After leaving the office building, Linda seemed to be in a decent mood. She glanced at my bruised and battered face and couldn't help but laugh, saying, "Look at you, you look like a pig's head."
I touched my swollen cheek and gave a sheepish grin. "Well, this isn't so bad. Mia's face is even worse."
Linda sighed. "What made you guys so reckless to get into a fight? Mia and the others have already received a warning, and yours is more serious. You hit John, and I don't know if Director David will really expel you."
This was exactly what I was worried about. David might be furious because he didn't get anything from Linda tonight, and he could decide to expel me out of anger. But I had a nagging feeling that David wasn't actually going to expel me. His real goal was likely to use the threat of expulsion to pressure Linda. If that was the case, he wouldn't expel me because it would make Linda resent him and not serve his purpose.
I felt stuck in a passive situation but had few options. I smiled at Linda and said, "Let's just go with the flow. If I really get expelled, I'll just go to a lesser school."
Linda rolled her eyes. "Even though it's a tough school, staying here is still better than going to some lesser school."
It was a little after 9 p.m., not long after the self-study session ended. Linda said, "I'm going to the supermarket to buy a few things. You can come with me and help carry the bags."
With my battered face, I didn't feel like going, but I couldn't refuse her, so I reluctantly followed her.
There was a supermarket near our school, so Linda didn't drive but instead walked with me out of the campus.
Linda initially planned to buy some fruit, so she went straight to the papaya section. I was a little surprised, thinking to myself, "Her figure is still great, and she wants to eat papaya?"
"These papayas aren't ripe enough. They're not sweet and won't taste good," I said.
She replied, "We can buy them tomorrow. Let's head back?"
Linda shook her head. "No rush. We're already out here, let's stop by the snack street and get something to eat."
I said I wasn't hungry, but Linda glared at me and said she was hungry, so I had no choice but to accompany her.
I realized Linda really liked food. As we walked through the snack street, she eagerly tried everything she saw—jianbing (Chinese pancakes), grilled lamb, beef skewers, etc.—just like a child picking whatever she liked.
After trying all the snacks, we walked around until she was finally tired and led me to a milk tea shop to sit and rest. Linda asked what I wanted to drink. I was about to say lemon water when she turned to the server and said, "Two cups of pearl milk tea, please."
I couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. Linda had such a dominant personality.
The milk tea arrived quickly. Linda was wearing a white shirt and a black A-line skirt. She sat with her legs crossed, and her bare legs under the skirt glistened in the light. Her black high heels completed the look, and she casually stirred her milk tea with the straw, looking elegant and beautiful.
Seeing me staring blankly at her, Linda shot me a look and tapped my cup with her straw. "Drink up, what are you staring at?"
I snapped back to reality and hurriedly took a sip of my milk tea, but I ended up choking. Linda giggled, covering her mouth and laughing at how clumsy I was.
Linda seemed to be in a good mood tonight and asked what I liked to eat. I told her I wasn't hungry, but she ordered another cup of "shao xian cao" (a herbal dessert drink). She really could eat a lot, but despite all the food, her figure remained perfect. I couldn't understand how someone like her, a foodie, could maintain such a great body.
Just then, a group of young people entered the shop. They were all dressed in vocational school uniforms, looking like students from the local vocational school.
However, these students, though from vocational school, acted tough. As soon as they entered, one of them rudely called out to the server, "Hey, hurry up and bring us some lemon tea. I'm thirsty."
They sat down at a table not far from me, completely ignoring the no-smoking sign in the milk tea shop. They pulled out a pack of cigarettes and began smoking, each taking a puff. One guy with dyed yellow hair muttered angrily, "Damn, I told you that game arcade is unlucky, I always lose when I go..."
The lighting in the milk tea shop was dim with colorful decorative lights, and it wasn't until then that I recognized the yellow-haired guy. It was Zhang Zheguan, one of the vocational school thugs who had been beaten by me and Mia in the food stall before. What a small world—here we were again, running into each other.
Seeing these thugs from my past made me nervous. Mia, Da Luo, and Xiao Luo weren't here, and now Linda was with me. If they recognized me, I wouldn't just lose the fight—I wouldn't even be able to run away.
Zhang Zheguan had a noticeable scar on his forehead from when I hit him with a beer bottle that night. He must have hated me for that. If he recognized me, I would probably have to be carried out of here.
Linda noticed something was off with my expression and frowned, asking, "What's wrong? Are you feeling sick?"
I subtly signaled to her to keep quiet and whispered, "Those guys over there are my enemies. Don't say anything. If they recognize us, we're done for."
Linda was about to turn and look at Zhang Zheguan, but I quickly said, "Don't look, don't draw their attention."
Linda frowned. "What's going on with you? Why do you always get involved with these punks?"
I whispered, "It's a long story. The most important thing now is to avoid being noticed by them. If they see us, they'll do anything."
Linda cautiously glanced over at the group of thugs and, looking worried, whispered, "Should we just pay and leave?"
I shook my head. "No. The door's on their side. If we walk past now, they'll definitely see us."
I tried to adjust my position, shifting my chair so that I was facing away from them. By sitting closer to Linda, I hoped I would be hidden from their view.
Linda, noticing I was getting closer to her, raised an eyebrow and said, "What are you doing? Why are you so close to me?"
Just then, Zhang Zheguan's voice came from behind, "You guys sit tight. I'm going to the bathroom."
The bathroom was in our direction, and I knew Zhang Zheguan was heading towards us. I quickly pulled out my phone and, while trying to act casually, leaned close to Linda, pretending to check our phones together.
Linda reluctantly cooperated, likely understanding that young thugs were more unpredictable than older ones. Many people said that older thugs weren't as scary, but these younger ones were reckless and would pull out knives without hesitation.
Linda, even though her head was down, was still stunning, and her body, her fashionable outfit, and her legs shining in the light could attract anyone's attention.
As Zhang Zheguan passed us, I saw him glance over at us, but we kept looking down at our phones, pretending to be absorbed in them.
To avoid being recognized, I made sure to act like a couple, leaning close to Linda with my right hand gently resting on her waist, as if I was hugging her.
Linda, probably surprised by my sudden boldness, tensed her waist, and her hand snuck down to my thigh, giving it a sharp pinch. It hurt so much that I almost yelped.
Zhang Zheguan glanced at us and seemed to slow down. I assumed he wanted to get a better look at Linda, as men often do when they see a beautiful woman. He continued walking slowly, trying to sneak a glance at her. Just as I let out a quiet scream from Linda's pinch, Zhang Zheguan was startled.
Zhang Zheguan stopped and looked at me with wide eyes. "Damn, it's you, Ni Ba! You little bastard!"
He didn't even recognize me at first. He still thought I was Ni Ba. I saw his friends stand up, and I immediately grabbed Linda's hand and said, "Run!"
I pulled Linda towards the exit, but Zhang Zheguan's friends recognized me too and tried to block us. I quickly flipped their table over, and as they scrambled to avoid it, I dragged Linda out of the shop.
Zhang Zheguan shouted, "Chase them down! Don't let that bastard get away!"
He rushed after us, but was stopped by a male server wearing glasses. The server shouted, "You guys aren't paying or compensating for the broken table, so don't think you're leaving!"
"F\*ck you!" Zhang Zheguan punched the server, knocking his glasses off.
He knocked the server down with one punch, then signaled for his thugs to chase after us.