In the afternoon, in a billiards room at Jiangzhou University, a middle-aged man with a face full of stubble was holding a pool cue. He looked at a man in a shirt who stood before him, head bowed. Behind the stubble-faced man, there were four men dressed in vests, their bodies covered in dark tattoos, their faces bearing fierce and sinister expressions. It was evident they were men from the underworld.

Circling the man in the shirt, the stubbly man suddenly raised the pool cue and jabbed it into the man's abdomen. The shirted man let out a painful "OH!" His facial expression was one of agony, but more than that, it was one of fear.

Despite being struck by the stubbly man, the shirted man remained silent. He gritted his teeth, appearing as if he was about to cry out of fear.

"Boss, do you have any objections regarding the two thousand I mentioned per month?" The stubbly man threw down the pool cue, sat directly on a nearby pool table, and one of the men in a vest hurriedly lit a cigarette for him.

The shirted man was the owner of the billiards room. He nodded reluctantly in response to the stubbly man's words, "No, no objections..."

"That's more like it. Had you said no objections from the start, we wouldn't have had to exert such effort persuading you, now would we?" The stubbly man let out a wild laugh, hopped off the pool table, and stuffed his lit cigarette into the shirted man's mouth. He then patted the man's shoulder, saying, "Rest assured, a protection fee of two thousand per month isn't really exorbitant. Think about it, with the Axe Gang protecting you in the future, who would dare cause trouble here? Once business thrives, the money you'll earn will still be yours. HA HA. Let's work happily together!"

A man in a vest stepped forward, shouting at the shirted man, "Hand over this month's protection money now!"

The shirted man was taken aback and, startled, immediately ran to the counter, took out two thousand yuan, and handed it to the man in the vest.

The stubbly man nodded his head and declared, "A wise man knows how to adapt to circumstances. Boss, you're very sensible. From now on, this place is under my protection. I'm Dafei. If trouble arises, just mention my name. In both legitimate and illegal circles, no one will dare to disrespect you!"

Once Gou Fei finished speaking, he left the billiards room with his four cronies in a swaggering manner.

The instant he stepped out of the billiards room, the mobile phone of one of the vest-clad men rang. He checked the number and told Gou Fei, "Brother Fei, Brother Xiong is calling."

Gou Fei took the Apple phone, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, and asked, "Erwa, what's up? What?! What's that person's name? Come to me first and explain everything in person!"

After a while, a Volkswagen car pulled up outside a teahouse. Gou Xiong, his wrist wrapped in a bandage, walked inside.

"Damn it, who did this to you!"

Inside the teahouse, upon seeing Gou Xiong's hand, Gou Fei roared, crushed out the cigarette he was smoking, and his face turned cold.

"It's a student named Lin Feng, supposedly a freshman. Damn it! I suffered at his hands; he's incredibly strong!" Gou Xiong sat next to Gou Fei and pleaded, "Bro, your little brother was bullied. You have to stand up for me!"

Gou Fei sneered, "Damn it, a student dares to cause trouble for me? I'll make him pay! Erwa, don't worry, leave this to me. I'll first send some men to investigate his background. Then, in no time at all, we'll have him brought before you. You can do whatever you want with him then!" Gou Fei beat his chest in assurance.

"Don't worry, Brother Xiong. There's nothing in Nanjiang District that Brother Fei can't handle. Besides, with the Axe Gang on our side, dealing with a student is a piece of cake," a man in a vest reassured Gou Xiong.

Gou Fei had been in the underworld for many years and was practically second-in-command of the Axe Gang. He had his own way of doing things. Investigating someone's background was a habit he'd developed. When dealing with people, it wasn't enough to just understand the person; one also had to understand their background.

If Lin Feng's family had connections to a high-ranking official, that would be perfect. He'd approach the official directly, offer a token of respect, and put the official in his debt.

If Lin Feng's family were wealthy merchants, that would be even better. He'd go directly to Lin Feng's family, threaten them, and extorting a large sum of money wouldn't be a bad outcome either.

If Lin Feng's family had no background whatsoever, then, unfortunately for him, Lin Feng was in for a miserable fate.

With this approach, he had always succeeded; to date, no one had managed to get the better of him.

「...」

After Lin Feng dropped Cao Ying back at her dorm, thinking he had nothing to do that evening, he decided to take a taxi to the North Campus to see Tang Rou.

In the afternoon, Tang Rou had just showered after her military training when she received Lin Feng's call. She poked her head out of her dorm room, saw Lin Feng waiting downstairs, and a wave of surprise and joy washed over her, her heart blooming with delight.

Her roommate, Yi Hongmei, saw this and teased, "Ooh, your boyfriend is here to see you! Look how happy you are. Let me take a look. Our great beauty Tang Rou's boyfriend must be incredibly handsome!"

Yi Hongmei headed to the dorm balcony and caught sight of Lin Feng below. She immediately exclaimed, "Wow, tall and handsome! A typical 'tall, rich, and handsome' guy! Tang Rou, you have excellent taste. HEE HEE. Are there any more high-quality guys like him around? Your big sis here is single, you know. Hook me up!"

Tang Rou blushed and said, "Sister Hong Mei, please don't tease me..."

Yi Hongmei said, "I'm serious, sis! There are only three of us in our dorm room. You and Caifeng both have boyfriends, and I'm the only one who doesn't. I really want to stop being single!"

Hearing Yi Hongmei say this, Zhou Caifeng, the other occupant of their dorm room who always wore heavy makeup, also came over to the balcony. As soon as she saw Lin Feng, she pursed her lips, a hint of displeasure surfacing in her heart.

Zhou Caifeng's looks could only be considered average, but she especially liked to wear heavy makeup. Moreover, she had a rich, second-generation boyfriend from outside the university, making her particularly vain. Seeing Yi Hongmei praise Lin Feng, a flash of displeasure crossed her face, and she asked, "Tang Rou, what does your boyfriend do?"

Tang Rou responded innocently, "He's also a student, a freshman in the School of Economics and Management at the South Campus."

"Oh, he's a student too, huh? Then he definitely doesn't have much money," Zhou Caifeng said with a slight smile, then continued, "My boyfriend is coming to pick me up for dinner in a bit. His car is a BMW, and he has been wanting to treat you all to dinner. How about this, Hongmei, Tang Rou, let's all go out for dinner together later? It's a five-star hotel, and my boyfriend's treating."

Already irritated by Zhou Caifeng's vanity, Yi Hongmei declined the invitation, "Uh, sorry, I already have plans for tonight. You two can go ahead."

Hearing this, Zhou Caifeng tugged Tang Rou's hand and said, "Tang Rou, your boyfriend came all the way from the South Campus to see you here at the North Campus. That's quite a distance! Since he made such an effort to visit, and my boyfriend is treating today, you both absolutely must come to dinner. Otherwise, I won't consider you my friend anymore."

Tang Rou hesitated for a bit and then said, "Let me ask my boyfriend. If he wants to go, I'll go; if he doesn't, then I'll stay with him..."

"Why are you always so submissive to your boyfriend! Fine, I'll talk to your boyfriend myself. I'm sure he won't refuse me. HA HA." After saying this, Zhou Caifeng immediately called her rich boyfriend to make dinner reservations.

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