Gu Chen withdrew his gaze and turned slightly toward Jiang Yu and the swaggering lackeys behind him. "What do you want?" he asked calmly.
Jiang Yu was one of Zhou Xue'er's suitors. Before Gu Chen came to Zhou City, Jiang Yu had followed her around every day. But wary of the Gu Family's power, the Jiang Family had been forced to give up. Ever since Gu Chen's father was expelled from the Gu Family, however, Jiang Yu had grown arrogant again and frequently made trouble for Gu Chen.
"I heard you hooked up with Su Qingqing and Xu Mo caught you in bed together..." Jiang Yu looked at Gu Chen teasingly, ready to ridicule him. But before he could finish, Gu Chen abruptly rose, picked up a stub of chalk from the desk, and shoved it into Jiang Yu's mouth.
When a tiger fell to the plains, even dogs dared bully it! In his previous life, Gu Chen had been wary of the Jiang Family's power and could only endure it. But not in this life!
Jiang Yu froze. The astringent taste of chalk spread through his mouth, leaving him humiliated and furious. He had never expected Gu Chen to dare lay a hand on him.
Jiang Yu came to his senses, his anger erupting. Spitting out the chalk, he shouted, "Pah, pah, pah... What are you doing?!"
Gu Chen gave him no chance to continue cursing. He seized Jiang Yu by the hair and yanked his head down toward the desk!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The blows left Jiang Yu dazed, but he kept cursing. Gu Chen wasted no words. Smack! Smack! He slapped him twice across the face. Jiang Yu's face burned with pain, and he was thoroughly stunned.
At that moment, Gu Chen was not merely venting his anger. He also wanted to send a message: he would no longer let others manipulate him, nor would he tolerate interference. He would prove through his actions that he was no longer a passive youth, but someone capable of taking the initiative.
The surrounding students watched in astonishment, and the classroom filled with sharp intakes of breath. Compared with the Xu Family, the Jiang Family was far more powerful. Even Su Qingqing, who had been about to step forward and stop them, froze where she stood.
Being beaten in front of everyone was a tremendous humiliation for Jiang Yu. Beside himself with anger and shame, he snarled, "Gu Chen, I'll skin you alive! You piece of trash the Gu Family threw out, how dare you hit me!"
Jiang Yu summoned all his strength to fight back, but he could not break free of Gu Chen's grip. Tall and burly as he was, in Gu Chen's hands he was like a chick caught by an eagle, his head bowed and his face flushed, utterly unable to resist!
No one had expected it. Gu Chen had never fought since transferring schools and had endured everything even after his family background was exposed. No one had imagined he was such a formidable fighter!
"Are you fuckers stupid? Get him!" Jiang Yu turned and shouted at his lackeys, his face full of rage. But just as they were about to step forward, Gu Chen's voice stopped them in their tracks: "Anyone who dares move, I'll crack his skull open!"
The lackeys stopped at once, not daring to make a rash move.
Gu Chen looked down at Jiang Yu, a contemptuous smile curling his lips. Then he hauled him up and dragged him mercilessly toward Su Qingqing.
"What are you going to do?" Jiang Yu was filled with shame and anger.
"Apologize." Gu Chen kicked Jiang Yu hard in the knee, catching him off guard and forcing him down onto one knee, face-to-face with Su Qingqing. "Apologize to her!" he ordered coldly.
"Dream on!!" Jiang Yu roared, his voice full of arrogance. "I'm a direct descendant of the Jiang Family, its eldest young master! Gu Chen, you're just the son of a man cast out of the Gu Family. What gives you the right to make me kneel?!"
Gu Chen said in a chilling voice, "Jiang Yu, I've remembered everything you've done to me this past month. Though you were following Zhou Xue'er's orders, you may escape death, but you won't escape punishment!"
Crack! With the sound of a bone breaking, searing pain shot through Jiang Yu's lower leg, twisting his face in agony. That kick was not only punishment for his body, but also a crushing blow to his arrogance and conceit.
Gu Chen had stomped straight down and broken his bone!
"Aaaaah!" The students began to panic. When had they ever seen such a vicious scene, let alone in a classroom? As Jiang Yu screamed, everyone stared at his twisted lower leg, their scalps tingling.
Even Su Qingqing could not help covering her mouth!
No one had expected Gu Chen to be so bold as to strike back at Jiang Yu right there in the classroom. He had not merely confronted him with words, but had also resorted to ruthless means, intimidating everyone with his forceful display.
"Gu Chen, what are you doing?!"
A woman's angry shout rang out, and a beautiful figure entered the classroom.
The newcomer was a young woman in her early twenties, wearing a pale blue dress that perfectly outlined her slender figure. Her delicate features and lovely face naturally became the focus of everyone's attention. Pearl earrings hung from her ears, and a crystal butterfly necklace set off the cool lines of her collarbones. Her pretty face always bore an innate arrogance and coldness. Now, however, perhaps out of shock, her rosy lips were slightly parted, and disbelief showed on a face that rarely betrayed her emotions.
At the sight of her, everyone perked up!
The campus belle of Xinghua University, the eldest daughter of the Zhou Group, the goddess in everyone's heart, and Gu Chen's fiancée-Zhou Xue'er!
In his previous life, she had caused him terrible suffering.
Seeing Zhou Xue'er again, Gu Chen's eyes flashed with complicated emotions, but they soon turned cold.
Gu Chen tossed Jiang Yu aside, straightened up, and looked at Zhou Xue'er, a cold sneer curling his lips.
"You've gone too far!" Zhou Xue'er noticed the smile on Gu Chen's lips, and her delicate body trembled. It seemed unfamiliar to her, but she quickly composed herself and said through clenched teeth, "You did something wrong yourself, yet you're hitting an innocent person! Gu Chen, I really misjudged you!"
"Oh?" Gu Chen smiled. "Was I wrong to hit him?"
The faint mockery in that otherwise mild smile made Zhou Xue'er even angrier. "Do you know what you're doing? You should know very well how powerful the Jiang Family is! You've not only harmed yourself and your father, but you're also putting our Zhou Family in a difficult position!"
"Zhou Xue'er..." Su Qingqing tried to interject.
"Shut up!" Zhou Xue'er turned to her and snapped, "And you! Gu Chen and I were only having a disagreement, yet you took the opportunity to seduce him yesterday! After you did that with him, how can our Zhou Family show its face? How can we maintain our standing in Zhou City? Su Qingqing, I was friends with you before only because you were born to a concubine in the Su Family, unloved by your father, with your own mother gone and a pitiful background! I thought you could remain pure and untainted in the mire, but I never expected you to choose to fall so low and do something so shameful."
Su Qingqing's pretty face went deathly pale. She had not expected Zhou Xue'er to dump all the filth on her!
"Looks like Xu Mo hasn't told you the news yet. Then again, he cares about his pride too. How could he tell you I beat him up?" Gu Chen sighed. Zhou Xue'er's words had completely extinguished his feelings for her.
If he had not lived another life, Zhou Xue'er's public performance would have been enough to fool him, as oblivious as he had been in his previous life!
"What do you mean?" Zhou Xue'er was taken aback.
Gu Chen did not answer. Instead, he suddenly turned around, took a blank sheet of paper from his desk drawer, and began scribbling on it.
When he finished, he scraped his finger with the tip of his pen and pressed it down hard! Just like that, a streak of blood stained the paper.
Gu Chen tore off the sheet and looked at Zhou Xue'er. With a cold laugh, he tossed it to her, his voice icy to the extreme. "Zhou Xue'er, stop racking your brains trying to break off the engagement. You'll only drag others into suffering for you. This past month, your Zhou Family has regretted arranging the marriage with mine in the first place, hasn't it? Now, this paper is proof that I've repudiated you. Mark my words! It's a letter of repudiation, not a broken engagement. From today on, you and I have nothing more to do with each other. Don't think I, Gu Chen, can't live without you!"
Gu Chen's words were like rolling thunder, every word a thunderclap!
With a boom, they exploded in everyone's hearts!
Zhou Xue'er in particular held the bloodstained letter of repudiation and stared at Gu Chen with widened eyes, her mouth contorted with shock.
"Y-you... You dare repudiate me?!"