First High was located in the west of the city. They arrived after less than twenty minutes of driving.
As the largest and best high school in the district, First High was a well-known school with a rich history.
Tang Hao felt sentimental when he saw the familiar silhouettes of buildings from afar. Even though his departure from the school was abrupt, the year and a half he spent there was somewhat memorable.
The entrance arch to First High was tall and wide. He could see the words “Westridge District First High School” written clearly on the arch while he was still a distance away.
It was the day of reporting in. Many students arrived in their parents’ cars.
Tang Hao drove the little three-wheeled motorcycle past the plaza and stopped in front of the entrance to the school.
“I’ll send you inside, Yan’er!” Tang Hao said as he hopped off the motorcycle.
Yan’er got off the motorcycle too.
A bus stopped not too far away. The doors opened; a crowd of students alighted and walked toward the school entrance.
Amid the crowd, three young girls saw Yan’er, and their faces darkened.
The girl in the lead narrowed her eyes and displayed a sinister expression. Then, they walked toward Yan’er.
“Oh! Isn’t this the school beauty queen, Shi Yan’er?” The girl in the lead shouted with a hint of derision in her voice.
Yan’er lifted her head. Her expression changed when she saw them.
Tang Hao frowned. He looked in their direction and saw that the three girls were dressed skimpily and wore heavy makeup. They did not look like students at all.
The girl in the lead dyed her hair blonde and had several bright red highlights. She looked rather incongruous with her surroundings.
“Let’s go quickly, Big Bro Hao!” Yan’er turned away. She sounded scared.
Tang Hao’s face darkened when he saw her behave that way. He could see that Yan’er was afraid of them. It should mean that Yan’er was once their bully victim.
“Why are you in such a hurry?” One of the girls smirked. She stepped quickly and blocked Yan’er’s path.
“What do you want, Xie Li?” Yan’er asked the girl in the lead with a serious voice.
“I don’t want anything. It’s just that I’m in a foul mood whenever I see you! I was happy when I heard that you had stopped coming to school because I don’t have to look at your b*tch face whenever I’m here.
“I didn’t expect you to return in just a semester.”
Xie Li glared at Yan’er with a condescending expression on her face.
“I’ve heard that you stopped school because your family ran out of money. I still remember that your house is in some remote mountainside. To be frank, poor people like you shouldn’t force yourself to go to school. Wouldn’t it be better if your parents pawned you off at a young age instead?”
“Isn’t that so!” The two other girls agreed.
“You… You’ve gone overboard!” Yan’er’s face was bright red from anger.
“Overboard? Hmph! Who asks a little b*tch like you to pretend that you’re innocent and pure and seduce the boys? The boys are also idiots for crowning you as the beauty queen. I don’t know what’s so good about you. Aren’t you just a wh*re that acts all innocent and pure?” Xie Li shrieked.
Tang Hao’s face became darker.
Suddenly, he took a step forward and shielded Yan’er behind him. “I dare you to open your mouth again!” He said coldly.
Xie Li was shocked. She examined Tang Hao from head to toe, then expressed disdain. “Who the f*ck are you? Is it your turn to speak? You’re driving a broken-down three-wheeled motorcycle, and you look like a peasant laborer! You’re just a poor loser like the b*tch!” She said mockingly.
“I say, Shi Yan’er, don’t tell me that he’s your boyfriend? Haha! He’s a perfect match for you. A poor b*tch like you is destined to marry someone poor.” Xie Li laughed brazenly.
“Xie Li, I don’t mind you laughing at me, but I don’t allow you to say anything bad about my Big Bro Hao,” Yan’er brows straightened out of anger.
“Oh, what an intimate nickname! So he’s your boyfriend after all!” Xie Li said sarcastically.
Tang Hao grinned and said coldly. “I don’t usually touch ladies, but a cheap b*tch like you don’t deserve to be called a lady!”
He then lifted his hand and slapped her face.
Slap!
His palm struck Xie Li’s left cheek. She stumbled a few steps backward and was utterly dumbfounded.
The sudden gesture had shocked the other two girls too.
Xie Li covered her swollen left cheek with a hand and had an incredulous expression on her face. A lowly peasant laborer had just slapped her.
“You… You dare slap me?” She roared hysterically.
She had been spoiled since she was young. No one dared to touch her. Now, she was slapped in front of everyone.
Her facial features were contorted and were even slightly vicious. She glared at Tang Hao and Shi Yan’er with profound hatred in her eyes.
Tang Hao chuckled. “Do I dare slap you? I’ve already done so. Listen closely, the three of you. If you dare bully Yan’er or badmouth her, I won’t forgive you.”
Xie Li broke out laughing. “Haha, you have a big mouth! You must be out of your mind! Who the hell do you think you are? You’re just a bottom feeder, and yet you dare threaten me?
“Do you know who my boyfriend is? He’s in the school basketball team and he knows taekwondo. He can knock you out with just one punch!”
“Really? Bring him to me then!”
After speaking, Tang Hao turned around and gently patted Yan’er’s head. “Don’t be sad, Yan’er. Those girls are envious of you! The more people envy you, the more outstanding you are!”
Yan’er was feeling a little down, though she mumbled a reply.
Being able to return to school was supposed to be a happy occasion. It was a little upsetting to encounter such an event on her first day back at school.
Tang Hao took the shopping bags from the little three-wheeled motorcycle with both of his hands.
The three girls were shocked when they saw that.
The brands were clearly emblazoned in the middle of each bag. Those were all famous name brands. Some of them were even considered luxury items.
“Haha, these poor people are acting rich! They’re all bootlegs!” Xie Li immediately mocked them.
Shi Yan’er lived in a mountain village, and the boy looked like a peasant laborer. They could never afford even a single piece of something so expensive.
One of the girls standing next to her looked extremely shocked.
She pulled Xie Li to her and whispered in her ear, “Lili, that’s… that’s all genuine. I can recognize them.”
Xie Li was stunned. For a while, she did not give a reply.
“That… That can’t be possible! You must be wrong!”
“How can I be wrong? I’ve bought some of those brands too, and I can recognize the bags just by one look. They’re carrying so many bags, they must’ve come from Sky City Plaza.”
Xie Li was utterly dumbstruck when she heard that.
She looked at Yan’er again, then at the shabby little three-wheeled motorcycle, and finally at Tang Hao.
No matter how she looked, the boy did not look rich at all!