Ben Chen stood in front of Hugh Hu, arms crossed over his chest, his face full of arrogance.
His father is Colonel Sean Chen, a notable figure in the Jinnan Military District. In recent exercises, Sean Chen’s Flying Eagle Company has racked up impressive results, though they were ultimately upstaged by Eldest Brother Su’s Knife-Edge Company, which left them a bit humiliated. Still, compared to before, the Chen family’s influence has grown significantly.
Ben Chen has always had an eye on Selina Shi, but back then, Selina was protected by Warren Wu and Allen Ju, leaving him no chance to make a move.
Later, when Warren Wu and Allen Ju both left Peiying High, only Selina Shi stayed behind, which gave Ben a glimmer of hope. But just then, Hugh Hu got involved and messed things up again.
Ben could beat Hugh Hu in a fight, but he couldn’t handle Zack Guang, who was backing Hugh up. That forced Ben to back off, leaving him frustrated.
But now, with Selina Shi gone and Zack Guang out of the picture, only Hugh Hu is left running solo. Ben seized the opportunity and decided to block Hugh at the gate.
“If you like Selina Shi, go chase her yourself. Why are you blocking me here?” Hugh Hu looked at Ben Chen, his expression turning cold.
“Ben Chen, didn’t you get beaten up by Warren Wu before? Forgot already? Now you’re blocking people here—if Warren comes back and finds out you’re making trouble over Selina Shi, aren’t you afraid he’ll beat you up again?” The girl next to Hugh Hu frowned repeatedly.
A crowd of students had gathered to watch, and the security guards at the gate quietly shut the door of their booth.
They knew better than to get involved with these students.
“Why are you even asking? Last time, you wanted to impress Selina Wu, so you beat up that transfer student from another school, thinking you were her knight in shining armor, right?”
“Clearly I was the one who did the fighting, but you stole my thunder!”
Ben Chen sneered coldly, his face full of disdain.
“A transfer student?” Hugh Hu was startled.
“Yeah, at last semester’s National Day gala—the guy who was hanging around Selina Wu. Didn’t you call in your thugs outside the school to block him just to win points with her? Don’t think I don’t know!” Ben Chen brought it up, looking annoyed. He spat out the grass stem in his mouth and cursed, “Damn it, you even tried to confess to my Selina at the gala! Just for that, I ought to beat you down and make you admit you lost!”
That night, Hugh Hu brought in Grizzly from outside the school. Grizzly threatened Evan Lin with a Desert Eagle, but Evan just caught the bullet in front of everyone.
That scene is burned into Hugh Hu’s memory. Hearing Ben Chen bring it up, he suddenly snapped back to reality, his eyes turning strange, as if he wanted to say something but stopped.
After that night, Hugh Hu kept his head down for a while. But the others who were there, like Lu Qiu, still had their pride. So in school, the story got twisted—everyone said Hugh Hu heroically took down the outsider.
Even though Hugh Hu tried to keep a low profile, his reputation only grew.
“Don’t play dumb with me. Where’s that kid now? Once I’m done with you, I’ll go after him too.” Ben Chen sneered, “When I’ve cleaned up all you clowns, no one will dare fight me for Selina anymore.”
“There’s still half a semester left in senior year. I know with my charm, once you losers are out of the way, I’ll definitely win. I’ll live a happy life with my Selina!”
Ben Chen’s speech was especially dramatic.
Hugh Hu’s face changed for a long moment. He stared at Ben Chen and finally said, “Are you sure you’re alright in the head?”
“If you like Selina Wu, go after her yourself. Whether we fight or not has nothing to do with me.”
Hugh Hu’s tone softened a bit. He glanced at the circle of students around them and continued, “Besides, about you stealing my thunder—you might have misunderstood something.”
That night, I called in way more people than you ever could, but it didn’t help at all. I didn’t get to teach that outsider a lesson—instead, he taught me one.
Hugh Hu’s voice was flat, and as he spoke, he sighed.
“What are you talking about? There were only two guys that night. You called in a bunch of people and still couldn’t win? You expect me to believe that?” Ben Chen raised his eyebrows, unconvinced.
“He’s a real monster, Ben. You’d be wise not to mess with him.”
Hugh Hu’s face was deadly serious.
“Monster? I’m a monster too, you know. I even eat people,” Ben Chen scoffed. “With a loser like you, it’s no wonder you can’t win Selina over.”
“If you’ve got guts, bring that kid out here. I’ll show you who the real monster is!”
After saying that, Ben Chen waved his hand, and a guy stepped forward, handing him a heavy aluminum baseball bat. “Since you’re still running your mouth, don’t blame me for being rough.”
“Relax, I won’t kill you with one swing. At worst, I’ll just break a bone or two. This bat was custom-made for me, and you’ll be its first victim. You should feel honored.”
Ben Chen grinned, weighing the bat in his hand. It felt solid and invincible—just a light swing, and it whistled through the air.
Seeing Ben Chen pull out such a brutal, heavy bat, Hugh Hu took a deep breath, pulled his four buddies behind him, and got ready for a fight.
But just as Hugh Hu took a step forward, he suddenly froze, staring at the crowd behind Ben Chen with a complicated look.
“What’s wrong, Hugh? Are you scared now? If you’re scared, just beg me—I’ll let you off. All these people I called are just bystanders, good students who won’t get in a fight. At worst, it’s just you and me, and I’ll only use my bat on you.” Ben Chen smirked.
Ben Chen’s words made a bunch of people around them start laughing.
It was clearly meant to mock Hugh Hu, but surprisingly, Hugh didn’t seem angry at all. Instead, he stopped in his tracks, gave a bitter smile, and looked at Ben Chen with a hint of pity: “You’re looking for that monster, right? Well, he’s here.”
“Monster? You mean that outsider kid? Bring him out here! I’ll KO him with one swing, monster or beast, he’ll be calling me daddy!” Ben Chen waved his bat, looking wild.
The bat in his hand gave off a fierce aura—custom-made, extra heavy, and tough as nails. It made him look even more dominant.
But as he swung the bat twice and brought it behind him, just as he was about to charge at Hugh Hu for a KO—
He suddenly realized the bat in his hand wouldn’t budge.
It was as if something had locked it in place. No matter how hard he tried, it just wouldn’t move.
The crowd’s smiles turned weird. One by one, they stared at the thin boy who had appeared behind Ben Chen, eyes full of awe and confusion—Evan Lin.