"Was it really him who broke Brandon Yang's leg?"
When they heard Brandon Yang's words, everyone present suddenly looked shocked. They'd all thought Brandon's leg was broken by accident, but now Brandon himself admitted Evan Lin broke it.
Brian Yang pulled out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes, took one, stuck it in his mouth, and lit it with a lighter. He deeply inhaled, smoke swirling around his face as he looked up at Evan Lin. "Is everything Brandon said true? You called me a fart and said you'd cripple me?"
All of Brian Yang's crew stepped forward, gripping iron pipes, faces eager for a fight.
This gang of tough, trouble-loving street trash always bullies the weak and fears the strong, loving to show off in front of pretty girls—especially since all the girls here are from Whitewood County No. 1 High School.
"Brian, this is all a misunderstanding—my buddy just got back in town..." Ken Feng's face kept changing, his legs trembling, and in that suit he looked especially ridiculous right now.
Seeing Brian Yang shift his focus to Evan Lin, Ken Feng, though scared, couldn't help but step forward, trying to mediate.
He barely got the words out before Brian Yang glared at him fiercely. "What the hell does this have to do with you, punk? I wasn't talking to you, so shut up and keep quiet. None of you three are getting away today!"
Ken Feng's face turned stormy. After Brian Yang shouted at him, he felt humiliated but didn't dare talk back.
"I never said that."
On the other side, Evan Lin spoke in a calm voice.
Max Ma and the others heard this and secretly snickered to themselves.
"Looks like you're not so tough after all. Weren't you acting all arrogant just now? Now that Brian Yang's here, you're chickening out?" A girl looked at Evan Lin with disdain.
A student sneered, "So what if you're from Minghai No. 2 High? When you meet Brother Brian, you still have to back down."
Max Ma smiled, Ivy Deng's opinion of Evan Lin dropped, Amelia Jiao didn't care, but Yvonne Xie stepped forward, face excited: "You sure weren't saying that when you stomped his leg! Weren't you super cocky then?"
"Try acting tough again, I dare you!"
Yvonne Xie ran over to Brandon Yang, helping him up, her pretty face lifted in satisfaction, clearly feeling vindicated.
Brian Yang took a drag on his cigarette, grinned, and looked down on Evan Lin. "I thought you were tough, but turns out you're just a coward."
"Even if you're scared now, breaking my little brother's leg isn't something you can just walk away from! In a minute, I'll have my guys break your right leg, and you pay fifty thousand yuan. Then we're even."
Brian Yang strutted arrogantly, and all his crew behind him stared at Evan Lin with contempt.
"Fifty thousand!" Hank Chu jumped at the number.
"I said fifty thousand, so it's fifty thousand. What, too little for you? Fine, make it a hundred thousand!" Brian Yang pressed aggressively.
Seeing Hank Chu and Ken Feng's ugly expressions, the others secretly felt pleased.
At this moment, Evan Lin, standing calmly, shook his head slightly: "You misunderstood me."
"Misunderstood you? Then go ahead, tell me what you mean." Brian Yang snorted coldly, eyes chilling.
"I didn't say those words, though I do think that way." Evan Lin looked at him and said calmly: "In my eyes, you're not even as good as a fart. At least a fart brings some heat. You, at best, are just a jumping reptile."
"You called me a reptile that's not even as good as a fart!" Brian Yang was briefly stunned, then his face turned dark.
He stared hard at Evan Lin, lips curling up, then suddenly tossed his half-burnt cigarette to the ground and stomped it out. "Interesting! All these years, no one's ever dared talk to me like that!"
"You're the first!"
Brian Yang is infamous in Whitewood County; usually, people call him 'Brother Brian' in fear.
At first, maybe a few clueless punks tried to stand up to him, but in the end, he beat them all into submission with his fists.
"Hey, Evan, say less." Ken Feng saw Brian Yang's face darken and nervously tugged Evan Lin's arm.
"Say less my ass! If it comes to it, we'll just fight! Damn it!" Hank Chu was already fired up; hearing Evan Lin speak, with things clearly past the point of no return, his eyes went red, teeth clenched, and he grabbed a stool, furious.
"Bro! You hear that? These punks don't even know what fear is! Get them! Kill them!" Brandon Yang shouted.
"Damn it! If we're fighting, we're fighting. Worst case, we all end up in the hospital!" Ken Feng swallowed hard, steeled himself, grabbed a stool just like Hank, and stared nervously at the gang.
"You two, step back."
As Hank Chu and Ken Feng grew more nervous, Evan Lin, standing behind them, sighed lightly and placed his hands on their shoulders, gently pulling them back.
Before Hank Chu and Ken Feng realized what was happening, a soft force pushed them backward, and they found themselves behind Evan Lin.
Up ahead, Evan Lin's thin back moved slowly toward Brandon Yang.
"So you want me to pay a price? Pretty bold. Looks like breaking your leg last time wasn't enough to teach you a lesson. Guess I'll break another one today."
Evan Lin spoke calmly, face serene, eyes relaxed as he looked at Brandon Yang. Brandon froze all over.
"Is he planning to die for his beliefs? Does he really think he's some martial arts master?" Max Ma, sitting beside Ivy Deng, sneered and glanced at Ivy, who was also frowning.
Ivy Deng spoke slowly: "He's just trying to play hero. He probably still doesn't know who he's messing with. Looks like he's about to get badly beaten."
Ivy Deng shook her head. She was full of contempt for Evan Lin's bravado.
Brute courage is meaningless.
Evan!
Hey!
Hank Chu and Ken Feng snapped out of it, seeing Evan Lin walking forward. They called out, ready to help.
Brian Yang's face was dark. Brandon Yang was behind him. As Evan Lin approached, Brian raised his hand and swung a slap at Evan's face.
"Still acting tough in front of me? Are you really clueless, or just crazy?"
Brian Yang was sure his slap would land on Evan Lin's face.
But the next second, his hand hit nothing but air. With no resistance, his body tilted forward.
Where did he go?
Brian Yang was shocked.
He sensed something, whipped his head around, and his eyes snapped wide open.