Curious, I did a 180 and returned to the gate.

"Where did this beggar come from?"

Beggar?

Pus.h.i.+ng my gla.s.ses up, I proceeded forward. At first they had my curiosity, but now they had my attention. Being the busybody that I was, I headed over to the gate to join the crowd and stare. Obviously I didn't take out my smartphone and start taking pictures or recording – I was not that big on social media and I had better things to do.

A crowd of students had gathered around a single person who was seated outside, and they were looking down on him with scorn and disdain. The "beggar" was wapped in a filthy, black cloak and hood that covered his grimly face, and he sat calmly at the exterior of the gate, with a relatively big aluminum can in front of him. The type where you sc.r.a.ped baked beans out of, or other kinds of processed food, but obviously he had eaten all of the food that the can had once possessed. The lid had been peeled off, revealing a pitiful, empty container that was waiting to be filled with money.

One of the student, clearly a Fu Er Dai (second generation rich kid), jabbed his finger rudely at the beggar and sneered.

"How dare he ask for money in front of our school?"

Agreeing, several of the girls bunched together as they treated the beggar with contempt and a little bit of trepidation.

"He chose the wrong place. Our school is elite and very famous. He's ruining our image!"

b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l. Here you had a poor guy who was in need of money because he was homeless and close to starving to death, but the only thing these people cared about was their "image"? What a bunch of stuckup, arrogant and self-centered "elite" students.

"Tell the guards to get rid of him," one of the students grumbled. I stared at him in astonishment. Why couldn't he just do it himself instead of standing here and whining about it?

 A delinquent student, who stood out in contrast to the "elite" students around him (and ironically ruining the school's image way more than the beggar ever could, but no one pointed that out except me), chuckled and threw something into the can.

It wasn't coins. It was a pebble.

Inspired by the delinquent, several of the students also laughed and began picking up stones and pebbles to toss at the beggar, who sat unmoving despite being showered by projectiles that bounced off his hood and cloak.

What the h.e.l.l?! It was okay if you didn't want to donate any money to the poor guy, and while it was bad enough that you were badmouthing him, there was no need to throw stuff at him, right? Abusing him was way too much!

"Hey, hey!" I shouted as I forced my way to the front and placed myself between the beggar and the students. "Stop that!"

"Oh? Isn't that the exchange student from some countryside school?"

"The no-name exchange student who is arrogant enough to think that he can hang out with the likes of Kufa Van Peer, Rossetti Picket and the other elite students?"

The h.e.l.l? No-name exchange student? Countryside school? Did these fools forget that I was part of the Jing Tian Academy team who defeated the representatives of their Saint Teresa Academy? These people really have short memories. Not that I was in any position to remind them, because I found myself becoming their new target.

"Hey, teach that exchange student a lesson! Show him how things work in Saint Teresa Academy!"

"That's right, he's ruining the image of our school just by partic.i.p.ating in an exchange program here."

"Let's punish him too!"

What the f.u.c.k!?

Before I could retort or defend myself, the crowd began hurling pebbles, twigs and other random objects at me. I winced as their maninfused projectiles broke through my protective aura and sc.r.a.ped my skin. What the h.e.l.l, they were going as far as to infuse their projectiles with their own mana to ensure that I was hurt? If I hadn't formed my defensive aura properly, I would have been seriously hurt!

These so-called "elite" students seriously needed to look at themselves in the mirror and stop being so arrogant.

That was it. These suckers were going down. I clenched my fist and began gathering mana into it, getting ready to freeze these f.u.c.kers. To h.e.l.l with the consequences – even if the school dared to punish me, I could claim self-defense. My gla.s.ses were recording the whole thing. If I posted this on social media, I had the ability to ruin the reputation of Saint Teresa Academy forever.

"Hmm…"

Fortunately for the stuents, before I could retaliate, Zhao Yan pa.s.sed by and intervened. Frowning when she witnessed the scene, she immediately leaped into action and planted herself between me and the crowd. I was forced to stop my spell, especially since she was standing in my way and spreading her hands determinedly.

"You can't pick on them like that."

You don't say?

On the other hand, those simple words were enough to halt the aggression, so I couldn't question the effectiveness of her methods.

"Zhao Yan?"

Whispers rippled through the crowd as many of the students recognized her, despite Zhao Yan not being very sociable. Yeah, her parents and sister, Yue Jian, did mention that she didn't have many friends other than me.

"Isn't she the smart and pretty girl who is always ranked first academically in our school?"

"I didn't think she was the type to meddle in such affairs…"

Even though Zhao Yan didn't interact much with the other students, she did build up quite the solid reputation, and it was working to her advantage as the dissent simmered down and died. The delinquent who cast the first stone sighed and waved his hand dismissively.

"Forget it! If a beauty is defending those two losers, then we shouldn't leave a bad impression on her."

It was too late for that, you moron. The moment you began abusing the beggar, you had already sealed your image in Zhao Yan's eyes. Not that she was one to keep a grudge against you for that…

"The others are here too!"

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Rossetti had shown up, along with Miura and Kufa. The trio were making their way forward. Miura, in particular, clapped her hands.

"Okay, nothing to see here! Let's go! We don't want to be late for cla.s.ses, do we?"

"You okay?" Kufa asked me, and I nodded. Relaxing, I allowed my mana to fade away completely. I was this close to freezing the lot of bullies.

"How horrible!" Rossetti complained hotly, swinging her fists at the retreating students. "How could they do such awful things?!"

"Because that's how some people are," I replied cynically and wearily. But I smiled and nodded gratefully at them. "There will always be good people and there will always be bad people."

The crowd dispersed after that, muttering under their breaths and slightly intimidated by the newly arrived trio. If Zhao Yan's appearance hadn't discouraged them, then the arrival of Rossetti and her friends certainly broke any defiance they might have. The students headed in different directions as they proceeded to their various cla.s.srooms all over campus. Which was weird, because we were right outside the gate, so why were quite a few of them walking away from school? Did they plan to skip cla.s.ses or something?

Seriously, someone ought to do a quality check on this ridiculous manhua series. Did the artist just draw whatever without thinking things through?

As I rubbed the dust and and blood from my face, I caught wind of a conversation between the delinquent and his friend, who was looking annoyed at having his entertainment interrupted. The delinquent placed an arm around his friend's shoulder, frantically leading him away. He leaned over and whispered into his friend's ear.

"Never mind Rossetti Picket, Miura La Noir and Kufa Van Peer, we aren't a match for someone of Nan Gong Zhao Yan's caliber. I heard that apart from her beauty, she is a superb mage. If we fought her, we wouldn't stand a chance."

It wasn't as if Zhao Yan would bother to fight ruffians like you…h.e.l.l, even I could defeat the two of you. Actually, I had the ability to nuke the entire school from orbit. I considered doing that. It was the only way to be sure.

"Are you all right, Richard?"

Rossetti offered me a handkerchief to wipe off the blood and dust, which I accepted gratefully. Suddenly, Miura jumped between us, bristling angrily.

"What are you doing?!"

"Uh…helping Richard out?" Rossetti forced a smile, but she was unable to hide her puzzlement. Miura groaned in exasperation.

"d.a.m.n it! This was supposed to be my chance!"

"Your chance to do what, exactly?" Kufa asked, frowning. Miura glared at him, and then she glowered at me.

"Geez! You boys are always so dense!"

"Well, I'm fine. Thanks." I nodded, returning to Rossetti and answering her question. She nodded, and then placed her hands on her hips.

"Ugh! I'm so p.i.s.sed! What were those guys thinking, stoning you?! I'm reporting this to the teachers!"

"Bullies will always be bullies," Kufa muttered darkly. "No matter where you go, you'lll always find people who revel in the suffering of others."

While we were conversing, I spotted Zhao Yan approaching the beggar. She took out a few coins from her purse and handed it to the beggar, who watched her calmly. She smiled to show him that she meant no harm.

"Here, this is for you. Go buy something to eat."

The beggar studied her closely with such intensity that I couldn't help but feel a chill. Even Kufa raised an eyebrow in concern, and the girls looked uncomfortable. Was there a need for him to stare at Zhao Yan like that?

And then he accepted the coins with his right hand. As his hand slipped out of the dark, grimy cloak, I caught sight of a strange, red tattoo vividly etched into his skin.

Huh…that tattoo…that was quite the intricate design. I wasn't a big fan of tattoos and thus never got them, but they were pretty popular among the younger generation. Speaking of which, why would a starving beggar have a tattoo?

"They'll tell the guards, though. So it's best if you find some other place to beg."

Zhao Yan, wasting no time as usual, was already turning away. As the beggar bowed his head gratefully, he studied the coins, a sinister smile spreading over his face. My eyes widened as I watched him. There was something suspicious about this guy.

"She's right, you know?" Miura approached the beggar and placed a dollar bill in his can. "You should leave before the guards arrive."

Then she gestured for us to follow.

"Let's hurry before we are late for cla.s.s."

"All right." Rossetti followed closely, but not before she nodded at the beggar. Kufa sent him a suspicious gaze, having the same doubts as me, but neither of us could accuse the beggar of anything because we had no proof.

I was about to follow them when the beggar spoke up.

"Richard, right?"

His question took me by surprise. But then, when I calmly evaluated the situation, I remembered that Rossetti had addressed me by name when she asked if I was all right – in front of this guy. So it wasn't strange that he knew my name.

"That's right, sir."

As I nodded in a manner that any good British butler would be proud of, the beggar grinned mischievously, his eyes still hidden by his hood.

"Yeah, Zhao Yan talks about you all the time. You've known her, her whole life!"

Uh…what? Really? And how would you know that? As far as I knew, this was the first time Zhao Yan spoke to him. And I was pretty sure I had not known her throughout her whole life. That was a total lie.

But I decided to humor him a bit, even though I was particularly disturbed by the words "her whole life", which were setting off all sort of death flags.

"Oh, not yet, sir."

"Heh heh heh." The beggar glanced at Zhao Yan's departing figure for a moment before turning back to me. "Any psychotic ex-boyfriends I should be aware of?"

Now it was my turn to grin and shake my head slightly.

"Oh…you have no idea."

And then I left him sitting on the pavement, chuckling to myself as I walked back through the school gates. Needless to say, I was stingy to the point where I didn't bother to give the suspicious beggar any of my money.

"What's the matter, Richard?" Rossetti was glancing back at me in concern. She, Miura and Kufa had stopped for a moment to wait for me, while Zhao Yan had long since disappeared into the school.

"Did the beggar want money from you?" Miura huffed. "Even after Zhao Yan and I gave him a few dollars? How greedy."

"No, that's not it at all. He was interested in Zhao Yan, for some reason."

"Why?" Kufa asked curiously. I shrugged.

"Who knows? I guess it's because she's beautiful…ouch!"

For some reason, Miura had stomped on my foot, and I had no choice but to shut up for the moment.

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