Vol. 1 - Ch. 262 - ‘Hero’

Back at school, Xia Chen struck up a conversation with HuMing about his younger sister's recent situation.

"Xiao Xi will be returning to the capital for school next semester."

"Hm? She's still going to attend classes? I thought she’d be focusing on her work full-time."

"My dad discussed it with her. While her work is important, she can't neglect her studies either. The only reason she was attending school over there was because she had events to handle, so she stayed temporarily."

HuMing had heard about the large-scale fan meet Xia Xiao Xi held recently, though he hadn’t had the time to attend.

"At her age, Xiao Xi should be in school, making more friends. My dad’s worried she’ll regret not experiencing a full high school life when she grows up, so he wants her to return to the capital."

"But won’t that expose her identity?"

With so many eyes on the Xia family in the capital, wouldn't it become obvious that Xia Xiao Xi was their daughter?

"Yeah, this time, Xiao Xi’s return will also serve as an official announcement—she's the daughter of the Xia family. She’ll be an adult in a couple of years anyway, and there are things she’ll have to face sooner or later." Xia Chen cared deeply about his sister’s future.

As long as she was happy, he didn't mind shouldering a bit more responsibility as her older brother.

Even if they bickered constantly.

"I see..." HuMing rubbed his chin, lost in thought.

Meanwhile, Gu YunZhou, sitting nearby, kept glancing at the two of them.

He really wanted to butt in and listen to what they were discussing, but he was worried HuMing would get annoyed. After all, it wasn’t like he was invited to join.

Life is truly as lonely as snow...

He wasn’t even sure where that dumb joke came from, but he propped his chin on the table, looking torn.

His hesitation, however, quickly drew the attention of the girls in the class.

Several of them immediately came over to ask what was wrong and tried to comfort him.

When HuMing glanced over, he saw his cousin surrounded by a group of pretty girls—practically living the dream.

"Xia Chen, what do you think of my cousin?"

"Cousin? Gu YunZhou is your cousin?!" Xia Chen's eyes widened in disbelief.

He knew HuMing was part of the Gu family, but he never imagined that Gu YunZhou was his cousin!

Which meant HuMing’s parents must be true members of the Gu family.

"Yeah, he’s my cousin. Actually, I’m also a young master of the Gu family. Bet you didn’t see that coming."

"But why keep it a secret? The Gu family name is an insanely powerful advantage. The moment you reveal it, people will be lining up to win your favor!"

The Gu family’s influence was undeniable.

Not to mention Gu ZhaoChuan—just look at Gu YunZhou. He was always surrounded by admirers and hangers-on, people eager to get close to him.

And Gu ZhaoChuan was on a whole different level. He had ties to practically everyone in the school. Whenever students encountered him, they treated him with near-reverence.

His grades weren’t the best, but they were solid. He was an all-rounder in sports, always lending a hand whenever a club needed help. Most importantly, he was generous with his support.

There were plenty of influential families at school, but most students were just regular kids who got in through hard work.

And those ordinary students often became targets of bullying.

It was infuriating, but no one dared to step in.

After all, offending the wrong people could ruin someone’s future in an instant.

But Gu ZhaoChuan was different. From the moment he entered the school, he had opposed this kind of behavior.

He often looked out for the ordinary students, even helping some financially when they were struggling.

But what made him truly famous was one particular incident.

"If Gu YunZhou is your cousin, then what about Gu ZhaoChuan? Is he also your cousin?"

"Something like that," HuMing replied, keeping the truth vague.

The fewer people who knew, the better.

Still, he was curious to hear an outsider’s perspective on Gu ZhaoChuan. He was new here and needed time to gather information.

Maybe Xia Chen's view would be more telling.

"Xia Chen, what do you think of Gu ZhaoChuan?"

"Gu ZhaoChuan? He’s a total saint. Everyone in school respects him, upperclassmen and underclassmen alike."

"A saint?" HuMing found it hard to picture Gu ZhaoChuan being described like that.

But then he thought of Han ShuYi and suddenly found it much easier to believe.

Even someone like Han ShuYi maintained a 'good guy' persona.

For someone like Gu ZhaoChuan, it was even more necessary.

If people ever found out their so-called saint was nothing more than a puppet, how would they react?

HuMing wasn’t interested in imagining it.

After all, the last person who wore a false mask was already rotting in prison.

"There’s actually a major incident related to Gu ZhaoChuan. It happened in the second half of freshman year. A student from an influential family was bullying another student—beat him so badly he ended up in the hospital. The whole thing became a huge scandal, but the rich kid’s family used money to silence the victim’s family."

"You know how it is. Ordinary people can’t stand up to the rich. If they want to ruin your life, they can do it with ease. And that rich kid? He didn’t feel a shred of remorse. Instead, he started bullying the victim even more—beating him up again and again, each time throwing money at him like it was ‘compensation’ for the medical bills."

"That’s straight-up using him as a punching bag! Of course, most people were angry but too scared to do anything. Who’d dare provoke that kind of trouble?"

"But not long after, Gu ZhaoChuan stepped in and beat the hell out of that guy."

"From what I heard, the rich kid was mocking the victim, saying he’d always be beneath him, that he’d spend his whole life being trampled on. And right then, Gu ZhaoChuan came out of nowhere and knocked the crap out of him."

Even just mentioning the guy made Xia Chen want to curse.

He had been away at a basketball tournament at the time, otherwise, he would have stepped in himself.

"And that one beatdown made Gu ZhaoChuan an instant legend. Not only that, but after he finished, he grabbed the guy by the collar and warned him to never do that again!"

"Back then, no one knew Gu ZhaoChuan’s real identity. The rich kid went nuts, swearing he’d make Gu ZhaoChuan pay."

"But you can probably guess what happened next. Who the hell would dare go after the Gu family?"

"In the end, that guy had no choice but to apologize and then transfer schools."

After hearing Xia Chen’s story, HuMing finally understood—

Gu ZhaoChuan had become a ‘hero’.

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