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Chapter 151: A Barrier in the Heart
In Beiluan High School, the loudspeaker in the classroom suddenly crackled with noise, followed by the authoritative voice of Director Zhao: "Students, there is an event happening in our grade. Those whose names I call should come to the Director's Office. Zeng Fan, Wang Zhen... Zhang Qiu, Gao Zhi, Zhao Pingchuan, Wang Zhengxiang, Yao Yu, make sure to come quickly, right now. I will repeat this again..."
Upon hearing Zeng Fan's name, Zhang Qiu thought that there must be some results regarding the matter. When he heard his own name called next, he knew his guess was almost certainly correct. Zhang Qiu stood up and looked at the other Brothers who were also rising from their seats and said, "What needs to come will eventually come; let’s go."
"Brother Qiu," one of the younger classmates shouted excitedly.
"It’s fine, it’s fine; nothing will happen. Don’t worry. No matter what happens, it’s not your concern. You all need to focus on your studies," Zhang Qiu waved his hand to signal them to sit down. However, more people stood up.
"Brother Qiu!"
The voices of the Brothers carried a hint of sorrow, and Zhang Qiu couldn't help but recall the scene of Jing Ke attempting to assassinate King Qin. By the banks of the Yi River, guests dressed in white stood on either side. Gao Jianli played a tune on his lute while Jing Ke sang along with a mournful melody that brought tears to the eyes of all present. "The wind is bleak and cold by the Yi River; a hero departs and never returns!" Jing Ke turned and left without looking back.
In the Director's Office, Zhang Qiu, Gao Zhi, Zhao Pingchuan, Wang Zhengxiang, and Yao Yu stood before the director's desk. Seeing that Director Zhao's expression was not too bad, Zhang Qiu smiled and asked, "Director, what’s going on?"
"Stop with the grinning," the director said sternly. "Wait a moment; I’ll announce things once everyone is here."
Zhang Qiu's class was located in the southern part of the school while the Director's Office was in the north; it only took a few steps to get there after leaving the classroom. Zeng Fan was further away and took some time before bringing a few people through the door. Zhang Qiu recognized that several of those following Zeng Fan had participated in that Ancient City Battle. One person had a bandage wrapped around his forehead, clearly injured by one of their ambushes.
As soon as Zeng Fan entered and saw Zhang Qiu, he instinctively avoided eye contact. Zhang Qiu provocatively approached him but noticed that Zeng Fan continued to look away. He then turned to Wang Zhen, who also avoided meeting Zhang Qiu's gaze. Zhang Qiu couldn’t help but laugh; just a while ago, Zeng Fan had been so arrogant, yet now he had become like this. However, thinking about Jiang Xue who was locked up in detention made it impossible for Zhang Qiu to feel happy.
"You all stand closer; regarding your matters today, no one is allowed to leak anything outside. Anyone who does so will face serious consequences regardless of who they are; do you understand?" Director Zhao's voice was loud and firm, leaving no room for dissent.
"We understand."
Director Zhao straightened up and scanned everyone with a look of disappointment mixed with anger as he pointed at them and exclaimed: "You all! How could you dare create such a big incident? Do you even care about this school? Do you know how serious this matter is?"
"You're not going to say anything, are you? You all started a brawl, and it doesn't count if you fight among yourselves. You even called in outside thugs, over a hundred of them, armed with knives and clubs. With such power, why aren't you rebelling?"
"Director..."
"Shut up!"
Zhang Qiu was about to speak when Director Zhao's furious shout interrupted him. He helplessly closed his mouth, thinking to himself that if he didn't speak, he would be blamed, and if he did, he wouldn't be allowed to. It was truly frustrating.
Director Zhao calmed down slightly, but the anger still burned within him. "The decision from the administration is this: everyone will continue as usual, no punishments will be issued. Just pretend this incident never happened."
Seeing everyone looking dumbfounded and incredulous, Zhang Qiu couldn't help but laugh.
Director Zhao ignored their thoughts and continued, "Although there will be no punishments this time, no one is allowed to mention this incident again. Do you understand what I mean?"
"I understand, Director," Zhang Qiu was the first to respond.
Director Zhao nodded in satisfaction and then asked Zeng Fan, "Do you understand?"
"I understand, I understand," Zeng Fan quickly replied.
"Good. Since we're all smart people here, I won't say much more. After you go back, if anyone brings this up again, don't blame me for being rude!" Since Zhang Qiu and Zeng Fan understood his meaning, it didn't matter whether the others did or not. As long as Zhang Qiu and Zeng Fan weren't foolish, they would definitely prevent their peers from talking nonsense. Director Zhao then said to Zhang Qiu and Zeng Fan, "Alright, you two shake hands. You're classmates after all; this kind of trouble should never happen again."
Zhang Qiu looked at Zeng Fan with calm eyes. During the previous incident in the ancient city, Zeng Fan had shown signs of fear, revealing that this so-called senior leader was merely someone who relied on his family's influence to bully the weak and fear the strong.
As Zhang Qiu observed Zeng Fan, Zeng Fan was also looking at Zhang Qiu but kept avoiding eye contact and was unwilling to extend his hand. Meanwhile, Zhang Qiu appeared indifferent as he held his hand up in the air.
Gao Zhi watched from the side and couldn't help but urge, "Brother Qiu, extend your hand, don't be so stubborn."
"Shut up!" Director Zhao glared at Gao Zhi and then said to Zeng Fan, "Shake hands already, what are you waiting for? Do you want to keep fighting?"
"I'm not fighting anymore," Zeng Fan said as he reached out to shake Zhang Qiu's hand.
"That's good. We're all friends here, why fight? Don't you think so?" Zhang Qiu smiled, looking harmless, but secretly increased his grip.
Zeng Fan felt as if his hand was caught in a vice, the bones pressing together as if they might break at any moment. Sweat beads the size of peas dripped down his forehead, and his face turned red from the strain. He dared not shout out and could only gasp for air, gritting his teeth and saying, "Yes, yes, no more fighting."
Satisfied, Zhang Qiu released his grip. Zeng Fan quickly pulled his hand behind him and shook it vigorously.
"Alright, you all can go back now!"
With Director Zhao's words, there was no reason to stay any longer, especially since Zhang Qiu didn't want to linger in this place. After Director Zhao finished speaking, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, meaning that the Ancient City Battle was finally over and all participants were safe. Although Zhang Qiu felt happy inside, there was still a hurdle in his heart: Jiang Xue was still in the detention center.
As soon as he exited the Director's Office, Zhang Qiu grabbed Zeng Fan, who was hastily trying to leave. Zeng Fan turned around and said, "What do you want? We just shook hands."
"I have something I want to ask you."
Zhang Qiu looked at Zeng Fan seriously. The latter wanted to dodge but couldn't escape, so he mustered his courage and asked, "What is it?"
Zhang Qiu smiled slightly and said, "Who is the boss of our Senior Year?"
Zeng Fan's eyes widened in disbelief. He didn't want to face reality; Zhang Qiu's question clearly implied that he wanted him to admit that the boss of their Senior Year was Zhang Qiu himself. But all along, the boss had been him, Zeng Fan. He used to be so impressive that everyone called him Fan Shao; there was nothing in Senior Year that he couldn't handle. But now, after one fight, his status had been shattered. Sighing inwardly, he wondered why he had provoked Zhang Qiu in the first place. It was all Liu Xiaolong's fault; if it weren't for him, how would he have ended up like this...
"Brother Qiu is asking you something!" Gao Zhi urged from the side, casting a disdainful glance at Wang Zhen, who had long lost his former authority. His tall frame now appeared weak and feeble, resembling a defeated rooster.
Zeng Fan looked at Zhang Qiu, his mouth opening and closing as he struggled to say, "It's you; you are the boss of Senior Year."
Zhang Qiu glanced at the brothers around him, and everyone burst into laughter. Zeng Fan, witnessing this scene, felt it was pointless and embarrassing, so he left with his group in frustration.
As soon as class ended, Zhang Qiu immediately sent Gao Zhi, Wang Zhengxiang, and Zhao Pingchuan out. As for Yao Yu, since he was unwilling to join the club, Zhang Qiu did not arrange anything for him.
The school’s handling of the Ancient City Battle brawl had Director Zhao repeatedly forbidding any discussion outside. However, the brothers in the club were anxious, and as the leader, Zhang Qiu needed to reassure them.
When they all returned, Zhang Qiu asked, "What happened?"
"Brother Qiu, we've notified everyone and reminded them not to talk about it outside."
Zhang Qiu nodded. "Well done. Also, Zhao Pingchuan, gather some money so we can buy some fruit for the brothers. We can't afford anything else right now; we need to find ways to make some money in the future."
Wang Zhengxiang suddenly thought of an idea when he saw the dark green-covered document on his desk. "Brother Qiu, how about we collect some club fees?"
"No way." Zhang Qiu directly rejected Wang Zhengxiang's suggestion. "Our club should be providing benefits for students; how can we turn around and charge them? We need to think of other ways."
"Then, Brother Qiu, should we ask Biao Ge for advice?" Zhao Pingchuan proposed.
Zhang Qiu agreed. "I'll talk to him about this." He then said to the three of them, "Now that our club has grown stronger, you three need to be ready to handle things on your own."
Gao Zhi, Zhao Pingchuan, and Wang Zhengxiang all looked delighted and nodded in agreement. Especially Gao Zhi, who was visibly excited; after the Ancient City Battle, he increasingly enjoyed the feeling of being involved in the underworld.
"I think this way, now there are three of you, and outside there is Yang Yu. Our club's headquarters is located at Beiluan No. 1 High School. Gao Zhi and Zhengxiang, each of you will be in charge of a team. I give you full authority to recruit people, and those you recruit will be under your management. But one thing, always remember the purpose of our club."
"Don't worry, boss," Gao Zhi and Wang Zhengxiang said eagerly.
"Brother Qiu, what about me?" Zhao Pingchuan asked, seeing that Gao Zhi and Wang Zhengxiang had been assigned tasks while he had not.
Zhang Qiu looked at Zhao Pingchuan and smiled, "Your responsibility is even more important. I plan to have you specifically select a group of students who are steadfast in their hearts."
"Steadfast? Why?"
"Our club needs to grow stronger. When there are many people, it can easily become chaotic. Without strict discipline, it will become a loose sand that collapses at the slightest touch. I will study the discipline, but I need to prepare those who will enforce it in advance; this is not something that can be done overnight."
"I understand, Brother Qiu. Don't worry, I will definitely do this well." Zhao Pingchuan admired Zhang Qiu's far-reaching vision in his heart.
Zhang Qiu continued to speak to Zhao Pingchuan: "You also have the freedom to recruit people like them and have the authority to draw members from their teams into your own. If there are any in your team who are not suitable for this role, pass them on to the two of them. Teams may be divided, but we are always brothers; everything is for the club, and unity is always the top priority."
"Yes, boss!" Gao Zhi, Zhao Pingchuan, and Wang Zhengxiang shouted in unison.
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