Agent Yi Leng

Ma Xiaowei had gone all out. If the target had been a new intern at the group company, she would have been won over by now. A young, handsome, and academically gifted deputy chief engineer like him was irresistible. With just a glance, women would line up from the west gate of the shipyard to the easternmost port, eager to fall for him.

But this time, his target was Ali, who was completely indifferent to him. She responded briefly, saying she had things to handle, and then hung up the phone.

A few seconds were enough for Ma Xiaowei to hear the background noise of an argument. His spirits lifted—this was his chance. He immediately told his son, sitting in the passenger seat, "Stay here, don’t move. I’ll go take care of something."

He had made the call under the pretext of picking up his son and conveniently giving Ali a ride. This made it seem less deliberate and lowered her guard.

Ma Xiaowei got out of the car and entered the school gate. Feng Xiaoxiao, being the kind of kid who wouldn’t just sit in the car and wait, also got out and quietly followed his father.

Unexpectedly, the father-son duo became the first reinforcements to arrive. The addition of two males, one big and one small, subtly shifted the dynamics of the situation. Ma Xiaowei was the heartthrob of Yijianmei’s mom, while Feng Xiaoxiao was Yijianmei’s own crush. Yin Weiran and the other two girls still had some sense of shame. They knew bullying was wrong, but admitting fault was out of the question. Instead, they instinctively tried to portray themselves as the victims, putting on a better act.

Feng Xiaoxiao wasn’t buying it. Kids are more straightforward and less deceptive than adults. The class monitor, with his adolescent cracking voice, told the adults in the classroom that Yijianmei often bullied Yi Nuan Nuan. Not only did she block her on the road and throw her backpack, but she also deliberately knocked over her lunchbox at school, leaving Yi Nuan Nuan with nothing to eat.

This completely turned the tables. The three parents were left speechless. They didn’t dare insult Feng Xiaoxiao because his father was the deputy chief engineer, and his mother, Feng Li, was a prominent figure in the shipyard’s social circle, a tier above them. His grandfather had once been the head of the shipyard. Such a prestigious family was not to be trifled with.

"We’ll pay whatever compensation is needed," Han Lanlan said. "It’s not a big deal."

Ali responded, "This parent, your attitude is wrong."

Han Lanlan didn’t dare scold Feng Xiaoxiao, but she had no problem venting her anger at Ali. "What’s wrong with my attitude? Nothing’s ever right with you, is it? Fine, we won’t pay. Let’s go."

This immediately provoked Ma Xiaowei. He frowned and said, "Xiao Han, watch your tone."

Han Lanlan retorted, "Director Ma, you can’t favor this little vixen."

Calling any younger, prettier woman a "little vixen" was Han Lanlan’s habit. But Ali wasn’t angered by it. Instead, she earnestly tried to educate these uncultured parents. "This parent, you probably think you’re protecting your child, but in reality, you’re harming her."

Han Lanlan scoffed.

Ali continued, "Middle school students are in their developmental teenage years. Their outlook on life, values, and worldview are still forming—open and malleable. Whatever information you input into them, they’ll become that kind of person. You probably think your family’s conditions are superior, that you can give your child whatever they want, and that you can shelter them when they cause trouble, solving problems brutally. Over time, your child will be spoiled. They’ll think they can handle anything without considering others’ feelings. This is in Jiangwei, in the shipyard district, in the (children’s middle school). But if one day they go to Jinjiang, to (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen), to New York or Paris, to places where you can’t shelter them, it won’t be the school educating them anymore. It’ll be society, reality. And the price they pay might be something you can’t bear."

These golden words didn’t convince Han Lanlan and the others. They even retorted, "Our child’s life path is already planned out. She’ll stay in Jiangwei her whole life, work an administrative job at the group headquarters, marry a good son-in-law. We’re not going to (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen)."

This left Ali speechless. Faced with such complacent parents, even the best teacher would be helpless.

Xiang Bing jumped in, viciously mocking, "You’ll never amount to more than this. You don’t even dare to dream big. As long as you can afford four dishes, you’re satisfied, huh?"

This reignited the fire. The women escalated from arguing to outright insulting each other, and the situation spiraled out of control.

While the adults were throwing tantrums and fighting, the kids fell silent. Their vocabulary of curse words and the volume of their voices couldn’t keep up, so they could only watch and learn in silence.

The homeroom teacher, sensing the situation was getting out of hand, quietly called the principal.

At the same time, three cars sped toward the school. When they reached the closed main gate, they honked furiously. The gatekeeper peeked out, then shut the window, ignoring them.

Yin Bingsong, summoned by his wife, was furious. He jumped out of the car with a group of underlings and banged on the gatekeeper’s window. "Open the door!"

The gatekeeper said, "Outside cars aren’t allowed in."

Yin Bingsong said, "I have an emergency."

The gatekeeper replied, "No matter how urgent, you can’t drive in."

Yin Bingsong said, "Then open the side door for me."

The gatekeeper asked, "Who are you? Why should I let you in?"

Yin Bingsong said, "I’m a student’s parent."

The gatekeeper retorted, "A student’s parent bringing a bunch of hoodlums to the school, waving weapons around? Who are you trying to fool?"

Yin Bingsong was livid. With a wave of his hand, his underlings rushed forward to smash the door. One of them broke the window of the gatekeeper’s room and reached in to unlock the door. The gatekeeper casually picked up a teapot from the stove and splashed boiling water at them. The underling screamed in agony as his hand was scalded.

A dozen men couldn’t even get through the school gate. If word got out, they’d be a laughingstock. Another underling stepped forward and kicked the door with all his might, but the door stood firm, unmoving. He then reached in with a gloved hand to unlock it. This time, the gatekeeper didn’t use boiling water. Instead, he pulled out a baton and zapped the underling with a crackling blue spark. The underling yelped and pulled his hand back.

A group of tough guys, helpless against a sixty- or seventy-year-old gatekeeper. It was truly a case of "one man holding the pass against ten thousand."

At this moment, Yi Leng arrived in his Wuling van. He had rushed over after receiving Ali’s call for help. He hadn’t come alone—Wu Yumei and Zhang Cong were with him. Only Xiao Hong was left to watch the shop. When it came to arguing, Wu Yumei was a pro. Zhang Cong wasn’t good at either arguing or fighting, but he could at least make up the numbers.

Seeing the chaos at the gate, Yi Leng immediately understood the situation. He instructed Zhang Cong, "Call your Uncle Rou and tell him to bring people over."

Then he got out of the car, unarmed, facing Yin Bingsong and his gang as if they were mere chickens and dogs. The gang had heard of Yi Leng’s reputation for disarming opponents, and they all looked to Yin Bingsong for guidance.

Yin Bingsong wasn’t here for Huang Pihu (Yi Leng). He called his wife to ask how things were inside.

Han Lanlan, no longer as arrogant as before, said, "It’s nothing serious. Our daughter bullied someone again, and now the other parents are demanding an apology and better discipline."

Yin Bingsong breathed a sigh of relief. If his daughter was the one doing the bullying, then there was no problem. Today wasn’t the day to escalate things. But that didn’t mean the gatekeeper’s boiling water attack could be ignored. That issue still needed to be resolved.

Yi Leng walked toward the gatekeeper’s room. The crowd parted to let him through. He checked the situation, asked the gatekeeper if he was okay, and then said, "A group of you, coming to the school gate in the middle of the night with weapons—you’d deserve to be killed. All of you, scatter. Those who need to go to the hospital, go. Those who need to go home, go."

Such words were bound to provoke anger, and instantly, Yi Leng became the target of everyone’s hostility. But he stood his ground, positioning himself at the gatekeeper’s door in a classic Huang Feihong stance. "Come on."

But no one dared to make a move. The reputation of Huang Pihu (Yi Leng) had been earned through his fight at the restaurant. Most people in the underworld relied on ruthlessness and endurance. Truly skilled fighters were rare. Yin Bingsong was a prime example—a guy who couldn’t even split a brick with his bare hands, relying solely on connections and cunning to rise through the ranks.

Huang Pihu, on the other hand, could slice half a brick with a single strike. The thought of what that kind of power could do to a human body was enough to make anyone hesitate.

The fight didn’t happen because the police arrived too quickly. Three regular patrol cars and a black Iveco SWAT van pulled up. A large group of police officers disembarked, along with helmeted SWAT officers carrying submachine guns. The scene was overwhelming. But that wasn’t even the most surprising part. A high-ranking officer with three stars on his shoulder stepped out of one of the cars. He was at least a deputy director of the Jiangwei Municipal Bureau.

No one at the school gate could escape. They were all rounded up and arrested—except for Yi Leng, of course. He was on the side of justice.

The high-ranking officer entered the gatekeeper’s room. Out of the corner of his eye, Yi Leng saw the officer snap to attention and salute. The gatekeeper patted his arm, signaling him to relax, and then criticized the response time, saying there was still room for improvement.

"We were patrolling nearby and rushed over as soon as we received the order. Are you alright, sir?" The deputy director’s voice grew softer.

A few minutes later, the deputy director emerged from the gatekeeper’s room and ordered the criminals who had tried to force their way into the school to be detained. However, this did not include Yin Bingsong, as he was involved in another case.

Yin Bingsong shuddered. He was involved in too many cases to count. Who knew which one had come to light?

But he quickly relaxed. The case in question involved his precious daughter. As her guardian, he needed to be present. The gatekeeper had reported the case, stating that a school bullying incident had occurred. The police took it very seriously and immediately launched an investigation.

The appearance of so many police officers terrified the mothers of Yijianmei. They had always relied on their husbands’ wealth and power to bully the poor, but they crumbled at the slightest resistance. The flashing police lights in the night and the armed officers standing at attention were scenes straight out of a movie—and now it was happening to them.

When they learned that all of this was because their daughters had bullied a classmate, the three mothers turned pale. Could they really be detained?

Detention might not be necessary, but being taken to the police station for questioning certainly was.

Everyone involved in the dispute was taken to the police station, where the deputy director mediated. With the police involved, Han Lanlan and the others could no longer rely on their usual tantrums. The lies of Yin Weiran and her friends were also exposed. The facts were clear: Yin Weiran and the other two had a history of bullying their classmates. The evidence was undeniable.

However, on the other hand, Yi Nuan Nuan’s injuries were extremely minor—not even enough to qualify as minor injuries. Additionally, the perpetrators were minors, so they couldn’t be subjected to administrative detention. The most that could be done was to force them to apologize and order their guardians to compensate.

Han Lanlan and the others admitted defeat. In the mediation room, the trio of Yijianmei apologized to Yi Nuan Nuan, reluctantly saying "sorry." But Nuan Nuan didn’t respond. She didn’t accept the apology. The only family photo she had couldn’t be restored with an apology.

But this was as far as the matter could be taken. Han Lanlan compensated on behalf of her daughter, paying 100 yuan, and the three families left.

Ali let out a long sigh of relief. She looked at Xiang Bing and extended her hand. The two shook hands, the camaraderie of their side-by-side battle having forged a sisterly bond.

"I’m really worried about Nuan Nuan," Xiang Bing said. "After all this, she might still get bullied in the future."

But Ali disagreed. She said that bullies were all about picking on the weak. The bullied often had a weak mindset because their families weren’t warm or caring enough. Today’s big battle had shown Nuan Nuan that there were many people who cared about her and would protect her. Her mindset was now shifting toward positivity.

Sure enough, after this ordeal, Yi Nuan Nuan’s eyes grew firmer. Her emotional knot had finally been untied.

As they left the police station, Uncle Huang’s Wuling van and Uncle Ma’s Passat were parked on the road. Ali, Xiang Bing, and Yi Nuan Nuan all headed toward the Wuling van without hesitation.

Ma Xiaowei stuck his head out. "Need a ride?"

"Thanks, but it’s not on the way," Ali replied, as if to crush any lingering hopes Ma Xiaowei might have. She added, "We all live together."

They got into the van, unfolded the stools, and sat down. Uncle Huang started the car without looking back. "Nuan Nuan, starting tomorrow, you’ll learn self-defense from me. If anyone dares to bully you, fight back."

[--------------------------------------------]

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