Dazzling

The back gate of Anzhong High School was usually closed, but a small door would be left open after school for students attending evening self-study sessions to grab meals or run errands. Only the security office had access to it.

Qing Ye walked to the back gate and first scanned the area outside with her eyes. Her gaze settled on a group of boys wearing Anzhong school uniforms sitting on the steps beside a fried noodle stall. Some were playing the slot machine, while others gathered around to watch. Nearby, some were bragging, and others were smoking.

Qing Ye immediately spotted Xing Wu sitting among the crowd, focused on the slot machine. She then stepped out of the school gate.

She was wearing light blue high-waisted flared jeans and a white printed T-shirt tucked into her waist. As she stood at the school entrance, her perfect proportions made her appear all legs from the neck down from a distance. Her eyes were fixed directly on the group of troublemakers across the street. Despite her slim and delicate frame, her calm and composed demeanor radiated an aura of confidence.

Moreover, she had walked out alone, which caught the Anzhong Vocational School students off guard. Even the students at the fried noodle stall gradually turned to look.

The leader was a tall, menacing-looking guy with a fierce expression. The sides of his head were completely shaved, leaving only a strip of hair dyed red in the middle. He wore sweatpants and flip-flops, his appearance exuding undeniable arrogance. This was Cao Fan's older brother, Cao Ping.

Although there were quite a few people standing across the street, it was easy to distinguish the one with a different aura in a crowd. After a quick scan, Qing Ye’s eyes settled firmly on the man in flip-flops leaning against a black motorcycle. Cao Ping was also casually sizing up Qing Ye. When he got a clear look at her face, his cold expression suddenly shifted to one of amusement. He gestured to a man in a floral shirt beside him, who immediately bent over to listen. After Cao Ping said a few words, the floral-shirted man straightened up with a smirk and led a group toward Qing Ye.

Qing Ye stood by the curb, separated from the fried noodle stall by the street. As the floral-shirted man and his group approached her, Xing Wu and the others turned their attention to the scene across the road.

The floral-shirted man stopped about two meters away from Qing Ye, looking her up and down with surprise. "So you're a beauty, no wonder you’ve made so many enemies," he remarked.

Behind him was a group of girls—some in crop tops, others with heavy makeup, and a few smoking. They clearly weren’t students of Anzhong High. Cao Fan wasn’t foolish enough to show up while causing trouble for Qing Ye.

Qing Ye stared at them expressionlessly and asked, "What do you want?"

The floral-shirted man laughed. "Pretty cool, aren’t you, little sister? We don’t want much—just heard you’re top of your class and thought we’d get to know you."

Qing Ye turned her head toward Cao Ping, who was sitting on the motorcycle, and asked, "How do you want to get to know me?"

Cao Ping grinned at her. Meanwhile, across the street, Xing Wu’s eyes shifted coldly toward Cao Ping. Huang Mao immediately squeezed over and cursed, "Brother Wu, why is Da Cao here too? This is definitely trouble."

Xing Wu’s gaze grew increasingly icy as he snatched the cigarette Huang Mao had just bought and lit one. They were close enough to hear Qing Ye and the floral-shirted man’s conversation clearly.

The floral-shirted man smirked slyly, his eyes fixed intently on Qing Ye. "How to get to know you? I’ll give you two choices: either let the girls behind me 'greet' you, or come with me and let Brother Cao 'greet' you personally."The word "greeting" was uttered with an extremely suggestive tone by the floral-shirted man. Qing Ye's brows tightened sharply, prompting the man to quickly add, "Don't worry, little sister. We're all decent men—we'd never lay a hand on a woman. But the girls behind me? Hard to say. That pretty face of yours won't hold up under many slaps."

"If I were you, I'd pick the second option."

Huang Mao cursed, "Fuck this!" and stood up, but Xing Wu pressed him back down.

At that moment, everyone saw Qing Ye suddenly break into an inexplicable smile. She asked the floral-shirted man directly, "I didn't quite catch how you plan to 'greet' me with the second option?"

Chuckling lewdly, the floral-shirted man began moving toward her. "Don't overthink it. Our Brother Cao just wants to get to know you better."

Qing Ye lowered her gaze, watching his approaching steps, then lifted her chin and abruptly wiped the smile from her face. Her eyes turned icy. "Take one more step toward me, and my lackey will make sure you don't leave this street alive."

The floral-shirted man froze, staring at her suddenly transformed expression in bewilderment. "Your lackey? Where?"

Everyone around exchanged confused glances. Cao Ping raised an eyebrow with interest, while the Anzhong boys began to stir. Xing Wu took a drag from his cigarette, squinting slightly.

Qing Ye crossed her arms, slowly turned her head toward Xing Wu, and lifted her chin, her gaze fixed firmly on him.

The floral-shirted man followed her line of sight and spotted Xing Wu—the notorious school bully of Anzhong—crouched among a group of guys, cigarette dangling from his lips, eyes half-lidded. The man's lips trembled as he hesitantly called out, "Brother Wu?"

Xing Wu remained expressionless, still holding his cigarette. But beside him, Huang Mao, Pang Hu, and the others gradually rose to their feet, each wearing a menacing glare.

Sensing the shift in atmosphere, the floral-shirted man called out again, more uncertainly, "Young Master Wu, this girl has nothing to do with you, right?"

Even Da Cao turned to look at Xing Wu, who continued smoking silently, his eyes fixed on the scene but offering no response.

Relieved, the floral-shirted man turned back to Qing Ye with a smirk. "Little sister, you shouldn't boast blindly. Do you even know who he is? Calling him your lackey?"

He took another step toward her. Qing Ye had already averted her gaze but stood her ground, arms still crossed, neither retreating nor yielding.

Just as the floral-shirted man raised his hand—perhaps to grab her—a cigarette butt suddenly flew from the left, striking the back of his hand with a sharp sizzle. Sparks scattered as he yelped and retracted his hand, whipping his head around in disbelief.

Xing Wu, who had been crouching all along, finally rose leisurely to his feet. His thin lips parted, and he uttered a single, frigid word: "Scram."

Students coming and going at the school gate, spectators crowded at the back entrance, and onlookers lining the upstairs windows—all felt a chill run down their spines. They had only meant to witness the school bully from Anzhi venturing into Anzhong territory, but now they had provoked their own campus kingpin.

For years, Anzhong and Anzhi had been at odds. Separated by just a few streets, the two schools frequently clashed over trivial matters. Conflicts weren't limited to students—even faculty members had feuded. The most infamous incident was a massive brawl years ago that landed many students behind bars.In recent years, although there had been constant friction between the two schools, no major conflicts had erupted. This was partly because Cao Ping, the current leader of An Vocational School, had a younger sister, Cao Fan, studying at An High School, and partly due to wariness toward the influence of Xing Wu and his crew in the area. While they generally didn’t intervene in petty student squabbles, if things escalated too openly and became too ugly, it would be seen as disrespectful to Xing Wu and his group. So even though Cao Ping occasionally bullied students from An High School, he usually knew where to draw the line.

No one could have imagined that a girl who had just transferred in a week ago would make Xing Wu speak up. At this moment, not only was Hua Chenshan staring at Cao Ping in panic, but even Cao Ping himself was somewhat taken aback.

However, he showed no sign of panic. Sliding his feet in flip-flops, he slowly straightened up from beside his motorcycle and swaggered toward the middle of the street, followed by a group of his own. In terms of numbers, they were no fewer than Xing Wu’s crew, and every one of them looked like trouble.

Cao Ping first gave Qing Ye a teasing once-over, then turned to Xing Wu with a smirk that didn’t reach his eyes. “Wu Zi, you know about this girl making things hard for my sister, right?”

Xing Wu glanced sideways at him. “So you’re here to seek justice for your sister? Then what about the fact that your sister tore up my books? Shouldn’t you give me an explanation for that first?”

Cao Ping raised an eyebrow. He wasn’t entirely clear on the details—Cao Fan had come home and pinned all the blame on Qing Ye, never mentioning anything about tearing Xing Wu’s books.

But Cao Ping was protective of his sister. He merely arched a brow and replied indifferently, “I haven’t heard about my sister tearing your books, but that’s a separate matter. I’m here today to settle another issue. Once that’s done, I’ll give you an explanation. No objections, right?”

Xing Wu lowered his head and let out a cold laugh. “To me, it’s the same thing.”

Then he looked directly at Qing Ye. “Come here.”

Qing Ye turned and, under the watchful eyes of everyone, walked straight over to Xing Wu, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with him as she coldly glanced at Da Cao. Xing Wu looked sideways at her, and she happened to lift her head, meeting his gaze. The sun was half-set, dusk was settling in, and their eyes locked.

Cao Ping’s face immediately darkened. Staring at Xing Wu, he said meaningfully, “Wu Zi, isn’t this the kind of thing you usually stay out of?”

Xing Wu slowly withdrew his gaze, grabbed Qing Ye’s arm, and pushed her behind him. Seeing this, Cao Ping said coldly, “You sure you want to get involved?”

Xing Wu took a step forward. Instantly, Cao Ping’s crew closed in, while Huang Mao and the others behind Xing Wu surged forward as well. The two sides were on the verge of a clash.

A cold, sharp curve lifted the corner of Xing Wu’s lips, his voice devoid of any warmth. “Your sister’s issues should be handled by your sister herself. If you want to step in for her, then I’ll make it my business.”

The light in Cao Ping’s eyes slowly chilled. Though neither of them moved, the tension in their gazes was equally matched.

Xing Wu kept his hands in his pockets, while Cao Ping swung his motorcycle keys back and forth. Both were about the same height, and the atmosphere grew heavy—one with a gloomy expression, the other icy cold. Even their respective crews glared at each other.

Suddenly, Cao Ping tossed his keys high into the air, caught them steadily, and nodded with a sinister smile. “Fine, alright. I’ll give you, Young Master Wu, some face today and stay out of women’s business. But next time, if it’s a man’s matter…”Cao Ping raised his right fist, bumped it against his left shoulder, then pointed at Xing Wu, leaving behind a meaningful smile before gesturing to his brothers and walking away.

Xing Wu and the others stood in place watching the group depart. After Cao Ping mounted his motorcycle, he suddenly seemed to remember something and specifically turned back to wave at Qing Ye standing by the roadside: "I treat women very well. Think carefully about what happened earlier—we'll meet again."

With these words, he gave Qing Ye a frivolous wink before riding off.

Huang Mao immediately cursed at the retreating figures: "Fucking assholes, trash, pah!"

Xing Wu turned and stared at Qing Ye's troubled expression for a few seconds. He neither approached her nor spoke to her, as if nothing had just happened, directly turning to Huang Mao instead and saying: "Let's go."

Huang Mao kicked Pang Hu to get him moving. The whole group abandoned their slot machines and followed Xing Wu in a mass toward the sports field, leaving Qing Ye alone by the roadside.

She watched Xing Wu's retreating back for a long moment before suddenly quickening her pace to chase after him.