“However,”
Li He’s tone took a sharp turn, and his entire body collapsed powerlessly back into the chair. “After I broke in, I discovered that the room didn’t just have those two scumbags in it; there were also several other guys.”
“Two fists are no match for four hands. I couldn’t beat them, and I was tied up.”
“They, they,” Li He choked up. “They used glue to stick a wig onto my head and made me change into women’s clothing.”
“They humiliated me, saying that lower-class people like me and my girlfriend deserved to kneel at their feet and act like dogs for them.”
Hearing this, Yan Xun was already on the verge of exploding with anger.
Zhang Yi and Lin Xing also stood up angrily.
Calculating the time, Li He had only just returned to the dorm now, which meant he had been locked in that hotel room by those scumbags and humiliated for seven or eight hours?
Seven or eight hours!
No wonder when Li He came back, he looked completely soulless, like a ghost.
Yan Xun pressed the tip of his tongue against his back molars, picked up his phone, and prepared to call the police, saying sternly, “What they are doing is a crime. At this point, this is no longer an issue that can be solved just by a physical fight! I am going to help you call the police right now and use legal means to get justice!”
Although Zhang Yi and Lin Xing were furious and wished they could go all out against that group, they also agreed with Yan Xun’s statement.
“Right, call the police! Make those bastards go to prison!”
“Once they get arrested, as long as we refuse to settle, they will have to serve time!”
However, before Yan Xun’s call could go through, Li He pressed down on his hand.
Yan Xun asked in confusion, “Why?”
Li He’s eye rims grew even redder. Tremblingly, he pulled a bank card out of his pocket and tossed it onto the table.
“Do you know how much money is in here?”
Yan Xun remained silent.
Li He said, “One million.”
Hearing this, the three of them instantly gasped.
They were all children from ordinary families. For people whose monthly living expenses did not exceed two thousand yuan, one million yuan was already an astronomical figure.
Li He gave a miserable smile that looked worse than crying.
“This is the compensation they gave me, commonly known as hush money. It is a lot, right? It is enough for me to buy an apartment back in my hometown.”
Yan Xun frowned, his expression growing even darker. “This matter has nothing to do with how much money there is!”
“It has everything to do with it!”
Li He suddenly exploded, roaring like a madman. “What about my parents’ jobs? Does that have anything to do with it?”
Before the other three could understand, they watched Li He roar hysterically.
“Can you believe it? With just a few phone calls, those people dug up my family background completely!”
“They know my parents’ company, they know my home address, and they even knew that my dad owed fifty thousand yuan in private loans. They found all of that out with just a few phone calls!”
“They said, as long as I dare to call the police, they will ruin everyone in my family!”
On one side was a million-yuan hush money, and on the other side was a destroyed family.
It was cruel, but it was not hard to choose.
It was merely a price paid by sacrificing one’s dignity.
However, for ordinary people like them, which was more important: dignity or survival?
The dormitory was pin-drop quiet. Silence had become a helplessness pressed deep into the soul.
Yan Xun’s fists clenched and then relaxed. A moment later, he raised his hand and pinched the wig still worn on Li He’s head.
“Go to the bathroom. I will help you wash it clean first.”
Li He’s eye rims turned red again and again, but he finally choked out an affirmative response and stood up to follow Yan Xun into the bathroom.
Many years later, Yan Xun could still vividly remember the scene at that moment.
That wig had been glued to Li He’s head, and no matter how they washed, it wouldn’t come off. In the end, they could only use an electric hair clipper to shave Li He’s own hair completely clean.
After venting all his suffering, Li He seemed much more relaxed. He went to bed and went to sleep right after taking a shower.
It looked as though Li He had accepted this reality.
Yet that bank card storing one million yuan had clearly been left discarded casually right on the table.
After the dormitory lights went out, all three of them returned to their respective beds, and none of them spoke because it seemed no one knew what to say.
When facing such a situation, even if it were any of them, they might have made the exact same choice.
That night, inside dormitory 304, everything looked calm on the surface, but in reality, everyone was tossing and turning, finding it difficult to fall asleep.
In the middle of the night, Li He climbed out of bed on tiptoe.
Like a wandering ghost, he stood by the window. There was no telling what was worth looking at outside the window, but he stared straight ahead for a very long time.
When Li He got out of bed, Yan Xun had quietly pulled back his bed curtain to watch him. He was truly afraid that Li He might not be able to think straight and would impulsively jump out of the window.
Fortunately, after standing by the window for over half an hour, Li He tiptoed back up to his bed.
Just when they thought things would finally settle down, who knew that not long after, Li He would get out of bed again and walk toward the window.
This time, Yan Xun could no longer hold back. He yanked open his bed curtain and spat out fiercely, “I refuse to accept this!”
The moment he spoke up, Zhang Yi and Lin Xing also pulled open their curtains and poked their heads out.
The three of them simply followed suit and got out of bed, coming up behind Li He.
Their glowing gazes fixed firmly on Yan Xun.
“Xun’er! Tell us what you want to do, we will listen to you!”
In the dorm, although they usually called Li He the eldest, everyone knew that Yan Xun was the one who could truly handle responsibilities. Therefore, at critical moments, they subconsciously followed Yan Xun’s lead.
Yan Xun sneered. “That bunch used coercion and enticements to make Li He swallow his bitterness and not dare to fight back. Since we cannot win openly, can we not play dirty and make them pay the price?”
Zhang Yi slapped his thigh fiercely. “Right! Talk logic with wise men, what morality do you discuss with beasts? Let us play dirty and screw them over secretly!”
Lin Xing chimed in, “As long as we do not let them catch our weak points, there is nothing they can do to us either.”
The three of them reached a consensus and immediately turned to look at Li He.
“Tell us the information on those bastards. Three cobblers with their wits combined equal Zhuge Liang. The four of us can definitely figure out a way.”
It took a while for Li He’s hollow eyes to refocus.
“I know you guys want to help me, but them, we really cannot afford to provoke them. I do not want to drag you down.”
Yan Xun raised a hand to interrupt him. “Enough, stop talking nonsense. If you cannot get past this hurdle, your entire life is ruined!”
Li He instantly fell silent.
He knew Yan Xun was right.
His dignity had been destroyed. If he could not cross this hurdle, he would only remain a walking corpse for the rest of his life, or perhaps simply end it all to completely free himself.
Yan Xun gritted his teeth and said, “When trouble strikes, just accepting your fate? Our 304 does not have anyone that cowardly.”
“We are going to take the money, and we are going to vent our anger too!”
“They are just a bunch of rich second-generation brats with their heads stuck up their asses, not the emperors of heaven. We have concerns, do you think they do not?”
“I refuse to believe that the bare-footed are afraid of those wearing shoes!”
With Yan Xun saying this, Zhang Yi and Lin Xing immediately chimed in.
“Xun’er is right. Our 304 dorm is of one mind, I refuse to believe we cannot beat them!”
“Don’t worry, boss, we will definitely get justice back for you!”
It would be a lie to say Li He was not moved. A grown man like him could not help but let his eye rims turn red again.
After a long while, he finally choked out a nod.
“Alright! Let’s do it! Since none of you are cowards, I do not want to be a spineless wimp either!”