Chapter Twenty-Eight: My First Brawl

Li Daoran immediately spotted Xu Xingxing charging ahead, and his eyes lit up—reinforcements had arrived. Without hesitation, he ran toward Xu Xingxing.

The two quickly crossed paths. Xu Xingxing was about to call out to Li Daoran, urging him not to flee and to join him in fending off the enemy, when Li Daoran shouted, “Little Star, I’ll leave it to you!” His figure receded into the distance, while Xu Xingxing collided headfirst with the Rooster Crest. Behind him, the Tenth Class launched a barrage of punches and kicks at Rooster Crest’s group. They already had the advantage in numbers, and their attack was unexpected.

Rooster Crest’s gang knew Xu Xingxing and the Tenth Class; they had always kept to themselves. They never expected an ambush and could only cover their heads and defend themselves.

Li Daoran glanced back and thought to himself, “Little Star’s got it under control. So many people.” He doubled back, stealthily landed two kicks, then withdrew to the sidelines, watching as though he had nothing to do with the brawl, completely oblivious to the fact that he was the spark that ignited the fight.

Soon, Xu Xingxing also retreated. The battle was drawing to a close; after all, it wasn’t a fight to the death. Rooster Crest’s group was outmatched and quickly conceded, bringing the scuffle to an end, though many from the Tenth Class still felt reluctant to stop.

Xu Xingxing walked over to Li Daoran, breathless with anger. “You vanished for a month, then show up just to stir trouble. And you just stand on the sidelines watching—you really are a model class leader.”

Li Daoran chuckled. “The capable should do more. You’re so strong, Little Star, you didn’t need me. Who are these people?”

Xu Xingxing rolled his eyes. “How can you call yourself class leader when you don’t even recognize your own classmates?”

“All of them are from our class?” Li Daoran asked in surprise.

“Yes, all from our class. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have helped you.” Xu Xingxing said, still annoyed.

“I’ll treat everyone to a meal as thanks,” Li Daoran said habitually.

“Who wants your treat? Meals are free here—what’s the point of you treating us?” Xu Xingxing was even more frustrated.

Li Daoran realized this wasn’t Water Blue Star—they didn’t have to pay for meals here. He fell silent.

“By the way, you’re here for the exams, right? How many subjects did you register for? Confident?” Xu Xingxing asked.

Li Daoran didn’t answer and instead asked, “Is it going to be a problem that you beat them up like that?”

“No problem. There’s always fights; soon the sweepers will come, losers get carried off, winners walk away. Honestly, I think they encourage fighting here. Otherwise, all these groups wouldn’t have formed so quickly in just a month.”

Li Daoran pondered this.

“You haven’t said yet—how many subjects did you sign up for? I registered for fifteen,” Xu Xingxing continued.

“Mecha piloting?” Li Daoran asked, clearly concerned.

“Sigh, everyone on the intranet is a monster; not a single person passed. Don’t lose heart, though—I heard there’s someone here with minus one point, dead last. You’ve been gone for a month, probably climbing the ladder somewhere. Too bad you didn’t pass either.”

“No one passed?” Li Daoran couldn’t believe it. According to Chen Ming’s analysis, if they set that goal, someone should be able to achieve it.

“No, not a single person. Did you run into any blockers? Don’t worry, there’s always next month, and there’s still someone at minus one, so don’t get discouraged.” Xu Xingxing comforted him.

“Can you please stop mentioning minus one?” Li Daoran couldn’t hold back.

“Don’t tell me it’s you?” Xu Xingxing looked at him in surprise, circling him and unable to hide his smile.

Li Daoran kicked him. “Stop laughing. Is it really that funny?”

Xu Xingxing nodded. Li Daoran threatened another kick, so he suppressed his laughter, but finally blurted out, “The key is, it’s minus one. Even second to last has over two hundred points.”

Li Daoran said gloomily, “I only fought once, and lost. What can I do?”

“You only fought once? What have you been doing this month?” Xu Xingxing asked.

“I was studying in my room.”

“Then why didn’t you open the door when I knocked?”

“I thought you were coming to mooch a bed again,” Li Daoran replied, as if it were obvious.

Xu Xingxing was too angry to speak.

“I registered for eighty-three exams,” Li Daoran suddenly revealed a bombshell.

Xu Xingxing was stunned. “You’re the one who registered for eighty-three subjects?”

Li Daoran nodded.

“Can you pass?” Xu Xingxing asked eagerly.

Li Daoran shook his head. “I haven’t seen the questions, so I don’t know. But I think I can.”

“Originally, so many subjects were meant as a benefit for us, since most are ones we’ve already studied. Everyone can find something they’re good at to earn merit points. But some of the obscure ones are really tricky—no guarantee you’ll pass. What did you register for?”

“All the theory subjects,” Li Daoran replied.

“I hope you’re not joking. A lot of people are waiting to see you fail.”

“I’ll do my best. Hey, the fight’s over. When do the sweepers arrive?”

Xu Xingxing checked his watch and called out to the Tenth Class, “Alright, let’s go. The sweepers should be here soon.”

Reluctantly, everyone gathered around Xu Xingxing. Some stole glances at Li Daoran, who responded with a polite smile and nod. They quickly looked straight ahead, afraid of being seen as siding with him.

Soon, dozens of figures identical to Big White came in perfect step, carrying stretchers. They picked up the fallen and left, sirens blaring. These were the sweepers Xu Xingxing mentioned. They arrived at the scene twenty minutes after the wristwatch recorded a fight, to take the wounded away for treatment.

After watching them leave, Xu Xingxing turned and clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention.

“Tenth Class, everyone—I’m sure you remember the person beside me: Li Daoran, our class leader.” Xu Xingxing gave Li Daoran a little push.

“No, Star Bro, we only recognize you; you’re the real leader. He’s just the class leader appointed by Bear Mountain—he’s never done anything for us. I don’t accept him.”

Li Daoran smiled silently and looked at Xu Xingxing.

Xu Xingxing’s face flushed. Suddenly, he kicked the speaker to the ground. “If you don’t accept him, leave. If you don’t recognize him as class leader, I do.”

The person rolled up off the ground, a bit annoyed. “What’s so scary about Bear Mountain? Star Bro, we all follow you. Even if Bear Mountain were here today, I’d still say it, I’m Yue Lun.”

The crowd chimed in.

Xu Xingxing was moved, but he felt these people misunderstood. It wasn’t about Bear Mountain—it was about the smiling tiger before them, whose strength was unfathomable. They didn’t know to cling to this glaringly obvious opportunity, and he felt anxious for them.

He could only say to Li Daoran, “Sorry, I didn’t expect this.”

Li Daoran waved it off, slung his arm around Xu Xingxing’s shoulder, and said, “They’re right. You’ve done so much for them. If you suddenly said you wanted me to be their leader, not only would they not accept it, I wouldn’t either. You’ve done great, really. Don’t mind it. If they really accepted it so easily, I’d think you had a problem. Those who understand, understand. Brother.”

That word “brother” genuinely warmed Xu Xingxing’s heart. If they had accepted it so easily, he would have felt unsettled, but he didn’t want things to turn out like this either, so he was left feeling troubled.