The clock inside the locker room of ‘The Daily Fresh’ supermarket showed exactly 5:15 PM when Jow frantically tied the strings of his green uniform apron.
His entire frame was shivering from the lingering trauma of his heavy collapse on the school’s 100-meter sports track earlier that afternoon.
Every single movement caused a sharp, blinding wave of pain to radiate from his bruised ribs, but the absolute necessity of purchasing his grandmother’s monthly heart medications forced his fragile feet forward.
Stepping onto the brightly lit commercial floor, Jow instantly forced an exceptionally soft, polite, and sweet smile onto his pale lips as he took his official position behind cash register number three.
When the store manager, Mr.
Harris, walked past the counter with a concerned look, Jow bowed respectfully and spoke in a gentle, trembling voice.
“Sir, I am so incredibly sorry for being slightly late today.
I was feeling a unwell at school, but I am completely ready to manage the heavy evening shifts now.
Please forgive me.” Mr.
Harris, deeply touched by the innocent boy’s unmatched humility and dedication, gently patted his shoulder and warmly told him not to worry.For the next several hours, the continuous ringing of the cash registers and the familiar hum of the busy neighborhood shoppers provided a transient refuge for Jow’s fractured mind.
He handled the heavy grocery items with an ethereal grace, his long eyelashes casting gentle shadows over his bright, innocent eyes as he thanked each customer with his trademark humble manners.
However, his physical strength was running entirely on raw, exhausted adrenaline.
By the time his grueling shift finally concluded at exactly 10:00 PM, the comfortable warmth of the store lights vanished, replaced by the chilling reality of the empty night.
Jow unfastened his green apron with fingers that shook so violently he could barely hold his heavy backpack.
His pale face was completely devoid of color, drenched in a cold, anxious sweat as he slowly pushed open the employee exit door and stepped out onto the deserted municipal pavement under the dim, flickering streetlamp.The heavy night silence wrapped tightly around Jow’s throat like a suffocating blanket as he tried to drag his broken body toward the dark alleyway where his bicycle was parked.
He had only taken a few hesitant steps when the severe physical trauma from Teng’s brutal wooden rod assault and the exhausting race suddenly revolted against his nervous system.
A crushing, white-hot pressure exploded violently behind his eyes, making his vision fragment into chaotic dark spots.
The heavy backpack slipped from his weak, numb fingers, hitting the concrete floor with a dull thud.
Jow’s knees buckled completely, his shallow breath catching entirely in his throat as his beautiful eyes rolled back and his entire frame turned completely limp.
He crashed heavily onto the cold, dusty pavement, his porcelain face resting against the stone as his spirit slipped away, falling deeply unconscious into a silent, peaceful void where the physical agony could no longer reach him.Just a moment later, the quiet echoes of heavy leather boots resonated through the empty street as a tall silhouette turned the corner.
It was Ray, Teng’s most trusted right-hand follower and the very same person who had brutally cornered Jow during his first week at the academy.
Ray was walking carelessly, entirely alone tonight, when his sharp gaze suddenly caught the white sports uniform of a student lying motionless on the dusty ground.
Ray froze instantly, his heart executing a strange, unfamiliar thud against his ribs as he rushed forward and knelt beside the senseless boy.
The dim light of the streetlamp illuminated Jow’s breathtakingly beautiful, porcelain face, now covered in a cold sweat with a faint trace of blood at the corner of his lips.
Ray’s breath completely caught in his throat, a sudden,powerful wave of intense maternal-like protectiveness and a secret, twisted soft corner flaring deep within his dark soul.
This was the first time he had seen the pure, unbroken scholarship student looking so fragile and broken, entirely stripped of his quiet defiance.The quiet echoes of heavy leather boots resonated through the empty street as a tall silhouette turned the corner just a few minutes later.
It was Ray, Teng’s prominent right-hand follower from the academy.
He was walking carelessly, entirely alone tonight, when his sharp gaze suddenly caught the white sports uniform of a student lying motionless on the dusty concrete pavement.
Ray stopped instantly, his brow furrowing in confusion as he quickly stepped forward and knelt beside the senseless body.
The dim, flickering light of the streetlamp illuminated Jow’s pale, breathtakingly beautiful face, now covered in a cold sweat.
Recognizing the pure scholarship student from his own class, Ray let out a sharp breath, realizing that the boy was suffering from an incredibly high fever.
Without any personal emotion or secret thoughts, Ray simply acted on a basic human instinct to clear the road, carefully lifting Jow’s limp frame into his strong arms and placing him gently onto a clean wooden bench beneath the shade of a nearby tree.
He neatly arranged Jow’s backpack under his head, checked his burning forehead one last time, and rapidly walked toward the nearby 24-hour commercial pharmacy to fetch a standard fever medication, leaving the transfer student resting in the quiet night.Ray rapidly walked back from the 24-hour commercial pharmacy, holding a small paper bag containing the standard fever medication and a fresh bottle of mineral water.
He approached the quiet wooden bench beneath the large oak tree, noticing that Jow’s fragile frame was still shivering violently inside his damp sports uniform.
Without any deep personal emotion, Ray carefully lifted Jow’s head, gently assisting the semi-unconscious transfer student to swallow the pill and drink a few sips of water.
To protect the sick boy from the biting coldness of the midnight wind, Ray reached into his own motorcycle compartment, pulled out a thick, warm travel blanket, and spread it gently over Jow’s slender shoulders.
Once he was completely satisfied that the fever medication would stabilize the boy’s condition for the night, Ray simply picked up his helmet, turned on his heel, and walked away into the dark street, leaving Jow resting safely under the quiet shadows.The next morning, the bright summer sun offered no warmth to Jow as he walked through the elite academy’s iron gates.
His body felt like a lead weight, his limbs still trembling from the residual fever, but the standard medication Ray had given him last night had managed to keep his temperature stable.
Jow had carefully folded the thick, warm travel blanket he found on his shoulders and placed it deep inside his backpack, his mind consumed by confusion as to which classmate had saved his life in the dark street.
He walked with his head low, his long eyelashes brushing against his pale cheeks, desperately trying to ignore the painful throbbing in his bruised ribs as he entered the bustling classroom.
From his usual back bench, Teng was already staring at the classroom door, a cold, victorious smirk etched onto his handsome features.
He watched with a sinister satisfaction as Jow weakly sank into his chair, entirely blind to the fact that his own right-hand follower, Ray, had interfered in his private game last night.Teng lazily tapped his expensive leather wristwatch against the wooden desk, silently mocking Jow’s fragile appearance, completely unaware that the pure scholarship boy had successfully protected his job and that his own absolute control over Jow’s life had just suffered its very first secret fracture.As the homeroom teacher began the morning lecture, Ray quietly walked into the classroom through the rear door, his expression completely calm and unreadable.
He didn’t look at Teng, nor did he report a single detail about his late-night activities near the pharmacy.
Ray simply took his seat in absolute silence.
Teng remained trapped in his arrogant satisfaction, his dark eyes fixed firmly on Jow’s trembling shoulders, fully believing that his customized living hell was working perfectly and that Jow was crying inside because of his lost job.
Teng let out a low, silent chuckle, completely unaware that right beneath his nose, a hidden secret had just been buried in the quiet room.Throughout the entire lecture, Jow kept his eyes strictly glued to his history notebook, but he couldn’t write a single word.
His heart was hammering wildly against his ribs, not just from the residual pain, but from a deeper, colder fear.
He kept wondering who had blanketed him in the dark street, and whether Teng would somehow discover that someone had messed with his cruel game.
Every time the heavy classroom clock ticked, Jow felt like he was sitting on a landmine, silently bearing his physical and mental burdens in total isolation.
Teng remained perfectly content in his false sense of absolute dominance, his chilling smirk remaining fixed on his handsome face, entirely blind to the invisible trap that was silently twisting away from his control.”Jow tightly closed his notebook as the lunch bell rang, completely unaware that the hidden travel blanket inside his bag was now a ticking time bomb waiting to explode between the three of them.”