The heavy scent of rain and damp asphalt filled the evening air as Jow stepped out of the high school gates.
His body ached all over from Teng’s brutal treatment in the laboratory, and his ruined uniform shirt was hidden beneath a faded, oversized jacket he had found in his locker.
Jow adjusted the strap of his backpack, his long eyelashes casting nervous shadows over his pale cheeks.
He didn’t have the luxury to sit at home and nurse his wounds.
The thought of his grandmother’s empty medicine bottles at home pushed his tired legs forward.
He walked rapidly toward the commercial district of the city, heading for a large, brightly lit supermarket called ‘The Daily Fresh’.Entering the vast, air-conditioned supermarket, Jow felt entirely overwhelmed.
The neat rows of shelves filled with thousands of products and the busy hum of shoppers made him squeeze his small notepad tightly against his chest.
With gentle, hesitant steps, he walked up to the customer service desk.
“Excuse me,” Jow whispered, his voice incredibly soft, causing the receptionist to look up from her screen.
“I…
I saw the flyer outside for the part-time night cashier position.
Is the manager available?” His exceptionally handsome and innocent appearance instantly softened the receptionist’s demeanor.
She smiled warmly and pointed toward an office at the back.The store manager, a middle-aged man named Mr.
Harris, looked over Jow’s neat, handwritten application.
He glanced at Jow’s slender, pale hands and then at his stunning, yet exhausted face.
“The night shift is tough, kid.
It runs from 5:00 PM to 9:30 PM.
You’ll be dealing with all kinds of demanding customers.
Can a fragile boy like you handle that?” Jow lowered his head respectfully, a faint blush of embarrassment touching his cheeks.
“I can work hard, sir,” Jow replied, his voice shaking slightly but holding a deep sincerity.
“I need to support my education and my family.
I promise I won’t cause any trouble.” Moved by the boy’s polite nature and undeniable honesty, Mr.
Harris signed the paper.
“Alright.
You start tomorrow.
Here is your apron.” Jow took the green uniform apron, a profound sense of relief and happiness washing over his heart.The next morning, however, the heavy atmosphere of the high school immediately replaced Jow’s fragile happiness.
As he walked into the classroom, his body was stiff from exhaustion, having spent the remaining night studying under his low-wattage bulb.
He walked silently to his desk, carefully adjusting his collar to hide the reddish-purple fingerprint bruise on his chin.
From the very back of the room, a pair of sharp, dangerous eyes tracked Jow’s every single movement.
Teng was sitting with his legs carelessly crossed, his handsome features cold and calculative.
He had noticed Jow’s extreme fatigue the moment the boy crossed the threshold.
Teng’s brow furrowed slightly as he watched Jow almost stumble over his own chair, looking paler and more vulnerable than yesterday.Throughout the chemistry lecture, Teng couldn’t focus on the board.
His gaze kept returning to the soft, neat rows of Jow’s hair and the slight shiver in the boy’s slender shoulders.
‘Why is he so broken today?’ Teng thought bitterly, his chest tightening with an unexplained, irritating curiosity.
‘Did my threat keep him awake all night?
Is he that terrified of me?’ Teng wanted to believe that his power was the cause of Jow’s misery, but his predatory instincts whispered that something else was slipping away from his control.
He hated not knowing.
He hated that this beautiful, penniless transfer student was keeping secrets right under his nose.When the final school bell rang at 4:30 PM, the classroom emptied instantly.
Jow didn’t waste a single second.
He packed his books with trembling speed, slung his heavy backpack over his shoulder, and practically rushed out of the door, his eyes fixed firmly on the ground.
Standing by the corridor window, Teng watched Jow’s fragile silhouette sprint across the school courtyard, heading toward the gates in an extreme hurry.
Teng leaned against the concrete wall, a dark, calculating smirk slowly appearing on his lips as he signaled his main follower, a tall boy named Ray.
“He is rushing somewhere every single day the moment the bell rings,” Teng whispered, his voice dangerously low.
“Follow him tomorrow.
I want to know exactly where my prey goes when he leaves my sight.”Ray nodded silently, his face grim as he adjusted his school blazer.
He knew better than to question Teng’s orders.
In this prestigious academy, Teng’s word was absolute law, and cross-checking his decisions was a luxury no one could afford.
“Consider it done,” Ray muttered, turning on his heel to slip into the thinning crowd of students.
Teng remained by the window for a long time, the cold glass pressing against his forehead.
His fingers drummed a slow, irritating rhythm against the concrete sill.
He couldn’t shake the burning sensation in his chest—a strange, toxic curiosity that refused to leave him alone.
For someone who controlled everything, the realization that Jow was an unsolved puzzle was deeply infuriating.Meanwhile, Jow was practically sprinting through the labyrinth of narrow streets, his heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird.
He checked his old, scratched wristwatch continuously.
It was already 4:50 PM.
He only had ten minutes to reach ‘The Daily Fresh’ supermarket, change into his green employee apron, and report to Mr.
Harris.
If he was late on his very first day, he could lose the only lifeline that stood between his grandmother and starvation.
The heavy backpack felt like a boulder crushing his slender shoulders, and his injured chin throbbed painfully with every jarring step he took.
Yet, he pushed forward, blinking away the exhaustion that threatened to blur his vision.He arrived at the back entrance of the supermarket exactly at 4:58 PM, gasping for air, his lungs burning.
He rushed into the employee locker room, his hands shaking so violently that he could barely tie the strings of his green apron over his oversized jacket.
Standing in front of the small plastic mirror, Jow tried to present a neat appearance.
He carefully adjusted his hair to fall over his forehead, hoping it would deflect attention from his pale skin and the dark circles beneath his eyes.
Taking a deep, stabilizing breath, he stepped onto the brightly lit supermarket floor, his soft, polite smile firmly locked in place as he took his position cash register number three.For the first two hours, the work was a blur of scanning barcodes, printing receipts, and offering gentle greetings to demanding shoppers.
Jow’s voice remained soft and incredibly respectful, even when tired customers spoke to him harshly.
His natural politeness and ethereal, innocent beauty caught the attention of many elderly shoppers, who smiled warmly at the new, handsome cashier boy.
Jow felt a quiet sense of pride growing within him with every transaction he completed.
He was earning his own bread, protecting his family, and for a few hours, the terrifying shadow of Teng felt miles away from this bright, commercial reality.
He was just an ordinary boy working for a better tomorrow.
However, by 8:00 PM, his physical limits began to show.
His legs were numb from standing continuously on the hard concrete floor, and a sharp ache developed in his lower back.
His vision blurred slightly under the fluorescent store lights, and he had to grip the edge of the counter to prevent himself from swaying.
‘Just one more hour,’ Jow told himself, his inner resolve steeled against the overwhelming fatigue.
‘Just one more hour, and I can buy Grandma’s heart medication.’ He rubbed his temples softly, completely unaware that his daily schedule was no longer a secret, and the delicate cage he had built to protect his life was about to face a violent storm.Back in his luxury high-rise apartment, Teng was pacing across his marble living room, a glass of ice water untouched on the glass table.
He had dismissed his servants for the night, preferring the cold, isolated silence of his wealth.
He checked his phone every five minutes, waiting for Ray’s report.
His mind was stuck on the way Jow had looked down at his desk today—so fragile, so close to breaking, yet refusing to submit.
Teng’s fingers clenched into tight fists.
He wasn’t used to this feeling of suspense; he was used to owning the truth immediately.
“Where do you run to, Jow?” Teng muttered to the dark, city view outside his panoramic window, his voice laced with a dangerous, obsessive edge.
“No matter where you hide, you are still inside my territory.”As the clock finally struck 9:30 PM, Mr.
Harris walked over and tapped Jow’s shoulder, letting him know his shift was officially over.
Jow offered a weak but genuinely grateful smile as he took off his green apron, his entire body screaming for rest.
He carefully placed the hard-earned money and his grandmother’s newly purchased medicine inside his bag, feeling a transient warmth melt away his deep fatigue.
He stepped back out into the cool night air, completely unaware that his short-lived peace was already ticking away.
He steeled his heart for the next morning, entirely blind to the fact that Ray had successfully tracked his route, and the dangerous game Teng had prepared for him tomorrow would demand a much higher price than his silence.”And as the heavy steel doors of the supermarket closed behind him, a dark shadow stepped out from across the street, opening a phone to type a single message to Teng: ‘I found him.'”