Chapter 1572: An Unpleasant First Meeting

Spring is always full of vitality; university life is truly wonderful.

Today, the sun is bright, and the spring scenery is just right.

The bustle of the Bund is beyond doubt; it is a place of constant traffic and surging crowds year-round. Many tourists from afar come here to take photos and check in, and there are also people here sketching and painting.

Huangpu Park is the first public garden in China, condensing the history of Shanghai since it opened as a port.

To the north is Suzhou Creek, along with the Waibaidu Bridge. It is the passage between HP District and HK District, located at the mouth where Suzhou Creek flows into the Huangpujiang. It is our country's first all-steel riveted bridge and the only remaining unequal-height truss structure bridge.

To the east is the Huangpujiang, which has buried countless grand aspirations, soaring ambitions, and so much blood and tears.

To the west is the Bund's International Architecture Exhibition Group. Compared to the aggression it represents, this title is quite fresh and refined...

Nan Xiang was sketching in the park, setting up her drawing board, arranging her brushes and ink, and sitting on her own folding chair.

She is a beautiful person and also knows how to dress herself well. With her long hair fluttering, wearing a white dress and canvas shoes, she has quite a bit of youthful beauty. As the early spring breeze blows her hair and lifts the hem of her skirt, she appears even more fresh and ethereal in a daze.

Sitting there quietly and peacefully painting, she became another scene within the park. Men and women passing by could not help but cast their gazes toward her.

Naturally, she liked being the center of attention; it proved her beauty and her attractiveness.

However, she also had her troubles.

She tilted her head to look at the man standing guard by the trash can, wearing classic Warrior canvas shoes, jeans, and a black hooded sweatshirt.

This man had medium-length hair styled with hair wax, sharp facial features, and a pair of good-looking eyes. He stood on one leg, arms crossed, smoking a cigarette, with a smile on his lips, staring in her direction.

According to common sense, when her gaze turned to other men, the vast majority would avoid looking back at her. But this person was one of the few; instead, when she looked over, he smiled and nodded to greet her.

That feeling of being watched made her uncomfortable, and the smell of smoke drifted over, making it very difficult for her to breathe...

As the saying goes, you are looking at the scenery, and the person looking at the scenery is looking at you.

Not far away, a young man wearing a leather jacket, with his hair styled high and a look that suggested he was not to be trifled with, walked over. It just so happened that he caught the moment of eye contact between Nan Xiang and that man.

As Nan Xiang's boyfriend, although Xicheng himself often hit and scolded Nan Xiang, it didn't mean he didn't care about her; on the contrary, he cared very much.

So whenever he saw someone looking at Nan Xiang, he would glare back fiercely. If someone tried to chat her up, he would even beat them up if they said the wrong thing.

As a man, protecting one's girlfriend and not letting anyone poach one's territory is undoubtedly nothing wrong.

So, as usual, he headed straight for the person smoking there.

Xicheng walked over, wanting to reach out and wrap his arm around the man's shoulders.

Wang Yan waved his hand, brushing his arm away: "Who are you?"

"Who I am is none of your business! Let me tell you, there are some people you can't be thinking about, do you understand?"

While speaking, Xicheng took the opportunity to reach out and push Wang Yan.

Wang Yan grabbed his wrist, twisted it half a circle, and kicked him in the butt, sending him stumbling away, nearly face-planting and knocking out his front teeth.

"Why are you hitting people for no reason?"

Noticing the commotion, Nan Xiang quickly put down her brush, ran over to help Xicheng up, and blocked him from hitting anyone.

However, Xicheng did not appreciate it. He was a radical person who cared about face, and combined with his inherent hooligan habits, he was like a dog—the more you held him back, the more fiercely he barked, to the point where his brain couldn't think, only shout and bite.

So Xicheng pushed Nan Xiang away, completely ignoring that she fell to the ground, and rushed over with a flying kick, his face ferocious, as if he wanted to kick Wang Yan to death.

Wang Yan dodged the kick, slapped him hard across the face, kicked him aside again, and then flicked his finger, sending the cigarette butt in his hand flying onto Xicheng's face.

It even fell down his collar, burning Xicheng so much that he jumped up with a yelp, shaking his clothes in a panic.

At this moment, Nan Xiang climbed up and wanted to stop Xicheng again, but Xicheng's mind had been clouded by a huge sense of humiliation; he couldn't listen to persuasion or reason. The only thing that could wake him up was pain.

Just as he rushed up while cursing, he finally received his salvation.

Wang Yan gave him a sound beating, and soon Xicheng was crouching down, holding his head and taking the blows, no longer cursing.

"Stop hitting, stop hitting..."

Xicheng spoke while crouching on the ground.

After he finished speaking, he indeed felt the punches and kicks stop, and couldn't help but look up. As a result, he saw Wang Yan raising his hand again, which startled him into holding his head again.

However, this blow didn't land on him. He had already habitually yelped, so he couldn't help but look up again. He saw a size 44 foot kicking straight into his face.

"Why are you hitting people?" Nan Xiang walked up and helped Xicheng, who was already bruised and swollen, to stand up. "I've already called the police; you can't leave."

"Look at what you're saying. I was acting in self-defense; why would I leave?"

Wang Yan smiled, took a cigarette from his pocket, and gestured toward the surveillance camera on the side. "Look, there's monitoring there, recording the whole process. Whose fault it is will be clear once you look at the footage."

Lighting the cigarette, Wang Yan waved to the crowd. "Alright, there's nothing to see, everyone disperse. The young lady is quite pretty, and she's probably embarrassed. Right?"

Wang Yan raised an eyebrow at Nan Xiang.

Nan Xiang glared at Wang Yan and didn't speak to him.

Of course, Wang Yan was right. Nan Xiang absolutely did not want to find herself in such an embarrassing situation; it was really shameful. She wouldn't be smug just because the origin of the fight between the two men was her.

Wang Yan seemed not to notice, taking a step forward, and Xicheng retreated in a panic.

"Tsk, buddy, you're not much, are you? Where's that arrogance you had just now? Hmm? You were supposed to warn me, tell me I can't think about her, can't talk to her, can't look at her. You need to show off your ability, right? You're wearing a short sleeve in the cold, showing off those poorly tattooed arms of yours—you need to keep pretending."

Xicheng couldn't stand Wang Yan's sarcasm, but he didn't dare to come up and fight again, so he stiffened his neck: "If you're so tough, kill me! Do you dare?"

Wang Yan made a move to take two more steps forward, Xicheng took a step back, then stiffened his neck and glared at Wang Yan.

"Your legs are trembling, and you're still acting tough? Aren't you just a pure idiot? This is a society ruled by law; killing you isn't worth it."

Wang Yan shook his head, smoking his cigarette, and looked at Nan Xiang with a smile. "To be honest, your temperament, your face, your figure—they really don't match him; it's a waste. This is a person who bullies the weak and fears the strong, with no guts at all. He probably loses his temper with you often, right? Maybe he even hits you a couple of times."

"None of your business."

"Do you think I'm meddling? I'm just venting. Look, this trash doesn't dare to say a word now, and he's still hiding behind you. Hiding is fine, but he's still stiffening his neck, looking unconvinced.

You've watched Young and Dangerous, right? You know Liang Kun, right? He says if you're wrong, you admit it; if you get beaten, you stand straight. Let me tell you, it's really the rule of law that saved him, and I don't have money to compensate, otherwise, I'd have broken one of his dog legs today."

"If you have the ability, come on!" Xicheng couldn't hold it in and blurted out another sentence.

Wang Yan raised his hand, and Xicheng subconsciously shrank his head in fear.

"Shut your mouth." Wang Yan laughed loudly and said to Nan Xiang, "It's really a waste."

Nan Xiang just glared at Wang Yan and ignored him.

Wang Yan smoked another cigarette with ease and, quite arrogantly, flicked the butt onto Xicheng again, earning angry glares from Xicheng and Nan Xiang, but not a single word.

It was at this time that the police arrived at the scene to handle the problem.

Xicheng started acting: "Officer, you have to stand up for me. I didn't do anything. Look at how he beat me until I'm bruised and swollen. You must sentence him severely..."

The police, of course, wouldn't close the case so simply. They briefly questioned both sides and the witnesses at the scene, then checked the surveillance, and took the three away. Wang Yan went to the police station, while Xicheng and Nan Xiang went to the hospital because Xicheng strongly insisted on having his injuries verified...

"Not bad, you've practiced, right? You beat someone until they're bruised and swollen, not a single good spot on their body, and yet it's still just a minor injury?"

Facing the officer's exclamation, Wang Yan was very humble: "I was just exercising. You've seen the surveillance; I was honestly standing by the trash can smoking, and he took the initiative to come and find trouble with me. I was just acting in self-defense."

"Regardless, you two fought, so we still need to mediate and see what they have to say. Determining self-defense isn't that easy..."

In the mediation room, Wang Yan rested his chin on his hand, boredly listening to the police explaining to Xicheng, urging him to just let it go.

Xicheng was a hundred percent unwilling: "He beat me so miserably, he has to compensate me some money, right? He has to pay my medical expenses and mental distress fees, right? If he doesn't pay, there's no way to reconcile; I'd rather be detained with him."

"Great!"

Wang Yan clapped his hands and sighed, saying, "Officer, I'll accept whatever punishment you give, but I have one request: when we're detained, put us in the same room so I can have a good exchange with him."

"Listen, Officer, he's threatening me."

"Say less." The officer glared at Wang Yan.

Wang Yan laughed: "It's fine, it's just detention, what's the big deal? You can't reconcile today anyway. As soon as I walk out this door, I'll beat you. Your injury is verified as minor; at most, I'll be locked up for fifteen days. When I come out, I'll find you and beat you again. Anyway, I'm a loner, I don't care if I live or die."

"Officer! Look at him..."

"Don't look at me. If you don't pay me for the trouble of beating you today, and don't pay me mental distress fees, I won't reconcile with you either."

Facing Wang Yan's rogue behavior, the police had to separate them and persuade both sides individually.

Actually, the police were also very uncomfortable because Wang Yan was right, and he had the ability to do it. He could beat Xicheng eight times a day, and it would still be a minor injury. And he had no parents or relatives, no attachments at all.

So the police could only advise Wang Yan to pay attention to his studies, consider his bright future, the happiness of starting a family, and not to lower himself to the level of a small hooligan and ruin his future.

On the other side, they had to talk to Xicheng and Nan Xiang about Wang Yan's situation, asking them to pity Wang Yan, not to lower themselves to his level, and for everyone to take a step back and let the matter go...

Naturally, the matter was settled this way. No matter how much Xicheng wanted to make a scene, Nan Xiang wasn't willing. So everyone signed the reconciliation agreement.

At the entrance of the police station, Wang Yan smiled at Nan Xiang: "I just found out that we're actually alumni from the same school in the same year. Let's meet again if fate allows. Trash, speak!"

Xicheng snorted: "Don't think you're great just because you can fight. If you dare to harass my girlfriend, I'm not done with you."

"Oh, that's great. I'll harass her later and see how you, this coward, are not done with me."

Wang Yan waved his hand, lit another cigarette, put it in his mouth, and strolled away...

"Nan Xiang..." Xicheng turned to look at Nan Xiang, opening his mouth to speak.

Nan Xiang rolled her eyes at him, waved to hail a taxi, picked up her tools, got in, and returned to school.

"Damn it!"

Xicheng cursed fiercely, also took out a cigarette from his pocket to smoke, thinking through gritted teeth about how to get revenge...

Nan Xiang didn't return to campus but went to a large Western-style house outside the school.

This was a house Gu Li bought near the school because it was convenient for resting and saved the trouble of running back and forth. After all, Gu Li had money and was picky; she wouldn't be comfortable living in a university dormitory.

This also conveniently became a landing spot for the other three, where everyone would occasionally stay and have some fun together.

After putting down her things and seeing that no one was home, Nan Xiang called Lin Xiao to ask. Learning that they were enjoying the warm sun on the playground, she rushed over.

"What's your situation? Why did you go to the police station?" Lin Xiao asked with concern.

"Yeah, yeah, did someone bully you because of your beauty? Tell me, and I'll go crush his eggs." Tang Wanru said fiercely.

Gu Li, on the side, glanced over and snorted: "I bet it's that bastard Xicheng who caused trouble again, and Nan Xiang went to pick him up, right?"

Nan Xiang knew that Gu Li, who had been drugged and raped by Xicheng, wished she could really kill him, so there were absolutely no kind words when mentioning him...

She sighed: "Don't mention it. I was sketching at Huangpu Park today when a man was smoking not far from me and staring at me. Then Xicheng happened to come find me. You know Xicheng's dog temper; he went up to warn that person..."

Nan Xiang told the story exactly as it happened, leaving the three women greatly amazed.

"Is he really that powerful?" Tang Wanru was somewhat skeptical of Wang Yan's martial prowess.

Lin Xiao blinked her big eyes: "He's also quite pitiful, being alone for so many years..."

"Well beaten! That man was right; Xicheng is just a small hooligan who bullies the weak and fears the strong; he deserved to be beaten!" This was Gu Li, who felt two parts satisfied.

However, the three didn't wait for a response and looked at Nan Xiang in unison, only to see Nan Xiang looking into the distance.

"Nan Xiang, what are you dazing about? Did you take a fancy to the man who beat Xicheng?" Tang Wanru, with her big mouth, said laughingly, "It's true, looking at it that way, that man is better than Xicheng in every way."

"A hundred times!" Gu Li confirmed.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Nan Xiang continued to look into the distance, "It's really true that speaking of the devil, the man walking this way is him..."

So the three women looked over in unison...

?? Daily thanks to the good brothers who tipped, voted for monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, and read silently! ===== CHAPTER 1573 =====