Chapter 35: The Fuse

At the school gate, Sui Yi had already stopped her bike. With one hand, she scrolled through the latest news on her phone. As her eyes landed on the headlines, her pupils contracted.

The top story, unsurprisingly, was yesterday’s incident on the ancient city’s Nanxun River.

The report was fairly accurate, but what unsettled her was that the focus wasn’t on the assassin or the event itself, but rather on speculation about her identity.

Rumors abounded. Many, relying on the school uniform, pointed directly at No. 2 High School. It sounded far-fetched, but with so many witnesses present at the scene...

“Looks like the police couldn’t keep the media quiet after all,” Sui Yi muttered, frowning. Fortunately, the photos weren’t clear. It seemed her quick thinking at the time had paid off, even if she’d ended up fainting in the end.

“Hey, Sui Yi!” Yu Hang had caught up, just as she was about to get off her bike.

Bang!

A bicycle crashed straight into the one Sui Yi had just parked.

Crash!

Her bike toppled, dragging down a whole row of bicycles like a domino effect until they all lay in a heap. Yu Hang stood frozen, his face darkening, while Sui Yi looked at the boy responsible.

“Oops,” Han Yuanzhong’s feet hit the ground. He frowned, but flashed Sui Yi a mild smile. “Sorry, didn’t mean to run into you...”

Sui Yi said nothing.

Han Yuanzhong quirked a brow and smiled disarmingly, looking harmless as ever.

His handsome face, bathed in the gentle morning sun, radiated the very essence of youth.

Almost at the same moment, the security guard witnessed everything. He hurried over, glanced at Han Yuanzhong, then straightened his expression and shouted at Sui Yi, “Look at how you parked your bike! Hurry up and pick these up! Now!”

Sui Yi’s grip tightened around her phone as she tore her gaze away from the screen to look at the two boys.

She hadn’t yet spoken when—

Thud!

Yu Hang had already landed a punch squarely on Han Yuanzhong’s face!

With a dull thump, Han Yuanzhong crashed to the ground.

The students nearby were stunned.

A girl screamed.

Ignoring the security guard’s presence, Yu Hang shook out his fist, stepped forward, and spat, “Hey Han, how much money does your family actually have?”

Han Yuanzhong, holding his face, went cold.

Compared to Yu Hang, his family really wasn’t wealthy... But—

“Isn’t your old man just the vice principal at No. 2 High? What’s there to brag about?” Yu Hang sneered, his eyes flicking to Han Yuanzhong’s bike. He raised his voice for all to hear, “Your dad barely makes ten grand a month, yet you drive a half-million car, ride a bike that costs twenty grand. Ha! Don’t pretend your dad’s hands are clean. Stop acting like some big shot’s son!”

Yu Hang could be quite the showman, and Han Yuanzhong’s face turned from green to white.

The surrounding students began to murmur, gathering closer...

Trying to calm Yu Hang down.

“Let it go, Yu Hang!”

“Just drop it...”

“It’s early, we have class soon. If Teacher Mouse catches us, we’re screwed...”

“I just can’t stand him strutting around, acting all high and mighty, and bullying Sui Yi... Damn it!” Yu Hang ignored them, face twisted with fury, trying to break free and reach Han Yuanzhong.

Han Yuanzhong had already scrambled up, half his face swollen.

Truth be told, Han Yuanzhong was quite well-known at No. 2 High, with plenty of supporters, but there was also a sizeable group who couldn’t stand him.

Because this guy was just too fake—hypocritical!

Han Yuanzhong’s face contorted with rage. He wiped the blood from his mouth and snarled, “Yu Hang, you’ve lost your mind! Who is Sui Yi, anyway? Just a tramp! You spoil her like she’s a princess, giving her bikes and phones... You—”

“Go to hell!”

Who knew Yu Hang could swear like that?

He could.

Everyone has a wild side; even the best-behaved have their darker moments.

Now, the K-pop-idol-like Han Yuanzhong was in utter disarray. His recent tirade had exposed his ugly side, leaving quite a few girls dumbstruck, while the usually sunny Yu Hang charged like a raging bull...

Students tried to separate them, the security guard tried to break it up; chaos reigned. A bus rolled to a stop at the gate, and a crowd poured out.

Sui Yi withdrew her gaze, closed her browser, and dialed a number. “Old Tang...”

“I remember seeing something with you...”

“Send it to me, please... and do me a favor, call a lawyer for me...”

Sui Yi spoke calmly into her phone, her expression serene and unruffled—much to the security guard’s exasperation. Damn, this was getting out of hand. Everyone knew these two kids had powerful backgrounds; they could get him fired in a heartbeat. Yet the one who started it all looked like she didn’t have a care in the world. Infuriating!

“Hey, you!”

“You, the girl—get over here!”

“Hey! I’m talking to you, didn’t you hear me?!”

A burly security guard strode after Sui Yi, his voice menacing.

At that moment, Sui Yi ended her call, received an image, glanced at it, then made another call... all while continuing forward.

From the basketball court nearby, a ball came rolling her way.

“Hey, kick the ball over here!” someone shouted.

The security guard, just five or six meters behind, was sure he’d catch the girl who seemed so indifferent, trying to slip away...

Suddenly, she spun around with the speed of a hawk, her hair whipping back, her long, slender leg rising...

It was like she could summon the wind.

Wind stirred!

With a dull boom, the ball at her feet sliced through the air with a powerful gust, streaking past the guard’s ear like a cannonball!

It cut a perfect line, ferocious in its trajectory...

It hurtled straight into the brawling crowd, striking with unerring precision...

Boom!

The ball smashed into Han Yuanzhong’s handsome but now swollen face.

If you wanted to know how a pancake is made...

Perhaps it’s the sensation of pressure from all sides, coming down hard!

Then...

Han Yuanzhong flew backwards, his red, swollen face now streaming with twin rivulets of blood from his nostrils, spinning through the air—before crashing to the ground.

The basketball bounced to the floor, echoing in everyone’s hearts—thump, thump, thump...

Over at the basketball court, silence reigned.

At the parking lot, it was even quieter.

Everyone was stunned.

Beside the bus, students clutching half-eaten pork buns inhaled the greasy aroma in shock.

Yan Qingwu’s gaze swept past the crowd and settled on her usually low-key, quiet desk mate.

After several days together, she’d assumed Sui Yi was the reserved, peaceful type.

Clearly, she was mistaken.

“Hey, what’s that noise over there?”

“Nothing, just put someone in the hospital... Did you get what I sent you?”

“Yeah... What do you mean by this?”

“Heh... Captain Lin Quan, do you want a promotion?”

Lin Quan could almost picture Sui Yi on the other end, her calm, faintly smiling expression, her voice so soft and cool yet sending a tremor through his soul.

Do you want it? Lin Quan...

Doesn’t that seat wear you out?

She was like an enchanting siren...

Even his brain tingled with anticipation.

“Sui Yi, do you know what Old Wang at the morgue told me the other night?”

“I’m listening...”

“He said, I, Lin Quan, have lived a plain life for decades, but now my benefactor has arrived... fortune is on its way.”

“So?”

“Heh... Just found out today that the old man received a bribe from the assassin. He leaked your information, and that very night the arms dealer was murdered by the killer...”

“A surprising twist.”

“Yeah... But my mother once said... Truth and lies are hard to separate, right and wrong impossible to judge... We only live once.”

“So, your time is running out, Lin Quan.”

———