Chapter 40: It’s Not Too Late to Apologize Now!

“Kid, I want you to repeat what you just said.”

The burly Wang Hu grabbed Zhang Junfeng by the collar, his face twisted with menace. “Otherwise, this next punch of mine won’t be nearly as satisfying!”

Ah! Ah! Ah!

Zhang Junfeng screamed inwardly, terrified out of his mind.

But his face had already gone as white as paper, and he was so frightened he couldn’t utter a single word.

At that moment, Song Ningxue stepped forward and grabbed Wang Hu’s wrist. “You… let go of my student!”

“Student?”

At first Wang Hu was angry, but when he turned and saw that it was Song Ningxue—a stunning beauty—he immediately broke into a lecherous grin. “Well, well… So you’re a teacher! Hahaha! I like that!!”

Wang Hu, with his obvious wealth and connections, exuded an intimidating aura. Especially for these students, who had never dealt with the rough edges of society.

“You’ve already hurt my student! Don’t continue this violence! If you do, I’ll call the police, and your crimes will only multiply!”

“Hah??”

Wang Hu burst out laughing. “Pretty lady, are you kidding me? In this Sky Garden, I can hit whomever I want! Go ahead, make your call. Try calling the police!”

“Fine, I’ll call right now!”

Song Ningxue immediately took out her phone.

Wang Hu strode forward and snatched the phone from her hand.

He grinned, licking his lips. “Heh... You’re so beautiful, and I’m feeling generous. How about this—spend the night with me, and I’ll let all your students go. We’ll call it even!”

“Give me back my phone!”

Realizing how grim the situation was becoming, Song Ningxue tried to step forward.

But just then, a hand suddenly reached out to stop her.

That hand—belonged to none other than Ling Qiu!

Yes—Ling Qiu, who had been standing quietly outside the door, now stepped inside and gently pulled Song Ningxue aside.

“Stand behind me. I’ll get your phone back.”

Ling Qiu’s voice was calm, almost lazy, but that very composure drew everyone’s attention.

Every student and teacher, even Zhang Junfeng, turned to look at Ling Qiu, their faces full of disbelief.

This guy… At a time like this, he still dares to play the hero?!

Is he looking for death?!

At that moment, even in his panic, Zhang Junfeng found a sliver of energy to secretly mock Ling Qiu.

“That idiot… He’s asking for trouble! What a brainless fool! The brother of the Sky Garden Club’s general manager is showing his power, and you think you can play the hero? Serves you right! I can’t wait to see how you die!”

“Ling Qiu! This has nothing to do with you!” Song Ningxue shouted, grabbing Ling Qiu’s arm.

She wasn’t stupid—she knew just how dangerous things were.

“No, pretty lady, this has everything to do with him. I’m curious to see how this kid plans to get the phone back!” Wang Hu laughed, fury and amusement mingling on his face. What was going on today? These little punks, barely out of childhood, all taking turns trying to play heroes in front of him? Had he been away from the club too long—had the people of Jiang’an forgotten who he was?

“Return the phone to her, and I might go easy on you. I’ll only say this once.”

Ling Qiu’s voice was unhurried, the same calm as before.

“Hahaha! Kid, I think you—ahh!”

Wang Hu was about to retort when Ling Qiu suddenly lunged, grabbed his hand, and with a sharp crack, twisted it viciously!

With a sickening crunch, Wang Hu’s arm snapped, bending at a grotesque angle.

Wang Hu howled in agony, like a pig being slaughtered.

The phone fell from his hand. Ling Qiu caught it easily in midair and handed it to Song Ningxue. “Take care of your phone. You’re an adult—losing it so carelessly is worrying.”

The room fell silent.

Everyone stared at Ling Qiu as if they’d seen a ghost.

This… this guy… was he tired of living?!

“Ah! Don’t just stand there! Kill him! Kill him!” Wang Hu, face pale and contorted with pain, roared in fury.

His underlings rushed at Ling Qiu.

But to Ling Qiu, their movements seemed almost pitiably slow.

Without a word, he stepped forward, grabbed Wang Hu by the collar, hoisted him high, and smashed him to the floor with terrifying force.

Bang!

The thud was so loud it made the others retreat in fear.

Wang Hu hit the ground like a sack of cement, and the crack of breaking ribs filled the air. His screams were so wretched, it was as if he’d lost his whole family.

Ling Qiu placed his foot on Wang Hu’s head, leaned down, and said coldly, “Go ahead, say it again. Who did you want to spend the night with?”

As he spoke, he pressed down hard with his foot.

Wang Hu convulsed in agony, unable to utter a word.

“What are you waiting for? Weren’t you all coming for me?”

Ling Qiu raised his head and looked lazily at the stunned henchmen.

They snapped out of their daze, shouting and charging at him. But Ling Qiu kicked out in a flurry—these so-called tough guys collapsed like worthless sandbags, one after another, all driven to the floor.

The whole thing took less than twenty seconds.

But for everyone present, those seconds felt like a long, unbelievable dream.

How… how was this possible?!

Ling Qiu—how could he be so strong?!

The students and teachers were frozen in shock, staring at Ling Qiu as though he were a monster.

They’d heard he was a formidable fighter at school… but this time, he’d taken on real criminals!

Ling Qiu pulled out a tissue and wiped his hands. “Consider yourselves lucky. Out of respect for Director Song, I stopped here. Now get lost.”

At that, the gangsters scrambled to carry the wailing Wang Hu out of the room.

One second. Two seconds. Three seconds…

Nearly a minute of silence passed before everyone slowly came back to their senses.

But none of them could quite shake off the lingering shock.

“Quick… we have to get out of here!!” Zhang Junfeng suddenly shouted.

Everyone turned to look at him.

“Why are you staring at me?! Grab your things and run! Do you want to wait until this guy’s brother, the owner of Sky Garden, shows up? Do you want to die?!”

At his words, the students shrieked as if their tails had been stepped on, gathering their belongings in a frenzy and rushing for the door.

Zhang Junfeng ran faster than anyone, squeezing past the others and yelling back at Ling Qiu, “Ling Qiu! You’ve doomed us all! You actually dared to lay a hand on Wang Hu! If we can’t get out of here today, you’ll be the greatest villain in history!”