Chapter 109: Chapter 67: A Clichéd Interlude, There Is No End to Martial Arts

“You…”

“This is a school. Let’s go. You’re coming with me to see a teacher.”

Zhao Rui had no patience for him. He reached out and once again grabbed the arm that was already aching from his grip.

The earring-studded guy tried to dodge, but there was no escape.

“Hurry up and get my brother!”

The earring-studded guy yelled at the lackeys he’d brought with him, then turned to Zhao Rui and said viciously, “You just wait. My brother is on the Martial Arts Team. He’ll make you pay.”

Hearing his bravado, Zhao Rui couldn’t help but laugh. “From the way you’re talking, I thought you sent for the Tathagata Buddha himself!”

“You… OW! Go easy. Don’t think you’re so tough just because your Level is a little higher. The Martial Arts Team isn’t someone you can afford to mess with.”

The earring-studded guy continued to run his mouth.

Tired of the noise, Zhao Rui directly struck his Dumb Acupoint and paralyzed him.

Then he released his grip and casually returned to his seat.

“Exams are almost here. Why are you all gawking instead of studying? Jian Congsheng, go shut the door.”

His shout seemed to snap the rest of the class out of a trance. Grinning, their hearts still racing with excitement, they all found their seats and sat down.

A few timid students wanted to flee and avoid getting mixed up in the mess, but when they saw Jian Congsheng shut the door, they didn’t dare open it to run out.

Whether any of the students who sat down could actually focus on studying was another question entirely.

In any case, Zhao Rui was studying with great focus.

He Wanqing whispered worriedly, “Is this going to be okay?”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry.”

“Mm-hmm.”

He Wanqing nodded obediently and, with surprising composure, went back to explaining the practice problems to him.

Seven or eight minutes later, the closed classroom door was pushed open from the outside.

Three young men walked in.

“Mmph! Mmph!”

When the earring-studded guy saw who it was, a desperate look filled his eyes.

The young man in the lead was a nine-out-of-ten match for the earring-studded guy—they had to be twins.

Seeing who had arrived, the students from the School of Accounting scrambled to their feet in fear.

The Martial Arts Team was really here.

The trio walked toward the earring-studded guy, their leader’s eyes locked on the two figures who remained seated and reading.

’No need to ask, it has to be one of them.’

’Who is this guy?’

’He subdued my brother so easily, so his Martial Arts Level can’t be low. But this isn’t the Martial Arts Academy.’

’Who has nothing better to do than…’

’Wait a minute… that profile, those clothes, this school… it all looks a bit familiar.’

The young man’s pupils widened in an instant. He blurted out in astonishment, “Brother Rui?”

Hearing his voice, Zhao Rui finally turned around. Putting on a surprised expression, he stood up and said, “Oh, it’s you, Zhang Lan. What brings you to my class?”

’To your class?’

The young man couldn’t help but roll his eyes. ’An act. Such an act. Damn, he’s good.’

“Brother Rui, so this is your class! Seriously, I was just wondering who could be this incredible, haha.”

The young man flattered Brother Rui, then casually tapped his twin brother’s body a couple of times.

But after he did so, he realized his brother wasn’t reacting at all.

He looked at Zhao Rui with a helpless expression. “Brother Rui, whatever this is about, I’ll apologize for my brother. Could you please release him?”

“Ah, I forgot to undo it. And no need for apologies. If I’d known he was your brother, I would’ve just given you a call.”

Looking perfectly innocent, Zhao Rui casually released the earring-studded guy’s acupoints.

“Brother, he…”

The moment he was free, the earring-studded guy started to speak, but his brother quickly cut him off.

“Bro, stop. Brother Rui is one of ours from the Martial Arts Team. We all know him,” Zhang Lan explained hurriedly.

Hearing this, the earring-studded guy gave Zhao Rui a sheepish smile, not daring to make another peep.

“Let’s talk outside. Le Bin, Chu Yunlei, you two come as well.”

Zhao Rui slung his arms over the shoulders of Zhang Lan and the other Martial Arts Student. He glanced back at Chu Yunlei, then pulled the group out of the classroom.

Watching them leave, the students in the classroom collectively breathed a sigh of relief.

At the same time, they were secretly glad they hadn’t opened the door and fled.

’If we’d run, we definitely would’ve ended up on Zhao Rui’s blacklist.’

“Wanqing, Zhao Rui is so hot! In that roguish, bad-boy kind of way!”

“What are you talking about? My palms were sweating the whole time.”

He Wanqing said, shaking her head slightly, an expression of lingering fear still on her face.

“You mean your heart was fluttering!”

“Oh, shut up!”

Their conversation instantly broke the tense atmosphere in the classroom.

Everyone started buzzing with discussion.

Outside the classroom, Zhao Rui, Zhang Lan, and the others found a secluded spot to talk.

Zhang Lan pulled out a pack of cigarettes and passed them around.

“Alright, bro, spit it out. What’s going on? Why were you giving that guy trouble?” Zhang Lan asked.

“What do you mean, *I* gave *him* trouble? He screwed things up with my girl!”

“…”

Now it was Zhao Rui’s turn to be unsettled. ’If that’s true, didn’t I just aid a tyrant?’ He immediately looked toward his timid and anxious roommate, Chu Yunlei.

“No, that’s not what happened,” Chu Yunlei stammered out.

Le Bin, standing beside them, couldn’t take it anymore and cut in. “I’ll explain.”

Le Bin then recounted the whole story.

Zhao Rui was left speechless after hearing it.

His roommate, Chu Yunlei, was a quiet, bookish, and soft-spoken guy. By a strange twist of fate, he’d met a girl in the study hall.

After that, they started studying together and chatting occasionally.

There was nothing special about their relationship.

As it turned out, the girl had a suitor—Zhang Lan’s brother—who assumed Chu Yunlei was making a move on his girl.

So, he cornered Chu Yunlei and slapped him a couple of times.

Being as timid as he was, Chu Yunlei didn’t dare say a word about it.

The matter should have ended there.

However, Zhang Lan’s brother later failed in his pursuit of the girl.

He assumed Chu Yunlei had sabotaged him, and holding a grudge, he barged right into the School of Accounting’s dorm building with his guys.

Only Le Bin and Chu Yunlei were in the dorm room at the time.

One was timid and introverted, the other had a delicate, almost feminine face for a guy—what kind of intimidating presence could the two of them possibly have?

Especially not when their opponent was a Martial Arts Student.

Not only was Chu Yunlei humiliated and beaten, but even Le Bin got punched a couple of times.

When their dorm leader, Jian Congsheng, got back, he wanted to report it to a teacher, but Chu Yunlei stopped him.

His reasoning was that the teachers had no real control over Martial Arts Students, and reporting them might just lead to retaliation.

It was better to let it go than to stir up more trouble.

So, the matter was dropped.

Who would have thought that over a month later, he’d come looking for trouble again.

“Bro, what were you even doing here today?”

After hearing the whole story, Zhang Lan’s scalp tingled with dread. So Brother Rui’s roommate had just been taking beatings without ever fighting back.

His side was completely in the wrong.

“I… I ran into Xiaodie today, and she said I have violent tendencies… I just assumed he was the one who told her…”

The moment he finished speaking, Chu Yunlei frantically waved his hands. “I never said that! I don’t even have contact with her anymore.”

Seeing Chu Yunlei’s terrified reaction, everyone else immediately knew it couldn’t have been him.

At this point, the whole situation was crystal clear.

Zhang Lan quickly made his brother apologize to Chu Yunlei.

He also offered to pay for his medical expenses, compensation for emotional distress, and so on.

Chu Yunlei quickly waved his hands, refusing the compensation. He mumbled that it was fine, as long as the guy promised to leave him alone.

His fearful, timid demeanor was almost painful for Zhao Rui to watch.

In the end, it was Le Bin who smoothed things over, suggesting that Zhang Lan’s brother treat them all to a meal to call it even.

A way to bury the hatchet, so to speak.

Everyone agreed to find a place to eat together that night.

The little incident was quickly resolved.

Watching the timid Chu Yunlei walk beside him, Zhao Rui couldn’t help but think of himself in his past life.

He too had been afraid of his own shadow, with no one to back him up.

Even in this life, despite having a system, he was still laying low, not daring to be too conspicuous.

Life, in the end, was always about the strong preying on the weak.

There was always a higher official, always someone richer, always someone with more power.

The Martial Dao is without end!

A glint flashed in Zhao Rui’s eyes. Any fleeting thought of relaxing or taking a break vanished in an instant.

Meanwhile, Zhang Lan’s group left the academic building. Once they were outside, his brother complained, “He’s just from the Outer Courtyard. Even if he’s associated with the Martial Arts Team, what are you afraid of? There were three of you.”

Hearing his brother’s words, Zhang Lan’s temper flared. He kicked him and spat, “Can you please stop causing trouble for me? Sooner or later, you’re going to get me killed.”

With that, he stormed away from the group, fuming.

“Brother Zhang, don’t blame Brother Lan for getting angry.” After Zhang Lan left, the other Martial Arts Team member who had come with them slung an arm around Zhang Lan’s brother’s shoulder and said, “That Zhao Rui is the guy who can fight that cat for half the day. Now tell me, isn’t that insane?”

“You mean that ’Beauty Cat’ from your Martial Arts Academy?”

“Yep.”

“Holy crap. Then why isn’t he in the Martial Arts Academy?”

“Who knows!”

“You think he’ll… come back later and beat me up for his roommate?”

“Probably not. Which is why tonight, you’d better be generous!”

“No problem!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep