Dedicated to studying, yet forced into a chaotic situation.

Chapter 8: If you mess with me, your life is over.

The alley at the intersection not far from Liyuan Road is dimly lit, has little foot traffic, and is a blind spot for surveillance cameras, making it an ideal location for a fight.

There is a vocational high school nearby, and after school, the sounds of students fighting can often be heard coming from the alleys.

What? You stole my girlfriend?

Or maybe you're dressed better than me today.

Teenagers in their rebellious phase can easily fly into a rage over the smallest things, even something as trivial as "You angered me by stepping out of the school gate with your left foot first" can become a reason for a fight.

Students getting into fights is no big deal as long as they can be taken to the hospital in time; going to the police station is already commonplace for these students.

The local residents are used to it and ignore it; even passing dogs won't give it a second glance.

"Hurry up and give me the money!"

"Aren't you a top student at Xinghua School?" The red-haired thug sneered. "Xinghua is a prestigious private school. I heard the scholarship for the top student in the grade is 200,000 yuan."

"Wow, is there really 200,000?" Some people were already drooling with excitement.

"That's not—that's not certain!" the red-haired thug shouted. "Xinghua's tuition is three or four hundred thousand a year. What, can't the top scholarship in the grade even come up with two hundred thousand? Would they be that stingy!"

The people below stopped talking and just started drooling.

Shi Sui heard the words "two hundred thousand" and, being sensitive to money, turned around and looked into the alley.

[Seriously, host? You're not going to rob them, are you?]

[How can you call it robbery? It's more like stealing business.]

The sun had not yet set, and the afterglow of the sunset slanted into the alley. You could vaguely see six or seven boys, some holding wooden sticks, and others holding something that reflected the light, like a small knife.

It's so obvious, he's just a vocational high school hoodlum.

Opposite the thugs stood a boy with his back to Shi Sui. She couldn't see what he looked like, but she could tell he was wearing the same school uniform as her.

Oh wow, I ran into a fellow alumnus.

Shi Sui had no foolish thoughts of doing a good deed; she just wanted to see the 200,000, but there was nothing there, only a few people.

How disappointing! Shi Sui withdrew her gaze and turned to leave.

"Boss, there's another Xinghua person over there, and she's a girl!" The thug who was keeping watch near the alley entrance spotted Shi Sui.

The malicious voice startled Shi Sui, who immediately got on her bicycle, pedaled twice, and spun around a couple of times.

Not moving.

Ok?

With a clatter, the bicycle chain came off.

Damn it.

Shi Sui couldn't help but curse under her breath as three thugs approached her.

"She's so beautiful, she must be some rich girl!"

"Girls from rich families are really different. They have fair skin and big eyes. Wow, they're even prettier than the celebrities on TV."

"Big brother, come quick, let's tie her up and extort money from her, hahaha!"

He was immediately slapped on the head.

"Are you an idiot? Do you want to go to jail? Kidnapping is illegal."

Shi Sui was speechless: "So, it's not illegal for you guys to stand in front of me with sticks?"

"Beautiful lady, let's have a friendly chat." The thug rubbed his hands together and scanned her up and down with his eyes.

Shi Sui rolled her eyes, pushed her bicycle, and turned to leave.

Unsurprisingly, he was stopped by the thugs: "I heard that rich kids get several thousand yuan a month for living expenses."

"Are you stupid? Do you live in the last era? Rich people live on hundreds of thousands a month. So, giving us tens of thousands to spend isn't too much to ask, is it?"

As the thug spoke, he moved closer to the girl and reached into her pocket.

Shi Sui: "!!" My 80 yuan hasn't even warmed up yet!

Shi Sui's eyes sharpened; her protective instincts toward money had reached their peak, and without any conscious thought, her body had already made the decision.

She sidestepped, dodging the filthy hand that wanted to defile her 80 yuan, and landed a perfect flying kick to the thug's right abdomen, specifically his right kidney.

In the blink of an eye, the thug clutched his kidneys, let out a wail, and knelt down on one knee.

Shi Sui stretched out her arm and caught the wooden stick that he had dropped. She weighed it in her hand and found that its length and weight were not bad, and it was just about right for her.

So, the moment the thug knelt down, he was struck hard on the forehead with a stick.

The remaining two thugs were dumbfounded, but they quickly made a decision: "Quick, quick, let's go! We must rob this beauty of her money today!"

Oh no, they're really after my money.

"Wait, wait, I don't have any money." Shi Sui was reluctant to take action and still held onto the last shred of room for negotiation.

She hates fighting the most; if she cripples someone, she'll have to pay for their medical expenses.

"Who would believe that? Hurry, grab her, search her for her phone, unlock it with facial recognition, and transfer money from her phone!"

This smooth money-grabbing mindset clearly shows that they've practiced it many times.

When communication failed, Shi Sui glanced around and found that there was no one around and no surveillance cameras.

[System, system, is it legal to beat someone up here? And you don't have to pay medical expenses, right?] She wanted to confirm again.

However, before the system could reply, the thugs had already rushed in front of them.

Then we'll have no choice but to fight.

If you mess with me, your life is over.

Heavy thumping sounds echoed at the alley entrance, the sound of wooden sticks striking bodies.

Shi Sui has many years of experience in fighting and knows that the first move to deal with a man is between his legs. If that doesn't work, then—that just means you're not strong enough. Hit between his legs as hard as you can.

With a cold face and resolute eyes, he struck with swift, accurate, and ruthless precision.

Xu Chaomu heard the sound and turned around.

Just then, she saw three thugs fall to the ground, while the only girl standing was rolling up her sleeves and hitting their heads hard with a wooden stick, making sure that each of them would black out and faint.

The girl looked so thin, yet her arm muscles were so strong.

Xu Chaomu stared blankly for a moment, and then he saw the girl raise her head, her loose, tousled hair falling down her neck, and her clear eyes filled with a cold, fierce aura.

Shi Sui's gaze passed over the students from the same school and went straight to the red-haired thug behind him.

She could clearly sense that this red-haired thug was the leader of this group.

They shouldn't be after her money.

Don't assume she's rich just because she looks like a rich person.

Her pockets might be cleaner than any of theirs combined.

If you're after her money, you've crossed a line.

This was a legitimate and compliant financial defense battle. They struck first, and she was acting in self-defense.

Having figured this out, Shi Sui picked up her stick without hesitation and walked into the alley.