Chapter 3: A Duel with the Belle

"Pretty fast, aren't you?" A pleasant female voice rang out just as he was a few steps away from the school gate.

Xiangri turned toward the voice and saw a group of people in white training uniforms quickly surrounding him, both men and women. Four stood out the most, with the renowned beauty Chu at the forefront. To her left was a tall, arrogant-looking young man, while on her right stood someone less tall but with an air of calm steadiness. Behind her was a cold and aloof woman dressed in a taekwondo uniform.

Assessing the situation, Xiangri estimated the strength of both sides. The conclusion was disheartening: brute force wouldn't work; only wit could save him now.

"Chu, is this the guy who bullied you?" the tall, arrogant young man to her left asked. He was at least 1.9 meters tall and had a black belt tied around his waist.

"My business is none of yours!" The beauty shouted at him, clearly not fond of the youth.

The arrogant man, stunned by her outburst, glared fiercely at Xiangri before backing down, clearly cowed.

"So, you're Xiangkui?" With the arrogant man out of the way, the calm youth on the right stepped forward, his sharp gaze intimidating.

"If I'm not mistaken, that would be me." Having been a boss for several years, Xiangri detested being spoken to with such a condescending tone. Despite his diminished strength, he saw no reason to be servile. "What do you want? If it's trivial, I don't have time for it!"

"Xiangkui!" Chu's anger was visible as she clenched her fists. "How dare you speak to my cousin like that!"

"Men are speaking; women, stay silent!" Xiangri's words sparked outrage. Every female member of the group glared at him, their faces red with fury, wishing they could tear him apart. Even the cold taekwondo girl, who had remained expressionless until now, was staring at him icily.

Chu was about to say something, but the calm young man stopped her. "Chuchu, I'll handle this." He turned to Xiangri, frowning. "This isn't the place to talk. How about we find somewhere more private?"

"Sure, you pick the spot." A true leader, Xiangri thought. He clearly wanted to get him somewhere secluded before making a move. No wonder he could lead two gangs; his words were well-crafted.

A disdainful snort came from nearby. Xiangri turned, annoyed, to see the tall youth glaring at him with a "you're dead" expression. Xiangri responded with a "bring it on, kid" look, then turned back to the beauty, unconcerned whether the tall youth understood or not.

The arrogant young man ground his teeth in frustration. He'd already warned Xiangri to stay away from his girl, and yet here Xiangri was, as if to say, "I'm messing with your woman, so what?" Damn it, if he didn't teach him a lesson later, he might as well change his last name!

"After you," the calm youth said, opening the door to the judo club.

"This is where you train?" Xiangri glanced around. "Looks like a nice spot, a little small maybe, but it'll do. A good place for a sparring match, I see." He stepped forward and pressed his foot into the floor, feeling the resilience beneath. Even if he fell, he figured, it wouldn't hurt much.

"Pervert!"

"Bastard!"

"Shameless!"

The female members of the judo club blushed as they hurled insults, with Chu biting her lip in anger. The only one who remained unfazed was the taekwondo girl, who continued to stare icily at him.

Xiangri stared at them, bewildered. What had he done to deserve such "praise"? Realizing how his comment could be misunderstood, he chuckled.

His laughter only poured fuel on the fire, even drawing hostility from the men. Who did he think he was, coming to the judo club to harass their women? "Brothers, let's get him!"

Over a hundred people began to stir, but the calm youth managed to rein them in. "Everyone, disperse. Free practice!" Reluctantly, they moved away.

"Xiangkui, you know why we're here, don't you?" The calm youth regained his composure.

"I don't recall wronging you." Xiangri feigned ignorance.

"True, you haven't wronged me. But you've wronged my cousin. How do you explain that?" The calm youth's face turned stern.

"Did I? I don't remember that." Xiangri continued playing dumb.

"Xiangkui, are you even a man? Can't admit what you've done?" Chu interjected.

"Haven't you already confirmed that I am?" Xiangri's eyes gleamed with mischief as he looked at her, his gaze suggestive.

"You..." Chu was so furious she couldn't speak.

"What did you do to Chu?" The arrogant youth yelled, his eyes red with anger.

"Gaofei, stop shouting!" the calm youth said sternly. He then turned back to Xiangri. "I don't care what you did to Chu. You made her upset, and for that, I won't let it slide. Since you're technically Chu's boyfriend, my future cousin-in-law, I won't make this difficult for you. There are three of us here—pick one. If you can last three minutes against any of us, I won't interfere with Chu's affairs again."

"What?" The four of them—Xiangri, Chuchu, Gaofei, and the taekwondo girl—exclaimed in unison.

"You're deliberately making it hard for me! I'm just an ordinary guy, and you're all black belt masters. How's that fair?" Xiangri protested, though inwardly relieved. At least it wasn't the entire group he had to face.

"That's too easy on him! At least thirty minutes!" Chu objected.

"He's Chuchu's boyfriend?" Gaofei looked murderous.

The taekwondo girl said nothing, but her gaze grew even colder as she watched Xiangri.

"You don't have to choose. If you think you can walk out of here after being surrounded by all of us, go ahead." The calm youth gestured indifferently to the crowd that had already dispersed.

"Club leader!" Gaofei grabbed the calm youth's training uniform. "Is he really Chuchu's boyfriend?"

"Yes, that's what Chuchu told me just now when she came to see me," the calm youth replied with a bitter smile.

"Chuchu, is it true?" Gaofei looked at the beauty with hope, but her reddened face and nod shattered the last remnants of his illusions.

"Kid, you must choose me as your opponent!" The arrogant youth, having regained his composure, glared at his rival with hatred.

"Choose you? Am I crazy, or are you? If you're feeling off, why don't you go spar with a boar?" Xiangri dismissed him as if he were air, turning his thoughts inward. A major realization struck him—judging from the expression on the cousin's face, it seemed genuine, meaning the beauty hadn't told him the truth. He was merely her hired fake boyfriend. Why hadn't she told her cousin? Not even someone as close as this cousin knew, which meant something fishy was going on.

"Are you choosing or not? If not, I'll choose for you," the calm youth said in a serious tone when Xiangri delayed his decision.

"Choosing, of course I'm choosing. I'm just assessing your strengths, figuring out who's the strongest. Whoever's the strongest, I'll pick them."

Though his words were bold, inwardly Xiangri warned himself to stay low-key. The cousin was clearly off-limits—no matter how weak he might seem, as a double club leader, he wouldn't be an easy opponent. The tall pretty boy? Better not—though his strength might not be great, his fury would likely multiply his attack power. The taekwondo girl seemed the least threatening; even if he defeated her, it wouldn't draw too much attention.

Having made up his mind, Xiangri walked up to the taekwondo girl. "I think you're the strongest. Alright, I choose you."

"Yes!" Chuchu suddenly jumped up in excitement, as if she had just won the lottery. The calm youth sighed deeply, while Gaofei's face was full of schadenfreude.

Seeing this reaction, Xiangri was struck by a sense of foreboding. Had he really chosen the strongest one?

The other club members, who had been watching from a distance, quickly cleared a large space, eager to see the show now that Xiangri had chosen the taekwondo girl as his opponent.

"Hey, how long do you think this guy can last?"

"One minute."

"I say fifty seconds."

"You're both wrong—thirty seconds, tops."

"Fifteen seconds."

"Ten seconds."

"With my sharp eyes, I predict a knockout in an instant!"

Xiangi broke into a cold sweat hearing their comments. Was the taekwondo girl really that powerful? Well, he wasn't exactly weak either.

"Please." The taekwondo girl stepped forward and bowed to Xiangri.

Knowing this was a pre-fight courtesy, Xiangri quickly returned the bow, but his awkward movements made him look like a clown, provoking a chorus of laughter.

Thick-skinned as he was, Xiangri ignored the laughter. He was about to signal the taekwondo girl to start when, to his surprise, she struck first, launching a swift and vicious side kick aimed directly at his temple.

Cheers erupted from the crowd. No one had any sympathy for Xiangri, who they believed was digging his own grave. The only thing they looked forward to was seeing if the taekwondo girl would knock him out instantly.

In the middle of the arena, Xiangri seemed frozen in fear, making no move to block or dodge.

This raised a trace of pity in Chuchu's heart, while the calm youth frowned slightly. Gaofei, on the other hand, looked elated.

But the expected knockout never happened. Just as the kick was about to land, Xiangri raised his hand and blocked the fierce strike, leaving everyone in shock.

"Impossible!"

"An illusion!"

"It must be a trick!"

The taekwondo girl was known for her overwhelming strength—she had even earned the nickname "stone maiden" and could easily break a three-centimeter-thick wooden board in half. That skinny kid, with his unimpressive arms, had managed to block her attack. Could he have a robotic arm?

Similarly, the taekwondo girl was stunned. She had believed this kick would be more than enough to disable the guy who looked down on women, but the pain in her calf told her this was no dream—it had truly happened.