The Sick Villain Just Want to Live

In front of the counter, Shao Ming looked at the eye-searing comments on the computer screen one after another, all with a calm expression. He even moved the mouse casually to refresh the interface, and read several new comments.

“Damn it, that bastard Yuan Shaozhou must be playing tricks behind our backs again!”  Luo Suo cursed in anger. 

Zhu Tong looked at Shao Ming, then stared back at the computer, frowning. “When did this start?”

Luo Suo replied, “Just now, I knew that the surnamed Yuan was going to do something nasty in retaliation. I have been staring at the computer all day.”

“…”

Zhu Tong fell deep into thoughts. At first, because Yuan Shaozhou had been admitted to the hospital, he had predicted that the bully should have lied down until he partially recovered. He didn’t expect him to jump about this fast. 

If a large number of such remarks were published on this kind of public platform, it could stir up some troubles once the public saw it. Not only would the store not be able to continue, but even the daily life of Shao Ming and his mother would be affected. If the scale was large enough, it might even be a well-known “fact” in the whole town! 

Yuan Shaozhou targeted Shao Ming simply because Xia Yang liked Shao Ming, and it was not Shao Ming’s fault from beginning to end.

Just because of this… and yet, Yuan Shaozhou felt it was necessary to do this. 

‘Is this something a high school student can do? It’s too much!’ Zhu Tong’s ire bubbled up, and his fists slowly clenched. 

Shao Ming looked at the computer for a while, then moved his gaze towards Zhu Tong’s face.

He was suddenly curious, wondering how his deskmate would react when he saw such “convincing” remarks.

Will he be surprised? Will he be curious? Will he secretly look at Shao Ming’s reaction? Will he doubt these, or want to ask Shao Ming about the truth behind these remarks? 

However, Zhu Tong didn’t do any of these. 

When Shao Ming looked over, Zhu Tong was staring at the computer screen with a tight frown. Seeing the rapid up-and-down of his chest, his breathing was  much faster than usual.

He obviously didn’t have any big emotional fluctuations on his face, but Shao Ming knew that his deskmate was furious. 

‘He is actually angry? About others’ family affairs?’

This person’s reaction always seems to be beyond his expectation.

Shao Ming’s lips uncontrollably curled up.

When Luo Suo turned around, he saw Shao Ming’s chuckle, and was surprised, “Can’t you wait for a while until you laugh?”

Shao Ming only replied, “Don’t be afraid, you can still get tattoos if your eyebrows are gone.”

Luo Suo: “???” 

‘Why is he talking about tattooing eyebrows?’

However, Shao Ming always had an attitude of not rushing or slowing down. He was a very patient predator, lying in the wait for the perfect moment to strike.

Luo Suo asked, his face clearly showing his impatience, “What should we do now?”

Shao Ming echoed, “Yes, what should we do now?” 

Luo Suo: “…”

Zhu Tong: “…”

Zhu Tong looked at Luo Suo, who was anxious and irritable, and then at Shao Ming, who looked unbothered, or even amused. He wondered, ‘Whose shop is this again?’

He moved his lips, but was hesitant to speak.

In the current situation, he knew that the first-aid would be stopping these people from slandering the shop and its owners. 

Luo Suo felt the need to put out the fire as soon as possible, and knew that Shao Ming wouldn’t be in support of his endeavor. So, he lowered his head and took out his phone and said, “I’ll find someone to delete the bad reviews first.” 

“No need,” Shao Ming raised his head and looked around the store, “Where’s Lao Er1老二; Old Two/Second?” 

Zhu Tong looked puzzled. ‘Who is Lao Er?’

Before Zhu Tong could ask, Luo Suo had already replied, “He went to the bathroom.”

Shao Ming said “Oh”, and continued, “Then let’s wait for him to come back.”

Then he clicked the mouse to continue reading the comments.

Zhu Tong: “…”

If they waited any longer, the comments would be a hundred-story tall2forum/comment thread is called a “building”, and each comment is a “floor”. The ground floor is the OP.! 

Zhu Tong vaguely realized who this “Lao Er” Shao Ming was talking about, and when Lu Zheyu came back, he saw Shao Ming push the computer forward as if he was washing his hands off this problem. 

“Alright,” Shao Ming said, “I’ll leave it to you.” 

Lu Zheyu had already changed out of his work clothes and was wearing the school uniform of Gongshui No. 1 Middle School.

Stopped by Shao Ming, he looked down at his wristwatch. Then, he raised his head and said, “If I continue to work now, it must be counted as overtime. I want my salary to be doubled.” 

Shao Ming nodded readily, “No problem.”

The two hit it off.

Zhu Tong watched Lu Zheyu, who looked ready to go home, go behind the counter and start to work again. He walked up to Luo Suo and said, “Please get off.” 

Luo Suo simply vacated the space obediently.

Zhu Tong: “…”

Lu Zheyu looked very powerful.

‘So… he and Shao Ming actually had a good relationship all along?’

In school, Lu Zheyu was only energetic during class time. Besides that, he was almost always asleep on his desk. He also rarely communicated with other people.

And that time, when Lu Zheyu asked about his math’s prowess, was the only time he ever spoke to Zhu Tong. 

His personality was indifferent, only minding his own business. Thankfully, he was polite enough and didn’t make trouble with the others. All in all, he was quite a difficult person to befriend. 

But Shao Ming seemed to be very familiar with him.

Seeing how Lu Zheyu was skillfully operating the computer… was he a programmer? A hacker? 

“He…” Zhu Tong turned to look at Shao Ming.

Shao Ming replied, as if reading his mind, “He’s following their digital trace to beat them.” 

“…”

The interface of the food delivery platform on the monitor disappeared, replaced by a screen full of codes that Zhu Tong didn’t understand.

It was the first time for Zhu Tong to see someone hacking in front of him. He was surprised, eyes bulging. 

He didn’t know how long it took until the interface looked normal in his eyes. By then, Lu Zheyu let go of the mouse and stretched his wrist. He got up and said, “I’ve hacked all the commenting accounts. You can handle the rest yourself. I’m going to go to my next job.” 

Zhu Tong: “…”

Classmate Lu Zheyu went out with light steps. 

Zhu Tong looked at the time – it was 5 P.M.

‘What job does he have at 5 P.M? Isn’t this too late?’ 

Zhu Tong suspected that he had heard it wrong, so he turned to Shao Ming and asked, “Where is he going?”

Shao Ming smiled and replied, “To his next job.” 

‘So he really went to work?’ 

“He…”

Before he could ask again, Shao Ming had already answered him, “Evening shift.”

Zhu Tong: “…”

He just finished working in a milk tea shop, and now he was going to work an evening shift?

Zhu Tong suddenly understood the reason behind Lu Zheyu’s thick eye bags. 

Seeming to see what he was thinking, Luo Suo said from the side, “Lao Er’s family conditions are not very good. So, he’s very busy with part-time jobs during the weekends. Sometimes, he will work during school days if the money is tight.” 

Zhu Tong felt dread bubbling up in his chest. “What… kind of jobs?” 

“Don’t worry, it’s not those shady jobs,” Luo Suo reassured him, “He’s just doing commissions, like composing songs for some bars or amateur singers.” 

Zhu Tong was surprised, “He can also write songs?”

“Yes, his hard life forces him to have varied skills,” Luo Suo looked awed and sad, “I heard that he wrote songs for a big star of a certain entertainment company when he was a freshman in high school, but it’s a pity that he broke up with the company not long after.”

“Break up? Why?”

Luo Suo shook his head, “I don’t know the details. Lao Er won’t tell me.”

Zhu Tong: “…”

This small county was really full of crouching tigers, hidden dragons.

No wonder Shi-laoshi said that it was inconvenient for Lu Zheyu to give him tutoring.

With so many part-time jobs every week, plus his own study time, he really didn’t have the time or energy to tutor others. 

Just as he was thinking, a hand came over to cover his right hand.

While he was talking to Luo Suo, Shao Ming had already changed his clothes. He walked up to him and said, “Let’s go.”

Zhu Tong was confused. “Where are we going?”

Shao Ming replied, “Send you back to do your homework. Otherwise, if Laoshi makes a surprise inspection tomorrow, you will cry.”

Zhu Tong: “…”

‘Who would cry?’

A true man bleeds but doesn’t shed tears. He didn’t shed tears when he really bleeds, okay?

–But it was true that he hadn’t done his homeworks yet. 

For a second, Zhu Tong put up a sad, unwilling face. 

When he got up, he looked at the brightly lit computer screen, thinking that Shao Ming still had something to deal with, and said, “I’ll let Uncle Liu pick me up, you…” 

“The car can’t drive into the square, I’ll take you to the intersection.”

Zhu Tong could only call Uncle Liu.

When he left, I didn’t forget to take the unfinished cup of pudding sago milk tea.

Shao Ming looked at Zhu Tong, who was holding the milk tea cup with both hands like it was a cherished thing, and couldn’t help but smile. “You like this?”

Zhu Tong nodded, “Yeah.”

Shao Ming said, “Then next time you come, I’ll make it for you.”

There was an undisguised surprise in Zhu Tong’s eyes. “Really?”

‘He looked like he was drinking something he liked for the first time. If this came from acting, then Zhu Tong would definitely become the leader in the film industry in the future.’ Shao Ming thought, and his smile became even more sincere. 

Outwardly, Shao Ming nodded and said, “Really.”

On the way to the intersection, Shao Ming supported him as he had helped him into the shop before.

When he went in before, he was too surprised when he saw Shao Ming. Plus, there were too many people around, making him nervous. He didn’t pay attention to other superfluous things. 

Now being supported on the way out, although there were fewer people around, it only amplified his own senses. 

–For example, he now felt the temperature of Shao Ming sticking to his back and arms.

It’s hot.

Zhu Tong had never had such close contact with others before. He thought he would feel very uncomfortable, but in fact, the temperature behind him gave him a sense of security.

Every time he took a step, when he didn’t dare to exert force on his right foot and his center of gravity became unstable, Shao Ming was beside him to balance him out. 

Very practical.

Zhu Tong subconsciously looked up at Shao Ming. The taller youth stared ahead, making Zhu Tong wonder what was on his mind. 

Maybe it was something about the store?

Zhu Tong couldn’t help asking, “…how do you plan to deal with the bad reviews?”

Shao Ming replied casually, “Isn’t it already been dealt with?”

Zhu Tong: “?”

‘Didn’t Lu Zheyu only hack the accounts of users with bad reviews? Where is this handled?’

Even with the previous wave of bad reviews gone, there surely would be another wave incoming. Deleting their comments was treating the symptoms, not curing the root cause. 

“You…”

“Don’t worry, I have a solution already. Everything will be fine.” 

‘What do you mean it will be fine? Didn’t something happen? What should we do if those remarks are seen before they are deleted?’

‘What should I do if Shao Ming’s mother sees it? What would she think? What should I do if someone took a screenshot and posted it?’

‘But… what can Shao Ming do?’

‘Even if we spared several mouths to refute them, Shao Ming will still lose his reputation!’ 

No matter how those remarks were suppressed, there would always be other channels to spread them.

The best way was to shut up the source, Yuan Shaozhou!

In Zhu Tong’s opinion, this shouldn’t be difficult. 

Zhu Tong had an idea, and turned to look at Shao Ming.

Shao Ming still had that indifferent expression, as if nothing important had happened. 

Seeing this, Zhu Tong was itchy to ask him:  

—But the words died on his lips. 

He sucked at comforting others. If anything, his “comfort” would only worsen their emotional state. 

But the reason why Shao Ming disguised himself with a “don’t care” face was definitely because he didn’t want others to know his true emotions.

Even if he was really unhappy, he would not admit it.

In that case, why did he have to tear off that facade?

Zhu Tong didn’t say anything in the end.

When the two reached the intersection, Uncle Liu had already driven over. Shao Ming helped Zhu Tong get into the car.

After getting in the car, before Uncle Liu was overwhelmed with worries and complaints, Zhu Tong said directly, “Uncle Liu, please help me with something.” 

Uncle Liu: “…”