Chapter 10 – An Encounter with Street Punks

Lizz bit her lips and said in a small voice, “You’re so kind to me… Aren’t you afraid of being deceived…?”

“Of course I am!” Zhang Shaoyu replied without an ounce of hesitation, “Of course I’m afraid of being deceived. Is there anyone in this world who isn’t?”

“Then why are you–”

Lizz didn’t get a chance to finish. Before she could continue, Zhang Shaoyu smiled and stroked her hair, “That’s why I want to be good to you. I want you to witness my true love for you. Since G.o.d gave me this opportunity, I can’t give up on it just because I’m afraid, right?” His explanation finished, he gathered the dirty dishes and took them to the kitchen.

Lizz could only restlessly watch Zhang Shaoyu’s back as he left, and mutter in a low voice, “You’re such an idiot!”

Night came, leaving each of them alone with their respective thoughts.

Zhang Shaoyu laid on the sofa, staring at the chandelier hanging from the ceiling. A lot had happened over the course of the day. He had thoughtlessly brought a beautiful girl home with him, and now he had no idea what the future would bring.

Zhang Shaoyu didn’t really believe that Lizz came from the countryside. With her name and the way she dressed, it was almost as if she came from some medieval country. But he didn’t want to know Lizz’s true origin and ident.i.ty. He was afraid of Lizz leaving him if he pressed her for an answer. It wasn’t worth it.

It was the first time he had such a beautiful girl right in front of his face. She was so beautiful it was as if she had descended from the heavens(1). Zhang Shaoyu was deathly afraid of suddenly awakening from this dream.

But if this really was a dream, then let me enjoy it, and never ever wake me up.

Zhang Shaoyu smiled and closed his eyes.

Were there teenage boys and girls in the world who didn’t yearn for love?

Lizz was lying on the bed, curled up with her face buried in a pillow. She mumbled, “Teacher said that the outside world was a scary place, but not everyone here is bad. I found a good guy, I found a home… But… I have to drain his magic power because he swallowed my Sacred Blood Stone… Why did he have to do something like that…?”

“But… Why is it that the more I think about it, the more I start to feel guilty…?”

Lizz sighed heavily and proceeded to think, to ponder, to deliberate about a way to resolve her quandary, but nothing came to mind. She finally fell asleep, still deep in thought.

The next day.

Zhang Shaoyu summoned his last ounce of courage, like a martyr marching to his death. He picked up his bag and was just about to go to school when Lizz came out of the bedroom. Seeing him ready to leave, she asked, “Shaoyu, where are you going so early in the morning? Morning calisthenics?”

“What morning calisthenics! I’m not an old man, why would I need to do that?!” Zhang Shaoyu answered flatly, “I’m going to school.”

Lizz racked her brain before asking, “That school from yesterday? The teacher was indecent and the students weren’t studious. How could anyone learn anything in that kind of environment?”

Deep down, Zhang Shaoyu agreed with what she said. But did anyone want to be a eunuch that already had his thing cut off(2)? He sighed and replied, “What’s there to be done? I did very badly in middle school. I’m grateful enough that there was a school that accepted me. Now, I just want to graduate and go to college to satisfy my parents.”

Lizz crossed her arms and replied with an irritated expression, “But, if you go to school, that baldy and that girly man from yesterday will try to take their revenge on you! It’s really dangerous!”

“Girly man? Hahahaha!” Zhang Shaoyu guffawed. He would never have expected Lizz to be so good at giving nicknames. It was true; he did think that Wu Shao was kind of b.i.t.c.hy.

Puzzled by his reaction, Lizz asked, “What are you laughing about? Did I say something weird?”

“Nothing! Well, I have to go to school, no matter what tiger awaits me there. Oh, right, I’ve already prepared your breakfast. It’s on the table. Go eat it after you brush your teeth and wash your face. Your lunch is also in the fridge, you can take it out later and eat it after warming it up. Now be good, I’ll come straight home after school.” And with that, Zhang Shaoyu took his schoolbag and went to the door.

Recalling everything Zhang Shaoyu had done for her, Lizz once again felt her heart swell with grat.i.tude. She immediately ran after Zhang Shaoyu and tugged on his sleeve. “Shaoyu, I’ll go with you!”

Zhang Shaoyu began to think: After what you pulled yesterday, I wouldn’t be surprised if the school has already posted your picture all over the walls with ‘Wanted!’ printed underneath it. Even if they haven’t, if you show up with me just like that, it will still catch everyone’s attention and cause a huge ruckus. What’s more, who’s to say there isn’t another b.a.s.t.a.r.d teacher that will try to seduce you, and you bursting his chrysanthemum flower again?(3) If that happens, I really will be done for!

With that in mind, Zhang Shaoyu looked down at Lizz. She looked ready to march to her death with him. Zhang Shaoyu felt so moved that he patted Lizz on the head. “Nah, you don’t have to do that. I’ll manage.”

Seeing Shaoyu being so adamant, Lizz was not able to say anything more. But in her mind, she was thinking to herself: Since he won’t let me go with him, I’ll just protect him from the shadows! With her mind made up, she immediately nodded and said, “Okay then, be careful!” before happily skipping away to the bathroom.

“Really, that girl…” Zhang Shaoyu shook his head and left with a wry smile.

Seeing Shaoyu close the door, Lizz immediately jumped out of the bathroom and made to run outside. However, when she opened the door, Shaoyu was standing there looking at her, all smiles. “Lil’ girl, where are you going so early in the morning? Doing some morning calisthenics?”

With how quickly Lizz changed her stance, Zhang Shaoyu felt like he could almost see the word ‘conspiracy’ written on Lizz’s forehead. He had deduced that she was going to try and follow him, and sure enough, he was spot on.

Seeing Zhang Shaoyu right there, Lizz quivered as a drop of cold sweat ran down her back. She hurriedly tried to come up with an excuse. “That… Uh… I wanted to see you off! Be careful! Don’t fall!” With that, she immediately escaped back into the apartment and slammed the door shut with a ‘bang’.

Zhang Shaoyu sighed before looking at his watch. It was already 7:30. With Lizz no longer a concern, he headed downstairs.

However, Lizz was a stubborn girl. Since he would not allow me to go with him, I’ll follow him secretly! It wasn’t over yet! This was just the beginning! And so, she left the room and began to follow Shaoyu.

Thinking of what happened yesterday, Zhang Shaoyu was of two minds. He couldn’t imagine what kind of torture was waiting for him at school, but as he recalled the miserable appearances of both Wu Shao and Mr. X, he couldn’t help but to laugh out loud.

Zhang Shaoyu walked until he reached an alleyway leading to the school. “It’s almost 8, I’d better hurry it up.” He quickened his pace.

“Hey, the kid over there! Wait a sec, I got something to ask ya!” Suddenly, a man’s voice called out from behind him. Zhang Shaoyu turned around to find a group of five uncouth men who had appeared behind him.

Every single one of them had a Mohawk dyed in outrageous colors and was wearing atypical clothes. With shiny, black leather jackets, torn jeans, and with their random green dragon white tiger Mickey Mouse tattoos, they were truly the most typical of any low-cla.s.s punk.

One of the Mohawks, who was obviously the leader stepped forward, holding something that looked like a rolled-up newspaper and an expression that said ‘f.u.c.k you’, and asking “Brat, are ye that motherf.u.c.king Zhang Shaoyu?”

With their appearance, any dim-wit could figure out their purpose. They certainly weren’t just looking to get acquainted with Zhang Shaoyu.

Before Zhang Shaoyu could answer the question, a fatso said to the leader, “Boss, that’s not right! Wu Shao asked for a boy named Zhang Shaoyu, not his mother…”

The boss smacked the fat punk’s head, scolding him. “Idiot! Didn’t Wu Shao tell us not to mention his name? And you just say it out loud like that? And it’s just a f.u.c.king expression, so why don’t ya just shut up?”

Another punk whose face resembled a golden retriever said, “Boss, you also said Wu Shao’s name, doesn’t that make you a fool too?”

The boss responded, “I was just telling the fatso not to call Wu Shao’s name! Ya dimwits!”

The fat punk said, “Boss, that’s not right! Isn’t ‘motherf.u.c.king’ a noun? You use it every time you’re talking to me, right?”

Before the boss could say anything, the punk with the golden retriever face barked again, “Boss, you just said Wu Shao’s name a second time, so doesn’t that make you twice the fool?”

The boss rolled his eyes, almost screaming, ‘Why are there so many idiots around me?!’ He ignored his two subordinates and turned to face Zhang Shaoyu, only to find empty s.p.a.ce where Zhang Shaoyu had been. He immediately yelled, “Where did that brat go?”

One of the punks pointed and spoke as if it wasn’t any of his concern, “When he saw you three arguing, he ran. He went that way.”

The Mohawk boss was furious, “Idiot! Why didn’t ya chase after?!”

The punk just replied casually, “I didn’t want to get involved since you guys were arguing.”

“f.u.c.k!” The boss felt dizzy with anger and almost ready to faint. He had intentionally gathered his men and waited a day and a night for the brat to show up, but when he finally appeared, he easily escaped from right under his nose. Didn’t that mean all his effort was wasted?

Refusing to let that happen, the boss yelled, “Follow me, we’re chasing after him!” He ran first, and the other four punks quietly followed soon after.

Zhang Shaoyu was not the Foreign Legion Master Chief(4), nor was he a modern mecha warrior; he was just a normal high school boy. If there were more than three opponents, he knew he would be done for.

Knowing that his chances were close to zero, Zhang Shaoyu decided it would be best to run away. So, when he saw the punks quarreling, he took the opportunity and slipped through, running at full speed towards the school.

Zhang Shaoyu believed that even though those punks were unlawful, it was unlikely that they would charge into the school just to catch him. Even though they were somewhat lacking in IQ, they should at least know that there were people guarding the school. There’s the PE teacher and other various martial arts experts there. The moment these punks tried to charge in, he was sure that they would be subjected to a year-long squat.

In other words, as long as he could make it to school, everything would be okay.

He was wrong though. When he ran into the school, the five punks came running after him. He gasped in surprise. These people have no IQ at all!

However, Lizz saw everything. A smile made its way to her face, “Let me help you! Hehehe!”

TRANSLATOR’S NOTES:

1. It’s also like a dream came true kind of thing.
2. Actually used the slang for ‘p.e.n.i.s’. It means like ‘the deed’s already done, nothing can be done’.
3. Once again. a.n.a.l. You know what Shaoyu meant.
4. Reference to the game, ‘HALO’.