"If only you could all stay this united." Du Qinggang tossed aside the bone in his hand, casually wiped the grease off his hands on his clothes, and stepped forward. "Anyone who needs treatment, go to the infirmary. The rest of you, keep eating. Don't waste food."
The grandson of a big shot in the Divine Mark Association had been beaten up, and dozens of students had rioted, yet Du Qinggang made it sound like the smallest of matters.
So small that he wasn't willing to say another word about it.
On his way out, Du Qinggang didn't forget to swipe an untouched chicken wing from an unattended tray.
They were young, after all. It was normal for them to be hot-blooded.
If they weren't hot-blooded, could they still call themselves young?
In a situation like the one just now,
he feared nothing except that those little bastards would all be so spineless they wouldn't even have the courage to stand up.
Fortunately, in the end, none of the little bastards had disappointed him.
But dozens against one really did show a lack of martial virtue.
After this incident, the various first-year classes seemed to have grown more united.
Several people had been beaten by Zhao Qinghai, and their injuries weren't light, but all of them wore excited expressions.
When they talked about how Director Zhang would soon review the surveillance footage, none of them were afraid.
In their eyes, the director's authority had vanished without a trace.
Besides, more than one person had thrown a punch. If they really were punished, they would have plenty of company.
"Since that guy gave me a hand just now, I'll let it go that he beat me up before." Dong Kai sat down and glanced at the tray on the table, his eyes widening. "Huh? Where's the meat on my drumstick?"
"What, did your enemy become your friend?" Xu Dazhuang asked.
"I just think that guy might be worth getting to know." Dong Kai stared, utterly baffled, at the drumstick that had been stripped down to the bone.
"Having lots of friends isn't necessarily a good thing," Duan Ming said.
Dong Kai looked up and asked in confusion, "Why?"
"The friends you make now might die in front of you someday. When that happens, it'll hurt." Duan Ming had reason to say that-Zhang You, for example.
"Duan Ming, you really have a venomous mouth!"
As soon as Xu Dazhuang finished speaking, Fang Cheng came over and sat down. "That kid really is strong. He nearly kicked my spine in two."
Dong Kai said, "Should you go to the infirmary and get it checked?"
"No need for that." Fang Cheng picked up a piece of meat and put it in his mouth. For some reason, he was ravenous now.
"Duan Ming, why didn't you step forward just now?" Dong Kai asked curiously. Unlike Fang Cheng, he had no appetite at all and was still a little excited.
"There were so many people there. One more or less wouldn't have made a difference."
If someone else had stayed out of it, people might have mistaken him for a coward who didn't dare cause trouble.
But no one would think that of Duan Ming.
Leaving everything else aside, there was the fact that Duan Ming had fought the Church of the Dark Night.
That was enough to show he wasn't a coward.
Before evening self-study, the corridors on all six floors of the teaching building were packed with people.
On the sports field, a man wearing black-framed glasses was running for his life.
A scruffy man in slippers was chasing him.
Judging by his appearance, the first-year director had most likely already taken a beating.
"With that sorry fucking face, you've got the nerve to be a year director? You couldn't even feed pigs properly!" Du Qinggang bellowed curses as he chased him. "Stop running if you've got the guts! I'll fucking kill you!"
Whoosh!
A black flip-flop flew into the back of the middle-aged man's head.
"Director Zhang seems to be a Divine Mark master with four Divine Marks..."
"Yeah, I think so, but Teacher Du is still chasing him down and beating him."
"How could we not record this for posterity?"
"He even said he wouldn't let us off. Now he can't even protect himself."
"Uh-oh, he's cornered against the wall."
"Holy shit, he's really laying into him!"
Night fell.
Duan Ming arrived outside the principal's office.
Lin Qiao had sent him, saying the principal wanted to see him and that he didn't have to attend class that night.
The office door was open.
Since someone was inside, Duan Ming didn't enter yet.
Inside the office, the year director stood before Principal Li Zhengming's desk, his face black and blue.
"Principal, he hit me."
Li Zhengming looked at Du Qinggang, then at the year director who had been manhandled in front of nearly a thousand students. "He hit you, so you could have hit him back."
"I..." Director Zhang looked aggrieved. If he could have beaten him, would he have needed to come here and complain?
Li Zhengming said righteously, "I've heard all about what happened in the school cafeteria this afternoon. Director Zhang, as things stand, you aren't really suited to be a year director. If you had done something at the time, the fight between the students this afternoon could have been avoided. You could say that letting this happen was a serious dereliction of duty on your part!"
"Principal, the situation really wasn't something I could control..."
"Right. Because you couldn't control it, you can't be director. If you could have controlled it, would you be standing here complaining to me now?"
Ring!
The telephone on the desk rang.
After glancing at the number, Li Zhengming frowned slightly and picked up the receiver.
"Hello, Old Zhao."
"Mm-hm, yes, I already know about this. As things stand, your grandson was indeed in the wrong. Don't worry, our school will cover all his medical expenses."
"Old Zhao, that's going a little too far. It's normal for children to have a little friction..."
"Yes, I know it isn't normal for dozens of people to gang up on your grandson, but there's a reason for that too. We can't just expel people over this one incident, can we?"
"As the principal, I assure you this sort of thing won't happen again."
"What? You're coming over in person? That won't be necessary, will it? I'll handle it."
"No, I can't expel them, and your grandson was the one who struck first. I don't think there's any need to make such a big fuss over this."
"Look at you, losing your temper after just a few words. You'd be better off keeping that temper in check."
"What do you mean, what am I playing at?! I want to ask you the same thing! Who's the principal here, you or me?"
"Get lost, get lost, get lost! You can't stand me? You really think I like looking at you?"
"Anyway, there's no room for discussion on this. Either you take your grandson home, or I decide how this gets handled!"
"If you don't like it, come over here and hit me!"
With that, Li Zhengming hung up.
Du Qinggang blinked. The principal was still the principal!
Overbearing! Dominance spilling out of him! His imposing bearing hadn't faded one bit since his younger days!
Hearing him made Du Qinggang's blood boil, and he wanted to grab that Zhang fellow and beat him up again!
"Ahem..." Li Zhengming cleared his throat, looked up at the year director standing before his desk, and said, "You have no objection to being removed from your position as year director, do you?"
Director Zhang swallowed with a gulp.
Even if he did object, would he dare say so?
Even a big shot from the Divine Mark Association headquarters had been cursed out like a dog by this principal over the phone.
He was just a measly year director. Even if he objected, he had to swallow it.