Chapter 32 - Let Me Hear You Call Me Daddy

He Cheng Ming made a tsk sound in response and didn’t let him say anything else.

Ji Liao shut his mouth obediently, and the two of them fell silent.

Suddenly, a grumbling sound emerged from his tummy, and Ji Liao remembered that he hadn’t had much to eat since last night and was now starving.

“You didn’t have breakfast?” He Cheng Ming frowned. First, he had been punched. Now, he wasn’t even feeding himself properly?!

“I was too anxious to see you and forgot to eat, haha.” Ji Liao was quick-witted and grinned while trying to play dumb. But his expression was very unnatural and he was obviously trying to endure the pain of his injury.

When He Cheng Ming saw this, he was upset and angry, but all he could say was, “No more laughing!”

Ji Liao pouted and kept quiet.

When they got off the bus together, He Cheng Ming asked Ji Liao to go ahead. Ji Liao nodded, then his eyes scanned the surroundings before going to buy two steamed buns. When he arrived at his class, he found Chen Li Wen and Li You Xin waiting for him.

Seeing the scab on Ji Liao’s mouth, they knew that he had been retaliated against and felt indignant.

When they left last night, they had forgotten to inform Ji Liao that Gao Sheng was someone who had an extremely low level of magnanimity. If he couldn’t get his way within the school, then he would surely hinder them outside the school, so they had to be careful.

But they didn’t expect them to move so quickly and take action against Ji Liao that very night.

Chen Li Wen was quite upset since he was the culprit who had stirred up the situation, but someone else had paid for it in his stead. So he said in righteous indignation, “Damn Gao Sheng, that son of a bitch, how dare he beat someone!”

Many times, he had also talked big — come on, fight me — but they were all just words. It was a figure of speech – he would never actually take action if he still wanted to attend school!

But he had never expected that scum, Gao Sheng, to have done it.

Li You Xin sighed and asked if Ji Liao was all right. Seeing how weak his appearance was, Li You Xin thought that he must have been pressed against the ground and felt an odd sympathy.

Ji Liao waved his hands. “I’m okay. I’ll just need to be more careful next time.”

He didn’t want to make a big deal out of this matter, afraid that it would spread to Xu Ai Wen and cause her to worry.

Right then, He Cheng Ming’s voice came from the door. “Ji Liao, come out for a bit.”

Ji Liao turned around, and when he saw He Cheng Ming, it felt like his heart was going to jump out of his chest. Why did he come directly to class to look for him?! He apologised to Chen Li Wen and Li You Xin, then ran out, so flustered that he had forgotten to put down the bun he was clutching.

He Cheng Ming glanced at his hand, then frowned and said unhappily, “You’re eating a bun. Are you sure you can open your mouth?”

With that, he handed over the seafood porridge he had just bought. After all, liquid food was easier to consume.

Ji Liao’s lips curved. Although he felt that the other boy was making a fuss over nothing, his heart still warmed. The feeling of being taken care of was really satisfying and sweet.

“Then what do I do with this?” He indicated the bun he was carrying.

“Throw it away.” He Cheng Ming said casually.

“Huh? Isn’t that a waste?” Ji Liao touched the bag and felt a little unwilling. It was still warm.

He Cheng Ming laughed, exasperated. The two buns were only a few dollars, but look at how his baby reacted! Pinching his cute and earnest face, he took the bag and said helplessly, “Then I’ll take it and let Lin Jiang eat it.”

Ji Liao agreed and the two of them exchanged food.

Returning to his class, He Cheng Ming threw the bag to Lin Jiang. Lin Jiang was overwhelmed, but in addition to the fact that he hadn’t eaten breakfast, he bit into it happily.

After he finished eating, He Cheng Ming asked him to find out who had assaulted Ji Liao last night.

Lin Jiang was reputed to have remarkable abilities. From asking around, he found out that Gao Sheng had fought with someone last night but didn’t get good results. Instead, he got kicked in the stomach, which angered him so much, he had let it be known that if he didn’t make that person kneel down and call him Daddy, his last name wasn’t Gao!

When He Cheng Ming was notified about this, he let out a “ha” and his eyebrows raised slightly, exuding a terrifying ferocity.

So, it was Gao Sheng, that son of a bitch.

Lin Jiang shivered beside him. He hadn’t seen this ruthless expression on He Cheng Ming’s face for a very long time!

When class was over, Gao Sheng was called to the basketball court.

Before he could even get a good look at the person once he had reached the court, he was kicked on the shoulder. It caused him to stumble two steps backwards before he managed to stabilise himself. He uttered “Fuck,” then the person hit the back of his knees. Both of his legs went weak and he knelt down.

Angrily gritting his teeth, Gao Sheng lifted his head. He saw He Cheng Ming with both hands in his pockets, towering over him with an indifferent expression as if he was looking at a piece of trash.

He was furious, but due to the identity of the other boy, he had no choice but to endure it and asked, “Ming Ge, what do you mean by this?”

He and He Cheng Ming had been minding their own business after all. He didn’t know how he had offended him today.

“Let me hear you call me Daddy.” He Cheng Ming said coldly with his chin lowered, looking down at him.

“He Cheng Ming, don’t go overboard in your bullying!” Gao Sheng wanted to stand up but was pressed down by a foot. He swung a fist, but the other boy evaded it and stepped on his arm, pushing it against the ground.

Seeming to hear the sound of cracking bones, Gao Sheng was sweating in pain and started begging for forgiveness, “Ming Ge, Ming Ge, I was wrong. Please show some mercy.”

He Cheng Ming remained indifferent as he responded with only three words coming from his mouth. “Call me Daddy.”

Gao Sheng gritted his teeth and was helpless with his entrapped arm. He was in unbearable pain and could no longer care about his unyielding image. He called out immediately, “Dad, I’m wrong. Dad, please lift your foot.”

As if he had heard something repulsive, He Cheng Ming’s expression became unhappy. His foot twisted downwards heavily, and he said coldly, “I don’t have a son like you.”

Gao Sheng shouted in agony and He Cheng Ming withdrew his leg. He bent down, and with a fierce look in his eyes, warned him, “Ji Liao is my man. Remember that.”

It dawned on him that this was because of class twelve’s Ji Liao.

Damn it. He felt annoyed to death. Last night, although he had attacked Ji Liao, he didn’t benefit from it. Today, he had violently suffered a one-sided beating from He Cheng Ming. It really wasn’t worth it.

However, he, Gao Sheng, would remember this debt!

He took a long time to recover before getting up and stumbling back to his classroom. Unexpectedly, no one had discovered that he had been beaten up. Only now did he realise that He Cheng Ming didn’t hit him in the face or kick him in the leg, he had only touched his shoulder and arm, causing hidden injuries which were hard to spot.

The most annoying thing was that two days later, he was informed by the teacher in the sickbay that he couldn’t play basketball in the following half-month due to the serious external injury on his arm. That also meant that he had to withdraw from the three on three basketball match.

Gao Sheng was in despair and secretly hated He Cheng Ming. At the same time, he developed a fear of He Cheng Ming. Whenever he saw the other boy, he would make a detour.

When Ji Liao heard about this matter, it was already half a week later.

Chen Li Wen had told him about it and had also revealed that He Cheng Ming had spread the word that whoever made life difficult for Ji Liao would be making life difficult for him. For the consequences of making life difficult for him, they could refer to each of his defeated opponents.

It was to an extent that made everyone inquire about his relationship with He Cheng Ming. Some people said they were cousins, while others said they were good friends.

“So, what exactly is your relationship?” Cheng Li Wen asked.