Chapter 44 The mad dog punched him hard in the face. ...

Qi Bo's face instantly turned extremely ugly, his entire face flushed red with anger at Xing Lan's words.

"What the hell do you mean by that? Xing Lan, I've noticed you're incredibly petty."

"After all these years, you still hold a grudge about what happened back then, don't you? Get this straight, that day you were the one who attacked me first for some random little black kid! I was the victim!"

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. His hair, covered in hair gel, seemed to be on fire. He suddenly took a step forward, raising his fist to strike, but was pulled away by Li Baidong, who was standing next to Xing Lan, and shoved backward hard.

Li Baidong looked tall and thin, but his strength was inexplicably great. Even though Qi Bo was quite big, he was pushed so hard that he staggered a few steps and crashed into the metal trash can behind him with a "bang". His expensive suit was almost torn by the sharp corner of the can.

This pained him so much that he quickly looked down to check his clothes, then looked up and glared resentfully at Xing Lan and Li Baidong, muttering curses under his breath.

"What are you pushing me for? Are you sick? You have no manners!"

Li Baidong didn't speak, but raised one eyebrow slightly and shook his fist at him in a defiant manner, his expression very gloomy in the night.

Just as the three were at an impasse, Squad Leader Pei came out of the restaurant.

He watched as his two old classmates outside clearly disliked each other, sparks flying everywhere in the air, as if a battle was about to erupt at any moment.

Pei Zhi's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly ran over, smiling as he tried to smooth things over: "Oh, Brother Lan, Brother Qi. You're here?"

"It's so cold outside, what are you all standing there for? Come on in, everyone's here, just waiting for you two to start eating."

He glanced at the two of them and patiently advised them in a peacemaker tone: "Whatever small conflicts you had in school, so many years have passed, and neither of you are petty people, so let's not hold it against each other."

Qi Bo patted his suit with a resentful expression and said in a sarcastic tone, "I've never held a grudge. I'm afraid it's some people who have been holding a grudge and being petty."

"Oh, alright, alright, they're all old classmates, we haven't seen each other for so many years, let's not let such a small thing ruin our friendship."

Pei Zhi hooked one arm around Qi Bo's shoulder, and was about to pull Xing Lan next to him with the other hand, but he felt a cold, lingering gaze behind him, like a ghost staring at him, which made him shiver involuntarily, and he silently withdrew his hand that was halfway out.

Xing Lan glanced at Pei Zhi lightly. Although he didn't put his arm around her, she didn't offend their old squad leader either. She walked into the restaurant alone without looking back.

Seeing him leave so coldly, Qi Bo muttered a long rant to himself, criticizing Xing Lan for his low emotional intelligence and lack of appreciation for their precious friendship. Pei Zhi gently persuaded him, eventually managing to coax him into the restaurant.

When they reached the restaurant entrance, Pei Zhi couldn't help but look back. He saw a tall young man leaning against a black motorcycle, staring at them with a cold expression and deep, indifferent eyes, seemingly lost in thought.

He turned his head again and, following the boy's burning gaze, saw Xing Lan's slender, tall, and aloof figure walking ahead.

-

The feud between Xing Lan and Qi Bo did indeed begin in high school, which was one of the reasons why he was initially unwilling to attend the class reunion.

When Xing Lan was in high school, although he was quiet and a loner, he had too many attractive traits:

He is handsome, has good grades, and comes from a wealthy family.

Each of these words alone is enviable, and when all three are combined, he naturally becomes a highly popular figure on campus.

From the first year of high school to the third year, and even among some gossipy junior high school girls, Xing Lan's name was known to almost everyone.

However, once someone becomes too popular, they inevitably attract the envy of others.

Especially those boys in their adolescence, who are at their most narcissistic, try every means to attract the attention of female classmates, and hate that Xing Lan is the only one who stands out and steals their thunder.

As more and more people disliked Xing Lan, many rumors about him gradually spread throughout the school. Although it was unknown who made them up, they became more and more believable due to the power of rumors, and they were told in a very detailed and convincing manner.

Qi Bo had a crush on his female deskmate back then, and he did a lot of things for her. However, his female deskmate was focused on studying and never paid any attention to him. But when she asked Xing Lan a math question during a break, she lowered her head and secretly blushed.

This was the first rift between Qi Bo and Xing Lan, stemming from his perceived hatred of having his wife stolen.

One noon, a few girls in the class gathered together during their lunch break and chattered about Xing Lan.

"Did you all see that? His coat looks really good today..."

"That's because he has fair skin, so his clothes look good. I secretly compared them during PE class, and he's even fairer than me."

"Xiaowen didn't go for morning exercises during the long break yesterday, so I put a box of cranberry yogurt in his drawer."

"And then what? Did he accept it?"

"Sigh, how could I accept it? He saw it and just put it in the lost and found box at the back of the classroom."

"I gave him chocolates before, but he didn't eat them. Giving snacks didn't work. Do you think I should give him something else next time?"

"I don't know, I feel like he wouldn't accept anything I gave him. Although he's very handsome, he's really too aloof."

"It's been so long since school started, and I haven't said a single word to him yet."

"Me too."

"Me too……"

“I’m fine. I said something to him. Once, my pen fell to the ground and rolled right to his feet. He noticed it and picked it up for me. I thanked him, and he said it was nothing.”

"Ahhh, I want to use this trick next time too..."

The girls, just beginning to experience romantic feelings, were chatting enthusiastically when Qi Bo, who had been sleeping on the table behind them, suddenly spoke up, making a startling statement: "Don't you know? Xing Lan's family has a hereditary mental illness."

The girls were all stunned and turned to look at him: "What?"

Their questioning yet curious gazes were the best stimulant for Qi Bo. He lazily raised his sleeve, coughed mysteriously, and stared at one of the girls with a ponytail, saying, "Hey, lend me your English notes for today, and I'll reluctantly tell you."

Eager to hear the gossip, the girl quickly tossed him her notes.

Qi Bo opened the notebook, quickly flipped through a couple of pages, and nodded in satisfaction at the neat and tidy notes inside.

A girl nudged his arm, urging him anxiously, "Stop looking! Tell me quickly, what did you just say Xing Lan's family has? Hereditary mental illness? What's going on?"

Qi Bo slowly closed his notebook, looked up, and said to them, word by word, "Do you know what a mentally ill person is? It's like those crazy people in movies who scream every night and like to bang their heads against the wall. Once they go crazy, they can do anything and they won't be held legally responsible. I advise you to stay away from them, lest you get hurt by one of their episodes."

The girls were skeptical: "How could that be? Xing Lan seems perfectly normal. He's such a good student, how could he be crazy? You're talking nonsense."

"Normal? You guys don't know, do you? Xing Lan's biological mother suddenly jumped off a building and committed suicide in the middle of the night." Qi Bo's gaze swept over the widening eyes of the girls in front of him, and he said lightly, "I heard that he was only five years old when his mother died. Do you think any responsible mother would commit suicide when her child is so young? There must be something wrong here." As he spoke, he casually pointed to his head.

The girls were startled by his words, and they held their breath, their faces showing distress.

"Huh? That's scary?"

"Xing Lan is so pitiful..."

“What’s so tragic about it? It’s not just his mother, he definitely has psychological problems too. I have a cousin who’s a doctor, and he told me that mental illnesses like this are 100% hereditary.” Qi Bo smiled, full of malicious speculation. “Doesn’t he ask for leave from evening self-study every Wednesday to go to the hospital? He says he’s not feeling well, but actually he has a problem with his brain and has to see a doctor regularly.”

He gave a mocking snort: "That's hilarious. Someone like him is just a slightly better-looking lunatic, and you guys actually fawn over him in class every day, treating him like some otherworldly, melancholic god? Let me tell you, he ignores everyone every day, it's all an act, just to cover up that he's a lunatic—"

Before the word "fact" could be uttered, the classroom door was suddenly kicked open with a loud "bang!"

An unidentified dark figure rushed in from the doorway, like a small beast eyeing its prey. As soon as it entered the classroom, it bypassed the girls who were gathered in a circle in the front row, found Qi Bo precisely, clenched its fist, and used all its strength to punch him hard in the face.

Caught off guard, Qi Bo covered his nose and yelled, "Holy crap!"

The boy who suddenly burst in was small in stature, but he was agile and swift in his movements, without any hesitation. The tall and strong Qi Bo didn't react in time and was punched hard, causing his nose to bleed profusely. Much of the blood splattered onto the desk in front of him and quickly spread across the open pages of the book underneath, creating a very bloody scene.

Qi Bo's nose was in excruciating pain, as if the bridge of his nose had been broken. His face was contorted in pain, and he kept wailing in the classroom.

Several girls nearby were also startled by this sudden scene. However, upon closer inspection, they realized that the uninvited guest who had barged into the classroom was just a skinny, malnourished little boy, shorter than all of them.

A girl wearing glasses was the first to calm down. She adjusted her glasses, noticed that Li Baidong was wearing a junior high school uniform, and leaned down to ask in a caring tone, "Little brother, where did you come from? Why did you hit this older brother?"

"I won't allow you to talk about Xing Lan like that!" Li Baidong, who had just started junior high school, shouted angrily. He gritted his teeth and pointed at Qi Bo's nose, cursing, "You're the one who's crazy! Your whole family is crazy!"

"Holy crap? Holy crap?" Qi Bo rubbed his aching nose, his face full of disbelief. "Where did this little brat come from? What the hell did Xing Lan put on you guys? How come even the junior high kids are talking up for him?"

Qi Bo hastily tore two tissues and stuffed them into his bleeding nose. He raised his thick eyebrows and slammed his fist on the table, ready to settle accounts with the child, but was stopped by the girl next to him.

"Forget it, Qi Bo, he's just a kid, he's not even half your height, why are you getting angry with him?"

"That's right... you deserved it for secretly talking bad about Xing Lan earlier."

Qi Bo felt extremely aggrieved after being scolded by the girls in his class.

He was just showing off and making sarcastic remarks, only halfway through, when suddenly he had a bruise on his face and looked utterly disheveled. To make matters worse, the person who hit him was a dark-skinned, unfamiliar little brat. If he actually fought back, it would seem petty of him, a grown man, to be arguing with a child.

Losing this fight is shameful, but winning it doesn't necessarily bring much glory.

Just then, a girl suddenly spoke up: "I'm so hungry, I'm going to the convenience store to buy potato chips, who wants to come with me?"

"I."

"I'll go too."

Perhaps it's because high school girls often enjoy going out in groups; if one girl wants to buy something, a whole group of girls will follow her.

The empty classroom was suddenly left with only Qi Bo and Li Baidong. The two, who were of vastly different heights and builds, stared at each other in a silent standoff.

Now that the girls have left, Qi Bo no longer needs to pretend to be a big shot.

Taking advantage of his age and height, he grabbed Li Baidong, who was still very thin at the time, and spat viciously, saying, "Damn it, I remember now, you're that little idiot who used to follow Xing Lan around like a puppy. Xing Lan would occasionally give you a piece of candy, and you'd be overjoyed like a dog. Tsk tsk."

"Xing Lan really has no shame, hiring a poor, lowly guy like you as his dog." Qi Bo frowned, staring fiercely at Li Baidong. "What benefits did he give you to make you so loyal?"

"Don't fucking think I won't hit you just because you're young. Let me tell you, I only don't hit women. As for little brats like you who haven't even grown their hair yet, I'll beat one up if one comes, and two up if two come. Believe me or not, I'll teach you a lesson on behalf of your missing parents."

However, Li Baidong was not afraid at all. Instead, he lowered his head and bit Qi Bo's arm hard.

Holy crap!

Qi Bo shouted and immediately released his grip on his clothes.

Li Baidong was thus thrown to the ground, his small body slamming heavily into the chair behind him. The force of the impact sent the chair flying several meters away, the metal legs screeching as they scraped against the ground.

Just then, a boy rushed over from the doorway, carrying two lunch boxes in his hands. One of the boxes was the one he had just gotten for Qi Bo from the cafeteria.

He stared dumbfounded at Qi Bo, whose nostrils were stuffed with tissue: "Brother Qi? What happened to you?" He then looked at Li Baidong, who was lying on the ground, thin but with a fierce look on his face, and his eyes widened: "Holy crap, where did this kid come from? Is he from the junior high school?"

"Damn it, he's just an idiot, a stupid lackey of idiot Xing Lan." Qi Bo was furious, cursing incessantly, and angrily ordered the dumbfounded boy, "What the hell are you doing with that lunchbox? Come over here and help me teach this kid a lesson!"