Chapter 47.1
Editor: yummers
This was a novel about a very unfortunate boy’s journey to the top. It mainly followed the story of the protagonist, Zhuo Junli, as he endured bullying in the workforce after leaving his miserable childhood behind; all the way to the pinnacle of his successful career.
Zhuo Junli’s father was abusive, which caused his mother to leave home when he was a child. He grew up being beaten by his father.
Due to the lack of food and clothing, he was a very skinny boy growing up. His tattered clothes also set him apart from his peers, causing him to appear very pitiful.
But he hadn’t been bullied much since he was a kid because he had an attractive appearance; he resembled those school idols on TV. His grades were also good, so ever since he started elementary school, the teachers were sympathetic towards this hardworking child from a troubled family.
His cla.s.smates—especially the female ones—admired that he was good-looking and smart. Most of all, he was willing to help them with difficult problems in cla.s.s.
For Zhuo Junli, his school environment was better than the one at home.
That was, until he entered high school.
It was around this time that many boys had their first crush. What was infuriating was that most of the girls that they liked had a crush on Zhuo Junli.
The school idol who was handsome, smart, and kind to others.
Then, Zhuo Junli’s popularity decreased just a bit. Although there were one or two people who targeted him, they didn’t dare go too far.
It wasn’t until his soph.o.m.ore year that everything changed when a new transfer student appeared.
He had a strong background. Although he was arrogant, he was also very generous. He quickly gathered a bunch of underlings and usurped the t.i.tle of school bully.
The school bully liked the prettiest girl in his cla.s.s.
It just so happened that, unfortunately, the girl had confessed to Zhuo Junli. Even though Zhuo Junli rejected her in a kind manner, the girl said that she would still have feelings for him.
The school bully was furious.
He chased after the girl while tormenting Zhuo Junli in various ways.
The teacher tried to help at first, but the school bully’s background was too influential. He bullied Zhuo Junli without leaving a mark on him. When the teacher tried to reprimand him, the bully would smile and say that it was an accident. In the end, the teacher could only turn a blind eye to this matter.
Zhuo Junli’s nightmarish school days began.
The school bully used underhanded but effective methods.
He asked to be Zhuo Junli’s roommate on purpose during the beginning of the year when the school was a.s.signing two-people dorms. In the middle of winter, he waited until Zhuo Junli was away to pour ice-cold water on his bed, causing him to suffer for the entire night.
When he heard that Zhuo Junli had gotten a part-time job, he deliberately went with his gang to cause trouble.
He also blocked Zhuo Junli after school, verbally hara.s.sed him, and even tried dragging him to the bathroom and locking him in there for the night.
It could be said that Zhuo Junli hasn’t had a single good day since the school bully arrived.
The only silver lining was that, at the time, the school bully was wary of the teachers, so he only pulled small pranks.
However, things got worse after the two graduated from university. Zhuo Junli joined a company only to find that it was owned by the school bully’s family. As their only son, the school bully was parachuted into the company.
Now, there were no teachers to hold the bully back. Zhuo Junli was humiliated in every way, but he was unable to leave because of the contract he signed. He could only continue to endure this cruel treatment.
It was a good thing that he was the protagonist. After a period of suffering, he used this company as a stepping stone to start his own. The school bully continued to be a relentless thorn in his side on the rest of his journey, setting traps for him at every turn.
The school bully could be considered the antagonist of Zhuo Junli’s life.
It wasn’t until the end that Zhuo Junli was able to reach the top and completely uproot the shadow that had haunted him his entire life. He drove the school bully to bankruptcy before putting him behind bars.
The tragedy was that the novel was too well-written. The wishes of the readers who liked it so much allowed it to become a world of its own. It was no longer governed by a script afterwards.
Right now, it was the day after the school bully poured cold water over Zhuo Junli’s blanket in the middle of winter. He had also already pulled Zhuo Junli to the bathroom and locked him inside.
In the original novel, the girl that had a crush on Zhuo Junli would come to his rescue. But after the world gained a life of its own, that girl was soundly asleep instead. After all, why would she go to the boy’s bathroom in the middle of the night?
And then…
Zhuo Junli died of pneumonia after freezing in the bathroom all night.
Such a miserable and scientific way to die. It really was pitiful.
Shi Qing, [Obviously I’m the school bully.]
System: [Wu… I’m sorry, Host. I wanted to take back the golden finger, but it can’t be stopped once it’s activated.]
[It’s okay.]
Shi Qing laughed evilly, [I also like to bully people.]
He got up and strolled around the dorm room.
The reason why this school had two-person rooms was thanks to the original host. When he found out that he was going to transfer schools as a freshman, he didn’t want to share a room with others. Therefore, he persuaded his family to offer a donation to the school for new dorms.
Shortly after he transferred, the dormitory building had also just finished construction. But by then, the school bully already started holding a grudge against Zhuo Junli. He gave up on his own single person room and insisted on living with Zhuo Junli to make it easier to hara.s.s him.
It was also easier to monitor him this way and to make sure Zhuo Junli wasn’t making any moves on his girl.
This dorm room was pretty decent. It was s.p.a.cious and had large windows. There was a notebook on the desk inside.
It belonged to the original owner. As the son of a rich family who had donated to the school, he was able to enjoy special privileges. For example, the teachers never inspected the dorm he stayed in.
In the original story, this was used to demonstrate how the tyrannical school bully abused this oversight to further torment Zhuo Junli.
Take locking him in a bathroom for example. The teachers never inspected their dorm, so of course they didn’t know that Zhuo Junli was missing.
No one else would know even if he locked the other person up for the entire night.
A second before Shi Qing arrived, the original owner’s cronies had just locked Zhuo Junli in the washroom. They were now leaving the scene.
He looked through Zhuo Junli’s belongings again.
There was a well-used backpack. His desk was buried under books. His bedding was still thin despite it being winter.
It was bought by Zhuo Junli in the summer. He wanted to buy a warmer set later on, but because the original owner sabotaged his chances of getting a scholarship, he had no money left to do so.
At the moment, the blanket was already soaked through. Even the mattress underneath was soggy.
There was air conditioning in the room, but the remote had always been in the original owner’s possession. Since he wanted Zhuo Junli to freeze, he naturally wouldn’t turn on the heating.
After rummaging around and confirming the situation, Shi Qing rubbed his hands and went to find his poor little roommate.
***
Zhuo Junli was pacing around in the bathroom.
His lips were already white from the cold, but he didn’t appear to be angry. There was only a calm expression on his face.
The school bathrooms had open windows for ventilation, but there was no gla.s.s installed there. Since students left the bathroom right after they finished their business, they wouldn’t get too cold. But being locked in the bathroom for a long time was another story entirely.
No matter which direction Zhuo Junli stood in, the whistling wind was still able to reach him, causing his hands and feet to get colder and colder.
It’s actually fine. He thought as he walked around to generate heat. He’s only been locked in here for ten minutes, and his body was still reasonably warm.
The bathroom was in the very corner of the exercise area. The walls were insulated and the door was locked. Even if he shouted at the top of his lungs, the people in the dormitories and school wouldn’t be able to hear him.
Not to mention that shouting would cause his body heat to plummet and sap his energy even faster.
The students had bathrooms in their own dorms, so there was no reason to come out here. However, the teachers’ dorms didn’t have any.
After their patrols, the teachers should come to the bathroom. They normally inspected around from 10:00-10:30. Zhuo Junli didn’t catch a glimpse of the time before he was locked in here, but it should be around 9:40 by his estimates.
Adding in the ten minutes he’s already spent here, it should be 9:50 right now.
The teachers would be here in 40 minutes at the latest.
He exhaled and silently continued to walk around to raise his body temperature.
After less than a minute of pacing, the sound of the chains being pulled open came from outside the washroom.
Zhuo Junli’s movements stopped. His handsome face and light-coloured eyes showed hints of confusion.
According to his deductions, no one should be here at this time.
Shi Qing swaggered in.
Inside, a young man with a slender figure and a handsome face was staring at him with a bit of a dazed look.
He was way too handsome. A single glance at his features could improve anyone’s mood.
Shi Qing, [Wow… He’s a real beauty. This is no school idol, this is a national idol.]
He tutted, [So tender and fresh. Are all school protagonists this good looking?]
In Zhuo Junli’s eyes, nothing good could come out of the way Shi Qing was staring at him.
He tensed up vigilantly and flexed his feet, but his face skillfully showed cowardice. He lowered his head as if he was frightened.
Zhuo Junli had learned a lesson from his childhood.
It was only when his abuser was satisfied by the fear and submissiveness he showed that the violence would stop.
As he skillfully made this expression, Zhuo Junli began to play out scenarios in his head.
Shi Qing wouldn’t hit him.
It didn’t look like he was carrying any other teasing tools on him either.
Did he come to mock him?
However, what happened next was completely out of his expectations. The arrogant and domineering school bully only crossed his arms and raised his chin as he faced Zhuo Junli.
“What are you standing around for? Come with me.”
Zhuo Junli became even more wary, but he was still timid on the surface. He carefully looked at Shi Qing and asked quietly, “Where to?”
“You sure talk a lot. Just do as I say.”
Shi Qing seemed to have lost his patience. He grabbed Zhuo Junli’s arm and pulled him out.
Zhuo Junli’s feet were frozen. He stumbled as he was pulled abruptly and nearly fell onto the ground.
The school bully pulled him back with one hand and scoffed, “You’re really a weak chicken. I really don’t know what Tong Xinyu sees in you.”
Zhuo Junli lowered his eyes. His long, thick eyelashes trembled gently. That, along with his white and handsome face, made him look especially pitiful. This was his usual trick to get the sympathy of others.
“Tong Xinyu and I are just cla.s.smates. You’ve misunderstood.”
“Hah! Cla.s.smates, huh? Why would she give bread to a cla.s.smate?!”
As soon as he was reminded of this, the school bully’s tone became even more resentful.
Shi Qing stretched out his hand to gently pat at Zhou Junli’s cheek.
“Tong Xinyu just likes your face. Do you think she would give you a second glance if you didn’t look like this?”
The handsome youth shrank back and ducked.
“There’s really nothing between us. I didn’t even accept the bread.”
But due to the way he ducked, his lips accidentally brushed against Shi Qing’s hand.
—Fwip!
The school bully withdrew his hand at the speed of light, even hiding that hand behind his back.