122. There Was No Choice, Anyway

Yu Yuan fished out twenty yuan: "My entire net worth. Just grill some skewers, and you can cover the rest if it’s not enough."

Zhang Pa was speechless once again and said gloomily, "Is this how you scheme against your teacher?"

Old Pi pulled out ten yuan: "Count me in."

Madman grabbed Old Pi's hand as he held the money: "This is for both of us."

Big Bull also stuck out a hand: "Add me to the list."

Seeing his students so united, Zhang Pa felt quite touched: "Do you guys have any shame left?"

Perhaps noticing the commotion, Li Shan actually walked back: "Is the teacher treating us to drinks?"

Zhang Pa instantly froze. This one was even more ruthless—at least the others had chipped in thirty yuan, but this guy wanted him to pay for everything? He looked up at the sky, pretending he hadn't heard or seen a thing.

Fortunately, there was a girl in the class—a very wealthy one at that. Liu Yue ran over and announced loudly, "Barbecue, my treat."

Luo Chengcai was a bit dissatisfied and walked over: "What are you showing off for?"

Liu Yue replied, "I’ve been transferred here for a few days; I’m just paying my respects with a meal. But if you're not happy about it, then I won't pay."

Hearing the "rich girl" say this, before Luo Chengcai could respond, Yu Yuan preempted him: "I hope you make the right choice and don't become the enemy of the entire class."

Zhang Pa remarked, "That’s quite a label to slap on someone. If you’d been born a few decades earlier, you’d definitely be a Red Guard agitator."

Liu Yue smiled at Luo Chengcai and said to Yu Yuan, "It's settled then." She then asked where they should go.

Zhang Pa said, "If you want it cheap, we should buy the meat ourselves and head to the barbecue shop near my place. But I have to call and ask first."

"Then make the call." At this moment, Liu Yue didn't hate Zhang Pa quite as much.

Zhang Pa smiled and looked around. He had to admit he was impressed; all forty-six students in the class were actually there! He couldn't help but deeply doubt his life—what kind of ancestors had he ended up teaching?

That evening, they did go for barbecue. With a benefactor footing the bill and the students full of enthusiasm, Zhang Pa didn't want to spoil the fun, so they all headed to Dahu Barbecue.

He called beforehand, and Dahu thought Zhang Pa had changed his mind and agreed to join the competition. When he realized it was just for barbecue, he was furious and sarcastically told Zhang Pa to "eat until you burst."

Zhang Pa had intended to buy the meat himself as he had done last time, but it was late, and the back-and-forth would take too much time. The benefactor, Liu Yue, told him not to bother.

So, they didn't bother. The meal ended up costing her over three thousand yuan.

Liu Yue was in high spirits and raised her glass: "From now on, we’re all in this together. If anything happens, we face it as one."

Using gang slang in front of their teacher? Zhang Pa’s face turned green as he said loudly, "I’m still here, you know."

"We know you're here," Liu Yue said. "Teacher, you're the best."

Zhang Pa was speechless again. Had this girl forgotten the time she wanted to beat him up?

As the old saying goes, drinking fosters friendship. With Zhang Pa treating earlier and now Liu Yue, after a few drinking sessions, the atmosphere in the class was improving significantly.

Especially today, with no limit on the alcohol, Zhang Pa wanted to stop them, but Yu Yuan pointed out that since he wasn't the one paying, he had no say.

Liu Yue agreed, so they drank heavily, and naturally, some people got drunk.

When the barbecue ended, at least a dozen people had vomited, and the big guy, Yu Yuan, had collapsed straight onto the floor.

Wang Jiang and Li Shan were quite sturdy, and they had Liu Ziqiang with them—a guy over one-meter-eighty who Zhang Pa had beaten up the moment he started working. Even with these three tall, strong men helping, they could barely move the heavy, fat guy. They were exhausted, complaining that he was heavier than a dead pig.

Old Pi and his four friends were fine. Because they still had injuries, they had controlled their drinking and made it home sober.

The next day, the big guy Yu Yuan didn't show up for class. When they called to ask, he was at the hospital getting an IV drip. Fortunately, his parents were open-minded and didn't come to school to cause trouble; they even thanked Zhang Pa for checking in.

Today was Wednesday. Zhang Pa left early again to go to the Music Conservatory for his dance lessons, only to see two familiar faces at the entrance of the dance studio.

A few days prior, someone had been harassing Liu Xiaomei. Three men were beaten by Zhang Pa and had their nude photos taken. The ringleader was a youth from the capital who, after being thoroughly humiliated, returned home. Before leaving, he told his two accomplices that he had other plans for this matter, thanked them for their help, and warned them, "You absolutely must not harass Liu Xiaomei again. Consider it a personal favor to me."

The ringleader was from the capital, but even with a powerful background, he couldn't keep a large group of subordinates in the provincial capital. He had come here to get help from his friends—the two unlucky ones who had been photographed with him.

The troublemaking youth had connections, and these two local guys were also children of officials, so their relationship was decent. One was named Miao Zili and the other Zhang Chen. Both ran their own companies and were considered elite, with many people working under them. They weren't just lackeys; the capital youth had a high status, and they had helped him out in hopes of establishing a connection with his influential family.

To them, bullying an ordinary person was nothing. As long as it meant their fathers could bridge a connection with the high-ranking official in the capital, the effort was worth it.

On the day the photos were taken, the many youths waiting outside the teaching building were their subordinates.

The three were photographed, but the two local guys were completely unaware of it. The guy from the capital had dressed them, woken them up, and left with a few instructions, saying, "Let it be for now."

The duo felt obligated to give the capital youth face and agreed. But there was one thing: the capital youth only said not to provoke Liu Xiaomei—he didn't mention anything else. And these two had been knocked unconscious by Zhang Pa!

The two had always been the ones bullying others; they couldn't stand being bullied themselves. Now there was a guy who had knocked them out and was still walking free?

The pair were furious. After stewing at home for two days, they decided to get revenge. They coordinated by phone and brought men to the music school again. Their goal was simple: find Liu Xiaomei and get Zhang Pa's name and contact information.

With the capital youth not around, the two were incredibly arrogant. Knowing Liu Xiaomei had class in the afternoon, they showed up after two o'clock. Unlike last time when they waited outside, this time they rudely kicked the door open and started barking questions.

They dragged Liu Xiaomei out and demanded information on Zhang Pa. Liu Xiaomei naturally refused, threatening to call the police if they kept disrupting class.

The two were enraged. *Damn, she’s threatening to call the police in front of us?* They were tempted to cause a scene, but remembering the capital youth's warning and how serious he had been, they decided to hold back and continued questioning her with "patience."

Liu Xiaomei ignored them and went back into the classroom. The pair were used to being arrogant; if not for their fear of the capital youth, they would have dragged her out... The biggest issue was that they had no idea they had been photographed in the nude.

Just as the standoff continued, Zhang Pa arrived.

The two were there looking for someone and only had a few henchmen with them, but when they suddenly spotted their nemesis... another fight broke out.

Zhang Pa was full of gloom. *What kind of society do I live in? The news always talks about harmony and stability, so why can't I ever encounter any? It’s just fighting every single day, as if I’m living in a war zone.*

The other side didn't have many people, and they were already defeated once before. Plus, considering the impact on Liu Xiaomei, Zhang Pa chose to avoid the conflict and ran out of the building.

The seven men chased after him in a hurry.

Zhang Pa stood outside and shouted, "Stop!"

The other side, of course, wouldn't stop. Even if they did, they’d only do it after finishing him off.

Zhang Pa was helpless. While dodging, he shouted at the two leaders, "Quit fighting for a second! I’ve got some leverage on you."

"Leverage?" Miao Zili said. "Grandson, who are you trying to fool?"

Zhang Pa said, "Whether I’m fooling you or not, would it kill you to take a look? Unless you don't have the guts."

Men hate being provoked. In this situation, even if they knew it was a taunt, they felt compelled to fall for it once. They told their subordinates to stop and asked, "Where's the leverage?"

Zhang Pa said, "I'll provoke you one more time: whoever has the guts, come over to me."

Miao Zili snorted and strode over.

Zhang Pa took out his phone, pulled up the photos, and gripped the screen tightly: "See this?"

There were three people in the photo, and none of them were wearing clothes... Miao Zili froze, then immediately reached out, wanting to grab the phone to look closer.

Zhang Pa stepped back: "See it now?"

"I didn't see clearly. I want to look closely," Miao Zili said, his face dark.

Zhang Pa replied, "Sure. Give me your number, and I'll send it to you as an MMS."

Miao Zili gave his number with a grim expression. Zhang Pa stepped back a few paces, sent the message, and said, "Sent you two. Look carefully."

Of course, they looked carefully. The more Miao Zili looked, the worse his face became. Zhang Chen also leaned in to look... Upon seeing the images, his expression was even uglier than Miao Zili’s. He cursed Zhang Pa as a bastard and threatened to kill him.

Zhang Pa said, "The guy who was with you last time didn't tell you about this?"

Of course he didn't! This wasn't exactly something to boast about; you wouldn't tell anyone either.

Miao Zili felt a surge of hatred toward the capital youth. He had helped him settle things, only to get dragged into this mess himself, and then that guy had run off without explaining why!

Zhang Chen said, "Delete the photos."

Zhang Pa made a shushing gesture: "I think it’s best if there are no outsiders around."

Miao Zili was decisive. He turned around and said, "You guys go wait at the gate."

Zhang Chen added a word of command, and the thugs turned and left.

Zhang Pa said, "Now we can talk."

"Tell me, what are your conditions for deleting the photos? How much money do you want?" Zhang Chen asked.

Zhang Pa said, "I don't want money. I only did this for self-preservation." He paused, then added, "I’m not like you guys, all with connections reaching the heavens. I have nothing—just an ordinary person. I can't compete with you at all. But when you come to trouble me, I have no choice but to take a few photos to use as leverage. I can guarantee that as long as you don't mess with me, the photos will remain safe."

"I don't believe anything can be 'always safe.' What if you lose your phone?" Miao Zili asked.

Zhang Pa replied, "If that happens, then I guess you’re just unlucky."

Miao Zili was furious: "Delete the photos right now." He then asked, "How many are there?"

Zhang Pa said, "Nearly two hundred. The leads are the three of you. I don't know what that guy's name is, but he promised me he wouldn't come back to cause trouble. I wonder what you two are thinking?"

"You delete the photos, and I'll give you ten thousand per photo," Miao Zili said. "Delete them now, and I’ll transfer the money immediately... Cash is fine too, though it’ll take a little longer."

Zhang Pa whistled: "That's quite the extravagant offer. That's over a million."

"I'll give you two million and guarantee we won't bother you again, as long as you delete the photos," Miao Zili said.

It was true: the higher one's status, the more they cared about their reputation. For these two, they had to consider their family's standing. Even if they had no shame themselves, they had to worry about the reputation of the elders at home.