Chapter Nineteen: A New Standard of Ruthlessness?

Smack! As it turns out, any struggle in the face of overwhelming strength is always futile. Before Luo Shen could even stand up, a swift kick landed right on his wrist, the very one gripping the knife.

Clink, clink, clink—the knife was sent flying, landing in a dark corner of the alley, far out of reach.

Clutching his injured hand, Luo Shen fearfully crawled backward, shaken by the realization that he and his brother, despite coming armed, had been defeated in a single encounter.

He glanced at Luo Chen, whose hands were empty, and at Yan He, who could bend steel pipes with a kick. This time, he’d really hit a brick wall.

“So, tell me—what did Luo Song send you here for?” Luo Chen asked. He didn’t believe Luo Song would dispatch his two sons just to collect debts. Most likely, he was probing for information, trying to see if Luo Chen had any hidden cards up his sleeve.

“Don’t get cocky, Luo Chen! You just wait!” Luo Shen spat out, humiliation mixing with a surge of hatred.

Luo Chen frowned. Truth be told, these petty thugs were often hard to handle. They only remembered the indignities they suffered, never considering whether they’d done anything wrong. Selfish, bullying the weak, and holding grudges over trivial matters, their resentment stuck like glue.

With such people, you either need overwhelming power so they won’t dare retaliate, or you must terrify them into submission.

If he let them off too easily this time, who knew what schemes they might hatch against those close to him. Yan He could take care of herself, but Tianyi...

Thinking of this, Luo Chen strode forward, and in the midst of Luo Shen’s terrified gaze, stomped hard on his right wrist, twisting it mercilessly.

“Aaah!” Luo Shen cried out in agony, his face contorted, his left hand desperately trying to lift the foot crushing his wrist, but it was all in vain.

“Let me go! I’ll kill you, I swear—I’ll kill you!” Luo Shen was in so much pain that tears nearly spilled from his eyes. How dare they treat him like this! He yearned for revenge, he must have it!

He glared furiously at Luo Chen, thinking, Just you wait—your moment of triumph will be short-lived.

Seeing that Luo Shen showed no sign of remorse, Luo Chen increased the pressure, intent on forcing him to face reality.

“No, please! I was wrong! I surrender, I surrender!” Luo Shen felt the sudden intensification and instantly backed down, terrified that Luo Chen would continue.

But Luo Chen had no intention of letting him off so easily. If Luo Shen didn’t become so frightened as to never dare retaliate, it would mean trouble for him.

As for his idiotic brother?

Luo Chen glanced at Luo Yuan, who was lying on the ground, too scared to rise, his body trembling.

There was simply no threat there.

“Luo Chen,” Yan He stepped forward and tugged at Luo Chen’s arm, gesturing behind him.

“Hm?”

Luo Chen turned to see Luo Tianyi watching Luo Shen, tears and snot streaming down his face, with keen interest. Upon noticing Luo Chen's gaze, she quickly covered her eyes with both hands, peeking through the gaps as if to signal he needn’t worry about her witnessing the scene.

Luo Chen let out a bitter laugh and looked at his sister’s attempt to play at ignorance, finally releasing Luo Shen from beneath his foot.

He realized he hadn’t thought things through—his own little sister was present. Whatever he intended to do, he should wait until she wasn’t around.

Having been freed, Luo Shen scrambled desperately, dragging his brother along, not daring to utter another threat, fleeing from the terrifying alley as fast as possible.

“That’s it?” Luo Tianyi lowered her hands, disappointed, and cast a reproachful look at Luo Chen, as if wondering why it ended so quickly.

Is my sister awakening some strange new trait? Luo Chen worried deeply at the thought.

“Don’t fret, Luo Chen. They’re just a couple of small-time thugs,” Yan He said, noticing his concern and offering reassurance. “Tianyi never leaves our sight outside school anyway, so there’s no need to worry.”

As for inside the school? Even Li Fei, the campus bully, steered clear of Yan He. At most, he’d hurl a few insults at Luo Chen, but he wouldn’t dare do anything worse.

Luo Chen wanted to say he wasn’t worried about that, but when he opened his mouth, nothing came out.

“Well, it’s getting late. Let’s head back,” he said.

After such an incident, none of the three felt like lingering anymore, so they went straight home.

Not long after the trio left, at the bottom of a nearby stairwell, Luo Shen was gently rubbing his injured right hand, his anger tinged with fear.

“Big brother, is your hand okay?” Luo Yuan asked, concerned as he looked at the bruised, purple-stained arm.

“Hiss—” Luo Shen glared at his useless brother, who hadn’t even dared to fight back.

“Does this look okay to you?”

“Not really,” Luo Yuan replied awkwardly, turning his head away. It looked painful.

It wasn’t entirely his fault—if he’d resisted, they’d both be hurting now. One in pain was better than two.

“So, should we just let this go?”

“Absolutely not!” Luo Shen’s humiliation grew, making him itch to run back and settle the score immediately.

“So what do we do now, big brother?” Luo Yuan had no desire to provoke that demon again; he was genuinely frightened.

His brother’s whole hand was bruised—how painful must that be?

“Luo Chen is at First High School, isn’t he? Let’s go find Li Fei!” Luo Shen sneered, curling his lips.

No matter how tough that guy is, he can’t take on ten or eight at once, can he?

“You mean that Fei from First High? That’ll cost us a pretty penny,” Luo Yuan mused, thinking of Li Fei, who was vain and shrewd and wouldn’t help without something in return.

“Fei? He’s nothing—a petty punk with a bit of clout,” Luo Shen scoffed. In his eyes, Li Fei only had influence at school; once in society, he’d be nothing.

“I heard Li Fei’s been wanting an electric scooter lately.”

“An electric scooter? That’s expensive,” Luo Yuan said, grimacing.

“We don’t have to buy it ourselves—just find a way to get one.”

As evening fell, Luo Chen and the others returned home exhausted. The whole day had been spent eating, or watching Tianyi eat. He wondered how much they’d spent.

“Luo Chen, we’re going to our room!” No sooner had they arrived home than Luo Tianyi dragged Yan He into her room, ignoring her brother.

Bang!

Am I being excluded? Or are they hiding something even from me?

Still, with Yan He there, nothing major should happen.

Luo Chen had no choice but to enter his own room and open his computer with practiced ease.

This was the third day he’d uploaded his video works—surely there should be some progress by now.

“Hm?”

As soon as he logged in, before reaching his personal page, the site’s homepage recommendation surprised him.

A prominent, horizontal banner recommendation.

A new viral standard: How to Make Children Love Studying!

“Wait—isn’t that my video title?” Luo Chen looked closely; it was indeed his.

What was going on?

Could it be—he’d gone viral?