Little Brother, Take a Puff

"Exactly! Demanding ten times the compensation is utterly outrageous. How could someone cheat and then demand money back from their ex-boyfriend? Zhao Ruyan from Business Administration Class 1A, how could you do such a thing?!"

Ye Chuan stood behind Luo Xi, his hands resting on her shoulders, raising his voice deliberately high—so loud that even the neighboring classrooms could probably hear.

To be precise, the entire hallway could likely hear him.

"You—?!" Zhao Ruyan glared, completely taken aback by Ye Chuan’s shamelessness, shouting such things for everyone to hear. Her fists clenched, her face flushed red, and her curly hair trembled with anger.

She was boiling, clearly furious.

"Ye Chuan! This isn’t cheating—I’m pursuing a better happiness! Who are you to block my path to a better life?"

"And you’re the one who lied, claiming your family owns a whole building for rent! You fraud!"

Ye Chuan shrugged innocently. "But my family does own one."

Though only one tenant had moved in so far.

Among the group of guys standing behind Zhao Ruyan, one finally stepped forward. His gaze first lingered on Luo Xi’s long, straight legs before settling on Ye Chuan, his expression dripping with disdain.

"Hmph. I’m Huang Haotian. I assume you’ve heard of me?"

Ye Chuan sized up Huang Haotian’s muscular frame and shook his head. "Oh? Never heard of you. Are you the janitor around here?"

Huang Haotian’s expression stiffened for a moment before his eyes narrowed dangerously. "Such a foul mouth. Seems no one ever taught you how to speak properly."

Luo Xi whispered to Ye Chuan,

"He’s the president of the Taekwondo Club. He won a city championship recently and is pretty famous in our department."

"Oh, that flashy performance art where they kick fake wooden boards?" Ye Chuan sounded surprised, then turned to Huang Haotian.

"You planning to put on a show for me? Sorry, I don’t have any performance fees to spare."

Huang Haotian’s eyelid twitched, his chest tightening with irritation. After taking a deep breath to steady himself, he sneered. "You’ll find out soon enough whether it’s just for show, you coward hiding behind a girl. You really think I can’t deal with you?"

"Meet me on the rooftop now, or after school, neither you nor that girl will be leaving this place unharmed."

"My dozen or so brothers will give you both a proper ‘welcome.’" As he spoke, Huang Haotian shamelessly scanned Luo Xi’s face, as if surprised by her beauty. "Hah, didn’t know our department had such a pretty girl."

Luo Xi frowned. "What are you trying to do? I’ll call the police."

"You think you can avoid us forever?" Huang Haotian exchanged glances with the guys behind him before bursting into loud, unrestrained laughter.

Just as Luo Xi was about to retort, a hand rested on her shoulder from behind. She turned to see Ye Chuan smiling. "If you’ve got something to say, sure, let’s take it to the rooftop."

"Chuan, don’t be reckless. We’re outnumbered," Luo Xi immediately grabbed his arm, shaking her head.

"Relax, don’t you trust me?" Ye Chuan said.

"But—"

"Keep holding me back, and I’ll spank you right here in front of everyone." The moment he said it, Luo Xi instinctively covered her rear, and Ye Chuan stepped forward, facing Huang Haotian and his gang. "Alright, let’s go, boys."

"Ho, didn’t think you’d actually step up," Huang Haotian scoffed, clearly not expecting Ye Chuan to walk out so boldly.

"Honestly, I do enjoy freeloading off others."

Luo Xi, held back, watched as Ye Chuan left with the group before rushing to An Shiyu. "Come on, Shiyu, let’s go find a teacher. Chuan’s going to get beaten up—he’s so skinny!"

Unlike Luo Xi’s panic, An Shiyu remained completely calm, her eyes half-lidded. "Eh—what’re you worried about? When has Ye Chuan ever lost out? If things go south, he’ll bolt faster than anyone."

"No!" Luo Xi dragged An Shiyu along as she ran.

"Ahhh—slow down! You’re gonna rip my collar!" An Shiyu whined as she was hauled away.

...

The wind on the rooftop was strong.

Clothes flapped loudly in the gusts.

After leading Ye Chuan to the rooftop, Huang Haotian pulled out a lighter from his pocket. With a click, he lit a cigarette for himself.

"Go on, lock the door."

Before his lackeys could move, Ye Chuan turned and slammed the door shut himself, locking it with a loud clang.

"?" The guys all froze—since when was he so cooperative?

Even Huang Haotian was momentarily stunned before taking a drag and grinning. "Are you actually stupid, or just pretending? Locking yourself in with us?"

"Just makes it easier to talk privately," Ye Chuan replied with a smile.

"Hahaha, you think this’ll make me let that girl go? I’ve got my eyes on her now." Huang Haotian stepped forward, swinging a slap at Ye Chuan’s face. "Dumbass."

But the next second, his wrist was caught—gripped like a vice. Huang Haotian tried to pull free, but the strength in that hand was terrifying. He stared at Ye Chuan in shock.

"You—let go!"

Before he could finish, a sharp pain exploded in his gut as Ye Chuan drove a fist into his stomach, followed by an uppercut to his chin.

With a grunt, Huang Haotian crumpled to the ground, twitching.

It happened so fast that the other guys barely registered their leader being taken down.

"Get him!"

They charged, but Ye Chuan didn’t flinch, effortlessly knocking them all out in seconds.

Looking down at Huang Haotian and his gang writhing in pain, Ye Chuan remarked coolly, "All flash, no substance. Told you it was just for show."

Even without relying on that "pill," Ye Chuan could’ve handled them—just not as effortlessly.

He walked over to Huang Haotian, bending down to pick up the fallen cigarette.

"Phew." Blowing on it, the ember glowed brighter.

Instead of smoking it, Ye Chuan pressed the lit end against Huang Haotian’s crotch, burning a hole through the fabric. Ignoring the howls of pain, he flipped the cigarette around and stuffed it into Huang Haotian’s mouth. "Here, buddy, have a smoke."

After finishing, Ye Chuan suddenly felt his throat itch, coughing violently. "Cough, cough, cough—!"

"Cough, cough, cough—!"

As he opened the door to leave, rapid footsteps approached. Luo Xi had returned—with a teacher in tow.

"Chuan! Are you okay?!" Luo Xi rushed to support him as he doubled over coughing.

"What’s going on here?!" the teacher demanded, though his confusion only grew at the sight of Huang Haotian and his gang sprawled on the ground—especially with the cigarette sticking straight up from Huang Haotian’s pants.

The scene was bizarre beyond words.

"Cough, cough, cough—" Ye Chuan’s face was pale. "H-Huang Haotian insisted on demonstrating his ‘little brother’s’ smoking skills. We refused to watch, so he attacked us."