The Sick Villain Just Want to Live

CW: implied threat of sexual coercion. 

The reason why Zhu Tong suspected Yuan Shaozhou was very simple.

On the road from the school to the hotel, the street lights were dim, and it was relatively close to the school. 

It was the time when the school was still in the evening’s self-study period. There was still a small crowd at the school gate, and people frequently passed by on the road next to it.

For a group of gangsters who were not drunk, it was not a wise choice to block people near the school at this time. Because someone might call the police at any time.

But since Zhu Tong was blocked here, it showed that these gangsters had an ulterior motive. 

And it was done this way, on purpose, for other students to see.

First, it’s for revenge – killing the chicken to scare the monkey1, so to speak. 

Zhu Tong was new here, and the only person he had offended was Yuan Shaozhou.

The gangsters were only stunned for a moment, and the leader immediately smiled and said, “Hey, it seems that you are quite self-conscious. Since you know that you have provoked someone who should not be provoked, are you going to go with us yourself? Or should we do it here?”

“Which part do you want us to break? Your leg, or your arm?”

“Or, hehe… maybe you’re willing to play with us instead. After that, we can let you go.” 

As the gangsters said these remarks, they slowly closed in to surround Zhu Tong. 

Zhu Tong raised his hand and sent a signal to Uncle Liu with his smart watch. He raised his head and said, “I’m not going to go with you.”

The face of the leader gangster changed slightly.

It’s not the first time he had done something like this.

It was just dealing with a high school student. When they blocked those students, some of them would turn pale with fright, some would turn around and run away, and some would beg for mercy.

But no one was as calm as this boy in front of him. 

According to Yuan Shaozhou, their target this time was a sick child. So, they didn’t bring their best fighters with them today. 

The gangster looked at Zhu Tong from up to down.

Sick face with a thin, frail body that could be blown off by a breeze. 

He sneered, and looked at Zhu Tong with gloomy eyes, “You don’t want to refuse the toast and be forced to drink a forfeit2.” 

Zhu Tong was still indifferent. “Before you do it, let me remind you of a few things. First, I can fall down even without being beaten. My bones will break.” 

“…”

What does this mean? Showing his weakness?

Immediately, someone snorted, “Student, it’s too late to beg for mercy.”

Zhu Tong ignored him and continued, “If you do something to hurt me intentionally, you will be detained. If I get hurt, you will be jailed. The fixed-term imprisonment ranges from 6 months to 3 years. If the situation is serious, the sentence is more likely to last more than 3 years. Now you know the consequences; you can go at me.” 

The gangsters: “…”

They have seen people in fear mocking them out of desperate attempts at defense, but they have never seen someone just accepting it and saying this. 

What the fuck is this? Law education? They’re used to doing this kind of thing. Going in and out of the police station was like breakfast for them. Does this brat think a high school student needs to teach them the law? 

Shao Ming, who came back riding a bicycle on the road behind, happened to hear Zhu Tong’s “kind reminders”. 

This young master… still intends to convince others with reasoning?

He suddenly faltered. 

If this person grew up in this place… could he even grow up safely? 

Finally, a gangster ran out of patience, “Ge, what are you talking to him about?” 

The leader of the gangster immediately grinned, “Practice the law? I will show you what it is called!”

He didn’t take this sickly brat seriously at all. 

His hand flew straight to Zhu Tong’s forehead, as he’s trying to smash the boy’s head directly to the wall behind him. 

Shao Ming immediately dropped his bicycle and rushed towards the crowd.

But before he could make a move, he heard a shriek. After that shrill cry sound, the gangster was stumbling backwards, hands covering his eyes. 

“Dage!”

“Boss!”

The gangsters exclaimed.

At the same time, Zhu Tong backed away a couple steps until he hit the wall. On one hand, he had his pepper spray ready, and on the other hand, he quickly took out his mobile phone to make a call. “Hello, 110? The location is Gongshui No. 1 Middle School, 200 meters east of the school gate. I am blocked by several people, the leader is wearing a white vest and black ripped pants, and the others had dyed hair. If I go to the hospital today, please arrest them and bring them to justice!” 

The gangsters: “…” 

Shao Ming: “……….”

There were seven gangsters in total, two of them were supporting their boss at the moment, while the other four looked at Zhu Tong in shock and vigilance.

The pepper spray was a deterrent. Seeing how miserable their boss was now, no one dared to go forward and try it.

The gangster boss was currently feeling miserable. His eyes were red and teary, his nose was runny, and his respiratory tract felt like it was burning. He finally broke out after suffering a lot, and roaring angrily. “What are you doing? Standing up stupidly? This brat, I’m going to fuck y–” 

Before he finished his threat, he was kicked from behind.

Hard.

He screamed again, his back slammed into the wall. Then, his body rebounded a bit, rolling forward until it was near Zhu Tong’s feet. 

“…”

Everyone was stunned speechless. 

Especially the two gangsters who were  responsible for supporting their boss.

The boss who fell to the ground was extremely embarrassed. He struggled to get up and said, “Who the hell…”

“You can try to come at me.” 

Before the boss could finish his sentence, he was greeted by a familiar voice.

The moment they registered that it was Shao Ming, the previously posturing gangsters were not as quiet as chickens. 

Including the boss, still on the ground. After falling down and scraping the ground, his ripped pants got worse.  

Zhu Tong quickly analyzed the situation. 

Basically, he got a back-up.

This 1v7 turned into a 2v7, but Shao Ming clearly scared the gangsters off. 

Shao Ming smiled and said, “You’re still here? Why don’t you help your boss to go to the hospital? If you don’t, I’ll send him there instead.” 

“…”

Then under Zhu Tong’s dumbfounded gaze, the gangsters fled in fear.

The gangster boss who couldn’t open his eyes was still cursing when he was dragged away.

Shao Ming watched the gangsters run away, then looked back at the boy leaning against the wall. He walked towards him, who was still holding up his pepper spray.

Seeing that Zhu Tong was still clutching it, Shao Ming said with a smile, “What? You want to spray me?” 

Zhu Tong lowered his head in a daze, and immediately withdrew his hands. “No.”

Shao Ming looked at him with complicated eyes.

Zhu Tong was flustered by his stare for no reason. He said as he blinked, “What… what’s wrong?”

Shao Ming replied, “…Is this not your first time someone tried to beat you? And you always just… standing around as they want to beat you up?” 

Zhu Tong: “…”

–No one dared to beat him before, actually.

He whispered his answer, “I can’t beat them.”

His rescue couldn’t come so fast, and he couldn’t beat them. So, he didn’t bother to try – otherwise, what can he do? 

Shao Ming was almost amused by him, “Can’t you just run away then? Isn’t the school gate just over there?” 

Sprinting for 200 meters should be feasible. He had plenty of time before he would get mobbed. 

However, Zhu Tong was also very self-aware, “I can’t outrun them.”

Shao Ming: “…”

His expression became even weirder. Zhu Tong acknowledged this expression of Shao Ming as “looking at trash”. 

Afraid that his favorability would drop again, his desire to survive made him straighten his back, and weakly defended himself, “So… I brought pepper sprays to delay time.” 

Shao Ming said, “Then you have a plan.”

“…”

Shao Ming reminded him, “Can you smell this thing?” 

–After all, if he sprayed too much, even Zhu Tong himself could be affected as it dispersed into the air. 

Injure 1000 of the enemy while injuring 800 of yours3?

Zhu Tong: “…”

He immediately lowered his head in frustration. He really was… trash. 

Shao Ming saw that Zhu Tong looked like an innocent child who was being scolded, making his heart soften up a bit. He asked in a gentler tone, “Are you okay?” 

Zhu Tong shook his head, “I’m okay.” 

‘I’m just tired and a bit ashamed.’ 

‘Congratulations! You gained +3% of the white moonlight’s favorability.’   

‘Huh?’ Zhu Tong raised his eyes suddenly.

Shao Ming had already turned around, “Then let’s go.”

Zhu Tong followed him up out of pure reflex. “Where are you going?”

Shao Ming said, “I’ll take you back.”

“…”

After walking for a bit, Zhu Tong recovered from the surprise of the sudden increase in favorability. He asked in confusion after a while, “Why are you here in the first place?” 

Shao Ming casually replied, “Just passing by.” 

Hearing this answer led Zhu Tong to see Shao Ming’s bicycle, which was haphazardly parked at the roadside. It was facing towards the school.

‘Was he going back to school from his homestay?’

Before he could figure it out, Shao Ming had already turned his bicycle around and sat on it. Turning his head around, he asked, “Where do you live now?” 

Zhu Tong replied automatically, “The hotel near here. The one in front from here.”

Shao Ming looked up at the location, then signaled Zhu Tong towards the backseat of his bike.  “Come up.”

Zhu Tong’s brain short-circuited. 

He looked at the back seat, completely stunned still. 

Shao Ming waited for a while in silence, looked back, smiled and said, “Have you ever ridden a bike like this before?” 

Zhu Tong nodded, “Yeah.”

“…”

Shao Ming knew that’s a lie. This kind of young master probably had a special car to pick him up when he went out.

He was currently feeling generous. He was about to call a taxi or something for Zhu Tong, but before he could do that, he was blinded by a bright headlight in front of him. Shao Ming subconsciously raised his hand to block the light, and the car stopped beside him.

Soon the lights went out, and a person hurriedly got out of the car. “Young Master, are you okay?”

Uncle Liu hurried over, grabbed Zhu Tong’s shoulders, and checked him from top to bottom.

Zhu Tong was dizzy from being shaken by him, and quickly stretched out his hand to pat the older man’s hand on his shoulder, “Uncle Liu, I’m fine.”

The teenager looked carefully at Shao Ming, and was relieved to see that there was nothing unusual in his expression.

Uncle Liu also heaved a sigh of relief.

“You’re fine… Thank God…” 

When he received a message from the Young Master, he was in the shower, so he immediately rushed out of the hotel without getting properly dressed. And he was still late. 

Fortunately, Zhu Tong was fine. Otherwise, the chairman would crush him into atoms!

“Then I’ll take you back to the hotel.”

Uncle Liu would want to handle the rest. Mostly because he had some unvented anger towards those who dared to touch his Young Master. 

He hadn’t noticed that there was another person on the side of the road ever since he got out of the car.

Shao Ming didn’t care either.

Since someone had come to pick Zhu Tong up, it saved him some trouble. 

Just as he was about to say hello and get away, he saw a finger pointing towards the back seat of his bicycle.

The finger was long and slender, with well-defined joints.

Zhu Tong said: “Uncle Liu, I want to take this.”

Uncle Liu followed his hand to look at what he was pointing at.

It was a small bicycle seat.

“…”

Let the Young Master sit here? How can that work!

What if he gets grazed by another vehicle? What if the road is too bumpy?? 

He was about to persuade, but Zhu Tong reminded him, “Also, I just called the police, so the police may come later. Uncle Liu, you can wait here for them. Please help me in finishing the clean up, okay?” 

Uncle Liu: “…”

After speaking, Zhu Tong looked at Shao Ming again. “Is that okay?”

When Zhu Tong asked him, his expression was pure. He couldn’t detect an ulterior motive inside. 

It wasn’t the shyness and anticipation that Xia Yang expressed when he purposefully approached him. Nor was it the excessive flattery displayed by the people who were arranged to monitor him. 

Zhu Tong looked at him with eyes full of curiosity… about his bike. 

Shao Ming: “…”

In fact, he can completely refuse.

But he was feeling something strange, so he decided to indulge Zhu Tong this time. “Come up then.” 

Zhu Tong’s eyes lit up slightly, and he sat up cautiously.

“Hold tight.”

Zhu Tong was at a loss. “Holding onto what?” 

Shao Ming deliberately teased him, “Well, which part do you want to hold?” 

Zhu Tong was serious. “But… there’s nothing to grab?” 

–He was referring to the bike, which indeed, had no such thing as a handlebar for the passenger. 

Shao Ming: “…Grab my clothes.”

Zhu Tong looked at Shao Ming’s newly changed shirt, and reached out to grab the sides of his waist.

“Sit well.” 

After he finished speaking, Shao Ming directly stepped on the pedal, and Zhu Tong leaned back thanks to inertia. Out of pure reflex, his grip tightened, and his body swayed forward quickly. His body was now stuck on Shao Ming’s back. 

“Young Master!” In a flash, Uncle Liu was so frightened that his heart almost jumped out.

But Zhu Tong was excited instead. His eyes even sparkled. After all, he never rode on a bike before. This was a completely novel experience for him. 

From the momentary sense of weightlessness, it took less than a moment for him to regain his sense of security after panicking.

It was so exciting!

The wind kept blowing by his ears, the cool breeze patted his face softly, giving him an indescribable comfort.

‘It turns out that riding a bicycle is like this.’

Shao Ming increased the speed suddenly, thinking that he would frighten this fragile young master, but unexpectedly, this person seemed to be… quite enjoying himself.

He could feel the grip on his waist’s cloth tightened ever-so-slightly, transferring the human warmth into his skin. 

It was a sharp contrast against other places not touched by Zhu Tong. 

Shao Ming leisurely continued cycling, while the corners of his mouth curled up subconsciously.

The distance of 500 meters was soon reached, and Shao Ming sent Zhu Tong directly to the hotel’s lobby area.

Zhu Tong got down from the back seat, his face still full of excitement. 

He looked at Shao Ming and said, “Thank you.”

It seemed that Yang-laoshi was not lying when he said that Shao Ming was helpful.

Shao Ming saw that his complexion seemed to have improved a lot after riding the bicycle, making his mood even more complicated than usual. But he still kept his facade. “No need to thank me. It’s just this once, after all.” 

The implication behind his words was clear. Zhu Tong nodded and said, “I know.” 

He understood this principle of give-and-take. After saying that, he turned around directly. 

As soon as he walked inside the hotel, he received another system prompt: ‘Congratulations! You gained +2% of the white moonlight’s favorability. Your current favorability is 5%.’

Zhu Tong: “…”

Sure enough, Shao Ming’s attitude was unpredictable and not honest. 

1

idiom; making an example out of someone to deter other people.

2

idiom; hesitating to do something, but in the end was forced to do something even worse.

3

idiom; an effective move that will be detrimental to you.