Chapter 18#
Chapter 18#
Zhao Xing walked over and stood before him.
“Why are you still here?”
Perhaps it was the thrill and excitement of the night, or the joy of having someone to share the unexpected surprise of the power outage, but a rare tenderness tinged Zhao Xing’s slightly hoarse voice.
Luo Mingshan was like this——
When Zhao Xing was angry, he would keep his distance, acting meek and timid, calling Zhao Xing “Brother Zhao” obediently, with a look of docile fear, silently and cowardly bearing all of Zhao Xing’s fury, sarcasm, and malicious bullying and teasing.
But when Zhao Xing was in a good mood, he would become innocent and gentle, fearlessly crossing the prohibitions and boundaries Zhao Xing had set for him. His eyes, bright as glass, were full of dependence and trust, and he would softly call him “Brother A-Xing.”
Like a forgetful little dog.
At this moment, his expression was even softer, his eyes sparkling, as if even the nearby stars and night lights had deliberately scattered a ray of starlight in his eyes. He said, “Brother A-Xing, I was waiting for you.”
Zhao Xing: “If it weren’t for the unexpected power outage today, I wouldn’t have been out until tomorrow.”
Luo Mingshan looked into his eyes and said softly, “Then I would have gone in to find you.”
Zhao Xing froze for a moment.
Although he knew full well that Luo Mingshan’s words were intentionally said to please him, Zhao Xing was still flattered.
Zhao Xing pinched Luo Mingshan’s cheek. “Luo Luo’s learned a lot, huh? Now you know how to sweet-talk your brother into being happy.”
Luo Mingshan didn’t defend himself, only asked, “…After you went in… were you hurt?”
“No, not a scratch.” Zhao Xing put down his hand, his expression triumphant, somewhat smug. “Good thing the power went out just in time. Another minute and I would have been electrocuted.”
“That’s good.” Luo Mingshan smiled in relief.
Zhao Xing slung an arm around Luo Mingshan’s shoulder, a curl to his lips. “Let’s go.”
.
By the time Zhao Xing returned to the dormitory, news of the power outage at the interrogation center had already spread. Though it was time to sleep, everyone was more excited than ever.
Under the dim night light, even little Lyu Xiaofeng had no desire to sleep. His eyes wide, he listened excitedly as Zhou Ming wildly speculated: “The interrogation center lost power, everyone in the repentance room was let out—that means all the equipment in the whole center is down! If someone tried to escape now…”
Just then, a mechanical electronic voice came from the speakers in the hallway: “Notice: The electrical system at the interrogation center has been restored. Three escapees have been apprehended. Please focus on your repentance and do not act rashly.”
Zhou Ming: “…”
Lyu Zhiqiang was also a bit surprised. “…So fast to restore it, but the broadcast didn’t mention the people who left the repentance room today.”
Zhou Ming looked at Zhao Xing with envy. “Brother Zhao, you’re so lucky! How did you hit that timing exactly?! A power outage at the interrogation center, and a big deal like that fell into your group’s lap!”
Zhao Xing looked around and raised an eyebrow. “Where’s Zhang Yue?”
Zhou Ming: “Oh, it seems you stepped on his fingers and broke them, so he went to the medical center. Probably won’t be back tonight.”
Zhao Xing was already in a good mood today, and hearing that Zhang Yue wasn’t coming back made him feel even better.
Zhou Ming scratched his head. “Brother Zhao, um… I tried to talk Zhang Yue out of it, but couldn’t stop him. He seems to hold a grudge against you. He’ll probably cause trouble in the next couple of days.”
Just thinking about what Zhang Yue had said to him made Zhou Ming’s skin crawl.
He never would have imagined that in Zhang Yue’s eyes, Luo Mingshan was some cold, refined flower in urgent need of rescue from a bully…
Too tragic. Young, and already blind.
Zhao Xing sat down on a chair, tapping his long fingers on the table twice as he silently considered his options.
He wasn’t afraid of Zhang Yue, but with his repentance score at zero… he really was a bit stuck.
His thoughts were tangled, and he happened to glance over at Luo Mingshan, who was drying his hair nearby.
Luo Mingshan had gone out with damp hair, and it still hadn’t dried completely.
Zhao Xing’s heart stirred. He casually pulled the man over to sit in front of him, fulfilling his playful promise to dry his hair.
Luo Mingshan’s hair was still a bit damp, but it was just as smooth and glossy as ever, not a single knot. It was cool to the touch, like silk soaked in water.
Zhao Xing had never touched anyone else’s long hair before, but he doubted everyone’s hair was of such fine quality.
Zhou Ming and Lyu Zhiqiang exchanged a look, sharing a meaningful glance.
—The big brother and his wife had finally started showing off their love.
To commemorate this important moment, Zhou Ming was ready to grit his teeth and offer some “betrothal gift”: “Brother Zhao, um, your card is empty, and it’s inconvenient for you to move around. How about I lend… no, I’ll just give you some—”
“No need,” Zhao Xing interrupted him. “I’ve got other ideas.”
Repentance points were for him to stir up trouble with. Using his own was fine, but wasting someone else’s felt inappropriate. Besides, he could hear the reluctance in Zhou Ming’s tone.
Zhou Ming: “Then what’s your plan, Brother Zhao?”
Zhao Xing continued drying Luo Mingshan’s hair casually. “Worst case, I’ll just rob someone. Shove a person into a dark room, steal their repentance points. Do it a few times, and that’ll work.”
Zhou Ming: “…Brother Zhao, are you for real? What if you get caught? Stealing repentance points will land you in the repentance room if you’re found out…”
Zhao Xing was nonchalant. “Then I’ll get electrocuted.”
At that moment, Lyu Zhiqiang spoke up. “Um, I once heard a secret. The factory we’re working at now is the lowest level. Above it, there are higher-level factories and top-level factories. The pay is much better, but ordinary people can’t get in. If you could get in, Brother Zhao, you’d make money much faster.”
Zhao Xing was intrigued. “How much?”
Lyu Zhiqiang: “I heard a higher-level factory gives 5 repentance points a day. No one knows the exact wage for the top-level factories, but people guess it’s above 10 repentance points.”
Zhao Xing was a bit disappointed. That wasn’t much.
And how to get into those places seemed like another problem.
Zhao Xing sighed, suddenly feeling a bit troubled.
Just then, Luo Mingshan, who was sitting in front of him, turned around and handed his electronic card to Zhao Xing.
Zhao Xing waved it away. “Take it back. The scraps on your card aren’t even enough to fill my teeth.”
The repentance points on Luo Mingshan’s card were the ones Zhao Xing had transferred to him that afternoon. After “finishing the martial arts practice,” there were only 25 points left.
But Luo Mingshan didn’t retreat. Instead, he held out the card and said, “Brother Zhao, these repentance points should be enough for you. If they’re not, I’ll find another way.”
Zhao Xing took the card with a scoff, his tone dismissive. “How much could you have? Do you think I don’t know what you’re made of—”
Zhao Xing’s voice cut off abruptly.
Zhou Ming leaned in. “What is it?! How much does the missus have? Let me see—”
Zhou Ming also froze, instantly struck dumb.
“Brother, why did you stop talking? How many repentance points does Shan-Shan-ge have?” Lyu Xiaofeng, who had just gotten out of bed to go to the bathroom, also poked his little head over.
Five seconds later, his eyes widened in shock.
“One, two, three, four, five… ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand… Dad! Shan-Shan-ge has eleven thousand and twenty-five repentance points!”
Lyu Zhiqiang: “What?!”
Over ten thousand repentance points… That was over a hundred million in real money!
Zhao Xing’s hands trembled slightly, his throat dry. “…Where did you get these repentance points?”
It was just a matter of modifying the data directly, just like how he had taken the place of that “excessive self-defense” teenager over a month ago. No one would notice.
Luo Mingshan lowered his eyes, thinking of a suitable excuse: “My family just topped up for me.”
Zhao Xing: “Your family?”
Zhao Xing frowned.
In his memory, Luo Mingshan’s family had never been very prominent.
Zhao Xing had first met Luo Mingshan when he was five years old.
Three-year-old Luo Mingshan was a strange child. He was always quietly observing others, and the person he most liked to observe was Zhao Xing. He was always calm, without any extra expression, like a beautiful, lifeless doll.
It was only after Zhao Xing took the initiative to approach Luo Mingshan that he learned this beautiful three-year-old child couldn’t even speak.
It was all because he had an unusual mother who suffered from a mental illness.
That woman was not kind to little Luo Luo, so later Zhao Xing simply stole Luo Mingshan away, brought him to his own dormitory, his own bed, and let him eat and sleep with him.
Luo Mingshan learned to speak from Zhao Xing, and Zhao Xing taught him how to write.
Zhao Xing remembered introducing himself to Luo Mingshan: “My name is Zhao Xing.”
Luo Mingshan looked at him and suddenly made his first sound in a long time. He opened his mouth and said, “Ah… Xing.”
Little Zhao Xing: “You can’t call me A-Xing. I’m older than you. You have to call me ‘gege.’”
Luo Mingshan: “…A-Xing… Gege.”
That was Luo Mingshan’s first complete and clear sentence.
.
Luo Mingshan pressed the card into Zhao Xing’s hand. “Brother Zhao, transfer however much you need. The password is your birthday. You can even take it all. I only asked them for the money because of you.”
Zhao Xing: “…”
Zhou Ming: “…”
Zhou Ming had never truly envied Zhao Xing before. Really.
Sure, Zhao Xing was taller, better-looking, richer, more arrogant, and had a wife as beautiful as a goddess, but Zhou Ming had always believed everyone had their own fate. Brother Zhao was just that good, so he deserved the best.
But now…
Damn it, he was really a bit jealous.
With a wife like that, what more could a man ask for?!
Zhou Ming was almost moved to tears. “Brother Zhao, you’re so lucky! Why aren’t you taking it? Too embarrassed to live off your wife? It’s okay, Brother Zhao, no one will laugh at you. You two are one, so eating soft rice doesn’t matter at all…”
Zhao Xing: “…”
Eating soft rice. Eating soft rice. Eating soft rice…
Zhao Xing’s brain was completely occupied by the phrase “eating soft rice.”
He coldly and ruthlessly pushed Zhou Ming away. “Get lost!”
Then he categorically refused Luo Mingshan: “No need. I don’t like eating soft rice.”
Zhao Xing: “…”
Fuck! His mouth slipped again!
Luo Mingshan wasn’t his wife. What soft rice was he talking about?!
Luo Mingshan was startled for a moment, then broke into a smile. “Gege got led astray by Zhou Ming.”
He was sitting on a stool, lower than Zhao Xing, and looked up at him under the dim nightlight. There were little glimmers in his eyes, and his tone was sincere, as if he were looking up at a deity. He said softly, “It’s only right for you to use my repentance points. Forget? I’m your little slave, gege.”
Zhao Xing: “…”
It felt like his heart had been struck.
But whether it was struck by the enormous amount of repentance points or by Luo Mingshan’s smile, Zhao Xing couldn’t tell anymore.
However, he soon didn’t have the time to dwell on it, because he had achieved both spiritual and material satisfaction.
—Luo Mingshan directly transferred ten thousand repentance points to him.
.
When Zhao Xing woke up the next day, he was walking on air.
Ten thousand repentance points worth a hundred million on him—who wouldn’t walk on air?
Even Zhou Ming beside him felt like he was floating along.
Besides walking slightly airily, Zhao Xing felt exceptionally energetic.
At breakfast in the cafeteria, Luo Mingshan suddenly spoke. “Brother Zhao, I want to talk to you about Zhang Yue.”
Zhao Xing: “Zhang Yue. We do need to talk.”
That guy had ulterior motives toward Luo Mingshan, and sharing a dorm with him was really disgusting.
At first, that bastard only dared to sneak glances at Luo Mingshan, but yesterday he had already laid his hands on him. Tomorrow, would he dare a night raid?!
Luo Mingshan lowered his eyes, biting his lip, his voice timid. “I… I don’t like the way he looks at me. I don’t want to live with him.”
Zhao Xing: “No problem. I’ll kick him out today.”
But Luo Mingshan suddenly said, “Brother Zhao, what do you think… about us moving out?”
Zhao Xing frowned. “Why should we move? If anyone’s moving, it’s that animal Zhang Yue!”
Luo Mingshan: “No, Brother Zhao. I heard there’s a kind of double room that costs 500 repentance points a month. I…”
“You want to move into a double room?” Zhao Xing asked.
Luo Mingshan nodded.
Zhao Xing thought for a moment and understood.
Since Luo Mingshan could now casually get his family to spend over a hundred million on him, he must have been living a life of luxury these past few years. He had probably long since grown tired of the cramped eight-person dorm.
Zhao Xing: “Fine. You handle it.”
Luo Mingshan’s eyes immediately curved into a smile. “Then I’ll go apply for the room change now.”
Zhao Xing: “Mm, go ahead. I have to go deal with that bastard who threatened our kid into delivering a letter last night.”
.
The male inmate who had threatened the kid to deliver a letter last night was Song Yao from Building 7, Room 1304. He was assigned to Class C204 of the Eighth Academy and should be on his way to the academy now.
Zhao Xing had ten thousand repentance points. Zhao Xing feared nothing.
He went straight to Class C204 of the Eighth Academy to catch the man.
Zhao Xing ate slowly and walked slowly, so by the time he reached the classroom, the teacher had already started the lesson.
Unlike Class A, Class C used a human teacher, but the teacher was safely isolated behind glass, lecturing the inmates on repentance through small vents in the glass.
Zhao Xing didn’t even look at the teacher. He kicked the door open and shouted, “Who’s Song Yao? Come out!”
No one answered.
Zhao Xing scoffed and walked straight to the first seat in the first row on the right. He grabbed the person and asked, “Are you Song Yao?”
“N-no!” The man trembled in fear and hurriedly pointed behind him. “Song Yao’s over there!”
Zhao Xing walked toward Song Yao, who was trying to bury his head under his desk.
“Who are you?! Stop! This is no place for your nonsense!” the intern teacher behind the glass shouted in anger.
But Zhao Xing ignored him. Instead, he grabbed Song Yao by the collar and lifted him up.
Song Yao wasn’t a tough opponent. In less than three minutes, Zhao Xing had already finished the beating in the empty space at the back of the classroom.
The intern teacher’s voice was trembling with rage. “You disrupted my class discipline. I will file a complaint to have double the repentance points deducted from you!”
“Ding.”
The electronic card chimed.
“Zhao Xing, deducted 22 points. Balance: 9,978 repentance points.”
The entire classroom fell into a deathly silence.
Zhao Xing smiled at the teacher on the podium, his handsome features carrying a hint of mockery. “Sorry for disturbing your class. Please continue.”
With that, he turned and left.
But the moment he turned around, the entire classroom erupted.
“Over nine thousand repentance points! Damn, did I hear that right?!”
“A hundred million! He topped up a hundred million!”
“What kind of family is that?!”
“Who’s Zhao Xing?! That name sounds familiar!”
“You don’t know Zhao Xing? The wife-addict who did a honey trap and got Suga killed? God, how did he suddenly get so rich?!”
“He topped up a hundred million! He can walk sideways in District K-13 from now on!”
“Walk sideways? He could walk all over the guards’ heads if he wanted!”
“…Silence!” The teacher slapped the podium with a ruler. “Everyone copy pages one through ten of the Repentance Manual!”
After issuing the order, he opened the glass door and walked out quickly.
“Zhao Xing!” The intern teacher hurried after the retreating figure, his face full of surprise. “I didn’t expect to meet you here!”
Zhao Xing stopped and looked him up and down, raising an eyebrow. “Who are you?”
The intern teacher: “It’s me, Liang Xiaopang! We used to play in the mud together as kids, remember? I still remember your mom always saying you were a rich young master. So it was true! Look at you, casually topping up a hundred million…”
.
In the spacious and bright double room, Luo Mingshan was tidying the bed when Zhao Xing suddenly pushed the door open and entered.
Luo Mingshan turned his head. “Brother A-Xing, do you like this room?”
Zhao Xing: “Wrong again.”
Luo Mingshan froze for a moment, stood up straight, and the smile on his face faded. “Brother Zhao.”
Zhao Xing took out the ruler he usually used to teach Luo Mingshan martial arts, his tone indifferent. “Hand out.”
Luo Mingshan slowly extended his right hand, palm up.
“Slap!”
The cold, hard ruler struck Luo Mingshan’s palm without mercy.
Luo Mingshan’s body flinched and trembled. His soft, fair palm began to redden visibly.
Zhao Xing struck twice more, directly bruising the palm into a purplish-blue mess, faintly tinged with blood.
Zhao Xing used the ruler to lift Luo Mingshan’s chin and said coldly, “If you get it wrong again, this will happen. Understand?”
Luo Mingshan whispered, “I… I understand.”
Zhao Xing put down the ruler. “You haven’t practiced martial arts today, have you? Come practice.”
Zhao Xing paused, his face expressionless.
“Today, we’ll spar.”
.
Luo Mingshan didn’t know what had happened, but he could tell Zhao Xing was in a terrible mood.
He assumed a sparring stance. “Okay.”
The next second, Zhao Xing kicked him in the chest, sending him flying.
Luo Mingshan was stunned by the blow. It took him a few seconds to struggle back to his feet.
Zhao Xing struck a second time, punching him square in the shoulder. As Luo Mingshan staggered backward, Zhao Xing grabbed him by the shoulder and punched him hard in the stomach.
Luo Mingshan clutched his stomach and slowly slid to the floor.
“Get up.” Zhao Xing’s voice was low, barely holding something back.
But Luo Mingshan didn’t move. He looked up at Zhao Xing, his eyes shimmering with faint light. The angle made him look especially fragile and sad. His lashes trembled, and his voice was hoarse: “Brother Zhao, did I do something wrong?”
“—You don’t fucking know what you did wrong?!”
Zhao Xing could no longer hold back his anger. He yanked Luo Mingshan up from the floor, grabbed him by the throat, and pinned him hard against the wall, his voice seeming to come through gritted teeth.
Luo Mingshan: “…I don’t know.”
Zhao Xing clenched his fist and swung it at his face, hard enough to break his nose. But Luo Mingshan didn’t even flinch; he just stared at Zhao Xing with clear eyes that held no tears, only dependence and sorrow.
“Bang!”
Zhao Xing’s fist hit the wall.
Blood dripped down.
“Fuck!”
Zhao Xing cursed, turning away in frustration and kicking over a whole row of chairs.
Looking at Luo Mingshan’s eyes now, he couldn’t bring himself to hit him!
Zhao Xing was going mad with rage!
He kicked over another table, then turned back, grabbing Luo Mingshan tightly by the collar. His eyes blazed with fury as he enunciated each word: “I saw Liang Xiaopang. He never forced you to frame me! Luo Mingshan, you fucking dared to lie to me!”
Luo Mingshan’s face instantly turned deathly pale.
Zhao Xing stared into his eyes and gritted out, “Tell me. Why did you do it back then?”