What are the trials of the real world? To put it bluntly, it's fighting. Hell, could Yang Yi possibly lose a fight to these halfwits with less than two ounces of brainpower? He simply disdained hurting them; after all, they had no prior grievances, nor any recent feud.

"No, he cannot accept your challenge!" Just this single sentence from Li Qian enraged the herd of beasts surrounding Yang Yi and his companions even further. In their eyes, Li Qian's action was clearly defending Yang Yi, which only fueled their jealousy.

Sure enough, that vague, inexplicable feeling Yang Yi had earlier proved true. The students' faces were now contorted with indignation. "Yang Yi, are you even a man? Damn it, are you accepting the challenge or not?"

Just as this stalemate persisted, over on the other side.

"Shiyun, that concludes today's practice." A music teacher said to Xia Shiyun, who was currently playing the violin. This very music teacher was the one who, during the previous evening gala, had used words to prompt Yang Yi to play the piano.

Xia Shiyun set down her violin and replied to the music teacher, "Yes, thank you for your hard work today, Teacher."

"Heh heh, you're welcome. But Shiyun, you've improved tremendously these past few days. Hmm, although it's still just a tiny bit short!" Recalling the piano piece Yang Yi played that night at the gala, the music teacher couldn't help but frown slightly, muttering, "I wonder what that piece he played last time was called?"

"Teacher, Teacher, who is that person you're talking about?" Xia Shiyun didn't seem to pay much mind that the teacher was mentioning someone else while speaking to her.

"Mmm," the music teacher pondered for a moment, then said, "Heh heh, that fellow is quite the piano master, a student in the third year of high school, just like you. Alright, enough about him. If there's a chance in the future, I'll have him perform a duet with you!"

"En," although Xia Shiyun didn't know who the teacher was referring to, nor whether she would actually perform with someone else, she responded with a small acknowledgment. "Then, Teacher, I should be heading back now."

"Mmm," the music teacher replied.

After walking out of the music and dance hall, Xia Shiyun bumped into someone. "Yueyue!"

"Ah, Sister Shiyun." The person arriving was undoubtedly Leng Yue, whom Xia Shiyun knew. "Sister Shiyun, where are you going?"

"Heh heh, I'm hungry. Why don't we go grab a bite together? It's been a while since we ate together," Xia Shiyun said casually.

"Okay, sounds good!" Although Leng Yue appeared cold on the outside, she wasn't so when facing her friend.

Returning to Yang Yi and his group, things had been at a standstill for quite some time since Li Qian's intervention, which was making Yang Yi quite annoyed. If it weren't for the fact that they were ordinary students and he didn't want to hurt them, a person's patience has limits. "Let me tell you, if it weren't for the fact that I'm in a good mood today and repeatedly showing restraint, don't think I wouldn't dare slap you just because you're Li Qian's fans. Speak up—a group brawl or a one-on-one duel?"

The words immediately soured Li Qian's expression. However, Lin Pangzi and the others also felt that this group was too bothersome and believed they deserved a lesson to teach them some common sense. After all, ruffians—if they don't use ruffian tactics, how can they be called ruffians?

"Hmph, let's go!" Yang Yi snorted, casting a look of disdain at the students, and started to leave.

"Wait." An unfamiliar voice cut through the air.

This time, it seemed the situation was escalating further. Indeed, several more students appeared, but these were different from the previous group. One of them was a classmate of Yang Yi's—the very person Xu Ming had warned him about on his first day of school. To put it plainly, he was cut from the same cloth as Chen Dong.

Hearing the voice, Yang Yi turned around and stared at him. "Something you need?"

"Heh heh, we are also Li Qian's fans, and therefore, I also feel you are unworthy of her affection. So, I want to challenge you too." The speaker was a youth named Lin Hai, a classmate of Yang Yi’s. He was the spoiled son of a wealthy family, using his family's money to bully others around school, but the difference was that this guy preferred sly tactics.

"Oh really?" A wicked smirk curled the corner of Yang Yi's mouth. He said, "I don't have time to waste on you. How about this: all of you attack at once, just to save my precious time."

"Heh heh, we are civilized people; we don't resort to violence," Lin Hai completely ignored Yang Yi's words, focusing his gaze on Li Qian as he spoke.

"Is that so? Civilized people," Yang Yi scoffed. "If you were civilized, this world would probably be extremely peaceful!"

"You..." Lin Hai was instantly struck speechless. He stared at Yang Yi through narrowed eyes for a good while before saying, "Hmph, since you think my approach is too civilized, then don't blame me."

"Exactly! Kid, watch what you say!" The student accompanying Lin Hai immediately started shouting.

Li Qian stood aside, watching the scene worsen. She said, "Lin Hai, do you want to cause me more trouble?"

"Uh, Li Qian, I'm not causing you trouble; it's this kid who is too arrogant," Lin Hai replied, his expression darkening slightly.

"Mmm—?" Yang Yi shook his head. "Less nonsense. You all attack together; it saves me a lot of time."

"Alright..." Lin Hai responded, just as he seemed about to give the order, but Lin Pangzi stepped forward instead. "Brother Yi, leave this trash to me. They aren't worthy of you making a move."

"Uh! Fine!" Yang Yi paused for a beat, glanced at Lin Pangzi, and smiled. "Go ahead and hurt them well. Teach them what it means to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys!"

"Got it!" Lin Pangzi replied with a slight grin.

"Hmph, stop being so presumptuous here!" Lin Hai finished, waving his hand with surprising flair. "Attack!"

"Lin Hai...!" Li Qian tried to stop them, but Xu Ming and Ye Xiaohou held her back. Xu Ming said, "This is just to teach them a lesson. Besides, after this incident, our Boss probably won't have so much trouble in the future."

Hearing this, Li Qian stopped, though her expression remained somewhat displeased. She glanced at Yang Yi. "I don't care what you do, just fight however you want. But I must remind you, fighting will result in demerits, and if it gets serious, you might even be taken to the police station." After saying this, Li Qian walked away, paying no mind to whether they would stop fighting.

"Hmph, we'll let you off this time. Let's go," Lin Hai suddenly announced, as if he had changed his mind.

Yang Yi laughed dismissively; this melodramatic farce was finally over. He didn't think much of it. "Let's go!"

"Boss, that Lin Hai..." Xu Ming began.

"I know. He's just a clown, incapable of hatching any real schemes," Yang Yi said contemptuously.

Xu Ming didn't say anything more, only glancing at Lin Hai's retreating back, thinking to himself, Lin Hai, stop right here, or you'll meet a terrible end.