Chapter 546: New Students United
Late September, carrying a hint of early autumn’s chill.
The once-quiet University City was bustling again, and with the Olympics just held this year, that familiar anthem Imperial City Welcomes You still drifted through the streets.
Freshmen military training at the various University City schools was nearly at its end.
As the freshmen grew familiar with campus and the surrounding area, many began to stir. Especially the new students at the Vocational College and Grain & Economics Institute next to Finance University—they grew bolder, their actions more flamboyant, more arrogant.
These days on weekends, if you saw students gathering in groups at the snack street or campus gates, nine times out of ten they were freshmen.
Freshman newcomers really did band together more easily than upperclassmen, especially at laid-back schools like the Vocational College and Grain & Economics Institute.
Their reasons for sticking together were simple.
Without a crew, how could they stand up to those self-important seniors?
Without numbers, what if they got into it with street thugs?
Bottom line—if you didn’t want to get pushed around, you needed backup.
Today was Saturday. Once classes let out, a mixed crowd quickly gathered at the Vocational College’s east gate, right across from Finance University. Compared to Finance U students, these folks had a noticeably rougher edge.
Most guys sported side-swept bangs, constantly blowing the hair away from their left eye. The girls mostly had teased-out hairstyles and mainstream fashion.
As soon as this group of students with flashy hair gathered, they started passing out cigarettes. Maybe because they had numbers now and felt emboldened, someone couldn’t help venting about the frustrations that had built up since enrollment.
“Fuck, man. Yesterday I ran into this asshole senior who straight-up cut in line while I was getting food. I called him out and the prick glared at me, said ‘freshmen don’t know the rules.’ What fucking rules?! Just flexing because he’s a year ahead, thinks he can push around us new kids!”
“That’s nothing, Brother Qiang.”
A short kid with a bowl cut, bangs nearly covering half his face, leaned in. “The night before last, I was trying to get an overnight spot at the internet cafe. This sophomore from another school wouldn’t get off when his time was up, kept occupying my machine and told me to fuck off. Man, if they hadn’t outnumbered us, I’d have wrecked that bastard.”
“Holy shit, Binzi, you just took that? Should’ve fucked him up! What’re you scared of? We’ve got numbers!”
“Right! How can us Vocational College men take that shit? How we supposed to have a rep?!”
Brother Qiang put a fresh cigarette to his lips; Bowl-Cut quickly lit it for him. He took a drag and slowly exhaled. “That’s why a few scattered soldiers won’t cut it. Didn’t you see those Grain & Econ bastards? Last week at their school’s back gate, twenty-some of them cornered one guy. All over some chick, they sent that solo senior straight to the hospital. Now those Grain & Econ freshmen strut around like they own the place!”
“Listen up, brothers. Honestly, back at County No. 5 High, I was the final word. I even founded an Azure Dragon Gang—fifty-plus members, and I was the shot-caller. Before I came here, I ran security for all the arcades near our school. Nobody, inside or outside campus, dared mess with me.”
“Brother Qiang’s a fucking legend!”
“Who knew you had such a badass past, Brother Qiang? If we’d been from the same town, I’d have rolled with you.”
“For real, Brother Qiang!”
“……”
“Alright, alright. A real man doesn’t live in the past. That’s all behind us now. We’re in Pearl City for college, no connections, no foundation. Better keep our heads down.”
“Yesterday, under the dorms, I checked out this senior chick a few times and nearly got surrounded by a bunch of sophomores. Fucking humiliating!”
“Back home, you think I’d take that? I’d have those punks on their knees calling me grandpa!”
“Can’t help it. Situation’s against us. New kids on campus always get pushed around,” Brother Qiang said, deliberately sighing.
Sure enough, Brother Qiang’s words instantly riled everyone up.
The bowl-cut kid from earlier was first to jump up, crushing his half-smoked cigarette into the ground.
“Fuck, Brother Qiang! You gonna take that shit?!”
“What’s so special about seniors? Just a few more years of school. Who they think they are?”
A girl with heavy smoky makeup, cigarette in hand, spoke up. “Exactly! Those Grain & Econ freshmen strut around like bosses. Why do we have to be bitches? Brother Qiang, you used to be the boss—you gotta lead us!”
Next, a guy with yellow and red-dyed hair like a rooster’s comb chimed in emotionally. “Brother Qiang, real talk—I was a boss at my city’s XX High School too. Had over twenty brothers. At every internet cafe and pool hall around campus, who didn’t offer me a cigarette? If my family hadn’t forced me to go to college, I’d still be the brightest star on our block!”
“Holy shit, Brother Chicken! Didn’t know you were such a badass too!”
“He’s not the only one! Plenty of us have been badasses!”
“For real?”
“At my County No. 3 High, no gang, but I never feared a fight. Even the jocks bowed down! Coming to this shithole and playing the bitch? I won’t have it! Brother Qiang, just say the word and I’m first in line!” Another burly guy added his resume.
“………”
One after another, people stepped up to recount their glorious pasts, trying to prove they weren’t cowards, that they had balls.
Even some girls claimed they’d been notorious queen bees back at their schools.
In short, everyone in this group had an extraordinary past, every single one a badass who’d run the streets.
How much of it was true was anyone’s guess—you couldn’t exactly run background checks at their hometown schools.
Nobody cared about the truth anyway. Out here, you create your own reputation.
Brother Qiang watched the fired-up crowd, secretly grinning while keeping a serious face.
“Seems like all you brothers and sisters are the real deal! But what can a few of us accomplish alone? Why are those Grain & Econ freshmen so cocky? ’Cause they banded together early. But we’re still scattered… sigh!”
The moment he said this, everyone immediately responded.
“Brother Qiang, then let’s band together too! Let’s form a crew, with you as the leader! Bring back your Azure Dragon Gang’s glory days!”
“Yeah! Form a crew! Then we’ll see who dares glare at us! Us guys can collect protection money, and the girls… uh, the girls can be badass too!”
“Form a crew!”
“Form a crew!”
“……..”
The crowd chanted in unison.