Yama Reborn
Chapter 56 - 54 [White Moonlight]

Chapter 56: Chapter 54 [White Moonlight]

Chapter Fifty-Four White Moonlight

"Meteor Garden," just as Chen Nuo remembered from his past life, swept across Asia like a whirlwind. Thanks to piracy, even without official channels, it had already become popular throughout Huaxia.

Of course, according to memories from his past life, even after the show was officially introduced, it was banned shortly after a brief broadcast.

Whether it was popular all over Asia or not, little JN No. 8 Middle School couldn’t feel it.

But at least in school, the changes brought by this TV show were visibly evident.

The first and foremost was that the behavior of imitating Tongluo Bay suddenly went out of fashion.

Previously, every little group in school had members fighting to be Brother Haonan and Brother Mountain Chicken; now, all had fallen silent and vanished.

The latest trend was the competition over who would be Daoming Si and who would be Huaze Lei... Well, almost no one wanted to fight over the roles of Meizuo and Ximen.

As a former top dog (in his own mind) of the senior year at No. 8 Middle School, Zhang "Ex-Brother Haonan" Linsheng watched in the morning as Mountain Chicken had a fight behind the boys’ bathroom and successfully seized the title of No. 8 Middle School’s Daoming Si.

Zhang Linsheng felt somewhat sentimental.

Time changes everything...

If it hadn’t been for those two incidents, he could have naturally transitioned from Brother Haonan to become No. 8 Middle School’s Daoming Si...

Zhang Linsheng flicked away the cigarette in his hand, looked melancholically at the sky, then slung his backpack over one shoulder and left the school grounds dejectedly.

When he reached the school gates, he saw Sun Keke.

School belle Sun was one of those rare girls in No. 8 Middle School who, even when wearing that ugly blue and white school uniform, could still be stunning.

School belle Sun, chatting and laughing with several other girls, walked along the street outside the school gates.

Zhang Linsheng was surprised.

He knew very well that Sun Keke’s home was located next to the school, in the faculty dormitory. But judging from the situation, she wasn’t heading home.

Compelled as if by some unknown force, Zhang Linsheng quietly followed.

Truth be told, he didn’t even know why he was following, and he wasn’t genuinely curious to find out where Sun Keke was going, what she was doing, or who she was meeting.

He just subconsciously followed, simply wanting to look at this girl.

In fact, Zhang Linsheng truly liked Sun Keke, with a sincerity that came from his heart—or at least that’s what he believed.

He had set his sights on this girl last year.

It was a summer morning during a PE class. After the students ran laps, Sun Keke took off her ugly school uniform. Underneath, she wore a beige short-sleeved T-shirt. Her sweet smile and her youthful figure, blooming like a begonia, caught Zhang Linsheng’s eye, and he couldn’t look away.

At that time, Zhang Linsheng was helping the PE teacher gather basketballs when the sight of School belle Sun’s charming figure struck him like lightning.

During this era, the term "White Moonlight" had not yet become popular. But perhaps in Zhang Linsheng’s heart, Sun Keke was his own beam of white moonlight.

Like countless young boys in the world, Zhang Linsheng’s affection for the girl was tinged with nervousness and a touch of inferiority. To cover up this inferiority, he deliberately put on a front of arrogance and brashness.

But in truth, he often secretly watched Sun Keke from afar.

Occasionally, his mind would even be filled with many strange fantasies—most of them entwined with his dreams of the underworld.

In Zhang Linsheng’s youthful fantasies, after overcoming great hardships, he became a prominent figure who commanded respect, much like Brother Haonan. He was admired by everyone, standing at the very center of the underworld stage... And this girl would be by his side, accepting the envious gazes of the underworld figures.

The thoughts of youth are simple yet complicated.

On one hand, he secretly liked the girl; on the other, he felt inferior due to his own ordinariness and mediocrity.

Sun Keke was so exceptional—beautiful, cute, well-liked. There were probably enough boys secretly in love with her to line up around No. 8 Middle School’s sports field. And her father was the school’s academic dean.

But Zhang Linsheng himself... he was just a kid from an ordinary, lower-class family. His father had been laid off and worked odd jobs at a car repair shop, while his mother was a cleaner at the farmers’ market.

The boy was actually insecure, but to cover up this insecurity, he resorted to a ridiculous and unfounded arrogance to embellish himself.

The title of Brother Haonan of No. 8 Middle School was the protective color he added to his own inferiority.

Sun Keke walked a distance with a few girls, then boarded a bus at the station.

It was rush hour after school, and the bus was packed like a can of sardines. The girl carefully made her way to a corner at the very back of the bus, unaware that a boy she knew had also squeezed onto the same bus.

After several stops, she got off and then transferred to another bus.

Forty minutes later, she alighted and walked a few hundred meters, turning into Tangzi Street.

Zhang Linsheng was still following.

Even now, he still didn’t know why he was following... but he did, wanting nothing more than to look at her a bit longer.

When Sun Keke arrived at the entrance of Da Lei’s car dealership, she was somewhat tired and slightly out of breath. But as soon as she ran into the dealership and saw Brother Lei directing the shop’s assistants to move things, she happily ran over.

"Brother Lei!"

"Oh, Keke," Brother Lei laughed heartily and quickly beckoned, "Come, come, sit down. Hurry and take a seat."

He turned, grabbed a bottle of soda from behind the counter, and handed it to her.

Sun Keke took it with a beaming smile. "Where’s Chen Nuo?"

"Err..." Brother Lei thought for a moment. "He went out to eat. He’s at the ramen shop on the street corner; he should be back soon. How about you give him a call?"

"No need, I’ll go find him." She put down the soda bottle and skipped out.

Brother Lei scratched his bald head. Turning, he saw a young assistant beside him staring spellbound at School belle Sun’s retreating figure and smacked him on the head.

"Look, look! What are you looking at! Is she someone you can just stare at? Are you trying to get yourself killed?! All of you, behave yourselves! She’s our little ancestor!"

Sun Keke left the car dealership and walked towards the east side of Tangzi Street. After a few steps, she seemed to recall something and turned back.

This time, she happened to see Zhang Linsheng.

Zhang Linsheng was caught completely off guard when the girl suddenly turned. He instinctively tried to duck to the side of the road to hide... but there was nowhere to conceal himself on the empty street.

"Huh? You are... Zhang Linsheng?"

School belle Sun recognized him.

The girl’s gaze became somewhat cautious.

Zhang Linsheng gave a sheepish smile. "Um... you remember my name."

"Yeah, you’ve become quite famous at school recently."

Probably not for a good reputation, though! Zhang Linsheng’s face fell.

"Why are you here? You’re not following me, are you?" The girl looked around, slightly on guard.

Zhang Linsheng quickly shook his head. "No, no, no, I live nearby."

As he spoke, he casually pointed to a residential complex not far away. "Look, my home is right there."

"...You live that far away?" Sun Keke frowned, instinctively doubting his claim.

Zhang Linsheng felt his confidence waver... he could no longer act arrogantly in front of Sun Keke.

For one thing, Old Sun had returned to school and resumed his role as the academic dean.

Secondly... after the protective coloration of "Brother Haonan" was stripped away, his insecure side had already been laid bare.

A Changhe van used for transporting goods slowly pulled over and stopped on the opposite side of the street.

A person in the driver’s seat looked through the window at Zhang Linsheng and School belle Sun talking on the other side of the road.

"Is that them?" the driver asked with a frown.

The man with a fierce expression in the passenger seat also glanced over. "It should be. The snitch from Bald Lei’s store said so, didn’t he? A boy in a school uniform and a girl who often comes to see him! They’re both wearing school uniforms; it must be these two! Didn’t we just see this girl coming out of Bald Lei’s store?"

"Then it’s them!" A ruthless glint flashed in the driver’s eyes as he cocked his head. "Get ready to move."

In the backseat of the van, two other men in jackets sat, clearly looking like trouble. Under their bulging jackets, in spots left open, the handles of knives could be seen.

"When we make our move, be quick about it! Just pull them into the car and go!"

The van slowly drove about ten meters further, then made a U-turn and slowly pulled up beside Sun Keke and Zhang Linsheng.

The two young people didn’t notice. As soon as the van stopped, the door suddenly slid open, and two men jumped out. One immediately put School Belle Sun in a chokehold, while the other forcefully lifted her.

The girl only managed to let out a short cry before being pulled into the van!

Zhang Linsheng was stunned!

He didn’t have time to react. Inside the van, two men already had knives to School belle Sun’s throat.

"Kid! I’ve heard about you. Quite the reputation, and good at fighting, right?"

The fierce-looking man in the passenger seat sneered.

Uh... Zhang Linsheng swallowed nervously.

Heard of me? Big reputation? Good at fighting?

Uh... has my reputation as Brother Haonan of No. 8 Middle School spread all the way to the city?

I’ve already left the gangster life, yet tales of me still circulate in the underworld?

"If you don’t want to make a big deal out of this, get in the car obediently! Our boss wants to see you, to have a good talk!" The man sneered. "You don’t want anything to happen to this girl, do you!"

His mind flashed through over a dozen thoughts... but none of them were of any use.

Zhang Linsheng was in a state of confusion... Although he was known as Brother Haonan of No. 8 Middle School, he wasn’t the real Brother Haonan, after all.

But, suddenly driven by some inexplicable impulse, he clenched his teeth and said in a low, fierce voice, "You... don’t mess around!"

"Then get in the car!"

In his eighteen years of life, Zhang Linsheng had never faced such a situation. But at that moment, he didn’t know where the courage came from. He saw Sun Keke with an arm around her neck, her mouth covered, struggling in panic inside the van.

The teenager suddenly clenched his teeth, ducked his head, and climbed into the van!

The van sped off. By the side of the street, all that was left was a backpack, dropped in the chaos.

"Brother Lei."

Chen Nuo walked into the shop with a full belly, swaying his arms.

"Yo, Brother Nuo is back." Brother Lei glanced behind Chen Nuo. "Eh? Keke isn’t with you?"

"Huh?"

"Keke was just here looking for you. I told her you were at the ramen shop at the street corner, so she headed that way. Didn’t you run into her?"

Chen Nuo thought for a moment. "Maybe we missed each other. I just went to the supermarket. I’ll go look for her."

A few minutes later, the teenager stood at a spot on the roadside, staring coldly at the backpack on the ground, his eyes narrowing into slits.

BANG BANG BANG.