After teasing Zoe Zhao a bit, Ian Song finally vented the frustration he'd held in for so long.
While changing clothes in the locker room, he pulled up the system interface again.
Just as he expected, his Fame Points had increased again—now reaching 30.
"Looks like collecting 50 Fame Points won't be that hard after all!"
Ian chuckled and closed the interface.
After changing, he went to the lounge, where Ye Hu and the others were waiting for him.
"Our hero is here! Let's go drink—no one goes home until we're drunk!" Ye Hu waved enthusiastically. Though they always got crushed by Zoe Zhao, these guys acted tough but secretly felt frustrated.
So after Ian managed to make Zoe Zhao eat humble pie for once, everyone was in high spirits. Of course, they didn’t really believe Ian was stronger than Zoe—he probably won because she underestimated him.
"Tiger Bro, I don’t deserve all that!" Ian laughed.
"You deserve it! We all do! Zoe has been beating us down for ages—if it weren’t for you, none of us would ever get a chance to bully her back. You helped us fulfill an impossible wish. If that’s not heroic, what is?
And you even had the guts to make her call you big brother! Just for that, we should all kneel!"
Everyone knows Zoe Zhao is a rose with thorns.
"That’s right, Tiger Bro’s got a point—he nailed it."
The others all chimed in, laughing.
So the whole group crowded around Ian and left the gym together, looking for a place to drink.
An hour later, at a barbecue restaurant, Ian sat there looking miserable and dizzy. "Guys, I really can’t drink anymore. Have mercy on me—I’m still a student, remember?"
"No way! We said nobody goes home sober. You’re not leaving until you’re passed out!" one trainee protested.
"Forget it, Ian’s still a student—let’s not force him to drink anymore," Wang Song spoke up for Ian.
Ye Hu waved his hand. "If Wang Song says so, let’s cut this guy some slack. We’ll do it again this weekend."
Wang Song and Ye Hu had the most prestige among the trainees, so with both of them speaking up, no one dared push Ian to drink any further.
That night, Ian Song returned to his dorm and collapsed onto his bed. He almost never drank, so his tolerance was low. Tonight, the gym trainees had made him drink a lot. If it weren’t for his boosted stamina, he’d have passed out much sooner.
The next morning, Ian woke up on time, without any hangover at all. Clearly, his improved stamina had its benefits.
Oh, crap!
Suddenly, he remembered something—he’d promised Leo Li yesterday that they’d go to the internet café to play games. But after drinking too much, he’d completely forgotten.
Knowing Leo’s temperament, standing him up would mean getting nagged for ages.
After breakfast, Ian strolled toward Grade 12, Class 9.
As soon as he sat down, Leo leaned over, clearly ready to complain.
“Leo, something came up yesterday, so I couldn’t make it to the café.”
“No worries,” Leo waved it off. Suddenly, his face lit up with curiosity. He lowered his voice: “Ian, I heard that after school yesterday you took down five thugs at the school gate with just a few moves. Is that true?”
“How’d you find out?” Ian was surprised, but then remembered that a lot of people had seen it yesterday. It wasn’t strange that Leo knew.
So it’s true?
Ian nodded.
Leo got even more excited. “Tell me what happened! You’re awesome—I never thought you were actually hiding your strength all along.”
“Later. I’ll tell you when I have time—I need to start reviewing.” Ian pulled out his Chinese textbook and activated his Photographic Memory.
You punk.
Seeing Ian ignore him, Leo couldn’t help but feel that Ian was different from before.
Teachers’ office.
Morning self-study was Chinese today, so William Yan arrived early. With the college entrance exam coming up and his bonus tied to the results, he was keeping a close watch on the class.
“Mr. Yan, do you have a student named Ian Song in your class?” asked a young teacher sitting opposite him. His name was Chad Chen, a PE teacher assigned to Saint Night High School just last year.
Hearing Ian’s name, William Yan’s brow furrowed. He even flashed a look of disgust. He’d never liked students like Ian.
He is indeed a student in our class.
Chad Chen slapped his thigh excitedly. “Mr. Yan, this student of yours is amazing!”
William Yan was surprised. “Really, Mr. Chen? Ian Song is the class troublemaker—his grades are terrible and he’s always causing problems. If I were the principal, he’d be the first one I’d expel!”
“Ha, that’s not what I mean. Mr. Yan, you didn’t see it—yesterday that kid was incredible at the school gate. With just a few punches and kicks, he knocked down five thugs. I’m not sure I could even match that!” Chad Chen exclaimed, animatedly. As a sports-school graduate, he loved Sanda and had trained hard himself.
He figured that if he had to fight five experienced street thugs, he might not be able to handle it—let alone take them down as quickly as Ian did.
So, he’d looked into Ian’s identity and planned to find time to spar with him.
“That kid’s fighting again—he’s totally ignoring my warnings!” William Yan was furious, his face darkening. Suddenly, a thought struck him: “Maybe I should use this chance to get him expelled. If I get rid of the lowest-ranked student, our class average will go up!”
The idea tempted him, while Chad Chen had no clue his words were causing Ian trouble.
“Mr. Chen, are you sure that was Ian Song from our class?”
Chad Chen nodded. “Absolutely! When I came to school, I even went to the security office and copied yesterday’s footage to my phone.”
As they spoke, Chad Chen pulled out his phone and played the video of Ian fighting the five thugs.
William Yan watched—it was definitely Ian. But he wondered why Hannah Han was with him. Not that it mattered; what mattered was that with this video, he finally had a reason to get Ian expelled.
“Mr. Chen, can you send me that video?”
“Of course!” Chad Chen replied without hesitation. “By the way, I’ve got to spar with Ian someday!”
With the video in hand, the bell rang for morning self-study, and William Yan headed to Grade 12, Class 9 with his textbook.
“Everyone, quiet down!”
William Yan tapped the desk with the board brush, and the classroom instantly quieted.
“Ian Song, come up to the podium!”
William Yan said coldly to Ian.
Ian closed his book and walked up to the podium, puzzled. “Mr. Yan, what’s up?”
Bang!
William Yan slammed the board brush down on the podium. He glared coldly at Ian and demanded, “What did you do after school yesterday?”
Ian hesitated, then remembered the scuffle at the school gate. He thought, "Is William Yan going to use that as an excuse to make trouble for me?"
William Yan pressed on: “I warned you just last week not to fight. It’s only been a few days, and you’re at it again. Do you really think the school won’t expel you?”
Ian frowned. “Mr. Yan, it’s not what you think. I only fought because those guys attacked me. What was I supposed to do—just let them hit me?”
“Why did they attack you?” William Yan pressed.
Ian shook his head. “I don’t know.” But he guessed the trouble was probably Victor Xue’s doing.
A cold gleam flashed in William Yan’s eyes. “You don’t know? So you just want to brush it off? Are those thugs crazy—why didn’t they attack me or anyone else, just you? Or are you mixed up with people outside school? You’re wasting your youth on this nonsense instead of studying. I think you’re hopeless!”