When Shu Er was in primary school, she never tattled on her classmates to teachers or parents. Any small conflicts were always resolved privately. Now, even though she was technically a high school graduate in terms of her real age, she was doing something she had never done as a child.
But with someone backing her up, she could afford to be willful.
As soon as Shu Er spoke, Huo Chao’s gaze swept through the crowd. The moment he locked onto the boy she was referring to, his expression turned cold.
The big boy looked confused. He was just upset that Shu Er had taken the “Campus Goddess” title from Zhang Beibei and wanted to teach her a lesson. He had been in love with Zhang Beibei since junior high school, and there was no way he would let a transfer student bully her.
He just wanted to remind Shu Er to be less arrogant—if you act too cocky, someone will eventually put you in your place. And he planned to be that someone.
With so many people around in the shop, he didn’t dare to go too far. He originally wanted to wait for her to go to a place with fewer people before taking action, but he didn’t expect that she would be really cunning. She knew that staying in a crowded place is safer, so she didn’t leave.
But all he did was bump her shoulder slightly—how did that turn into him hitting her? Could that even be called a hit? At most, it was a provocation.
If he actually hit her, with his size, would she still be standing here just fine?
Huo Chao asked Shu Er and Ning Meng to stay outside the shop first. After they left, he calmly walked forward and, without a word, grabbed the big boy by the collar. With a swift shoulder throw, he slammed the boy, who was five centimeters taller than him, hard onto the ground.
The boy was heavy, so a large cloud of dust was raised after he landed.
A few gasps came from the crowd, and the students quickly stepped aside, afraid they’d get caught up in the fight.
The shop owner hurried over from behind the counter and asked anxiously, “What’s going on? You can’t fight in school—you’ll get punished!”
Huo Chao completely ignored the owner.
Punishment or even expulsion had no deterrent effect on him.
He grabbed the boy’s right wrist with his right hand and asked coldly, “Which hand did you just use? This one? Or that one?”
The big boy, who usually acted tough and was rarely challenged, suddenly felt a strange fear in his chest.
Huo Chao’s gaze was too deep, too heavy, and too cold, making it impossible to see through him.
After lying low for several months, Huo Chao’s recent quietness had made people forget that he was someone you absolutely didn’t want to mess with. When Huo Chao was ruling the school and even the surrounding areas, with a gang of followers, this big guy hadn’t even built up his impressive muscles yet.
The big boy wanted to explain that it was all a misunderstanding, that he hadn’t really done anything to Shu Er. But before he could get the words out, everyone heard a sharp crack.
This was the numbing sound of a wrist being broken.
A heavy silence fell over the room. No one dared utter a single sound except the big boy rolling on the ground, howling in pain. No one spoke—not because they didn’t want to, but because they were too scared to.
Recently, Huo Chao had been lavishing gifts on a girl—buying her fried chicken and milk tea, even handing out red envelopes to classmates for her. Everyone had thought he had changed his nature and became a rich second-generation ancestor who only knew how to spend money. His recent behavior had been so great that people had almost forgotten his past “glories.”
But Huo Chao hasn’t changed at all. At the height of his recklessness, he sent a group of people to the emergency room and ended up in the ICU himself, spending a full month in the hospital before he was discharged.
After that, he toned things down. But now, driven to rage for the sake of his beloved, he looked even more terrifying than he had back then.
By tonight, the whole school would probably hear not only about Huo Chao’s generosity toward the girl but also his fierce anger on her behalf.
After casually breaking both of the guy’s wrists, Huo Chao pulled out a bank card from his wallet. With a nonchalant attitude, he tossed the card onto the boy’s face and body. “There’s 50,000 yuan on this, for your medical bills.”
He slowly stood up, with a trace of anger still evident in his eyes. “Don’t mess with her, got it?”
He wasn’t sure which hand the boy had used to touch Shu Er, so he figured it was best to disable both hands.
Outside, Shu Er was growing anxious. It was quite noisy inside at first, but now it was completely silent.
She stood on her tiptoes, trying to see what was going on, but the distance made it impossible.
Impatiently, she glanced at Ning Meng and said, “Why are we so far away?”
Ning Meng, sensing Huo Chao’s intentions, figured he didn’t want Shu Er to see something that might scare her.
She was a grade lower than Huo Chao, so she didn’t know him that well, especially since he’d been keeping a low profile for the past six months. She didn’t know how ruthless he could be. But she had heard from her former seniors that Huo Chao was not afraid of anything and had been hospitalized several times for fighting and racing. The longest stay had been a month, all because someone had once said, “Huo Chao was born by a mother, but never taught by a mother; he’s an orphan.” After that, Boss Huo taught that person a lesson.
Even though Ning Meng was curious, she didn’t dare look inside, afraid of seeing something too violent. She tried to reassure Shu Er, “Don’t worry, Little Ear. The boss will handle it.”
Shu Er didn’t doubt that for a second.
Not long after, Huo Chao came out. His clothes were neat and his hair wasn’t messy. He looked just the same as before, but there seemed to be a slight difference—perhaps he still carried a trace of that fierceness?
But Shu Er wasn’t afraid of him. In her mind, the male protagonist was just exactly as described in the book—stupid, rich, and blind.
She quickly approached him and asked, “Brother, did you teach him a lesson?”
“Yeah.”
That was good enough for her. As for the details, since Huo Chao didn’t intend to say more, Shu Er didn’t press him. She trusted that he had handled the situation perfectly.
As they walked toward the school building, Xu Chen and Zhao Zhifeng came over, full of energy.
Zhao Zhifeng called out, “Ah Chao, you didn’t even finish your meal! Where have you been?”
Xu Chen added, “I was worried you didn’t get enough to eat, so I packed you another meal. Freshly baked and still hot.”
Zhao Zhifeng chimed in, “Who messaged you just now? Was it that idiot Fu Chen up to no good again?”
Huo Chao didn’t explain what had happened in the convenience store and only told them that it was nothing. Then he turned to Shu Er and said, “Go back to your classroom.”
Shu Er nodded enthusiastically.
Huo Chao paused for two seconds, then added, “If anything happens, come find me.”
Shu Er grinned, showing a small tiger tooth. Her delicate face, with a hint of fairy spirit, seemed more down-to-earth because of it. “Okay, brother!”
Even though none of the people directly involved said much about what had happened in the convenience store, there were too many people present at that time. People started piecing together the events, and soon the whole situation was recounted in vivid detail, down to every little moment.
Everyone quickly realized that Huo Chao was still the same untouchable figure he always had been.
But this time, his reason for fighting had changed.
In the past, his reasons for getting into fights had been all over the place. Now, it was simple—he was standing up for a girl.
Though his actions had been ruthless, when people thought back on it, they couldn’t help but find him incredibly charming.
Many envied that girl.
He is handsome, strong, super cool, and full of security—where could you find someone like that?
There is only one Huo Chao in Beijing, which has a permanent population of 20 million, and there will never be a second one.
So by the end of the school day, everyone had learned that Huo Chao had taught a guy a lesson for Shu Er, and he had done it with brutal precision, without mercy.
It wouldn’t be long before Huo Chao would likely face punishment.
Huo Chao had made headlines many times before, and now, in this age of instant information, this incident spread quickly—not only throughout his school but to others as well, at a shocking speed.
By the evening, nearly ninety percent of the high school students in Beijing knew about it.
The female protagonist, Shu Er, didn’t hear about it until nine o’clock that night.
She had just returned home from a dinner party. Her makeup was still on, and she hadn’t yet changed out of her elegant dress when she received a call from her friend.
Her friend excitedly shouted over the phone, “Ahhh, Shu Er, I’ve just learned about this incredibly cool guy from Beijing Why didn’t I know about him sooner?!”
Shu Er didn’t pay much attention to the guy at first.
She came from an outstanding family, with a pure and sweet appearance, and had never been short of admirers. To her, affection and admiration from guys were easily attainable and lacked any sense of challenge. As a certified “winner at life”, she didn’t think there could be a guy who could escape her charm and be the exception.
“No. 1 Middle School is in the northern part of the city, while we’re in the south, practically a city apart. Why didn’t I choose No. 1 Middle School back then? Ugh, this guy’s a total gem, the epitome of a cool, rich guy!”
Shu Er wasn’t really interested, but she humored her friend, “Mhm, and then?”
“And then! Do you know what it means to be showered in affection? That’s exactly how he treats this girl! Not long ago, he spent tens of thousands on her like it was nothing. Today, he lost his temper for her, breaking a guy’s arms just because that guy bullied her! With this attitude, he is destined to be the president in the future. And the best part? He’s super handsome!”
Shu Er responded with the same casual tone, “Oh? How handsome?”
“A million times more handsome than your brother Mingqian!”
Mingqian is the heartthrob of Q University’s Finance Department. He is handsome, gentle, and one in a million in terms of looks.
Shu Er couldn’t help but laugh, “You’ve really got some heavy filters on.”
Her friend exclaimed, “Shu Er, I swear, it’s not just me! Wait till you see him in person, and you’ll understand!”
Shu Er teased, “Oh? So, have you seen him in person?”
“No, but I’ve seen some videos people secretly took of him! His aura, his looks, and his physique could easily crush Gu Mingqian.”
Now this is getting interesting.
Shu Er became curious, “Do you know the guy’s name?”
“I think it’s Huo Chao. And the girl he’s been doting on? She has the same name as you, Shu Er! For a second, I almost thought you were the heroine, and it scared me! I thought you got a boyfriend and didn’t tell me!”
Shu Er paused for a moment, a smile tugging at her lips. Well, this was starting to sound more intriguing.
