The harsh glare of the afternoon sun offered absolutely no warmth to Jow as he stood frozen near the crowded entrance of the academy’s grand cafeteria.
His entire frame was still aching from the severe, hidden bruises across his slender ribs, but the suffocating terror of Teng’s threat from the day before had completely locked his spirit in an iron cage.
He kept his long eyelashes lowered, his pale porcelain face completely expressionless as he waited for the rowdy elite students to clear the path.
He had no choice but to completely submit to his inevitable destiny, knowing that his fragile grandmother’s monthly heart medications and her very survival depended entirely on his absolute compliance.
Teng was currently seated at the large center VIP table, surrounded closely by the remaining seven prominent members of his arrogant gang, their handsome features twisted into a collective, mocking amusement as they watched the transfer student approach.
Teng lazily Jow with a cold, slow gesture of his index finger, his dark, predatory eyes flashing with a sick satisfaction.
“Go to the counter, Jow, and fetch the premium lunch trays for all seven of us,” Teng commanded smoothly, his voice dropping into a sinister hiss that cut through the loud hum of the cafeteria.
“Make sure you don’t drop a single plate, scholarship boy.” Jow didn’t offer a single word of resistance, his humble and polite nature keeping him completely silent as he turned on his heel to fulfill the humiliating chore, bearing his physical pain in total isolation.Jow carefully carried the heavy, loaded food trays back to the VIP table, his slender fingers shaking slightly under the immense weight as he neatly arranged the expensive dishes before the billionaire heirs.
His breath was shallow, his ghost-white face completely devoid of color under the bright cafeteria lights, but his eyes remained calm and clear, safely protecting his inner disgust from their cruel sight.
Teng watched him with a slow, smug smile, thoroughly enjoying his absolute psychological victory over the boy’s unbroken spirit.
“Good boy,” Teng growled softly, a cold chuckle escaping his lips as he lazily leaned back against his chair, his predatory gaze locking onto Jow’s fragile posture.
“Now, I need you to do one more small thing for us.
Go all the way down to the commercial tuck shop on the ground floor and purchase seven bottles of chilled mineral water for our table.” Jow’s instantly plummeted into his stomach, a sudden wave of sharp exhaustion making his vision briefly blur with tiny dark spots.
He looked directly into Teng’s possessive eyes, his voice trembling slightly with a rare, desperate plea.
“Teng…
the premium water dispensers are available right here inside the cafeteria room,” Jow whispered softly, his hands tightening against his sides.
“Must I really walk all the way down six flights of stairs to fetch the water from the lower shop?”Teng’s jaw clenched tightly, the terrifying calmness on his handsome features instantly hardening into a freezing, dark expression as Jow’s soft question directly challenged his supreme authority.
He didn’t raise his voice, nor did his gang stop their loud laughing, but the cold aura emitting from his tall frame made the entire space feel dangerously suffocating.
Teng leaned forward slowly, his sharp face descending until his cold breath brushed directly against Jow’s burning cheek.
“Go,” Teng commanded in a low, smooth hiss, his dark eyes narrowing down to sharp slits that delivered an unwritten, brutal reminder of the old lady resting inside the broken house.
Jow’s breath completely caught in his throat, the absolute horror of his grandmother’s safety flashing through his mind like a physical blow, utterly neutralizing his final trace of resistance.
He lowered his head, his long eyelashes brushing against his ghost-white skin as his spirit completely submitted to the leverage.
“Alright…
I will fetch it,” Jow whispered brokenly, his soft voice dropping into a quiet surrender as he turned away to face the grueling six-story walk, completely blind to the fact that his absolute control was already slipping away.Jow slowly dragged his aching body down the dark stairwell, each step sending a burning wave of pain across his bruised ribs, but he forced his fragile feet forward until he reached the lower commercial shop to purchase the water.
Within fifteen minutes, he walked back into the crowded cafeteria, his chest heaving heavily with physical exhaustion as he carefully placed the seven chilled mineral water bottles onto the VIP table before the billionaire heirs.
Teng lazily glanced at the cold bottles and then looked up at Jow’s pale, ghost-white face with a slow, victorious smirk that thoroughly enjoyed the boy’s complete submission.
“Fine, you can leave now,” Teng growled smoothly, his voice dropping into a chilling hiss.
“But remember, Jow…
whenever I call your name, you better appear before me instantly, or else your little family sanctuary pay the price.” Jow kept his long eyelashes lowered, his heart completely freezing as he accepted this torturous leverage.
“Alright,” Jow whispered softly, his voice dropping into a quiet surrender as he turned around and slowly walked away from the suffocating Jay watched Jow’s slender, fragile back disappear through the heavy exit doors, letting out a low, dark chuckle as a sick thrill of excitement flared deep within his wealthy ego.
He leaned closer to Teng, nudging his shoulder with a sinister, mocking amusement playing across his handsome features.
“Bro, what a fragile pet Jow is, right?” Jay whispered rapidly, a twisted smirk on his lips as he gestured toward the empty doorway.
“It honestly feels so good to see him look so pathetically helpless under your hands, doesn’t it?” Teng lazily tilted his head back, a terrifyingly calm yet chilling madness emitting from his dark, predatory eyes as he listened to his childhood friend’s praise.
He let out a low, dangerous chuckle that echoed cuttingly through his immense pride, thoroughly satisfied with his false sense of absolute dominance.
“Yeah, bro,” Teng growled smoothly,.his voice dropping into a smooth, sinister hiss that froze the quiet air around the VIP desk.
“Just watch what else I am going to do to him in the coming days.
This is only the beginning of his Living hell”.A few minutes later, the lunch break ended, and the students returned to the classroom for the next lecture.
While the teacher had not arrived yet, the members of Teng’s gang quickly sneaked up to the front row and secretly spread strong glue all over the teacher’s desk chair.
Teng lazily leaned back against his bench, his dark, predatory eyes locking onto Jow’s slender profile with a freezing, unwritten threat.
He leaned forward slightly, his voice dropping into a smooth, sinister whisper that cut through the quiet room.
“You are going to take the entire blame for this, Jow, understand?” Teng growled softly, a cold chuckle escaping his lips.
“If a single word slips out of your mouth, you know exactly what will happen to your little family sanctuary.” Jow kept his long eyelashes lowered, his heart completely freezing as he accepted this torturous leverage in absolute, helpless silence.Within moments, the heavy classroom doors opened and the history teacher walked into the room, heading straight toward his desk.
The moment he sat heavily onto his wooden chair to start the lecture, the strong glue instantly bonded his trousers to the seat, trapping him completely.
The teacher froze, his face flushing with sudden, violent rage as he realized he had been humiliated before the elite students.
He slapped his hand against the desk, shouting angrily into the suffocating quietness of the room.
“Who did this?!
Who dares to play such a disgusting trick on my chair?!” The room remained deathly silent, the rich heirs keeping their heads down with mocking smirks.
Jow’s breath completely caught in his throat, the terrifying memory of his grandmother’s safety flashing through his mind like a physical blow.
Slowly, his slender frame shivering, Jow up from his desk and lowered his head before the furious teacher.
“Sir…
I did it,” Jow whispered softly, his ghost-white face completely devoid of color as he took the false blame to protect his final refuge.The teacher’s eyes widened with severe disbelief and deep fury, staring at the poor scholarship student with complete disgust.
“How dare you?!
Where did you get such immense courage to misbehave in my class?!” the teacher roared angrily, his voice echoing through the silent corridor.
“Go down to the school courtyard immediately and stand directly under the scorching, hot sun for the rest of the day!
That is your official punishment!” Jow didn’t offer a single word of defense, nor did his fragile lips shake with any tears.
He simply packed his small pen, turned on his heel, and slowly walked out of the room to face the grueling physical pain under the burning afternoon heat.
From the back rows, Teng watched his departure with a slow, victorious smirk, thoroughly satisfied with his absolute psychological dominance, completely blind to the reality that beneath the heavy silence of the academy, the invisible strings of his control were already slipping away.Teng lazily leaned back with a sinister smile as Jow walked into the burning courtyard, completely blind to the fact that from the upper balcony, Ray’s dark eyes were tracing the boy’s heavy steps with a dangerous resolve.