He quickly walked out of Zhang Danlin's house and locked the door behind him. Once outside, he took a deep breath towards the sky to calm himself down. The post-storm air was clear, mixed with a scent of rain that was particularly refreshing.

Right now, he was feeling troubled and desperately needed something to calm himself. Just moments ago in the room, while being embraced by Zhang Danlin and sensing her charming aura, he almost, just barely, did something unexpected with her.

Fortunately, he controlled himself and managed to leave peacefully. Otherwise, if he had stayed a bit longer, he might have succumbed. Taking a deep breath of fresh air, he was now calm, not thinking about anything, and began walking home.

He didn't take a bus but chose to walk directly. He wanted to walk back and calm himself down on the way, to think carefully. He felt that if Zhang Danlin invited him to her home again, he must learn to decline, or the consequences could be catastrophic.

Before he realized it, he arrived downstairs, went upstairs, unlocked the door, and upon entering, noticed Liang Xiaohan asleep and undisturbed. He returned directly to his room, lay down, and slept soundly. A bit tired from the walk, he fell asleep shortly after lying down.

As for the other person, Zhang Danlin, she only fell asleep late at night.

Seeing Hao Jian leave, she felt a bit disappointed, and as he walked away, her disappointment grew clearer. It was a transition from happiness and excitement to a lonely solitude of disappointment. She had considered calling Hao Jian over, knowing he would leave eventually, making her even sadder.

But amid the lightning, thunder, wind, and rain, she was particularly scared and greatly wished someone could be there with her. Coincidentally, she decided to call Hao Jian; unexpectedly, he came shortly after, proving she held some significance in his mind and making her quite happy.

However, after Hao Jian left, the anticipated disappointment ensued, and she couldn't find a solution. She lay down quietly, tossing and turning in bed, and only slowly drifted off to sleep late at night.

......

The night passed quickly. Liang Xiaohan didn't notice that Hao Jian went out at night, so everything was fine. The two woke up early and headed to school.

At school, on the way to the classroom, as fate would have it, they ran into Zhang Danlin. Seeing Liang Xiaohan standing beside Hao Jian, walking with him, she merely greeted Hao Jian then brushed past him.

Hao Jian was a bit surprised, wondering why she was so cold today when everything seemed fine yesterday. But then he realized, with Liang Xiaohan by his side, it was natural for Zhang Danlin to feel uncomfortable and instinctively keep her distance.

The two entered the classroom and took their seats. As he sat down and looked up, he noticed Zhang Danlin was watching him. Her gaze didn't falter upon realizing he knew she was looking, and only then did she withdraw her gaze.

Hao Jian was startled but carried on calmly through several classes. However, before afternoon classes started, Hu Lai and Fatty rushed over to him anxiously. Fatty, being the first to speak, said, "Hao Jian, it's not good, something's up."

Hao Jian furrowed his brow and asked, "What's up?"

Knowing Fatty gets tongue-tied and incoherent when anxious, Hu Lai pushed him aside and stood in front of Hao Jian, organizing his thoughts before speaking, "Here's the situation. Earlier, Fatty and I went to the restroom and accidentally overheard Gu Peng's men talking about him planning something for this afternoon."

"Upon hearing this, we continued eavesdropping and learned something alarming; after class today, Gu Peng will have his men wait for you at the school gates to teach you a lesson." Hu Lai explained everything systematically, then looked at Hao Jian anxiously.

Fatty, hearing Hu Lai had explained everything, knew he shouldn't add more. Yet, feeling worried, he said, "Gu Peng is powerful and has a lot of followers. Initially, he might have underestimated Brother Hao, but after his men got beaten by Brother Hao in the cafeteria and previous unsettling incidents, he couldn't sit still and plans to act. This afternoon, he'll surely bring a lot of people; Brother Hao, be careful."

Since the last incident in the Haunted House where Hao Jian reprimanded Brother Rui and others, both Fatty and Hu Lai started habitually calling him Brother Hao, so it didn't seem odd.

Upon hearing this, Hao Jian's furrowed brow relaxed immediately. Although he thought they looked anxious because of something serious, it turned out to be this matter. If Gu Peng hadn't come to find him, he might have considered deliberately causing trouble for Gu Peng himself. Now that Gu Peng was finally unsettled and sought him out, it was exactly what he wanted.

How could he not be pleased? He suddenly felt cheerful. The dull and boring classes had been killing him, but now this situation brought some excitement, instantly lifting his spirits.

Seeing Hao Jian smiling rather than looking worried, Fatty couldn't help finding it odd and asked, "Brother Hao, what's up with you?"

Hao Jian waved his hand and said, "Nothing."

Hu Lai also found it strange and asked, "Seriously, Gu Peng is after you, and you're smiling? That's not normal."

Unwilling to address their confusion at the moment, he simply sat down, still smiling, and said, "Alright, alright, no need to worry. This afternoon, sit back and enjoy the show."

After hearing this, they sat down calmly. After all, having informed Hao Jian, if he needed them to do something, facing someone like Gu Peng, they wouldn't have much power to act, so they could only fret. But seeing Hao Jian so unbothered, there was no need for them to be anxious either.

After all, the emperor isn't as anxious as the eunuch; since Hao Jian wasn't worried, they didn't need to fret.

Afterward, class ended. Somehow, Zhang Danlin heard the news, possibly because Hu Lai and Fatty didn't manage to keep their mouths shut, or Hao Jian's previous assertiveness had undermined Gu Peng significantly, leading him to deliberately leak some information, wanting people to know that offending Gu Peng would land them in big trouble.

Then, as soon as class ended, Zhang Danlin rushed to Hao Jian's side, looked at him anxiously, and asked, "Do you know Gu Peng plans to act on you later?"

Hao Jian lay on the desk and replied, "Yes, I know!"

Hearing his response, Zhang Danlin showed disbelief and anxiously said, "You know, and you're still like this? Aren't you going to consider how to handle it? Should I talk to him and see if he might relent?"

Hao Jian hesitated for a moment, looked at her, then directly said, "Don't bother."

Asking a girl to intervene wouldn't be very manly. He couldn't possibly do such a thing or let Zhang Danlin do it; otherwise, he wouldn't be Hao Jian.

Realizing he flat out rejected her idea, Zhang Danlin suddenly felt she had said something wrong. How could a guy ask a girl to plead with another guy not to act against him? Feeling she misspoke, she felt guilty and didn't know what else to say.

She looked at Hao Jian and said, "Well… this afternoon, I'll accompany you out. Whatever you do, I'll be with you."

Hao Jian didn't respond, and after finishing speaking, Zhang Danlin left, going out for reasons unknown.

Thus, another class began, and after the class ended, Liu Jie led his men out, not forgetting to glance provocatively and disdainfully at Hao Jian several times. However, now, he only dared to provoke Hao Jian this way; uttering another word might trigger another incident, so he only dared to provoke Hao Jian this way.

However, Hao Jian didn't fall for it, feeling amused inside watching him.

This afternoon, he intended to show these people a good show, a dramatic reversal.

As class was about to start, Fatty again heard some news, rush to Hao Jian's side frantically, and said, "I heard, this afternoon, Gu Peng is definitely going to act, or…"

Fatty paused and said, "Or after class, we could sneak out the school grounds from the playground area; as Gu Peng has his men waiting at the gates, once we slip out from the playground, they won't find us and would eventually leave."

Fatty suggested sincerely to Hao Jian.

After all, Hao Jian was currently alone, even if Hu Lai and Fatty accompanied him, Gu Peng had a whole crowd of people on his side.

How could two or three people possibly take on a large group?