章 17: The Martial Artists of This World Part I
The next morning, because many field reporters were still looking for the mysterious martial artist in the park, Bai Zhe woke up early to walk to school again.
He was immediately mobbed by schoolgirls who wanted to take a picture with him when he arrived at school. Of course, his first thought was to refuse, but later, after thinking about it, since he wanted to follow the original Bai Zhe’s dream of being a superstar, trying to get used to having his picture taken seemed to be good practice.
It took a moment for him to realize that the girls were taking liberties with him. They put their arms around him. Sometimes, their hands were naughtily placed where they should not be, touching him here and there, to the point where Bai Zhe needed to give them warnings.
“What do you think you are doing? I’m fine with taking pictures, but keep your hands to yourself,” he said, with a resigned expression.
The girls giggled with pleasure. The reason why they wanted to get closer to Bai Zhe was that he was no longer a sickly little shrimp. He had turned into a boy with a model’s physique and a handsome face, which he had gotten from Bai Qing Yun. He became one of the most popular boys in the school 2 to 3 days after he started practicing his qi.
“Oh, you don’t need to worry about anything from now on. I heard that Yi Han has left our school.” One of the girls shared Yi Han’s news with Bai Zhe.
“Bai Zhe, I think that this face suits black sunglasses very well. You will likely look cool with them,” a male student who was one of the school’s resident hooligans said. He walked toward Bai Zhe, clenching his fists firmly. Bai Zhe knew that this boy was planning to punch him with all his strength.
“I never thought that with the Yi Han incident barely concluded, some other hotshot would be trying to pick a fight with me.” Bai Zhe smiled, standing up straight. He had grown a lot taller. His height made the jerk feel like he was having his height compared. Moreover, Bai Zhe was looking at him with a challenging gaze.
“How dare you look at me like that? If I don’t teach you a lesson today, you won’t come to your senses.” The boy could not stand Bai Zhe’s challenging gaze any longer. He tried to punch Bai Zhe with his right fist, but in the blink of an eye, Bai Zhe tilted his head out of the way to the right. His hand grasped the boy's wrist, which had missed his face, before twisting it slightly, making the punch’s force bounce back. The boy’s body was hit by his own force. He hit the ground. His face was slammed hard into the ground as well.
“Ouch!” The boy was hurt. Six of his front teeth fell from his mouth when he lifted his face up, his nose bled.
Everyone who had witnessed the situation laughed at the boy's state after having Bai Zhe retaliate to the point that he ended up slamming his face into the ground. An administrative teacher rushed over to stop the fight.
“Bai Zhe, you are usually a well-behaved student. Why did you physically hurt your friend like this today?” asked the administrative teacher.
“He was going to hurt me. I just protected myself,” Bai Zhe explained, lifting up both hands.
“No, that is not true, Teacher. We can vouch for the fact that Bai Zhe was going to hurt my friend first,” a boy in the same group as the jerk said, blaming Bai Zhe. They wanted the teacher to punish the boy and call his parents.
“No, that’s a lie, Teacher. This guy started it. When it all started, many of us recorded what happened. They are the ones who tried to pick a fight first,” said one of the girls. Many female students showed videos of the situation from the start when the hooligans came up to Bai Zhe. The movement that Bai Zhe used to make the boy end up with his face slammed to the ground was shown as him merely grasping the boy’s wrist and giving it a light twist. However, the boy fell and hit his face against the ground because he had lost his balance.
“Send me the video. With the other party hurt so bad that his teeth fell out, I need evidence to show his parents that he was the one who started the fight.” The teacher handed over a phone to the girls so they could send the video clip they had recorded of the situation, in order to show it to the hooligans’ parents. Parents these days truly believed that their children were angels. They might sue the school if there was no evidence that this student had started it himself.
“Thank you, girls. You all should go now. And you, come with me to the nurse’s office, then we need to have a discussion in the administrative office.” This was said before the teacher left with the hooligan. Bai Zhe turned to the girls who had helped him.
“Thank you all so much. If it was not for your videos, I would have been punished.” He smiled gently and went into the building.
Right now, it was not just the ten girls who were Xi Mo’s fans who saw his smile, but the other girls as well. Their faces went red because of shyness. They kept their heads down and mentally squealed over Bai Zhe’s charms, which had pierced their hearts like an arrow.
The male students felt very depressed. Before the midterm exam, Bai Zhe had been a mere social recluse for the girls. He had sported a depressing vibe and had been scrawny and uninteresting. But now, he had turned into one of the hottest, most popular boys among the girls.
Lunch break
Bai Zhe went up to the rooftop to practice his qi, while 20 of his female classmates were having a conversation about him.
“Take a look at this. I compared his pictures before and after the midterm. How does he look so much better?”
“Right? But look at this. This picture was taken from the side when he shook hands with Xi Mo.”
“Really, he’s rather amiable. It is just that we haven’t talked to him much before.”
“If it was not for Da Tong, we could have fully helped him in many areas.”
“Mm-hmm, I agree.”
The conversation they had made the schoolgirls in the room develop better feelings toward Bai Zhe. The afternoon class swiftly passed by.
“Bai Zhe, are you heading home?” a girl asked when she saw the boy sling his bag over his shoulders, preparing himself to go home.
“Do you want to go sing karaoke?” another girl asked. Their attitude toward Bai Zhe had changed after they heard about the boy and Xi Mo shaking hands. And the story that shook everyone in the class was that Bai Zhe was the artist of the calligraphy paintings that had been made national treasures.
“I have work. I’m not smart, so I didn’t get a scholarship. That’s why I need to work for my tuition fees, my food, and my rent. Sorry, but maybe next time,” he explained to the girl. Of course, he was lying. He had enough money that he did not have to struggle for a long while.
“Really? We never knew that you were so badly-off. We are sorry about the things we’ve done. Can you forgive us?” said one of the girls.
“Me too. I used to look down on you and call you the class’s trash.”
“I understand. Another thing—you do not have to talk to me when Da Tong’s around. I don’t want you to get into any trouble,” said Bai Zhe.
“Thank you so much for understanding us. The person who has a beef with you knows Da Tong, though. You should be careful. You can talk to me about anything. I will help you as much as I can,” said the head girl.
“Thank you. I will tell you immediately when I need your help.” He smiled at her gently, conveying his heartfelt gratitude.
“Ah, b…blood...?” The head girl felt liquid running down from her nose. She touched it to see what it was—only to realise it was blood. The girl fainted. Her friends came to help her while Bai Zhe used this ruckus as an opportunity to quietly escape from the classroom.
‘From the information that I have gathered about the entertainment industry, there are, briefly, hosts, actors, comedians, stand-up comedians, singers, musicians, and models. I need to find a course to study anyway. It’d probably be good if I start with singing. Language is a fundamental skill for acting. Though I’m confident that my singing and instrumental skills are at a superior level, they are all ancient instruments for people in this world. Most of the fans are teenagers. If I want to capture their attention, I need to adapt myself, that is what people call marketing,’ the boy thought while he was walking.
His phone rang; he looked at it with a smile on his face. It was Xi Lua who called him.
“Hello, Grandpa,” he called the old man by the title the other person wanted. It would help bond the two even more.
“Xiao Zhe, the publisher has agreed to buy your novel. You’ll get a 60/40 deal on payments. When will you be available to sign the contract? They have already finished preparing it and are only waiting for you to sign it,” said Xi Lua.
“What about tomorrow? Today might be too sudden,” answered Bai Zhe.
“All right, tomorrow then. What time does your school end? I will send a driver to pick you up,” said Xi Lua.
“Don’t worry about it. It would be better for me to catch a taxi to go see you at your company. It won’t inconvenience you either, Grandpa,” said the boy.
“Well, all right then. Oh, my friend wants to buy you a meal. Tell your parents that you will get home late. I will have my driver drive you home,” the old man said.
“Yes, sir. Thank you so much,” answered Bai Zhe.
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