It wasn't long before the van arrived at Yiyuan Restaurant. As our group entered, the cashier lady was startled—she thought a gang of hooligans had come to cause trouble. Once she found out we were just there to eat, she quickly led us to a large private room on the second floor.
We had barely settled into our seats when a loud commotion erupted outside. The door was suddenly flung open, and a dozen swaggering boys filed in. Leading them was a burly guy with broad shoulders, thick eyebrows, and a commanding presence, dressed in a black tank top.
Zheng Zhantao was clearly surprised to see him and exclaimed, "Ni Ba, what are you doing here?"
It turned out this burly guy was one of the top dogs among the second years at our school. I had heard his name before—known for his unbeatable fighting skills and wide network of loyal followers. Even the notorious John was said to be under his protection.
"Heh," Ni Ba chuckled. "John's my buddy. Your guy ambushed him and cracked his head open. Of course I'm here to get some answers."
He dragged out a chair and plopped down across from us with an imposing air.
Behind him stood John and about a dozen others, all with arms crossed, glaring at us like they were just waiting for Ni Ba's signal to start a fight.
This was my first time in such a tense situation. My nerves were stretched tight, my palms soaked in sweat. I sneaked a glance at Bucktooth—he was trembling. Damn, we had a decent number of people too. No need to freak out like that—it was embarrassing.
Zheng Zhantao, on the other hand, remained the calmest among us. His trademark smile still hung on his face. He slowly stood up, poured himself a cup of tea, then filled one for Ni Ba as well. He turned the lazy Susan and slid the tea in front of Ni Ba.
With a polite smile, he said, "Heh, it's true Andrew and John had a small conflict. I invited everyone here tonight so Andrew could apologize, and we can settle things with a handshake."
No sooner had he said this than John, standing behind Ni Ba, exploded: "You call this a small conflict? My head got cracked open! If you think that's no big deal, then why don't I crack yours open too, and we'll call it even?"
Turkey, standing behind Zhantao, immediately blew up. "Motherfucker! You touch our boss and I'll kill you myself—"
John's group shouted back with equal fury: "Who the hell are you? You think we're scared? You wanna fight? We're ready!"
"Bring it on!"
"Let's go!"
Both sides erupted into a screaming match. The tension was thick, as if one wrong word would set off a war. Just then, Zheng Zhantao knocked on the table twice and growled, "Quiet!"
The room fell silent, but everyone remained locked in a fierce standoff.
Zheng Zhantao's smile disappeared, and he stared coldly at Ni Ba. "Everyone's here. I'm handling Andrew's matter. If you want to escalate this, go ahead and draw the line. We'll see if we can hold it."
Ni Ba reached back, grabbed John by the collar, and shoved him forward. Pointing at the old wound on his head, he said, "John's my brother. If I don't stand up for him, how can I keep my reputation at school? I'm not asking for much—just that your guy takes the same beating. Let my brother return the favor. Otherwise, none of you are walking out of this room."
Zheng Zhantao sneered. "You think your dozen guys scare us?"
Ni Ba smirked. "What about the two vans of people I brought downstairs?"
The room fell silent. Our side's expressions changed instantly. Turkey rushed to the window, peeked out, and returned with a grim face. "Brother Tao, he's not bluffing—two vans, probably over twenty guys downstairs."
Zhantao was furious. "Wow, real classy. You call this peace talks? Looks more like you came to brawl."
Ni Ba shrugged. "Cut the crap. Here are your two options—either I call my guys up and we beat the crap out of you all, or you hand over the one who hit my brother and let him take the same hit. If he gets his revenge, this ends here."
A terrible feeling welled up inside me. Sure enough, Zheng Zhantao turned to me with an awkward expression and said, "Brother, well… what do you think?"
The moment I heard that, I knew I was about to be thrown under the bus. After all, they had the upper hand in numbers. And Zheng Zhantao didn't owe me anything—it wasn't worth it for him to start a brawl just for my sake.
"Brother Tao, I got it." I smiled bitterly. Damn, it's just like the saying goes—blood runs thick in war, but a hired ally falls apart at crunch time.
Under everyone's gaze, I stepped forward. At this point, I had no choice. A beating was inevitable. But if I stood there and let John hit me, word would spread at school, and I'd be too humiliated to stay.
As John stepped forward, grabbing a heavy ashtray with a savage grin, he growled, "Didn't expect this day would come, did you? Time to feel what it's like to get your head cracked open!"
Before he could swing, I shouted, "Wait!"
John stopped and looked puzzled. "What? You gonna beg for mercy?"
I ignored him and turned to Ni Ba. "Brother Ba, right?"
Ni Ba raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"
I took a deep breath. "I did hit your guy. So today, no need for anyone else to do it. I'll give you justice myself."
Ni Ba seemed intrigued. "Oh? And how do you plan to do that?"
I grabbed a nearby ashtray and, amid gasps from the crowd, slammed it into my own head with all my strength. *Thud!* The impact almost knocked me out.
I forced myself to stay conscious and stared at Ni Ba. "How's that?"
He didn't answer—just looked at me with mockery in his eyes, clearly amused by my naivety.
Without hesitation, I raised the ashtray and hit myself again—harder this time. The pain was excruciating. My ears rang, my vision blurred, and blood started seeping from my scalp, trailing down my cheek.
I braced against the table, barely able to stand, and stared at Ni Ba. "How about now?"
The room went dead silent.
There were over twenty people present, many of them rebellious teens used to fighting and making others bleed. But hurting yourself like this? That took guts.
They looked at my bleeding head, then turned to Ni Ba. His mocking smile had vanished, lips pursed in silence.
I was already on the verge of collapsing, but since he hadn't responded, I clenched the ashtray—now bloodied—and brought it down on my head a third time with all the strength I had left.
*CRACK!*
The ashtray split in two from the impact. Blood spurted from my scalp, covering my face and turning my eyes red.
My vision went dark, everything swaying around me. I staggered and nearly fell. Bucktooth rushed over and caught me, panic in his voice. "Andrew! Are you okay?!"
I shoved him aside, trying to stay upright, and rasped, "Is this enough?"
Even Ni Ba was stunned by my insanity. He looked at me with a mix of awe and surprise. "You've got balls, kid. Alright. Your beef with Yongzi ends here."