Chapter 52: Chapter Fifty-Two: Becoming Class Monitor

“Big Brother, we’re here. This is the place.” The skinny boy pointed to a dozen or so teenagers nearby, some squatting, some standing, all smoking cigarettes.

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

“Let’s go.”

Saying this, Wang Yan walked over.

The group there noticed them; one of them lifted his head and said, “Lei Ge, Shou Hou and his crew are back.”

The man called Lei Ge was puffing a cigarette 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 brought him along just to introduce him.

“Shou Hou, how’d the job go?”

“Lei Ge, he…” The skinny boy dared not speak, instead pointing at Wang Yan beside him.

Seeing the skinny boy’s reaction, Lei Ge instantly understood—they’d run into trouble. He stepped up to Wang Yan: “Brother, you look new. Who you with?”

There were fools who rushed into fights, but clearly Lei Ge wasn’t one; anyone who dared show up alone must have had support, and charging into conflict without knowing the other’s background wasn’t about passion—it was about stupidity.

Ignoring the posturing, Wang Yan said: “What did you send them to find Fang Yin for?”

Wang Yan’s disrespect was obvious—so many underlings 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.

The sudden pain stunned Lei Ge; he curled up, clutching his face, lying on the ground.

The surrounding underlings were frozen, mouths agape, glancing between them.

“Shit! What the hell are you waiting for? Hit him!” Lei Ge finally snapped, clutching his groin and face as he cursed.

Fighting was routine for them—nobody backed down.

The underlings exchanged glances.

“Fuck, hit him.”

They surged forward.

These brawlers 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 underlings who had rushed in were all writhing on the ground, screaming.

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 had to kick Wang Yan 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, but they’d heal in two days.

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.

“Honestly, it’s 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 after me? To get revenge?”

“Shit… I’m wrong, Big Brother, it hurts, it hurts—I won’t come after you, I won’t!”

Hearing this, Wang Yan lifted his foot—before Liu Lei could even breathe, Wang Yan stepped on his other ankle: “If not me, then who? Are you still going 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 drop, he shouted, “Fuck you!” and pulled a dagger from his pocket, lunging at Wang Yan.

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

Liu Lei’s face turned crimson, unable to advance an inch.

Suddenly, the hand clutching Wang Yan’s thigh shot upward—aiming for a monkey-pick move.

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

The overwhelming force in Wang Yan’s grip left Liu Lei powerless to resist. As the blade neared his arm, he kicked wildly, trying to break free—but he was seated on the ground, utterly helpless.

Liu Lei screamed in tears: “Big Brother, Big Brother, I’m wrong, I’m wrong!”

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

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

The underlings fell silent, mouths wide open, staring.

They’d heard stories—someone killed, someone stabbed into the hospital, barely survived, and so on.

But they’d never seen it with their own eyes—such things were rare.

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

He stared blankly at the dagger, stopped just above his arm.

Liu Lei’s lips quivered; 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 anyone.”

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

Hearing Wang Yan, the shop owner froze as if struck by lightning, then awkwardly licked his lips and said: “Heh, heh, young brother… 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. In pain, Liu Lei cried out “Ow!” and dropped the dagger onto the ground beside him.

Wang Yan slapped him hard on the back of the head: “Got some guts, huh?”

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

A third slap, eyes locked on Liu Lei’s: “Enough. This time, I’ll let it go. But listen—I won’t warn you again next time.”

Standing up, Wang Yan addressed the group sprawled on the ground: “All of you—don’t treat my words like bullshit.”

He turned to the shop owner: “Give me a soda.”

The shop owner hurried inside and brought out a soda. Seeing Wang Yan reach into his pocket for money, he rushed to say:

“No, no, Big Brother, my treat.” The shop owner was an adult, but adults were just as cowardly—his combat ability was pitiful, and he was terrified.

“Take it. I’m not a robber.”

Wang Yan handed him the money, then, as the shop owner’s eyes twitched, pried open the bottle cap with his fingers.

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

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

He wouldn’t waste another word on them—parents didn’t listen, so why should he?

As soon as Wang Yan left, the boys groaned loudly.

“Fuck, this bastard hits hard—I’m in agony.”

“Shut up, shit… he clearly held back.” One of them got up, winced as his injuries pulled, and said.

The skinny boy and the other guy endured their pain—they’d been hit the hardest by Wang Yan.

“Big Brother, you okay?” They exchanged glances and hurried over to show concern—if they didn’t, they’d be finished.

Before the Big Brother could speak, one of them kicked the skinny boy: “You fucks! If not for you, would we be like this?”

Liu Lei had long held authority—they dared not take it out on him, so they vented on the skinny boy and the other.

His words ignited the others; one by one, they rose and without a word, began kicking the two relentlessly.

After a while, Liu Lei called a stop—he had anger too, with nowhere to vent.

“Big Brother, are we just letting this go?” Liu Lei stayed silent, but someone else glared angrily at the speaker—still didn’t hurt enough, huh?

“Find out who that kid is first.”

Liu Lei couldn’t help recalling Wang Yan’s eyes—cold, ruthless. He shuddered, refusing to think further.

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

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

She’d worried all night, unable to sleep.

She rushed over: “You… you okay?”

“Look at me.”

“…” Fang Yin didn’t know what to say.

“Don’t overthink it. Let’s go inside.”

“Oh.”

Fang Yin followed silently behind him, head down.

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

Wang Yan knew they were talking about how he’d taken down two men yesterday.

“If anyone else comes after you, tell me.”

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

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

Her cheer vanished instantly.

Last night, her mind kept replaying Wang Yan’s slam dunk—complete with special effects.

She couldn’t understand why such an ordinary face looked so… captivating.

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

She thought Wang Yan was handsome and charismatic, and unconsciously wanted to get closer, but then she felt guilty toward her good friends. Besides, she had conflicts with Wang Yan, and she was sure he thought very poorly of her.

Seeing Fang Yin following Wang Yan, she didn’t feel envy or hatred—just a slight unease in her heart.

She pouted and trudged sullenly behind them into the classroom.

When Wang Yan walked in, it was chaos. Outside had been bad enough, but inside the classroom it was worse—every student stared at him.

One bold, nosy classmate called out to Wang Yan as he entered: “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 the strong has never changed.

Wang Yan nodded and said to him: “Just random practice.”

Before anyone could ask more, he clapped his hands: “Alright, alright, thanks for your concern—back to work, everyone.”

Physical strength is part of authority. The troublemakers who’d seen Wang Yan’s fighting ability yesterday no longer resisted him—they no longer complained he was overbearing. His decisive actions made it clear: he was one of them.

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

First period: homeroom teacher Ms. Hou’s class.

Without the trio causing trouble, the class had transformed completely—some slept, some daydreamed, some listened. Ms. Hou clearly felt her lecture flowed smoothly.

Of course, teachers are responsible—they couldn’t just ignore sleeping or distracted students. Chalk pieces flew everywhere.

Lin Jiamo sat listlessly, lost in thought.

“Pay attention. What are you thinking about?”

Jolted awake by a piece of chalk, Lin Jiamo instinctively glanced at Wang Yan behind her, then quickly turned back.

She smiled apologetically at Ms. Hou.

She pretended to listen, but inside her mind raged a battle of thoughts.

“Wang Yan is so handsome.”

“But what about Chen Xun and the others?”

“But Wang Yan is so handsome.”

“What about Chen Xun and the others?”

“Won’t they understand? Won’t they mind?”

“No, they won’t mind—we’re good friends.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Lin Jiamo easily talked herself into peace.

Then she turned to worry again—wondering if Wang Yan held a grudge over yesterday’s events, her brow furrowed as she pondered how to win him over.

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

“Don’t rush out yet. Stay seated. 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.”

“Five minutes to nominate someone.”

They didn’t even need five minutes. As soon as Ms. Hou finished speaking, a group of eager students shouted: “Teacher, I nominate Wang Yan.”

“Yeah, it has to be Wang Yan.”

“I agree.”

Lin Jiamo raised both hands high: “I agree too!” Then 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 wouldn’t dare voice it.

Seeing Wang Yan’s overwhelming support, Ms. Hou asked: “Does anyone oppose Wang Yan as monitor?”

The class erupted: “No one! Elect Wang Yan!”

“Good. What do you think, Wang Yan?”

“Since everyone chose me, I can’t refuse.”

“Excellent. Let our new monitor, Wang Yan, say a few words. Everyone, applaud.”

Wang Yan stood and walked to the podium. In a clear voice he said: “Just focus on your studies. If you have any problems, come to me. That’s all.”

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

The other students smiled too. They’d often been bullied.

No need to say more.

“Alright, quiet down. Now, the second point.”

Ms. Hou looked at the quiet students and nodded approvingly: “Second, the school is holding a bulletin board competition. It represents our class’s image. This time, we can’t come in last again.”

“Wang Yan, what do you think?”

“Are there any students good at drawing?”

Wang Yan understood—students were still shy and reluctant to show off.

It depended on experience. Some would later become extremely outgoing, always eager to stand out. Others would remain quiet and invisible, hiding away for life.

Seeing no response, Wang Yan said: “It’s fine. If you can draw, just raise your hand. It’s an honor for the class—what’s there to be shy about?”

A petite girl hesitantly raised her hand.

Fang Yin hesitated a long time, then weakly raised hers.

Lin Jiamo was different. The first time Wang Yan asked, she’d wanted to jump up—but still felt shy. The second time, she threw caution aside, nearly leaping out of her seat, waving both hands wildly.

Wang Yan was puzzled when he saw Lin Jiamo raise her hand—he didn’t remember her having any drawing skills.

“Alright, it’s up to the three of you.”

“The theme: ‘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?”

Ms. Hou nodded, satisfied: “Go with that.”

Then she added: “Alright, those who need the restroom, hurry up—second period starts soon.”

Saying that, she gathered her things and left.