I originally thought John would soon return with backup to deal with me. But to my surprise, even after the lunch break ended and the wake-up bell rang, David Yong still hadn't come back for revenge.
I washed up hastily with Bucktooth and the others and headed out of the dorm to attend class.
This time of day was when everyone had just woken up from their nap and was rushing to the classroom, so the stairway was packed and crowded. At the classroom entrance, a sweaty classmate accidentally stepped on the top of my foot.
It was Zhang Hao, a classmate of ours. He usually acted all high and mighty and cursed people often. After stepping on my foot, he almost tripped and fell. He turned around angrily and shouted, "Damn it, are you looking to die—oh, Brother Yu…"
Strangely, when he saw it was me, Zhang Hao, who had just been all fired up, suddenly lost his edge. Even more surprising to both me and Bucktooth, he actually called me "Brother Yu."
Did the sun rise from the west today?
Zhang Hao gave a couple of awkward chuckles, then apologized, saying, "Sorry, Brother Yu, didn't mean to step on you." After that, he fled as if a mouse had seen a cat.
Bucktooth and I exchanged a puzzled glance. I asked, "Huh? Zhang Hao's usually cocky as hell. What's with the sudden change?"
Bucktooth looked around and noticed that not only Zhang Hao was acting odd—several other boys nearby were also giving us strange looks. He whispered, "Andrew, their gazes seem a little... off."
"Really?"
I glanced at a few classmates standing nearby and found that he was right. A few boys were sneaking peeks at me, and when they saw me looking back, they quickly averted their eyes and pretended nothing had happened.
After a brief moment of thought, I understood. I whispered to Bucktooth, "I bet the story of my fight with John has already spread, so now some classmates are acting all weird around me."
Bucktooth nodded. "No wonder Zhang Hao chickened out. Guess he's scared of you now."
I looked around the classroom. Several boys were giving me a respectful, even fearful look. They must've heard about the fight between me and John.
And to be honest, I actually started enjoying this feeling of being feared. It was intoxicating—like a king enjoying power or a chef savoring his own cuisine.
John's seat was still empty. Either he was at the hospital getting patched up or he'd skipped class to gather reinforcements.
But John's henchmen—Big Buddha, Pillar, and Skinny Monkey—were all here, glaring at me with hostility.
Among them, Big Buddha was the most aggressive. He once slapped the back of my head in the dorm. Even though I had ambushed John and beat him bloody, his crew wasn't afraid of me. In fact, they were full of rage and contempt, thinking my sneak attack was cowardly and disgraceful.
*Crash!*
Seeing me enter, Big Buddha and his crew all pushed back their chairs and stood up, heading toward me.
Bucktooth and the Luo brothers instinctively stepped away, not wanting to get caught in a brawl. Though we were friends, not enough to get into a fight for me.
Facing the fierce group, whatever little pride I had earlier vanished. Fear took over. Even in a one-on-one fight, Big Buddha was stronger than me, let alone when they had numbers. If we brawled in class, I'd probably get beaten senseless again, just like on the first day.
"You little bastard," Big Buddha snarled. "You dared pull a sneak attack on our Brother Yong? I'll kill you myself today!"
He rolled up his sleeves, ready to pounce. The surrounding students looked on, some nervously, some excitedly, eager for a good show.
I clenched my fists, ready for the worst.
Just as the fight was about to break out, a girl with a pink hair clip stood up and yelled, "Andrew, Wang Haifeng, don't you dare fight in class!"
It was our beautiful class monitor, Harper. Her face was flushed with anger, looking like an angry little hen as she scolded us, "If any of you fight, I'll report it to the teacher!"
I couldn't help but admire Harper's innocence. Big Buddha and his gang were delinquents; they didn't even respect our homeroom teacher Linda. Skipping class and fighting were normal to them. Why would they care about being reported?
To my surprise, Big Buddha actually hesitated after seeing Harper. It seemed he was wary of her.
Skinny Monkey wasn't, though. He sneered, "Harper, don't think being class monitor makes you untouchable. We'll deal with you too if you get in our way."
Before he could finish, Big Buddha smacked him on the back of the head. "Watch your damn mouth! That's our class monitor, you idiot!"
Then Big Buddha glared at me. "You got lucky today because of Harper. Don't count on being this lucky next time."
With that, they cursed and left the classroom—likely skipping class again.
I breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Harper. "Thanks, class monitor."
Harper, ever proud, looked me up and down. "No need to thank me. Keeping order is my job. If they bother you again, come to me—I'll help."
Her words genuinely moved me. In class, my best friend was Bucktooth, followed by the Luo brothers. But in a fight, none of them would help me. Harper, though, stood up for me. Maybe it was because I helped her yesterday.
But let's be honest—my conflict with John couldn't be solved by reporting to a teacher. Harper, being a girl, couldn't help much either. I thanked her again and sat down to prepare for class.
That entire afternoon, neither John nor his gang showed up. It worried me. I knew John wasn't seriously hurt—he didn't need to be hospitalized. If he skipped class, he was probably out gathering people to deal with me.
After school, Bucktooth had an idea. "Andrew, you've really pissed off John. You might not last at this school. Maybe try to negotiate with him?"
I glanced at him. "I cracked his head open with a soda bottle. You think he'll negotiate? Dream on."
Bucktooth said, "He bullies you because you're new and have no friends. But what if we get someone as powerful as John to talk to him? Then things would be easier."
I paused. "I don't know any big shots in school. Why would they help me for nothing?"
Bucktooth grinned. "I know someone—Zheng Zhantao, a local second-year. He's got influence both in and out of school. We could ask him for help."
I asked suspiciously, "Are you close with Zheng Zhantao? Will he even help?"
Bucktooth blushed and replied, "We've met a few times smoking in the bathroom. He even bums cigarettes off me. I can try asking—maybe he'll agree?"
I had no better option, so I nodded. "Alright, let's try it."