Wuhan District,
Gray Friday evening.
Thin, short, slightly clever, ugly, and poor. I am Lu Yhao, a lackey to rich and arrogant students, a target of mockery and a punching bag when their hearts are sad or simply in need of foolish entertainment. I am considered a loser, and perhaps I am indeed a loser.
Yes, this is my daily life, being punched in the face and stomach. Yesterday, a young teacher just found out about it because my face was swollen. Actually, I don't need her pity. Teacher Chao Suren, known for her beauty and excessive concern for me. This teacher is too innocent to live in this hypocritical world. Is she really willing to spend time only for a wretch like me? Well, whatever it is. As a result, they stopped bullying me. Although it was only for two days.
Because they have brains, now it's not my face that becomes their target. Besides the face, the most common target is the stomach.
"Hey, Huo Bo! What about our horror TikTok content?! I need money!" commanded Tang Zhiao. He is the tallest, the most handsome, and his face is full of fury. He was holding a wooden baseball bat and sitting on a bench near the window. His leg was propped up on the table like a king, showing off shoes that I could never afford.
"Oh, we just made it yesterday, didn't we?! Aren't you afraid if that incident happens?!" replied the girl who was munching on a lollipop while smiling at her phone. She is obsessed with perfection. If there is something lacking in her face, a dozen makeup tools are taken out of her bag. "Hey, loser, throw away this trash!" she commanded me to throw away a bunch of used cotton pads from her makeup.
Huo Bo likes to give orders. But I can assure you that he is the least terrible among the other three. The worst I could get from him is a slap. Compared to Tang Zhiao, who is more terrifying with the baseball bat he is holding. If his mood is bad, I could be finished by him.
Well, actually, I don't mind responding to Huo Bo's orders, rather than having my hands sore and in pain from being used as a punching bag by Liu Dong. Today, I am sitting in the chair, quite surprising, just as surprising as today because Liu Dong is going crazy.
Physically, he is nothing compared to Tang Zhiao. However, his mind is quite deranged and somewhat brutal. While Tang Zhiao tortures me when he's in a bad mood, Liu Dong does it every day. The worst part is when his mood is particularly bad, like it is now.
After school today at 2 p.m., we all stopped by the video content publication club room. Yes, that's their activity, but I'm the dark side of it. Not only a sidekick but also a punching bag. And since then, he has been lightly hitting my right arm. If I refuse, it's clear that my cheeks will swell again. Or even worse.
"Wait, you slut! I want to vent my anger!" he added, intensifying the punches. This jerk is truly sick in the head. "Hup, hiyaaahh!"
#Bruaakk! I was thrown back and fell down.
"Be careful, Liu Dong!" he added, wiping my sweat with his towel, while another girl named Cui Zhuo spoke. "What if he dies?"
Liu Dong remained silent and continued commenting, "My girlfriend is mad at me, tch! Since you're pretty, Cui Zhuo, why don't we try dating?"
"Tcuih, disgusting!" Cui Zhuo spat. The problem is, the projectile of saliva stuck to my cheek. Don't worry, if you think the towel he used to wipe me clean, then you're wrong. It was his snot.
#Whistle...~ Tang Zhiao whistled, giving a playful expression. That's always how they are, rubbing salt in each other's wounds. As a replacement, now Liu Dong stood up and kicked me.
Cui Zhuo is the worst among all of them. Honestly, for these past two years, she has never physically hit me, even though it's difficult to endure anything besides physical blows, right? Mental blows!
Numerous times she pretends to be kind to me, deceives me, humiliates me in public. Cui Zhuo comes from a wealthy family. What's even more unfair is that she is a smart and accomplished student in school. She's beautiful, too, to the point that even Huo Bo is jealous of her. I guess she also works as a model since she has a resemblance to a sudden film star, with blue-gradient hair tied on the left side. She is also very athletic.
That's my daily life, being a punching bag, being harassed, being bullied. Despite that, sometimes after school, those two girls give me money. They say it's payment for my services. Services as a punching bag. It's not much, around 24 yuan, sometimes even less. I guess it's not much compared to their TikTok earnings. I have become a living property with a distinctive hashtag that firmly attaches to me, declaring me an absolute loser.
In a way, I am like a mascot sacrificed in every empty house or a secluded place inhabited by psychopaths. As a side note, their TikTok content is a mix of horror and comedy. And their TikTok accounts have been showered with hundreds of thousands of yuan.
Because I'm a loser, I just accept it. Instead of only receiving the negatives, it's not a sin to accept my share, right? Even if it means sacrificing something greater.
After all, I'm a loser. After all, I'm being bullied. After all, I'm poor. Yet, every day, especially today, I pray to God for inner peace.
Being expelled from school and becoming a different kind of loser doesn't matter...
I'm even willing to die.
At one point, since Tang Zhiao said that, they were confused. However, they were confused about where to place me. There were remarks, jokes, and long conversations. Basically, they were confused. But when Cui Zhuo was warned by Tang Zhiao not to bully me anymore, there was one word from the top student girl that made me change my mind immediately.
"Don't worry, Chao Suren will lose his job tomorrow," she said with an evil smile and a wicked chuckle. "I will pretend to be innocent to my fans and boycott Chao Suren!"
All four of them burst into relieved laughter. Well, I'm used to hearing their laughter and seeing my fate. It's understandable enough.
"Yao Na!" I said loudly, capturing the attention of all four of them. Actually, I wanted to say something else.
#Bruaaak! That damn Liu Dong spontaneously and forcefully kicked my face.
Blood dripped from my nose, much like the accumulation of my revenge that grows stronger every day. He was about to deliver a second kick, but Tang Zhiao stopped him. Not because he felt sorry for me, but because of the name I just mentioned, Yao Na.
Yao Na lives in a two-story house in Wuhan District. She is the most expensive courtesan in this city. At one point, we visited her house to investigate the rumors surrounding Yao Na. They said she keeps many bodies underground for ritual purposes.
Because Tang Zhiao is a simple and lecherous man, when we met Yao Na six months ago, Tang Zhiao became infatuated with her, disregarding the negative rumors surrounding Yao Na's name. Coincidentally, at the same time, Liu Dong, who was in a bad mood, planned to book Yao Na as well.
Initially, they disagreed, but since both men were stubborn, they decided to make an impromptu content out of it.
I was not exempted from being involved.
In short, we immediately headed there, about 30 minutes from our school. We rode in Tang Zhiao's van. Today, these two men, as if having a good day, temporarily stopped hurting me. Well, it's because I contributed to them.
At least, because I'm slightly smart.
We arrived at her house, a grand and well-lit mansion. Two cars had just pulled out, so we met Yao Na near the gate, accompanied by her two equally beautiful assistants.
"You guys again? What do you need?" she asked.
I, with a clear mind, thought that it was impossible to say, "We want to document the rumors," like Huo Bo did before. But he repeated the same mistake.
Yao Na didn't immediately respond but briefly glanced at each of her assistants. We hadn't had a chance to prepare for a live TikTok.
"Alright, just come in," Yao Na nodded slightly, as if she didn't mind. Each of the female assistants hugged Tang Zhiao and Liu Dong, as if they knew what the two simple-minded men were thinking.
I never expected her to be so friendly compared to six months ago. Back then, her expression seemed caught off guard. It was as if we captured the most unwanted expression on her face, and it went viral on TikTok. I was well aware that Yao Na sneered at us before we escaped.
By the way, Yao Na closed the living room door and drew the window curtains. Well, it was getting dark, around 5 pm. What made me uncomfortable was why Yao Na locked the door.
We chatted casually, and Tang Zhiao and Liu Dong were already captivated by the two maid-like beauties working for Yao Na. They were dressed in tight and alluring Victorian-style maid outfits, while Yao Na wore a tight, blood-red dress with an open chest area that should have caught the attention of any man. I could even see Huo Bo and Cui Zhuo visibly frustrated.
"Ah, sorry about last time, Miss. I didn't look good," Yao Na said with a friendly smile, as if she fully accepted us as guests after what we did before.
"Well, yesterday's video got 20 million views, sis! Y-you'll surely get a share of the profit if you allow us now!" Cui Zhuo responded in the same vein, trying to align herself with Yao Na.
Yao Na nodded happily, strangely, I thought. However, I noticed several veins starting to appear around Yao Na's neck. Maybe she was genuinely happy.
"Castro! Serve my guests some A5 Wagyu beef!" Yao Na shouted loudly, giving orders. Surprisingly, it startled us a bit. But Yao Na apologized afterward, so we calmed down.
"The special ones, in the freezer!" she commanded.
In an instant, the slick-haired man named Castro hurriedly departed, as if he were a servant bowing to a queen.
Several minutes had passed since the handsome, tall, and muscular man named Castro brought a lot of meat and grilling utensils. His appearance was enough to make Huo Bo and Cui Zhao grin.
Surprisingly, our conversation went smoothly. Tang Zhiao and Liu Dong became even more engrossed with the two assistants of Yao Na. Not only did the assistants sit on their laps, but they also fed them grilled meat. Cui Zhao might have eaten a little, but Huo Bo ate heartily since he hadn't had lunch. His diet plan, unfortunately, had to be canceled now. If Tang Zhiao had the will, they wouldn't hesitate to leave without eating. That's how strong Tang Zhiao's influence was.
Yao Na finally looked in my direction. However, her gaze seemed the most different.
"You... aren't eating, dear...?"
I shook my head nervously. She was indeed far from Cui Zhao's level of beauty, who happened to be the prettiest girl in school. But considering what happened six months ago, I started to feel uneasy.
Then Yao Na stared into my eyes, as if she saw my slightly battered physique. Whatever that look meant, it made me feel uncomfortable.
And in a matter of seconds, something happened. The atmosphere changed.
Tang Zhiao and Liu Dong suddenly fell asleep. Meanwhile, Cui Zhao and Huo Bo suddenly grabbed their necks as if they were choking.
"P-please... h-h-hel-"
#Bruaak! In an instant, Cui Zhao's head was kicked with a heeled shoe, and he fell silent.
Well, I don't know if God granted my wish because I had wanted to die anyway.
I was half scared to death. Yao Na then instructed the four of them to be taken to the back. Now, only my imagination could envision what would happen to them in the future.
One thing was clear: the atmosphere had changed, just like Yao Na as I saw her six months ago.
I sat frozen, closing my eyes, waiting for my fate. I could clearly hear footsteps approaching, but so be it.
If this was the moment of my death, then it meant that God had blessed me.
I felt a hand tightly gripping my hair. It pulled roughly, and a mouth pressed against my ear. It would be a different story if the atmosphere were intimate, like when a playful and seductive tongue was extended.
But Yao Na's voice sounded small yet piercing. Like the sound of knives rubbing against each other. It was incredibly deafening, even though it was soft-spoken.
"Bring more people like them! I'm sure there are more in your school!"
"A-Are there more, Yao?"
"Not just those who bullied me with their TikToks. Bring the rest, and you'll be rewarded!"
In an instant, Yao Na released me. Oh, of course, with four 10,000 yuan bills inserted into my pocket.
As she turned the key to her house, I was truly free. As I glanced back at her face, Yao Na appeared normal again with her charming smile.
"Goodbye for now!" she waved her hand.
I responded with a somewhat forced smile. What was certain was that today I had proven a bit of my intelligence.
"I guess this isn't such a bad job, after all?"
