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¹ "Why the flowers are so red" - A reference to the famous song from the 1963 film 'Visitors on the Iceberg' (冰山上的來客).
² "拉了" (la le) - A multi-layered pun: literally 'pulled,' slang for 'bombed/sucked' (poor performance), and crude slang for 'took a dump' (scared/worthless).
Zheng Yi kept wailing, his heart already filled with despair.
How had he provoked this walking disaster?
"Zheng Nan actually dared to hire thugs from society to deal with me? Your Uncle Chen won't teach you a proper lesson, you won't understand why the flowers are so red."¹
Uncle Chen didn't hold back at all. Soon enough, he'd beaten Zheng Yi's face swollen.
After a few minutes, Chen Shu dusted off his hands and stood up casually, while Zheng Yi lay motionless except for the occasional twitching, looking like he'd suffered serious injuries. But what kind of person was Chen Shu? How could he possibly use excessive force?
Although Zheng Yi looked to be in terrible condition, he'd recover quickly. He'd just be in pain for a few days.
Chen Shu clapped his hands, opened the stall door, and strolled out of the bathroom.
"Chen Shu! I knew it was you!"
Zheng Nan rushed over, looking anxious.
"Yo, isn't this Little Nan? Haven't seen you in a few days. How'd you get so lame?"²
"..." Zheng Nan choked on his words. Who the hell was down in the dumps?
"Cut the crap, where's my brother?"
Zheng Nan's eyes were hostile, already having a bad feeling.
"Your brother? Zheng Yi? I think I saw him go into the women's bathroom."
Chen Shu kept a straight face, lying without batting an eye.
"Hmph! Surround him." Zheng Nan hadn't come alone - he'd brought five more people.
After all, he was afraid of getting beaten by Chen Shu too.
The other five aggressively surrounded Chen Shu while Zheng Nan went into the bathroom.
Looking around, he didn't see his brother anywhere.
Zheng Nan inexplicably thought of Chen Shu's words.
Could his brother really have gone into the women's bathroom?
Suddenly, his gaze swept to the last bathroom stall, where a bag was sticking out with what looked like the character for "urea" on it.
...
Meanwhile, Chen Shu had triggered his options.
[Option 1: Fight aggressively, shouting: "I'll take on all ten of you!" ]
Completion reward: Golden Slime strength +5%
[Option 2: Use fancy footwork, muttering constantly: "Demon blade activated, invisible, dodge dodge dodge."]
Completion reward: Golden Slime speed +5%
[Option 3: Shout for help and request backup!]
Completion reward: Teleportation Potion
[Option 4: Chat amicably with the five people, attempting to turn enemies into friends.]
Completion reward: Beast Tamer level +1
Chen Shu pondered briefly. While the first three options were good, the fourth was what he needed most.
As long as he became a Level 5 Beast Tamer, he could compete for the special training class.
Although most of the beast taming resources in the class were useless to him, he could sell them and exchange for various potions.
"Hey buddy, long time no see! Think you'll get into your dream university this time?"
Chen Shu put on a friendly smile, casually draping his arm over one person's shoulder and striking up conversation like they were old friends.
"You know me??"
Wang Yu looked completely bewildered. The other four had the same stunned reaction.
Chen Shu had thrown all five of them for a loop.
"It's me, Chen Shu. Forgot already?" Chen Shu frowned, looking somewhat displeased.
Wang Yu shook his head, still with that short-circuited expression.
"Such poor memory."
Chen Shu shook his head and started his con artistry.
"Actually, Zheng Nan and I have a pretty good relationship. You see how fierce he acts toward me? We've actually been friends since we were kids."
"Then why'd you beat up his brother?" Wang Yu felt something was off.
"Just fooling around. Zheng Yi's actually my little brother too. If there were real bad blood between us, I'd have run away long ago. How could I be this calm?"
Chen Shu's words quickly confused all five of them.³
...
Five minutes later, Zheng Nan helped Zheng Yi out of the bathroom.
Zheng Yi's face was black and blue with blood at the corner of his mouth, looking utterly pathetic.
"Chen Shu, you fucking..."
Zheng Nan gritted his teeth, but looking up, his words were caught in his throat.
His five friends were chatting happily with Chen Shu, arms around shoulders, almost ready to become sworn brothers on the spot.
What the hell? In just a few minutes, the five had defected to the enemy?
The five weren't stupid, but Chen Shu was just too convincing.
Chen Shu made up all sorts of experiences he'd shared with the Zheng brothers, speaking with such emotion and vivid detail that there wasn't a single flaw to be found.
His talent for making things up had already surpassed countless people’s normal talents.
The key was that this guy's expression was completely natural - it was impossible to tell the truth from his lies.
"Wang Yu, what are you doing?!" Zheng Nan roared angrily.
"Brother Nan, stop messing around. Chen Shu already told us everything." Wang Yu said with a smile.
"Told you what? You've fucking lost your minds?!" Zheng Nan's face turned ashen.
"Zheng Nan, no need to curse at people, right?" Another person frowned and spoke up.
"That's just how A'nan is, gets into character easily. We all have to be understanding." Chen Shu played the peacemaker, looking perfectly amiable.
"Come on, take a step back. Zheng Nan, don't hold grudges against your friends either."
Zheng Nan felt his brain wasn't working right anymore. What the hell was going on?
"Alright, Zheng Yi, you can stop pretending now. Is it that fun to lie?" Chen Shu said.
At this moment, Zheng Yi just wanted to cough up blood.
I'm not fucking pretending - I really got beaten up!
"Okay okay, it was just a joke. Brothers, let's all disperse, disperse."
Chen Shu waved his hand, and the other five shook their heads as they left.
Only the completely bewildered Zheng brothers remained.
"Chen Shu, you fucking stay right there!"
Zheng Nan charged forward aggressively, rage in his eyes.
"Hey bros, you go ahead. A'nan still hasn't broken character. Let me help him out."
Chen Shu gestured for the other five to leave first, then covered Zheng Nan's mouth and forcefully dragged him into the bathroom.
"Wait, something's not right," Wang Yu came to his senses, noticing Zheng Nan's struggling figure. "Get to the bathroom!" one person urgently called out, his mind finally clearing up.
The five rushed toward the bathroom.
"Stop!"
As soon as they entered, they saw Chen Shu beating up Zheng Nan.
Although Zheng Yi was also there, the two brothers together were no match for Chen Shu.
"Hey bros, why'd you come back? We're just fooling around." Chen Shu remained perfectly calm.
"Fucking hell!" The anger in Zheng Nan's chest was about to burst through his skull. He was practically smoking.
"Kid, you dare play us?"
Wang Yu's mind was completely clear now. Even Zheng Nan's face had swollen up.
"Don't, don't, we're all civilized people. If you make a move, I'll start screaming."
"Get him! You think you're hot shit?"
The five surrounded him, rolling up their sleeves ready to fight.
"Wait!" Zheng Nan suddenly spoke up, stopping them.
Chen Shu's vocal abilities were something he'd experienced before. The guy had shouted at the school gates and brought the grade director over.
"Chen Shu, you're a Beast Tamer too. If you've got the guts, let's duel at the Beast Taming Arena!"
Zheng Nan calmed down, his mind racing.
The end-of-term exams were coming up. If he could seriously injure the opponent's contract spirit and make him score zero on the beast taming exam, that would truly be the best revenge to serve.
The opponent was hiding so deeply - his goal must be to enter the special training class.
He would personally crush that dream.
Meanwhile, Chen Shu's expression became dazed as options appeared before him again.