The lackey volunteered? Watch me destroy him during military training!

Inside Wushan Grilled Fish outside the south gate, the air-conditioning was blasting.

The grilled fish arrived at the table bubbling in red chili oil, the fragrance of Sichuan peppercorns and dried chilies rushing straight into their noses.

Fatty Wang polished off two bowls of rice in a row.

"Awesome! This is fucking living." Fatty spat out a fish bone and wiped his mouth with a tissue. "Brother Bei, this meal's on me, no arguments. Just thinking about that bastard Zhou Zihao running off with his legs clamped together makes me want another two bowls of rice!"

Lin Bei ignored him and picked at the tenderest part of the fish's belly with his chopsticks.

He removed a few tiny bones, then casually placed the piece of fish in Ruan Qingwu's bowl.

Ruan Qingwu was biting her straw as she drank chilled sour plum juice. At the sight of the fish in her bowl, her eyes curved into lovely crescents.

She offered no thanks, simply picking it up and eating it in small bites, the tips of her ears tinged pink.

"But seriously." Fatty set down his chopsticks and sighed miserably. "Military training starts tomorrow. September in Jinghai is like fire raining from the sky. After fourteen days, all this pork belly on Lord Fatty is bound to turn into pork jerky."

Ruan Qingwu swallowed her fish and frowned too.

She turned toward Lin Bei, a hint of worry in her eyes.

"Lin Bei, you hardly ever exercise, and you barely pass your fitness tests. If you can't hold out during training tomorrow, don't force yourself. At worst, go to the infirmary and get a sick note."

In her impression, Lin Bei was a terminal laziness patient who would never sit if he could lie down, and never stand if he could sit.

She really feared he would faint on the spot while standing at attention under that blazing sun.

Lin Bei stuffed a chopstickful of tofu skin into his mouth and chewed twice.

"Relax. Even if Fatty melts into oil, I'll be fine."

He was now at qi refining first layer perfection, and had undergone marrow cleansing last night. Forget standing at attention-even running a marathon beneath the blazing sun wouldn't make him break a sweat.

Fatty took offense. "Hey! Brother Bei, that's going too far. This is just flab. When it comes to endurance, you might not beat me."

The three chatted and laughed, utterly relaxed.

They hadn't taken that little incident earlier to heart at all.

Meanwhile, at Jinghai University's international student residence.

These were luxurious single-occupancy suites the university had specially prepared for wealthy, influential students. A year's accommodation cost as much as four years of tuition for an ordinary student.

Bang!

A Dyson hair dryer worth several thousand was hurled against the wall, shattering instantly.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

Zhou Zihao smashed things like a madman in his spacious dorm room.

The laptop screen was smashed to pieces, and the cups and books on the desk were swept onto the floor.

Shards of glass lay everywhere.

He had just washed himself with shower gel five full times in the bathroom, nearly scrubbing his skin off.

Yet whenever he closed his eyes, his mind filled with the mocking faces of those hundreds of people at the university gate, and he kept feeling as though that foul stench still lingered in his nose.

"Great Emperor of Holy Water... Fuck the Great Emperor of Holy Water!"

Zhou Zihao kicked over the solid-wood coffee table in front of him.

An absolute humiliation!

When had he, the dignified young master of the Zhou Family, ever suffered such indignity?

And right in front of Ruan Qingwu, no less!

Zhang Liang and the other three lackeys huddled by the dorm room door, not daring to breathe loudly.

Watching Zhou Zihao rage, they exchanged glances. None dared approach him and invite trouble at a time like this.

Only when Zhou Zihao truly had nothing left to smash did Zhang Liang swallow, knowing his chance to shine had come.

Though he had been admitted for his athletic talent, his family was of modest means. He hung around Zhou Zihao for nothing more than free food and drinks, and whatever perks he could pick up.

Zhou Zihao had taken a nasty tumble today. If he could help him win back his standing, his own days ahead would certainly be cushy.

Zhang Liang worked up his courage and stepped forward twice.

"Young Master Zhou, please calm down." Zhang Liang took a bottle of mineral water from the nearby mini fridge, unscrewed the cap, and offered it to him.

Zhou Zihao jerked his head up and slapped the bottle away.

"Calm down? How the fuck am I supposed to calm down? I lost every last scrap of face today!"

"That broke fuck Lin Bei-I'm going to kill him!"

The bottle rolled into a corner, spilling water all over the floor.

Zhang Liang wasn't annoyed. Instead, he moved closer and lowered his voice.

"Young Master Zhou, isn't dealing with him easy? Military training starts tomorrow, doesn't it?"

Zhou Zihao paused, then looked up and stared at Zhang Liang. "Military training? What about it? With the instructor there, you'd still dare hit someone?"

Zhang Liang grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.

"Young Master Zhou, have you forgotten? At this morning's class meeting, the counselor just appointed me our class sports representative."

He slapped his solid chest.

"What do military training instructors care about most? Discipline! Especially when you're standing at attention. They won't even let your eyes wander."

Zhou Zihao frowned, clearly still not understanding. "What exactly are you getting at?"

Zhang Liang rubbed his hands, a sinister smile appearing on his face.

"Young Master Zhou, when we form ranks tomorrow, as sports representative, I have the authority to adjust the formation. All I have to do is put that kid in front of me or beside me."

Zhang Liang demonstrated a kick.

"When you stand at attention, it's for at least half an hour at a time. When people are exhausted, their footing is at its shakiest."

"All I need to do is wait until the instructor turns around, then give the back of his knee a little nudge with mine, or step on his heel and shove him forward..."

Zhang Liang sneered. "He'll definitely fall flat on his face. He might even knock down a whole bunch of people in front of him."

Zhou Zihao's eyes gradually lit up.

Zhang Liang continued piling it on. "Those military instructors all come from the army, and they've got fiery tempers. Someone moving around and falling over in formation? That's breaking discipline!"

"Once the instructor gets angry, he'll definitely drag him out for special treatment! Make him run laps and do push-ups, and tear him to bloody shreds in front of all the university's freshmen!"

"And if that kid's a troublemaker who dares talk back to the instructor, or even throw a punch..."

Zhang Liang lowered his voice, his tone vicious. "Then it won't just be about losing face. Defying the instructor means a major demerit at best, and outright expulsion at worst!"

Silence.

In the wreckage-strewn dorm room, only the air-conditioning vent whirred.

The gloom on Zhou Zihao's face dissipated little by little, and the corners of his mouth slowly curled upward.

"Good! Great idea!"

Make that kid embarrass himself before the whole university, suffer physical punishment from the instructor, and lie on the sports field panting like a dog!

Then Ruan Qingwu would see just what a useless piece of trash that poor brat she protected really was!

"Liang!" Zhou Zihao clapped Zhang Liang hard on the shoulder.

"Pull this off, and I'll have someone deliver those reverse-swoosh Air Jordans you've been drooling over to your dorm tomorrow!"

Zhang Liang's eyes instantly lit up.

The resale price of those shoes had climbed to nearly ten thousand!

He had saved up six months of living expenses and still hadn't brought himself to buy them.

"Rest assured, Young Master Zhou!" Zhang Liang rubbed his hands excitedly, pounding his chest with thunderous slaps. "During training tomorrow, I guarantee I'll peel a layer of skin off that kid! I'll make him kneel on the sports field and call me Daddy!"

Seeing this, the other three lackeys hurried over to flatter him too.

"Brilliant, Young Master Zhou! We'll just sit back and enjoy the show tomorrow!"

"Exactly. A broke fuck who can't even afford a car-how could he possibly take on Young Master Zhou?"

Zhou Zihao walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and sneered as he gazed out at Jinghai University's campus at night.

"Lin Bei, just you fucking wait."

"Tomorrow, the south sports field will be your execution ground. I'll show you how miserable your end will be for offending me, Zhou Zihao!"

The image of Lin Bei pinned beneath the instructor's foot tomorrow, begging for mercy with tears and snot all over his face, had already appeared in his mind.

His intense anticipation made him completely forget even the lingering discomfort in his stomach and bowels.