Hao Jian had a look of absolute arrogance when he spoke, as if when he uttered those words, there was no one who would dare to resist him. In fact, it was true; the guy with the earring had already found a way out and was prepared to lead his men away after threatening Hao Jian with a few words.

But none of them expected that, at that moment, Hao Jian would say something so audacious, refusing to let them leave. They had all taken a step forward, ready to leave, but when they heard those words, they froze instantly. Everyone stood there dumbfounded. Naturally, some were scared, but alongside the fear, a wave of rage surged within them.

No one was more infuriated than the guy with the earring. He had only decided to leave with his men because the situation wasn’t looking favorable, thinking that if they stayed, things could get ugly. However, he hadn’t anticipated that Hao Jian would say something so publicly humiliating.

When he had just uttered his bold words, threatening to leave, it seemed like he’d regained some face. But once Hao Jian spoke, it was a harsh slap in his face—Hao Jian said they couldn’t leave! This was absurd.

He wanted to leave just because things weren’t going well, but now, even if he could leave, he couldn’t bring himself to do so. If he walked away now with his men, it would look like he was admitting defeat to Hao Jian, showing that he was afraid.

He was known in this school, and if he left now, rumors would spread that he was frightened by a student, that they were beaten and ran off scared. How could he continue his life in this crowd if that happened? If he couldn’t maintain his reputation here, how could he do so elsewhere?

The key issue was that when he looked at his men, they all wore expressions of anger, and it made him feel furious too. If he left just like that, it’s not like Hao Jian could physically stop them, but how would he face his men afterward? There would be no coming back from this.

So, his face immediately showed an uncontrollable fury, and he roared at Hao Jian, "Screw you!"

Then he turned to his men and shouted, "Brothers, today we take this kid down, damn it!"

Having been humiliated by Hao Jian, his rage was fully displayed on his face. His men saw that their leader was angry and remembered Hao Jian’s provocative words, so they all shared in the fury. On hearing his call, they moved at once.

One by one, they clenched their fists and rushed at Hao Jian. They couldn’t believe that with so many of them, they couldn’t handle one guy like Hao Jian. As for Zheng Jun and Li Weiwei, they clearly weren’t considered a threat. If they were going to act, they would have done so already, instead of standing by.

The guy with the earring picked up a brick from the ground, and, with a fierce expression, walked menacingly towards Hao Jian. The other gangsters followed suit, either picking up bricks from the ground or grabbing stools from nearby shops as weapons, charging forward.

Zheng Jun and the others looked shocked as things escalated unexpectedly. The girls who had been watching from the sidelines also appeared scared, not used to witnessing such violent scenes.

Li Weiwei’s face was pale with worry. She wished the issue could end here; she wanted to protect her students, to defend their rights. But seeing that the situation was no longer going their way, she thought it best to stabilize the scene first.

Still, she didn’t expect the gangsters to erupt so uncontrollably. They were street rogues, after all, often uneducated and impulsive. Although she had seen Hao Jian’s fighting skills before and knew he was good, against so many reckless and fierce opponents, could he really manage?

Her face showed a worried expression, her mind racing for a way to resolve the issue.

But the guy with the earring and his gang hadn’t gone far initially, so they were upon Hao Jian within seconds.

In just a few seconds, they had reached Hao Jian.

Everyone had worried expressions, feeling that the situation was getting out of control and unsure of what to do. Only Hao Jian’s face remained calm, even with a hint of a smile.

"Little punk, I’m gonna crush you today!" The guy with the earring yelled, holding a brick as he ran towards Hao Jian. At roughly a meter’s distance, he raised it to smash down on Hao Jian’s head.

"Ah!" The timid girls screamed immediately.

Li Weiwei also looked worried, recalling how Hao Jian had a nosebleed earlier and nearly fainted. If that brick hit his head, could he possibly bear it? Without thinking, when she saw the guy with the earring make a move, she instinctively rushed over, wanting to seize that brick, even though she was a bit far from Hao Jian.

However, she was a bit too slow.

As everyone focused on Hao Jian, expecting the brick to hit his head, suddenly, a person appeared out of nowhere and grabbed the hand of the guy with the earring, snatching the brick away.

The guy with the earring’s hand turned red from the grip as the person tossed the brick to the ground with a "thud." The guy with the earring’s face twisted in pain, looking at his now-reddened hand, anger manifesting on his face as he prepared to curse.

"Damn you, you dare lay a hand on me, you son of a..." Yet before he finished his angry rant, when he looked up and saw who had stopped him, the words stuck in his throat.

"I, I... Brother Baldy, I didn’t know it was you..." The guy with the earring stammered, seeing that it was Brother Baldy, Yang Tienan, who’d stopped him.

Indeed, it was Baldy who had arrived. Earlier, he’d been dining nearby with his brothers while thinking about how to handle the dispute with the Axe Gang. But suddenly, he saw the guy with the earring leading a group against Hao Jian. He might not have recognized them at first, but when he realized that it was Hao Jian standing there, he dropped his chopsticks and dashed over in a frenzy, arriving just in time to snatch the brick away.

Hao Jian had helped him so much, and he still felt remorse for what happened that night, so seeing the guy with the earring about to attack Hao Jian stirred him to take action.

At this moment, the guy with the earring muttered his excuses, but Baldy wasn’t listening at all. He stepped forward, and suddenly, with a "smack!" he slapped the guy with the earring.

"Smack!" "Smack!" "Smack!" Three or four slaps followed, leaving the guy with the earring reeling, almost falling to the ground, his face reddened and swollen, too scared to utter a word.

"Boss!" cried out the underlings of the guy with the earring, fuming as they watched their leader getting slapped.

However, just as they looked ready to fight back, a single look from Baldy silenced them, bowing their heads in fear. His gaze carried a killing intent, immediately intimidating them.

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason.

Who was Baldy? He was famous in this area, incomparable to the guy with the earring. This gap in status explained why the guy with the earring lost his bravado as soon as he realized Baldy was present. Naturally, the underlings followed suit.

No matter what, Baldy was far more renowned than their boss, so when even the guy with the earring cowered before Baldy, they wouldn’t dare speak up.

In truth, even after being beaten so badly by Baldy, the guy with the earring dared not say a word, standing there silently, head hanging low in fear.

Baldy’s face was one of anger.

"Boss!"

Baldy, having run ahead, was the first to arrive, followed closely by his men.