Retaliation

In Capital City, morning light streamed through the dining room's floor-to-ceiling windows, polishing the silver cutlery on the marble dining table to a brilliant shine.

Shen Yuxing sat at the far end of the long table, an exquisite breakfast laid out before him.

Liu Wanying sat opposite him, holding a coffee cup. Her gaze swept over him and withdrew, that unshakable, gentle smile resting on her lips.

Shen Yuxing's performance in front of the cameras over the past few days had been nothing short of perfect.

Obedient, sensible, sweet-tongued, hardworking-any one of those qualities alone put Jiang Xun, who had been sent into the mountains to be reformed, to shame.

Liu Wanying was quite pleased with this useful pawn. She had even begun to consider keeping him around as a permanent ornament.

Jiang Yu was in no such good mood.

He stabbed his fork viciously into his fried egg. Yolk spurted onto the white tablecloth, making Wang Ma's brow twitch beside him, though she dared not say anything.

This was already his second breakfast. He had taken one bite of the first before smashing the plate, saying the bacon was overcooked. Wang Ma had swallowed her anger and made another serving, only for him to complain this time that the egg was too runny.

In short, nothing was right, and everything irritated him.

And the source of his irritation was sitting diagonally opposite him, perfectly upright, sipping millet porridge. With his lashes lowered and his lips slightly reddened by the hot porridge, he looked as docile as a porcelain doll.

Jiang Yu was certain something was wrong with this guy.

The look in Shen Yuxing's eyes when he smashed his game console that day had been as cold as a snake's. He had been nothing like the innocent little rabbit he appeared to be now.

But when he told Liu Wanying, she merely patted his shoulder and said, "You're overthinking it."

When he told Jiang Yanchu next, Jiang Yanchu sneered and said, "So now you've learned to slander other people, too."

Jiang Yu had nearly exploded with rage on the spot.

He had not felt this frustrated even when Jiang Xun kicked out two of his front teeth.

"Yuxing," Liu Wanying said gently, setting down her coffee cup. "Go to school with Xiao Yu today. I've spoken to the principal. You'll be joining Xiao Yu's class for the time being."

Shen Yuxing looked up, his eyes brightening. "Really? Thank you, Auntie."

He turned toward Jiang Yu, his smile impeccably sincere. "Xiao Yu, I'm not very familiar with the courses here. Can I ask you if there's anything I don't understand?"

Jiang Yu's fork scraped across his plate with a screech.

"Go right ahead." He forced the words through clenched teeth, pulling his lips into a smile that sent chills down one's spine.

Jinghua Middle School, which Jiang Yu attended, was the top-ranked private school in Capital City. Luxury cars lined the entrance, and uniformed students walked inside in small groups, chatting and laughing.

Shen Yuxing followed Jiang Yu through the school gates.

He tilted his head up to look at the electronic screen on the teaching building's outer wall, the student work displayed in the corridors, and the neatly arranged desks and chairs in the classrooms. Greed surged in his eyes without even his own awareness.

This was the life he wanted: bright, clean, respectable.

Compared with this place, the drafty mud-brick classroom at Shiban Village Middle School was worse than a restroom.

In winter, cold wind poured inside and froze their fingers stiff. In summer, rain leaked through the roof, soaking their textbooks until the writing blurred.

Shen Wangjing walked eight li along mountain roads every day to take him to school, believing that keeping him in school would let him escape the mountains. But Shen Yuxing did not think so.

For people with a family and background like theirs, studying alone was nowhere near enough.

"What are you staring at, you bumpkin?"

Jiang Yu's taunt dragged him out of his thoughts. Shen Yuxing quickly lowered his eyes, hunched his shoulders, and timidly followed him.

The classroom was at the end of the third-floor corridor.

The homeroom teacher was a young woman wearing gold-rimmed glasses. With a friendly smile, she led Shen Yuxing to the front of the classroom to introduce him.

Shen Yuxing stood at the front, his hands twisting together against the hem of his shirt, his voice as faint as a mosquito's whine. "Hello, everyone. My name is Shen Yuxing. Please take care of me."

Some of the students whispered among themselves.

"Where did this transfer student come from? Why transfer when it's almost the end of term?"

"Haven't you seen the latest preview for Metamorphosis? He's that country kid who came from the mountains for the exchange."

Shen Yuxing quietly sat in the seat the teacher pointed out, put down his schoolbag, and took out his textbooks and pencil case.

Jiang Yu sat in the middle of the third row. He glanced back at him, the corners of his mouth curling maliciously.

During a break, Shen Yuxing went to the restroom. When he returned, he found that someone had thrown his textbooks into the trash can.

Half a container of yogurt left over from yesterday had just been dumped into the bin. The thick liquid coated the book covers, and a sticky note was tucked between the open pages of one book. Scrawled on it were the words: Go back to the mountains.

Shen Yuxing crouched in front of the trash can and picked his textbooks out one by one, silently wiping the yogurt off their covers with his sleeve.

Jiang Yu leaned against the corridor windowsill with his arms folded, watching the scene with satisfaction.

Shen Yuxing wiped the last textbook clean and held it against his chest. By the time he stood up, his eyes were red.

The girl who shared his desk could not bear to watch any longer and handed him a packet of tissues.

Shen Yuxing accepted it and gave her a small, grateful smile. "Thank you."

That smile made the girl's heart clench.

The final class that afternoon was PE.

The PE teacher let them do as they pleased, and the boys swarmed toward the basketball court.

Shen Yuxing did not know how to play, and no one invited him, so he found a corner at the edge of the gym and sat down to watch quietly.

Jiang Yu came off the court holding a basketball and exchanged a meaningful look with his two lackeys nearby.

The two lackeys understood immediately. They went to the water dispenser and filled two cups. As they passed Shen Yuxing, one of them stumbled.

Both cups of water splashed out, hitting Shen Yuxing squarely in the crotch.

"Oh, sorry, sorry!" The boy apologized, barely able to hide the grin on his face.

Several people nearby joined in the jeering laughter.

Shen Yuxing looked down at his soaked trousers and stood up, his voice still soft and quiet. "It's all right."

He turned and walked toward the changing room, chattering laughter rising behind him. "Look at that coward. Doesn't he look like he wet himself?"

"Young Master Jiang said this is just the appetizer. There's more fun to come."

"Young Master Jiang specifically picked all these spots. The cameras can't see them!"

Shen Yuxing entered the changing room. The instant the door closed, his expression turned utterly cold.

His gaze fell on Jiang Yu's locker.

Jiang Yu's snack box was inside.

It was a special provision Liu Wanying had arranged for her precious son. Every morning, Wang Ma packed fresh snacks into a three-tier lacquered food box and had the driver deliver it to school.

The first tier held sliced fruit, the second handmade cookies or cake, and the third flaky pastries freshly baked that day.

Jiang Yu had been prone to allergies since childhood, and Liu Wanying was extremely particular about her son's diet. She never let him touch store-bought snacks or even eat the school cafeteria's food. Every meal had to be specially delivered from home.

Shen Yuxing had gleaned this information from Wang Ma, one question at a time.

There were no surveillance cameras in the changing room.

Shen Yuxing quietly opened Jiang Yu's locker, broke up the flower pastry he had bought beforehand and kept in his pocket, and mixed the pieces evenly into the flaky pastries in the third tier.