36: Chapter 36 Lu Zihao Stands Up! The First Defection of the Troublemaker King

That loud noise was the sound of a chair falling to the ground.

The student chair with iron tube legs slammed onto the concrete floor, shaking the nearby desks.

Everyone's gaze turned in unison to the last row.

Lu Zihao stood up.

At 1.82 meters tall, standing there, it was as if an extra pillar had been added to the back row.

His school uniform sleeves were rolled up above his elbows, and the muscles on his forearms were bulging like twisted towels.

He walked out slowly along the aisle of the back row, each step heavy, the sound of his soles hitting the concrete floor even louder than when Fang Jiming had walked over just now.

He stopped beside Fang Jiming.

He didn't stand in front of Fang Jiming, nor did he stand behind him; he just stood side-by-side.

Then he turned his head and looked down at Brother Long.

Brother Long was a little less than half a head shorter than him.

Lu Zihao's expression was blank. Not fierce, not anxious, not explosive. He was just looking at you, like looking at an object.

Lu Zihao: ( ꐦ ‸ ꐦ )

He stared at Brother Long, his lips moved, and he spat out one word.

"Scram."

The voice wasn't loud, but everyone in the classroom heard it clearly.

The skinny monkey with yellow hair behind Brother Long instinctively shrank back half a step.

The broad-shouldered, thick-waisted one also lost his earlier momentum, his eyes sweeping over Lu Zihao's shoulders and arms, his Adam's apple bobbing.

Brother Long's expression changed.

He had been hanging around Qiaonan Old Street for so many years that he could tell at a glance who was a fighter and who wasn't.

This high school student in front of him had the wrong stance. The way he stood, the position of his center of gravity, the angle of his relaxed shoulders—this wasn't some greenhorn trying to act tough; this person had training.

But he couldn't back down in front of his two lackeys.

Brother Long took half a step forward, tilted his neck to look at Lu Zihao, and squeezed out a smile.

"Yo, whose kid is this, you're built pretty strong."

He reached out and patted Lu Zihao on the shoulder, "Young man, do you know who you're talking to?"

Lu Zihao didn't dodge the hand patting his shoulder.

But he slowly turned his head to look at the five fingers Brother Long had placed on his shoulder, then raised his gaze to meet Brother Long's eyes.

"I said scram, didn't you hear me?"

His voice was still not loud, but the tone of the second time was a notch deeper than the first.

The fingers Brother Long had on his shoulder retracted.

Fang Jiming stood to the side, eyes looking forward, not intervening, nor speaking.

Fang Jiming: ( ˘ ̩ ̩ ̩ ε ˘ ̩ ƪ )

The classroom was silent for about five seconds.

Then it was broken by an unexpected voice.

Qian Duoduo stood up from his seat.

He took off the shiny gold chain around his neck and threw it onto the desk with a clinking sound, then puffed out his chest and walked to the other side of Fang Jiming.

"Brother Fang, although I'm no good at fighting, there's no problem with me standing here to make up the numbers."

Qian Duoduo: ( ᇂ ∀ ᇂ )

He grinned at Brother Long, that smile carrying an inexplicable sense of confidence.

Immediately after, Zhang Ming also stood up.

He didn't have as much flair as Qian Duoduo; he just walked over silently and stood next to Lu Zihao.

Then came Zhao Dazhuang.

This internet-addicted teenager who had slept through the whole class rubbed his sleepy eyes, climbed up from his prone position, yawned, and swayed to the edge of the crowd.

"What's the situation? Fighting?"

He glanced at Brother Long and then at Fang Jiming, then very naturally leaned towards Fang Jiming's side.

Zhao Dazhuang: ( ꐦ ° ᯅ ° )

One, two, three, four.

More and more students stood up from their seats.

No one said anything impassioned; in fact, most of them still had fear on their faces, but they just stood up, one by one, walking to the side of Fang Jiming and Lu Zihao.

Su Xiaoxiao was still huddled in her seat, arms tightly clutching her schoolbag, but she lifted her head, staring unblinkingly at Fang Jiming's back.

Wang Tiezhu had just returned today; his eyes were still red, but he stood up faster than anyone else.

When he walked to Fang Jiming's side, he whispered a sentence.

"Teacher Fang, I'm here."

Fang Jiming's Adam's apple bobbed.

He turned his head and scanned the students standing behind and on both sides of him.

This bunch of losers who usually didn't even hand in their homework.

This bunch of troublemakers he scolded every day as "the worst batch I've ever taught."

One by one, they stood by his side.

Brother Long's smile finally couldn't hold up.

He looked left and right at the two yellow-haired guys beside him; both of their faces were written with the panic of "Brother, what do we do?"

There were already more than twenty students standing up in the classroom, surrounding Fang Jiming and Lu Zihao in a semicircle.

Ma Xiaotiao was still sitting in his seat, his face deathly pale, his fingers gripping the corner of the desk until they turned white, but his eyes were red.

Zhang Chi was also still sitting, head lowered, lips trembling.

Brother Long gritted his back teeth, the silver chain on his neck swaying with his breathing.

He wasn't a fool.

Having hung around Qiaonan Old Street for so many years, he knew when to advance and when to retreat.

He wasn't afraid of any of these students individually, but with twenty-something people standing together, and a troublemaker who clearly had training leading them, if he started a fight here, even if he won, he would lose all his dignity and reputation.

Furthermore, this was a school; if things really blew up and the police were called, it wouldn't end well for him.

Brother Long took a step back.

He pointed his finger at Fang Jiming, then at Lu Zihao.

"Fine, you've got guts."

The corner of his mouth twitched.

"Teacher, you've taught some good students, really tough."

He turned and walked two steps, then turned back, his mouth with the cigarette dangling to one side.

"You wait for me, once you step out of the school gates, I'll finish you off."

After saying this, he and the two yellow-haired guys dashed out the back door, their footsteps so hurried that he tripped on the threshold and almost fell, steadying himself by holding the door frame, and disappeared in a sorry state at the end of the corridor.

The classroom was silent for about three seconds.

Then Qian Duoduo let out a long sigh of relief.

"Damn, was I super cool just now?"

Zhang Ming rolled his eyes at him.

"You just stood there and didn't even say anything, cool my ass."

Zhao Dazhuang yawned.

"So sleepy, is that it? I haven't even seen a fight yet."

Zhao Dazhuang: ( ¬ ‿ ¬ )

A few girls also recovered from the tension, whispering to each other in a flurry.

Fang Jiming stood in place, looking at the direction of the back door for a few seconds, then turned to face the whole class.

He didn't praise anyone, nor did he criticize anyone.

He just glanced at Ma Xiaotiao and Zhang Chi, who were still sitting in their seats with their heads lowered.

The two of them seemed to be pinned to their chairs by his gaze, their heads buried even lower.

Fang Jiming didn't press them on why they owed Brother Long money, nor did he ask why they agreed to look after the venue for Brother Long.

"Remember the path you chose yourselves."

Ma Xiaotiao's shoulders shook.

Zhang Chi's fingers loosened from the corner of the desk, his palms full of cold sweat.

Fang Jiming turned back to the podium, picked up the chalk, and rewrote the formula on the blackboard that had been interrupted earlier.

"Alright, everyone go back to your seats and sit down; this class isn't over yet."