Chapter 22: Gritty Action, Hardcore Tough Guy (Part One)

“Hmph!” Teng Chaozhang stood deep within the dingy restroom, pulling out a pack of cigarettes. With practiced ease, he tapped the pack with two fingers and flicked a cigarette out, placing it between his lips. Snap—a lackey at his side handed him a lighter, and Teng Chaozhang leaned in with a swagger befitting a boss, lighting the cigarette.

He drew in a long breath—hiss—and exhaled a thick column of smoke—whoosh—right into Shi Tiexin’s face. The pungent scent of the tobacco mingled with the acrid stench of ammonia, making it nauseating.

Behind them, two henchmen guarded the exit, five in total encircling Shi Tiexin, trapping him at the center.

At this point, Teng Chaozhang felt victory was in his grasp.

“Top Scholar Shi, you’ve got some nerve! I never thought you’d dare go against me, your grandpa?” Teng Chaozhang squinted at Shi Tiexin, striving to look down on him from above, but no matter how he tried, he couldn’t manage it. In the past, whenever Top Scholar Shi encountered him, he’d always lower his head and hunch his shoulders, lacking any sense of stature. But today, the other stood tall as a mountain, making it impossible for Teng Chaozhang to assume his former dominance.

Hmph, putting on airs!

Irritated, Teng Chaozhang spat out, “You dared to bring Zheng Bighead here to investigate me? Are you out of your damn mind? You—”

At that moment, Shi Tiexin abruptly interrupted him, his voice deep and resolute.

“Your name.”

“Huh?” Teng Chaozhang was stunned, his henchmen equally baffled. After a brief pause, Teng Chaozhang narrowed his eyes. “Are you nuts? What, is your head full of crap? You don’t know your grandpa’s name? Fine, whatever’s going on with you, today you’re gonna learn it well!”

He pulled out a student ID from his pocket, intending to slap it onto Shi Tiexin’s face. But somehow, as Shi Tiexin raised his hand, Teng Chaozhang’s vision blurred and the card ended up in Shi Tiexin’s grasp.

Teng Chaozhang was bewildered, unsure what had happened.

Shi Tiexin had already lowered his gaze to the card, and after a moment, he read aloud in earnest, “Teng, Chao, Biao.”

“Pfft—!” Teng Chaozhang nearly spat out his cigarette, no longer caring about the earlier mishap, and cursed, “You’re the one who’s ‘over the standard’! Your whole family is ‘over the standard’!”

Oh? Did I misread it? I’m pretty confident I got it right.

Forget it, scholars from Tumubao only read half the character, so maybe I did get it wrong. There’s nothing I can do—my basic literacy is lacking, so I can’t recognize all the characters.

He looked at the card again; there was indeed one character he was unsure of, so he decided to correct himself.

“Teng, Zhao, Biao?”

“Hahaha!” All four henchmen burst out laughing. “This guy can’t even read! Teng Bidder? That’s hilarious…”

Shi Tiexin felt a touch embarrassed; did he get it wrong again? Could it be Teng Zou Biao?

Teng Chaozhang laughed too, but after a moment his expression stiffened. Not only did he stop laughing, his face darkened. Who was this guy? Top Scholar Shi, the number one in the district’s entrance exams! How could he not know the characters? This was obviously mocking him, ridiculing his ignorance—a clear sign of disrespect!

“What the hell are you laughing at? This brat’s looking down on us!” Teng Chaozhang slapped one of his lackeys, then, with a ferocious snarl, lunged forward and threw a punch at Shi Tiexin. “You little bastard—die!”

With a swish, the fist cut through the air, growing larger in Shi Tiexin’s field of vision.

But Shi