Meanwhile, on the other side.
Zhang Ruichen was riding his half-worn eight-bar bicycle, full of anger, and was rushing to his rented house in town.
Lin Jianxue, that ignorant woman!
And that Fu Zhewei, a bad boy who was demoted, why!
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He pedaled faster and the chain made a "clicking" sound, as if venting his anger.
The afterglow of the setting sun cast a dim yellow hue on the dirt road.
Just as he turned a corner on a deserted dirt slope, several figures suddenly appeared from the roadside.
“Squeak—”
Zhang Ruichen was startled and slammed on the brakes. The bicycle made a harsh friction sound and almost fell to the ground.
He steadied the car, looked up, and his heart suddenly turned cold.
He was stopped by a few ruffian-looking young men, all of whom wore their hats askew, held grass roots in their mouths, and looked at him with unfriendly expressions.
The man in the lead was leaning against a crooked tree, his hands in his pockets, looking lazy.
He was about seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing an old, washed-out shirt with the sleeves rolled up loosely, revealing a fair but not thin arm.
Her facial features were extremely beautiful, even a little too beautiful. Her peach-shaped eyes were slightly upturned, with a natural curve at the end. When she looked at people, she always seemed to have a subtle smile on her face.
But the smile did not reach his eyes, instead, it revealed a kind of careless evil and indifference.
Zhang Ruichen recognized this man. He was Jiang Yan, the well-known gang leader in several villages near Tongqi Village!
I heard that this kid has a face that is more attractive than a young girl, but he is very cruel and fights without regard for his life. People in the village, especially those with some wealth, would rather avoid him when they see him.
Zhang Ruichen's heart skipped a beat, feeling a little unhappy.
He swallowed his saliva and asked calmly, "You, you...what do you want to do?"
Jiang Yan lazily raised his eyelids and scanned his body with his gaze, as if he were examining a piece of merchandise.
His voice was also lazy, with a unique hoarseness and magnetism: "You, are Zhang Ruichen?"
Zhang Ruichen's heart beat faster and his palms began to sweat.
"Yes, it's me... What do you want from me?"
Jiang Yan slowly stood up from under the tree and took two steps towards him.
He nodded, with an ambiguous smile on his lips, tilted his head to the younger brothers behind him, and uttered a short word.
"Dang."
When the younger brothers heard this, they immediately understood and surrounded Zhang Ruichen and his broken bicycle.
One of the younger brothers, a short, fleshy man, smiled, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth: "Teacher Zhang, would you like to come with us?"
Zhang Ruichen's face turned pale with fear. He held onto his bicycle and shouted in a timid voice, "What do you want to do? I'm telling you, I'm a teacher at Zhenhai High School! I'm an educated youth assigned by the state!"
"If you dare to mess around, I will call the police to arrest you!"
When a younger brother heard this, he said "Yo" exaggeratedly as if he had heard a huge joke.
"Call the police? You're crazy!" Another brother nonchalantly scratched his ear. "We brothers were just passing by and saw you fall, so we wanted to help you up."
"It's dark here. Apart from us brothers, no one else saw who hit you, Teacher Zhang."
The threat in these words couldn't be more obvious.
Zhang Ruichen was completely panicked. He knew what kind of people these hooligans were. If you really pissed them off, they would do anything.
"Don't, don't do it! If you have something to say, just say it! Do you want money? I, I'll give you money!"
However, Jiang Yan just stood not far away, put his hands back into his trouser pockets, watched leisurely, and had no intention of speaking.
Those little brothers didn't care about Zhang Ruichen's pleas for mercy.
"Beat him!"
Someone shouted, and fists and kicks rained down on Zhang Ruichen.
"Ouch! Stop hitting my face! Ah—my legs!"
"Help! Murder!"
Zhang Ruichen usually prides himself on being a gentleman, and had never experienced such a fight before. He was beaten so hard that he cried for his parents and rolled on the ground to avoid the beating. His glasses had been knocked off and he looked in a miserable state.
Although those hooligans were careful not to hurt anyone, they still inflicted real pain.
After being beaten up, Zhang Ruichen curled up on the ground, groaning like a dead dog, his whole body in pain.
Jiang Yan then slowly walked forward and glanced down at him condescendingly, with no emotion in his eyes, as if he was just looking at the garbage on the side of the road.
"Brothers, let's go."
He gave a hello and then walked out with the group of hooligans, whistling and swaggering.
Zhang Ruichen was left alone in the deepening night, hugging his swollen arm, unable to cry.
He couldn't figure out who he had offended to attract an evil star like Jiang Yan.
*
The next day, at dawn, Lin Jianxue went to school as usual.
As soon as she stepped into the office, she keenly noticed that the atmosphere today was a little different from usual.
Several familiar teachers were gathered together, lowering their voices and whispering to each other mysteriously, with a look of surprise and fear on their faces.
"What's going on?" Lin Jianxue put down the lesson plan book in her hand and asked casually.
A female teacher who was a few years older than her immediately waved her hand when she saw her. She lowered her voice and said, "Teacher Lin, have you heard? Something happened to Teacher Zhang Ruichen!"
Lin Jianxue's heart was slightly moved, but her face remained calm: "Teacher Zhang? What happened to him?"
"Oh, you don't know!" another younger female teacher chimed in, her tone a little exaggerated. "I heard that he was riding his bike home alone after school yesterday afternoon, and was beaten up in that remote alley behind town!"
"Ah?" Lin Jianxue pretended to be surprised and widened her eyes slightly.
"That's right!" the female teacher said again, "When he was found, he was covered in wounds, his bicycle was broken by a kick, and he had to be taken to the hospital!"
"They even called the police!" the young female teacher added, "But I heard the police station didn't take it too seriously. They just asked a few questions and criticized him for being a grown man, walking alone in a dark alley at dusk. Isn't he just asking for trouble?"
"Teacher Zhang has taken a leave of absence, and I don't know when I will be able to come to class again."
The office was quiet for a while, with only the voices of teachers sighing and lamenting.
The older female teacher looked at Lin Jianxue earnestly, "Teacher Lin, you're a young woman, so be careful! Things aren't peaceful here. Especially at night, don't go out alone. It's too dangerous!"
Lin Jianxue curled the corners of her lips, revealing a light and gentle smile: "Thank you for your concern, teacher. I'm fine. Someone will pick me up every day."
When the teachers heard this, they were stunned at first, and then they thought of the tall and straight man who would appear at the school gate on time every evening, silently waiting for Lin Jianxue.
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