[050] Intimidation

It wasn’t until the beginning of the second evening self-study session that Chang’an Fang finished recording the orders. After adding Wang Ke and the others, he tallied everything up and found that tomorrow’s workload had soared—twenty-one people in all, several of whom were even day students.

There were a total of one hundred seventy-two buns, which at market price would cost seventeen yuan. If bought wholesale at nine cents apiece, it would be about fifteen yuan, leaving him with roughly two yuan as a delivery fee.

Chang’an Fang wasn’t worried about the vendor suddenly raising prices. For one, there was more than one bun shop in town; for another, this wasn’t a one-off deal, and the shop owners weren’t likely to be so shortsighted. Of course, the relatively decent impression the couple had made on him also played a part in this confidence.

From the moment he entered the classroom, Chuanbiao Wang’s attention was fixed far more on Chang’an Fang than on his textbooks. Every time he saw Fang talking to someone, or heard a commotion near him, he’d quickly look up, always suspecting that Fang was speaking ill of him behind his back.

Though there was no actual evidence that Chang’an Fang had spoken ill of him, there was equally no proof of his innocence. And Fang certainly had both motive and opportunity to spread rumors—after all, Wang had contradicted him in public before. Fang must be holding a grudge! Besides, he was the class monitor, the top student in the grade; for someone like him, disliking a “bad student” like Wang hardly needed justification...

How could he remove this hidden threat?

Lying across his desk, Chuanbiao Wang racked his brains for an entire class period and finally did come up with an idea.

Scare him a little!

While Wang’s grades were not exactly stellar, he wasn’t a true delinquent either. Getting into the elite class had taken some strings pulled by his parents, but his grades weren’t downright terrible. He’d never liked Chang’an Fang since the start of the term, but even if he wanted to make a show of force, he hadn’t planned on hiring anyone to beat Fang up. Instead, he wanted to show the class monitor his own connections and clout—just enough to make him wary and keep him from making Wang an easy target.

Having made up his mind, he began to consider the details. He didn’t actually know any real delinquents; he’d always admired them from afar but never had the chance to join their ranks. Still, he’d attended school in town since childhood and knew quite a few classmates, some of whom had also come to Second Middle. If he needed to find a couple of tough guys, he could manage.

The bell rang for the end of the second evening session. With his plan set, Chuanbiao Wang shot a glance at Chang’an Fang, a cold, secretive smile playing at his lips as he left the classroom and turned left toward the ordinary classes’ corridor.

Many students were out in the hallways getting some air. Wang made his way to the back door of Class Seven and, peering through the window, caught sight of two boys emerging from the front of the classroom. He immediately hurried over to them.

“Monkey!”

Monkey’s real name was Xiaoyi Hou, an elementary school classmate of Wang’s. They’d even shared a desk for a few days in fourth grade—back then, Wang’s grades were respectable, while Hou was a textbook underachiever. Their relationship wasn’t particularly close, but there was some history between them.

Among all the people Wang knew, Monkey was the most notorious. Even in elementary school, he’d run with the tough crowd and knew lots of students from other classes. Rumor had it he’d even gotten into fights with kids from other schools. His reputation in class was well established.

Xiaoyi Hou was talking to another boy when he heard someone call out. He turned, a bit surprised. “Ah Biao, what brings you over here?”

“Got something to talk to you about.”

Wang walked over, glanced at the boy standing beside Hou, then gestured toward the railings. The two of them moved off to the side, leaning on the railing as they talked.

“What’s up?” Hou’s height barely cleared one sixty, but he made up for it with attitude. One hand gripping the rail, he stood there with a defiant slouch and a look that might as well have said “I’m a student delinquent.”

Wang discreetly blocked the view with his body, then pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. The pack was already near empty. He handed it to Hou, who accepted without ceremony and chuckled, “Soft Golden Bridge, huh? Not bad! How many left?”

He pried the pack open with his fingers, saw there were four or five sticks left, then stuffed it casually into his pocket. “So, what’s up?”

Wang leaned in closer. Hou leaned in, too, their shoulders touching. Wang slightly ducked his head and asked quietly, “You know a lot of people, right?”

“Not bad,” Hou replied, giving a modest nod in a way that clearly meant, “I’m being humble, you’d better realize it.”

Wang felt reassured. Hou tipped his chin, “Don’t beat around the bush, tell me what’s up.”

Wang glanced around to make sure no students were eavesdropping, then lowered his voice even further. “Could you get a few guys together and help me scare someone in my class?”

“Scare him?” Hou relaxed noticeably, though outwardly he raised an eyebrow and said, a bit disappointed, “No roughing him up, then? Where’s the fun in that?”

“No, it’s not that.” Wang felt somewhat belittled and tried to hide his embarrassment as he explained, “School’s just started and I don’t want to cause too much trouble. If he doesn’t get the message, we can take it further next time.”

Hou considered it for a couple of seconds, then nodded with a perfunctory air. “Alright, alright, it’s no skin off my nose. How many people do you need? And how do you want to scare him?”

As he spoke, he exuded an air of “however many you need, your big bro Monkey will provide.”

Wang said, “Just after school, have your guys walk past our classroom. Let him see you, put a little fear into him so he doesn’t act so cocky.”

So basically, you want us to help you put on a show?

Hou, now thoroughly at ease, nodded. Wang, seeing Hou’s relaxed expression, felt more confident and switched to a friendlier tone. “Monkey, how many guys can you get together?”

Hou shot back, “How many do you need?”

Wang thought for a moment, hesitated, then said, “Five or six, at least?”

“No problem.” Hou was full of confidence, patting Wang on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, five or six is nothing. I’ll even pick out some real tough ones for you.”

Scanning the corridor, he spotted someone in front of Class Six and waved, “Sun Yanxu!”

A boy leaning on the corridor outside Class Six turned his head at the call. “What is it?”

Hou beckoned him over. Sun Yanxu scowled a little but came over anyway.

Once Sun Yanxu arrived, Hou threw an arm around his shoulders, jerked a thumb at him, and asked Wang, “Xu, you know him?”

Sun Yanxu had attended the same elementary school as both Hou and Wang, and used to drop by Hou’s class all the time. Wang recognized him and nodded, a bit self-conscious.

Hou picked up on Wang’s nerves and felt a small thrill of pride. He said to Sun Yanxu, “This guy was my desk mate in elementary school, needs a favor.”

Sun Yanxu’s irritation vanished. In a good mood, he asked, “What’s up?”

Hou said, “Biao’s got a classmate who’s getting too full of himself. We’re gonna swing by his class after school—no need to get physical, just make a show, give him a scare.”

Sun Yanxu snorted with disdain, “That’s it? I thought it was something serious.”

“Just say whether you’re in or not?” Hou was a bit annoyed—trying to act tougher than me, as if I don’t know who you are.

Sun Yanxu was annoyed too, but they were on the same side, so he just shrugged. “Sure, I’ll go. How many people?”

“Five or six is enough.” Hou acted as if this was a trivial matter. Then he asked, “You know any kids from eighth or ninth grade? Should we bring them along?”

“School’s only been in session three days, how many could I know?” Sun Yanxu was displeased Hou was dumping the task on him, as if failing to know older students would make him look weak. After a moment, he jabbed his thumb in the direction of his own classroom. “See that guy? Liu Cheng from our class—his brother’s in eighth grade, Liu Yan. Heard of him?”

Hou’s eyes widened and he leaned in, dropping his voice. “The one who runs with Brother Wei’s crew?”