Longzang

Chapter 764 Whose Youth

As soon as the bell rang, the classroom erupted in chaos. Wei Yuan was engrossed in his studies when suddenly a hand pressed down on his book.

Wei Yuan looked up and saw one of Li Tianci's henchmen standing next to his desk. He looked fierce and said, "Don't leave after school, Brother Tianci is waiting for you in the grove behind the school!"

"No time, get lost." Wei Yuan's voice was calm and mechanical.

The young man flew into a rage and threw a punch: "You've really got some nerve!"

In Wei Yuan's eyes, this punch was very slow. He planned to grab the other's wrist, pull him down to make him lose his balance, then sit still and kick the side of his knee, which would make him kneel down on the spot and be unable to move for several days.

The whole sequence of movements flowed smoothly in his mind, but in reality, Wei Yuan's hand had only been raised halfway when the other party's fist had already smashed into his face.

After landing a punch, the man looked at Wei Yuan's calm face and thoughtful expression, and suddenly felt inexplicably afraid. He said, "If you dare not come, you'll be sorry," and quickly returned to his seat.

Wei Yuan kept looking at his hands, pondering why his movements were so slow.

Before they knew it, it was time to leave school. Many students packed their bags quickly and disappeared in a flash. Wei Yuan reluctantly put down his textbook and asked Bao Yun, "What classes do we have tomorrow?"

"physics."

Wei Yuan's spirits lifted again; he couldn't explain why his mood suddenly improved.

Wei Yuan, Bao Yun, and Kong Que walked towards the school gate together. Kong Que was a little worried and asked, "Is Li Tianci really not going?"

"I'm busy. Oh, by the way, why are they causing us trouble?"

Peacock was a little surprised and said, "Brother Yuan, how come you don't seem to remember anything? I heard that Li Tianci's family is very rich and he has several underlings who often bully people at school. We entered this school together, and one day after school, they ambushed me and demanded my allowance. I didn't have any money, so I got beaten up. You happened to be passing by and saw it, so you got beaten up with me."

Wei Yuan raised an eyebrow. Why did that last sentence sound a little awkward?

Wei Yuan looked at his hands again, feeling that he should be faster and stronger, even with this body. But it seemed there was another consciousness within this body, constantly trying to hinder him. And some of the things his body did were decided by that consciousness.

For example, if you throw a punch, you'll subconsciously pull back halfway through. By the time you realize something's wrong and try to add more force, it's too late. Not only is the punch slow, but it's also weak and powerless. This is why Li Tianci remained lively and energetic even after Wei Yuan had hit him several times.

Peacock continued, "...But Brother Yuan, you're even poorer than me. We were ambushed and beaten by them three times. You said things shouldn't happen more than three times, and we had to fight back once, so we agreed to wait for them at the school gate. You also said that bricks should only be used to hit their backs, not their heads, otherwise something bad might happen. Later, Sister Bao said that you were her boyfriend, and Li Tianci said that if he saw us every time, he would beat us up once."

Wei Yuan asked, "Is he so arrogant because he has other powerful backers?"

"The head of student affairs liked him a lot. If the students who were bullied by him complained to him, they would be reprimanded instead. So over time, no one dared to report being bullied to the teacher."

"Oh, so you mean you can only rely on yourself, or you can fight the head of the teaching department together." Wei Yuan roughly understood.

He felt that resolving this matter was simpler than he could imagine, almost like children playing house. But it was precisely because it was so simple that it felt eerie.

Wei Yuan pondered for a moment and said, "Is Li Tianci's family very wealthy?"

"Yes."

"And then he even tried to steal our allowance?"

"Correct."

"...Is he sick?" Wei Yuan asked, puzzled.

Bao Yun said, "Maybe he just wants to find a few people to bully him so that he can show that he is different from others."

“…He really is sick.” Wei Yuan realized.

The three of them chatted all the way to the school gate, where they suddenly saw a group of students gathered, all craning their necks and looking around.

Wei Yuan was a little curious, so he looked in the direction of their gaze and saw a tall girl walking out of the teaching building. Her hair was usually tied up, and her neck was as long and slender as a swan's.

She was half a head taller than the other girls, with a slightly tanned complexion that set her apart. She was exceptionally beautiful, her slanted eyebrows conveying a wild and proud air. She was also wearing a school uniform, but her legs beneath the short skirt were shapely, long, and powerful, making the uniform look sexy on her.

The students watching erupted in a clamor of discussion.

"Finally, Senior Xuanlu has arrived!"

"What a nice view!"

"I just don't know who's prettier, the new transfer student or the new girl!"

"Each has its own beauty, they're all different."

I want both!

……

The wild-blooded girl also saw Bao Yun. She looked at her carefully, then her gaze shifted to Wei Yuan, lingered for a moment, then she looked away, walked out of the school gate, and disappeared.

All three of them walked out of the school gate.

……

Wei Yuan looked around. The morning light was just streaming through the window, and the middle-aged woman's strong voice echoed in the hall. He was back in the cafeteria in the early morning. Bao Yun placed a bowl of steamed buns on the table, then took out a card and handed it to him, saying, "I got a supplementary card. You can use it to buy whatever you want."

In an instant, all eyes in the cafeteria turned to this side. The boys' eyes were like knives, while the girls scrutinized themselves with great curiosity.

Wei Yuan picked up the supplementary card and put it in his pocket, saying, "If it's not enough, I'll ask you for more."

Peacock next to him had a steamed bun stuck in her throat, unable to go down or come up. The boys around her were also stunned, unable to believe that someone could say such a thing.

Baoyun said, "The club recruitment this afternoon looks really interesting. Let's all go and sign up!"

"Okay," Wei Yuan replied, tilting his head back and forth as he handed the steamed buns over.

The school bell rang, and a middle-aged female teacher entered. Her eyes and the corners of her mouth were downturned, and her gaze was sinister. Wei Yuan felt that her skin tone was somewhat bluish, and there seemed to be some faint spots on it.

The teacher called on Wei Yuan to answer the first question, which he naturally couldn't answer. After sitting down, he quietly asked the girl in front of him, and learned that his grades had always been among the worst in the grade, so it was normal that he couldn't answer; it would have been abnormal if he had.

Wei Yuan didn't mind, turned to the first page of the book, and began to read it with great interest.

The female teacher treated Wei Yuan exceptionally poorly, frequently yelling at him and scolding him. Wei Yuan accepted it all and continued reading from the beginning. This physics book was quite basic; Wei Yuan vaguely remembered having studied much more difficult material before, but he couldn't recall where he had learned it.

As the bell rang, the classroom suddenly became noisy. Wei Yuan remembered something, patted the shoulder of the sweet girl in front of him, and asked, "Besides steamed buns, does the cafeteria have anything else in the morning?"

The girl said, "Yes, we have plenty! We have every kind of breakfast you can think of. After all, our college is famous for its good food and beautiful girls."

Wei Yuan asked again, "Why don't I see any others?"

"You didn't go to get it. Think carefully, did the other students eat something else?"

Wei Yuan recalled for a moment, and as he did so, the details of the scene in his memory became much clearer. Sure enough, apart from their table, none of the other students had eaten steamed buns.

Wei Yuan thought for a moment and asked Bao Yun, "Why do we always eat steamed buns?"

Bao Yun said, "All I see are steamed buns."

It was afternoon in the blink of an eye.

Club recruitment season is always the liveliest time of year. Bao Yun and Wei Yuan, unusually, separated to each find clubs they liked. The gymnasium where recruitment was held was filled with a cacophony of voices.

When Wei Yuan came out of the gymnasium, he had a backpack on his back. As soon as he stepped out of the gate, he suddenly stopped. A girl appeared in front of him. She was ordinary-looking, only slightly pretty, but her long, straight, black hair was quite memorable. She seemed out of place in the entire school, silently walking towards a building that Wei Yuan had never been to before: the library.

Wei Yuan followed the girl as she entered the library, but then a repulsive face appeared before him. It was one of Li Tianci's henchmen, with hair covering one eye and the tips dyed purple.

He tried his best to put on an arrogant and self-important expression, saying, "Brother Tianci wants you to go to the gymnastics hall for a final showdown! Don't even think about escaping, Sister Bao is already here."

Wei Yuan wanted to say he was busy, but when he heard that Bao Yun had also gone, he immediately followed her to the gymnastics hall.

The gymnastics hall was small and dimly lit, appearing quite dilapidated, with many pieces of equipment covered in dust. Upon entering, Wei Yuan saw Li Tianci and the others surrounding Bao Yun, seemingly trying to curry favor with her.

After just one afternoon apart, Bao Yun had changed completely. Her hair was dyed yellow, she held a cigarette in her hand, and leaned lazily against her vaulting horse. However, her face was still extremely beautiful, and this appearance gave people a feeling of unconventional, unruly, and imperfect beauty.

Why is it beauty in imperfection? Wei Yuan pondered this question, thinking he might find the answer in the library.

Seeing Wei Yuan enter, Li Tianci said, "Bring him out."

Two boys pulled the peacock out and pushed it next to Wei Yuan.

Li Tianci, a cigarette between his fingers, lit Wei Yuan's chest and tossed his hair with his other hand, saying, "As long as Bao Yun agrees to be my girlfriend—and of course, it can't just be empty words, she has to kiss me ten times like she kissed him—and then this guy kneels down and apologizes to me, I'll forgive him and won't bother him anymore, how about that?"

Wei Yuan looked at Bao Yun, who blew a smoke ring and shrugged, indicating: "Whatever."

Wei Yuan then said, "I'm going to the library. Let's not waste time with this idiot."

Before Bao Yun could speak, Kong Que let out a cheer, took out a white cloth strip and tied it around her head, shouting, "I've had enough! I've signed up for karate, and today I'll show you what I'm made of!"

"Fine, I'll join in today too." Bao Yun flicked her cigarette butt to the ground, then pulled a beautifully curved baseball bat from her backpack and said, "I'm signing up for baseball. Wei Yuan, what are you signing up for?"

Wei Yuan looked at the strange object that had appeared in his hand and said, "A chain ball."

After a while...

Wei Yuan lay on the hospital bed in the infirmary, staring at the glaring fluorescent light that kept buzzing, wondering why he was lying there. On the bed next to him, Kong Que was whimpering and moaning.

Bao Yun sat by the hospital bed, helping Wei Yuan sit up and handing him a glass of water. During the fight, Wei Yuan's hammer was about to smash into Li Tianci's head when his movement suddenly froze, and the flying hammer hit him instead. Kong Que wasn't faring much better; after a few squawks, he was taken down. Finally, Bao Yun stepped in, taking down all seven opponents in a one-against-one battle.

Bao Yun picked up a strand of dyed yellow hair, brushed it on Wei Yuan's face, and asked, "Does it look good?"

"It doesn't look good," Wei Yuan said honestly.

Bao Yun smiled gently and said, "But you're better at fighting if you dye your hair yellow at school."

Wei Yuan said, "...and not very smart either."

(End of this chapter)