Chapter 18: Why Won't You Believe Me?

“What’s going on? Hmph, you’ve got the nerve to ask me that! Do you really not know what reckless thing you two have done?” Principal Zhao gritted his teeth as he spoke.

If it weren’t illegal to kill, he might well have pounced on these two fools and torn them apart himself!

Seeing the stunned expressions on Mary Ma and Mark Ma’s faces, the secretary hurried to explain on the principal’s behalf, “Vice Principal Ma, Director Ma, you’ve really made a colossal mess this time! Do you even know who that transfer student is? He’s Chairman Lin’s younger brother!”

“What did you say? That kid is Chairman Lin’s brother? That… that can’t be! Chairman Lin is a legendary businesswoman, famous nationwide, with immense wealth and assets. But that boy—he rides an old electric scooter and wears cheap knockoff brands! How could someone like him be Chairman Lin’s brother? Principal, have you all been deceived?” Mark Ma exclaimed, forgetting the burning pain on his left cheek.

If anything, Mark’s words only fanned Principal Zhao’s anger. “Deceived? Chairman Lin herself called to tell us! And Mary Ma, you’ve really outdone yourself! Chairman Lin asked you to answer her call, and not only did you refuse, you even claimed to be her mother! What was that supposed to mean? Trying to take advantage of her right to her face?”

“Ah?” Mary Ma was dumbfounded. “That call just now… it really was from Chairman Lin? What are we going to do?” She felt as if all the strength had drained from her body, her legs giving way beneath her until she collapsed onto the floor.

“What are you going to do? Worry about it yourself!” Principal Zhao threw out the words and strode toward the door.

“Principal, where are you going?” Mary Ma asked in alarm.

“Where? I’m going to clean up the mess you’ve made!” Principal Zhao snapped, not bothering to look back.

“And what about us?” Mary Ma’s voice was pitiful, her earlier arrogance and bluster gone without a trace.

“You? You’d better pray for yourselves! Right now I can barely protect myself—how could I have time to care about you?” He walked quickly, and by the time his words faded, he was already in the elevator.

His mind was in turmoil; all he could think about was hurrying to Security and finding Li Sicheng.

Meanwhile, in the security office, a group of uniformed guards were standing before Li Sicheng, regarding him with unfriendly eyes.

The man in the middle was Feng Gang, the captain of security.

Having been entrusted by Mark Ma, Feng Gang was eager to prove himself. “Kid, you think you’re tough, huh? First day at school and you’ve already assaulted Director Ma. In my opinion, Vice Principal Ma was right not to let you transfer here! If you did, you’d only cause trouble for us every other day. Enough. Stop standing there—call your parents. After they pay Director Ma’s medical bills, lost wages, and so on, they can take you away.”

Li Sicheng spread his hands, a look of helplessness on his face. “Why do you all insist on twisting the truth? Director Ma was knocked out by a ball—what does that have to do with me? I never even touched him, and I warned him several times to be careful. But my good intentions were all for nothing.”

Feng Gang cracked his knuckles menacingly. “You’re pretty slick with words, aren’t you? But that won’t work with me. If you know what’s good for you, call your parents—otherwise, I have plenty of ways to make you suffer.”

Li Sicheng gave him a careful look, then said seriously, “I advise you not to get rough. According to the elements in your fate, it’s wood, fire, punishing metal today. If you act with kindness, you may avoid disaster, but if you use violence—at best you’ll hurt yourself, at worst you’ll lose your job.”

Feng Gang was taken aback, then couldn’t help but burst into laughter. “You’re scared, aren’t you? If you’re afraid, do as you’re told. Hmph—do you really think you can frighten me with such nonsense?”

“I’m telling the truth—why won’t any of you listen?” Li Sicheng sighed and shook his head, looking even more exasperated.

“Still pretending, huh? Hurt tendons and bones, is it? Fine, I’ll show you what that means!” The smile vanished from Feng Gang’s face, replaced by a chilling expression.

He had decided—unless Li Sicheng suffered a little, the boy would never give in.

He took a step forward and swung his fist hard at Li Sicheng’s abdomen.

This punch was full of force; if it landed, it would leave even a strong adult doubled over in agony, perhaps vomiting bile—let alone a teenager.

Feng Gang was sure that after this blow, Li Sicheng would be docile and obedient.

But things did not go as he had planned.

A deafening clang rang out just as his fist struck Li Sicheng’s stomach.

The sound was nothing like flesh meeting flesh—it was more like a fist hitting an iron plate.

“Ah—!”

The crash was followed by a blood-curdling scream.

But the one crying out was not Li Sicheng, the supposed victim, but Feng Gang, the attacker.

Blood gushed from his right hand—he’d injured himself punching Li Sicheng! Meanwhile, Li Sicheng, the one who’d been hit, was perfectly unharmed.

“What just happened?” The other guards stared in shock.

“Could this kid know some kind of invincible martial arts, like Iron Shirt or Diamond Body?” one of the guards, evidently a fan of martial arts novels, squealed in alarm.

He even backed away several steps, as if fearing Li Sicheng would suddenly unleash some legendary technique.

“See? I told you—if you turned violent, you’d hurt yourself. Why wouldn’t you believe me?” Li Sicheng shook his head and sighed, then reached into his shirt and pulled out a metal plate. “Good thing I’m clever—I predicted I might get beaten up today, so I slipped an iron plate into my clothes. And sure enough, it came in handy!”