Chapter Nineteen: Schemes

As a wealthy and influential young master, Chen Chong had always looked down on the likes of street thugs, so he didn’t recognize many of them. Now, when he urgently needed such people to do his bidding, he found himself at a loss.

In the days that followed, Zhang Wenhao showed no restraint. He frequently approached Su Ruoran in public—whether it was in the school cafeteria or on the way home after class—and Su Ruoran never rejected his advances. On the contrary, she always exchanged a few words with him.

Chen Chong’s fury had reached its limit; the more enraged he became, the more he lost his rationality.

This was exactly what Zhang Wenhao wanted.

On one hand, he felt guilty for deliberately getting close to Su Ruoran; on the other, he hoped his high-profile behavior would provoke a reaction. He wanted to push Chen Chong past his breaking point, to force him to show himself and seek revenge. That would play right into his hands.

His only fear was that Chen Chong would do nothing.

But for someone as arrogant and narrow-minded as Chen Chong, doing nothing was simply impossible.

He held back until Friday. On Friday afternoon, as soon as school let out, Chen Chong left the campus and took a taxi straight to the district police bureau.

Jiangcheng No. 1 High School was located in Jiangxin District, the largest and most prosperous part of Jiangcheng City. Chen Chong’s father was the district governor, and the deputy director of the district police bureau, Xing Jiaqian, was his father’s trusted confidant. Their families were close, and while Chen Chong wanted to teach Zhang Wenhao a lesson, he couldn’t find the right people—so he set his sights on Xing Jiaqian.

But Chen Chong was shrewd. He knew that if he went to Xing Jiaqian directly, the matter would certainly reach his father’s ears first. So he went straight to the police bureau and sought out Xing Jiaqian’s driver.

Xing Jiaqian was in a meeting when Chen Chong, sneaking around, found the driver, Xiao Wu, and got straight to the point. “Uncle Wu, could you do me a favor?”

Wu Youxin, the driver, was surprised to be approached by the governor’s son, but curiosity got the better of him. “Young Master Chen, what do you need from me?”

“It’s like this,” Chen Chong said. “There’s someone at school always making trouble for me. I want someone to teach him a lesson—preferably some streetwise guys. If you could find a few suitable people for me, I’d be very grateful. But if you can’t help, you mustn’t tell anyone about this.”

Wu Youxin nodded in understanding. As the deputy chief’s driver, he was familiar with all sorts of street toughs. In Jiangcheng, especially in Jiangxin District, few dared cross him; many sought favors with the chief through him, offering gifts. Those people often tried to curry favor—finding some to rough up a high school kid would be an easy job, and they’d probably compete for it.

Feigning hesitation, Wu Youxin frowned in thought, then slapped his thigh. “Alright! Young Master Chen, leave it to me. But don’t mention this to the chief or the district governor, or I’ll be in a difficult spot.”

“Don’t worry.” Chen Chong was delighted and promised, “Uncle Wu, if you help me with this, I’ll owe you a favor!”

This was Chen Chong’s favorite thing to say—he’d learned it from his father, and it always worked. He never took owing favors seriously, so he rarely bothered to return them. But to people like Zheng Xiaohe or Wu Youxin, his promise meant a lot, and they’d go out of their way to help him.

Wu Youxin wasn’t a fool. He probed, “By the way, Young Master Chen, what does this troublesome classmate’s family do?”

Jiangcheng was the provincial capital of Southern River Province, home to all kinds of officials, from village chiefs to those in the city or provincial committee. Chen Chong’s father was only a district governor—an important post to them, but not worth offending a more powerful family over a child’s quarrel.

Chen Chong, raised under his father’s influence, understood Wu Youxin’s concerns. “His parents are both workers at a tool factory—no official positions at all.”

“That’s settled, then,” Wu Youxin replied. “Leave it to me.”

Thinking of how close Zhang Wenhao had been to Su Ruoran lately, Chen Chong ground his teeth. “Uncle Wu, just introduce me to a few guys. Have them at No. 1 High by nine tonight. I’ll personally take them to settle things. I want him to understand that Su Ruoran is my chosen woman—no one else can touch her!”

Wu Youxin realized it was a love rivalry at play, but since the other party came from an ordinary worker’s family, he said, “Young Master Chen, go back to class. I’ll find some well-known guys from Jiangxin District and have them meet you at the school gate before nine. They’ll do whatever you ask.”

“Great!” Chen Chong left his phone number, then returned to school, barely able to contain his excitement. In his mind, a week’s worth of pent-up anger would finally be unleashed that night.

As soon as Chen Chong left, Wu Youxin made a call to the owner of a nightclub in Jiangxin District. When Wu Youxin requested a few men to teach a high school student a lesson, the boss readily agreed.

Before the first evening class was over, Chen Chong received a call from an unfamiliar number. The man on the line was very polite, “Is this Brother Chen? I’m a friend of Brother Wu Youxin. He asked me to help you out. I’m already at the school gate.”

Chen Chong hurried to the gate and saw four men with fierce expressions waiting. None of them looked like the typical skinny, long-haired punks. All four wore crew cuts and had brutish faces; the leader even had two scars, each nearly eight centimeters long, slashed across his face and forehead—a knife wound for sure.

“Brother Chen, I’m Mouse from the Aurora Bar. Brother Wu has told us everything. Tonight, the four of us are at your service.”

Mouse knew exactly what was going on. Though he didn’t know who this young man was, anyone who could send Wu Youxin’s orders had to be someone important. His boss had always wanted to forge closer ties with Wu Youxin, and this was a prime opportunity. Even though it was just to teach a high schooler a lesson, the boss had stressed that, no matter how big or small, the job had to be done well.

Chen Chong was thoroughly satisfied. These men were far more formidable than the likes of Feilong. Judging by their appearance alone, they could probably scare Zhang Wenhao out of his wits without even lifting a finger.

Chen Chong sneered inwardly. Zhang Wenhao! Tonight, I’ll show you exactly what happens when you dare to lay a hand on my woman.