By then, Seventh Aunt had also walked over to Li Ru. She stroked her daughter's red, swollen cheek, her eyes reddening and glistening with tears.
Her daughter had suffered alongside her for ten years, yet she had never imagined the girl was being bullied at school too. It was all her fault for being such a useless mother. Heartbroken and blaming herself, Seventh Aunt struggled to hold back her grief and keep from sobbing aloud. She could not embarrass her daughter.
Standing behind Seventh Aunt, Li Rui now saw the swelling on Li Ru's face as well, and a trace of anger flashed through his eyes. His cousin already had such a bitter lot in life, yet someone had actually hit her. The swelling on her face was enough to show just how much force had gone into that slap.
"Now that both sides' guardians are here, let's deal with this matter. We have footage here. Take a look first," Principal Fang said.
After hearing Principal Fang, Li Rui and the others stepped forward to watch the surveillance footage of the entire incident. Yellow Hair, however, did not join them. He knew what his young miss was like. She must have started this, but so what? Reason? The harder fist was reason.
"Gu Mengqi, do you admit that you hit her first?" A trace of indignation flashed through Principal Fang's eyes as he looked at Gu Mengqi, who stood to one side, still utterly unconcerned.
"So what if I hit her? Who told that vixen to seduce my boyfriend?" Gu Mengqi argued.
"Stop spewing crap! Ximen Jin was clearly the one harassing Li Ru and writing her love letters. Li Ru never even read them. I was the one who threw them away. Do you think everyone is as shameless as you? Dating at school, and you still stand here spouting off as if you're in the right!" Hearing Gu Mengqi slander her good friend, Chen Qianxue spoke up angrily.
"Chen Qianxue, I know your dad is in the building materials business. He's got a little clout, but he's not worth a fart in front of my family. You'd better ask your dad whether you can afford to offend us," Gu Mengqi threatened Chen Qianxue.
"Enough. The footage proves what happened. Gu Mengqi hit Li Ru first, and Li Tai injured other students with a stool. Each side will pay the medical expenses for the injuries they caused. Gu Mengqi will receive a major demerit. If this happens again, you'll leave this school," Fang You warned Gu Mengqi coldly.
"Does either side object to this resolution?"
"No," Eighth Aunt and Yellow Hair said in turn.
Seeing them both agree, Fang You warned Yellow Hair again, "This is a school. Don't cause trouble here."
"Of course, of course," Yellow Hair readily agreed.
With the matter settled, Fang You prepared to leave. Before he did, however, he walked over to Li Ru and handed her a business card. "This is my number. Call me if anything happens."
At the end of the day, he was only a principal. Even with all his connections, it was genuinely difficult for him to intervene. He could oversee what happened inside the school, but outside it was beyond his reach. All he could do was leave his number with this student he thought so highly of. This was as far as he could help. At that thought, he sighed inwardly again.
Once Principal Fang had left, Yellow Hair returned to his arrogant ways and continued speaking to Li Ru. "Want to reconsider? Have a meal with Brother Tianlong, and you won't have to pay those students' medical expenses either. Otherwise, once you're outside school, it isn't all that safe for a pretty girl like you to walk down the street."
Though his tone was casual, paired with that sleazy smile, anyone could hear the threat in his words.
Li Rui, standing nearby, heard every word too. Having learned the whole story and seen the swelling on his cousin's face, he had long since been seething with rage. Hearing Yellow Hair's threats now only sent that fury surging higher.
"Really? Just how unsafe do you mean?" Li Rui walked straight in front of Yellow Hair, stared into his eyes, and spoke each word distinctly. The fury in his eyes made even Yellow Hair's heart quail.
But then he remembered that he belonged to the God-Slaying Gang. What could a little country loser like this do to him?
"It would be such a shame if a beautiful girl like her suddenly got snatched off the street and something unspeakable happened to her. All she has to do is have a meal with our Brother Tianlong, and he'll guarantee her safety. Why not?"
"A meal? Send your mother to eat with him! A dog like you dares threaten my family?" His furious voice rang out abruptly. Li Rui snapped his leg up in a front kick, striking Yellow Hair squarely in the abdomen. Yellow Hair's entire body shot backward like an arrow loosed from a bow and slammed into an office desk and chair, shattering them.
After the system's modifications, Li Rui, who possessed the advanced fighting technique, had strength that could no longer be mentioned in the same breath as before. Even without using his full strength, that furious kick carried no less than four hundred kilograms of force. How could Yellow Hair's less-than-robust body withstand it?
Fortunately, Li Rui's kick had only struck his stomach. Though the pain made him wish he were dead, it had not caused any particularly serious injuries. Had the kick landed on his ribs, several would certainly have broken.
After screaming for a few seconds, Yellow Hair lay sprawled spread-eagled over the broken desk and chair, even foaming at the mouth as his consciousness grew hazy.
Director Huang, Teacher Yang, and the others nearby were all scared dumbstruck. Li Ru and Li Tai were even more astonished. Since when had their cousin become so fierce?
The girls who had helped Gu Mengqi were trembling with fear as well. He's Li Ru's older brother too? How is he so savage? If we'd known she had a brother like this, who would've dared trouble her? He kicked a man several meters away. Is he even human? He's practically a wild beast in human form!
"Y-you dared hit him? Do you know who he is? He's with the God-Slaying Gang! Aren't you afraid of dying?" Gu Mengqi pointed at Li Rui, terrified.
This country bumpkin has some nerve, daring to hit someone from the God-Slaying Gang. Isn't he afraid of retaliation? But he really is strong. He kicked someone several meters away and even smashed solid wooden furniture. That's terrifying.
Li Rui swept a cold glance over Gu Mengqi. "Do you not want that finger anymore?"
"Y-you lay one finger on me, and my brother will make sure your whole family dies a horrible death!"
"Oh? Then I'd like to see just how capable your brother is." With that, he abruptly swung a slap at Gu Mengqi's face.
There was a smack, followed by a scream, and Gu Mengqi went flying too.
"Y-you dared hit me!" Blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, Gu Mengqi first demanded how Li Rui could dare strike her.
A moment later, as the pain in her face hit her, Gu Mengqi began howling like ghosts wailing and wolves baying. Her cheek swelled at a rate visible to the naked eye.
A few minutes later, Gu Mengqi spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva and struggled to her feet. She was about to threaten him again when she saw Li Rui's frost-cold gaze and immediately shut her mouth.
Just then, Yellow Hair also happened to come around. The moment he opened his eyes, he saw his young miss in a wretched state. Then the heart-rending pain coursing through his body reminded him that the man before him had sent him flying with a single kick.
When the man's gaze swept toward him, Yellow Hair was too frightened to say anything. He got up and struggled over to Gu Mengqi, whispering, "Miss, a wise man doesn't suffer a loss that's right in front of him. Let's call in our people first. We'll make them pay in a little while."
Gu Mengqi was filled with grievance. She was the Gu family's young miss. When had anyone ever hit her? She burst into tears, pushed open the door, and left. Yellow Hair followed, hunched over and clutching his abdomen.
Standing nearby, relatively close to Gu Mengqi, Chen Qianxue had heard every word Yellow Hair said. She then told everyone that he intended to gather men to take revenge on them and warned them to be careful.
Eighth Uncle, Eighth Aunt, Seventh Aunt, Li Tai, and Li Ru all paled. They had offended a gang like that. What were they going to do?
Only Li Rui remained unconcerned. They were merely a bunch of petty thugs, relying on numbers to run wild and commit evil. If it came to numbers, who was he afraid of?
A basic bodyguard cost only two million apiece. At worst, he could spend ten billion and buy five thousand bodyguards. With the system, Li Rui feared no one when it came to numbers. Besides, how could these so-called street punks compare with the system's bodyguards? They were nothing but clay chickens and pottery dogs.