Chapter 63: I Confess, I Am That "Fool" Peng Fei

Peng Fei being hunted down by Zhang Qingping ended up giving Qianqian an unexpected opportunity. He nestled beside Leng Bingbing, paying no heed whatsoever to Li Zixing’s predatory gaze from not far away.

“Damn it—”

“I was about to deal with that idiot Peng Fei, and you just had to get involved yourself.” Leng Bingbing had indeed found Qianqian quite vexing lately, but Li Zixing, knowing better, didn’t crowd around her. Instead, he lingered a little behind her, muttering under his breath about Qianqian.

“You’re pretty impressive, aren’t you—”

“I didn’t expect someone at the first rank to make it past the group stage.” Leng Bingbing wasn’t as annoyed with Qianqian as with the foolish Li Zixing; compared to him, she found Qianqian and Peng Fei rather more interesting.

“So you underestimated me, didn’t you?” Upon hearing her words, Qianqian’s pride soared, his tail practically wagging skyward. The two bantered casually, soon arriving at the main entrance of the dormitory block.

In a narrow alley,

“Hey, isn’t that Leng Bingbing?” The young man beside him spoke, and the middle-aged man instantly perked up.

“Damn it—”

“Young Master Li was right, there really are fools clinging to her!” Seeing Qianqian, the middle-aged man smirked, “Everyone, get ready. We’ll deal with him soon!” At his command, three or five cronies immediately snapped to attention.

Several pairs of eyes bore into Qianqian, wondering if he could sense the murderous intent.

“Actually, I want to explain for my brother Peng Fei; he really didn’t mean it on the stage.” Qianqian, face full of guilt, pleaded earnestly, “Could you perhaps persuade Qingping for him?”

“After all… my big brother Peng Fei is quite fond of that girl.” When Qianqian started spinning tales, it was hard for anyone to tell truth from fiction—especially someone as pure and kind-hearted as Leng Bingbing.

“You mean Peng Fei likes Qingping?” Leng Bingbing’s pretty face was full of disbelief.

“That’s right!” Since he’d already spoken, and with Peng Fei absent, he could embellish as he pleased. Without hesitation, Qianqian nodded vigorously.

“Oh—” Leng Bingbing responded with a meaningful “oh,” then said, “Don’t worry, I’ll talk to Qingping for you. But remember to tell Peng Fei not to be too impatient. Qingping is actually quite gentle deep down.”

Qianqian was still matchmaking for Peng Fei when a shout rang out nearby.

“Peng Fei—” came the gruff voice of the middle-aged man.

Already feeling guilty as a thief, Qianqian instinctively turned at the sound of Peng Fei’s name—not realizing he had just confirmed the man’s suspicions.

“This guy really is the Peng Fei Li Zixing spoke of, pestering Leng Bingbing!” No more words were needed; it was time to rough him up.

Immediately, three or five young men, some of them martial artists, rushed from the street. Before Qianqian could react, he was on the ground, battered and bruised.

The middle-aged man, a second-rank martial artist himself, was contemptuous seeing “Peng Fei” so easily knocked down. He strode over, coldly demanding, “You really are Peng Fei, aren’t you?”

Dazed from the beating, Qianqian felt a thousand wild horses stampeding in his mind at the question. Somehow finding strength, he cursed, “Get lost, I’m not that idiot Peng Fei!”

“Oh—” the man sneered, “You reacted quickly when I called Peng Fei.”

“What now?”

“So after getting beaten, you’re insulting yourself too?” Qianqian’s bravado was wasted; the middle-aged man didn’t believe a word. Muttering, he ordered his men, “Come on, teach our little brother Peng Fei a good lesson!”

“Alright—”

“Bang—”

“Damn—”

Chaos erupted. Qianqian was pummeled again.

Leng Bingbing was blocked by two youths. Seeing Qianqian being beaten, she grew anxious and shouted, “Who are you people? Do you know where you are, to be beating someone here?”

But the middle-aged man was unfazed by her threats. With a wave, two more youths completely kept Leng Bingbing at bay.

Coughing blood, Qianqian heard Leng Bingbing’s voice but felt no warmth. Internally, he screamed, “Don’t provoke them! Tell them I’m not Peng Fei!”

Seeing Leng Bingbing detained, the middle-aged man knelt beside Qianqian, who was curled up on the ground. He hissed, “Admit you’re Peng Fei yet?”

Slap, slap—

He questioned “Peng Fei” while smacking Qianqian’s cheeks.

“Damn it—”

“You don’t even recognize your target, and you’re still beating me!” Feeling utterly wronged, Qianqian kept cursing.

Not far away, Li Zixing watched from the fourth-floor window, unable to stifle his laughter as Qianqian was beaten. Whether the victim was Peng Fei or not seemed irrelevant to him.

“Oh—”

“Still got a stubborn mouth, huh—”

“Come on, let’s give this little brother another round!” The middle-aged man, incensed by Qianqian’s words, grew even more aggressive.

So you just won’t admit it, huh?

Qianqian finally understood: he was taking the fall for Peng Fei!

He thought, “Damn it, you can never get too smug!”

Not wanting more punishment, Qianqian quickly pleaded, “No, no, don’t hit me, brother!”

“I really am Peng Fei, I’m that idiot Peng Fei!”

“Who are you cursing at now?” The middle-aged man seized on the flaws in “Peng Fei’s” words.

Immediately, his men delivered another brutal round.

Coughing violently, Qianqian lay with his head pressed to the ground, battered and curled up miserably.

“You’re really quite clueless. Consider this a lesson.” The middle-aged man grabbed Qianqian’s hair, forcing him to look at Leng Bingbing in the distance.

He continued, “See that girl? Next time, don’t get so close to her, understood?”

“Otherwise, every time we see you, Peng Fei, we’ll beat you up again. Got it?”

“I… I got it…” Qianqian had long realized they were after Peng Fei. Having gotten too close to Leng Bingbing today, he finally understood the reason for his misfortune.

The middle-aged man, seeing “Peng Fei” finally subdued, didn’t linger. He called his men, and together they left, chatting and laughing as if nothing had happened, disappearing around the corner.

“Qianqian, are you… are you alright?” Leng Bingbing asked softly, wanting to help him up but instinctively withdrawing her hand.

“I’m fine—”

“Just took a few hits for my brother, no big deal—”

Barely managing a couple of words, Qianqian was seized by another violent cough, spitting blood.

Meanwhile,

Outside a public restroom on the pedestrian street,

“Peng Fei, as a second-rank martial artist, don’t you feel ashamed hiding in the restroom?” Zhang Qingping’s chest heaved with anger.

From inside came Peng Fei’s voice, “Sister, you won’t even let me explain—”