Chapter Thirty-Nine: Battle in the Water

"Oh no, Guo Xiangqing is still in the water." As the blows landed on his body, the pain brought Zhang Ye's mind back to clarity. Ignoring the fists pummeling his face, he hurriedly looked to the side. Fortunately, just then, someone was dragging her toward the shore—a figure in a purple swimsuit, familiar somehow. He was still wondering where he had seen her before when another punch struck his face, scraping both cheeks and driving Zhang Ye into a frenzy.

Instantly, a one-against-four battle erupted with even greater intensity and brutality in the deep end of the pool. In the water, everyone’s movements were restricted; it was easy to tire, and strength could not be properly exerted. Often, a kick would be answered by a punch, and then someone would seize the chance to force another underwater, choking, splashing, employing any means possible.

Many people surrounded them, but none dared venture into the deep water to break up the fight. In the chaos of flying fists and feet, getting hit was inevitable. The clever ones had already run off in search of staff.

After a while, Zhang Ye realized this couldn’t go on. Alone, even if he was stronger and trained, and his skills surpassed theirs, he had only just picked them up again. In the water, four against one was overwhelming. He quickly changed tactics, focusing all his attacks on the short, sleazy-looking young man, raining down blows and kicks.

He ignored the others, targeting that one. By the time his opponent lost the will to fight, Zhang Ye’s body was covered in bruises, battered and bloodied.

But at this point, he was completely enraged; no matter what, once he knocked one down, he moved on to the next, relentless and fierce.

Gradually, Zhang Ye noticed something odd: although there should have been four, the attacks on him seemed to lessen. Seizing a moment, he glanced over and saw a long-haired woman in a purple swimsuit dragging a young man’s leg, desperately pulling him underwater. Even as she took several kicks, she refused to let go. When they finally submerged, the man sputtered and choked before she released him.

Fighting underwater was awkward; every strike filled their mouths and noses with water. A few kicks, a gasp for air, then another round. It didn’t take long for the battle to end, and by then, all five were exhausted, drained of strength.

“Aunt Wang, so you can swim after all.” Zhang Ye was towed to the shore by Wang Mengzi.

Wang Mengzi looked at the red and purple marks covering Zhang Ye’s body with deep concern, her face full of worry. She tapped his head angrily. “Serves you right, always showing off. Look at what you’ve become now.” As she spoke, tears welled up and rolled down her cheeks.

“Aunt Wang, don’t worry. Ignore how bad I look—I'm actually fine. I’m pretty tough, you know,” Zhang Ye chuckled, feeling a warmth in his heart as he wiped the tears from Wang Mengzi’s face.

“I’m sorry, Zhang Ye, I’m so sorry. If I hadn’t gone swimming over there, you wouldn’t have gotten into this mess,” Guo Xiangqing sobbed, tears streaming down her face as she sniffled, guilt written all over her at the sight of Zhang Ye’s injuries.

“It’s alright, this isn’t your fault. Those guys were trouble from the start—even if you hadn’t gone over, they would have come to harass us anyway. Who told you both to be so beautiful? So, fighting them today was inevitable… Hey, don’t cry! See, I’m wounded and I’m not crying—why should you?” Zhang Ye tried to comfort her, but his words only made her cry harder, leaving him flustered and at a loss for how to console her.

Just as he was comforting them, the staff arrived with the police. A brawl had broken out here—calling the police was inevitable.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to you.” After getting dressed, Zhang Ye, Wang Mengzi, and Guo Xiangqing sat together in a police car. The young woman glanced at the injuries on Zhang Ye’s face and thought of the large bruises on his back, feeling both guilty and sorrowful.

“Mm, you should call Aunt Yuan and explain what happened. It’ll be fine,” Zhang Ye nodded. Yuan Yuqing’s status was not ordinary, and Guo Xiangqing was her niece; naturally, they had some influence. Zhang Ye wasn’t too worried.

“I won’t let those guys off,” Guo Xiangqing declared. Although she was usually gentle and obedient, when truly angered, she could be terrifying. If it were anyone else, it might have been overlooked, but when the daughter of the county party secretary is bullied, things aren’t so simple. It wasn’t about privilege, but rather the local authorities eager to appease the higher-ups, unconsciously making matters more serious to quell any anger.

“You ought to worry about yourselves,” the middle-aged officer driving the car interjected, shaking his head and sighing. These kids didn’t understand the difference between those with power and ordinary people.

Zhang Ye’s expression changed. “What do you mean?” His heart sank; things seemed more complicated than he’d thought.

After all, Zhang Ye wasn’t really just sixteen, and he knew a fair bit about the tricks at the police station. The officer’s words gave him a few suspicions.

“It seems this trip to the station won’t be as straightforward as I’d hoped,” Zhang Ye frowned. He was, after all, just a civilian. If he ran into trouble with the privileged offspring of officials, it could get messy. Perhaps this time he could rely on Yuan Yuqing, but what about next time? He couldn’t always seek her help.

“So you hit Young Master Du and still expect no retaliation? Just wait for jail,” said the young officer in the front passenger seat, his tone suddenly fierce.

“Du? Which Young Master Du?” Zhang Ye cooled down, starting to probe for information. As for the young officer’s attitude, he didn’t care—he’d seen plenty of sycophants like him.

Wang Mengzi’s face turned pale at the name, her grip tightening around Zhang Ye’s arm. She was anxious.

“Director Du’s son, Young Master Du.” The young officer looked at Zhang Ye and the others with smug pride, as if sharing in that identity himself.

Then his gaze flickered, betraying a hint of lust—no one could ignore beauties like Wang Mengzi and Guo Xiangqing, especially a young man with desires.

Zhang Ye frowned at the officer’s gaze, disgusted. Not caring that they were in a police car, he kicked the seat hard. “Watch your eyes. A policeman should act like one, not like a thug.” He didn’t hold back in rebuking him.

It wasn’t arrogance but instinct—a reflex to protect the women at his side. This young officer was obviously up to no good, and to curry favor with Young Master Du, he would surely make things difficult for Zhang Ye at the station. Zhang Ye could take it himself, but if the officer set his sights on Aunt Wang or Guo Xiangqing, Zhang Ye would be helpless, so he had to warn him in advance.

As a policeman, one should at least care about one’s image.