Chapter 11

"Hey, can you get to the point already? If you do, I'll treat both of you to a week's worth of meals."

"Really? You have to keep your word." The two of them grabbed my arms.

"Wow, I didn't know Zuo Fei was a little tycoon, hehe." Huang Jie even leaned on my shoulder.

"Can you have a bit of backbone, damn it?" Houzi also leaned on my shoulder. "Little tycoon, I'll follow you from now on!"

"Get to the point!"

The two of them straightened up. Houzi said, "When the Ninth Prince came to collect protection money, I never paid. Eventually, he forced Da Mao to step in. When Da Mao came in, Huang Jie passed me a knife, and I stabbed him to the ground. After that, as you said, the Ninth Prince started treating me with respect."

"Isn't that great?"

"Not really. My goal wasn't that," Houzi said.

"Then what was your goal?"

"To take the Ninth Prince's place."

I was a bit stunned and didn't quite understand: "You want to be the leader of the Ninth Prince?"

Huang Jie got impatient: "What kind of IQ do you have? Houzi means we want to replace the Ninth Prince and become the leaders of our freshman year."

"Oh, I see, I see."

Houzi continued: "After I stabbed Da Mao, I thought he would seek revenge with all his might, and we could naturally take out the Ninth Prince. But that wimp Da Mao gave in so easily. Not only did he stop collecting protection money from me, but he also treated me very politely. Sometimes I deliberately provoked him, like bumping into him or kicking open the door to his dorm, but he could tolerate everything and even spoke to me in a gentle tone. I had no temper and no reason to deal with him, so I've been aimless until now, with no status in the grade."

"So you used the opportunity with me and Lin Ke'er to provoke Da Mao several times, just to make him stab you back?"

"Exactly, that way I could take him out with a clear conscience." Houzi was quite pleased with himself.

Although I felt a bit used, it wasn't important now. I asked, "Why do you want to be the leader?"

Houzi and Huang Jie looked at me as if I were a monster.

Huang Jie said, "Isn't that obvious? Which man doesn't want to be the leader?"

Houzi said, "Bingzi is the leader in your group, right? Have you ever asked him why he wants to be the leader? A good man should strive and fight in this world; otherwise, wouldn't it be a waste of life?"

Looking at their determined faces, my blood was also ignited. Indeed, our side was quite chaotic, and we often heard about someone making it big, with luxury cars and everything. That was true success, and Bingzi often said he wanted to be the underground emperor of our area, showing that many people had this ambition.

"But I still have a question."

"I see you two talking about different things. Who will be the leader after we take out the Ninth Prince?"

"Of course, it's me!" They almost said it at the same time.

I looked at them in surprise. They also looked at each other and grabbed each other's collars.

"What did you say?"

"Of course, I'm the leader, damn it."

"Go to hell, I'm the leader, okay?"

"Let's settle it in a one-on-one fight if you don't agree?"

"Sure, let's do it, who's afraid of who!"

Both of them were heated up, as if they were really going to fight.

I laughed: "You two don't even have any followers, and you're already thinking about who will be the leader!"

They both looked at me.

I got angry, slammed the table, and stood up: "Go to hell, I'm not a follower, I want to be the leader!"

I grabbed Houzi's collar, Houzi grabbed Huang Jie's collar, and Huang Jie grabbed my collar. The three of us argued incessantly.

"Are you serious about being the leader with that attitude?"

"Obviously, I should be the leader, right?"

"Let's settle it in a one-on-one fight, damn it. Whoever wins the fight will be the leader!"

"Pay the bill and go outside to fight if you want to." The restaurant owner finally got angry.

I paid the bill, and the three of us argued our way out of the restaurant, ready to fight on the street.

I suddenly said, "Isn't it pretty stupid to fight over who will be the leader before we even take out the Ninth Prince?"

Houzi stopped talking, let go of Huang Jie's collar, and said thoughtfully, "It is pretty stupid."

Huang Jie also let go of my collar: "Damn, it's really stupid!"

I let go of Houzi's collar: "How about we decide this after we take out the Ninth Prince?"

The three of us sat on the street and smoked. I said, "Can the three of us take out the Ninth Prince?"

Huang Jie said, "The Ninth Prince only has nine people, but each of them has their own brothers, at least three or four, and up to seven or eight. If they all come, there will be at least forty or fifty people. Do you think we can take them on?"

The three of us were silent, feeling even more stupid about arguing over who would be the leader.

Seeing that they weren't talking, I got anxious: "So, you deliberately got stabbed but haven't thought about how to take out the Ninth Prince?"

Houzi said, "Why think about that? Let's go play a game first."

"Good." This suggestion was approved by Huang Jie, and both of them stood up.

I knew them too well. They would never stop once they started playing.

I stood up and blocked them, angry: "Go to hell, don't go, let's settle this first!"

Houzi looked at me and said, "Zuo Fei, do you really want to take down the Ninth Prince?"

"Of course!" I said with confidence. "It's only the third day of school, and I've already been beaten six times. How can I not get revenge?"

"They are strong and numerous. Are you sure you want to get revenge?"

"Of course!"

Houzi smiled: "Hehe, worthy of being Bingzi's brother. Alright, I'll tell you my plan."

Houzi sat down again and said, "Zuo Fei, did the Ninth Prince come to your dorm to collect protection money on the first day of school?"

"Ma Jie in our dorm collected it, saying he would give it to the Ninth Prince, but I didn't pay, so I got beaten."

Houzi nodded: "Right, the Ninth Prince collects protection money every year, but there are always some troublemakers like you who don't pay. These students are usually quite tough, and they naturally want to show off when they come here. However, after being beaten by the Ninth Prince, they all end up paying the protection money."

I gritted my teeth: "I won't pay even if I get beaten again!"

Houzi continued nodding: "Very few people hold out until the end. In our year, besides me and Huang Jie, there were about seven or eight students who didn't pay. These students are the real tough ones, and I and Huang Jie took the opportunity to befriend them, preparing to overthrow the Ninth Prince when the time comes."

"What happened to those people later?"

Houzi hesitated.

I understood: "You keep borrowing money from them?"

"Oh, let's not talk about the past. I mean, after the military training, the Ninth Prince will clear out the students who don't pay protection money. This is a great opportunity for us to make strong allies. When we have enough people, we can take on the Ninth Prince!"

I slapped my thigh. Houzi's idea was indeed good. Those who dared not pay protection money were definitely tough and had been beaten by the Ninth Prince, so they would have a grudge and be easy to recruit. When we had a group, we could take action.

Thinking about taking down the Ninth Prince, I got excited: "Do we have to wait until the military training is over?"

"Yes, it's their tradition."

"Alright, let's wait. We have about ten more days. You can rest and get ready, and we'll take action then."

Huang Jie was also happy: "Now you're reassured, right? Can we go play games now?"

"Sure, go ahead. I'll go back to the military training. I've been gone for so long, the instructor will definitely scold me."

"Ha, what a coward, even afraid to skip military training!" The two of them walked to the internet cafe, arm in arm.

I remembered something and shouted at them: "When we recruit people, you two mustn't borrow money from them anymore!"

Houzi turned around and said, "With you, a little tycoon, why would we need to borrow money from others? Just keep it that way. Be low-key during the military training and don't have any conflicts with the Ninth Prince's people before it's over!"

"Alright!"

But, can I really decide whether the Ninth Prince's people will cause trouble?

Back at the playground, the instructor indeed scolded me, asking where I had been since yesterday afternoon. His tone was particularly bad, and he even threatened to tell the homeroom teacher. I got angry and said I had been beaten and went to the hospital, and didn't I have bruises all over? The instructor had seen me get beaten and said, "Look at you, you deserve it."

I was quite angry at the time and really wanted to fight the instructor. But he then said, "Alright, go sit under the tree. You don't have to train, but you have to be here, or your teacher will be upset." This made me feel the instructor was okay, so while they trained in the sun, I continued to sit under the tree and play with my phone.

During the break, Liu Yina came over and asked how Houzi was. I said he was fine and was playing at the internet cafe. Liu Yina said, "That's good," and then sighed, looking a bit disappointed. Lin Ke'er came over and gave me a bottle of water, also asking about Houzi's condition. With two beautiful girls around me, I got a lot of envious looks.

While we were chatting, Lin Ke'er suddenly waved: "Zhang Xuan, come over!"

I saw Zhang Xuan not far away. My face fell; I didn't like her much now. But they were sisters, and with Wang Yao's mediation, their relationship had returned to normal. Zhang Xuan came over, and the three girls chatted intimately, completely ignoring me. Of course, I didn't want to talk to Zhang Xuan either, so I was happy to be left alone to continue playing with my phone.

"Zuo Fei, are you still angry with me?"

I looked up, and Zhang Xuan was looking at me pitifully.

I said, "How could I be? You are the Thirteenth Rose."

"Don't be angry. I was wrong yesterday, and I've broken up with Xing Qiu."

Since she had said that, it wouldn't look good if I kept a stern face, so I said, "It's fine. Ke'er isn't angry, so why should I be?"