C20 Lu Liang's Big Brother

The short one threw back his head and guffawed. “What, are you mad? If you’re not happy with this, then go ahead and hit me! Do you think I won’t have your limbs broken, you piece of scum?”

Zhang Muye was so furious that he laughed, too, though his laughter was low and more menacing. Just as he was about to say something, the doors from the inner room opened, and Lu Liang’s group walked out.

Zhang Yao’s face visibly brightened when he saw them. He didn’t seem to care about Zhang Muye anymore as he rushed over to Lu Liang with a pandering look on his face.

“Yo! Lu Liang! What are you doing here? You should have called me if you were going out to play. I was dying of boredom back at home.”

Zhao Yang also greeted Bobcut Girl and the others. His earlier arrogance was completely gone. If anything, he looked rather trite in front of these people.

Those who knew of Zhao Yang’s background were shocked to see this.

There were few in his group who were aware of Lu Liang’s identity, as well as those who were with him. By all standards, Lu Liang was a true noble, far above them all. They couldn’t even hope to move in the same circles as him, let alone get close to him.

But here was Zhao Yang, speaking to Lu Liang so casually. There might be a hint of humility in his attitude, but the fact that he was able to greet Lu Liang like this proved that he was much higher up in the social hierarchy.

The girls from Zhao Yang’s group were all tittering with excitement, with some of them already plotting how to get Zhao Yang to introduce them to Lu Liang.

It was only then that Lu Liang’s eyes fell on Zhang Muye. His face immediately darkened. “What’s going on here?” he couldn’t help but ask.

“Oh,” Zhao Yang scoffed. “We just happened to run into some rascals who dared to put on airs and pretend that they’re rich. It turns out one of them is the son of a mere farmer, who makes a living selling melons in a wet and dank market. The imbecile was trying to trick me out of my money. We were just about to teach them how to act like proper human beings!”

The short boy stepped forward and chimed in with, “Brother Lu, why don’t you teach them a lesson, eh?”

Lu Liang was notorious for stirring up trouble and picking fights whenever and wherever he liked. The short guy was convinced that Lu Liang would not pass up this opportunity.

“Are you done spouting nonsense?” Zhang Muye’s cold voice cut through their chatter.

“Still acting arrogant?” Zhao Yang sneered at Zhang Muye and waved his hand. All at once, the boys from his group surrounded Zhang Muye, while the girls cowered back in fear.

Xia Chuchu pulled at Zhao Yang and tried to tell him not to escalate things further. After all, Zhang Muye was still her friend.

But Zhao Yang only curled his lips at her in disdain. “Women should not meddle in men’s matters.” With that, he pulled away from Xia Chuchu, leaving her frozen where she stood.

Lu Liang also viewed Zhang Muye as an enemy, so he was only too glad to see the latter get beaten up. He took out a cigarette, planning to take a smoke while mulling over the various ways to teach Zhang Muye a lesson.

“Lu Liang,” Zhang Muye suddenly said. “Have you already forgotten your promise?”

Lu Liang stiffened. Zhang Muye’s fierce gaze took him back to the ruthless defeat he and his team had suffered back in the inner room. His expression shifted as he considered his options, but he finally flicked the cigarette in his hand and lowered his head.

“Big brother.”

Although Lu Liang’s voice wasn’t particularly loud, it rang clearly around the room.

His words caused a quiet buzz as everyone dove into whispered discussions.

Lu Liang was at the top of the social pyramid, whose prominent family background guaranteed his power as he threw his weight around. And yet... Had he really just called the farmer’s son “big brother”?

Zhao Yang and his short friend both dropped their jaw in shock, their eyes bugging out of their sockets.

Meanwhile, the girls from Zhao Yang’s group were now gaping at Zhang Muye in a mix of awe and disbelief.

He was the son of a melon farmer, nothing more, while Lu Liang was practically in the leagues of the apex predators.

It was enough of a shock that they were even acquainted at all!

To Zhao Yang and the short boy, this unexpected development was more terrifying than any B-list horror movie they had watched in the dead of the night.

Zhang Muye was initially impressed by Lu Liang’s ability to adapt to his circumstances and accept his loss. But Zhao Yang had greatly enraged him with his pompous antics, and Zhang Muye didn’t like how Lu Liang was suddenly acting pretentious in front of him. “As your big brother, you already know what I expect you to do, right?” Zhang Muye challenged.

A look of humiliation flashed in Lu Liang’s eyes. Before anyone knew it, he had already clenched his fist and sent it ramming into Zhao Yang’s face.

“Ouch!”

Caught off-guard, Zhao Yang fell a few steps back. “Lu Liang... No, Brother Lu! Why did you hit me?”

“You just insulted my big brother. I’ll make you pay for it.”

Lu Liang didn’t hold back and vented all his anger for Zhang Muye on Zhao Yang. The poor Zhao Yang didn’t even have time to process what was happening before he was turned into a hapless punching bag.

He had only wanted to cozy up to Lu Liang. However, not only had his attempt at flattery failed, but he was also getting beaten up for his efforts. Naturally, he was aggrieved.

“Brother Luo,” the short guy asked Fatty in a trembling voice. “What is wrong with Brother Lu?”

Fatty, whose name was Luo Qi, kicked the short boy in the chin. “Get lost! Who gave you the right to address Brother Lu so casually?”

The short boy fell over himself and rolled on the ground, but he did keep his mouth shut.

The girls backed away in fright.

No one had seen this coming.

Their view of Zhang Muye changed drastically from one of contempt to one that almost constituted reverence.

If the great Lu Liang himself was calling him “big brother”, then just how powerful was he?

The narrative of Zhang Muye being a farmer’s son seemed to only add more intrigue to his already mysterious background.

One of these girls was once fortunate enough to attend Luo Yao’s birthday party. Luo Yao was none other than Bobcut Girl.

At the time, a certain person holding a government office had showered the girl with gifts in exchange for bringing him along as a chaperone to the party.

When they were finally at the event, the girl watched in amazement as the man fawned over Luo Yao’s parents and pandered to their every whim.

It dawned on her then that it wasn’t just Lu Liang, but the rest of his friends moved on a higher plane than everybody else. They were untouchable.

But they had clearly heard Lu Liang call Zhang Muye his big brother.

Try as they might, they couldn’t wrap their head around the situation.

Once more, the girls were drawn to Zhang Muye. They gathered around Xia Chuchu and started asking how Zhang Muye was related to Lu Liang.

Surely, there was more to the situation when someone so powerful was showing so much respect to the son of a simple melon seller.

Unfortunately, Xia Chuchu was just as clueless as everyone. This was way beyond anything she could have imagined, and her brain seemed to have ceased functioning.

Lu Liang continued beating Zhao Yang, while Luo Qi turned on the short guy. The two victims could do nothing more than cry and beg for mercy from their assailants. They tried fleeing, too, but they were instantly caught and subjected to even worse beatings.

They were beaten so badly that their faces turned red and swollen.

Unable to take it anymore, Xia Chuchu finally approached Zhang Muye. “Muye, please tell them to stop. If this continues, someone might lose his life.”

She had no idea what kind of sway he had over Lu Liang and Luo Qi, but she knew that if this incident turned into a crime, Zhang Muye might not be able to bear the consequences.

“All right. You guys!” Zhang Muye called out. “That’s enough.”