Liam Li was trailed by Sisi Shao, while Lily Wang, May Ma, and Autumn Li stuck together, chatting and snapping photos as they climbed.
Darren Zhao hovered around Lynn Chen, saying who knows what to make her laugh now and then. Meanwhile, Jimmy Li pestered You Fang, but she just kept her headphones on and ignored his antics completely.
Evan Lin and Summer Mu brought up the rear. The path up the mountain was pretty steep, but the scenery was great, the air fresh, and a cool breeze kept things from getting too hot.
"Did you learn martial arts or something?" Summer Mu asked, curiosity burning in his eyes as he glanced at Evan.
Guys always worship strength, and Summer Mu couldn’t help but remember Evan Lin crushing all those people in public—just thinking about it got his blood pumping.
"Something like that," Evan replied, not really interested in the topic. Summer Mu caught the vibe and wisely dropped it, switching to pointing out sights along the trail instead.
Plenty of people were stopping to take photos along the way.
The mountaintop opened up into a wide plateau, with a fish pond covering dozens of acres—and a bunch of folks fishing around its edges.
Just as the group reached the summit, two figures walked over from not far away.
Liam Li’s face froze for a second, then turned sour when he saw who it was.
Darren Zhao, who’d been right next to Liam, suddenly had a spark in his eyes.
On the way up, Darren had thrown everything he had into getting closer to Lynn Chen, and now he finally felt like he’d made some progress.
But once they hit the top, Darren’s attention was instantly hijacked by one of the girls in the new duo.
She wore a pale pleated skirt, her smooth white legs catching the sunlight, with a single ponytail and an air of cool detachment—like she was too ethereal for this world. She stood out like a firefly in the dark.
Rachel Liu—the campus goddess every guy dreamed about but didn’t dare approach. Most boys were so intimidated, they couldn’t even look her in the eye.
She was also the so-called 'beauty disaster' who got Evan Lin knocked out by Buck Niu with one punch, turning him into a running joke at Brightsea No. 2 High School.
"Well, well, look who it is. Liam Li, what are the odds I’d run into you here? Looks like my luck’s pretty good today." Next to Rachel Liu stood Buck Niu, short but built like a tank.
Buck Niu was decked out in a full set of limited-edition black Adidas, one hand in his pocket. He spotted Liam Li and curled his lip in a mocking sneer.
"Yeah, what a coincidence, Buck. Shouldn’t you be home training right about now?" Liam forced a smile.
"I’ll train when I feel like it, and go out when I want. What, I need your permission now, Liam Li?" Buck snorted, then added, "I hear your dad’s getting promoted, huh? You better hope he doesn’t crash and burn—because our business isn’t finished yet."
"Who do you think you are?"
Liam was so thrown off by Buck Niu’s trash talk that he couldn’t even get a word out. Darren Zhao couldn’t take it and snapped back coldly.
"Huh?" Buck Niu turned, giving Darren a quick up-and-down before squinting at him. "And who the hell are you supposed to be? Liam Li’s backup?"
"This is my bro, Darren Zhao. His dad’s Victor Zhao, head of the River City project department at Wansheng Real Estate." Liam said, looking straight at Buck.
"Wansheng Real Estate?" Buck gave Darren another once-over, suddenly interested.
In River City, Wansheng Real Estate was a heavyweight company. As project manager, Victor Zhao would get invited to banquets by city officials wherever he went.
After all, real estate projects were big deals—key to any mayor’s track record.
Compared to that, the Niu family’s turf in Brightsea City was small potatoes.
"What, Buck Niu—you planning to throw down? If you lay a finger on my bro, I guarantee your old man’s gonna skin you alive when you get home." Liam shot back, suddenly feeling a lot bolder.
"Yeah, Wansheng Real Estate, huh." Buck nodded, thinking it over.
This really wasn’t the kind of trouble he should be stirring up right now. Buck Niu wasn’t afraid of drama, but his family was in a sensitive period, prepping for a new round of turf wars. If he caused a mess now, his dad might actually tear him apart.
"Let’s go. Over there." Rachel Liu gave Darren a chilly glance and didn’t bother stopping.
Buck nodded, ready to leave, but Darren Zhao stepped forward, blocking Rachel’s path with a big smile. "Hi, mind if we get to know each other?"
No sooner had Darren finished, Liam’s face changed—but before he could stop him, Buck Niu, who’d just been about to walk away, suddenly frowned. "Get to know my ass!"
Buck’s voice boomed out as he spun, stepped up, and swung a heavy slap right at Darren Zhao.
"Ah! Watch out!" Sisi Shao shrieked, startled.
Darren’s face went cold—he tried to kick Buck Niu away before the slap landed, but his foot hit Buck and Buck didn’t budge. The slap came down hard, right across Darren’s cheek.
Smack.
Buck Niu’s slap sent Darren Zhao sprawling on the ground.
"What’s your problem? You just go around hitting people?" May Ma and her friends stared in shock.
"How dare you hit me!" Darren Zhao clutched his cheek, staring at Buck Niu in disbelief.
His dad was Victor Zhao—whenever he visited Brightsea City, he got the mayor’s personal reception. And now someone in Brightsea actually dared to hit him?
"Hitting you is letting you off easy. Get lost!" Buck Niu snapped, face darkening.
"Say that again, I dare you!" Darren roared from the ground, burning with rage and humiliation as he scrambled up.
Buck didn’t hesitate—he stepped forward and slapped Darren down again.
Smack.
Darren Zhao hit the ground a second time, dazed.
"Are you okay?" Lynn Chen’s face went pale as she crouched to help Darren.
But Buck Niu wasn’t done. He stepped up again, raising his foot to stomp Darren.
Darren panicked and grabbed Lynn Chen, trying to use her as a shield.
Ah!
Caught off guard, Lynn Chen cried out in shock.
"Watch out!" You Fang shouted, seeing Lynn about to get stomped. Her face went white and she rushed toward Buck Niu, desperate to stop him.
But it was already too late.
Just then, You Fang felt a cold gust whip past—a pebble shot through the air like a meteor.