Main Text, Chapter 88: An Unexpected Windfall

The thing had vanished, and the burly man was anxious to report it to Brother Hua. Yet he knew all too well Brother Hua’s temper; if he was already resting, interrupting him at that hour would surely unleash his wrath. So he had no choice but to wait until the next day.

Early the following morning, the burly man came once again to see Brother Hua. It was the same place as before, and Brother Hua was seated in the same leather executive chair as he had been last time.

“You useless fools! All of you are useless! You let yourselves be followed and even let the thing get taken.” Brother Hua roared from his chair.

The burly man did not dare speak.

“Did you confirm it? Could it have been collected by his people?” Only after venting his rage did Brother Hua calm down enough to ask.

“No, it couldn’t have been. They never take things at that hour, and I had only just hidden it for less than an hour. Later, something felt off to me, so I went back, and that’s when I found it was gone,” the burly man said.

Brother Hua tapped the armrest and slowly reasoned through it. “That means you still can’t be completely certain whether it was his people who took it. There’s been a very strict nationwide crackdown on all kinds of gang activity lately. Maybe, for the sake of caution, he took it away in advance. I’ll ask him.”

As he spoke, Brother Hua was about to pick up his phone and make a call when the very number he intended to dial came calling first.

Just in time, Brother Hua thought, and answered.

His expression darkened little by little, until the call ended.

“It wasn’t his people who took it. He just called to ask me what had happened,” Brother Hua said.

“Brother Hua, do you think it could have been Ye Fei? I keep feeling this kid’s timing was far too convenient. And his dormitory is private, a single room. At night, whether he’s in there or not, what he’s doing—we know none of it,” the burly man said, still harboring deep suspicion toward Ye Fei.

In truth, Brother Hua had also doubted Ye Fei at the start. But in the end, he decided Ye Fei was simply a lecherous womanizer who had come for Zhang Xiaoxiao, and so he had not thought much more about it.

“Come to think of it, that kid is indeed somewhat suspicious,” Brother Hua murmured.

“Then shall I have the brothers try him out?” the burly man asked.

“Test him first. Don’t make too much of a scene. The main thing is to determine whether Ye Fei took the thing,” Brother Hua said after some consideration. At the moment, he truly did not want any contact with Ye Fei, because it would be troublesome.

“Yes, I understand,” the burly man said, and then left.

Today happened to be Saturday. The students on campus had either gone home, stayed out all night having a wild time and not yet returned, or were still asleep in their dormitories. At such an early hour, there were only a very few students on campus.

At that moment, Ye Fei was training on the school grounds. In order to deal with enemies from all sides, he had already begun restoring his exercise routine. Otherwise, if his physical condition declined, it would at times become a fatal weakness.

Liu Yiyi had risen early as well. Every morning she would sit on campus sketching and painting. The morning air was fresh, and the campus at that hour was serene, so it had become one of her habits. And ever since she learned that Ye Fei trained here in the mornings, she had become even less likely to miss it.

The scene was harmonious and peaceful: Ye Fei trained on the campus grounds, performing a set of boxing techniques and loosening every joint in his body, while Liu Yiyi sat nearby, quietly sketching on her drawing board, occasionally lifting her eyes to Ye Fei with a gentle, serene smile.

But not long after, this beautiful scene was ruined by a few incompatible people.

After returning from Brother Hua’s place, the burly man went straight to the security office and brought along two heavily built guards. Just then, they saw Ye Fei training on campus and came straight over.

“Hm?” Ye Fei frowned. Seeing the three tall guards approaching, he slowly withdrew his fists and stood with composure.

“Ye Fei?” Liu Yiyi called out. Seeing the three guards seeming to be heading straight for Ye Fei, her beautiful brows immediately knitted together. She had just been enjoying all that harmony and tranquility, only to have it shattered, and the disruption left her displeased and angry.

Ye Fei raised a hand slightly, signaling her not to come over.

Liu Yiyi could only comply, remaining where she was and watching everything quietly.

The three guards quickly reached Ye Fei and stood facing him.

“What is it?” Ye Fei asked with his hands clasped behind his back. His gaze was calm, natural, and unforced, meeting them with ease, steady and elegant.

With these people, Ye Fei did not need to hide the fact that he was skilled. They knew that Ye Fei could see what was unusual about them, and they likewise knew they could see what was unusual about Ye Fei. And if they wanted to investigate, they could also learn about Ye Fei’s affairs in Deep Sea. So Ye Fei dared to act openly on campus, and in doing so, he instead relaxed their vigilance.

“Since it isn’t yours, it’s best not to meddle,” the burly man said obliquely, without making himself too clear.

Ye Fei secretly smiled. He understood exactly what the burly man was implying. The other party was unsure whether he had been the one to take the thing buried last night, and feared that if he said it too plainly, it would amount to revealing the matter to Ye Fei. So he spoke in vague terms, as though issuing a warning. But if the person who had taken the thing last night heard it, he would likely assume, on reflex, that the burly man already knew who had taken it.

Unfortunately, Ye Fei was not the one who had taken the thing, and he had witnessed the whole affair from beginning to end. Thus, the burly man could pry nothing out of him.

Ye Fei said calmly, “If there’s nothing, don’t disturb my morning exercise. I can report this to the school and have you dismissed.”

The burly man’s expression changed. He could glean nothing useful from Ye Fei’s manner or words. Instead, Ye Fei’s threat had some effect. Everyone knew Ye Fei’s connection with Zhang Xiaoxiao, and he had been placed here by Zhang Linsheng himself. He could directly contact Zhang Linsheng, and Zhang Linsheng was one of the school’s shareholders, with the authority to propose changing the security company.

Still, the burly man did not intend to leave just like that. His face darkened, and he said to the two guards, “Invite this student to the security office for a sit-down.”

Ye Fei gave a cold smile. Facing two against one, he treated them like sparring instructors, and the struggle began right there on the campus grounds.

Bang. Bang.

Crash.

Pa-pa.

In an instant, Ye Fei exchanged several blows with the two heavily built guards, not only failing to fall behind, but actually forcing the two guards onto the defensive.

“Not bad,” Ye Fei thought to himself. Although he had not used his full strength, the power he had displayed was already enough to suppress professional bodyguards of the caliber of Brother Hui and Little Treasure. This showed that these two guards were no worse than professional bodyguards, and their physical strength was even more formidable.

Although there were not many students on campus at the moment, there were still a few. Everyone stared in astonishment at this scene. The school’s security guards were laying hands on a student—what kind of situation was this? And it was that Ye Fei again. Just how much trouble could this guy attract? In only two or three days, the entire school had been filled with reports about him, headlines, scandals of every sort, with campus beauties, wealthy heirs, and all kinds of figures gathering around him and causing incidents.

The burly man clearly did not want the matter to drag on. Wanting to end it quickly, he personally joined in once he saw the two guards fail.

The three of them attacked Ye Fei together.

Ye Fei remained unfazed. He was still as composed as ever as he fought the three of them, and he still held the upper hand.

Ye Fei’s combat skill was not something the three of them could compare to. The difference between them was as far apart as heaven and earth. With two sharp slaps, Ye Fei landed one on each guard, both loud and resounding. Then, like a spirit snake darting from its den, one of Ye Fei’s legs threaded through their defenses at a cunning angle and kicked directly at the burly man.

The burly man reacted quickly enough, throwing up his hands across his chest. Ye Fei’s foot struck the back of his hand directly.

The man stumbled back two steps, flexing his hand as he glared at Ye Fei with hostility. The back of his hand throbbed faintly, and it felt as if the bones had nearly been kicked apart. For the time being, he could not form a fist or deliver any effective heavy blow. Looking down, he saw a large swollen patch on the back of his hand, darkened with bruising.

“Brother Strong—” the two guards hurriedly cried out.

“I’m fine,” the burly man said. Then, suddenly, the phone in his pocket rang. He reached in with a somewhat awkward motion and took it out.

“Yes, yes…” he answered, continuously responding as he listened.

After a few exchanges, the other side seemed to say something that startled him. He blurted out, “It was Rong Gui who did it?”

As soon as he said it, he seemed to realize his slip and immediately fell silent. He glanced at Ye Fei, then nodded to the two guards. The three of them abandoned Ye Fei and left at once.

“Rong Gui—” Ye Fei remembered the name. He was certain that what the man had just said was related to the matter he was investigating, and to the thing buried last night.

Listening to that tone, it seemed the thing buried last night had been taken by someone named Rong Gui. But the one who dug it up was Xie Dong. Could it be that Rong Gui had joined forces with the Ming Gang?

“Ye Fei, are you all right?” Liu Yiyi came over and asked with concern.

“I’m fine,” Ye Fei said, shaking his head. “Yiyi, have you ever heard of the name Rong Gui?”

“Rong Gui? Yes, I know him. Rong Cheng’s father. He’s one of the shareholders of our school,” Liu Yiyi replied.

“So it really was him. Looks like this matter has something to do with him too. As a shareholder of Deep Blue School, it would be easy for him to do anything he wanted here,” Ye Fei thought to himself, silently taking note of the man.

Curiously, Liu Yiyi asked, “Ye Fei, does Rong Gui have something to do with your task? Do you want me to help you?”

Ye Fei smiled. “I just heard that name mentioned on the phone by that guard, so I asked about it.”

“Oh, so that’s it. Could it be that Rong Cheng sent these people to make trouble for you? Because of your matter with Zhang Xiaoxiao, Rong Cheng knows he’s no match for you, so he came to the school guards instead? His father is a shareholder of the school, so it wouldn’t be impossible for him to have these guards do something,” Liu Yiyi said without overthinking it, easily connecting the matter.

Ye Fei did not explain. He let her think as she pleased, only regretting that he had unexpectedly gained a new clue today.

“Rong Gui… the Ming Gang… the security company… hmm, it still seems like one piece is missing—the black hand behind it all.”

Ye Fei pondered quietly, analyzing the matter step by step in his mind. Gradually, some threads began to emerge. In any case, the connection to the security company could not be escaped, and Rong Gui and the Ming Gang must surely know something.