Chapter 29: Conflict

Seeing the disdainful look on the other side, Third Brother felt even more indignant. He said angrily, "Run then, who's afraid of who!"

"Fine. From now on, you must run every day without stopping. Once you can run ten thousand meters without feeling tired, I'll teach you some fancy moves!" The old beggar smiled, took ten yuan out of his pocket, and looked quite pleased with himself.

However, after those ten thousand meters, we had run right to the school track. Third Brother and I were already stupid with exhaustion. There were a few times in the middle when I couldn't go on, but I gritted my teeth and pushed through to the end. Third Brother and I lay on the track like dead dogs, soaked from head to toe. We felt completely drained, and I even had a sensation of blood in my throat; it was extremely uncomfortable.

We lay on the track for about ten minutes before we recovered. By then, I realized my body was starving, my stomach growling, but I couldn't pull a single cent out of my pockets, which made us feel incredibly awkward.

Just then, Zhang Yinuo suddenly appeared before us. She was carrying fried dough sticks and soy milk, and she looked at me with a faint smile. "Are you starving?"

I looked at Zhang Yinuo in surprise and said, "Why are you here? It's early in the morning, what are you doing here? Shopping?"

Third Brother didn't say a word; he scrambled up, grabbed the soy milk and fried dough sticks, and said excitedly to Zhang Yinuo, "Sister-in-law, you're truly reliable, a timely rain indeed! Don't worry, Sister-in-law, if Fourth Brother ever dares to bully me, I'll help you beat him to death!"

I slapped his hand down and said, "What nonsense are you spouting? Get lost!"

Then I said to Zhang Yinuo, "Yinuo, have you eaten breakfast? What is this?"

"Don't worry, I've already eaten. I bought these specifically for you two. When I was checking my phone earlier, I saw two 'lunatics' mentioned on the forum, and I realized it was you guys. I figured you hadn't eaten, so I bought you something!" Zhang Yinuo sat on the ground and handed us the soy milk and dough sticks.

Third Brother tore open the bag, shoved a dough stick into his mouth, and said with his mouth full, "Sister-in-law, you're too kind. If it weren't for you, we'd have starved to death!"

"What are you shouting about? Who is your sister-in-law? Can't you plug your mouth with food?" I was so angry I took a dough stick and shoved it into Third Brother's mouth.

Third Brother's mouth was stuffed full. He coughed twice and glared at me. I ignored his gaze and took the soy milk to drink slowly. Zhang Yinuo sat beside me very demurely and handed me a tissue. I took it awkwardly, wanting to get angry at her and tell her to stay away from me, but I thought better of it. After all, she meant well, and I figured even if I yelled at her, it wouldn't matter. I had already done that kind of thing to her before, yet this girl acted as if nothing had happened and didn't mind at all. I really don't know what's going on in her little head.

"Do you exercise often? I never noticed you had this habit before," Zhang Yinuo looked at us both, puzzled.

I smiled and said, "We didn't have this habit before, but we do now. After all, strengthening the body definitely has its benefits!"

Zhang Yinuo nodded and then asked, "Has Zhang Longtao given you any trouble lately?"

"Not really." Ever since Sister Ling talked to Zhang Longtao, he hadn't caused us any trouble. However, Wang Hua, Third Brother, and I had been kicked out; we were no longer Zhang Longtao's men. Naturally, we couldn't watch over Sister Ling's venues anymore. Fortunately, Sister Ling found us a part-time job, and helping out at her place when we were free helped ease the pressure of daily life.

However, just at this moment, a few people walked over from not far away. The leader was dressed very flashily, like a playboy or the second young master of a wealthy family. Given their posture, it was clear they were heading straight for us. I looked at Third Brother with uncertainty, but he just shook his head blankly, indicating he didn't know who they were.

Before they even reached us, Zhang Yinuo stood up and said coldly to the man in the lead, "Chen Zhen, what are you doing here?"

It seemed these people were acquaintances of Zhang Yinuo, though their relationship didn't seem very good, otherwise, she wouldn't have that attitude. But the man called Chen Zhen was staring at me with eyes full of hostility. I was very confused; I didn't know this man named Chen Zhen at all and had no grudge against him. Was there any reason for him to look at me like that? The only explanation had to be Zhang Yinuo.

When Chen Zhen heard Zhang Yinuo speak to him, his expression changed, and he immediately put on a smiling face. "Yinuo, I'm just here to see you!"

"Don't call me so affectionately; I'm not familiar with you!" Zhang Yinuo kept a cold face, completely unimpressed by Chen Zhen.

Chen Zhen didn't get angry. Instead, he looked at Third Brother and me and said out of the blue, "Get lost. Don't you have any sense?"

Third Brother, with his temper, couldn't take that. He stood up immediately and roared, "Who the hell do you think you are, daring to order me around? Do you believe I'll rip your head off and kick it like a ball?"

"You're looking for death!" Chen Zhen rushed forward, intending to attack Third Brother. Third Brother was no pushover; he struck first, landing a punch directly on Chen Zhen's face. Chen Zhen was knocked to the side. These people were just ordinary students; they were no match for Third Brother. After all, if Third Brother hadn't had a few tricks up his sleeve after all these years on the streets, he would have been beaten to death long ago.

The few people who came with Chen Zhen saw this and rushed forward to help. I immediately kicked one of them, then grabbed another by his clothes and flung him aside. Third Brother also leaped up and kicked away a man who was charging at him. The group of five or six was instantly reduced to two.

This all happened in an instant. Zhang Yinuo, standing to the side, was stunned by the scene and hurriedly shouted, "Stop fighting! Stop fighting!"

I ignored Zhang Yinuo and stood beside Third Brother. Third Brother spat on the ground at Chen Zhen and cursed, "Damn you, you little brat. Is that it? You're trying to act like a gangster? You're absolute trash!"

The remaining two were also stunned. They hadn't expected that with so many of them, they would be reduced to just the two of them in an instant.

However, we hadn't hit them too hard. They scrambled up, looking at Third Brother and me with grave expressions. Chen Zhen, still under Third Brother's foot, shouted, "Damn you, if you have the guts, kill me! Otherwise, you're dead!"

Zhang Yinuo came over to explain, "His cousin is one of Zhang Longtao's men, named Liu Qiang. He has quite a few people under him!"

"Liu Qiang? Is he something special? I'm not even afraid of Zhang Longtao, let alone some Liu Qiang!" Hearing that he was one of Zhang Longtao's men only made Third Brother angrier, and he stepped even harder on Chen Zhen.