By this time, the warmth of the day had completely faded, and the evening breeze chilled to the bone. There were no more pedestrians outside the alley. Although the alley was desolate, it was clean and straight. The streetlights flickered dimly, emitting a weak white light.
Very different from the well-behaved front he put on for Xu Si, Pei Zhen sat leisurely, blocking the alley's exit. In his right hand, he rhythmically tapped the top of a baseball bat, which hung straight down to the ground. He glanced sideways, his peripheral vision catching the group of young masters crawling on the ground. A few strands of ash-gray hair fell over his forehead, his brows were deeply furrowed, and his narrow eyes drooped at the corners, yet the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned.
"Didn't you say you wouldn't leave until you had killed me?"
The bat occasionally scraped the ground, producing a soft, metallic clink that set one's heart on edge.
"Come on, kill me."
The stench from the floor tiles assaulted their nostrils.
A group of arrogant young masters now tried to bury their heads in their arms and stay silent, enduring the foul smell and swallowing down their anger.
It truly hurt.
From head to toe, it hurt.
Even the hardiest head couldn't withstand such a vicious beating.
No one had expected that overnight, the one who had obediently taken blows would change so drastically, becoming someone not to be trifled with.
Someone tugged on Chen Shihua's sleeve, using a glance to ask what they should do next.
Accustomed to acting like Devil Kings, this was their first time in such a sorry state, and no one had considered the humiliation of running home to complain.
But if they didn't complain, they couldn't run away either.
Chen Shihua squeezed the words through clenched teeth, his face ashen, his ostentatious red hair particularly ludicrous at this moment. After hesitating for a long while, he finally looked up at the youth.
"Let us go back. I'll never bother you again. From now on, whenever we see you, we'll take a detour. Is that okay?"
That was essentially an agreement to keep the peace. If they left this matter behind, no one would trouble the other.
Pei Zhen was too tough to fight; only a fool would keep causing him trouble.
Pei Zhen planted one long leg on the ground and casually tapped the baseball bat near the other's head a couple of times. His lean trapezius muscles drew beautiful lines with the motion. In the faint and hazy night, he looked lazily down at him.
"You can't leave."
"You still need to get along with me properly."
Otherwise, Auntie wouldn't be at ease.
Down the long street, a mechanical CLICK rang out as a row of old streetlights finally lit up.
Pei Zhen emerged from the alley with long strides. He took out the wristwatch Xu Si had chosen for him, carefully fastened it onto his left wrist, and secured the strap. The wind swept over the coat draped over his shoulders. Walking in the dim light, his expression was indiscernible.
Behind him, a group of young masters followed, shuffling and staggering, heads hung low, clinging to one another, staying close to him. Their faces wore awkward smiles, appearing harmonious.
If only... one ignored the faintest whispers.
"Brother Chen, what kind of weird request is this?"
"After a fight, we have to get along well? How do we do that? Get beaten up every day? If that's the case, I'm transferring schools."
"I really don't want to break my hand again."
"TSK," Chen Shihua punched the man in the waist with annoyance. "Are you brain-dead? This gu— he... it's his first time at our school, unfamiliar with the place and people. It's not surprising he gets bullied by those who don't know any better. 'Getting along well' just means we stick with him now!"
"So, should we hang with him?" The young masters looked somewhat sheepish. Before this, their leader was Chen Shihua.
At this time on Hong Kong Island, numerous societies made many yearn for the thrilling vendettas of the underworld.
Chen Shihua bit the inner wall of his mouth until he tasted blood. "Damn, he fights so well, he's definitely one of us now! It's a good deal. We can just send him out to handle things in the future. But behind the scenes, I'm still the boss, got it?"
"Got it, got it."
What they knew even better was that if they didn't "get along well," Pei Zhen might really beat them until they did.
So, it was better to take the initiative to get along well.
Watching Pei Zhen get into a black car, his eyes clean and clear, he even waved at them politely. "See you tomorrow."
"Pei Bro, see you tomorrow!"
"Tomorrow, I'll bring you breakfast from my place!"
Only when the black car had disappeared did the young masters drop their forced smiles. Looking at each other with disgust, they quickly separated from their buddy-buddy poses, wincing as they pulled out their phones to call their drivers.
"Damn, my hand's about to break."
"Go to the hospital first. Nobody can find out about this. If I go home like this, I'll not only lose face, but my old man will ream me out too!"
"That Pei really knows how to switch faces. His expression when he was hitting me just now wasn't like that at all."
「 」
The area around Cloudtop Bay was sparsely populated, with no concept of school-district housing. The villas were surrounded by world-class superstores. These stores usually relied on the patronage of wealthy young masters and misses to survive, so ordinary people rarely shopped there.
Today, after dealing with company matters, Xu Si left the study early. She sat leisurely in the living room, slowly brewing tea for herself. Her pale fingers casually handled a set of collectible porcelain cups. The patterns were gilded, and the bottom of each cup was inlaid with a costly piece of jadeite.
Having just inventoried her father's private assets, money was nothing more than a string of numbers to her now.
No matter how expensive an item was, she never felt a pang using it.
In the vast Xu Mansion, the girl wore a black slip dress, walking barefoot on the soft carpet. The joints of her fingers showed a faint redness. The scene was as serene as a medieval oil painting.
Suddenly, a sharp doorbell rang. She looked up and saw a boy with a backpack entering the main door. He was dressed neatly, held a letter in his hand, and had a polite smile in his dark eyes as he looked obediently at her.
Xu Si put down her teacup, stood up, slipped into her fluffy slippers, and approached him, her gaze scanning his exposed skin.
Smooth and intact, with no excess bruising. He didn't appear to have been bullied.
Pei Zhen let her look and said softly, "Auntie, I'm back late."
Xu Si hummed softly and glanced at the wall clock. "Indeed a bit late."
Butler Ge took Pei Zhen's backpack and silently walked away.
Pei Zhen lowered his eyes and handed her the envelope. "It won't be this late again starting tomorrow," he said, his tone apologetic.
Xu Si pinched the envelope, observing the faint darkness in the depths of his eyes, which seemed to hold a hidden meaning. She smiled. She wanted to know what he had done but did not immediately ask.
Her voice was a bit lighter. "What's this?"
Pei Zhen smiled and said, "An invitation to the parent-teacher conference next week. It needs a signature. If you're too busy, Auntie, you don't have to go. I can handle it."
Xu Si paused, tore open the envelope, and her gaze dropped straight to its contents, a smile on her lips. She took out the invitation, asked a servant for a pen, and quickly signed her name before handing it back to him.
"I'll go. Your parent-teacher conference is very important."
Pei Zhen was somewhat surprised. "I heard that relatives from overseas are coming back."
Xu Si touched his cool arm as she lazily walked to the staircase, intending to put on a piece of clothing. Hearing his words, she turned back to look at him.
"Yes, but they definitely aren't as important as your parent-teacher conference."