CHAPTER 43: CHAPTER 43: SO YOU’RE THE ONE WHO DOESN’T LIKE CILANTRO!

Common sense dictated that when two parties agreed to a fight, they should start brawling right after the trash talk.

The trash talk was over now. But... why had everyone run off too?

Good grief! So you all came here, full of bluster, just to run your mouths and then leave?

The onlooking students were all bewildered. Seriously? We got all ready for a show, and this is what we get? This is it? Really? How could they be such cowards!

To this, the members of the Karate club could only think: If you’re so tough, why don’t you go fight him! Letting us fight Zhang Beixing is absolutely out of the question! Don’t you know how fierce Zhang Beixing is? This morning, he single-handedly took down five guys and pummeled them on the ground! Perhaps a Tea Belt or Black Belt level Karate practitioner could manage that. But not us! We’re just hobbyists from a campus club. Our average skill level is green belt at best, and none of us have a shred of real combat experience. Making us fight Zhang Beixing? That would be just feeding him kills! As for whether fleeing without a fight would disgrace the reputation of Karate? Pfft, who cares about that superficial stuff? Let others mock if they want. Reputation isn’t worth much anyway. Worst case, we can just switch clubs. The Taekwondo club next door seems pretty good too; they let you kick wooden boards for free every day. As long as we don’t get beaten up, anything goes!

"Damn, Lao Zhang, you’re a badass!"

"Winning without even fighting... damn, it had to be you!"

Meanwhile, after the seven guys from the Karate club had left, the small grove fell silent for a moment before Zheng Jituo’s startled cry broke the quiet.

Hearing him, Dong Guoning and Jin Linyu, who were nearby, nodded in agreement, thoroughly impressed.

Just the sight of him, his identity recognized, had sent those guys fleeing in disarray. If they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, they would never have believed something so absurd could happen!

What did this mean? It meant Lao Zhang’s reputation at Shi University was legendary!

"I just didn’t expect the challengers to be from the Karate club," Dong Guoning then said. "I thought they were from off-campus."

Initially, after hearing Zhang Beixing’s story, they had all assumed the challenge came from students of another school. Even Zhang Beixing had thought so, which was why he’d deliberately chosen the small grove on Shi University grounds. But, surprisingly, the opponents turned out to be Shi University students as well!

Just as Zheng Jituo and the others were reeling from this realization,

「Meanwhile, over with Chen Rourou.」

After getting a clear look at Zhang Beixing and recognizing him, her ’advisor,’ Xin Xin, completely lost her composure.

Her rosy little face turned deathly pale. She clutched Chen Rourou’s hand, her own trembling, and whispered urgently, "Rou...Rourou, let’s go! We need to go too!"

Saying this, she began pulling Chen Rourou, trying to leave.

Seeing her best friend in such a state, Chen Rourou, who had been striking arrogant poses just moments before, was utterly bewildered. She was already confused by the ridiculous excuses the guys had used to flee. What on earth is going on? she wondered. Before she could figure it out, her best friend pulled this stunt, and now she was trying to drag her away too!

"What on earth is going on?" Chen Rourou asked with a frown, completely baffled. "So what if there’s one more tall guy on their side? Why should we run? We’re not afraid of him! You know my strength. Hmph, I could take him out with one punch!" She even swung her fist confidently.

Hearing this, Xin Xin’s heart skipped a beat. She looked at Chen Rourou and whispered, "You really don’t know? Or you don’t recognize him?"

"Why should I know? Why should I recognize him?" Chen Rourou was even more baffled, retorting, "Isn’t he just some keyboard warrior I argued with online? Does he have some other important identity?"

Hearing this, Xin Xin’s expression became incredibly complicated. She looked at Chen Rourou, momentarily speechless. Seriously? Don’t you ever check the school forums or keep up with gossip? If you’d paid even a little attention, you wouldn’t be in this mess!

Xin Xin was internally freaking out, but since Chen Rourou was her best friend, she held her tongue.

So, she cautiously glanced at Zhang Beixing. Seeing he was just calmly looking their way without making any move, she quickly turned back to Chen Rourou and said rapidly, "Keyboard warrior? He’s not just that! This person is Zhang Beixing—a debonair charmer who revels in ’crushing flowers’!"

Then, in a rush of words, she concisely summarized everything that had happened earlier that day for Chen Rourou.

After hearing Xin Xin out, Chen Rourou instantly understood why her backup had bailed. She felt like crying but couldn’t shed a tear.

She had, of course, heard about the incident in the public classroom that morning. What she hadn’t realized, however, was that the guy who fought five people alone wasn’t a security guard, but a student. Actually, him being a student wasn’t the main issue. The real problem was that this very same guy had challenged her to a fight yesterday, and now he had shown up, right on time, for their appointment! This...

A stiff smile on her face, Chen Rourou turned to Xin Xin. "Xin Xin," she asked, "do you think we could pretend nothing’s happened and just leave? Is it... too late?"

If she had asked this just a few seconds earlier, Xin Xin would have definitely said it wasn’t too late. But now...

GULP. "Rourou," Xin Xin said, swallowing hard as she watched the tall figure slowly approaching from behind Chen Rourou, "I think... it might actually be too late!"

Hearing this, Chen Rourou froze and slowly turned her head. There was Zhang Beixing, who had been standing under the tree just moments ago, now walking steadily towards her.

And that wasn’t all. As Zhang Beixing walked, he began removing his weighted clothing. With each piece he removed, a puff of steam seemed to rise from his body where the weights had been. It looked as if True Qi was radiating from him, giving him an entrance complete with Special Effects.

By the time Zhang Beixing had completely removed his weights, he had already reached Chen Rourou.

His body now felt incredibly light. Perfect for a fight, Zhang Beixing thought.

Then, he tossed the weights aside. THUD!

The weighted clothing landed heavily on the ground with a dull thud, making Chen Rourou’s heart lurch.

Having done that, Zhang Beixing flexed his wrists, looked down at the girl before him, and a grin spread across his face.

"So, you’re the one called ’Dislikes Cilantro,’ huh?"

Chen Rourou: "!!!"

"No! You’ve got the wrong person! I love cilantro! I really, really love cilantro!"

Facing the formidable Zhang Beixing, Chen Rourou decisively chose the path of least resistance.

I admit it, I pick on the weak and fear the strong! But I really can’t beat him! Never in her life had she regretted anything as much as this. Why, oh why, did I have to argue with someone online just because I was bored? Now look! I’ve really kicked a hornet’s nest! How am I supposed to deal with a monster who can take on five guys at once? Her mind was in turmoil.

Chen Rourou lowered her once-proud head, even shrinking back a little, looking thoroughly intimidated. But her darting eyes revealed she wasn’t as submissive as she appeared.

A sliver of hope remained in Chen Rourou’s heart. What if... what if Zhang Beixing won’t actually hurt me? After all, I’m a girl, and a very pretty one at that. Even if I said some nasty things and picked a fight with him, with my looks... Maybe, perhaps, probably... he wouldn’t hold it against me, right? He shouldn’t!

Even as she thought this, Chen Rourou lacked confidence. So, she stole a glance at Zhang Beixing, only to find him staring at her, his face devoid of expression.

Their eyes met. In that instant, an emotion called embarrassment flooded Chen Rourou’s heart.

Then, in a bizarre, impulsive moment, without knowing what possessed her, she actually winked at Zhang Beixing.

Chen Rourou: "..."

Zhang Beixing: "???"

But he wasn’t about to play along. He questioned her fiercely, "Hey, I’m asking you something. It’s one thing if you don’t answer, but what’s with trying to act cute?"