Many people couldn't believe their ears.

Had Xue An… gone crazy?

Hong Ming's face went red with embarrassment. "Xue An, I hope you won't get on your knees and beg for mercy later," he said coldly.

Xue An smiled softly. "Worry about yourself!"

Right at that very moment, Fan Mengxue intervened. "Hong Ming, today's my birthday. Don't you dare ruin it!"

Hong Ming gave a short humph and walked away feeling dejected.

However, Song Jing was more than pleased.

A fight, the bigger, the better!

"Better to let Hong Ming get fed up with that sl*t. Then I might have a chance with him."

Everything was going according to Song Jing's plan.

Fan Mengxue glanced at Xue An, her eyes laced with distress.

Xue An smiled and shook his head, signaling for her not to worry.

That was when Tang Xuan'er stood up and announced, "Today is Mengxue's birthday. Since we rarely get to see her, let's toast to her!"

Everyone stood up, including Xue An, who grabbed his glass of wine and raised it in Mengxue's direction.

Fan Mengxue cheered up abruptly and downed her wine in one gulp.

A pop was heard as a bottle of champagne was opened.

As the waiters pushed in a trolley containing a 12-layer cake, the party's atmosphere reached a crescendo.

However, instead of Fan Mengxue, everyone was talking about Hong Ming.

Soon, Hong Ming was drowned in praise and words of adoration.

Many people were eager to heap compliments on Hong Ming with the expectation that he'd offer them cushy positions at his company.

Having drunk a few glasses of wine and feeling undoubtedly tipsy, Hong Ming gave his adoring fans a big, clumsy wave.

"Don't worry, we're all classmates. I'll try my best to help all of you."

"Cheers for Young Master Hong!"

"As expected of Young Master Hong!"

Everyone was cheering and toasting to Hong Ming.

As for Xue An, no one even gave him a look. It was as if they'd completely forgotten about him.

Suddenly, Hong Ming gestured to everyone to keep it down, then he produced a small box from his breast pocket.

Everyone gasped when the box opened to reveal a diamond ring that was at least five carats.

"Mengxue, happy birthday!"

Hong Ming's extravagant birthday gift silenced the crowd.

Meanwhile, Song Jing's eyes flared up with envy.

However, Fan Mengxue lowered her eyes and shook her head lightly. "Hong Ming, I can't accept your gift."

"Why not?"

"It's too expensive."

Hong Ming let out a laugh. "It was only a million dollars. It's no big deal!"

At that instant, a cutesy voice interrupted them.

"Papa, that ring isn't even as big as the one you bought for me from the roadside stall!"

Everyone turned their eyes to see who it was.

Xue Xiang put down her chicken drumstick and reiterated her statement with greater conviction. "It's true! The ring my Papa bought from the roadside is huge!"

Everyone cracked up in laughter at Xue Xiang's naivete.

Song Jing snorted with laughter. "Little girl, that ring your Papa bought is worth five dollars at most. Young Master Hong's ring cost over one million dollars!"

"Is one million a lot of money?" asked Xue Xiang, blinking.

"Of course it is!"

Xue Xiang shook her head. "But I think the things my Papa buys for me are the best in the whole wide world!"

Xue Nian swallowed down a piece of meat and nodded earnestly. "Xue Xiang is right!"

Bursting with joy, Xue An rubbed Xue Xiang and Xue Nian's little heads. "That's right! Nothing but the best for my girls!"

"Papa, I want to give Auntie Mengxue a present!" Xue Xiang said.

"Go right ahead! Those presents belong to you now. You can give them to whoever you want!"

Xue Xiang nodded, hopped down from her chair and walked towards Fan Mengxue. Ceremoniously, she presented her with the ring Xue An had bought her.

"Auntie Mengxue, happy birthday!"

As Fan Mengxue laid her eyes on the fair-skinned child, she couldn't help but laugh. She accepted the ring from her little hand and said, "Thanks! What's your name?"

"I'm Xue Xiang, and my sister is Xue Nian!"

"Xue Xiang, Xue Nian…" As Fan Mengxue muttered their names under her breath, a bitter thought came to her mind.

That girl must've loved him very much.

At that moment, Song Jing laughed mockingly and said, "How frugal of you. You call a five-dollar ring from a roadside stall a present?"

Fan Mengxue furrowed her eyebrows. That Song Jing was such a nuisance.

But suddenly…

Fan Mengxue let out a soft "Eh?" as if she'd noticed something interesting about the ring.

Then, Fan Mengxue was completely stunned.

Ever since she rose to fame, Fan Mengxue had become a spokesperson for all the major luxury brands and jewelry companies. She knew her stuff.

Fan Mengxue was certain that it wasn't just any ordinary ring from a roadside stall.

On the contrary, judging by the ring's quality and finish, she'd have said it was a one-of-a-kind treasure.

It definitely wasn't something one would find at a roadside stall!

Frustration was starting to show on Hong Ming's face. Having been disgraced time and again throughout the evening, he was on the brink of blowing up.

Now that Fan Mengxue wouldn't even accept his present, Hong Ming had lost his last shred patience.

In one fell swoop, he snatched the ring from Fan Mengxue's hand and threw it on the ground furiously.

Enraged, Fan Mengxue shouted, "Hong Ming, how dare you throw Xue An's gift for me on the ground?"

"Mengxue, that old thing is worthless. Why do you even want it? Xue An, if you're too poor to afford a gift, then don't buy one. Who do you think you're fooling with that plastic toy?" replied Hong Ming with a cold laugh.

Xue An let out a sigh, stood up slowly, and picked up the broken ring from the floor. Then, he held one finger in Hong Ming's face.

"Ten million!"

"What?" Hong Ming was still unaware.

"I'm saying, you should compensate me for the ring you just broke. Since you're my ex-classmate, I'll go easy on you and make it ten million!" Xue An said flatly.

Hong Ming looked at Xue An with an idiotic gaze. "Has poverty gone to your head? Here's a thousand dollars. It should buy you a hundred of those rings!"

"He's trying to rip him off!" said Song Jing, laughing sarcastically.

"Does this mean you guys aren't going to pay?"

"Pay, my a*s!" Infuriated, Hong Ming started screaming obscenities.

Little did he know that he was about to pay for what he said.

Xue An grabbed an ashtray from the table and gave Hong Ming's head four or five violent bashes while holding him by the hair.

Everyone was shocked to see what had happened.

In no time at all, fresh, red blood began to trickle down from Hong Ming's head.

Horrified, Song Jing tried to shriek but was stopped halfway through by Xue An when he pinched her neck firmly with his hand. "Be quiet if you don't want to die. Got it?" he said flatly.

Song Jing nodded nervously as she looked into Xue An's eyes, for his callous gaze exuded dominance.

Song Jing had a feeling that if she didn't obey Xue An, he wouldn't hesitate to snap her neck in half.

By then, Hong Ming had regained consciousness, his hideous visage twisted with rage.

"Xue An, you're dead meat! I'm going to kill you!"

Xue An nodded. "Looks like you haven't learned your lesson!"

With that, Xue An picked up the ashtray and laid another round of blows on his head.

There was an audible crack. Strained, the ashtray finally fractured.

Only then did Xue An relax his hands. At that point, Hong Ming could barely stand up. He fell to his knees with a loud thud, blood dripping continuously from his forehead.

Xue An said plainly, "I suppose now we can talk about my compensation in a civilized manner."

The room was filled with shock and awe.

No one expected Xue An, a quiet and mild-mannered student back in school, to act so violently out of the blue.

Deep down, Xue An knew that he could reduce Hong Ming, Song Jing, and the rest of their gang to ashes without even lifting his finger. However, doing that wouldn't help him conquer his inner demons.

The only rational choice was to make those who'd bullied him in the past pay him back many times over.

It was at that moment that signs of fear and respect began to show in the way Hong Ming looked at Xue An.

Never in his wildest dreams had he thought Xue An would lash out at him so suddenly.

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