Our sudden appearance definitely caught Ni Ba and John's group off guard. Wei Shengjin jumped to his feet with a loud "whoosh," glaring at us and shouting angrily, "What are you doing here? Did you not get enough punishment earlier?"
"Punish your dad!"
I knew there was no turning back now. We had to make sure that video humiliating Mia was deleted. As the saying goes, fortune favors the brave. With a loud shout, I swung the wooden stick in my hand directly at Wei Shengjin's head. He let out a sharp cry of pain, clutching his head as he crouched down…
"Damn, Andrew, are you looking for death?"
John screamed when he saw Wei Shengjin fall to the ground, and immediately, everyone in the dorm started scrambling around, looking for anything they could use as a weapon. In the chaos, Mia, Da Luo, Xiao Luo, and I took advantage of the confusion and charged at anyone we could reach, swinging our sticks.
The room was filled with cries of pain and anger, but Ni Ba and John were experienced, and after a few seconds of initial panic, they quickly realized we were just four people. They immediately regained their composure.
We had taken down a few of them, but before we could get comfortable, John grabbed a plastic chair and charged at me.
Seeing John, my old enemy, I was filled with fury. I swung my wooden stick in a powerful arc, aiming straight for John's head. He was startled, quickly lifting the plastic chair to block my strike. With a loud "crash," my stick shattered the chair.
But the momentum of my swing didn't stop, and the stick kept heading toward John's head. John grunted in pain, shielding his forehead as he stumbled backward.
Just as I was about to pursue, a massive figure suddenly barreled toward me, like a wild bull. With a powerful shoulder charge, Ni Ba knocked me to the ground...
"Boss Ba is invincible!"
"Boss Ba is awesome, take care of this little bastard!"
The people in the room, who had seemed somewhat disheartened before, now felt as if they had seen a legendary hero, their spirits lifted as they cheered. They quickly rallied and began attacking. Mia was the first to be knocked down, followed by Da Luo and Xiao Luo, who were surrounded and beaten. The situation had turned for the worse.
I was knocked to the ground by Ni Ba's powerful charge. My wooden stick was sent flying, and Ni Ba, with his large, muscular frame, stood over me like a beast. He was nicknamed "The King of Duels" at school, and there was no way I could fight him bare-handed.
I scrambled to grab the stick, but one of Ni Ba's underlings quickly kicked it away.
Ni Ba, like a fierce lion, glared at me with bloodlust in his eyes. He waved his hand to stop a few of his underlings from attacking me and grinned maliciously. "You guys deal with the others, I'll take care of this one personally."
As I struggled to get back up, I looked around. Mia was already down, and Da Luo and Xiao Luo were still being beaten. It seemed like we were done for.
Just as I stood up, Ni Ba charged toward me again. He threw a jab toward my face. I instinctively dodged by turning my head, but what I didn't expect was that his punch was a feint.
As I moved to avoid the punch, he quickly followed with a right hook, hitting me square on the chin. The impact was so powerful, it felt like my head was being struck by a giant hammer, and I became dizzy.
Ni Ba was clearly a skilled fighter. He probably had some experience in boxing or Muay Thai. After landing the right hook, he followed up with a left hook, then an elbow strike...
Ni Ba treated me like a punching bag, his combination punches leaving me battered and bruised. Finally, he grabbed my head with both hands and forced it down while driving his knee violently into my face.
With a loud "bang," my face exploded in pain, and everything around me spun. I fell back onto the ground, disoriented.
When John's group saw that Ni Ba had taken me down, they erupted into cheers, but just as the room was filled with excitement, the dormitory door suddenly opened. A balding middle-aged man, accompanied by a few security guards, stormed in.
It was the school director, David, with the security team. David was initially expressionless, but when he saw John in the crowd, he froze for a moment. "Xiaoyong, what are you doing here? Oh, you're injured."
"I'm fine," John said, his forehead still bleeding from where I had struck him earlier with the wooden stick.
Seeing his son injured, Director David was furious. He roared, demanding to know who was responsible. It was only when Wu Zhipeng, the head of the security team, pulled him aside and whispered, "Director David, let's take all the students to the disciplinary office first, figure out the cause, and then decide on the punishment," that David began to calm down.
David's anger simmered as he shouted at everyone in the dorm, "Those who are injured, go to the infirmary first. The rest of you, all of you report to the disciplinary office."
Ni Ba's group had few injuries, and the ones they had weren't serious. On our side, Da Luo and Xiao Luo, both strong from their rural upbringing, had taken the beating but weren't badly hurt.
The worst off were Mia and me. Mia had already been battered in the alley and now had even more severe injuries, his face swelling like a pig's. As for me, though not as bad as Mia, my face was bruised and swollen, blood trickling from my nose and mouth. I was a mess.
Mia and I went to the infirmary to get treated, and then we were called to the disciplinary office. When we reached the door, Ni Ba and John's group were leaving, laughing and joking with their arms around each other. It looked like Director David hadn't punished them too severely, or else they wouldn't have been so happy.
In the disciplinary office, Director David, sitting behind his desk, was no longer angry. He was expressionless, casually fiddling with a pen in his hand.
We entered cautiously, calling out to him, "Director David."
David glanced at us briefly, then began asking questions. He asked if we had gone to the dormitory to start the fight.
Mia and the others didn't speak up, so I stepped forward and admitted it, explaining that we had been attacked and humiliated by John's group outside of school, which led to the altercation. After hearing our side, David waved his hand dismissively, irritated. "I don't deal with issues outside of school. But fighting in school is a serious violation, and I will punish you."
I exchanged looks with Mia and the others, and we all realized this wasn't looking good. David was clearly going to cover for his son, John.
Sure enough, David first gave Mia, Da Luo, and Xiao Luo a warning, which was already a harsh punishment. At our school, if a student receives five warnings, they are expelled.
After dealing with Mia, Da Luo, and Xiao Luo, David dismissed them to go back to their self-study, but he kept me behind.
My heart sank. Being kept behind was never a good sign. I had a sinking feeling in my gut. John was the one I had hurt, and last week, David had tampered with Linda's drink, and I had ruined his plan. I had a strong feeling that David was holding a grudge against me. He was likely going to use this as an opportunity to deal with me harshly.
Once Mia and the others had left, David's face immediately darkened. There was no need for him to pretend anymore. His resentment and anger toward me were clear.
"Andrew," he said, his voice dripping with disdain. "You've led a disturbance at school, fought in other students' dorms, and injured schoolmates. Your actions have severely affected the reputation of this school. After careful consideration, I have decided to expel you from the school. I will report this to the principal and have the principal sign off on it..."
I couldn't help but shudder at the news. The school had over three thousand students, and there were fights almost every week. For minor incidents, the school wouldn't get involved. But for a serious fight, they usually issued warnings, and after five warnings, expulsion was the penalty. But to be expelled after just one fight? This was beyond my expectations.
Although the expulsion still needed the principal's approval, I knew that with David's authority, the principal would trust him and wouldn't make a fuss. I felt a wave of despair wash over me. It seemed David was using his power to settle personal scores. I was sure he was going to expel me.
Just as I was about to give up, the door to the disciplinary office suddenly opened, and a tall, graceful figure walked in, her voice crisp as she said, "Director David, your punishment for Andrew is too severe. I disagree."
I looked up in shock. It was Linda, my class teacher.
When David saw Linda rush in, he didn't get angry at her contradicting his decision. Instead, a glimmer of joy flashed in his small eyes. I quickly caught that fleeting expression of joy and a cold shiver ran down my spine. I realized that David wasn't actually trying to expel me. He knew I was close to Linda, and he seemed to be using the threat of expulsion to pressure her.