On the school campus.
On the roof of a teaching building, three boys and a girl were sitting cross-legged together. In front of them lay some food boxes, drinks, and snacks, placed casually.
"Brother Fan, what should we do?"
The speaker was a girl with a bowl-cut hairstyle. She was slightly chubby, short in stature, and couldn't be considered pretty. At most, she was a bit cute. She put down the chocolate cake she had bitten into and expressed her concern.
The one she called Brother Fan was a boy. Average looks, average height, average hairstyle. If you had to find a distinguishing feature, it would be his somewhat delicate features, giving an impression of extreme innocence, as if teasing him would make him blush with embarrassment.
"Damn it!"
Yet this delicate-looking boy, who seemed prone to blushing, was now gobbling his food and cursing, "What rotten luck, how did I end up provoking that mad dog."
"Brother Fan, how about we find someone to talk to?" suggested a boy with freckles.
"Right, get Brother Xiao to mediate. Last time, we promptly informed him, and he escaped a disaster, he owes us a favor. He gets along well with Ji Yu, maybe if he intercedes, the matter will be dropped," the bowl-cut girl quickly chimed in.
Yang Fan didn't respond to his friends' suggestions, set aside his meal box, and lost his appetite.
When school ended at noon, he happened to have business on the back hill and inadvertently witnessed Song of Solomon and Lin Feng chatting. Noticing something was off with their expressions, he instinctively activated Demon Possession and used the Sound-seeking Beast's innate ability together with oral skills to learn the news of their breakup.
Such explosive news was hardly satisfying to keep to oneself, so with the spirit of 'sharing the joy is better than enjoying it alone,' Yang Fan unintentionally let it slip during a chat with classmates.
To him, this was just a particularly juicy piece of gossip, no different from the hundreds he spread throughout the year.
He could predict the sensation the gossip would cause; after all, this time, the female lead was the biggest celebrity.
Though he loved gossip, Yang Fan was also smart enough to know whom not to provoke.
He never messed with those more powerful than him; in his view, Lin Feng and Song of Solomon didn't fall into that category.
Although Lin Feng's strength surpassed his, there was nothing to worry about. As classmates, Yang Fan knew Lin Feng well enough to be certain that even if Lin Feng was upset, he wouldn't resort to physical violence.
As for Song of Solomon, who was dumped, even though she joined Juxing Club and seemed destined to soar, she had only just joined. Once she graduated, who would remember whom? It's unlikely anyone would hold grudges that long; it wasn't a deep-seated hatred.
Yet in all his calculations, Yang Fan never foresaw provoking Ji Yu.
Right now, Yang Fan felt like he had stepped in dog crap.
Although he and Ji Yu weren't in the same class, they would sometimes greet each other when they met.
For several consecutive years, his father even took him to Ji Yu's house to pay respects during New Year's. In his eyes, he and Ji Yu weren't brothers, but at least friends.
But never did he imagine that Ji Yu, who had no connection to the matter, would, out of jealousy, or perhaps not even jealousy, just for the sake of showing off in front of Song of Solomon, threaten to tear his mouth apart.
"It's useless, even if Xiao is willing to help, Ji Yu won't care about his face; Xiao wouldn't dare cross Ji Yu either. Since he's already threatened, he will surely act," Yang Fan directly dismissed their suggestions.
No one understood Ji Yu better than him; that guy was an idiot.
Though Ji Yu seemed refined, he was a refined scoundrel, or more accurately, a brute.
Over the years, how many female classmates had dropped out because of him, and how many had been bullied by him for bizarre reasons?
A mere glance or even walking posture that displeased him could lead to someone's legs being broken.
"How about we get the family involved?" another boy suggested.
"No."
Yang Fan refused, without any hesitation.
His father owned a company, worth over a billion yuan, and was somewhat famous in Jiang City, but it was nowhere near comparable to the Yunhai Group, not to mention his family relied on Yunhai Group for many business deals.
That's also why his father took him to Ji Yu's house every year during New Year's; to put it bluntly, his father needed to curry favor with Ji Yu's family, and the two families weren't on equal footing.
Moreover, there was a tacit rule among students: never let adults get involved in disputes.
Even if adults intervened, perhaps Ji Yu would hesitate and pause from causing trouble, but the retaliation afterward could be even worse; for an idiot like him, face was of utmost importance.
Besides this, a more crucial reason was that Yang Fan did not want to seek help from his father.
His martial arts aptitude was poor, and even with support, he was only a Body Cultivator at the Fifth Rank.
Though he became a Demon Spirit Master yesterday, in everyone's eyes, the Second Grade Sound-seeking Beast was just a Wasted Demon Spirit; such support spirits were rarely refined by Martial Artists.
His talent was poor, the worst among siblings, constantly labeled a waste.
As a result, his father didn't think much of him, and their father-son relationship was strained; he didn't want to approach his father about this matter.
That would only lead to disappointment, proving that he truly was a waste.
In his first year of high school, he founded his own club, used his saved allowances to pay salaries for three members, and regularly organized gatherings, maintaining informants day after day, all to achieve something after graduation and earn his father's recognition. To prove that even if martial arts didn't succeed, he was by no means inferior to anyone.
"How about bringing up those things..."
The bowl-cut girl suggested softly but didn't finish.
Yang Fan understood her intention and hesitated for a moment, but soon shook his head at the three.
The three in front of him were not only friends but also members of his Jianghu News Agency.
The Jianghu News Agency was a club he founded in his first year.
Where there are people, there are disputes; where there are disputes, there is news. That's the origin of the Jianghu News Agency's name.
Since middle school, Yang Fan knew he had poor aptitude, but he was proud and didn't believe himself to be inferior to anyone.
Even without aptitude, he was determined to carve out his own space.
And the Jianghu News Agency was his starting point toward fulfilling his ambitions.
At Jiangxin First Middle School, no one knew about this club, which had only four members, including Yang Fan.
Besides him, these three were talents he handpicked from Jiangxin Middle School. Though their martial arts talent was average, Yang Fan believed their futures might lead to distinctive achievements.
The Jianghu News Agency, counting him, had only four core members, but each of them managed over a dozen informants, so news at Jiangxin First Middle School rarely escaped their notice.
That idiot Ji Yu had done many disgraceful things, and they were aware. If those dirty deeds were uploaded online, it wouldn't just lead to Ji Yu's expulsion but might even send him to prison and negatively impact the Yunhai Group owned by Ji Yu's father.
"Don't even think about it; that's suicidal!"
Yang Fan warned the group with a severe expression.
If his family's status were higher than the Yunhai Group's, perhaps he'd choose to act, putting an end to the threat immediately.
But sadly, that wasn't the reality.
If Ji Yu's scandals erupted now, without investigation, many would know he was behind it. This sort of scandal wouldn't topple the Yunhai Group; at that point, not only would he struggle to defend himself, but it would also implicate his family.
As the president of the Jianghu News Agency, although only a senior in high school, not yet venturing into society, Yang Fan had glimpsed too much darkness.
He deeply understood one principle: never truly provoke a major corporation's wrath; they'll reveal their fangs and devour you in an instant.
"So what should we do?"
The bowl-cut girl slumped onto the ground, feeling helpless.
"Deal with the situation as it comes; I'm outta here."
Yang Fan stood, dusted himself off, and left, the other three exchanged resigned glances and followed him.