Chapter 2

Leaving the office, Lin Jixin's sorrow immediately faded, and he furrowed his brow. At present, he was still a student, and this identity made handling matters inconvenient. Fortunately, the time was not far off, and as long as nothing went wrong, he could resolve this trouble afterward.

Back in the classroom, of course, he couldn't avoid being harassed by Sun Xueqiang, who was making a big fuss about his "safe escape."

Since the incident location was not far from the school, by the time classes started in the afternoon, the bank robbery had already become a hot topic in the school. Many students who liked to show off were vividly recounting the entire robbery process as if they had witnessed it firsthand. However, no one would have thought that the main character of the incident was sitting in the unattended corner of the classroom, listlessly resting on an old single desk.

The robbery was, after all, too far removed from the students' lives. By the time school was over, the intense attention had already waned, and it would not be mentioned again unless there was new gossip.

Watching his classmates excitedly rush out of the classroom in a minute after the dismissal announcement, Lin Jixin lazily picked up his backpack from the floor.

"Quick, 'Star Blue' has a new game. If we're late, there won't be any spots left," Sun Xueqiang shouted, rushing up to him.

"Star Blue New Space" was a large arcade near the school, one of the favorite leisure spots for students.

Lin Jixin had no interest in such activities and shook his head indifferently, "I won't go."

"What's wrong with you today?" Sun Xueqiang stared at him curiously, "Did something happen?"

He immediately realized that this was due to a sudden change in habit. Originally, it didn't matter, but then he thought, since it didn't matter, revisiting school life might be fine. So he changed his mind, smiled, and said, "Nothing! Okay, I'll go with you."

Sun Xueqiang immediately beamed, throwing all his doubts to the back of his mind, and urged, "Go, go, go..."

"Star Blue New Space" was just a street away from the school, a turn and you were there.

Looking at the arcade from a distance, Sun Xueqiang suddenly changed his expression and stopped, "Forget it."

Lin Jixin looked up and saw several students wearing uniforms from other schools entering "Star Blue New Space."

Sun Xueqiang turned his head as he spoke, "Let's go somewhere else to play."

Just as he turned, a few familiar classmates from his class walked over.

"You guys are here too!"

"Come on, let's go together!"

"Watch me practice my new moves." ...

These few people casually greeted them and enthusiastically pushed and pulled them toward the arcade.

Sun Xueqiang was still hesitant, but he was already dragged inside.

As soon as they entered, the exaggerated sounds of various games filled the air. The previously enthusiastic classmates immediately had a gleam in their eyes and scattered without even saying hello. Sun Xueqiang, however, still lacked enthusiasm and kept glancing at a corner of the hall.

Lin Jixin followed his gaze and saw a group of 16-17-year-old students standing in front of a few game machines, wearing the uniforms of the other school he had seen earlier.

At that moment, one of the cute girls suddenly looked up and saw them, or rather, saw Sun Xueqiang. Her face immediately turned unnatural, and she quickly lowered her head, whispering something to the slightly slim boy next to her.

The boy's gaze immediately turned to them, and then he cupped the girl's face and kissed her hard, glaring at Sun Xueqiang with a cold smile.

Sun Xueqiang's face suddenly turned red, and he roared, charging toward the group.

A flash of memory pierced through the fog in Lin Jixin's mind. He remembered that Sun Xueqiang was forced to transfer schools that year, reportedly due to a conflict with students from another school over a girl, during which he accidentally injured someone.

It seemed this was the very incident!

At the time, the whole school was abuzz with discussion, and Lin Jixin had overheard the entire story.

It turned out that although Sun Xueqiang had injured someone, it was only a minor injury. However, the injured student was from the prestigious "Yuntai Private Middle School," which had deep connections. Sun Xueqiang had no choice but to transfer to another city.

So, these students were from "Yuntai Private Middle School." He had heard that their uniforms were designed by famous designers, which explained the luxurious style.

As he was thinking, the conflict had already escalated.

Amid the screams of the girls, Sun Xueqiang kicked the boy, who stumbled and pulled him down. As soon as he got up, several biased students surrounded the two, and in the tussle, Sun Xueqiang was hit several times by multiple people, unable to even touch them.

After taking a few more punches, Sun Xueqiang suddenly let out a strange cry, broke free from the crowd, and, amid the screams, pulled out a shiny fruit knife from his fallen backpack.

With red eyes, he was about to chase after the frightened boy when a hand suddenly caught his wrist.

Instinctively, he struggled, but the hand forcefully turned his wrist, and a familiar voice sounded in his ear, "It's me!"

He regained some clarity and looked up to see Lin Jixin firmly holding him.

"Give me the knife."

Seeing his hesitation, Lin Jixin emphasized, "Give me the knife!"

At the same time, Lin Jixin reached out and used some force, finally taking the knife from Sun Xueqiang's hand.

Fighting was one thing, but once a knife was involved, the nature of the conflict changed completely. No wonder Sun Xueqiang had to leave school in disgrace. Regardless, they still had some bond, and he couldn't let Sun Xueqiang jump into the fire.

Putting the knife in his bag, Lin Jixin sternly shouted in Sun Xueqiang's ear, "Do you know what you're doing? Do you know the consequences? Look at that girl!"

On the other side, the girl Sun Xueqiang liked was gently wiping the red spot on the boy's lip with a tissue, her face full of concern and tension, completely ignoring Sun Xueqiang. Even when her attention occasionally turned to him, her eyes were filled with hatred.

"Snap out of it!" Lin Jixin put his arm around Sun Xueqiang's neck and shouted in his ear, "Is she worth it?"

The impulse to draw the knife had passed, and with his efforts to persuade, Sun Xueqiang's tense muscles began to relax, and he was pulled out by Lin Jixin.

"Want to run?" someone objected. The boy who had been kicked by Sun Xueqiang stepped forward, and the other students surrounded them.

"I'll handle it," Lin Jixin said softly in Sun Xueqiang's ear, let go of him, and turned to look at the boy with his hair stylishly combed to one side, speaking calmly, "What do you want?"

"Nothing much," the boy smiled, "Just to settle things clearly."

To be able to adjust his emotions so quickly was indeed rare for someone his age. From this, it was clear that Sun Xueqiang was far inferior, no wonder he ended up in such a sorry state.

Lin Jixin became a bit interested and looked at him, "Speak."

"My shirt," the boy pointed to his chest, where the first button of his inner shirt had been torn off, and a small tear was visible at the collar, "This should be compensated, right?"

"How much?" Sun Xueqiang stepped forward, his voice hoarse.

Narrowing his eyes, Hong Xiuting smiled smugly.

He was born into a powerful family with many members. Although they maintained a united front outwardly, internal conflicts were inevitable. Under the surface of harmony, there was a lot of intrigue and scheming for the limited resources of the family. Growing up in such an environment, he had learned to use techniques that ordinary students could not access.

These small tricks might seem childish to adults, but they were highly effective on peers, as was the case now.

Hong Xiuting glanced at the cheap market goods on the two boys and the old, worn backpack on their backs, "I'm wearing a Max leisure shirt, originally priced at 3,300. This is the second time I've worn it, so I'll give you a discount, 3,000."

He caressed the button he had just torn off, paused, and continued to smile calmly, like a hunter watching his prey fall into a trap, "If you don't believe me, you can check at the store."

Sun Xueqiang's face turned red, and after a moment of struggle, he suddenly remembered something and shouted excitedly, "What about the injuries you inflicted on me?"

Hong Xiuting didn't even raise an eyebrow, "I'll give you 500 for the doctor."

For such a minor injury, no medicine was even needed, let alone a doctor. Normally, 500 would be more than enough.

Seeing Sun Xueqiang speechless, he continued, "See, I'm a reasonable person. I won't pursue the matter, but you have to compensate me for the shirt."

He knew that a few thousand yuan was a "huge sum" far beyond the means of a poor student like Sun Xueqiang. By focusing on this point, he could manipulate the situation freely.

Seeing his "opponent" cornered with no way out, he couldn't help but show a smug look.

Actually, his feelings for the girl beside him were just so-so. Although she was pretty, in this "noble school," there were many girls from ordinary backgrounds with good looks who dreamed of climbing the social ladder. He had only intended to play around, but Sun Xueqiang's hateful gaze had piqued his interest. He deliberately provoked Sun Xueqiang to come over, just to knock him down and step on him.

The feeling of controlling everything and being above others was his greatest pursuit and enjoyment.

Just as he was feeling smug, a voice suddenly sounded, "500 for medical expenses is enough, what about the mental distress?"

Hong Xiuting frowned and turned to see Lin Jixin, who had a calm expression. He vaguely remembered that this person had been calm throughout.

This made him very uncomfortable. He wanted to see his opponent cornered and panicking. Indifference and calmness were a form of provocation.

"Add 500!" he huffed, not saying more. He was sure that Sun Xueqiang couldn't come up with 500 even if he added it.

"Is that enough?"

Hong Xiuting suddenly understood. The other party was deliberately纠缠在医疗费用问题上，这样就可以不理会衬衫的钱。

要知道，他在日常的斗争中学到了不少手段，但这些手段的使用者都是有身份的人，讲究愿赌服输。这次遇到厚着脸皮耍赖的对手，一时之间，他确实想不到解决办法。

这让他不由得格外恼怒：“一千了！你要多少？这点小伤陪一千，换成我，高兴还来不及！”

“你说的！”林季新微笑着，在洪修亭不明所以又暗觉不妙时，突然重重一拳打在他脸上。