Scarface Brother sat in the passenger seat of the van, watching through the rearview mirror as over a dozen of his underlings stole glances at him, their eyes filled with unspoken meanings.
He suddenly coughed and straightened his back.
"Ahem... Brothers, we brought too few people today. Going head-to-head with them wouldn’t be wise. Besides, we’re brothers who’ve been through life and death together—how could I, Scarface, ever bear to send you all into danger?"
The driver, Er Kun, immediately caught on and slapped the steering wheel. "Exactly! Who doesn’t know about Scarface Brother’s bravery?"
"Last time in Wushui County, to cover our retreat, Scarface Brother took thirteen slashes alone! The blood loss was so bad... The doctor said half a centimeter deeper and his appendix would’ve been sliced off. It was terrifying!"
The underlings exchanged glances, and someone muttered, "But last time, didn’t you say it was seven slashes...?"
"What do you know?" Er Kun glared. "That was before they added six more at the hospital! Scarface Brother was in so much pain he bit the hospital bed railings until they bent, and still didn’t make a sound!"
The van erupted in a chorus of sharp intakes of breath.
Scarface Brother’s face flushed red, and he subtly gave Er Kun a thumbs-up.
The underlings all wore expressions of admiration. "Scarface Brother, don’t worry. If Boss Pan asks, we’ll definitely say you retreated strategically to protect us!"
"Scarface Brother, no need to say more. We’re with you from now on!"
"..."
"Yeah, Scarface Brother treats us so well—we can’t be ungrateful!" Er Kun declared.
Scarface Brother was moved to tears and patted Er Kun’s shoulder.
Er Kun nodded back, their eyes meeting in silent understanding.
"Good brother!"
"Good brother!"
"..."
Meanwhile, on the other side...
Li Xiaohui was practically buzzing with excitement after seeing the legendary female gang leader step out of her car.
Especially when she watched the woman stride out of the luxury vehicle, she nearly screamed.
So cool!
From the synchronized bows of the black-suited men to the casual wave of the female leader’s hand—even the way Scarface Brother scrambled away in fear—everything radiated dominance.
Even the officer who’d escorted her back to school today paled in comparison to her idol.
Then, remembering something, she quickly snapped a blurry photo with her phone and sent it via MMS to her best friend, Liu Yutong, along with a message:
"Yutong, Yutong! I just saw the female boss of the Wanlong Society! She’s so cool! Look at this!"
After sending the message, Li Xiaohui imagined Liu Yutong’s shock—maybe even envy—when she saw the photo.
Of course, to preempt any scolding for being in such a dangerous place, she quickly added another text: "A friend took this and sent it to me."
With that done, Li Xiaohui looked back toward the scene, only to freeze at what she saw next.
Under the black umbrella, the woman had just pulled out her phone and was checking it.
"Huh? What a coincidence—is my idol checking messages too?"
With the dimming light and the rain, she couldn’t make out the woman’s face clearly.
But she could vaguely see her tapping out a message before putting her phone away.
Right then—
Ding!
Li Xiaohui’s phone chimed with a new message.
She instinctively opened it, replied, and tucked her phone away, turning her gaze back to the scene.
But the moment her eyes landed on her idol again, her body stiffened.
Wait...
Something’s off. Is this a coincidence?
Just then, the woman turned to get back into her car, and the familiarity of her silhouette struck Li Xiaohui like a bolt.
She hurriedly sent another text: "Yutong, isn’t your family’s car a Mercedes?"
She looked up immediately after sending it, but she was too late—the figure had already slipped into the car and shut the door.
At the same time, a reply came through.
Reading Liu Yutong’s response, Li Xiaohui’s mind reeled.
"No way... Yutong’s such a good girl. There’s no chance she’s..."
"I must’ve seen wrong. Yeah, definitely saw wrong."
"..."
The car had already driven off, and she’d missed her chance to observe further.
Meanwhile, Liu Hao, standing beside her, recognized the group.
Seeing one or two vaguely familiar faces wouldn’t have been unusual, but so many? That was suspicious.
They really were the same crew from Wushui County—including some of his former underlings.
He never expected them to show up here.
And their rise had been absurdly fast—now rolling around in a fleet of luxury cars.
Liu Hao had thought he was doing well for himself these days.
As the self-proclaimed "big boss" of Internet Cafe Street, with a crew of several dozen under him, life had been comfortable.
But compared to them? He suddenly felt like a nobody. A pang of envy twisted in his gut.
Not daring to linger, Liu Hao quickly urged Li Xiaohui to leave, worried things might escalate if they stayed.
As the convoy drove off, the row of people kneeling on the ground slowly rose to their feet.
The three "big shots" of the college had submitted—at least superficially—pledging to rein in their people and stop causing trouble near the university’s gates.
Inside the car, Liu Yutong suddenly asked Yun Cheng, "Do you think they’ll really behave?"
Yun Cheng pondered for a moment. "Young Miss, I doubt it. Qiao Yong’s tied to the Righteous Union now. He’ll be back. Not long after you arrived at the university district, the Righteous Union started meddling here. They’re looking for a chance to move against you. Using those college thugs makes it easier—after all, they’re just students."
The student status did make things more delicate. The university district had never been controlled by any major faction, precisely for the reason Yun Cheng mentioned.
"We’ve intimidated them once, so they’ll likely lay low for a while. But we can’t just wait for them to come to us. Have you arranged surveillance on Hua Muying?" Liu Yutong instructed.
"Young Miss, it’s all taken care of," Yun Cheng replied.
Liu Yutong nodded and said nothing more, pulling out her phone to reply to Li Xiaohui’s message, informing her she’d already returned to campus.
After getting back, Li Xiaohui didn’t head straight to her dorm. Instead, she stopped by a salon for a wash, then went to an internet cafe to game for a bit.
The cafe was packed, machines nearly all occupied due to the holiday.
But thanks to her connections, the staff quickly found her a spot. She put on her headphones and dove into the game.
Just as she was getting into it, a group of unwelcome guests barged in.
A rich young master type, flanked by a gang of hooligans, swaggered inside.
Without a second thought, they started shoving people aside, demanding machines.
"Scram, all of you! Out!"
"Can’t you see Young Master Yu is here to game?"
"..."
The customers in the internet café, sensing trouble from this group of people, quickly logged off and left, eager to avoid any unwanted attention.
Li Xiaohui sat in the corner, oblivious to the commotion thanks to her headphones. Even if something were happening, this was Liu Hao’s territory—her sworn brother—and most people wouldn’t dare mess with her.
The young man who looked like a rich heir soon made his way to the corner, his eyes lighting up when he spotted Li Xiaohui with her striking purple hair and rebellious, punk-inspired style. Despite her exaggerated appearance, her looks and figure were undeniably attractive.
Noticing she was playing Audition Online (AU), he casually pulled up a chair beside her and sat down.
"Hey, playing AU? Let’s team up. I can clear 198 BPM tracks," he said, leaning closer.
His sudden interruption made her miss a combo, breaking her perfect streak.
Furious, she yanked off her headphones and snapped, "What’s your problem? Not interested!"
She shoved his hand away, but he seized the opportunity to grab her wrist instead.
"Don’t be so cold," Yu Fei murmured, his fingers tracing circles on her skin. "Entertain me, and I’ll cover all your internet fees from now on."
