Blood Neon

Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Provocation

The little social order inside No. 3 High School claimed to have its own unique set of rules—

But yeah, right.

How different could it really be? When it came down to it, all of it was just a bunch of teenagers in the middle of puberty looking for a way to blow off their overflowing energy. The same story, no matter where you went in the world.

And you ask how they did that?

Naturally, they went looking for fun, looking to play.

But at this age, in this kind of eighteenth-tier city, what kinds of entertainment could these little chives even get their hands on?

The city’s only amusement park had already gone bankrupt years ago. The zoo had just a few half-dead animals. An aquarium? That had never even existed.

Sure, there were movie theaters and KTVs and such (oversaturated, some might say), but when it came to specifics, the forms of entertainment still differed by gender.

It had nothing to do with discrimination or stereotypes—just different strokes for different folks.

Girls might go hand-in-hand walking down the streets, shopping, eating, playing. Meanwhile, aside from the sunny athletic boys, most of the guys preferred entertainment that didn’t require stepping out the door.

So, naturally, the most common and accessible entertainment boiled down to scrolling on phones, watching videos, reading novels, playing games, and doing “various kinds” of exercise.

Electronic entertainment, in this day and age, was undoubtedly one of the most harmless ways to kill time. As the cheapest and most convenient form of tittytainment, it let people indulge their unmet desires for victory and conquest in the Dirac sea of digital data—providing a soft, cocooned space for teenagers to undergo their adolescent metamorphosis.

In the past, this role might have been filled by martial arts novels or pop songs.

Of course, there were no guarantees about how the final product of that metamorphosis would turn out.

On the other hand, the various “exercises” involving sweat and hormones could be boiled down into two general categories:

Violence, and sex.

Violence could mean playing basketball or football. It could also mean forming gangs and stirring up trouble. Even competitive PvP games could be lumped into this.

Because at their core, all of them were just outlets for all that wild energy. The only difference was whether or not they caused trouble for others.

Compared to girls, boys generally had a stronger need for this kind of violent release.

Mainly due to male hormones, boys often behaved more aggressively and showed statistically stronger competitive urges—hence why they were more active on school basketball courts and in the smoking corners of bathrooms.

It wasn’t a big deal, really. That’s just how humans evolved.

The former group we usually called "sunny boys." The latter, "delinquents"—though in practice, those two labels often overlapped a lot when applied to real people.

Of course, there were also tough little delinquent girls who could stir up trouble just as much as the boys. Watching them slap another girl while yelling insults with the whole squad backing them up—now that was teenage vitality in full swing.

Just like that.

On the basketball court, in computer rooms;

In KTVs and bars, in the corners of libraries;

In overnight co-op net cafes, and in bathrooms after school.

——In this era of relaxed education, the Atlases who once bore heavy burdens had found new targets upon which to spill their youthful sweat.

……

……

Lin Ying, who was currently going from one mobile phone shop to another comparing prices, was thinking aimlessly along those lines as she walked.

……

……

"So you actually dared to come back to school. When I heard you took time off, I thought it was because you were too ashamed to show your face."

Wang Ze leaned against the wall, sneering in his signature raspy, duck-like voice.

Zhang Qiming frowned slightly.

Sigh... This was exactly one of the reasons he hadn’t wanted to take leave in the first place.

It’s just that, "If I take time off, I’ll lose face"—that kind of reason sounded too lame, so he hadn’t wanted to say it out loud when answering Lin Ying’s question.

Da Ming patted the frowning Zhang Qiming on the shoulder, softly said a few words, and then stepped forward.

Zhang Qiming quickly followed after him.

Seeing their approach, a few people from the other side stood up from leaning against the wall and moved to block the way, like enemies meeting face-to-face, ready to fight at the slightest provocation.

The nearby students quickly caught on and subtly moved away from the area, creating a small vacuum in the stream of people. Only a few gossip-hungry onlookers stopped at a distance to watch the show.

However, although the two sides looked aggressive and ready to throw hands, everyone knew that a real fight probably wouldn’t break out here.

Though the school didn’t strictly police student behavior, it mostly turned a blind eye to what happened outside the classroom.

At the school gate, they still checked whether students were wearing their uniforms. Attendance was still tracked during morning exercises. If you skipped exams, you could even be held back a year.

——These were the rules of this "society" called school.

So usually, if there was going to be a fight, unless someone lost control, it would be settled by arranging a time and place to do it elsewhere. Fighting during class time on school grounds was too much trouble.

That’s what everyone generally believed.

"How’ve you been, Wang Ze?"

Zhou Tianming spoke.

As expected of a 1.9-meter-tall burly man—not quite one of those Hollywood protein-pumped muscle freaks you saw on screen, but just standing there gave him an imposing presence.

Naturally, the 1.7-meter-tall Wang Ze came off as much less impressive by comparison.

"I heard that because you couldn’t beat the two of us, you got so pissed the other day that you called in some lowlifes from the streets to back you up?"

He looked at him with an expression like an old man using a cheap phone on the subway, shook his head, and said:

"And you even made sure to pick the day I wasn’t here? Needing that many people just to take on Qiming alone—are you that scared of the two of us together?"

"Aren’t you ashamed?"

He deliberately emphasized that last jab.

That final passive-aggressive "aren’t you ashamed" hit a nerve—it sounded incredibly grating, and the smug, unbothered look that Wang Ze had just been wearing instantly cracked.

Alright, so it looked like even his subconscious found it pretty shameful.

Seeing the scene unfold, Zhang Qiming couldn’t help but think that to himself.

But hey, he was the one directly involved here, and he hadn’t even said anything yet—so why did it look like they were about to start throwing punches already?

Tch, he ought to join the battlefield too.

"Don’t say it like that, Da Ming," he shrugged.

"It’s not really that he’s cowardly. It’s just that hyenas have always relied on numbers to bully the weak. That’s just their nature."

He went in hard without hesitation—since they weren’t throwing hands and were just exchanging words, what was there to be afraid of?

If it was a battle of snark and sarcasm, he was more than ready to jump in.

Wang Ze, on the other hand, was caught slightly off guard by Zhang Qiming’s calm attitude—there wasn’t a hint of fear on his face, as if he wasn’t the one who got beaten up just a few days ago.

Was this guy really that stubborn? Took a beating and still didn’t back down?

Didn’t he learn his lesson?

Was he really not afraid that I’d call in Brother Liu again? This time it wouldn’t be something a single beating could settle.

No—

He just flat-out looked down on me.

That thought burned in Wang Ze’s mind as he stared at Zhang Qiming, and a surge of blind rage ignited in his gut.

Just as Zhang Qiming had said—he was the type to bully the weak and fear the strong. When faced with someone he couldn’t beat, all he knew how to do was call for backup.

He knew Zhang Qiming figured he wouldn’t want to trouble Brother Liu again—so that’s why the guy dared to act so cocky?

This blatant disrespect was now fueling Wang Ze’s fury.

"Alright, you’ve got guts, kid."

He puffed out his chest, doing his best to stand tall despite his smaller frame.

Whether it was due to genetics or just poor nutrition, Wang Ze stood at only 1.7 meters—pretty short for boys at an age when the average was around 1.75. That, combined with his rather scrawny build, dark skin, and dry, tired-looking face, made him appear older than his seventeen years—more like someone in his late twenties or early thirties.

He looked like he’d aged before his time.

And this physical inferiority complex had always been buried deep inside him.

Even if he didn’t consciously realize it, he’d always held a grudge about it.

"What now, finally gonna man up?"

Zhou Tianming looked down at him, face full of mockery.

Wang Ze’s buddies began to crowd around him too, stepping forward to block him as if they were about to make a move.

"All you do is run your mouth with that fake-ass sarcasm. Who was the one whining like some damn girl again?"

With his reliable enforcer not around, Wang Ze actually didn’t want to escalate things into a real fight either. After all, he only had four people on his side—4v2 wasn't exactly a crushing advantage.

But honestly, that raspy duck voice of his really made people want to punch him.

"Hahaha."

Zhou Tianming simply let out a hearty laugh at those words.

And then—

"Thud!"

Before anyone could react, one of the guys standing in front of Wang Ze was suddenly knocked aside by Da Ming, stumbling and falling to the side.

The usually friendly and approachable face that made people naturally like him had turned stern and angry. Zhou Tianming used his other elbow to shove aside another guy who had stepped up to block him.

Without the need for a single word, Zhang Qiming immediately charged in the moment he saw Zhou Tianming make a move, rushing up to cover his flank.

"F**k!"

Wang Ze cursed loudly, but he had only just pulled his hands out of his pockets when Zhou Tianming’s fist slammed into his chest.

A straight punch—simple, but effective.

Although Zhou Tianming had held back a bit out of consideration for the situation, the blow still sent Wang Ze stumbling backward several steps, coughing heavily.

Seeing things had reached this point, Zhang Qiming gave the big guy beside him a quick pat on the arm—a signal that it was about enough.

Zhou Tianming nodded in silent agreement.

This was a public area. No need to cause a huge scene. They’d made their point.

……

By the time Da Ming had finished his line, Zhang Qiming already more or less understood what Zhou Tianming was going for.

The reason for the punch-up was simple: during the two days he was absent, probably half the school already knew he’d gotten beaten so badly by the guys Wang Ze called in that he didn’t dare show his face.

Chances were high that the other side had even leaked clips of the incident, and from there, the rumors had only gotten worse and worse.

…On that note, he could only be glad he hadn’t done anything too embarrassing during the beating. Otherwise, if it had been caught on video and circulated, he might’ve honestly been too humiliated to come back to school...

But now that he’d returned in full form, no doubt about it: this was their chance to publicly deliver a warning punch. A statement, loud and clear, to Wang Ze and his crew—“You didn’t actually think you’d won, did you?” That was the perfect message.

As for the second reason, that one was even simpler.

Zhou Tianming had probably been stewing for days about having to let Zhang Qiming take a beating on his own. So this move was part payback, part bait—a mocking taunt to draw the enemy out.

So all in all, today was just a simple show of force. A quick hit, message delivered, job done.

Of course, if Wang Ze’s crew couldn’t stomach the humiliation and still wanted to fight, the Two Mings definitely wouldn’t mind running a bonus round.

But for now, the other side only had a few guys—clearly not enough to make a move. Most likely, they'd just stew in silence and walk away fuming.

Or… maybe they’d start plotting to call in reinforcements?

Who knew? In any case, just as Zhang Qiming had said from the start—these guys were nothing more than a pack of hyenas.

And as someone who knew the current state of their so-called "backer," Zhang Qiming truly felt zero fear.

No matter how intimidating, could a bunch of punk students really be scarier than supernatural beings?

Let him tell you something—not to brag, but he had spent the night alongside things that could not be named.

.

.

"Achoo!"

Lin Ying cupped her hands into a diamond shape in front of her mouth, then pinched her nose.

Was the weather getting colder?

But now that she thought about it—could her body even catch a cold?

Hopefully not. Having a runny nose sounded really uncomfortable.

She sniffled, shrank into herself a little, rubbed her arms for warmth, and continued on her way.

Sigh… selling this junk is such a hassle...

"G~r~e~e~d~ i~s~ g~o~o~d~…"

The girl hummed softly, one letter at a time, as she disappeared into the crowd.