Chapter 42: Classmate, You Look Kind of Familiar

Looking at Bai Fan’s determined expression, the air seemed to freeze for a moment.

Lin Xincheng let out an almost imperceptible sigh, but Ruan Mingxi still caught it with her sharp senses.

Then, he revealed a smile. “Since you’ve made up your mind, I respect your choice.”

Bai Fan’s tightly clenched fist finally relaxed, and the last traces of hesitation in his heart dissipated.

“Thank you for understanding, Captain.”

Ruan Mingxi glanced at Lin Xincheng, then quickly waved with a smile. “Xiao Fan, see you! We still have to go back and grade papers.” With that, she pulled Lin Xincheng and hurried away.

Bai Fan stood still until he watched their figures disappear at the end of the corridor. Only then did he let out a soft breath and turn to head home.

Just then, a terrified female voice suddenly cut through the night.

“I don’t know you! Stay away!”

Bai Fan’s steps came to an abrupt halt.

Then, a man’s arrogant voice rang out.

“Bitch, who are you pretending to be? Didn’t you just toast me at the KTV before? Now you’re pretending to be a pure schoolgirl? Not letting us touch, huh? Don’t worry, I won’t take you for nothing. Come with us.”

“No… don’t…” The girl’s voice was already tearful.

Bai Fan’s expression immediately changed. That voice… he recognized it. It was Chen Yuanyuan.

It was now eleven at night, and the campus after classes was nearly deserted.

Bai Fan whirled around to look. Not far away, by a small path, several boys were surrounding Chen Yuanyuan. One of them was gripping her wrist, while the others blocked her path. The girl’s face was pale, struggling desperately but unable to break free.

Bai Fan’s eyes suddenly turned cold.

“Stop! All of you, let her go!”

Under the moonlight, the air suddenly fell silent. Several pairs of eyes all turned to Bai Fan. Bai Fan himself didn’t notice, but at that moment, a hint of ice blue had quietly appeared in his eyes.

One of the men with dreadlocks looked him up and down, twisting his mouth. “Hey, little girl over there, this isn’t your business. Get lost.”

Bai Fan’s face twitched slightly. Little girl?

It would have been fine a couple days ago, but he was clearly a boy now! Wait… He suddenly realized.

Although his body had changed back, the Spiritual Essence seemed to have been subtly altering him all along. When he looked in the mirror, he noticed that his facial features had become much softer than before, his gaze less sharp and more clear. His voice had also turned more androgynous, like the crisp sound of celadon, making it hard to tell gender just by hearing it. Plus, over these days, his hair had grown down to the nape of his neck, with bangs falling over his forehead. To an outsider, it was indeed easy to mistake him.

Bai Fan gritted his teeth and stepped forward until he stood in front of the dreadlock man and pointed at his own face. “Look carefully, I’m a guy.”

After saying that, he himself was stunned. He had already mentally prepared himself that maybe in a few more days, he would become a girl forever. But why did he still feel annoyed when called a girl?

The dreadlock man was taken aback at first, then sneered, “A guy? Then I’ll be even less polite.” He cracked his knuckles, producing a series of popping sounds. “One last warning: scram now, or I’ll teach you a lesson with my fists.”

Bai Fan crossed his arms over his chest. “Today, I’m definitely meddling in this business.”

Chen Yuanyuan stared at him blankly, her eyes, originally full of panic, slowly widening. She shouted, “Call the Public Security Bureau! You go, don’t worry about me!” But one of the lackeys immediately covered her mouth.

“Mmph!” Chen Yuanyuan struggled fiercely but couldn’t break free.

The dreadlock man narrowed his eyes. “Heh, you look pretty girly, but you’ve got some nerve.”

Before he finished speaking, his fist was already flying straight at Bai Fan’s face! If one were to quote a certain Master Ma, this was a sneak attack, lacking martial virtue.

Slap! A crisp sound of collision rang out.

Bai Fan raised one hand and firmly caught the fist. The dreadlock man’s expression changed instantly. That hand wasn’t big, even smaller than his own by a full circle, but at this moment it clamped down on his fist like an iron vise. He yanked it back hard, but it didn’t budge. He pulled again, still no movement. Veins bulged on his forehead.

What the hell kind of freak strength is this?

Bai Fan didn’t even bother exerting force; he simply flicked his hand. The dreadlock man lost his balance entirely, staggering back several steps, almost falling on his rear.

“Damn!” The dreadlock man was both shocked and furious. “Where the hell did you come from?”

A lackey quickly leaned in. “Boss, I think I saw him coming from the Social Practice Class building.”

“Social Practice Class?” The dreadlock man exploded. “Fuck, a Social Practice Class scum dares to mess with me?” He pointed at Bai Fan. “Do you know who my dad is? Believe me, I’ll have you expelled from school tomorrow!”

Bai Fan laughed out loud. “Are you still not weaned? All grown up and still running to daddy whenever there’s a quarrel?”

The air suddenly fell silent for a moment. The lackeys were all stunned, and the dreadlock man’s face reddened at a visible rate.

“Damn it! In this school, this is the first time I’ve been humiliated like this!” He whirled around. “What are you standing there for? All of you, get him!”

The lackeys dared not hesitate and immediately swarmed forward.

Bai Fan gently shook his head. So even regular students had this kind of scum. It seemed that trash had nothing to do with status.

In the blink of an eye, the few had rushed in front of him, swinging wild, uncoordinated punches. An ordinary person would probably have been scared stiff, but in Bai Fan’s eyes, these movements were pitifully slow. He didn’t even need to use his Perception; with his dynamic vision now enhanced by Spiritual Essence, he could clearly catch every movement. The trajectory of the punches, the muscle tension in the shoulders, the shift of body weight—all were laid bare. Their movements were as slow as a crawling turtle.

With just one punch, one elbow, one kick, the lackeys all fell to the ground, one curled up clutching his stomach, another hugging his knee and gasping, with pained groans rising one after another.

The dreadlock man stood there, his expression gradually shifting from arrogance to shock. His own lackeys couldn’t even last through two exchanges. Now he truly realized he had run into a tough opponent, but with so many people watching, he didn’t want to back down.

“You… you dare lay a hand on me?” the dreadlock man shouted, outwardly fierce but inwardly weak. “Tomorrow I’ll make sure you can’t stay in this school!”

“You were the one who attacked me first,” Bai Fan said calmly.

“Who told you to meddle in my business?!”

“I don’t have time to argue semantics with you.” Bai Fan frowned. “Either scram now, or lie on the ground with them and wait for someone to carry you out.”

The dreadlock man’s face flushed with rage. “Give you an inch and you take a mile?”

He picked up a baseball bat from somewhere, gripped it with both hands, and pointed it at Bai Fan. The next second, he swung it directly at Bai Fan’s face.

The bat cut through the air with a whoosh. Bai Fan simply sidestepped slightly, and the bat whisked past his ear.

Then.

Thump!

A clean, crisp uppercut slammed into the dreadlock man’s stomach. His eyes bulged wide, and the bat slipped from his hands, clattering to the ground. He doubled over like a boiled shrimp.

“Ow ow ow… it hurts so much…” He rolled on the ground clutching his stomach, tears almost streaming from the pain. “You… you punk… I’ll remember you!”

After barely recovering, he staggered to his feet. “What are you waiting for? Let’s go!”

The lackeys quickly helped each other up and followed behind him in a disheveled manner.

Before leaving, the dreadlock man still turned back to throw out a threat: “You just wait! I’ll definitely come back for you!”

Bai Fan’s mouth twitched slightly. That line sounded so familiar.

Only after their figures had completely disappeared did the surroundings finally quiet down.

Bai Fan turned around.

Chen Yuanyuan was still standing there, staring blankly in his direction, as if she hadn’t yet snapped out of everything that had just happened.

Bai Fan waved his hand. “Classmate? Classmate, are you okay?”

Chen Yuanyuan’s body trembled slightly, and she finally came to her senses.

“Th… thank you for saving me.” After saying that, her gaze immediately fell on Bai Fan, scanning him from head to toe carefully, as if checking if he was hurt. “But… are you okay?”

Bai Fan raised his arm and shook it. “Don’t worry, not a scratch. Chasing them off didn’t even leave a mark on me.”

Chen Yuanyuan couldn’t help but exclaim, “Classmate, you’re amazing.”

Bai Fan scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed by such sincere praise from a girl. “It’s nothing. I learned a bit of martial arts from home.”

After he said that, Chen Yuanyuan didn’t respond immediately. Instead, she looked at him, her expression gradually turning puzzled.

“But… I feel like you look kind of familiar.”