TAO | Chapter 92

Those who come with good intentions don’t look like that, and those who look like that definitely don’t come with good intentions—even someone like Fang Zhixin understood this basic truth.

Staring at the cold, dangerous Alpha in front of him, Fang Zhixin instinctively took a few steps back.

He swallowed hard. “We already settled things last time, didn’t we? What do you want this time?”

Last time, Jiang Zhan had brought the whole basketball team to gang up on him. They’d roughed him up and even extorted a few hundred yuan from him. Thanks to that, Fang Zhixin had eaten plain buns for over half a month.

And now he still had the guts to come back?

Jiang Zhan’s gaze was fixed on Fang Zhixin, his expression icy and distant. “Do you remember someone named Wei Xiaochi?”

The moment that name came out, Wang Mingzhe’s eyelids twitched like a reflex, and every joint in his body started to ache.

Back in middle school, he and Fang Zhixin had been tight, but after the high school entrance exam, they drifted apart—one went to vocational school, the other to regular high school. Now they didn’t even talk anymore.

Today, Wang Mingzhe had been called out by an old acquaintance during lunch. Before he could even figure out what was going on, he got the beating of his life.

The guy had pummeled him while interrogating him about how he used to bully Wei Xiaochi. Only then did Wang Mingzhe realize—this dude was here for revenge.

He had made Wei Xiaochi do his homework, ripped up his notebooks, and once even dumped all his school supplies into the boys’ bathroom.

But in all honesty, Fang Zhixin had been the one who bullied Wei Xiaochi the most. He himself had just tagged along and occasionally joined in the fun. He barely laid a hand on Wei Xiaochi—okay, maybe he’d kicked him once or twice.

So this beating from Jiang Zhan? Wang Mingzhe honestly felt it was a bit unfair.

“…Wei Xiaochi?” Fang Zhixin blinked.

What did this have to do with Wei Xiaochi again? Didn’t they already pay him for the broken glasses?

Before he could finish his sentence, Jiang Zhan grabbed the back of his head and slammed him against the wall, eyes dark and sharp.

“Why did you bully him?” Jiang Zhan stared into his eyes.

He dragged Fang Zhixin by the collar and smashed his head into the wall—again and again—with zero emotion. “Why did you bully him?”

Wang Mingzhe, already scared out of his mind by Jiang Zhan’s terrifying presence, stumbled and tried to bolt out of the alley.

But before he could even take two steps, a cold voice rang out behind him.

“Did I say you could leave?”

Wang Mingzhe’s legs instantly froze in place. This guy knew his phone number, his school, his class—he could find him whenever he wanted.

His mouth filled with saliva from the stress. He turned back, shaking all over. “I was wrong, I swear. I’ll never do it again. I’ll apologize to Xiaochi in person, okay?”

Jiang Zhan’s eyes were full of murderous intent. “You call him Xiaochi too?”

Wang Mingzhe trembled even harder, pure fear written across his face.

Fang Zhixin was nearly concussed from being slammed into the wall. A shrill ringing filled his ears, and his legs were so weak he could barely stand.

Jiang Zhan glanced at the two of them, his tone eerily calm. “This isn’t something that can be settled with one beating.”

“For the three years you bullied him in middle school… I’ll compress all of that into your last year of high school and make sure you get a taste of what it felt like.”

As those words fell, both of their faces went ghostly pale—completely hopeless.

Wang Mingzhe had never interacted with Jiang Zhan before, so he had no idea what kind of person he was dealing with. Fang Zhixin, on the other hand, had clashed with him a few times—he knew what Jiang Zhan was like.

If Jiang Zhan really locked onto someone… senior year was going to be hell.

—

The screams coming from the alley made passersby pause and glance over, but there were too many crates and trash blocking the view—no one could see what was going on.

After who knows how long, Jiang Zhan finally walked out, casually rotating his wrist, his expression as flat as ever.

As his gaze swept past, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Seeing him return, Fang Zhixin and Wang Mingzhe—who were slumped on the ground—froze in terror, staring at his every move like deer caught in headlights.

Jiang Zhan strolled toward them and then…

…picked up a discarded cardboard box.

He weighed it in his hand, looking mildly satisfied, and turned to leave. But then, he noticed a plastic drink bottle lying next to Fang Zhixin.

As Jiang Zhan approached, Fang Zhixin panicked, curling up and hugging his head, thinking he was about to get hit again.

But Jiang Zhan didn’t even look at him. He just bent down, picked up the bottle, and walked off with it and the box.

Fang Zhixin: …

Wang Mingzhe: …

The two of them stared at each other, both reading the same dazed look in the other’s bruised, swollen face:

…What just happened?

—

Wei Xiaochi had never really talked much about the three years of bullying he endured in middle school. Jiang Zhan only knew about Fang Zhixin.

So, he made a call to Zhao Zifeng and asked for help investigating.

Don’t be fooled by Zhao Zifeng’s harmless, peace-loving image. In the world of connections and street intel, this guy had serious clout. If he was second in networking skills, no one dared claim first.

Zhao Zifeng’s friends were literally everywhere. You could dig up some random person from the deepest corners of C City, and even if they didn’t know Zhao Zifeng, someone in their network definitely would.

A seemingly ordinary Sea King, but truly a social genius. His connections were wide enough to fill three or four Pacific Oceans.

Basically, when it came to info-gathering, this guy was a pro.

Through friends of friends of classmates of friends (yes, that many degrees of separation), Zhao Zifeng helped Jiang Zhan dig into Wei Xiaochi’s past—and compiled a list of everyone who had bullied him, including Fang Zhixin and Wang Mingzhe.

Jiang Zhan unfolded the paper Zhao Zifeng gave him. It had all their names, personal info, and contact details.

There were still twenty minutes before class started. Jiang Zhan folded up the paper and put it away. He’d return to school for now.

The rest of them? He’d take care of them tomorrow.

Not a single one would get away.

—

Wei Xiaochi had no clue what Jiang Zhan had been so busy with lately. After lunch, instead of dragging him out to chat and hang around like before, Jiang Zhan would just say, “Got stuff to do,” and disappear.

He’d return to class alone.

This went on all week. Naturally, Wei Xiaochi got a little worried and couldn’t help but ask Han Ziyang about it.

[Wei Xiaochi]: Has Jiang Zhan been with you?

[I’m Your Brother Han]: I don’t know. Isn’t he with you?

[Wei Xiaochi]: No. Didn’t he go back to the classroom?

Han Ziyang (still pretending): Maybe? I don’t know. I wasn’t in class.

[Wei Xiaochi]: Oh.

Han Ziyang breathed a sigh of relief—successfully dodged suspicion.

He knew exactly what Jiang Zhan had been up to, but the guy had warned him not to tell, so this blabbermouth could only shut up and hold it in.

And it was killing him.

It felt like stuffing down three giant steamed buns without water.

He thumped his chest dramatically, ready to explode, and quickly backed out of his chat with Wei Xiaochi to unload all his frustration on fellow insider Zhao Zifeng.

Half an hour later, having finished taking out the trash, Han Ziyang was feeling refreshed again and ready to go crush his opponents in a co-op game.

Then…

[Wei Xiaochi]: Did you make it back to class yet?

Han Ziyang’s hand slipped, and his phone dropped straight onto his desk. He yanked on his hair with both hands.

HELP MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

[I’m Your Brother Han]: I’m… still outside…

[Wei Xiaochi]: Oh.

—

Something about Jiang Zhan’s behavior during lunch felt off. Wei Xiaochi couldn’t explain it—it was just a gut feeling. Maybe you could call it… an Omega’s sixth sense?

By the time he asked Han Ziyang for the fourth time, the guy was on the verge of a breakdown.

Luckily, Jiang Zhan came back in time.

Han Ziyang slumped dramatically over his desk, half his body draped across it. With a look of noble sacrifice, he held his phone out to Jiang Zhan.

Like a hero about to die for the cause—steadfastly refusing to betray his comrade.

With his final breath, he croaked, “Wei Xiaochi asked me where you went… I didn’t say anything.”

And then—thunk—he collapsed on the desk, eyes rolled back, dead.

Jiang Zhan glanced over their chat history, then sent a message:

Jiang Zhan: I’m back.

Wei Xiaochi, seeing that it was Han Ziyang replying, asked:

[Wei Xiaochi]: Did Jiang Zhan come back to class?

Jiang Zhan was very unhappy with the way Wei Xiaochi referred to him. Just his full name? No nickname? No sweet little “Brother Zhan”?

Unacceptable.

Irritated, he tapped out a reply on Han Ziyang’s phone:

Jiang Zhan didn’t go back to Class 7. He went to your classroom.

Then he tossed the phone back at Han Ziyang and stormed out of Class 7, heading downstairs to find Wei Xiaochi.

Wei Xiaochi stared at the message with a bunch of question marks popping up in his head.

From the moment he met Han Ziyang, the guy had always called Jiang Zhan “Brother Zhan.” This was the first time he saw him use the full name.

Weird. Super weird.

…Did Han Ziyang just… unfan Jiang Zhan?

One minute later, Jiang Zhan appeared at the door of Wei Xiaochi’s classroom, shooting him a death glare.

[Wei Xiaochi]: ???

—

Author’s Note:

I call you Chichi, but you call me Jiang Zhan? Hmph.

LMAO, Brother Zhan’s priorities are truly on a whole other level.