Chapter 7: A Fight, A Fire, A Fracture

Zhou Zhaoqi saw that He Ting only stared at him coldly without responding, and assumed he would act like before, endure if he could, retreat if he must.

He couldn’t help but sneer. “What, scared?”

This kid had been bullied by them for so long, when had he ever really fought back?

He Ting curled his lips slightly and shifted his gaze to Gu Donghang, who was watching with schadenfreude. His tone hardened. “Tell your dog to let go.”

Before Gu Donghang could reply, Zhou Zhaoqi had already flown into a rage and swung his fist. “Who the hell are you calling a dog?”

He Ting was a bit taller than Zhou Zhaoqi, but Zhou was sturdier and often skipped class to fight, far more experienced in real combat.

He Ting already had little chance against him.

Not to mention Gu Donghang standing nearby, pretending to break them up while actually blocking He Ting’s attacks and creating openings for Zhou Zhaoqi.

This fight had no chance of victory from the start. It was merely He Ting’s way of showing his stance.

He Ting tilted his head to dodge a punch, then immediately swung his backpack hard.

Taking advantage of Zhou’s dodge, he stepped forward quickly and drove his knee upward.

The system had indeed boosted his agility, his strike landed cleanly.

But the next second, Gu Donghang grabbed his clothes and yanked him back, nullifying his advantage.

He Ting felt both furious and anxious.

No matter what, Gu Donghang was still the second young master of the Gu family.

Unless absolutely necessary, He Ting neither wanted nor dared to hurt him.

Even if Gu Qiuhang didn’t like him, he had still grown up by his side.

Small scuffles or being bullied were one thing.

But if he injured Gu Donghang without provocation, it would no longer be just a conflict between kids.

Tong Yuemei would definitely seize the opportunity to use it against Gu Qiuhang.

That ingrained caution from growing up dependent on others still influenced He Ting’s judgment at critical moments.

Gu Donghang seemed to be separating them, but in reality, all his strength was directed against He Ting, preventing him from fighting properly.

Eyes reddening, He Ting finally snapped.

He grabbed Zhou Zhaoqi’s hair and, ignoring the punches raining down on him, attacked with everything he had.

He didn’t know how many hits he took, nor how many he landed.

He just clenched his teeth and kept driving his knee forward!

He couldn’t see his own expression, but it was probably ferocious.

Gu Donghang cursed him as a lunatic while trying to pry his fingers loose.

Only when the school security rushed in and pulled them apart did it end, yet both still glared fiercely, clearly unwilling to let it go.

Zhou Zhaoqi was bent over from the knee strikes, while He Ting, even with reduced pain from the system, felt pain all over his body.

Neither had gained the upper hand.

He Ting’s pale face was bruised and swollen, his lip split and bleeding, it was a pitiful sight.

When the three were brought to the office, they finally calmed down.

The chubby dean slammed a pointer on the desk repeatedly.

“How many years has it been since anyone dared to fight on campus? You’ve got some nerve! Do you know the consequences?!”

No one spoke.

The pointer slammed again. “What happened? Someone talk!”

He Ting glanced at the other two and spoke first, voice soft with a hint of tears.

“Teacher, they bullied me.”

Zhou Zhaoqi and Gu Donghang looked at him with disdain, like he was a tattling child.

The dean pointed at the other two. “What about you?”

Gu Donghang lowered his head, speaking sincerely while distancing himself.

“Teacher, Tang Xi insulted Zhou Zhaoqi first. Zhou got angry and tried to teach him a lesson. I was just trying to break it up.”

The dean nodded. “Oh? So he insulted you for no reason? And your ‘mediation’ was quite something.”

He Ting wanted to laugh, but the pain in his lip made it impossible. He could only keep a pitiful expression.

The security had already retrieved surveillance footage, who started it would soon be clear.

“I…” Gu Donghang pursed his lips, trying to explain.

The pointer swung toward all three. “Major demerit! Major demerit! Major demerit! Get out! Three thousand words each—submit after school!”

“Teacher…” Zhou Zhaoqi tried to speak.

“Six thousand!” the dean snapped.

“Huh?” Zhou looked confused. “What six thousand?”

“Anyone who tries to negotiate doubles the word count. Now get out!”

****

He Ting was fairly popular in class, he had a good temper and a cute appearance, making him well-liked by both boys and girls.

When he walked in with a bruised face, everyone turned to look.

Many asked what happened and if he needed help.

Du An was shocked. After hearing the story, he immediately wanted to call people to block those two after school and beat them up.

He even patted He Ting’s shoulder, praising him for finally standing up for himself.

At this age, adolescence, rebellion, settling things with fists was common.

Du An had long felt frustrated with He Ting’s tolerance.

Now that He Ting had fought back, he was thrilled.

It felt more satisfying than fighting himself.

They were still too young to understand restraint or consequences.

Though He Ting also felt relieved, he stopped him from escalating things.

Considering He Ting’s awkward position in the Gu family, Du An reluctantly backed down.

The disturbance didn’t last long.

Soon, the homeroom teacher brought in a new student.

A very beautiful boy, smiling warmly, introduced himself gracefully:

“Hello everyone, my name is Li Yue. I just transferred here. Please take care of me.”

He Ting froze slightly.

He knew this boy well.

This was the protagonist from the original world, the one Gu Qiuhang loved.

Also the catalyst that pushed Tang Xi to take desperate actions.

A wave of bitterness rose in He Ting’s chest.

It came from nowhere, impossible to express, just a dull ache.

In the original world, Li Yue and Gu Qiuhang were always together.

That cold man showed him a gentleness Tang Xi had never seen.

The sweeter they were, the more Tang Xi suffered.

Jealousy nearly drove him mad.

Yet Li Yue remained kind, as if unaware of Tang Xi’s hostility.

He Ting felt Tang Xi’s emotions, struggle, pain, jealousy, despair, and dark obsession.

It made his heart complicated.

He had inherited Tang Xi’s feelings, including his intense love for Gu Qiuhang.

He controlled himself with reason, knowing he was now He Ting.

But sometimes, those emotions still surfaced.

He frowned and mechanically clapped with the class.

Li Yue glanced at him and smiled.

He Ting’s heart skipped a beat.

Li Yue walked over and sat behind him.

He couldn’t focus the entire class.

After class, someone tapped his shoulder.

He turned and saw Li Yue smiling.

“You were really cool this morning.”

He Ting blinked, then realized what he meant. Touching his bruised face, he felt embarrassed.

“You saw that?”

Li Yue nodded. “I was on the outside, but you guys were pretty intense.”

He Ting smiled faintly.

Li Yue smiled back. “Please take care of me.”

****

Gu Qiuhang returned late from a business dinner.

He saw Aunt Zhou coming out of the kitchen, muttering complaints.

“Back already, young master? Have you eaten?”

“Mm.”

Her hopeful expression dimmed as she complained about wasted food.

Gu Qiuhang poured coffee and asked, “No one ate at home?”

“No. Tang Xi came back and locked himself in his room—his face all bruised. Poor thing.”

Gu Qiuhang didn’t respond.

He set the coffee aside and went upstairs.

He Ting had just finished applying medicine when there was a knock.

Opening the door, he saw Gu Qiuhang.

Suit, tie, faint smell of alcohol.

“Anything, young master?”

Backlit, his bruised face looked even worse.

Gu Qiuhang frowned, lifting his chin to inspect.

His gaze was dark, almost unfamiliar.

The touch hurt.

He Ting pulled away.

Gu Qiuhang narrowed his eyes.

“Have you been avoiding me?”

“No.”

Without hesitation.

Gu Qiuhang nodded, then touched his lip again.

“Won’t you invite me in?”

His low voice carried a rough edge.

He Ting wanted to refuse, but didn’t.

Because if he spoke now, it would feel like he was kissing those fingers.

So he pressed his lips tighter.

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