Chapter 3

The restructuring of a super-large economic group is certainly not something that can be accomplished overnight. Ever since that meeting, the Cui family's machinery began to run at full speed. Throughout the entire summer, Cui Zhengyuan saw his parents and grandfather very rarely. Most of the time, he was playing with his younger brother and sister. The children, freed from their studies, poured every ounce of energy into the scorching summer.

It wasn't until more than a month later, when Pan Jingzhen sent her precious son to high school, the same high school where her nephew Cui Shiyuan was, that he was able to recover from his wild play. Actually, it wasn't that Cui Zhengyuan liked to play. He knew this would be the last time he could play like a child without any worries. There would be no more such opportunities in the future.

In his heart, he had long planned that once the time was right, he would persuade his family to leave the confines of school and pursue the entertainment industry he loved. The high school curriculum was unnecessary for him, a person who had been reborn.

The school where the Cui family's children studied was undoubtedly the best aristocratic school. This combined junior and senior high school was the most prestigious in Seoul. Every year, many outstanding students graduated from here and were admitted to prestigious universities like Seoul National University and Korea University. Therefore, such a school had very strict control over outsiders. The security measures were quite comprehensive, ensuring the safety of the students. Moreover, Cui Shiyuan also attended this school. The two brothers being close to each other would provide some mutual support.

Generally, a school with a long-standing reputation not only has many wealthy and powerful aristocratic children but also cannot lack academic top students. After all, the arrogance of aristocratic children alone cannot bring such a great reputation to the school. Only academic performance is the sole standard for measuring the level of a school. Of course, being good at school does not necessarily mean having good character.

The short, poor, and unattractive students in the first year of high school, and even throughout the entire high school, could no longer remain calm. Damn, do you have to be so handsome, so dazzling? I mean, you've only been here for three days, do you really need to have love letters thrown out of the trash can? Short, poor, and unattractive people also have self-respect, you know. The cute girls are all flocking to you, so where does that leave us?

Thus, the entire high school was filled with a strange atmosphere. The rich, handsome, and wealthy students were secretly discussing whether to accept this new formidable rival into their circle. The short, poor, and unattractive students were also plotting, trying to find out this guy's background. If he was really someone extraordinary, they would just have to endure it. But if he was just a hollow pillow, then sorry, teenagers of sixteen or seventeen never lack energy, whether it's on the sports field or the fighting field.

However, this strange atmosphere suddenly disappeared one day. The reason was that our polite and smiling protagonist used his martial prowess to prove who the real man was.

That day, after finishing his classes, Cui Zhengyuan strolled to the junior high school to pick up his cousin and go home together. Although the high school curriculum was tighter than the junior high school, he was still in the first year, the initial stage of high school. Therefore, he was relatively more relaxed.

When he reached Cui Shiyuan's class, he found that school had already ended, and only a few students were still cleaning. The empty classroom was quiet, and he couldn't see Cui Shiyuan anywhere.

"Excuse me, is Cui Shiyuan here?" Cui Zhengyuan asked a nearby female classmate.

The girl had long known that this handsome boy was Cui Shiyuan's brother, and Cui Shiyuan was very popular among the girls. Seeing him, she hurried over, grabbing Cui Zhengyuan's arm, her face filled with worry, and whispered, "Cui Shiyuan was taken to the bathroom by a few high school students. You have to save him."

Cui Zhengyuan's head exploded with anger, and his blood rushed to his head. He knew the bad habits of these Korean students and immediately ran towards the bathroom. As he turned the corner, he could already see a crowd gathered at the bathroom door, and the sounds of fighting and cursing could be heard from inside.

Without thinking, Cui Zhengyuan rushed in. A hand reached out from the side, grabbing his shoulder, and a voice muttered, "Hey, kid, you can't go in." It was a tall person, clearly a high school student, and from his words, it was clear he was one of the high school students' accomplices, responsible for keeping watch.

Cui Zhengyuan, burning with anger, didn't say a word and delivered an elbow strike. The person's head hit the wall and he fainted. Before the others could react, Cui Zhengyuan rushed in. In the corner of the bathroom, seven or eight high school students were beating someone with sticks, and the occasional muffled groans could be heard, which seemed to be his cousin's voice.

"Damn it," Cui Zhengyuan roared and charged forward. The student at the outermost edge turned around, and Cui Zhengyuan kicked him in the chin. The person groaned and fell backward.

Cui Zhengyuan picked up the stick that had fallen and swung it, knocking another person away. At this point, the others reacted and rushed at Cui Zhengyuan. The high school students outside also realized what was happening and rushed in.

Surrounded on all sides, Cui Zhengyuan took a quick look and saw that the people in the center were indeed Shiyuan and another boy, who looked like his classmate. Fortunately, the two of them were not seriously injured, just with some blood on their foreheads and split lips, and their neat school uniforms were torn.

Cui Zhengyuan had always been very fond of his cousin, never even scolding him harshly. Now, seeing him beaten up by a group of bad students, and lying in the corner, groaning in pain, he could no longer suppress his killing intent.

The bathroom was too narrow, and the stick in his hand was difficult to use. With people on both sides, he threw the stick away and started fighting with his bare hands.

Don't be fooled by Cui Zhengyuan's slender build, which seemed weak. Under his school uniform, his body was made up of solid muscles, the result of his three years of training in Beijing.

Cui Zhengyuan cherished this hard-earned time after being reborn. From a young age, he had learned Taekwondo. By the age of twelve, he had already reached the black belt level. Although Taekwondo is mostly for show, it still improved his physical fitness.

During his three years in Beijing, with no academic pressure and his own interest, Cui Zhengyuan entered the Shichahai Sports School to study martial arts. Shichahai Sports School is famous in China's martial arts world, with Li Lianjie and Donnie Yen both coming from there. Although the martial arts taught there are mainly for performance and have limited practical combat power, they are still more than enough to deal with high school students.

Cui Zhengyuan was angry at their bullying and, being surrounded himself, did not hold back. Each of his strikes hit vital points, instantly incapacitating his opponents. However, there were too many of them, and soon, Cui Zhengyuan's eyes were swollen, his back was hit by a stick, and he had received many punches. If not for his strong resistance, he wouldn't have been able to hold on.

The fight was intense, and more and more people were lying on the ground. Initially, it was just a fight, but as the injuries increased, Cui Zhengyuan's anger also rose. He grabbed a student's head, his hand on the neck, ready to twist it. If he did, the student would be dead. That would no longer be a fight but a murder. Fortunately, after a long fight, Cui Zhengyuan was running out of strength, and his hand slipped, allowing the student to fall to the ground and escape.

The school building was only three stories high, and the noise had already attracted attention. Someone notified the school authorities, and soon, the principal and some teachers arrived. Seeing the scene, they were all stunned. The sound of the fight was almost like a war. The principal, whose heart was about to burst with anger, waved for the teachers to disperse the onlookers and quickly entered the bathroom.

"Hey, what are you guys doing? Stop it now!" The principal's angry shout was followed by two black shadows rushing in.

It turned out that the Cui family's bodyguards, who had been waiting outside and couldn't find the two brothers, had come in. They first went to Cui Zhengyuan, learned that he had gone to pick up his cousin, and then rushed to the junior high school. A female student from Cui Shiyuan's class informed them of the situation, and the bodyguards, along with the school staff, rushed to the scene.

Cui Zhengyuan was already exhausted. Seeing his family's bodyguards, his tense nerves relaxed. At that moment, a sudden force hit the back of his head. His vision went black, and he turned to see a scrawny student retreating with a stick. In his blurred vision, he realized that the earlier hit to his back was also from this person, who was still standing despite so many others lying on the ground.

The bloodlust in him couldn't be controlled. Just as the bodyguard was about to help him, Cui Zhengyuan's hand touched a hard object. Growing up in such a family, he knew what it was. Without thinking, he pulled it out and aimed it at the student. The bodyguard, shocked, struck Cui Zhengyuan's hand.

"Bang," a bullet hole appeared in the plywood, just five centimeters from the student's head. The faint smoke revealed what had just happened. The student, seeing the gun in Cui Zhengyuan's hand, fainted, and a foul smell emanated from his crotch.

The gunshot also woke Cui Zhengyuan up. Seeing what he had done, his mind went blank, and he temporarily lost consciousness. The bodyguard quickly took the gun from him, his expression grim, almost wishing he were dead. How could the young master be so impulsive? This was a shooting, and with such a major incident, he would surely face severe punishment.

The principal, who had just entered, was also stunned. He pointed at Cui Zhengyuan, his trembling lips unable to form words. As a scholar who had spent his life in academia, he had never even heard of a shooting, let alone seen one. After years of being gentle and refined, seeing such a violent event was shocking.

The other bodyguard, quicker to react, quickly walked over, shook the principal awake, and showed him his credentials. With such a major incident, they needed to take immediate action to prevent the situation from getting out of hand. If the news spread, not only would the Cui family be in trouble, but the school would also be held responsible.

He pulled the principal aside and whispered to him for a while, finally calming him down. The principal, who had been in his position for over a decade, was not without ability. Once he regained his composure, he immediately took action.

Looking back, the teachers who had come with him were mostly those he was close to. Even the few who were distant wouldn't dare challenge his authority. With this confidence, the principal quickly instructed them to secure the scene and prevent unauthorized access. He also assigned a few people to calm the clearly panicked students outside and warned them not to spread the news.

After doing this, the two of them checked the unconscious students on the ground. Finding that they were only unconscious and not seriously injured, the principal's expression finally relaxed. If there had been any deaths after a shooting, it would have been a major incident, worthy of the front page of the "Chosun News." Now, with no deaths and no outsiders at the scene, the incident could be controlled, and he could remain in his position as principal.

With a stern face, he warned the still conscious people, "No one is to speak of what happened today, or you will be expelled." This was the best high school in Seoul, and many had worked hard to get in. No one wanted to be expelled, so they all put away their curiosity.

The principal then called the school medical staff, cleaning staff, and maintenance workers to clean up the scene. Of course, the maintenance workers had to remove the bullet hole from the wall and the bullet itself, leaving no evidence behind.

Cui Zhengyuan and his brother were not suitable to stay at the scene and were escorted off the school grounds by the bodyguards. The school needed to communicate with the Cui family to handle the aftermath.

At the car outside the school, Cui Zhengyuan asked the bodyguard to take his brother home. After such a major incident, he was in a state of confusion and needed to be alone to clear his mind and think of a way to handle the situation.

The bodyguard, who had known him since he was a child and was very close to him, knew that if this incident wasn't handled properly, it could lead to a disaster. The most urgent thing was to return home and report to the family patriarch. Therefore, he was very hesitant, "Young master, I have already reported the incident to the family head. What do you think...?"

Cui Zhengyuan waved his hand impatiently, "Ara soo, ara soo, I will be back soon. Junsu, take care of Shiyuan for me."

Cui Shiyuan, clearly terrified, clung to his brother's hand, "Brother, come back soon." His pale face looked like a lost lamb.

Watching the car drive away, Cui Zhengyuan began to walk aimlessly along the road.

Thinking about the intense events, a bitter smile appeared on his colorful face, and he muttered, "Sigh, even at fifty, I can still be so impulsive. Why did I pull out the gun?"

Never having had the intention to kill, suddenly pulling out a gun today was a significant shock, even with decades of experience. Although no one was killed, the intent was to kill, and Cui Zhengyuan was extremely anxious, not knowing how to face his family. He let his dejected body follow his confused mind, walking, walking...

Thinking about these troubles, he unconsciously touched his face, "Ouch, which bastard did this? How could they bear to hit such a handsome face?!"

Bystanders gathered around the "panda brother."

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