Chapter 30 – Melee

Meng Yi volunteered to participate in Operation Blizzard, but after Lu Anchi’s consideration, his request was denied.

“Why, Master?” Meng Yi nearly jumped up from his swivel chair, his face full of confusion. “Did I… did I not perform well enough?”

Lu Anchi’s police uniform was immaculate, without a single wrinkle. He said, “Your performance has been good, but you’re still young, just graduated from the police academy. This is a major case, and I’m afraid you lack the necessary experience.”

Meng Yi fought hard for the opportunity: “Master, this is my first time working on a big case. You must know how much I want to crack it! I’ll… I’ll definitely prepare thoroughly!”

Lu Anchi had already made up his mind: “Your temperament is still too impulsive. You need a few more years of tempering. Besides, you’re not suited for this mission.”

“Then who is?” Meng Yi asked, unconvinced.

“Qin Yuezhang. I believe Consultant Qin is the best candidate to participate in this operation.”

Hearing this, Meng Yi’s enthusiasm deflated significantly. He truly wasn’t as steady as Consultant Qin, but… but Qin Yuezhang was technically an outsider!

In truth, Qin Yuezhang had always been curious about Blizzard. When Lu Anchi approached him, asking him to represent the police in the operation, he agreed immediately, overjoyed at the opportunity.

Meng Yi refused to give up: “Can’t we request one more slot?”

Lu Anchi’s expression darkened, his tone stern: “After all these years at the police academy, you still haven’t learned to follow orders?”

Meng Yi immediately straightened up, raised his hand to his temple in a crisp salute, and said, “Yes, sir!”

Lu Anchi waved him off: “Go now, and cooperate well with Xie Ning in organizing the files. This case isn’t over yet—there’s still plenty for you to learn!”

Meng Yi turned and left.

Watching his retreating figure, Lu Anchi was suddenly filled with endless emotion. In truth, he envied Meng Yi.

When he first put on his police uniform, Lu Anchi was even younger than Meng Yi. Full of drive, he had vowed to uphold justice, unable to tolerate even a speck of wrongdoing.

For the sake of his work and his cases, he had offended many people and lost many others. He had been injured and had earned commendations—he had weathered all kinds of storms, and thus understood better than most the horrors of human nature.

Now, he had reached the twilight of his career. Perhaps, as many had advised, he should coast through these last two years quietly. After retirement, he could finally enjoy a leisurely life.

But Lu Anchi felt that he could still do more.

Sun Danhao was the first to speak: “That punch you threw the other day hurt for days, kid. How are you gonna make it up to me?”

As they spoke, they closed in, surrounding me completely.

I had seen this setup countless times before. They would first provoke you with words, then use their numbers to overpower you, and finally resort to threats and insults.

I had long since resigned myself to it. They weren’t entirely wrong—who made me Yan Ande’s son? This was my unforgivable sin.

But later, I realized… fate was nothing but bullshit!

I straightened my back and said, “What do you want?”

Sun Danhao and his cronies exchanged glances, their faces twisting into malicious smirks. “First, get on your knees and apologize. Then let me punch you back once, and I might consider forgiving you. See, I’m a reasonable guy—no one loses out. Fair, right?”

Zhou Xin, standing beside me, immediately chimed in: “Brother Sun is being generous. Shouldn’t you say thank you?”

I sneered. “And if I don’t?”

Zhou Xin’s expression twisted, and he raised his foot to kick at my knee—but Sun Danhao stopped him mid-motion.

“We’re not thugs. What’s with the aggression?” Sun Danhao pressed a hand to Zhou Xin’s chest, pushing him back a step. Then he turned to me and said, “Fine. I don’t actually want to make things hard for you. You were just standing up for Yan Ru—that’s loyalty! I respect loyalty!”

This act of his definitely hid ulterior motives.

Sure enough, Sun Danhao hooked a pinky at the stray hairs hanging over his forehead, smirked like a petty delinquent, and said, “You must’ve been tricked by Yan Ru. That guy’s rotten to the core… You know about his dad, right? A murderer! The whole school avoids him. You really want to stick with a murderer’s kid?”

Footsteps sounded outside the door—light and slow, then stopping just beyond it.

No intention of entering.

Well, well. What goes around comes around.

I lowered my gaze to my toes. “So?”

Sun Danhao said, “If you stick with him, the whole school will shun you. You can test it if you don’t believe me. But I’m feeling generous. If you’re willing to help us mess with him, I’ll let that punch slide.”

It sounded like a great deal.

I hesitated. “That doesn’t seem right. What if he reports it to the teachers?”

Sun Danhao scoffed. “That coward? We’ve messed with him so many times—he’d never dare. And even if the teachers found out, so what? He’s got no parents. No one’s gonna stand up for him.”

Zhou Xin snarled, “If you don’t do it, we’ll take care of you right here!”

I took a deep breath. “What do you want me to do?”

“This time, we’re going big.” Sun Danhao’s wild eyebrows danced as he thought it over. “Those volunteer teachers piss me off, especially the one with the camera—always sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong! Let’s find a way to mess with them and pin it on Yan Ru!”

“If Yan Ru’s rotten, then you…” My voice dropped so low I could barely hear it myself.

Sun Danhao leaned in. “What did you say… Ah!”

Before he could finish, my fist smashed into his right eye without warning!

Caught off guard, he staggered back, clutching his eye, and collapsed onto the floor.

The boys around us froze, stunned by the sudden turn of events.

I looked down at Sun Danhao and said coldly, “I’ve wanted to hit you for a long time.”

Sun Danhao curled up in pain, but his uncovered left eye burned with fury as he glared at me.

I felt no satisfaction—only sorrow. I had finally done what I’d always wanted to, but it was all just a dream.

Zhou Xin was the first to react, lunging at me with a punch aimed at my stomach. I twisted away but didn’t dodge in time, taking the hit squarely on my ribs. But he didn’t get off scot-free either—I swung my arm and drove my elbow into his shoulder.

The other boys piled on, and the scene quickly devolved into chaos. I was knocked to the ground, and in my fury, I dragged one of them down with me.

As much as I hated to admit it, I was no match for Yan Ru in a fight.

I didn’t notice when the restroom door was pushed open, but by the time I realized, the guy pinning me down was gone, and the unlucky soul I’d been pummeling had been pulled free.

Yan Ru must have kicked the guy off me, because he was now being held back by someone else, his face twisted in rage.

Gu Lanshan stood beside him, trying to calm him down. “Why are you losing your temper too?”

Yan Ru steadied himself, shook off the hands restraining him, and helped me up, his brow furrowed as he asked softly, “Where are you hurt?”

I was about to answer when I realized the way he was looking at me was strange.

I had never seen such an expression before—burning like a fire, as if it could consume me.

Was this… concern?

Clutching my ribs, I gritted my teeth and shook my head.

Xu Anran stepped forward with a few taller boys and pulled the others apart, exasperated. “You’re all classmates! If you have a problem, talk it out openly. Five against one is just bullying!”

Zhou Xin was still struggling, trying to break free to come after me, his legs kicking wildly as two boys held him back.

Sun Danhao didn’t speak or move. But the way he looked at me was like a venomous snake, his dark pupils brewing lethal poison.

Well, I’d punched him in the face twice now—no way he’d let that slide.

I smirked at him, but the motion tugged at my injured ribs, making even breathing painful.

As Yan Ru helped me out, a crowd of students had gathered at the door, their faces alight with excitement.

Gu Lanshan came up and grabbed my other arm. “Qin Yuezhang, you… you’re really all talk and no flexibility! If they told you to play along and mess with Yan Ru, you should’ve just agreed! Once we were out, did you really think we’d let him get beaten up?”

I froze, realizing he had been the one eavesdropping outside.

What a waste.

I tilted my head slightly and caught a glimpse of Yan Ru’s faintly curved lips—his mood had improved rapidly. That strange look in his eyes had vanished, leaving me with no way to decipher it.

“If you had time to eavesdrop, why didn’t you come in sooner?”

Gu Lanshan defended himself. “Who knew you’d end up fighting? You’ve got guts, taking on five guys. I thought you were some kind of badass, but turns out you just got pinned down and beaten up.”

I thought for a moment, then said with the most sincere tone I could muster: “Yan Ru is my best friend. Even pretending to betray him would be a betrayal of our friendship!”

“‘Even pretending to betray him would be a betrayal of our friendship…'” Gu Lanshan repeated in a mocking falsetto, relentless. “That’s just stubbornness!”

How had no one ever ripped that mouth of his apart?

I ignored him and pushed him away with my arm. Yan Ru quickly adjusted his grip, supporting me more firmly.

I felt his left hand slide behind my back, as if to steady me by the waist, but in the end, he only clenched his fist in my clothes.

Gu Lanshan tried to follow, but after a brief exchange of glances with Yan Ru, he inexplicably backed off.

Back in the classroom, Yan Ru was silent for a long time before finally saying, “You didn’t have to do that. Your safety should come first.”

I said, “Could they really kill me? Even if others would back down in that situation, I wouldn’t.”

I might as well have written “We’re the best friends in the world” on my face for him to see.

Yan Ru’s gaze was like the most vibrant banyan tree in midsummer, its branches tangled with countless vines. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, nor whether this act of mine had achieved the effect I wanted.

The atmosphere grew stifling, so I changed the subject. “I didn’t expect you to be so tough. That day, you took down four of them single-handedly. I thought I could carry on your legacy.”

Yan Ru chuckled softly.

“I trained when I was younger.”