Summer's Rose

Chapter 13: Never Hit a "Person"

It was a Wednesday.

“Damn, did you hear? Today, Zhou Nan literally pinned a boy from Class Seven to the corner and beat him up. The boy’s face is all swollen now. I heard he has pretty good grades and even got a scholarship a few years ago.”

“Are you talking about Lucius from Class Seven?”

“Yeah, that’s him. Sucks for him. Why does our school still let these losers and bullies stick around? Are they rich or something? It's scary having these assholes around.”

“Shhhsh…Stop talking about this, Zhou Nan is coming over here.”

The school uniform hung loosely on the boy, giving off a slightly careless vibe. His black, messy hair and pale skin created a sharp contrast, making him seem unapproachable.

After he left, the other students finally relaxed. They didn’t know how much of their conversation Zhou Nan had overheard, but they felt apprehensive.

Yong Ming heard most of it and was a little bit pissed off.

Those people don’t know squat about the truth and are just talking crap behind his back. I swear, Zhou Nan should’ve beaten that jerk to a pulp. It’s disgusting, acting like a good student while pulling all sorts of shady stuff behind everyone’s back."

He wanted to storm over and call those fools out, throw Lucius’s dirty deeds right in their faces, and show them exactly what kind of person Lucius really was.

Hao Ming was also getting pretty pissed off. “Zhou Nan, are you gonna explain yourself? Now everyone thinks that jerk’s the victim, and they all think you’re the one who messed with him.”

Zhou Nan glanced at both of them. “Let them gossip. Who cares?” He wasn’t exactly a saint. But if word got out, that girl would probably be out of here for good.

“Lucius, did Zhou Nan really do this to your face?” a boy asked, looking at Lucius’s swollen face, his voice filled with doubt.

Lucius remembered how Zhou Nan’s cold, black eyes had stared at him yesterday, and he still felt a little shaken. But then he thought, Zhou Nan definitely wouldn’t spread the word. After all, no matter what Zhou Nan said, no one would believe a bully like him over a model student.

He touched his injured face, pretending to be scared. “Yeah, I don’t even know where I offended Zhou Nan. I’ve never even seen him before, never spoken a word to him. He suddenly just hit me. My face still hurts now.” Lucius kept playing the victim card to his classmates.

A chubby girl beside them spoke up. “Damn, that’s too much! He can’t just randomly pick someone and beat them up like that.”

Lucius sighed, “I really don’t know what I did to upset him.”

“Oh my god, your face looks terrible! You should really go to the hospital and get it checked.”

“Your face looks so painful.”

“You’re really unfortunate, Lucius.”

He was surrounded by a group of people, and naturally, he enjoyed the sympathy they offered.

When something like this happened, people often instinctively sided with the so-called “victim” party, thinking that they were the ones being bullied. Lucius took advantage of this mentality. But these people were so naïve—they believed whatever he said.

Zhou Nan’s actions spread through other classes, and soon even Class 17 heard about it.

But most people in Class 17 were familiar with Zhou Nan. Although he usually seemed indifferent, he was very protective of those he cared about. Whenever someone came to cause trouble in their class, Zhou Nan had always been the one to stand up and make sure they weren’t pushed around.He always protects those who are bullied in his own way, but outsiders don’t understand the truth and think he’s just a troublemaker.

The guy who always sat in the back, unable to stay awake in class, once grabbed a chair and swung it at the troublemakers. He kicked over a group of people by himself. “Don’t f**king come to Class 17 and looking for trouble!”

Although Zhou Nan always appeared lazy, usually sleeping at the back of the classroom, after that, no one dared to cause trouble in Class 17.

It was lunchtime.

Lucius, with those around him, was loudly recounting Zhou Nan’s evil deeds, making Zhou Nan seem like a bully who randomly picked on his classmates.

Zhou Nan and Yong Ming had just bought lunch when they saw Lucius walking into the cafeteria.

Yong Ming felt like his eyes were being tainted again, seeing that disgusting excuse for a person.

Lucius met Zhou Nan’s gaze, and the memory of yesterday flashed through his mind—Zhou Nan had pinned him to the ground, landing one punch after another to his face. He was in so much pain he thought he might die. Yet, Zhou Nan didn’t stop.

“Lulu, is this the guy? The one who bullied you?” a boy next to Lucius whispered.

“Yeah, that’s him.”

Lucius snapped back to reality. They were in the cafeteria, surrounded by everyone. Zhou Nan couldn’t do anything to him here, so as he passed by Zhou Nan, he muttered under his breath, “What a morron.”

Zhou Nan glanced at him and, without hesitation, slammed his tray on Lucius’s head. Immediately, food splattered everywhere, soaking Lucius’s hair and clothes.

Zhou Nan grabbed his collar. “Shut up.” Then, with a swift movement, he threw Lucius to the ground.

The cafeteria, which had been full of noise, fell silent. Everyone’s eyes turned to the scene unfolding.

No one seemed able to resist the drama.

Yong Ming couldn’t help but curse loudly. “Lucius, are you seriously asking for it? Didn’t you get your ass handed to you yesterday? And now you’re dumb enough to provoke him again? You’re really that stupid, huh? I thought top students should be smarter than me but looks like you're the exception”

Lucius, still sprawled on the ground, scoffed. “What the hell did I do? Why are you hitting me? Who the hell do you think you are, beating me like that?”

The guy next to Lucius chimed in, “Hey! This is bullying! Why are you randomly hitting people? This is out of line! Our school can’t tolerate gangstar like you all !”

Even Hao Ming, who usually kept his good temper, was done with it. He turned to Lucius and shot back,

“Randomly hitting people? Oh, that’s it! Zhou Nan doesn’t go around hitting ‘people.’ Karma’s a b***h, man. Don’t start asking questions when you’re the one digging your own grave.”

Zhou Nan crouched down, staring at the mess that was Lucius. “Keep running that mouth of yours, and I guarantee you won’t be stepping foot on this school again.”

When Zhou Nan finally walked out of the cafeteria, the tension lifted, and everyone finally let out a breath of relief.

The guy who had been standing next to Lucius helped him up. “Yo, that was too much, man. Should we report it to the teacher?”

Lucius shivered, still haunted by Zhou Nan’s cold stare. “Nah, I’ll head back to my dorm. My clothes are wrecked.

”

“Want me to go with you?”

“Nah, I got it.”

As they left, Yong Ming was so pissed, it was like he was about to blow a gasket. He muttered under his breath, “Lucius is a straight-up i***t. Didn’t he get enough yesterday? And now he’s poking the bear again? Then he’s gonna act all innocent like, ‘Why am I getting beat up?’ Man, this is too much, I’m dying over here.”

Zhou Nan just zipped his lips, keeping his cool.

After Yong Ming got his rant out, he still felt like he had more to say. He turned to Zhou Nan, who still looked like a brick wall. “Zhou Nan, don’t let that i***t get to you. He’s a bastard. If that dude’s a ‘good student,’ then I don’t know what’s left in this world.”

Hearing the words “good student” made Zhou Nan think of someone. He remembered that person who always spoke like they were reading from a textbook, all stiff and formal. His voice was flat when he replied, “I don’t care.”