Chapter 41: I Have Thick Skin

The woman was so engrossed in her tirade that she didn't notice a group of boys storming in. Jiang Changyuan walked over with a blank expression and shouldered her aside.

"Ouch! Where did these little brats come from..."

"Move, move, move, move. Good dogs don't block the path."

The chubby boy followed suit, using his two-hundred-pound frame to collide with her. He hit with much more force than Jiang Changyuan, and the woman immediately let out a shrill cry of pain and began cursing.

"Damn you, how dare you bump into me? Do you believe—"

Before she could finish, Ding Shizheng led the remaining sixty-some underlings in, streaming through the door like a school of fish. One by one, they charged headlong into the woman.

"Are you all blind?"

At first, the woman continued her furious screaming, but after being rammed several times, she was terrified into scrambling toward the exit, yelling for help. She simply couldn't withstand the force of these boys crashing into her. However, she soon realized she was blocked inside the room, and a wave of panic washed over her.

"You lazy bum! I'm being bullied and you’re still sitting there eating sunflower seeds?"

"Who dares to bully my wife? See if I don't skin you alive!"

The man, who had been squatting on a concrete ledge, sprang up. He shouted with a fierce look and stomped toward the room, but he stopped dead the moment he reached the doorway.

"Get out of the way! Let me in."

"Stop shoving! Can't you see our people can't get in?"

Hai Liang, standing six-foot-one with broad shoulders and a thick back, glared at him. His booming voice caused the neighbors, who hadn't come out to watch the commotion, to throw open their windows.

"I'll—" The man looked up, furious, but his voice lost its edge when he saw a face even fiercer than his own. "My wife is inside. Move aside, I need to get in."

"Our young master Jiang is still in there. Who do you think you are? Get in line!"

This old residential complex was staff housing for a defunct factory, the only inheritance left by Su Yingying’s grandmother. The room was thirty square meters, containing a bunk bed, a makeshift stove by the door, a folding table, and two small stools. Clothes hung from the foot of the bed, a washbasin was tucked underneath, and that was all.

Despite its size, the room was cozy and clean, with no lingering smell of cooking oil. Because the walls were thin wooden partitions, they offered no soundproofing, and the voices from next door remained perfectly audible amidst the chaos.

Su Yingying kept her head bowed, sobbing, as if she had shut off her five senses and severed all ties with the outside world. Meanwhile, her mother murmured deliriously, repeating over and over: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid..."

"Su Yingying?"

The petite girl looked up, revealing eyes stained with tears. But those eyes, which were usually soft, smiling, and full of light, had gone dark. In their place was a hollow, desolate numbness, as if she might vanish at any moment.

Jiang Changyuan felt a tightness in his chest—a sensation he couldn't name. He grabbed Su Yingying by the shoulders and commanded in a low voice, "Su Yingying, look at me and see who I am!"

"Jiang... Jiang Changyuan?"

"It's me. Your mother needs to go to the hospital. Can you walk?"

Hearing the word "mother" seemed to bring Su Yingying’s focus back. "I can."

Ignoring her tears, she tried to stand, but her strength failed her as soon as she pushed off the floor. Jiang Changyuan quickly reached out to catch her, preventing her from falling again. They had embraced twice before, but back then, with Gu Qing present, he had quickly pushed her away. This time, he clearly felt just how frail she was. Her bones felt sharp against his touch.

"Academic ace Chen, come over and help her. I'll pack things up."

"Haozi, Xiaosong, you two come help."

Zheng Hao and Li Song, who had been glaring at the woman, ran over immediately. The three of them pulled out a bed sheet and worked together to lift Wang Hongfang onto it.

Seeing them about to take Wang Hongfang and Su Yingying away, the woman lost her fear and began to shriek, "You can't leave! Wang Hongfang hasn't paid me the money she owes!"

"Auntie Wang, I will pay you back, but can you please let my mother go to the hospital first?" Su Yingying twisted the hem of her shirt, her pale face full of supplication.

"You want to go to the hospital? Pay back the three thousand five hundred you owe first!"

"That's right! Pay up and you can go wherever you want. You aren't leaving until you pay!" The man joined in, and the couple stood firm, refusing to let Wang Hongfang go. They didn't know where this group of boys had come from, and they were worried that if they let them take the woman away, she’d never come back.

Su Yingying bit her lip until it bled. Every cent she had earned from her part-time jobs had gone toward paying off debts, and she was helpless...

"I will pay you back."

"Enough talk." Jiang Changyuan walked to the stove, picked up a kitchen knife, and fixed a sharp, piercing gaze on the woman.

The woman backed away, her voice turning frantic. "You, you, you—what are you doing? Murder is against the law!"

"Damn it, you little brat, you dare threaten my wife? I'll make sure you pay until you're bankrupt!" The man shouted, his face red, though he didn't actually push forward.

"No money. But I've got sixty-six lives here!"

"Take it! Cut here!" Jiang Changyuan held out the kitchen knife, pointing to his own neck with a mocking expression. "We aren't asking you to pay much. At most, we'll make sure you're ruined to the point where even your ancestors would be turned to dust."

"My skin is thick, start with me!" The chubby boy stood in front of Jiang Changyuan, rolling up his sleeves with a fierce glint in his eyes. "My dad is just a big boss; he won't do anything to you."

"Do me, do me! My dad isn't famous, just a small-time police officer. Start with me!"

"Brothers, don't rush! Get in line!"

A bizarre scene unfolded: sixty-six boys were scrambling to have the woman strike them first, as if they were fighting over money.

"Are you crazy?"

"Are you all insane?"

The woman screamed and retreated into a corner, looking left and right only to find herself surrounded by Jiang Changyuan’s men. She was utterly helpless. The man, seeing this, lost his nerve and shrank back, daring not to make another sound. He knew he couldn't afford to provoke a group of fearless rich kids.

"Haozi, Xiaosong, carry them out! We’re leaving!"

The crowd parted to make a path. Just as Jiang Changyuan was about to lead them to the hospital, a sudden shift occurred.

"Who the hell is bullying my big sister?"

A group of guys with neon-dyed hair came charging toward them, brandishing wooden clubs. The onlookers immediately scattered, fleeing as far as they could.

"Wang Youhui is here. Everyone knows he’s fiercely protective of his sister. These kids are in trouble."

"Shh, keep it down, or he'll come after us next."

The man's eyes lit up, and he trotted over. "Youhui, someone is bullying your sister! There are so many of them..."

"Get lost!" Wang Youhui kicked the man aside, even though he was his own brother-in-law.

Twenty-some men stopped at the doorway. Wang Youhui, their leader, carried a club on his shoulder, his nose ring swaying as he chewed gum.

"Where did these little runts come from, daring to cause trouble on my turf? Are you tired of living?"

"Brothers, someone wants to spar with us. What do you say?" Jiang Changyuan didn't answer him, turning instead to ask his group.

The chubby boy and the others responded instantly, grabbing bricks from the vegetable patch the neighbors had fenced off.

"Beat the hell out of them!"

"Who have we ever been afraid of in Beining City? Get them!"

Every last one of them, even Zheng Hao and Li Song, who were still carrying Wang Hongfang, grabbed bricks, their faces eager for the fight.

Youth is fearless, daring to challenge even the heavens.