My Arrogant Young Lady

A group of people swaggered away. After they left, I noticed Lu Zhicheng's eyes were tired. Seeing that expression on his face made me feel a pang of sadness. I knew how powerful the Thirteen Eagles were; Lu Zhicheng was fighting against their entire force for my sake.

No matter how good Lu Zhicheng is at fighting, he's always fighting alone. And I've been sickly since childhood, so I can't help him at all.

Thinking about all this, I felt even more upset. I walked over to Lu Zhicheng, carefully tugged at the sleeve of his school uniform, and said, "Brother Cheng, let's go."

“Okay, my dear Xi-ge.” Lu Zhicheng’s gaze softened as he looked at me, and he gradually smiled.

When I saw the tenderness in Lu Zhicheng's eyes, my nose tingled and I almost cried. Gritting my teeth, I asked him earnestly, "Lu Zhicheng, is it worth offending them because of me?"

"Hehe, we're kindred spirits." Lu Zhicheng laughed and put his arm around my shoulder tightly.

Lu Zhicheng smiled at the students watching, then put his arm around me and walked into the teaching building. He then took me to the water room, locked the door, lit a cigarette, and sighed, "Brother Xi, this time we might have to deal with the Thirteen Eagles."

"Really?" I couldn't help but feel nervous after hearing Lu Zhicheng's words.

"Yes." Lu Zhicheng nodded gently.

Then, Lu Zhicheng told me about his relationship with the Thirteen Eagles. He said that the Thirteen Eagles were now the most powerful force in the school. Almost everyone who was doing well in school or whose family was wealthy was one of their people. Liu Bao, the eldest brother of the Thirteen Eagles, had previously invited him to join, but he refused. He disapproved of the Thirteen Eagles' behavior; they bullied others, even though everyone came from well-off families, always demanding money from other students.

Demanding money was just one small matter. If they didn't like a student, a group of them would swarm him. If they set their sights on a girl, they would resort to all sorts of trickery and force. Even if the girl had a boyfriend, they would forcibly break them up. Two boys refused to break up with their girlfriends and were beaten and expelled from school. Their girlfriends were tricked into going to a class reunion and given excessive amounts of drugs…

"Didn't they call the police?" My heart clenched, and I was shocked.

"Heh, they're all blacked out. They don't even know who touched them. What's the use of calling the police? And if they find out who it was, that's fine, but what if they don't? This is their territory. Who dares to offend them?" Lu Zhicheng took a deep drag on his cigarette and smiled bitterly.

"Then, can we still stay at our school?" I used to be ignorant and lived each day in a daze. But after getting involved in their circle, I realized there were so many inside stories.

"It's alright, just keep your distance from them. Our school doesn't allow dating, and there aren't many couples anyway. Many of the girls are pretty, and their families are relatively wealthy. Some are rich, or have high emotional intelligence, and the school can't do anything about them. For example, Tang Ning is pretty, but they don't dare touch her. And Zhang Xuan, her family is rich, so they're afraid of rich people and don't dare to force themselves on her. Our school is quite big, and there are many students, so most students don't know them well and they don't bully them," Lu Zhicheng said.

"Oh, that's a little better." I felt a bit relieved after hearing that.

“Yeah, some students they just kick because they don’t like them. The ones they really bully are the weak ones who like to act like big shots. Or their deskmates or roommates who are relatively honest. As long as they stay away from them, they’re fine. But I can’t help these people. How can I help them? The ones who like to act like big shots are always causing trouble, and I can’t even help them all. And the honest ones, no matter how I try to help them, it’s useless. If I get beaten up, they can’t even help me.” Lu Zhicheng looked at me with a wronged expression.

"Haha, that's true..." My face turned a little red after hearing Lu Zhicheng's words.

"Someone like you is truly rare. You can't fight at all, yet you refuse to submit no matter how hard you try. So when I saw you being bullied that day, I couldn't help but step in. However, a battle between me and the Thirteen Eagles was inevitable, and it wasn't because of you. It's because I didn't join them, and they disliked me. Also, I've ruined many of their plans when they do bad things. The grudge has been brewing for a while now; all that's needed is a spark," Lu Zhicheng said.

"So, am I the catalyst for your conflict?" I asked.

"Sort of, and sort of. But in any case, we're probably going to make our move in the next few days. That Liu Bao is hypocritical and cunning; he's been wanting to get back at me for a long time. Now that I've had a conflict with Chen Xun and Chai Jin, he'll definitely use this opportunity to get rid of me," Lu Zhicheng said.

"Then I'll help you!" I said without hesitation after hearing Lu Zhicheng's words.

"You'll help me?" Lu Zhicheng's gaze turned strange as he looked at me.

Seeing Lu Zhicheng's strange look, my face flushed again. I knew absolutely nothing about fighting; I was weak and sickly, lacking any strength. Moreover, our enemies were the Thirteen Eagles, thirteen leaders, each with numerous henchmen. And we, all for the stockings, were just two people.

"I'm sorry, I'm not very strong, and I'm not good at fighting..." After thinking for a moment, I looked at Lu Zhicheng with a very embarrassed expression.

Seeing my expression, Lu Zhicheng's eyes immediately showed guilt. He quickly patted my shoulder and said, "Brother, I didn't mean to make fun of you, don't be sad. I just thought there were too many Thirteen Eagles, and I was afraid you would get hurt."

“But I genuinely want to help you,” I said, looking at him earnestly.

“I know!” Lu Zhicheng nodded vigorously.

The two of them suddenly fell silent. Lu Zhicheng, tired of standing, squatted down and started smoking. Just then, the bell rang for morning self-study, but neither of us was in the mood to attend, preoccupied with the matter of Thirteen Eagles.

"They can still fight!" Suddenly, Lu Zhicheng flicked the cigarette butt in his hand and his eyes lit up.

"Can you fight?" I asked Lu Zhicheng in surprise.

“That’s right!” Lu Zhicheng seemed very excited, and then said to me, “The Thirteen Eagles have a total of thirteen big brothers, but the number one sister, Tang Ning, couldn’t stand them and left. You seem to have a good relationship with Tang Ning. We can take care of the remaining twelve big brothers one by one and defeat them one by one. I can take them on one-on-one without any problem, and you can be my support.”

"As a support?" My eyes lit up when I heard Lu Zhicheng's words.

"Yeah, just like in a game, someone can heal me or something. If they can't heal me, they can at least cause me trouble. Having someone help me is better than having no one at all, so I won't get hurt," Lu Zhicheng said.

“Okay, but what if a whole bunch of them gang up on us?” I asked.

“That’s where Tang Ning comes in. Her brother is a notorious troublemaker outside of school. As long as Tang Ning protects us, they won’t be able to retaliate.” As he spoke, Lu Zhicheng took out his newly bought Vajra sword and started rubbing it. The more he rubbed, the more excited he became, shouting, “It’s fate! This is simply fate! Tang Ning, the most powerful figure outside of school, has withdrawn. Isn’t this the perfect opportunity for us to deal with them?”

"By the way, why are you so close to Tang Ning? Does she like you? You should use your charm to win her over. If you can date Tang Ning, even Thirty Eagles won't dare to touch you!" Lu Zhicheng said, putting his arms around my shoulders.

"What? Using your good looks to seduce Tang Ning?" I looked at him in surprise.

"Haha, you're quite handsome with your fair complexion. Tell me quickly, what exactly happened between you and Tang Ning? Why is she so nice to you?" Lu Zhicheng asked me.

"It's nothing, she's just a nice person..." I said awkwardly, looking at Lu Zhicheng.

"Haha, then you should play the victim and use Tang Ning's sympathy to woo her. These days, beautiful women love losers like you the most!" Lu Zhicheng said with great enthusiasm.

“Brother Cheng, I can’t date Tang Ning. If you want to, you should go for it…” I quickly shook my head after hearing Lu Zhicheng’s words.

“I don’t even know Tang Ning, how am I supposed to date her? You go ahead, Tang Ning is so beautiful, if you can date her you’ll really be rich,” Lu Zhicheng said.

"No, I already have someone I like." The thought of that lovely figure in my mind warmed my heart.

"What? You have someone you like?" Lu Zhicheng looked at me in surprise.

"Yes, I've liked her for a long time. I think it's been since I was a child." Thinking of her, a sweet smile involuntarily appeared on my face.

"Who is it that's even better than Tang Ning?" Lu Zhicheng asked.

After hearing Lu Zhicheng's words, I smiled and said, "She and Tang Ning are about the same size, but she's not as successful as Tang Ning. But I just like her."

Seeing my silly grin, Lu Zhicheng looked a little embarrassed. Then he walked to the sink, looked in the mirror, and said, "Am I supposed to use my looks to seduce Tang Ning?"

“You’re handsome too, why don’t you go find Tang Ning? I can talk to her, how about I invite her out for lunch?” I asked.

"Alright, let's call her out and discuss our plans together!" Lu Zhicheng snapped his fingers excitedly after hearing my words.

Our grand plan was quickly finalized. His plan was to woo Tang Ning and use her older brother outside of school to protect us. Then, the two of us would deal with the Thirteen Eagles, defeating them one by one. But what Lu Zhicheng said struck me as odd; it seemed he wasn't going to woo Tang Ning at noon, but rather to form an alliance with her. I was a little worried—would his personality even be enough to win over a girl?

At that very moment, my phone suddenly vibrated. It was a text message, and when I took out my phone and saw the message, my expression changed drastically.

"Who sent you that text message?" Lu Zhicheng asked in surprise when he saw my face turn red.

"Take a look." My face turned even redder as I handed the phone to Lu Zhicheng.

Taking the phone, Lu Zhicheng's face flushed red when he saw my message. It read, "Please, please stop talking. I've been listening to you for over ten minutes, it's so embarrassing..."

"Brother Xi, are we talking too loudly?" Lu Zhicheng stared blankly at the message Zhang Xuan sent, his face pale.

"Isn't it a bit too big...?"

Water dripped from the tap with a soft "plop." At that moment, the entire school building fell silent…

Chapter Sixteen: Young Master Bao is Looking for You

She heard it. They all heard it too. The entire teaching building was eerily quiet; even the sound of a single drop of water falling was unusually loud. And Lu Zhicheng and I, completely absorbed in our conversation, chatted for ages. If it weren't for Zhang Xuan, we might have talked even longer.

So, when did our conversation become a live broadcast?

My face flushed crimson; I was so embarrassed I wanted to disappear into the ground. It took Lu Zhicheng and I a long silence before I felt a little better. Right, it must have been after the school bell rang. Before the bell, it was too noisy outside; even if we were arguing, they might not hear us. But after the bell rang, everyone went back to their classrooms. The entire school building was eerily quiet, and given how excited we were talking, every word we uttered…

"Chen Xun, this matter is settled. I, Liu Bao, will bring Tang Ning over at noon and use my good looks to woo him!" Lu Zhicheng suddenly said.

"..." After hearing Lu Zhicheng's words, I couldn't help but bite my finger.

"It's settled then, we, the Thirteen Cold-Blooded Eagles, will definitely..." Lu Zhicheng ignored me and continued to pretend on his own.

"Brother Cheng, stop fooling around. It's no use trying to cover it up now..." Looking at Lu Zhicheng's serious expression, I bit my finger, feeling incredibly embarrassed.

"Damn, this is so embarrassing!" After hearing what I said, Lu Zhicheng opened the door of the water room and ran back to his classroom.

I glanced at the classrooms not far away and felt even more frustrated. On either side of our corridor were eight classes: one through four, and five through eight. The water dispenser was right opposite the door of class two, where Zhang Xuan and I were. Zhang Xuan could hear Lu Zhicheng and me talking, so the students in classes two and three must have heard us too. And Chen Xun, he was in class three, so he must have heard us as well.

Thinking about this made my face turn even redder. As I walked into my classroom, I saw that my teacher and classmates were all looking at me with strange eyes.

I couldn't help but glance at Zhang Xuan, only to see her beautiful eyes filled with endless disdain. Then I glanced at Chai Jin, and saw an indescribably strange look in his eyes as he looked at me.

"What, aren't we going to discuss important matters together?" It was still the homeroom teacher's morning self-study session, and she looked at me with a mocking gaze.

"We've almost finished discussing it..." I said, blushing.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

As soon as I finished speaking, the classroom erupted in laughter. Everyone stared at me, laughing and banging on their desks. I became the center of their ridicule. Even Zhang Xuan couldn't help but laugh, wiping away tears from the corners of her eyes with her long, slender index finger as she laughed uncontrollably.

"It's all for stockings, awesome!"

"Brother Xi, all we've done for you guys is because of stockings!" My classmates laughed loudly at me.

"Stop talking, I'm already..." Hearing their words, I was so embarrassed I almost cried.

"Ugh, how could I have such a childish student? Go back now, stop embarrassing yourself here." The homeroom teacher waved his hand impatiently, clearly not wanting to talk to me anymore.

My face was red for the entire class. Sitting in the back, I noticed my chubby deskmate giving me suggestive looks.

Morning self-study and the first class were consecutive, with no break in between. When the first class ended, I saw Zhang Xuan go out, thought for a moment, and followed her.

"Sister Xuanxuan, I have something I want to talk to you about." I quickly said to her as I caught up with her.

"What are you doing? Get away from me! I don't know you, don't get so close!" As soon as I approached her, Zhang Xuan immediately yelled like a kitten whose tail had been stepped on.

"No, no, no, I have something important to tell you." I knew she still disliked me, but I still explained to her.

"No, I don't want to talk to you. Get away from me, don't push your luck." Zhang Xuan backed away again, looking at me with obvious fear.

Seeing Zhang Xuan still like this, my eyes gradually filled with disappointment. My heart ached; I wondered why she disliked me so much. Was her heart made of stone? No matter how much I gave her, couldn't I earn even a little bit of her approval?

I stared at her blankly, watching Zhang Xuan retreat step by step until she disappeared from my sight. When she was completely gone, my heart felt as if it had shattered.

In that instant, I realized I had no motivation to do anything. My heart ached terribly, as if being cut by a knife.

When I returned to the classroom, I saw Chai Jin immediately surround me with his men. Chai Jin swept my books to the ground and then looked at me coldly, saying, "What, you want to hit me?"

I was in a bad mood, so I didn't talk to him. Seeing that I wasn't speaking, one of Chai Jin's lackeys immediately grabbed my hair and said, "Idiot, didn't you hear me talking to you?"

"Get out!" I immediately shook off his hand and glared at him angrily.

"Fuck you!"

Seeing that I dared to curse them, several of them immediately swarmed around me and beat me. I only managed to fight back a few times before they knocked me to the ground.

They kept beating me until class was about to start, and they only left when the teacher was about to arrive. Then Chai Jin kicked me and said, "You stupid idiot, you deserve to be beaten up every day."

Without a word, I struggled to my feet. I picked up the book and gently brushed the dust off my pants.

I felt someone watching me, and I couldn't help but look up. When I saw Zhang Xuan's pretty face, my heart ached again.

"Wang Xi, can you please stop causing trouble? You're dragging me into this. If you cause any more trouble, don't sit next to me anymore!" the chubby girl complained loudly, picking up the book she had knocked to the ground.

"I'm sorry." I felt incredibly sad.

When class started, I just stared blankly out the window. Looking at the empty basketball court and the desolate campus, I suddenly felt my life was utterly meaningless. I'd been sickly since childhood, destined never to fight like healthy boys. And now I'd offended so many thugs; even with Lu Zhicheng protecting me, what good would it do? I was a useless piece of trash, a born loser.