When I hobbled back to the dormitory, Mia, Daluo, and Xiaoluo had just woken up from their nap. They were shocked when they saw my condition and immediately asked what had happened.
I briefly explained the situation, and they were furious. They said John and his gang were shameless and started worrying about the upcoming one-on-one fight with David Yong in the afternoon. With my left foot injured, how could I possibly defeat John?
If I had been my old self, I would have been downcast and lost confidence, feeling sorry for myself. But after learning the Eight Gate Cannon Fist over the past few days, my father-in-law had taught me not to give up hope no matter what difficulties came my way. As long as I had a heart that never gave up and gave everything I had, there was nothing I couldn't do. So, I gritted my teeth and said, "It's fine. Even though my left foot is injured, I'm still going to meet him. I'm going to beat him fair and square in front of everyone."
Mia and the others said I was crazy. They pointed out that with my injured foot, I wouldn't be able to attack or dodge properly, and winning against John would be a miracle.
It was almost time for class, and Mia said, "Andrew, stay in the dorm and rest. We'll ask the teacher for leave for you. Also, we'll try to talk to John and see if he'll agree to postpone the fight for a week."
I almost said, "Mia, you're being too naive. John would love nothing more than for me to have problems. Why would he agree to postpone the fight?"
But seeing the worried and concerned expression on Mia's face, I didn't want to discourage him, so I nodded and said, "Alright, you can try talking to John, but I don't think he'll agree. If he doesn't, don't force it."
Our homeroom teacher, Linda, had something to do and wasn't at school in the afternoon. Mia and the others helped me get leave from the duty teacher, so I spent the afternoon resting in the dorm, applying ice to the bruise on my left leg.
When school ended in the afternoon, Mia and the others came back. Daluo and Xiaoluo both had grim faces, and Mia's eyes were red, as if he had been crying. I was stunned and asked, "Mia, what happened? Did John not agree to postpone the one-on-one fight?"
Daluo and Xiaoluo looked uneasy, and Daluo opened his mouth as if to say something but didn't. Xiaoluo lowered his head and stayed silent, leaving me completely confused. I turned back to Mia and asked, "Mia, what's going on? Why are you all acting like this?"
Mia looked lost, hanging his head as he quietly said, "Andrew, I'm sorry. I couldn't get John to agree to postpone the fight."
I sighed with relief and patted him on the shoulder. "It's alright. If he won't postpone, he won't. I'm not going to lose anyway. What's there to be afraid of? Besides, I'm actually kind of eager to take John down today."
Mia and the others still looked worried, with Daluo and Xiaoluo hesitating to speak. I couldn't help but feel uneasy again, staring at Mia and asking, "You guys seem to be hiding something from me?"
Mia froze for a moment, a flash of panic in his eyes. He forced a smile and said, "No, no..."
At that moment, Xiaoluo couldn't hold back anymore. He spoke up, "Stop hiding it from Andrew."
I frowned and turned to Xiaoluo. "What happened?"
Xiaoluo, filled with frustration, told me everything. Apparently, after I helped Mia out at Night KTV last time, Mia had started to see me as his best friend. During the afternoon break, Mia had gone to John to explain the situation and ask if he could push back the date of the one-on-one fight by a week. After hearing this, John had sneered and said if Mia kneeled in front of everyone and barked like a dog three times, he might consider it.
When John and his gang had beaten me earlier in the semester, Mia hadn't dared to help. But when Mia was bullied at KTV, I stood up for him. Mia felt guilty about it, so when John made the ridiculous demand for him to kneel and bark, Mia had no choice but to do it, right there in front of the whole class.
After Mia had kneels and barked like a dog, John had grinned and said, "I've thought about it, and the answer is no. The fight won't be postponed."
Amid the laughter of the class, Mia, humiliated, had left the classroom. On his way back, Mia had begged Daluo and Xiaoluo not to tell me about what happened, fearing it would affect my upcoming fight with John.
After hearing Xiaoluo's story, I turned to Mia, a wave of emotion filling me. Mia quietly apologized, "Andrew, I'm sorry. I couldn't get John to agree to delay the fight."
"Idiot," I said in an exasperated tone, but without any anger. It was more like a brother reprimanding a younger sibling for acting rashly. I patted his shoulder and said, "Let's go. I'll show John what happens when he messes with me."
I put on my sportswear and blue sneakers, and with Mia, Daluo, and Xiaoluo following, I walked out of the dormitory and toward the teaching building. Although I was still limping, I no longer felt any fear. Instead, I was burning with anger and couldn't wait to take John down.
As soon as I left the dormitory building, I saw Wang Haifeng and a few others walking toward me. When Wang Haifeng saw me, he grinned. "Little cripple, John and Bage are already waiting for you on the rooftop. You're not thinking of chickening out now, are you?"
Wang Haifeng had injured my leg, and now he had the audacity to call me a cripple to my face. Mia and Daluo immediately flared up, ready to charge at Wang Haifeng.
I stopped them and said, "Don't waste time with this lapdog. Let me finish with John first, and then we'll deal with him."
Wang Haifeng shrugged. "After today, you'll be expelled from this school. No more chances for you."
I ignored him and continued walking toward the teaching building with Mia and the others. As we climbed the stairs, I noticed that Mia, Daluo, and Xiaoluo were all shaking their heads, probably thinking that with my current condition, winning against John was nearly impossible.
When we reached the rooftop, I found that there were already a lot of people there—around 40 to 50. The crowd was clearly divided into two groups. The first group was led by a big, smiling man, Zheng Zhantao, one of the leaders of our second-year class.
The other group was John and Ni Ba's gang. Ni Ba was wearing a black tank top and blue jeans, with a buzz cut. He had a strong, muscular build, and his eyes looked as sharp as knives—definitely not someone you'd want to mess with.
John stood next to Ni Ba, wearing a floral shirt, blue jeans, and Anta sneakers, his expression haughty.
It made sense that Ni Ba and his gang were here, but why was Zheng Zhantao's group here?
After all, Zheng Zhantao had helped me before. I limped up to him and greeted him, "Tao Ge, what are you doing here?"
Zheng Zhantao, still smiling as always, said, "Nothing. I heard you and John have some unfinished business, so I came up to watch. Don't mind me, just pretend I'm not here."
Ni Ba and Zheng Zhantao had always been on opposite sides. Ni Ba scoffed and said, "Well, it looks like everyone is here. Let's all witness this. My brother John and Andrew will settle their personal grievances here with a one-on-one fight. If John wins, he'll never bother Andrew again. But if Andrew loses, according to his previous promise, he'll be expelled from the school and leave forever."
After Ni Ba finished speaking, he looked at me and John and asked, "Do you two have any objections?"
I nodded. "None."
John stretched his wrist and casually said, "No objections. Let's get this over with. My girl is waiting for me at the school gate. After I finish beating this kid, we'll go eat some spicy hot pot."
The people in John's group laughed loudly, clearly confident that he would defeat me easily.