Lin Feng found himself in a standoff with Xie Fei. Suddenly, three other male students surrounded him, completely trapping him.
"Kid, are you trying to flex your muscles and posture the moment you set foot in Jiangzhou University? You’re messing with the wrong person!" a skinny guy next to Xie Fei shouted at Lin Feng.
A guy beside him chimed in with a scornful laugh, "Greenhorn, ever heard of ’there’s always a bigger fish in a bigger pond’? You think university is high school? If you know what’s good for you, apologize to us seniors. Do that, and we’ll let this slide."
These three were clearly in cahoots with Xie Fei. Lin Feng wasn’t surprised. They must often gang up to bully newcomers, he thought. However, messing with me is out of the question!
Giving the four a cold look, Lin Feng said, "I’m new here, so I don’t want to cause trouble. Regarding you harassing my girlfriend earlier, I won’t personally take issue with you over it if you apologize to her. Apologize to my girlfriend, and we’ll pretend this never happened."
HISS.
Upon hearing this, Xie Fei and his gang were first taken aback, then burst into laughter.
"Oh, an apology? You must be dreaming!"
"Heh heh, we’ve seen arrogant freshmen before, but none as arrogant as you, Rookie. Still don’t understand the situation, do you? You’re asking Brother Fei to apologize? Got an itch that needs scratching, huh?"
Seeing Lin Feng surrounded, Tang Rou, not wanting any more trouble, walked over, tugged at Lin Feng’s sleeve, and said, "Lin Feng, just let it go. Let’s go complete our registration."
"They can mess with me, but not my girlfriend!" Lin Feng stated resolutely. Then, pointing at Xie Fei, he demanded, "Are you going to apologize or not?"
Xie Fei was momentarily stunned, then chuckled. Damn, when did freshmen get so cocky? There are four of us, and he still demands an apology? A sneer played on his lips as Xie Fei pushed Lin Feng’s pointing hand down and said contemptuously, "I’m telling you now, I will not apologize! Even if you were on your knees begging me, I still wouldn’t! Now get lost, Rookie! We have beautiful new students to greet. I don’t have time to waste on you!"
"Very well!" Lin Feng nodded, then patted Xie Fei’s shoulder. "You said it. Remember, you’ll regret those words. Sooner than you think, you’ll be on your knees begging me for forgiveness!"
With a faint smile, Lin Feng turned, picked up his luggage, and walked leisurely toward the campus with Tang Rou.
"Kneeling and begging *me* for forgiveness? Who do you think you are, my dad? What kind of daydream are you having? Get lost, Rookie!"
Watching Lin Feng and Tang Rou walk away, a smug grin graced Xie Fei’s face. His buddies joined in the jeering.
However, Lin Feng and Tang Rou had barely taken more than ten steps when a sudden yelp of agony sounded from behind them. Xie Fei clutched his shoulder, crying out in pain, "This is bad, this is really bad! My shoulder’s dislocated, I can’t move it... OUCH, OUCH... Wait, it doesn’t feel like a dislocation. My whole arm has gone numb. I can’t feel anything..."
Hearing this, Xie Fei’s friends were stunned. His whole arm is numb? Could it be... paralyzed? Impossible! How could something like this happen to an arm?
"Brother Fei, what’s wrong?"
"Brother Fei, what kind of condition is this? I never knew you had it!"
"Seriously! Your arm was fine just now."
"Yeah, I saw him push the Rookie’s hand down just a moment ago. Then... the Rookie patted Brother Fei’s shoulder on this arm a few times! That’s it! The Rookie must have attacked Brother Fei!"
Gritting his teeth against the pain, Xie Fei hollered, "I’ve never injured this arm before! It must be that new student’s doing! Stop him, stop him now!"
This sudden, bizarre situation left Xie Fei greatly alarmed. His arm had been perfectly fine a moment ago, but after a brief touch from Lin Feng, he couldn’t move it. He was certain Lin Feng was behind this!
"Stop right there!"
Lin Feng and Tang Rou had only gotten about a dozen meters away when Xie Fei’s friends intercepted them. One of them helped the struggling Xie Fei forward.
"Did you do something to Brother Fei’s arm?" the skinny guy challenged Lin Feng.
Hearing this, Lin Feng shrugged indifferently. "Do something? I didn’t hit him. If his arm’s in trouble, it must be because he’s done too many despicable things. He deserves it!"
"You—!" the skinny guy began, his face flushing with anger. But before he could truly erupt, Xie Fei, gasping for breath, stopped him.
"When you patted my shoulder earlier," Xie Fei said, "you must have done something to my hand."
Lin Feng laughed. "Done something just by patting your shoulder? That’s ridiculous! Why don’t you all come pat my shoulder and see if anything happens to me? Like I said, you’ve done too many despicable things. You deserve this!"
Facing Lin Feng’s provocation, Xie Fei wanted to lash out, but the pain in his arm was unbearable. He could tell this new student was responsible for his injury, but the method was too subtle. He didn’t understand how a simple pat could cause his entire arm to become numb and too painful to move.
"Bro," Xie Fei said, his voice suddenly much softer, "can... can you tell what’s wrong with my hand?" If this freshman could injure him like this, he should also be able to heal him, Xie Fei thought, a hint of pleading in his mind.
Lin Feng glanced at Xie Fei’s arm and sighed. "I know a little about medicine. Judging by your arm’s symptoms, I’m afraid if you don’t get treatment within five minutes, it could be crippled. You might even have to amputate the entire arm."
"WHAT?!"
At Lin Feng’s words, not only Xie Fei but also his friends froze in shock. How could an arm that seemed perfectly fine just minutes ago be so severely injured? Impossible!
"Brother, buddy, please help me?" Xie Fei pleaded, looking as if he wanted to cry but couldn’t, bowing low before Lin Feng.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, brother! It was all a misunderstanding earlier. Please don’t take it to heart," one of his friends chimed in.
"That’s right, saving him is what’s important! If Brother Fei loses his arm, it’ll be terrible! Brother, please help. We’ll treat you to dinner later," another added.
Being university students who hadn’t yet faced the harsh realities of the world, Xie Fei’s friends, witnessing this, also adopted an imploring and eager-to-please tone with Lin Feng.
Lin Feng looked up at the sky and said, "I seem to recall someone refusing to apologize just now. Why should I help someone who doesn’t know how to respect others? If his arm is crippled, then it’s crippled. So be it."
"No, no..." Xie Fei, cold sweat streaming down his face from the pain, hurriedly apologized to Lin Feng. "Brother, I’m sorry. I was wrong just now. I sincerely apologize. I was wrong."
Lin Feng said, "I wasn’t asking for *your* apology."
Hearing this, Xie Fei quickly turned to Tang Rou and apologized, "Miss, I’m so sorry. I was wrong earlier. I apologize to you. Could you please ask your boyfriend to help me? If I don’t get treated in time, my hand will be crippled! Please, I’m begging you..."