520 Chapter 520: The Strange Beggar (1/2)
The next morning, there was a commotion right outside the gate. After splitting up with Adrian and Melina, I was about to head toward the high school division when I heard a ruckus in the courtyard. There were students gathering at the gate and whispering or muttering agitatedly.
Curious, I did a 180 and returned to the gate.
”Where did this beggar come from?”
Beggar?
Pushing my glasses up, I proceeded forward. At first they had my curiosity, but now they had my attention. Being the busybody that I was, I headed over to the gate to join the crowd and stare. Obviously I didn't take out my smartphone and start taking pictures or recording – I was not that big on social media and I had better things to do.
A crowd of students had gathered around a single person who was seated outside, and they were looking down on him with scorn and disdain. The ”beggar” was wapped in a filthy, black cloak and hood that covered his grimly face, and he sat calmly at the exterior of the gate, with a relatively big aluminum can in front of him. The type where you scraped baked beans out of, or other kinds of processed food, but obviously he had eaten all of the food that the can had once possessed. The lid had been peeled off, revealing a pitiful, empty container that was waiting to be filled with money.
One of the student, clearly a Fu Er Dai (second generation rich kid), jabbed his finger rudely at the beggar and sneered.
”How dare he ask for money in front of our school?”
Agreeing, several of the girls bunched together as they treated the beggar with contempt and a little bit of trepidation.
”He chose the wrong place. Our school is elite and very famous. He's ruining our image!”
Bloody hell. Here you had a poor guy who was in need of money because he was homeless and close to starving to death, but the only thing these people cared about was their ”image”? What a bunch of stuckup, arrogant and self-centered ”elite” students.
”Tell the guards to get rid of him,” one of the students grumbled. I stared at him in astonishment. Why couldn't he just do it himself instead of standing here and whining about it?
A delinquent student, who stood out in contrast to the ”elite” students around him (and ironically ruining the school's image way more than the beggar ever could, but no one pointed that out except me), chuckled and threw something into the can.
It wasn't coins. It was a pebble.
Inspired by the delinquent, several of the students also laughed and began picking up stones and pebbles to toss at the beggar, who sat unmoving despite being showered by projectiles that bounced off his hood and cloak.
What the hell?! It was okay if you didn't want to donate any money to the poor guy, and while it was bad enough that you were badmouthing him, there was no need to throw stuff at him, right? Abusing him was way too much!
”Hey, hey!” I shouted as I forced my way to the front and placed myself between the beggar and the students. ”Stop that!”
”Oh? Isn't that the exchange student from some countryside school?”
”The no-name exchange student who is arrogant enough to think that he can hang out with the likes of Kufa Van Peer, Rossetti Picket and the other elite students?”
The hell? No-name exchange student? Countryside school? Did these fools forget that I was part of the Jing Tian Academy team who defeated the representatives of their Saint Teresa Academy? These people really have short memories. Not that I was in any position to remind them, because I found myself becoming their new target.
”Hey, teach that exchange student a lesson! Show him how things work in Saint Teresa Academy!”
”That's right, he's ruining the image of our school just by participating in an exchange program here.”
”Let's punish him too!”
What the fuck!?
Before I could retort or defend myself, the crowd began hurling pebbles, twigs and other random objects at me. I winced as their mana-infused projectiles broke through my protective aura and scraped my skin. What the hell, they were going as far as to infuse their projectiles with their own mana to ensure that I was hurt? If I hadn't formed my defensive aura properly, I would have been seriously hurt!
These so-called ”elite” students seriously needed to look at themselves in the mirror and stop being so arrogant.
That was it. These suckers were going down. I clenched my fist and began gathering mana into it, getting ready to freeze these fuckers. To hell with the consequences – even if the school dared to punish me, I could claim self-defense. My glasses were recording the whole thing. If I posted this on social media, I had the ability to ruin the reputation of Saint Teresa Academy forever.
”Hmm…”
Fortunately for the stuents, before I could retaliate, Zhao Yan passed by and intervened. Frowning when she witnessed the scene, she immediately leaped into action and planted herself between me and the crowd. I was forced to stop my spell, especially since she was standing in my way and spreading her hands determinedly.
”You can't pick on them like that.”
You don't say?
On the other hand, those simple words were enough to halt the aggression, so I couldn't question the effectiveness of her methods.
”Zhao Yan?”
Whispers rippled through the crowd as many of the students recognized her, despite Zhao Yan not being very sociable. Yeah, her parents and sister, Yue Jian, did mention that she didn't have many friends other than me.
”Isn't she the smart and pretty girl who is always ranked first academically in our school?”
”I didn't think she was the type to meddle in such affairs…”
Even though Zhao Yan didn't interact much with the other students, she did build up quite the solid reputation, and it was working to her advantage as the dissent simmered down and died. The delinquent who cast the first stone sighed and waved his hand dismissively.
”Forget it! If a beauty is defending those two losers, then we shouldn't leave a bad impression on her.”
It was too late for that, you moron. The moment you began abusing the beggar, you had already sealed your image in Zhao Yan's eyes. Not that she was one to keep a grudge against you for that…
”The others are here too!”
”Hey, what are you doing?”
Rossetti had shown up, along with Miura and Kufa. The trio were making their way forward. Miura, in particular, clapped her hands.
”Okay, nothing to see here! Let's go! We don't want to be late for classes, do we?”
”You okay?” Kufa asked me, and I nodded. Relaxing, I allowed my mana to fade away completely. I was this close to freezing the lot of bullies.
”How horrible!” Rossetti complained hotly, swinging her fists at the retreating students. ”How could they do such awful things?!”
”Because that's how some people are,” I replied cynically and wearily. But I smiled and nodded gratefully at them. ”There will always be good people and there will always be bad people.”
The crowd dispersed after that, muttering under their breaths and slightly intimidated by the newly arrived trio. If Zhao Yan's appearance hadn't discouraged them, then the arrival of Rossetti and her friends certainly broke any defiance they might have. The students headed in different directions as they proceeded to their various classrooms all over campus. Which was weird, because we were right outside the gate, so why were quite a few of them walking away from school? Did they plan to skip classes or something?