Chapter 12 - 00 Paying Protection Money
Going to class was nothing short of torture for Tang Ming!
So, he spent the entire lesson in a daze, his mind wandering off to who knows where.
Finally making it to noon, although he could rest for two hours, the regulations at Tianjiao High School prohibited going home, and students had to have their lunch at school.
It was at this time that the distinct trait of a private elite school became apparent!
The entire high school had only about two thousand students, yet it boasted five cafeterias and ten restaurants.
The cafeterias catered to regular students, while the restaurants mainly served wealthy students and teachers.
The cheapest meal at these restaurants cost over five hundred yuan, so non-elite students simply couldn't afford it.
Tang Ming had a meal card in his pocket, but it was only valid in a regular cafeteria. He wanted to join Liu Mengting in the restaurant for a meal, so he secretly followed the young lady, waiting for her to lead him into the restaurant for a big feast.
Some foodies from Class 5 had mentioned that the roasted lamb chops in the restaurant were quite good, and Tang Ming had been thinking about them for two periods.
He had no idea that when he stepped out of the academic building, Liu Mengting's close friend and sister, Li Xiaoli, had just arrived at school, evidently just waking up.
"Meng Meng sis, I heard today Tang Ming fought a fierce battle against a dead fly, huh? How was the battle?"
Li Xiaoli played with Liu Mengting's hand, asking curiously.
"Oh, the dead fly got thrown out of the classroom. It wasn't too intense."
Liu Mengting hummed, then suddenly remembered something, and turned to Tang Ming behind her and said,
"Next time that dead fly shows up, remember to make him bleed from his nose."
"Why make him bleed from the nose?"
Tang Ming was curious, wondering if Liu Mengting had a fetish for seeing people bleed from the nose.
"Because that dead fly threatens people around the school, and his favorite line is 'I'll make your nose bleed,' get it now?"
Li Xiaoli explained.
"Oh, that's no big deal."
Breaking limbs for Tang Ming was hardly a bother, let alone making someone's nose bleed!
A single punch would do the trick, maybe even without throwing one.
"Meng Meng sis, are we going to the French restaurant today, or to the New Zealand restaurant for lunch, eh?"
Li Xiaoli had just gotten to school and was already thinking about eating luncheon, quite a figure indeed.
"Let's go to New Zealand; I really love their honey roasted lamb chops and bolognese spaghetti there,"
Liu Mengting replied, and the two girls moved forward in step.
Tang Ming followed behind, thinking about the lamb chops that must taste so delightful.
However, just a few steps later, the two girls ahead stopped in their tracks.
"Tang Ming, go to the cafeteria for your meal. Don't follow us,"
Liu Mengting pointed towards the direction of the cafeteria and said.
"But I want to protect you guys,"
Tang Ming said earnestly.
"Hehehe, stop thinking about coming with us to the restaurant. Meng Meng sister and I only have a few thousand yuan on us; if you came along, probably your stomach would run us tens of thousands. Better go to the cafeteria and wreak havoc on the rice there,"
Li Xiaoli, recalling Tang Ming's appetite and considering the high prices at the restaurant, felt a chill.
Not just her, even Liu Mengting felt the same. Their families were rich, but they couldn't possibly spend tens of thousands on a meal!
The key issue was that Tang Ming ate too much; it wasn't just a matter of one or two meals. Continuing like this, they would go bankrupt!
"Alright then."
Tang Ming nodded dejectedly, thinking that the roasted lamb chops were now out of the picture.
In fact, Tianjiao High School's cafeteria was also quite upscale; the hall was adorned with marble round tables, and the walls around were decked in exquisite decorations.
During mealtime, students just needed to take their trays, swipe their meal cards, and they could choose from a variety of delicious foods.
Here, meals are almost always in the form of a buffet, with only some food items being limited in quantity.
After swiping his card, Tang Ming got his tray and was instantly interested by the many delicious foods inside.
Roast lamb chops were not available, but the food here was pretty good!
Soon his tray was heaping, Tang Ming held it with one hand and a jug of juice with the other, finally finding an empty table where he put everything down and started wolfing down his meal.
In no time, he had cleared his tray, and really, the food was quite tasty.
Tang Ming previously piled his tray too high and, as a result, couldn't fit in any braised pork, so he was now considering whether to go get some.
But at that moment, a group of people burst into the cafeteria!
Leading them was Chen Cang, surrounded by at least ten students, all looking as angry as if their wives had been stolen.
"Find that bastard for me,"
Chen Cang roared as he entered the dining hall.
Tang Ming didn't care about this idiot, continuing to think about how he could arrange his dishes so that he could carry even more food in one go; constantly getting up was too much hassle.
"Hey, are you not leaving yet, Chen Cang came looking for you with his henchmen."
Someone tapped Tang Ming's arm, and a voice spoke into his ear.
Tang Ming turned around to see a burly and fat figure winking at him.
This guy was from his class, belonging to class five, a bookworm who was always engrossed in a book after class.
"Fatso, move away, lest you get splattered with blood later,"
Tang Ming warned the fat boy.
"I'm not fatso, my name is Dafu,"
The fat boy said earnestly, "You may be skilled, but you can't deal with the many people Chen Cang brings. Just go find a teacher, and Chen Cang won't be able to do anything to you."
"Oh? You seem to know quite a bit, you must have been 'cared for' by Chen Cang quite often, haven't you?"
Tang Ming laughed nonchalantly. Although the fat boy looked burly, standing over six feet tall, his harmless face made it clear he was often bullied.
"I'm fine, I pay protection money every month; Chen Cang won't hit me,"
The fat boy smiled naively.
"Protection money? From now on, don't give it to Chen Cang, just give it to me!"
Tang Ming glanced at Chen Cang, currently leading his group on a wild chase around the cafeteria, obviously yet to spot him. Tang Ming was really anxious about Chen Cang's intelligence.
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"If I give you the money, can you make sure I don't get hit?"
The fat boy asked curiously.
"Of course, and not just that, if you give me the money, I can even let you hit Chen Cang."
Tang Ming smiled.
"Hehe, I like the sound of that, I've been wanting to hit him for a long time,"
The fat boy chuckled like Maitreya Buddha.
Right then, one of Chen Cang's lackeys finally spotted Tang Ming, pointed at him, and shouted, "Bro Chen, that bastard is over there!"
Suddenly, Chen Cang and his group surrounded Tang Ming, all giving him unfriendly looks.
The other students in the cafeteria, seeing this, all gathered around to watch, and even the staff stood with arms crossed, keen on seeing the drama unfold.
This kind of fight was common in Tianjiao High School, where everyone was wealthy enough to pay for any damages caused and as long as no one was killed, there was no real problem.
"You son of a turtle, hiding over here? Now let's see where you run,"
Chen Cang cursed as he spotted Tang Ming.
"Is your hand better?"
Tang Ming asked casually.
Chen Cang's face twitched, his hand still ached – what strength this guy had, squeezing him till it hurt like this!