Not a single student on the sidelines contradicted what Qin Shuyu had said. In fact, they all thought it made perfect sense.
After all, Zhou Yuhu had placed third in the school-wide combat tournament. Even some of the combat instructors had praised him to no end, saying Zhou Yuhu could make a name for himself in the city-level fighting competitions someday, let alone when it came to teaching a scrawny kid like Shi Feng a lesson. That would be like using a butcher's cleaver to kill a chicken.
"Acting all tough now—my guess is Shi Feng will be on his knees begging for mercy in no time."
"Obviously. Do you even know who Zhou Yuhu is? I give it less than ten seconds before Shi Feng is flat on his back."
The boys in the class whispered among themselves about Shi Feng's impending fate, snickering as they went.
"What's wrong with you people? Is this really how you treat a classmate?" Zhao Ruoxi turned toward her classmates, her expression fierce with indignation.
The class fell silent immediately, though the looks they gave Zhao Ruoxi dripped with disdain.
A prettied-up girl curled her lip and muttered under her breath, "Tch, she thinks she's all that just because she's got a pretty face. If it weren't for Brother Feilong, who would listen to a word you say?"
The other girls nodded in agreement, not taking their class monitor seriously in the slightest.
Though the girl had spoken softly, everyone present heard her clearly. Standing nearby, Lin Feilong felt a rush of satisfaction, thoroughly enjoying every word.
Zhao Ruoxi turned her head away in anger, refusing to look at any of them.
Lin Feilong walked over and said with an air of refined grace, "Ruoxi, I know that as class monitor you feel obligated to step in, but this is Shi Feng's own mess—it's not fair to blame everyone else. Besides, with Shi Feng's frail little frame, nobody believes he stands a chance. You'd be throwing money into the water. In a moment I'll go have a word with Brother Hu and ask him not to take your money. Let Shi Feng pay back everything himself."
"Yes, I'm helping Shi Feng partly because I'm class monitor. But as for the money, I never had any intention of asking for it back." Zhao Ruoxi glanced at Lin Feilong and said coldly, "What I find ironic is that you've already taken the tournament recommendation spot that rightfully belonged to Shi Feng, and instead of helping him now, you stand here making snide remarks. Aren't you worried people will call you out for it?"
"And what kind of sparring is this, exactly? One is the third-ranked fighter in the entire school, and the other is a student who doesn't even know basic combat techniques. How can you even say that with a straight face?"
Every word Zhao Ruoxi spoke struck home like a needle, piercing Lin Feilong's pride. Combined with her elegant, ethereal beauty, there was an indescribable force behind her words that hammered at his heart. His face turned pale with rage, and he was left speechless.
Just as Zhao Ruoxi had said, each class was allocated a certain number of recommendation slots, awarded only to the top twenty students in academic performance. But Lin Feilong had worked hard to secure his spot in the city-level combat tournament. If anyone found out that a prominent figure like him—a mere ninth-place student—didn't even qualify for a recommendation, it would be utterly humiliating.
The school had anticipated such concerns about face, which was why they had a rule that the top five students could receive recommendation slots regardless of their grades. But Lin Feilong was ranked ninth, so he didn't qualify. That was why he had proposed the change to the school in the first place. The school figured that since Lin Feilong was ranked thirtieth—only slightly below the cutoff—they would grant his request, on the condition that someone else was willing to give up their slot. As for how to get someone to give theirs up, that was Lin Feilong's problem to solve.
He had originally planned to use the weight of the whole class's expectations combined with his own strength to pressure the weakling Shi Feng into compliance with minimal effort, toss him a small favor, and call it done. He never expected Shi Feng's response to be completely different from what he had anticipated—as if Lin Feilong didn't even exist, utterly indifferent to his threats. And now to be mocked by Zhao Ruoxi on top of it all? The fire in his heart couldn't be extinguished by all the oceans in the world.
"That's right—this isn't an equal fight. But can Shi Feng blame anyone else for being weak? He's the one who agreed to the match. You can't pin that on me."
Lin Feilong shot Zhao Ruoxi a bloodshot glare. If she weren't so genuinely beautiful, with such an alluring figure, he would have slapped her across the face already. But he held back—using force would be decidedly unwise, and besides, Zhao Ruoxi's family background was no joke. If something went wrong, his life would be over. Thinking about how he could properly toy with her in the future, his rage subsided just slightly.
"You little punk, making me look this bad—just you wait." Lin Feilong stared at Shi Feng on the arena, making a silent vow in his heart.