Chapter 52: Becoming the Class Monitor

"Big brother, we're here, this is the place." The skinny guy pointed to a dozen or so teenagers nearby, some squatting, some standing, all smoking cigarettes.

It was a small shop nearby, also one of their hangouts.

"Let's go."

Saying this, Wang Yan stepped forward.

The group over there noticed them; one of them tilted his head and said, "Lei Ge, Shou Hou and the others are back."

The man called Lei Ge was currently smoking and boasting to the shop owner.

Hearing this, he turned to look at the three approaching.

Seeing the unfamiliar Wang Yan, he was puzzled but didn't take it seriously—he assumed they'd picked him up along the way to introduce him.

"Shou Hou, how'd the job go?"

"Lei Ge, he…" The skinny guy dared not speak, instead extending a finger toward Wang Yan beside him.

Seeing the skinny guy's reaction, Lei Ge instantly understood—they'd run into trouble. He walked up to Wang Yan: "Brother, you look new. Which patch do you run?"

There were fools who charged in without a word, but clearly Lei Ge wasn't one. Whoever dared come alone must have backing. To make enemies without knowing the truth wasn't about being hot-blooded—it was about being brain-dead.

Ignoring the posturing, Wang Yan said: "What did you send them two to do with Fang Yin?"

Wang Yan's disrespect was obvious—so many little brothers were watching. This was a direct slap to his face.

Lei Ge's eyes turned dangerous; he gritted his teeth and hissed: "Brother, this has nothing to do with you. I advise you to mind your own business."

Ignoring the threat, Wang Yan suddenly punched Lei Ge in the abdomen. Lei Ge doubled over in pain; Wang Yan swung a massive slap across his face, sending him crashing to the ground.

Overwhelmed by sudden pain, Lei Ge curled up, clutching his face on the ground.

The little brothers beside him were stunned by Wang Yan's sudden move, mouths agape, glancing back and forth.

"Shit… what the hell are you waiting for? Hit him!" Lei Ge, now recovered, clutched his groin and groaned while cursing.

Fighting was their daily routine—nobody backed down.

The little brothers exchanged glances.

"Fuck it, hit him."

They surged forward.

These street thugs couldn't even land a punch properly—Wang Yan faced zero pressure.

Wang Yan dodged left and right, weaving through them. After a brief chaos, the little brothers who had rushed in were all rolling on the ground, howling in pain.

This included the two who'd brought Wang Yan—they were angry at being beaten by him. Seeing so many attack together, they thought victory was certain; they couldn't let Wang Yan off without kicking him just to save face.

But who could've guessed Wang Yan was this strong? Over ten men, all knocked down.

Wang Yan hadn't gone for the kill—just superficial bruises. Painful for two days, then they'd heal.

He walked up to Lei Ge and lightly prodded him with his foot: "You're Lei Ge, right? Now can we talk properly?"

"No, no, I'm Liu Lei. Call me Xiao Lei." Liu Lei silently told himself, forcing a smile through the pain.

"Actually, nothing much—I had an older brother who got beaten to death because of her. I'm just not happy about it."

Wang Yan nodded: "Then, Xiao Lei, next time you've got a problem, come straight to me. Any issue?"

"No issue, Big Brother, not a single issue!" Liu Lei nodded frantically.

Wang Yan stepped on his ankle, adding slight pressure: "Oh? So you really plan to come to me? To get revenge?"

"Shit… I'm wrong, Big Brother, it hurts, it hurts—I won't come to you, I won't!"

Hearing this, Wang Yan lifted his foot—before Liu Lei could even breathe, he stepped on his other ankle: "If not me, who? Still planning to bother Fang Yin?"

Liu Lei burst into tears, one hand clutching Wang Yan's leg: "Big Brother, I'm wrong, I'm really wrong—I won't bother anyone, I won't find anyone!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than, sensing Wang Yan's guard lowered, he shouted, "Fuck you!" and pulled a dagger from his pocket, stabbing toward Wang Yan.

Wang Yan reacted instantly, bending low and grabbing the hand holding the dagger.

Liu Lei's face turned crimson—he couldn't advance an inch.

Suddenly, the hand clutching Wang Yan's thigh shot upward, aiming for a monkey-strike.

Wang Yan snorted, bringing his legs together, gripping Liu Lei's dagger hand, preparing to strike his other arm.

The overwhelming strength in Wang Yan's grip left Liu Lei powerless. As the blow neared his arm, he kicked desperately to break free—but he was sitting on the ground, utterly useless.

Liu Lei screamed in tears: "Big Brother, Big Brother, I'm wrong, I'm wrong!"

Ignoring his screams, Wang Yan slowly, slowly, drove the dagger into Liu Lei's arm—amid Liu Lei's desperate, hopeless cries.

Liu Lei turned his head and screamed in despair: "Aaaah…"

The little brothers beside him fell silent, mouths wide open, staring.

They'd heard stories—someone got killed, someone ended up in the hospital, barely survived, and so on.

But they'd never actually seen it—such things were rare.

After screaming, Liu Lei fell silent—because there was no imagined agony of his arm being pierced.

He stared blankly, watching the dagger halted just above his arm.

Liu Lei's lips trembled; overcome with emotion, he opened his mouth to bawl.

"I think you should be quiet." Wang Yan tightened his grip, driving the blade down a fraction.

"Shit… Big Brother's right, quiet—I'll be quiet." The pain snapped Liu Lei back to his senses; he nodded frantically.

"I advise you not to think about calling for help."

Wang Yan turned to the shop owner, who had been quietly inching toward the store.

Hearing Wang Yan, the shop owner froze like struck by lightning, then awkwardly licked his lips and said: "Heh, heh, young brother… oh no, Big Brother, you've misunderstood—I was just going to get you some water. You must be tired."

Wang Yan ignored him, twisted Liu Lei's wrist—Liu Lei cried out "Ow!" and dropped the dagger onto the ground beside him.

Wang Yan slapped the back of Liu Lei's head: "Got some guts, huh?"

Another slap: "Being a Big Brother feels mighty, huh?"

Another slap came, as he stared into Liu Lei's eyes: "That's enough. Let it go this time. But mark my words—if there's a next time, don't blame me."

He stood up and addressed the crowd on the ground: "You all too—don't treat my words like bullshit."

He turned to the shopkeeper: "Give me a bottle of soda."

Hearing this, the shopkeeper hurried inside and brought out a bottle of soda, watching as Wang Yan reached into his pocket for money.

He hurriedly said: "No, no, big brother, my treat." The shopkeeper was an adult, but adults were full of petty worries—given his level of toughness, he was terrified.

"Here, take it. I'm not a robber."

He handed over the money, then, as the shopkeeper's eyes twitched, pried open the cap with his fingers.

The money in his hand—he couldn't take it, and he couldn't leave it.

Wang Yan smiled faintly, sipped his soda, and strolled off lazily.

He didn't waste another word with them. If even parents' words went unheeded, why should he bother?

As soon as Wang Yan left, the gang burst into groans.

"Fuck, this bastard hit hard—my bones are broken."

"Shut up, man… sss… he clearly held back." One of them got up, winced as he moved his injured body, and spoke.

The skinny one and another boy gritted their teeth—they'd been hit the hardest by Wang Yan.

"Big brother, you okay?" They exchanged glances and rushed over to show concern—otherwise, they were done for.

Before the big brother could speak, one of them kicked the skinny boy: "Fuck you two! If it weren't for you, would our brothers be like this?"

Liu Lei had long held authority; he dared not vent on Liu Lei, so he took it out on the skinny boy and the other.

His words stirred the others. One by one, they got up and without a word, kicked the skinny boy and his friend repeatedly.

After a while, Liu Lei called a stop—he had anger too, but nowhere to release it.

"Big brother, are we just letting this go?" Liu Lei said nothing, but someone else glared angrily at the speaker: "Still not hurt enough, huh?"

"Find out who that kid is first."

Liu Lei couldn't help recalling Wang Yan's gaze just now—that coldness made him shudder. He dared not think further.

The next day, Wang Yan strolled to school as usual, and from afar saw Fang Yin waiting by the gate.

Seeing Wang Yan unharmed, walking calmly toward her, Fang Yin felt relief and sighed with joy.

She'd worried all night yesterday—couldn't sleep a wink.

She rushed over to Wang Yan: "You… you okay?"

"Look at me."

"…" Fang Yin didn't know what to say.

"Don't overthink it. Come on, let's go in."

"Oh."

Fang Yin followed Wang Yan closely, head down.

She dared not look up—passersby pointed and whispered about them.

Wang Yan knew they were talking about how he'd knocked down two people yesterday.

"If anyone else comes after you, tell me."

Fang Yin kept her head down, a faint smile on her lips: "Okay."

Lin Jiamo skipped up to the school gate and saw Fang Yin trailing behind Wang Yan as they walked inside.

Her skipping vanished instantly.

Last night, back home, Lin Jiamo's mind kept replaying Wang Yan's dunk—complete with special effects.

She couldn't figure out why such an ordinary face of his was so strangely appealing.

But thinking of his conflict with her friends, she sighed deeply.

She thought Wang Yan was handsome, charismatic, and unconsciously wanted to get closer—but that made her feel guilty toward her friends. Besides, she'd clashed with him; he must think terribly of her.

Seeing Fang Yin trailing behind Wang Yan, she didn't feel envy or hatred—just a dull discomfort.

Pouting, she trudged gloomily into the classroom.

When Wang Yan walked in, chaos erupted. Outside had been bad enough—inside, the students all stared at him.

One bold, nosy classmate called out: "Wang Yan, you were insane yesterday."

Wang Yan smiled and nodded at the classmate.

Another eyewitness asked: "Wang Yan, you took down two guys so easily—did you train in martial arts?"

Admiring strength never changed.

Wang Yan nodded and replied: "Just messing around."

Before anyone could ask more, he clapped his hands: "Alright, alright, thanks for the concern—get back to work."

Physical power was part of authority. The kids who'd seen his fighting ability yesterday no longer resisted him—they didn't find him annoying anymore. His decisive moves made it clear: he was one of them.

Everyone sat quietly at their desks, studying. A new day had begun.

First period: homeroom teacher Teacher Hou's class.

With the trio of troublemakers gone, the class had transformed completely—some slept, some daydreamed, some listened. Teacher Hou clearly felt his lecture flow smoother.

Of course, teachers were responsible—they couldn't ignore sleeping or drifting students. Chalk pieces flew everywhere.

Lin Jiamo sat listlessly, lost in thought.

"Pay attention! What are you thinking about?"

Jiamo jolted awake as a piece of chalk hit her. Instinctively, she glanced at Wang Yan behind her, then quickly turned back.

She smiled apologetically at Teacher Hou.

She pretended to listen, but inside, her mind battled with conflicting thoughts.

"Wang Yan is so handsome."

"But what about Chen Xun and the others?"

"But Wang Yan is so handsome."

"Where are Chen Xun and the others?"

"They should understand, right? They won't mind, right?"

"Yeah, they definitely won't mind—we're good friends."

"Right, that's exactly it."

Lin Jiamo effortlessly talked herself into being at peace.

She turned her thoughts again to worrying that Wang Yan might hold a grudge over yesterday's incident, frowning as she pondered how to win him over.

Forty-five minutes passed quickly; Teacher Hou finished her lesson with a satisfied sigh.

"Don't rush out yet, everyone—sit down. I have two announcements."

"First, we need to elect a class monitor. You all know about Chen Xun—he's no longer suitable to be our Class One monitor."

"You have five minutes to recommend someone."

It didn't even take five minutes—hardly had Teacher Hou finished speaking when a group of energized students spoke up: "Teacher, I nominate Wang Yan."

"Yeah, it has to be Wang Yan."

"I agree."

Lin Jiamo raised both hands high: "I agree too." After speaking, she glanced at Wang Yan—but to her disappointment, he showed no reaction.

The other students had no objections to Wang Yan becoming monitor—though if they did, they dared not voice it.

Seeing Wang Yan's overwhelming support, Teacher Hou asked: "Does anyone object to Wang Yan as monitor?"

A chorus of students erupted: "No one objects! Elect Wang Yan!"

"Good. What do you think, Wang Yan?"

"Since everyone chose me, I naturally have no choice but to accept the responsibility."

"Excellent. Let our new monitor, Wang Yan, say a few words. Everyone, clap."

Wang Yan stood and walked to the podium, speaking clearly: "Focus on your studies. If you have any problems or need help, come to me. That's all."

The troublemakers below applauded and cheered—they knew exactly what he meant.

The other students smiled too; they, too, had often been bullied.

No need to say more.

"Alright, quiet down now. I have the second announcement."

Teacher Hou nodded approvingly at the now-silent students: "Second, the school is holding a bulletin board competition. It represents our class's image—we can't finish last again like last time."

"Wang Yan, what are your thoughts?"

"Are there any students good at drawing?"

Wang Yan understood the situation—the students were still shy and reluctant to show themselves.

This kind of thing depends on experience: some will later become extremely outgoing, eager to show off and always strive to be first; others will remain quietly unnoticed, hidden away for life.

Seeing no one respond, Wang Yan said: "It's fine. If you can draw, just raise your hand confidently. It's a chance to bring glory to the class—what's there to be shy about?"

A petite girl timidly raised her hand.

Fang Fang hesitated for a long time before slowly raising her hand.

Lin Jiamo was different: the first time Wang Yan asked, she'd wanted to stand up, but still felt shy. The second time, she threw caution to the wind, nearly jumping up and waving both hands frantically.

Wang Yan, seeing Lin Jiamo raise her hand, was puzzled—he didn't remember her having such skills.

"Alright, it's up to the three of you."

"The theme is: 'Fifty Years of Nation-Building, Turning a New Page Across the Century, Embracing a New Future.' Go discuss it among yourselves."

All three nodded, each lost in their own thoughts.

"Teacher, what do you think?"

Teacher Hou nodded, satisfied: "Go with what you said."

Then she added: "Alright, those who need to use the restroom, hurry up—second period starts soon."

Saying that, she gathered her things and left.