When it came to street fights, technique was secondary—the most crucial factors were experience and sheer ruthlessness.
And Fang Yi? He'd been brawling since he was a kid. He knew very well that when you're outnumbered, the key was to strike first.
Best case? Take out one or two of them before they even knew what hit them.
Otherwise, if you just stood around waiting for them to make the first move and caught a steel pipe to the head, that would be game over.
He had the experience. As for ruthlessness...
Anyone who had crossed paths with him knew Fang Yi was infamous for having black hands—once he threw a punch, he didn't hold back.
Zhang Chao knew that too. So even though it was six against one, deep down, he was still on high alert.
What he didn't expect was for Fang Yi to suddenly swing a bicycle at them.
That's right. He actually swung the damn thing.
In that split second, a single question flashed through Zhang Chao's mind:
"When did this bastard get so strong?"
BANG!
The tire smashed into the side of the blonde guy's head before the entire bicycle crashed into Zhang Chao. The two of them only had time to let out a miserable scream before they crumpled to the ground.
Even Fang Yi froze for a second.
Holy crap. I'm this strong?
An old-school road bike weighed at least 50 to 60 pounds—like swinging a sack of rice. Sure, lifting it was doable, but flinging it like a freaking sledgehammer?
He hadn't planned on that. Originally, he just wanted to shove the bike forward to block the path—even if it didn't knock Blondie down, it'd at least buy him time to deal with Zhang Chao.
See, in a group fight, most of the danger came from the first two or three guys in front. The rest were basically blocked by their own people and couldn't even reach you.
That was his strategy—but he hadn't expected to just whip the whole bike like it was a chair in a WWE match.
Still, now wasn't the time to dwell on that.
While the remaining four punks were still stunned, Fang Yi dashed forward and delivered a solid kick to one guy's gut, knocking him flat to the ground.
"Huff!"
The other three finally snapped out of it. One of them, closest to him, swung a steel pipe with a loud whoosh.
Back in the day, Fang Yi probably would've taken the hit head-on, maybe clenched his jaw and braced for impact.
But now?
He dodged it—just barely, but he dodged it. Smoothly grabbed the pipe mid-swing, then elbowed the guy straight in the ribs.
With the pipe in hand now, Fang Yi was like a tiger with wings. Even though he took one solid hit to the back, he quickly ended the fight.
The whole thing lasted less than a minute.
But that one minute drained Fang Yi's stamina almost completely.
BANG!
Just as he caught his breath, a dull thud echoed behind him. Startled, he turned around—and froze.
Zhang Chao, who'd been trying to struggle to his feet, suddenly collapsed again.
Behind him stood Han Ning.
At some point, she'd run over, holding a steel pipe in both hands, and had lightly tapped it down on Zhang Chao's head.
Damn, this girl's got guts!
Still catching his breath, Fang Yi looked at her in disbelief.
He really hadn't expected Han Ning to make a move.
Under his gaze, Han Ning blushed and bit her lip. She lowered her voice and said timidly, "I… I was scared he'd sneak up behind you."
Fang Yi grinned and gave her a big thumbs up. "Nicely done."
He bent over to pick up his bike and turned to her. "Let's go."
As for Zhang Chao? He couldn't care less about him now.
"Okay!" Han Ning nodded and tossed aside the pipe. She walked over and wheeled her own bicycle beside him.
Glancing back at the thugs groaning and writhing all over the ground, she asked, "What about them?"
"They'll lie there for a bit, then limp home—or go to the hospital," Fang Yi replied casually. Then he turned to her with a grin. "So, how was your first fight?"
"Not bad!" Han Ning's eyes sparkled with excitement. She wasn't the least bit scared—in fact, she looked like she hadn't had enough.
Compared to the past 18 years of her life, what had happened tonight felt wild, thrilling… and alive.
Seeing her reaction, Fang Yi raised an eyebrow.
Huh… never expected her for the violent type.
The more he got to know her, the more intrigued he became.
Think about it—on the surface, she was this sweet, quiet, angelic class belle. But deep down?
She was a little rebellious, craving freedom, and even had a bit of a violent streak.
Wasn't that interesting?
It was like dating someone with two completely different personas—two ways to "unlock" the same girlfriend!
The more he thought about it, the more Fang Yi felt like he'd hit the jackpot.
As he was zoning out, Han Ning suddenly said softly, "Fang Yi, thank you."
"Huh? What for?" he asked with a smirk.
"For everything tonight. It all happened because of me," she said, taking the blame onto herself.
That made Fang Yi's favorability toward her tick up again.
Some girls out there had no sense of self-awareness at all, acting like the world owed them something.
Han Ning, though, was different.
Fang Yi asked playfully, "So how are you going to thank me?"
"I haven't decided yet…" she said, shaking her head slightly.
"How about taking me to climb a mountain?"
As soon as he said that, Han Ning's face flushed red like a ripe apple.
She quickly ducked her head, and after a long pause, mumbled in a barely audible voice, "Not yet… that's too soon…"
Fang Yi didn't feel disappointed at all.
He'd only said it to tease her anyway.
After all, it was the early 2000s—things weren't as open as they would be in the future. Especially for a girl like Han Ning, raised to be the picture-perfect "good girl" her whole life.
If she actually had said yes, now that would've been shocking.
By the time they pushed their bikes out of the old district, Han Ning had regained her usual composure.
Fang Yi walked her to the gates of her apartment complex.
"Don't go back to Xijin Ferry for a while, alright?" he said seriously.
"Got it!" Han Ning nodded obediently, understanding his concern.
"Go on in—I'm heading home too."
Watching her disappear into the building, Fang Yi turned his bike around and rode off into the night.