John squinted his eyes, a cold smirk on his face, and looked at me. "Are you going to come with us willingly, or do we need to deal with you right here?"
I exchanged glances with Mia, Da Luo, and Xiao Luo, all of us with grim expressions. Although we knew John had come back for revenge, we didn't expect to encounter him outside of school. This was unexpected because at school, there were teachers and security guards; they wouldn't dare go too far. But outside of school, there was no telling what could happen.
Looking at the aggressive manner of John and his group, we realized if we didn't go with them quietly, they would probably resort to violence right in the internet cafe. With no other choice, we had to slowly walk out of the dark internet cafe, surrounded by John's crew.
The internet cafe was in a narrow alley, and John led us into a dead-end. His group blocked the way, leaving me, Mia, Da Luo, and Xiao Luo with no hope of escape.
Mia's face turned pale, but surprisingly, the usually timid Mia bravely spoke up. He looked at John and Wei Shengjin and said, "I was the one who offended you guys last night at Nightshade KTV, it has nothing to do with Andrew, Da Luo, or Xiao Luo. If you have an issue, come at me, let them go."
Hearing this, I immediately got anxious and said loudly, "John, I know you're targeting me. Mia's actions are just an excuse for you. Our conflict ends here today. Let Mia and the others go."
John snickered, "What's this? You guys playing the role of best men trying to shield the groom from the drinks? Don't get involved. You're all in for a good time today."
Mia, Da Luo, Xiao Luo, and I had gloomy expressions. It seemed like none of us would escape unscathed. Trying to protect one person while sacrificing another wouldn't work either. John turned to Wei Shengjin and asked, "A Jin, how should we deal with these little punks?"
Wei Shengjin sneered and walked up to Mia. Without warning, he delivered a hard kick to Mia's stomach. Mia immediately grimaced in pain, clutching his abdomen and crouching down. But before he could react, Wei Shengjin grabbed his hair and forcefully pulled him up. With a cold smile, he said, "Mia, weren't you all tough when you beat me up last night? Let's see if you dare touch me again now."
Mia bit his lip and didn't respond. I, Da Luo, and Xiao Luo couldn't hold back anymore and secretly clenched our fists. But with John, Big Head Buddha, and a dozen other thugs behind Wei Shengjin, we dared not make a move.
Seeing Mia too scared to resist, Wei Shengjin grew even more arrogant. He poked Mia's thin chest with his finger and taunted, "You thought you were a big deal? You dared to act tough with me, but you're just a small rat, a useless coward."
The reason Mia dared to confront Wei Shengjin last night was that he didn't know Wei Shengjin was the younger cousin of the local gang boss, Ba Ge. Plus, Mia had been drunk and jealous. Now that he knew Wei Shengjin's background, Mia had no courage left to fight back.
Mia lowered his head, enduring all the insults and provocation, staying silent and adopting a "turning the other cheek" attitude.
But if he thought Wei Shengjin would just let it go, he was wrong.
Seeing Mia acting like a "dead dog," Wei Shengjin became even more infuriated. He was like an angry bull, charging at his opponent, but the opponent felt as soft as a cotton bag. This frustration was unbearable.
"Brother Jin, this guy is such a coward, it's boring," one of Wei Shengjin's underlings said, watching Mia's submission and losing interest in bullying him.
"Hehe," Wei Shengjin sneered, lifting Mia's head by his hair and saying, "You think I'll let you go just because you're acting like this?"
Mia's lips trembled, and finally, he whispered, "What do you want from me?"
Wei Shengjin's face turned violent, and he spat on the ground in front of Mia. Pointing at the spit, he said, "This pathetic attitude of yours doesn't even deserve to compete with me for women. You embarrassed me last night at KTV. If you want me to let you go, it's simple. Get on your knees and lick this spit clean, and I'll spare you."
Mia's face changed drastically, and Da Luo, Xiao Luo, and I all shouted in unison, "Mia, don't listen to him!"
Wei Shengjin sneered, "You probably won't get to choose today. Pi Hou, Zhu Zi, this guy seems unwilling to lick it up. Go help him. I'm going to film this and post it on the second school's forum tonight. I want everyone to know that if you mess with me, this is the result."
Pi Hou and Zhu Zi stepped forward, grabbed Mia, and forced him to the ground, trying to push his face into the spit. David Yong and the others stood by, folding their arms, watching the scene, while Wei Shengjin took out his Apple 6 phone to film the process.
I've known Mia since the first day of school. He's been there for me when I was struggling, helping me gather money during the hardest times. Seeing him being humiliated like this made me lose control.
"Let go of Mia!"
Furious, I charged at the thugs, but I was kicked down before I could get close. Before I could even get back up, several people surrounded me and kicked me relentlessly. Shoes rained down on me. On the other side, Da Luo and Xiao Luo were also being beaten.
I covered my head with both hands as I was kicked. After a long time, I finally heard John call for them to stop. The crowd parted, and John walked over, grabbing my hair and pulling me up. Coldly, he said, "Remember this. If I catch you again, I'll deal with you every time I see you."
After saying this, John motioned for his crew to leave with their heads held high.
Mia, Da Luo, Xiao Luo, and I helped each other up. My body felt like it had been broken apart. Everywhere hurt, and my school uniform was torn. Da Luo and Xiao Luo were big and strong, so although they had been beaten, they weren't seriously hurt. But Mia took the worst beating, his face bruised and swollen.
I helped Mia up and said, "You've never been beaten like this before, huh? Why didn't you protect your head when they surrounded you? You look like a pig now."
Mia shook his head, looking dejected. "I'm fine, but I dragged you guys into this."
We four walked out of the alley, bought a few bottles of beer from a convenience store at the alley's entrance, and sat on a flower bed by the street. We were all covered in dirt, with footprints all over our clothes, some torn.
We each took a gulp of beer, and I turned to them and asked, "Mia, Da Luo, Xiao Luo, what do you think?"
Mia, with his face swollen, stayed silent, but Xiao Luo spoke up first, "John's under Ba Ge's protection. They have too many people, we can't beat them. If this continues, we might even get expelled from school. Maybe we should just go to Zheng Zhantao for protection. He'll back us up, and we won't be afraid of Ba Ge or John anymore."
Da Luo agreed with Xiao Luo's suggestion. They were both from rural areas and had worked hard to get into the second school. If their conflict with John led to them being expelled, they wouldn't know how to explain it to their families.
I shook my head. "We've already offended both John and Wei Shengjin. Even if we go to Zheng Zhantao, he might not take us in. Even if he does, it won't be out of goodwill. If we have to pay thousands for a banquet, can we even afford that?"
The others fell silent. We had all been broke for days and didn't have the money.
I continued, "John just said he'll deal with us every time he sees us. I've decided we can't keep being passive. There's no way to keep defending ourselves forever."
"So what should we do?" Mia asked, finally speaking up. He'd drunk half a bottle of beer, and his face was red, not just from the drink but with a newfound aggressive vibe.
I drained the rest of my beer, smashed the bottle, and stood up. "Instead of waiting for John to deal with us, let's go after him first. Let's confront them head-on and see who backs down first. What do you say, are we going for it?"
Mia gritted his teeth and smashed his beer bottle too. "Yes, we have to get revenge. We need to make sure Wei Shengjin deletes that humiliating video. Otherwise, if he posts it on the second school forum, I won't be able to show my face there again."
Da Luo and Xiao Luo hesitated for a moment but finally made up their minds. They both smashed their beer bottles and shouted, "Alright, we're going to get revenge on John and Wei Shengjin. We're going to get that video back."
We returned to the school, and by now, it was evening. Most students were in class for self-study, and when I peeked out into the hallway, I saw that John wasn't in class.
"That guy is probably in his dorm. Let's go to dorm 306."
We quietly left the teaching building and headed for the boys' dorm. As we passed the cafeteria's wood storage room, I saw neatly stacked firewood, and without a word, I grabbed a piece to use as a weapon.
Mia, Da Luo, and Xiao Luo followed suit, each grabbing a piece of firewood. We marched to the boys' dorm, ready for a showdown.
When we reached the dorm where John was staying, we found the door locked and the room dark, with no sound coming from inside. Da Luo cursed loudly, "Damn, he's not in the dorm. What should we do?"
Mia, still bruised, grumbled, "Did they skip class to go outside?"
Just then, I heard noise coming from dorm 309. The noise sounded like someone playing cards. I turned to ask, "Is dorm 309 for that class?"
Mia paused and answered, "It's the second-year dorm. If I'm not mistaken, 309 is Ni Ba's room."
We instantly realized, John was Ni Ba's underling, and Wei Shengjin was Ni Ba's cousin. Since John wasn't in his own dorm, it was likely he was in Ni Ba's dorm.
We quietly moved toward dorm 309. I put my ear to the door and sure enough, heard John's voice, "Damn, this seat is cursed. I've lost seven times in a row…"
Once we confirmed John was inside, I didn't hesitate. I kicked the door open and stormed in with a piece of wood in hand. Mia, Da Luo, and Xiao Luo followed, ready for action.
But the moment we entered and saw the situation, we were all stunned. Inside the dorm were ten or so people, each holding a cigarette and gathered around, playing cards and gambling...
We went from feeling like four fierce tigers to realizing we were just four lambs walking into a den of wolves. This situation just got really awkward.