I waited at the school gate for several dozen minutes before Puppy arrived—along with Watermelon Head, the brawny guy I'd met before, and Monkey, who was quick and agile.
Seeing them show up put my mind at ease. Even if Li Dehai and his crew came now, I wouldn't be afraid.
We didn't have to wait long before Li Dehai appeared.
After standing around for about ten minutes, Li Dehai finally approached us with two other guys.
I spotted Zhao Ling too. She was sucking on a lollipop, standing nearby with her usual group of friends. When my eyes met hers, she glared at me—probably still pissed about how I'd helped Xia Shi that morning—before turning her head away dismissively.
Li Dehai shouted to his lackeys: "Hurry up and teach this kid a lesson!"
In the end, of course, justice prevailed—and the victorious side was ours!
Li Dehai and his gang fled in disgrace. Once it was over, Gou Mao, who had been watching from the sidelines, rushed over to me, giving me a thumbs-up. "Damn, you really did it! After this fight, your name's gonna be all over the school by next week!"
I waved him off. "Please, the love letter incident already made me infamous enough."
As we walked toward the minivan, I overheard Zhao Lin's friends talking about me, saying I had some guts. Zhao Lin herself stayed silent, but the way she glared at me made it clear she still hated my guts.
Puppy nudged me and asked, "Who's that hot girl giving you the death stare? She's fine as hell."
I shrugged. "She's a sophomore here. Her family drives a BMW—seems pretty loaded."
Puppy whistled. "With looks like that, she's gotta be your school's queen bee, right?"
"Probably." Truthfully, I didn't actually know who the school's most popular girl was, but Zhao Lin was undeniably stunning—easily on par with Xia Shi. Plus, she knew how to dress, always wearing trendy clothes that caught every guy's eye. I'd bet half the school had a crush on her.
Puppy grinned. "Damn, she's something. Did you piss her off or something? The way she looks at you, it's like she wants to skin you alive."
I laughed dryly and shook my head. "Nah, it's complicated."
Puppy elbowed me. "You don't have a girlfriend, right? Why not go for her? If you actually landed a girl like that, think how badass you'd look showing her off."
"Yeah, no thanks."
Puppy rolled his eyes. "Zhang Cheng, are you dense or what?"
By then, we'd reached the minivan. Gou Mao chatted with me for a bit before leaving. I'd wanted to invite him to eat with us, but he refused, saying he hadn't helped in the fight and didn't want Puppy's crew making fun of him. After a quick goodbye, he headed back.
Puppy, Watermelon Head, Monkey, and I found a decent restaurant nearby.
During the meal, I made sure to toast them a few extra times.