A few moments later, the principal of the school arrived accompanied by two security guards and a female student they did not recognize.
The principal visibly relaxed upon seeing Gou Feng conscious and sitting upright.
"Oh, thank goodness."
But when her eyes landed on his bruised face, her relief quickly became concerned.
"You should go to the school clinic immediately."
Gou Feng shook his head.
"It's alright. I'll go home and treat it there. I have a first-aid kit there."
The principal sighed, the guilt in her eyes was difficult to miss.
As principal, incidents like this always felt like a personal failure.
"Gou Feng."
She hesitated before speaking.
"Do you want to file a complaint against Adrian?"
Her three students looked at her.
"We've already informed his parents about today's incident, and they will permit whatever be your choice to do with their son."
As she remembered something, she then gestured toward the young woman beside her.
" This is Shella. She was the one who reported everything to us."
The young woman gave them a shy wave, and Huan Zhan alongside Shen Jiu immediately waved back at her, while Gou Feng nodded politely.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." Shella smiled awkwardly.
For a moment, silence settled over the group.
Then the principal spoke again.
"If you wish, we can begin disciplinary procedures immediately."
Gou Feng lowered his gaze.
He remained silent for several seconds.
Everyone waited patiently until he finally spoke again.
"Ma'am..."
His voice was quiet.
"Can we just let this go?"
The principal froze, even Huan Zhan and Shen Jiu looked at him as though he had grown a second head.
"What?" Huan Zhan blurted out.
Gou Feng ignored his best friend's reaction and continued.
"I don't want my guardian to find out."
The principal frowned.
"But Gou Feng—"
"I don't want to add another burden to my guardian."
His answer was simple, honest, and completely sound sincere.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
The principal studied him carefully, before she softly asked,
"Are you sure?"
Gou Feng nodded without hesitation.
"Mm. I'm sure."
This time, even Shen Jiu and Huan Zhan did not know what to say, because they knew he meant every word.
With that, their evening continued.
After saying their goodbyes to the principal, the security guards, and Shella, the three young men made their way toward the university parking lot.
The sun was already sinking beyond the horizon, painting the sky in shades of gold, orange, and crimson.
A cool breeze drifted across the campus, carrying away the lingering heat of the day.
For a while, none of them spoke.
The events of the afternoon had left plenty to think about.
Of course, the silence didn't last long, as Huan Zhan was the first to break it.
"So Angela is actually Adrian's secret fiancée, huh?"
He shoved his hands into his pockets and clicked his tongue.
"No wonder he was so angry."
The three of them had learned the truth earlier from the principal herself.
Originally, the engagement had been kept strictly confidential between the two families.
However, after today's incident, the principal had no choice but to explain the situation.
Otherwise, the misunderstanding surrounding Adrian's behavior would have only grown worse.
"Honestly, I would've been angry too," Shen Jiu admitted.
"If I saw my fiancée confessing to another guy in front of half the school, I'd probably lose my mind."
Huan Zhan nodded immediately.
"Exactly."
He glanced sideways at Gou Feng.
"Although A-Feng is innocent in all of this."
Gou Feng merely sighed.
At the moment, he was more concerned about the bruise on his cheek than Angela's confession.
Holding an ice pack against the injured area, he walked quietly between his two best friends.
The cold helped dull the throbbing pain a little.
"Does it still hurt?" Shen Jiu asked.
Gou Feng nodded honestly.
"A little."
Huan Zhan shook his head.
"And that Angela. I don't understand her."
"What do you mean?" Gou Feng asked.
"If she already has a fiancé, why would she ask another guy to prom?"
Gou Feng thought for a moment.
"Maybe she had her reasons."
"Stop saying that." Huan Zhan immediately pointed at him, annoyed.
"Not everyone has good reasons."
Shen Jiu sighed.
"Even if she did, what Adrian and his friends did was still wrong."
His eyes darkened slightly.
"As if the two of them were dragging A-Feng into their problems."
Gou Feng remained silent.
To be honest, he still didn't understand what had happened.
The entire situation felt absurd.
One moment he had been drinking milk tea, the next, he had been punched four times by a stranger.
Life was strange sometimes.
"It's a good thing you didn't accept her invitation," Shen Jiu continued.
"Imagine the trouble if you had."
"Exactly." Huan Zhan nodded vigorously.
"Now their secret relationship won't stay secret anymore."
A smug grin appeared on his face.
"Serves them right."
He raised a fist dramatically.
"Take that, losers!"
Gou Feng looked at him.
"You're enjoying this a little too much."
"I am."
Before Huan Zhan could continue celebrating, Shen Jiu's phone suddenly rang.
All three stopped walking.
Shen Jiu pulled his phone from his pocket, and the moment he saw the caller ID, his expression froze.
It was, Cheung Qi.
A terrible feeling immediately settled inside his stomach.
Slowly, he answered.
"Hello?"
When the call got connected, Cheung Qi's exasperated voice exploded from the speaker.
"WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?!"
Shen Jiu nearly dropped the phone.
"We've been—"
"The Boss has been waiting for hours!"
"..."
"He looks so angry right now that even the receptionists are avoiding his floor!"
"..."
"Where's Huan Zhan? Is he with you?"
Shen Jiu swallowed.
"Yes."
"Good."
Cheung Qi said.
His next sentence, however, nearly caused Shen Jiu's soul to leave his body.
"Is A-Feng with you too?"
"...Yes."
"Bring him as well. The Boss wants to see him."
Shen Jiu stilled on the spot.
His mind immediately began racing through every possible disaster.
Did he discover something?
Did the principal call their pack leader about what happened?
The more he thought about it, the paler he became.
On the other end of the line, Cheung Qi waited, and waited but after still not receiving a word from the other, he frowned.
"A-Jiu?"
No answer.
"Hello? Are you still there?"
Still nothing.
Cheung Qi pulled the phone away and checked the screen.
The call was still connected.
"A-Jiu?"
His voice grew louder.
"Why aren't you saying anything?"
"..."
"A-Jiu!"
Shen Jiu slowly lowered the phone from his ear.
His expression was blank.
Completely blank, as in the look of a man whose spirit had already ascended.
Beside him, Huan Zhan notice expression and asked,
"What's that face for?"
Shen Jiu turned toward him mechanically.
His voice was hollow.
"Brother."
Huan Zhan immediately felt a chill run down his spine.
"Why are you calling me brother? You're scaring me."
"We forgot the meeting we were supposed to have with the Boss."
Huan Zhan face instantly lost all color.
Right, Cheung Qi had specifically called them this morning, and said after class, they should report directly to the Pack Leader's office, but they forgot because of what happened.
The two cousins stared at each other.
Neither spoke, and moved.
Both looked as though they had just received a notice informing them of their own execution.
Meanwhile, on the other end of the call, Cheung Qi listened to the silence and rubbed his forehead.
"Why aren't this kid answering? Hello? HELLO!"
The sudden shout finally snapped the two cousins back to reality.
Shen Jiu nearly dropped his phone the second time, while Huan Zhan almost jumped out of his skin.
Both cousins then simultaneously gulped.
Slowly, they turned toward Gou Feng who blinked in puzzlement at them.
"What?"
Neither answered.
Their expressions looked so miserable that Gou Feng became concerned.
"Who called?"
Still no answer.
"Why do you both look like you're attending your own funeral?"
The cousins continued staring at him.
"A-Feng... What should we do?"
Shen Jiu's voice trembled.
Gou Feng frowned.
Huan Zhan looked close to tears.
"We're doomed."
"What are you talking about?"
Gou Feng hurriedly stepped forward and took the phone from Shen Jiu's hand.
Immediately, Cheung Qi's voice exploded into his ear.
"Hello? A-Jiu?"
"Hello?"
"Did you hear what I said?"
"I said bring A-Feng with you!"
"The Boss wants to see him too!"
"A-Jiu?"
"A-JIU!"
Gou Feng then understood everything and quietly lowered the phone.
He looked back at his two best friends.
Both appeared as though they were moments away from collapsing.
"A-Feng..."
Shen Jiu's voice shook further.
"What should we do? We're scared."
Gou Feng stared at them for several seconds until without hesitation, ended the call.
The cousins gasped.
"You hung up on him?!"
"Cheung Qi-ge is going to kill us!"
Ignoring them, Gou Feng stepped forward and placed a hand on each of their shoulders.
"We have to go." His voice remained calm.
The two immediately exploded.
"ARE YOU CRAZY?!"
Huan Zhan nearly lost his consciousness.
"We don't want to die!"
"If the Pack Leader sees your bruises, we're finished!"
Shen Jiu pointed at Gou Feng's face.
"And so is Adrian! You literally said you didn't want this situation to escalate!"
Gou Feng simply shook his head.
"It won't."
The confidence in his voice made both cousins pause, and listen attentively at him.
"I'll handle it. You two just need to do what Cheung, Ge asked."