gaze had sharpened, and he looked much more mature.

Zhang Ke was quite satisfied with his current appearance and thought he should keep exercising.

Haizhou No. 1 Middle School traditionally divided students into humanities and science classes after military training. Zhang Ke had no interest whatsoever in studying seriously. This was his second time attending high school at Haizhou No. 1 Middle School, and he had never intended to spend those three years dutifully following the rules. He casually filled out his stream-selection application, handed it to the freshman class adviser, and left the classroom.

The thought of having three days off after military training before starting lessons in his new class put Zhang Ke in a very good mood, much as he had felt when he had truly been a high school student.

Zhang Ke's freshman classroom shared the fourth floor with some second-year classes. Leaning against the railing, he was enjoying the cool evening breeze when he saw a girl emerge from the classroom next door. She turned toward the stairs as she came out, and he only caught a glimpse of her profile, not her full face. She had the air of a beautiful young girl and looked somewhat familiar. Thinking that he could just as well wait downstairs for Tang Jing and Du Fei, he followed her down.

A crowd had gathered by the third-floor stairs, leaning against the railing and facing the stairwell, twisting their mouths and faces as they whistled wildly. Zhang Ke had done plenty of that himself at No. 1 High School and smiled faintly. Although he could not see the girl's face clearly, the approving looks and whistles from so many like-minded fellows showed that following her downstairs had been a good decision.

But seeing Wan Tiancai's detestable face among the crowd, whistling more enthusiastically than anyone, left Zhang Ke thoroughly displeased. At least he and Du Fei had attended military training with the freshman class, while this fellow had gone straight to mixing with the older students. Zhang Ke also recognized the short boy beside him as Zhao Siming, the heir to Jincheng Group, Haizhou's largest private business group. Their bad reputations had yet to become widely known, but Zhang Ke knew that if the two kept going, they would certainly become loathsome scum.

Since I've come back to 1994, I'll have to turn these two into ashes before they turn into scum.

Unable to bear those lustful stares, the girl ahead lowered her head. Her long hair parted on either side, revealing a neck as smooth and pale as jade. Wanting to escape everyone's attention as quickly as possible, she hurried, slipped down a step, and nearly fell, provoking a roar of laughter from the lechers at the stairwell.

"Chen Feirong, want your big brother to give you a hand...?" Zhao Siming wore a lewd grin. It was a waste of his talent that he was not playing villains in television dramas.

The moment Zhang Ke heard the name "Chen Feirong," he ignored the fact that she had already regained her footing, hurried down two steps, took her arm, and asked with concern, "Are you all right?"

When the girl turned her head, her hair slipped along her cheek and behind her ear, revealing a face as lovely as a flower and as exquisite as jade. Even Zhang Ke, who had seen Xu Si's enthralling beauty, felt his heart stir. Her face, fair as jade-colored glass, was delicately beautiful and free of worldly vulgarity, flushed with embarrassment from her recent fright. Her eyes were as clear as a spring flowing over stone. After taking her arm, Zhang Ke could not help reaching out his other hand to hold her waist, adding with concern without waiting to ask anything further, "It's a little slippery here. Too much trash."

"I'm all right..." Chen Feirong twisted, trying to struggle free of Zhang Ke's embrace.

To all appearances, Zhang Ke had merely hurried over to support her after she nearly fell. Although he had been a little late, it did not look as though he was deliberately taking advantage of her. But with one hand holding her arm and the other around her waist, the position was far too intimate.

"Buddy, who are you calling trash?" Seeing Chen Feirong leaning into Zhang Ke's arms with a flushed face, Zhao Siming stared at this fellow who did not know what was good for him, still holding her waist and reluctant to let go. "Where the fuck are you putting your paws? Do you know whose girl Chen Feirong is?"

Zhang Ke ignored him, looking straight past him. Releasing Chen Feirong's surprisingly supple, slender waist, he glanced at Wan Tiancai beside him and curled his lips in a smile. "Wan Tiancai, how can you be so pathetic? Always making friends with blind pieces of trash?" While Zhao Siming stood stunned, Zhang Ke swung his hand and slapped him. Taking advantage of being half a head taller, he grabbed Zhao Siming by the collar and hauled him close. Seeing that he had yet to recover from the slap, he smiled. "Buddy, yes, I meant you were trash. Before you open your mouth and start swearing, take a look at who you're talking to. And one more thing: Chen Feirong isn't anyone's girl."

The crowd around the stairwell were all Zhao Siming's disreputable friends. Seeing Zhang Ke slap him over a disagreement left them dumbfounded. From his arrogant tone, he seemed to know Wan Tiancai, so they all turned toward Wan Tiancai.

Zhang Ke was strong, and his grip pulled Zhao Siming's collar so tight that he could barely breathe. It had never occurred to him that a newly enrolled freshman would dare slap him in front of everyone. He looked pitifully at Wan Tiancai.

Having returned to 1994, Zhang Ke had no intention of becoming some schoolyard tyrant. That was far too childish. He knew that over the next three years of high school, these two scumbags, Wan Tiancai and Zhao Siming, would rely on their fathers' power and influence to commit many utterly abhorrent acts. They were textbook fucking scum. They had once dragged a younger girl into the grove behind the school and gang-raped her. When the matter came to light, the two had merely transferred schools.

Zhang Ke wanted to crush their arrogance from the start so they would not be quite so unrestrained when committing their misdeeds. At the very least, he could not let an atrocity like a girl being dragged into the grove and gang-raped happen on the grounds of Haizhou No. 1 Middle School.

Wan Tiancai felt humiliated. Although his father had told him to get on good terms with Zhang Ke, Zhang Ke only hung around with Du Xiaoshan's son, Du Fei, and barely acknowledged him. Now, knowing perfectly well that Zhao Siming was his friend, Zhang Ke had slapped him outright. That showed far too little regard for Wan Tiancai's dignity. Hadn't Zhao Siming merely sworn once? These days, who the fuck didn't swear?

"Zhang Ke, what are you doing...?"

Zhang Ke turned and silently cursed. To knock down Wan Tiancai and Zhao Siming's arrogance, I've made myself the bad student. The stern rebuke had come from the alluring red lips of Li Zhifang, the director of the Academic Affairs Office, known as No. 1 High School's most voluptuous beauty. Carrying a stack of books, she was coming down the stairs with Du Fei behind her. Judging by his eyes, he was probably staring at Li Zhifang's full, pert backside and long, straight legs.

For boys whose sexual awareness had yet to awaken, a mature, alluring woman like Li Zhifang was more attractive than Chen Feirong's delicate, ethereal beauty. Her rosy lips, slightly rounded chin, long, smooth white neck, high breasts, slender, supple waist, and broad, sexy hips and buttocks were enticing in every respect. Even Zhao Siming, whose collar Zhang Ke still held tightly, could not help turning to look.

"Teacher Li, I was just joking around with Wan Tiancai and the others..." Zhang Ke released his grip with a grin and tugged at Zhao Siming's rumpled collar to straighten it a little.

Only after coming down did Li Zhifang see Chen Feirong standing below the turn in the stairs. She gave Zhang Ke a suspicious look. "You really were just playing?"

"If you don't believe me, ask Wan Tiancai." Worried that Zhao Siming might be spineless enough to admit he had been slapped, Zhang Ke tossed the problem to Wan Tiancai.

Unable to swallow the humiliation, Wan Tiancai turned to look beyond the railing and ignored Li Zhifang.

Li Zhifang knew she could not control these children of senior officials and wealthy families. Feeling somewhat discouraged, she did not want to interfere further. "Classes have only just ended. Why are you all blocking the stairs already? Move along," she said sternly.

Zhang Ke turned and went downstairs. At the turn halfway between floors, he looked back at Chen Feirong. "Why aren't you leaving...?"

Chen Feirong froze, pointed at her own nose, then inexplicably followed him down. Zhang Ke was still wearing his military training uniform, so one glance showed that he was a freshman. Following behind him, Chen Feirong felt uneasy, afraid he would pester her just like Zhao Siming. Remembering the way he had slapped Zhao Siming, she did not dare say anything.

Outside the stairwell, Zhang Ke waited for Du Fei and Tang Jing to come down. After a while, he saw Du Fei following Li Zhifang out of the stairs at the other end and could not help sighing and shaking his head. If this fellow ruins the rest of his life over Li Zhifang, he'll deserve it. He did not call out to him. Seeing Chen Feirong standing beside him, he asked, "Why aren't you leaving?"

"Didn't you want something from me?" Chen Feirong pointed at her nose, only now noticing how handsome this bad boy was.

Zhang Ke opened his mouth, but before he could speak, heels clacked overhead. Looking up, he saw the hem of a skirt patterned with simple flowers flutter into view, followed by smooth, fair calves. Then Tang Jing's exquisite little face peered out. "Zhang Ke, you pervert, what are you looking at?" Holding her skirt, she carefully covered her calves and came down.

In the short time that afternoon, Tang Jing had even made a point of changing out of her military training uniform into a long skirt. She was terribly vain. The sun had tanned her skin a honey-amber color with a healthy sheen, making her look even prettier, her smiling eyes and brows charming.

Zhang Ke curled his lips and smiled. "No boobs, no butt. What's there to look at?"

"Say that again!" Tang Jing raised her transparent pencil pouch with its cartoon print to hit him, but seeing Chen Feirong beside him, she hastily resumed her ladylike manner. After looking Chen Feirong over, she turned sideways and lightly kicked Zhang Ke. "How did you manage to hook our school beauty so quickly?" Having always lived in a sheltered environment, Tang Jing had yet to fully understand romantic feelings, but a hint of jealousy had already entered her voice.

"I have nothing to do with him," Chen Feirong hurriedly waved her hands. "He wanted something from me. That's the only reason I stayed..."

Tang Jing had caused a much greater sensation upon entering the school than Chen Feirong had. Her youthful beauty was in no way inferior to Chen Feirong's, but unlike Chen Feirong's ordinary background, Tang Jing's father was Haizhou City's newly appointed mayor. Before she entered No. 1 High School, rumors about her had already spread there from the school affiliated with Haizhou Teachers College. Once she arrived, the crown of school beauty had fallen to her. But her illustrious background made her seem unattainable, and no young hoodlum dared pester her. In her own mind, Chen Feirong was still the most popular girl in the school.

Beside Xu Si's peerless beauty, the delicately lovely Chen Feirong seemed a little unripe, like a green fruit that had yet to mature. Although she looked fairly tempting, Zhang Ke had little interest in taking a bite. Tang Jing had yet to shed that immaturity either, but before he had reloaded his life, he had shared countless emotional entanglements with her. Although most of those things would never happen again, they remained deeply imprinted on his soul, making his feelings for Tang Jing ten thousand times more complicated. Chen Feirong might still be unripe, but this slightly green fruit, which would one day stir hearts, must never be ruined by those two scumbags, Wan Tiancai and Zhao Siming. Zhang Ke spread his hands and told her, "I just asked why you weren't leaving. I don't want anything from you. Why are you still here now?"

Chen Feirong froze. Put that way, it sounded as though she was pestering him. Her face suddenly flushed, and she did not dare look at either Zhang Ke or Tang Jing. She felt somewhat angry at Zhang Ke's inexplicable behavior but did not dare show it. Turning, she hurried down the steps and headed out of the school.

Seeing Chen Feirong suddenly blush stirred something in Zhang Ke. He had not expected the girl to be quite so captivating.

"What do you mean, you didn't want anything?" Tang Jing looked suspicious. "If you don't tell me, I'll tell your mother you've barely entered No. 1 High School and you're already fooling around with girlfriends."

Just then, seeing Du Fei coming back, he asked him, "Which class did you choose?"

"I'll see how things go..."

Zhang Ke chuckled. Over these dozen or so days, he and Du Fei had become close enough to discuss Li Zhifang's plump, rounded backside and long legs encased in tight jeans. Li Zhifang had just seen a graduating class off and would choose a new first-year class to teach Chinese. Du Fei planned to pick any class for now, then transfer into whichever one she taught.

Watching Chen Feirong's retreating figure in the distance, Du Fei grinned at Zhang Ke. "You're ruthless, you know that? You actually dared slap Zhao Siming in the face. Five bright red finger marks, and Li Zhifang acted as if she hadn't seen a thing..."

"What? You got into a fight...?" Tang Jing stared at Zhang Ke in shock, as though he had done something unforgivable. "How could you fight with someone?"

Zhang Ke patted his forehead. Back in 1994, although his body was sixteen again, he truly could not communicate with a sixteen-year-old girl. Tang Jing had received a very conventional upbringing from childhood. Unlike ordinary girls, she would not shriek with excitement at the sight of boys fighting. Taking her hand, he said, "There's nothing to make such a fuss about. Too many people here right now. Let's go somewhere else and I'll tell you."

"If you don't explain yourself, I'll tell your mother. She asked me to keep an eye on you." Tang Jing reluctantly let Zhang Ke lead her by the hand, not forgetting to threaten him.

After going down the steps, Zhang Ke looked up. Wan Tiancai and Zhao Siming were poking their heads out, looking for him. When he suddenly looked their way, they hastily ducked back.

"Did you see those two on the third floor?"

"Who?" Tang Jing had not seen them clearly. Even if she had, she did not know Zhao Siming.

"Two scumbags," Zhang Ke spat contemptuously, turning to Du Fei. "Du Fei, you went to the same middle school as Wan Tiancai. Tell Tang Jing about the rotten things he did there."

"I can't be bothered with scum like him. Lucky he wasn't in my class in middle school, or I'd have knocked his teeth out long ago. Just going to the same school as him embarrassed me. Relying on his grandfather being the Municipal Party Committee secretary and his father being the director of the Foreign Economic Relations Commission, he even dared harass his geometry teacher. He pulled down a girl's trousers in front of their whole class, too. That girl transferred schools afterward, but nothing happened to him..."

"How can anyone like that exist? Didn't the teachers do anything?" Tang Jing gritted her teeth, finding it somewhat unbelievable.

"What could they do? Zhang Ke just slapped Zhao Siming and left five red marks on his face. Didn't Teacher Li Zhifang pretend she hadn't seen?"

Zhang Ke saw that although Du Fei was young, his family's influence had given him a clear understanding of such things.

"Right, you still haven't told me why you fought with someone." Tang Jing had not forgotten to correct Zhang Ke's behavior.

"Zhao Siming is even worse scum than Wan Tiancai. In the dozen or so days since I entered No. 1 High School, I haven't heard a single good thing about him. It takes a villain to tame a villain. Unless someone knocks down their arrogance with a hard slap, they'll only become more brazen about doing bad things..."

"What was going on with Chen Feirong just now?"

"You're the mayor's precious daughter. Nobody dares pester you. It's different for Chen Feirong. I slapped Zhao Siming and came downstairs with her precisely to stop him pestering her in the future..."

"Then why did you say you had nothing to do with her?"

"I really don't," Zhang Ke said, patting his forehead. "I just don't want to watch Wan Tiancai and Zhao Siming ruin girls at school. Fine, if you don't believe me, I'll leave this to Du Fei from now on." He patted Du Fei's shoulder. "Zhao Siming lost face to me today, so he won't be stirring up trouble for a while. I'll leave Wan Tiancai to you."

"Sure. I've disliked him for ages. I'll find something to pick a fight over first." Du Fei curled his lips, looking utterly unconcerned.

The three walked toward the school gates side by side. Tang Jing's mother, Gu Jianping, was waiting there, with a Municipal Government car parked behind her. Presumably, she had come especially to take Tang Jing home.

Zhang Ke needed to stop at his rented room to collect a change of clothes before going home, so he did not get into the car and let Tang Jing leave with her mother first.

Zhang Ke was about to ask Du Fei whether he wanted to hang out at his place for a while when he turned and saw Xu Si standing gracefully across the street. His heart inexplicably softened, and he almost helplessly burst into tears. "Something's come up. I'll get in touch tomorrow," he told Du Fei. Leaving him behind, he ran toward Xu Si.