Chapter 481 332: An Educated Hooligan (Part 3)

"Then why didn't we take his phone? What's the point of holding on to his stupid ID?"

The man with the crew cut poked the one with the earring in the head. "Dumbass! Holding his ID is just a 'verbal warning,' but taking his phone? That's a whole different story."

"What if he calls the cops?"

"The amount isn't high enough. It doesn't meet the threshold for a formal police case..."

"Damn, bro. You're a genius."

"Let me teach you something today... In this day and age, just being a tough guy gets you nowhere. You have to know the law, understand the law, abide by the law, and *use* the law..."

Xue Rui pinched the bridge of his nose. 'In my two lifetimes combined, I've never seen scumbags like this!'

'Thugs who know the law?'

'A thug isn't scary. A thug with an education is terrifying.'

'The truth in that saying just keeps growing!'

Dong Yufan had been scammed, and... it was a tricky situation.

Jiang Yuan walked over to the scratched Buick and saw a small scrape on the side of the front bumper. She said in disbelief, "You paid over a thousand for *this*?"

"Are you here to bring him money?" the crew-cut man shouted.

Xia Tianjun stepped in front of the two men, his face grim. "I'm Dong Yufan's teacher. How can you bully a student like this? You're holding his ID?"

"Give it back, now. Or I'm calling the police."

"We already dealt with that. He's the one who agreed to a private settlement," the crew-cut man said, completely unfazed by the threat. "Teacher, you should stick to your books. Adults have to take responsibility for their own actions."

"But..." Xia Tianjun was at a loss for words.

The corner of Xue Rui's mouth twitched. He noticed that Dong Yufan's palm was scraped and bleeding, and the basket on his bike was bent out of shape.

"Their car was parked on the sidewalk?" Xue Rui seized on the key detail.

"So what? He was riding his bike on the sidewalk, wasn't he? It's a *side-walk*. Why don't you explain what that means?" the crew-cut man sneered, blowing out a thin stream of smoke.

Dong Yufan whispered, "I was running late for class, so I took a shortcut. A little kid suddenly jumped out in front of me, and when I swerved to avoid him, I accidentally scraped the car. It was my fault."

"You idiot!" Xue Rui almost choked. 'This kid is so damn naive. Both parties were at fault here. They could have gotten an accident report and negotiated the damages. Instead, this kid got tricked into taking all the blame and paying them himself.'

And since the money had already been paid, getting it back was going to be tough.

Worse, the other guys were looking to press their advantage, thinking they'd found an easy target.

"I was scared of getting a police record," Dong Yufan whispered.

"For fuck's sake, just shut up," Xue Rui muttered, patting Dong Yufan on the back a couple of times. "Don't worry. I'll take it from here."

Xue Rui sighed in exasperation. 'Teachers always tell students to look for their own faults. It becomes a habit, so when it's time to defend their own rights, they're always overly cautious. They don't understand the simple principle that the most difficult person to deal with is the one who comes out on top.'

'And what's more, when a street punk knows the law better than a college student, doesn't the university bear some responsibility for that?'

"You're both from Chang'an, too! Aren't you ashamed of yourselves, bullying a student from out of town like this?" Jiang Yuan started arguing with the two men.

The corner of Xia Tianjun's mouth twitched. 'Jiang Yuan has a strong sense of justice, that's for sure, but these guys are already shaking down a kid for his living expenses. Do they really seem like people who feel shame?'

He was also trying to figure out a way to help Dong Yufan, but while his opponents had the air of shameless scoundrels, they were surprisingly articulate and logical. He was drawing a blank...

Xue Rui circled Dong Yufan, noticing a smudge of dirt on his pants.

"Did you hurt your leg, too?" Xue Rui asked quietly. 'A scraped hand isn't enough. I need to find a way to turn this around on them.'

"I didn't get hurt, but my pants are torn. And all my living expense money is gone," Dong Yufan sighed.

Xue Rui was speechless. 'This guy still doesn't get it.' He bent down and squeezed Dong Yufan's knee. "Does it hurt?"

"Nope," Dong Yufan said, shaking his head.

Even Xia Tianjun was exasperated. 'Just how much clearer does he have to be?'

'Has this kid still not realized Xue Rui is trying to help him?'

Frustrated, Xue Rui pinched the soft spot behind Dong Yufan's knee, causing Dong Yufan to let out an involuntary HISS.