Chapter 39: Seeing Injustice on the Road

The atmosphere was tense, like a drawn bow ready to release.

It seemed today would not end peacefully.

The moment Jiang Yueming finished that thought, Lu Renjia and his men stepped forward at the same time.

They rolled up their sleeves, their eyes flashing with malicious intent.

Jiang Yueming’s heart sank.

With every step they took forward, his grip on the steel rod tightened a little more.

He made up his mind.

No matter what happened later, he would focus on Lu Renjia alone and beat him to death.

This was something Dong Ziyang had taught him.

When you’re being ganged up on, don’t try to deal with everyone at once.

Just grab the leader and beat him as hard as you can.

Even if you end up on the ground in the end, he won’t have an easy time either.

At the time, Jiang Yueming had laughed at him.

“You’re just a theorist who only knows how to play games, and you’re teaching me how to fight?”

Dong Ziyang had rarely been serious.

He pointed at the scar on his own forearm and didn’t say anything.

People say scars are a man’s glory.

Jiang Yueming never expected that kind of glory to appear on Dong Ziyang.

It seemed he also had an unknown past.

So Jiang Yueming silently remembered his words.

Now this move was finally going to be put to use.

Jiang Yueming lowered his body slightly.

He shifted into a stance that made it easier to exert force.

He gripped the steel rod tightly with both hands and swung it behind him, ready at any moment to use the maximum range and full power to give Lu Renjia’s head a gift he would never forget for the rest of his life.

One step.

Two steps.

Lu Renjia led his men closer.

They were about to enter striking range.

Jiang Yueming waited for that head to reach the exact distance where it could catch his steel rod.

Right at that moment.

“Stop!”

A girl’s shout halted everyone.

They turned to look.

A girl had appeared at the entrance of the narrow alley at some point.

Lu Renjia narrowed his eyes.

Against the light, he recognized who it was.

“Su Xiaoyue?” He frowned. “What are you doing here?”

Su Xiaoyue’s gaze passed over his shoulder and glanced at Jiang Yueming, who had been forced into the corner by the wall.

After confirming he was not seriously hurt, she let out a small breath of relief.

“I’m here to see who’s bullying my friend.”

She walked into the alley.

There was not the slightest trace of tension in her eyes.

It was as if she didn’t take those five people seriously at all.

Lu Renjia turned around and looked her up and down.

He let out a cold laugh.

“Your friend? Su Xiaoyue, I advise you not to meddle in other people’s business. This has nothing to do with you.”

“How does it have nothing to do with me?” Su Xiaoyue walked right up to him and looked up at him. “I already said it. He’s my friend.”

Lu Renjia’s frown deepened.

He clicked his tongue impatiently.

Why did everyone seem to have some kind of connection with this guy?

The two school flowers of No.1 High School.

First it was Xia He holding his hand in public.

Now the other one, Su Xiaoyue, had come to stand up for him.

What was so good about this guy?

“Su Xiaoyue,” Lu Renjia’s voice dropped. “I’ll say it one last time. This has nothing to do with you. You’d better leave right now. I’ll pretend I didn’t see you.”

Su Xiaoyue tilted her head.

She put both hands behind her back.

A sweet smile hung on her face.

“What if I don’t leave?”

“Then don’t blame me for being rude.”

“Rude?” Su Xiaoyue laughed. Her two little canine teeth peeked out faintly. “How exactly are you planning to be rude?”

Lu Renjia was completely provoked by her fearless attitude.

“You think I won’t touch you just because you’re a girl?” He took one step forward and looked down at her. “Let me tell you, Lu Renjia has never cared about gender when hitting people.”

“Oh,” Su Xiaoyue nodded. “Then go ahead and do it.”

Lu Renjia froze for a moment.

She was too calm.

Unnaturally calm.

A girl facing five boys — forget fighting, just standing here should have made her legs weak.

But she showed nothing of the sort.

Someone behind Lu Renjia spoke in a low voice. “Boss, how about we just forget it…”

“Shut up!”

Lu Renjia gritted his teeth and reached out to grab Su Xiaoyue’s shoulder.

In the corner, Jiang Yueming’s pupils shrank.

He shouted anxiously, “Lu Renjia! If you have a problem, come at me! You—”

He watched as those hands were about to grab Su Xiaoyue’s shoulder.

Yet Su Xiaoyue still stood there smiling, showing no reaction at all.

It was as if she didn’t see them coming.

The instant his fingers were about to touch her school uniform.

Su Xiaoyue moved.

She spun around sharply, twisting her waist.

Her right foot swept through the air with a sharp sound and slammed hard into Lu Renjia’s abdomen with a side kick.

The power of that kick was astonishing.

The movement was smooth and fluid.

Lu Renjia’s nearly one-hundred-and-eighty-pound body was actually kicked flying by that single strike.

Like a kite with its string cut, he drew an arc through the air and crashed heavily onto the ground two meters away.

The sunset had completely disappeared behind the buildings.

Darkness enveloped the narrow alley.

Chaotic footsteps.

Figures swarming forward.

Several crisp and decisive heavy stomps.

Muffled groans.

Bodies hitting the ground.

Then a continuous wave of screams.

Jiang Yueming stared blankly at everything unfolding before him.

The girl stood lightly in place and gently clapped her hands.

How can a person move this fast?

This thought flashed through his mind.

By the time he came back to his senses, only he and Su Xiaoyue were still standing in the entire alley.

Those arrogant people had all crashed heavily to the ground around her, lying scattered in disorder.

Su Xiaoyue stood in the middle of the mess.

Her school uniform was spotless.

Her ponytail was perfectly neat.

That sweet smile still hung on her face.

Jiang Yueming’s mouth fell open.

The steel rod in his hand fell to the ground with a clang.

Su Xiaoyue lowered her head and glanced at the tip of her shoe.

She said casually, “Dirty.”

Then she lifted her head and met Jiang Yueming’s expression, which looked like he had seen a ghost.

She couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“Your expression is so funny.”

Jiang Yueming swallowed with difficulty.

He watched as she walked over and patted his shoulder.

“What are you standing there for? Let’s go.”

“You… they…”

“Don’t worry, they won’t die,” Su Xiaoyue said lightly. “I held back. It’ll just hurt for a few days.”

The people on the ground were still moaning in pain.

This was what she called holding back?

Jiang Yueming didn’t know how to react for a moment.

Seeing that he wasn’t moving, Su Xiaoyue grabbed his hand and pulled him outside.

Her hand was slightly cool.

Combined with its soft touch, Jiang Yueming could hardly believe that these hands had just taken down five people in an instant.

But the fact had happened right in front of his eyes.

They quickly left the narrow alley.

Before long they reached the sports field.

Jiang Yueming was being led forward by her, his steps somewhat hurried.

He looked at that slender back and couldn’t help but speak up.

“You… have you trained before?”

“I learned a bit for fun when I was little,” Su Xiaoyue turned her head and smiled. “My grandpa said girls should learn some self-defense, so he made me learn a little of everything.”

“This is what you call a little?”

“Then it’s two little bits,” she blinked and stopped at the edge of the track.

She looked Jiang Yueming up and down. “You didn’t get hurt, right?”

Her hand hadn’t let go.

Jiang Yueming unconsciously rubbed it.

Su Xiaoyue slowly curved her lips.

“What are you doing? Are you going to act like a hooligan toward your savior?”

“No…” Jiang Yueming broke into a sweat. “If you’ve trained before… how come there are no calluses on your hands?”

Su Xiaoyue tilted her head. “Does training mean you have to have calluses?”

“Yeah,” Jiang Yueming said. “In those wuxia dramas on TV, don’t all the great heroes have thick calluses on their hands?”

Su Xiaoyue fell silent for a while.

Jiang Yueming felt her gaze linger on his face for a long time.

Dusk had already completely fallen.

Only a few streetlights were on across the sports field.

Su Xiaoyue’s ponytail hung behind her head.

The collar of her school uniform was gently flipped up by the wind, revealing a small stretch of her collarbone.

Jiang Yueming felt uncomfortable under her stare and instinctively looked away.

“Why are you staring at me?”

“I’m thinking,” Su Xiaoyue’s voice suddenly softened. “Are you this interested in every girl’s hands?”

“I didn’t—”

“You held my hand the whole way here,” she lowered her head and glanced at their still-joined hands. “You rubbed it quite a few times. Don’t think I didn’t notice.”

Jiang Yueming’s ears instantly burned hot.

“That’s because your hand was too cold. I was just—”

“Just what?”

She took half a step forward.

The distance between them had originally been only an arm’s length.

After this half step, it shortened to less than half a step.

He instinctively wanted to retreat, but before his legs could move, Su Xiaoyue had already raised the hand he had been holding.

She held it up right in front of him.

Very close.

The light from the streetlamp fell on her palm, illuminating every line clearly.

Her fingers spread open slightly, like a flower slowly blooming.

“Then help me check carefully,” her voice carried a hint of laughter. “Does my hand actually have any calluses?”