Chapter 4: Openly Protective
Ling Hanmu rubbed the spot on his chest where he had been hit, looking down at the trembling girl. He grabbed her collar and asked menacingly, “Were you not watching where you were going? How dare you bump into this Young Master?”
“I-I’m sorry!” Xia Chenge lowered her head, but secretly rolled her eyes.
So this was the true face of Young Master Ling?
“Young Master Ling.” At the same time, the students of Class F respectfully called out to Ling Hanmu.
This respect was not only because Ling Hanmu was a notorious little bully with a bad reputation at Yan Sheng High School, but also because of the Ling family’s powerful and unassailable financial strength behind him.
Ling Hanmu acted as if he hadn’t heard, continuing in a harsh tone, “The words ‘I’m sorry’ are the cheapest. This Young Master doesn’t need cheap things. You’ve been at Yan Sheng High School for over a year, you should know what the consequences are for offending this Young Master!”
“I’m very sorry, Young Master Ling. Our classmate Xia Chenge offended you. We will discipline her immediately and guarantee that it won’t disrupt your rules, Young Master Ling. Please calm your anger.” Zhou Shaohua limped forward, seizing the opportunity to try and curry favor with Ling Hanmu.
Ling Hanmu glanced coldly at Xia Chenge, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
The people of Class F excitedly began to condemn Xia Chenge:
“Young Master Ling, please don’t be angry. Just watch from the side.”
“Such a waste. It’s beneath you, Young Master Ling, to dirty your hands.
“We will follow your rules, Young Master Ling, and teach her how to behave at school.”
…
Xia Chenge, however, was secretly contemplating: If she had acted today, would she have made a name for herself in Haicheng?
Immediately, she dismissed the thought.
She had just been reborn and was not yet familiar with this place. Being too ostentatious might cause trouble later. She would endure for now. Revenge for a woman is best served from morning to night!
“You little waste, how dare you offend Young Master Ling! I will teach you a good lesson!” In front of Ling Hanmu, Zhou Shaohua dared not call himself “this Young Master.” However, he was still very happy to finally be able to teach Xia Chenge a harsh lesson.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he touched Xia Chenge, Ling Hanmu kicked him away, saying, “This Young Master doesn’t like people meddling!”
As Zhou Shaohua was kicked flying, he tugged at Xia Chenge’s sleeve, causing her left collar to open slightly, revealing a bite mark on the petal-shaped birthmark on her left shoulder.
Ling Hanmu’s pupils contracted sharply, and his gaze immediately turned cold and his aura imposing as he looked at the students of Class F.
“Tell this Young Master, how do you want to discipline her?”
Upon hearing this, everyone’s faces lit up with joy, and they spoke and laughed amongst themselves, thinking it was quite amusing.
“Make her sweep all the school’s toilets!”
“Why not make her a ‘I am a Jinx’ sign to hang around her neck every day when she comes to school?”
“Let’s hang her up and then put the sign on her, hahaha, then we can film a video and post it online.”
…
Listening to these people brainstorm ways to ruin her, Xia Chenge appeared very calm.
She wasn’t afraid of the Ling family, but provoking Ling Hanmu was definitely trouble.
Little devils were hard to deal with.
“Are you done talking?” Ling Hanmu asked abruptly.
Class F fell silent. Only Zhou Shaohua mustered the courage to ask, “Young Master Ling, which method do you want to use?”
“Which one do you think is good?” Ling Hanmu asked Zhou Shaohua back.
Zhou Shaohua, remembering how Xia Chenge had made him lose face earlier, wished Xia Chenge a fate worse than death. Now that Ling Hanmu was taking action personally, he wouldn’t miss this opportunity.
He fawned over Ling Hanmu, leaning in and saying, “Why not try every method?”
Ling Hanmu stroked his chin, deep in thought, “This suggestion sounds very interesting.”
“Then it’s settled?” Zhou Shaohua grinned, glaring fiercely at Xia Chenge, “Xia Chenge, you bumped into Young Master Ling because you weren’t looking. Mistakes must be paid for. You should quickly thank Young Master Ling for his great kindness!”
Xia Chenge curved her lips slightly. No one had ever dared to provoke her!
Just as she was about to act, Ling Hanmu suddenly smiled.
“Since that’s the case, why aren’t you all quickly thanking this Young Master for his great kindness?” Ling Hanmu’s tone shifted, his handsome face as cold as ice, “Try each and every one of the things you just said, one by one.”
Xia Chenge thought she had misheard and couldn’t help but look at Ling Hanmu again.
The others looked as if they had seen a ghost.
“What, you dare to defy this Young Master’s words?” Ling Hanmu’s tone suddenly rose, “You bullied someone and now you want to act like nothing happened? You’re dreaming.”
“Do you all remember what they just said? Supervise them for this Young Master. If you miss even one, you’ll have to make it up,” Ling Hanmu said, turning to the bodyguards behind him.
“Yes, Young Master!” The burly bodyguards stepped forward, glaring menacingly at the students of Class F.
The students of Class F turned pale at the sudden turn of events:
“Young Master Ling, this, this…”
“Is there some mistake, Young Master Ling?”
“The one who was supposed to be disciplined was Xia Chenge, right?”
…
They boldly tried to ‘remind’ Ling Hanmu not to make a mistake.
“Are you alright?” Under everyone’s gaze, Ling Hanmu gently held Xia Chenge’s arms, his expression soft.
He never would have imagined that Xia Chenge, who had suffered so much bullying, was the “Little Brother” he had been searching for all these years – the girl who couldn’t beat him, but had saved him, and who was clearly younger than him but insisted on being his older brother!
If he had known this earlier, he wouldn’t have let Xia Minglan and her daughter off so easily at the hospital!
Xia Chenge was startled by this concern. Ling Hanmu was never amiable; he had been so ferocious just moments ago, how could he have changed so drastically in the blink of an eye?
However, today Ling Hanmu seemed to have taken the wrong medicine. After getting no reaction from her, he even reached out and pulled her closer, carefully checking her forehead.
“Young Master Ling, Xia Chenge bumped into you just now…” Zhou Shaohua was not giving up.
“This Young Master likes it, do I need your permission?” Ling Hanmu glanced at him.
“I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare!” Zhou Shaohua almost knelt down to kowtow.
Ling Hanmu said with a half-smile, “You’re so shameless, what else wouldn’t you dare to do? This Young Master hates men who bully girls the most.”
Hearing this, Zhou Shaohua was terrified and couldn’t stop himself from kowtowing repeatedly, “I’m sorry, Young Master Ling, please forgive me!”
“Stand up like a man. This Young Master isn’t dead yet, so you don’t need to kowtow.”
Zhou Shaohua gritted his teeth and stood up, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
“This Young Master is known for his kindness. Fighting and killing is too cruel,” Ling Hanmu said with a troubled expression. “But you bullied my Little Brother, so I have to find a way to vent my anger, don’t you think?”
Little Brother, my foot!
Zhou Shaohua was on edge because of Ling Hanmu’s latter half of the sentence, with Ling Hanmu deliberately not giving him a quick resolution.
He truly was a little devil, mastering the art of torment.
Just as Zhou Shaohua was on the verge of collapse, Ling Hanmu spoke with a wicked grin, “Those who mentioned hanging signs will hang signs, those who want to film videos and upload them will film videos. Each method will be applied to the person who suggested it.”
“This is called reaping what you sow!”
“From now on, anyone who dares to bully Xia Chenge at Yan Sheng High School will be going against this Young Master!”
Ling Hanmu announced proudly.
Everyone present was stunned.
Zhou Shaohua had only one thought: It’s over!
