[Haicheng No.4 High School—Next Morning—School Gate]
A chilly morning breeze swept across the school grounds. Students walked through the gate, laughing, gossiping, clutching breakfast buns, and preparing for another normal day.
But today?
Today was not normal.
Because striding toward the school gate…was Qiao Ning 2.0 — the reincarnated gangster, Lu Zhen. Hands tucked into her sweater pockets. Chin slightly lifted. Expression: "I woke up ready to fight destiny."
Her eyes were half-closed with exhaustion, her soul still not fully reattached after the previous day's "Mother vs. Gangster" battle.
She muttered to herself, "Alright. Deep breath. Survive the day… don't throw furniture… don't break walls… don't get scolded by that dean demon again…"
Then—A shadow blocked her path.
A tall figure leaned casually against the school gate, blocking half of the entrance with sheer arrogance.
Then another figure joined him.
And another.
Five of them.
The same five bullies Song Xiaoting pointed out yesterday.
The bullies were already waiting.
Five of them. Leaning against the gate like they owned the school. Laughing. Whispering. Watching.
And the ringleader—Zhao Meilin—stood in front, arms crossed, chewing gum like she thought she was the main villain in a low-budget drama.
Her eyes lit up mockingly the moment she saw Qiao Ning.
"Well, well… look who crawled back," she sneered. "I thought you'd stay home and cry like you usually do."
Her little minions snickered.
Song Xiaoting, halfway through the gate, froze like her soul tried to escape her body.
Up on the second-floor corridor, Shen Yacheng leaned against the railing, arms folded, expression unreadable. Cold. Watching.
Waiting.
Like he had been from the moment Lu Zhen appeared at the gate.
Her group snickered behind her. "Didn't expect you to show your face, Qiao Ning."
"Thought you'd disappear after yesterday."
"Or maybe she came for round two, hah—"
Before they could finish—Lu Zhen stopped walking.
Lifted his head. And stared at them. Not the old Qiao Ning stare. Not fear. Not avoidance. But the kind of stare that made grown gangsters reconsider life choices.
Silence.
Then he cracked his neck.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
"Ah…" he sighed. "So the trash takes itself out early in the morning."
The bullies blinked. "…What did she just say?"
Lu Zhen walked forward, hands still in his pockets. His steps were slow.
Dangerous.
Purposeful.
Each one made the bullies instinctively step back—but their ego didn't allow them to retreat fully. He stopped right in front of the lead girl.
He tilted his head. Smirked.
"You're blocking the gate," he said calmly, voice dripping with gangster charm. "Move."
The girl scoffed. "Or what? You're going to cry again? Run to a teacher? Throw another desk—"
"Actually," Lu Zhen said, leaning in slightly, "that last one is still an option."
She froze.
Her friends froze. A boy behind her whispered, "She's joking… right? Right??"
Lu Zhen's smirk deepened. "Did I look like I was joking yesterday?"
Silence again.
Dead silence.
Qiao Ning—once a soft little target—now stared at them like she was evaluating who to break first.
Finally the lead girl clicked her tongue, rolling her eyes to save her pride. "Tch. She's bluffing. Come on, guys."
But the moment she tried to step forward—Lu Zhen moved.
Just an inch.
Just a fraction of a second. But the bullies FLINCHED like he whipped out a gun.
He cracked his neck. Dead annoyed.
"It's… EARLY morning…" he growled, voice low and deadly. "And I don't want any trouble…"
He leaned forward slightly, the hint of a smile appearing—dangerous, sharp enough to cut bone.
"And I DEFINITELY don't want to hear that dean scream at me again…"
The bullies stiffened like they were staring at a wild animal.
Lu Zhen's eyes sharpened, boring holes straight into their souls. "So… MOVE."
The group froze.
Absolutely frozen.
Song Xiaoting hovered near the gate, clutching her books like a survivor watching a car crash.
"…She's gonna kill someone," she whispered under her breath.
Zhao Meilin panicked inside—but she couldn't lose face. Not in front of her group. So she snarled, stepped forward again, and grabbed Qiao Ning's collar.
Her fingers twisted the fabric.
"Looks like you got too much guts now, huh?" she hissed. "Seems like it's been too many days since you were taught a good lesson."
Lu Zhen looked down at the hand clutching the collar.
Then up at her face.
Slowly.
Very, very slowly. His lips curled upward.
Not gently.
Not kindly.
But like a man greeting a fight he'd been craving.
"Alright then…" he said softly. Her hand trembled.
"…Let's see…" His smile widened into something sharp, feral, and entirely not belonging to a timid girl. "…what YOU think you can teach me today."
Zhao Meilin swallowed.
Hard.
Because in that moment—She realized she wasn't holding Qiao Ning.
Qiao Ning was holding her.
And Shen Yacheng, still watching from above, narrowed his eyes.
"...What the hell happened to her?" he muttered under his breath.
***
[Behind the School Gate—A Few Minutes Later]
"GUYS, THERE'S A FIGHT HAPPENING BEHIND THE SCHOOL!!"
The shout echoed through the hallway like a school bell of doom. Students perked up. Books slammed shut.
Pens dropped.
Every nosy teenager within a 100-meter radius instantly transformed into an Olympic sprinter.
"Is Qiao Ning getting bullied again?!"
"AGAIN?! Gosh—call a teacher!"
"Call the security—call the dean—!"
"They're gonna kill her—!"
The entire school went into panic mode as everyone scattered in different directions like headless chickens.
***
[Behind the Garden Wall—The Fight Zone]
The scene was straight out of a school drama.
Qiao Ning—aka Lu Zhen—stood in the middle of the small clearing, having dropped her bag on the ground like a gunslinger discarding his coat before a duel.
The bullies—two girls, three boys—lined up in front of her, cracking their knuckles, grinning like hyenas who thought they'd finally cornered their prey.
Song Xiaoting hovered behind a tree trunk, clinging to her bag like a nervous ghost. Her giant glasses shook with fear.
"C-Can she fight them alone?" she whispered, pushing her glasses up with trembling fingers.
Another student whispered, "We should stop them—"
"No way, dude, I'm filming—"
Then—SHUA!
A tall figure rushed between the two sides like a gust of cold wind.
Shen Yacheng.
He slid in front of Qiao Ning, blocking her with an arm held out protectively.
"Stop." His voice was low, stern, and absolutely not requesting permission. "Or I'll call the teachers."
The bullies stiffened for a second.
A very small second. Because Shen Yacheng staring at them was much scarier than a teacher.
But Lu Zhen?
Lu Zhen stared at the tall boy's back like:
…What in the fresh hell is this?
He squinted.
"What the—HEY. Hey. TALL MAN." He jabbed a finger at Shen Yacheng's shoulder. "Get the hell out of the way."
Shen Yacheng turned his head slightly, brows furrowed. His expression was unreadable. Cold. Too calm.
"I won't let anything happen to you again," he said softly.
Behind him, the crowd gasped.
"OH MY GOD—IT LOOKS LIKE A CONFESSION?!"
"What do you mean 'again'? AGAIN?!"
"Wait—is he DEFENDING her?!"
Lu Zhen's brain shut down. His soul paused. His eyebrow twitched.
This idiot—this tall, brooding, mysterious problem—what is he even saying?!
"What the hell do you mean 'won't let anything happen'—?" Lu Zhen began.
But then— Shen Yacheng did the unspeakable. He reached behind and grabbed Qiao Ning's wrist.
A gentle, protective hold.
The crowd gasped again.
Song Xiaoting dropped her bag. One bully choked on his own spit. And Lu Zhen—formerly the terrifying underworld gangster—made the most offended, disgusted, and horrified face in human history.
He yanked his hand back so fast the wind slapped Shen Yacheng in the face.
"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU TOUCHING ME RECKLESSLY?!" Lu Zhen barked. "HAVE YOU LOST YOUR DAMN MIND?!"
The crowd burst into wheezes.
Shen Yacheng blinked, visibly thrown off. "I—…you were falling," he muttered.
"I wasn't FALLING, YOU WERE PUSHING!" Lu Zhen snapped, pointing at him like accusing a criminal. "Don't stand in front of me! I don't need your tall, tragic face blocking my fight!"
Shen Yacheng opened his mouth to retort—But the bullies stepped in with mocking smirks.
"Well, well, well…" the lead girl sneered. "Look who suddenly got bodyguards."
The group chuckled meanly behind her. She stepped forward, arms crossed, hair flicking like some villainess wannabe.
"Looks like you got some guts, huh? After disappearing for days? You forgot how things work here?"
Lu Zhen's eyes went cold.
Dead cold.
He took one step forward.
The bullies flinched.
And then—the smirk appeared.
Slow.
Dark.
Predatory.
"Alright…" he drawled, voice dangerously soft. "Let's see… what lesson you dumb kids think you're teaching me today?"
The temperature dropped five degrees.
Song Xiaoting trembled so hard her glasses nearly slid off.
Shen Yacheng stood like a wall in front of Qiao Ning, eyes cold, jaw tight, stance tense enough to snap. The bullies stiffened, their smirks twitching.
And Lu Zhen—inside Qiao Ning's tiny body—just cracked his knuckles with a slow, evil smile.
"Finally…" His grin stretched wider, eyes gleaming, "…five volunteers for morning exercise."
Shen Yacheng shot him a horrified look. "Why are you doing this? You'll get hurt again… they won't spare you!"
Lu Zhen flicked a glance at him.
A bored one.
A dangerous one.
Then—he put one small palm on Shen Yacheng's chest and pushed.
Not hard, not aggressive—just firm enough for the tall boy to stumble back two steps like he'd been shocked.
"Tall man," Lu Zhen growled, "move your big face out of the way."
Shen Yacheng staggered, confused, staring like a puppy kicked by fate. Song Xiaoting hid behind a tree, whispering, "Wow...it's finally starting."
The bullies exchanged glances.
Then smirked. The leader—Zhong Meili—stepped forward with a flip of her hair.
"Well well… looks like Little Ning Ning thinks she grew a backbone." She sneered. "Let's see how long that lasts."
Lu Zhen tilted his head slowly.
His smile disappeared.
In its place—A predator's grin.
He cracked his neck, one side then the other.
CRACK… CRACK…
"Alright…" he said softly, rolling his shoulders, aura dropping into something darker. "…let's begin."
THE FIGHT
The first bully—one of the boys—charged forward with a loud yell.
Lu Zhen didn't move.
Didn't blink.
Didn't flinch.
He just shifted one foot half an inch—and the boy tripped over thin air, collapsing on the ground like a bag of potatoes.
"WH—WHAT—?"
Lu Zhen sighed, eyes cold. "Bro. You fell on your own. I didn't even TOUCH you. Embarrassing."
The second boy swung a fist toward Qiao Ning's cheek.
Song Xiaoting shrieked, "OH MY GOD—!!!"
But—
SWISH!
Lu Zhen ducked, slid sideways, grabbed the boy's wrist, twisted—
CRACK!!
"AAAAAAAHHHHH—!!"
The boy dropped, clutching his arm.
Lu Zhen stared down at him, voice bored. "Don't cry. I didn't break it. That's just the sound of your pride."
The two girls exchanged terrified looks. "What—what kind of monster did she become?!"
"Since when does Qiao Ning FIGHT?!"
Zhong Meili grit her teeth and lunged, grabbing Qiao Ning's hair—or at least tried.
Lu Zhen caught her wrist midair. Their eyes met. Zhong Meili froze. Because the smile she saw…Was not a schoolgirl's smile.
It was the smile of a man who once beat someone with a chair.
"Ah…" Lu Zhen whispered. "You're the one who wrote 'ugly rat' on the desk, right?"
Zhong Meili's lip trembled. "S-So what if I—"
WHAM!!!
Lu Zhen shoved her back and she stumbled, nearly falling. The last bully, the biggest boy, hesitated… then tried to grab him from behind.
Lu Zhen didn't even turn around. He leaned forward and elbowed him in the ribs.
THUD—!!!
The boy collapsed to his knees, wheezing.
Lu Zhen finally straightened, dusted off his hands like he finished gardening, and glared at the entire trembling group.
He gave a slow, satisfied smile.
"…Is that it?" he asked. "Five bullies… and not even ONE of you lasted ten seconds?"
The bullies stared, pale, shaking. Zhong Meili pointed with a shaking finger, voice cracking. "Y-you're CRAZY! You—you almost broke my nose!"
Lu Zhen stepped toward her.
She backed up immediately.
He smiled sweetly.Eyes cold.
"Don't worry," he whispered softly. "Next time—I won't 'almost.'"
The group WHIMPERED and that day the whole school witnessed Qiao Ning is no longer prey.