Chapter 7#

I opened my eyes, dazed and confused.

I felt as if I were immersed in water, floating, illusory and unreal.

The furnishings were the same as ever—a monotony within luxury, devoid of any life, faintly carrying a stale, rotting smell. I looked around quietly, taking a few steps in a daze.

Suddenly, a sound came from upstairs.

Hasty, furious, yet familiar. I slowly looked up, and sure enough, I saw that wild boy skipping down the stairs—his features were delicate, his face soft.

He was the most beautiful, lovely child in the world.

But there were tears in his eyes, and his lower lip was tightly pressed. He ran so urgently, as if something was chasing him from behind. This kid… had Shu Yuan been scolding him again? Or had someone bullied him?

Come here, who made you cry? Tell Dad.

As he came down the stairs, he stumbled. I was anxious along with him, but luckily he grabbed the railing, though he lurched forward. Then many people came running down, surrounding him.

Among them was Shu Yuan.

Shu Yuan was wearing black clothes, and her hair had been cut. I didn’t recognize her at first.

My son was making a huge fuss. He hadn’t been raised by Shu Yuan when he was little, so he had a very stubborn personality. Shu Yuan didn’t have a great temper. I saw her raise her hand, probably about to hit my son. I was about to step forward.

Suddenly, another loud shout came from upstairs.

Everyone looked over.

When the warmth drained away completely, maybe this was what it felt like. I looked at that figure—his hair had grown long, and he hadn’t shaved. I remembered that this man cared most about face, always dressing himself up as flashy as a peacock spreading its tail. As he walked down the stairs, he staggered slightly, as if he had been drinking.

His tolerance for alcohol had always been astonishingly high… had something happened?

As he approached, my son suddenly struggled even harder. Then Shu Yuan couldn’t hold him back anymore. My son charged forward, kicking and hitting. I had never seen my son like this before.

Shu Yuan grabbed my son and shouted, “What are you doing! He is your real father! How can you hit your father—ah!”

I… I looked at him. His face was pale.

Suddenly, my son bit down on his hand.

Many people rushed forward and pinned my son down—Who! Who allowed you to treat my son like this?! When I rushed forward, I easily passed through them.

My son cried bitterly. I had never seen him cry like this.

Good boy… don’t cry, okay? Dad will take you to Ocean Park tomorrow, like we promised. Don’t cry…

Suddenly my son looked up, his gaze fixed straight at me.

“Dad… Dad… Dad! Dad—! Dad—! Dad!!”

Everyone’s faces turned pale. Shu Yuan raised her hand to slap my son again. But he fiercely twisted my son’s shoulder, his eyes bloodshot, his face ferocious: “You… saw him? Did you see him—! Where is he! Where is that bastard Ren Qiri!”

He suddenly stood up and shouted at the entire house: “Ren Qiri! You’re here, aren’t you! Come out! Do you hate me—do you hate me?! If you hate me, come out!”

“Ren Qiri! Hahahaha—! Have you seen this! Now all of this is mine! Do you see, Ren Qiri! Now you have nothing left! Ren Qiri—! Come out and face me! Come out and face me!”

Ren Qiri—

Ren Qiri—!

Gasp!

I opened my eyes and saw a face enlarged in front of me. I screamed, “Ah!” and was about to move back, then looked around wildly. Outside the window was the familiar scenery of New City, with the old shopping street along the way. I took a deep breath. My forehead suddenly went cold, and I jumped up again.

“What’s wrong with you!”

This, this voice…

I lifted my eyes slightly. Wang Zheng’s hand was on my forehead, and I heard him muttering something under his breath. He was very close, almost leaning entirely against me, ignoring the fact that I had pressed myself against the car door, and kept leaning in. My shirt was soaked with sweat, my chest heaving violently. Wang Zheng frowned and reached out to feel my forehead again.

I quickly said, “…It’s nothing, I’m fine.”

Wang Zheng furrowed his brows, grabbed my resisting hand, and suddenly called out to Old He, who was eerily silent in the front: “Xiao He!” Old He quickly responded. He was usually terrified of Wang Zheng—after all, Wang Zheng had caused him no end of trouble since childhood. Speaking of which, I really didn’t know what gave Old He the courage in my previous life to pick up a broom and swing it at Wang Zheng…

But—

That just now…

Wang Zheng glanced at me and said, “Go to the hospital.”

I rubbed my eyes and said, “I’m fine. Xiao He, take me back to school.” Old He looked troubled, calling out, “Young master… cousin… this…”

Wang Zheng frowned, his tone carrying the same authority as Old Madam Ren. “Xiao He, are your ears failing you at such a young age? If so, I can mention it to the old lady.” Now Old He had no choice but to obey. He was about to turn. I exhaled and said, “Xiao He, drop me off at school first. Then you can take the cousin to the hospital.”

“Ren Qiri!”

Wang Zheng was very strong. I had known that in my previous life. When he grabbed me, I had no strength to resist. Actually, I wanted to say that in my previous life, he didn’t even need to use much strength. A single look from him was enough for me to give up resistance. But that was my previous life.

I sighed.

“Wang Zheng, I’m fine. There’s no need to waste people’s labor. Besides…”

Wasn’t it you who wished me dead?

Wang Zheng looked very angry. The good mood he had when leaving the main house had completely vanished. I leaned my head against the window, staring silently outside. Wang Zheng coldly threw out a “Fine, whatever” and sat sulkily on the other side. The moment his body heat left me, I suddenly felt a tinge of regret…

After all, it wasn’t this current Wang Zheng’s fault.

I didn’t know where my anger came from.

All this abnormal behavior started because I saw that person… because of him.

I rubbed my eyes. I really didn’t understand.

Why did that person do that in my previous life?

Maybe he was the happiest when I died.

Ren—Xiao—

“Young master, cousin. We’ve arrived.”

Old He kept wiping his sweat, obviously shaken during the whole ride. I suddenly felt a bit guilty, so I patted his shoulder and coaxed with a smile, “Xiao He, don’t forget to invite me to your wedding.”

Old He jumped again and hit his head on the steering wheel… ouch, that looked painful. I let out a dry laugh. If memory served me right, at this time Old He was in the middle of a tough pursuit of Fang Sister, who sold cakes, and by the end of the year they would get married. He even took a month off for a honeymoon in Sentosa.

Later, many years passed before they had a pair of twins. One New Year’s, the older daughter and my son fought over a piece of candy…

Haha.

“Ren Qiri, what are you grinning about over there?”

Wang Zheng was already far ahead, showing his pass to the gatekeeper, his chin raised like a peacock.

I looked at the side wall, suddenly filled with melancholy.

Seeing how friendly the gatekeeper was, was this the so-called… differential treatment? If you looked decent, you got more perks—especially for someone like Wang Zheng, who never hid his family background and always flaunted it like a peacock.

I shook my head and was about to jog forward. Suddenly, my collar was yanked, and my center of gravity fell backward. My flailing hand was pulled behind me. I looked up and saw the starry sky, and then…

I—

Cold sweat slowly trickled past my eyes.

That head of shiny blond hair, the silver earring glistening in the dim light—the craftsmanship was clearly good… Actually, to be honest, and this wasn’t flattery, he was truly, truly…

I laughed dryly.

“Boss… frankly speaking, you really are…”

Actually, Du Yijie was pretty much the standard handsome guy—whether now or twenty years later, he’d be an eye-catching billboard anywhere. His good looks were completely different from Wang Zheng’s. Wang Zheng was all about the aristocratic temperament; Du Yijie was—

I swallowed. I, I knew I was wrong, okay…

Being grabbed like a chicken was really unpleasant. Du Yijie wasn’t particularly tall or strong, but he was still two heads taller than me. And when he didn’t speak, his gaze was especially sharp, as if he could bore a hole through you. I struggled a little, turned my head, and saw that Du Yijie was still wearing his school uniform, his shirt tail casually hanging out like usual.

“What are you doing!”

I was yanked forward again, stumbling two steps forward, only to be pulled back. Dizzily looking up, I saw Wang Zheng glaring ahead with a furious expression. Du Yijie’s hand was still in the position of grabbing me, a flicker of something in his eyes, slowly fading.

Like an unfathomable deep pool.

Du Yijie casually shook his hand off, looked at me, and said coldly, “So… you two get along well.” He shrugged, his lips curling into a sarcastic smile, no trace of humor in his eyes.

My heart suddenly jumped.

“Uh, that, something happened at home, so—old, boss…” Damn my clumsy mouth! I wanted to slap myself!

This kid… was probably—

Wang Zheng suddenly pulled me. “Ren Qiri, since when did you get involved with this kind of person? And what did you call him?” Without waiting for me to answer, Wang Zheng glared angrily at Du Yijie. “Judging by your stupid look, they probably latched onto you. What, a bunch of thugs causing trouble at school, pretty good at extortion. Ren Qiri, how much money did they extort from you—?”

Du Yijie didn’t change expression, but suddenly turned to me and said slowly, “Tell President Wang how much money I took from you. Huh!” Du Yijie gave a snort, pulled out a cigarette, and before turning away, gave Wang Zheng a contemptuous look and sneered, “Yeah, yeah, you’re a good student, always looked down on people like me… President Wang, keep a close eye on your good student from now on, don’t let us corrupt him.”

“Wait, Du, Du—” I struggled to run forward, but Wang Zheng held my arm tightly and watched coldly as Du Yijie got on his bicycle and sped past us.

I took a deep breath and shook off Wang Zheng’s hand.

Back in my room, my eyelids were unbearably heavy. I forced myself to shower and then collapsed onto the bed.

Suddenly, a scent reached my nose.

It was the brand of shower gel Wang Zheng always used.

It was too dark to see clearly.

In my ear, there was a murmur barely audible.

“Good boy… who is that?”

I opened my eyes slightly.

He hesitated for a moment, then looked away and said haltingly, “Just now… you, you were dreaming, kept calling ‘good boy’… who, who is that?…”

Who is it…

“Ren Qiri.”

I let out a soft sigh, turned over, and adjusted to a comfortable position.

“Didn’t you say the student council still has things to do tomorrow? Get some sleep early.”

Ah…

Time passed quickly.

The exam results came out.

I got second place in the entire grade. That peacock Wang Zheng naturally held first place. At the weekly assembly, the principal specially praised him. Seeing his expression, he still had that smug smile.

Also, somehow, Du Yijie’s group of kids was missing from gatherings, but that peacock Wang Zheng was more present. However, thanks to President Wang’s influence, the teachers treated me more gently, the looks from others were more friendly, and I even received quite a few love letters and chocolates—though, of course, they were addressed to a certain peacock king. Early on, I honestly acted as a delivery boy, but unfortunately, every time Wang Zheng saw them, his face would darken like black ink, and he would either throw them outside or tell me to flush them down the toilet.

Each time harsher than the last.

To be honest, I was a bit surprised by the boldness of the young girls. Perhaps in my previous life, the girls I interacted with were all raised in aristocratic education, dignified and reserved. Seeing those girls screaming for Wang Zheng, I felt an indescribable melancholy.

As for this change, there was one thing I was very dissatisfied with.

Although I knew that person had spies around me, I thought those spies were no match for Wang Zheng’s babysitting skills.

I once calmly and euphemistically tried to talk to Wang Zheng about it. Wang Zheng raised his chin high and said, “Do you think those punks are vegetarian? Hmph. You should know your own worth. Even if you’re going to mess around, there’s a limit.”

I was speechless.

Last time, while walking, I ran into Ade’s group, but didn’t see Du Yijie. Ade’s eyes were sharp, and as he passed me, he slammed into my shoulder hard, almost knocking me over.

Wang Zheng’s look at that time was murderous. I figure it was the mentality of a dog owner.

Later, Wang Zheng said the student council was short of a general affairs officer. He graciously allowed me to join exceptionally, and left this good position for me.

What does a general affairs officer do? In nicer terms, it’s managing all other matters; in plain terms—it’s a gofer.

“Qiri, could you take this document to the office for copying?” Xin Shuhui held a stack of documents. She was a junior high three girl with curly hair, a sweet smile, capable and pretty, and studied well, reportedly. Wang Zheng skipped grades to become president, and she was no slouch either, doing a great job as vice president. Early on, the two were practically inseparable, and there were many rumors about them around school.

Actually, it wasn’t a big deal if Xin Shuhui was chasing after Wang Zheng—after all, Wang Zheng was quite tall, and Xin Shuhui was half a head shorter than him. They looked good together.

I took the documents from Xin Shuhui. Usually, this work was handled by the copying team, but since it was almost holiday time, everyone had more activities, and I seemed relatively free. Xin Shuhui added some details to note, and said with a smile, “Qiri, you’re really efficient. I wonder why Wang Zheng always has you sit in the student council office just to pour him tea?”

I smiled, feeling slightly better, and carried the documents out.

Come to think of it, I had been quite busy lately, with a poor appetite, so I had rapidly lost weight. I had basically returned to the way I looked in my youth in my previous life.

As I turned a corner, someone collided with me, and the documents in my hands all fell to the ground. I hurriedly apologized a few times and bent down to pick up the scattered papers.

Suddenly, a foot stepped on the paper.

My heart jumped.

“Boss, look at this guy—he’s become the student council’s lapdog.”

“Damn, look at his bootlicking face, it makes me sick. Boss, let us teach him a lesson.”

I quickly stood up and stepped back.

Du Yijie was still the same as before, except when he looked at me, his gaze was very cold. The people beside me were about to grab me, but Du Yijie frowned and said, “Let’s go. Don’t waste time.”

They exchanged glances, then pushed me before reluctantly leaving.

I looked down at the documents they had stepped on, and suddenly felt an indescribable sense of weariness. In the past, when my son was angry with me, I had felt this same complicated emotion…

When I carried the documents back, Xin Shuhui almost fainted when she saw them. She didn’t dare give me any more work. I just had to serve Wang Zhen tea and pour him water, and I lived a pretty comfortable life.

Soon, the long holiday arrived.

On the last day of class, there were still some student council matters. Wang Zheng was held up by the teachers and would be late. I packed up early and was walking through the corridor when I saw that gang of punks blocking the way ahead.

My eyelids suddenly twitched.

Ade stood in front, slowly exhaling a puff of smoke and said, “Come on, go to the usual place.”

The ‘usual place’ he meant was the small storage room for sports equipment behind the school playground. Hardly anyone went there, and the school punks liked to gather there to smoke and drink.

I glanced at my watch. Wang Zheng would probably need another two or three hours, not that soon.

Ade was about the same age as Du Yijie. I don’t even know his full name. He usually didn’t talk much, always tailing behind Du Yijie, but when he looked at me, there was something unsettling in his eyes. Du Yijie seemed to value him, and the two would often whisper to each other.

I followed them. When we got behind the playground, someone kicked me hard from behind. I pitched forward, but before I could hit the ground, someone grabbed my collar again and, without a word, punched me in the face.

“Thump!” I hit a shelf, and equipment clattered down, hitting me—pretty painful. Dazed, I shook my head, touched my aching nose, and tasted a bit of blood on my lips.

Before I could catch my breath, my collar was grabbed again.

I opened my eyes. Ade’s gaze was fierce, and his words were laced with anger: “I knew from the start you were no good. Hooking up with that sissy and acting all high and mighty. Big Du doesn’t want to deal with you, but I can’t stand it!” He punched me hard in the chin, and I almost bit my tongue. Lucky me.

I lay on the ground, dizzy, reaching out to grab something. Finally, I sat up. A bunch of people surrounded me, dark figures blocking my view.

I rubbed my eyes. “Du, Du Yijie?”

Someone kicked me in the back again.

“Bastard! What, you think if you call the boss over we wouldn’t dare hit you? Damn it!”

“Fuck! I’ve never seen such a two-faced bastard! If I don’t beat you to death today—!”

These… these kids…

Sigh.

I just wanted to apologize to, to that kid—was that wrong?

I covered my head. They were hitting fast and hard. I was really afraid I’d end up looking like a pig’s head.

“Hey! Get out of the way!”

I shook my head. The people around me seemed to disperse, and I felt a glimmer of hope, thinking they had finally let off steam and were willing to listen to me. I looked up and opened my eyes, only to see the kid with the lip ring walking over, holding a chain used to secure equipment—

Gasp!

I nearly jumped out of my skin.

“Haha! He’s scared! He’s scared!”

I tried to calm down, speaking through my swelling lips: “You, you listen to me—that, that thing…”

“Let me show you how it’s done—!”

I saw a flash in front of my eyes, and then a searing pain on my thigh—

And then another blow!

Sizzle—!!!

I was in so much pain my vision went dark. My body trembled, and everything went black.

My body felt out of control. I screamed, and through the ringing in my ears, I heard someone shout, and then a furious roar.

“How dare you—! Xiao Qi—! Xiao Qi!!”

“What are you standing there for! Call an ambulance! Hurry—!!!”

“Xiao Qi! Xiao Qi—!”