"You don't have to—really, you don't," Huan Chen stammered while stepping back. "Violence is… outdated."
Liu Tao advanced with a look of mockery. "What happened to all that charm, huh? The fearless Huan Chen who made Mei Lin blush in front of everyone? Where's that guy now?"
> "He's… on break."
Fang Chen voiced from within.
The thugs who, of course, couldn't hear him, laughed as they slowly surrounded him in a semi circle.
Huan Chen turned around at this moment and fled.
"Coward! He's running away!" One of them named, Tai Wen, yelled out.
"After him!" Liu Tao commanded while bursting into a sprint.
All three of them chased after Huan Chen who fled through the streets and turned corner after corner, in order to lose them.
Unfortunately, he was far less athletic than Liu Tao and the others.
The moment he noticed how close they were getting, he made a mistake of turning a corner that he wasn't familiar with.
Seconds into sprinting through this alleyway, he stumbled upon a dead end.
"Uh oh..." he muttered in despair while slowly turning around.
The guys closed in, giving him no room to escape their midst.
"Guys come on... can't we just talk it out?"
"Let our fists do the talking," One of them pushed Huan Chen, who stumbled backward, tripping over a trash bin and landing flat on the cold pavement of the alley.
> "Fang Chen!" Huan Chen hissed inwardly. "Do something!"
"You still have an hour of control," Fang Chen replied lazily. "You wanted your four hours, remember? I'm meditating."
"I'm about to die!"
"Ah, death. A fine motivator for growth. You might finally learn something useful."
Huan Chen's heart hammered as Liu Tao raised his glowing hand with a faint gust swirling around his palm.
"Let's start small," Liu Tao said, smirking. "Level 1—Shock Palm!"
A bright surge of qi flashed causing small bursts of air to gather around.
Huan Chen screamed, "FANG CHEN! I'LL GIVE YOU ANYTHING! PLEASE TAKE THE WHEEL!"
There was silence for a beat and then a sigh from within.
> "Anything?"
"YES!"
"Hmm. I could use a favor. Something minor. You'll owe me."
Time slowed as a ripple of golden light flickered across Huan Chen's eyes. His expression shifted from terror to something far more confident with a half-smile that didn't belong to a high-school boy.
Fang Chen had taken over.
Liu Tao noticed the change immediately.
"What's with that look?" he questioned with a frown.
Fang Chen rolled his neck causing the sound of joints cracking to echo softly. "You dare raise your hand to me? Amusing."
"Oh, you've got jokes now?" Liu Tao sneered, and launched forward with his glowing palm.
Fang Chen didn't even move. He simply raised one finger and flicked the incoming palm strike.
A small boom erupted as air exploded outward, and Liu Tao was thrown backward as if struck by a truck.
He slammed into a pile of trash bags with a grunt.
The two lackeys froze.
"I barely used a tenth of my strength which is still less than 20%," Fang Chen said while brushing imaginary dust off his sleeve. "And this mortal dares to call that a technique? If this is what passes for cultivation now, the heavens must be weeping."
The thugs exchanged terrified looks. One of them took a cautious step back.
"You—you... how? I have a cultivation system now, you shouldn't be able to do that!" Liu Tao stammered in shock.
It was like he was staring at a different person now.
"Pitiful," Fang Chen spat as a playful smirk found its way to his face.
His eyes glowed faintly gold as he approached Liu Tao, who groaned and tried to get up.
"Don't worry," Fang Chen said lightly. "I don't kill insects. I simply… remind them of their place."
With a flick of his finger, a faint gust lifted Liu Tao again. He spun midair and landed face-first in the trash pile again. The stench was instant and vile.
Fang Chen chuckled. "How fitting. Trash among trash."
By the time Fang Chen left the alley, brushing his hands together like a man finishing a light chore, Liu Tao was moaning incoherently while his friends dragged him away.
"Next time you wish to test your cultivation," Fang Chen called after them, "try starting with a cabbage. It'll give you a fairer fight."
Inside, Huan Chen's voice finally returned.
> "You—you humiliated him!"
"You're welcome."
> "You didn't have to throw him in the trash!"
"Oh, I did. A lesson in humility must stink a little to stick."
...
...
Morning sunlight spilled lazily into Class 3-B, the light glinting off polished desks and tired faces. Students chatted noisily as usual, but something was different.
Huan Chen's desk was stacked with colorful gift boxes, heart-shaped sweets, neatly wrapped cakes, and even a small bouquet of flowers that someone had nervously sneaked in before homeroom.
It looked less like a school desk and more like a shrine.
> "You know," Fang Chen muttered inside, sounding unimpressed, "in my time, maidens left silk robes and jade ornaments. Now they bring… confectionery."
"You could at least say thank you," Huan Chen whispered under his breath, pretending to shuffle books around.
> "Thank you? I've already thanked the heavens for blessing this generation with terrible self-control. They stare at you as though you're a delicacy."
Indeed, they were staring.
Nearly every girl in class had turned toward Huan Chen's corner ; whispering, giggling, or outright swooning.
The formerly invisible boy had somehow become the center of gravity for every heartbeat within a twenty-meter radius.
He didn't even try.
All he had done this past week was show up with that effortless smile, make witty remarks in class, and toss a few teasing compliments at girls who weren't used to being noticed.
But when Fang Chen was behind the wheel, even his smallest gestures were more noticeable than normal.
One wink could make a girl forget her name.
One smirk could make them drop their pens.
And by now, the class monitor Mei Lin had given up pretending she wasn't affected.
She was currently sneaking glances from her seat, trying not to look too obvious while her boyfriend, Liu Tao, sulked two rows back, refusing to make eye contact with anyone.
Fang Chen could feel his resentment even without looking. It rolled off him like cheap perfume.
But Liu Tao wasn't the problem anymore. The boy hadn't said a word to Huan Chen since that day at the alley. He didn't even look his way now, terrified that Huan Chen might mention his cheating escapade to Mei Lin.
> "Pathetic," Fang Chen muttered inwardly. "He was barking like a rabid dog before. Now he can't even whimper properly."
"You could at least not provoke him," Huan Chen murmured back, trying to maintain a normal expression. "I don't need another brawl."
> "A brawl? Boy, that wasn't a brawl. That was pest control."