The Versatile Master Artist

At every opening ceremony, the principal would repeatedly address the related issues.

But as the saying goes, sometimes the more people lack something, the more they tend to proclaim it.

Even without these local middle school troublemakers, bullying has always been an objectively existing issue in the school.

Offering cigarettes and baths are classic bullying traditions at Yangon Middle School.

The former refers to covering someone’s mouth, inserting a burning cigarette into their nostril; it only takes a dozen seconds to ensure tears and mucus flow, in a truly miserable state.

The latter focuses more on humiliation.

Being stripped in public in front of girls, having ice-cold mineral water poured on your head, or, worse, being thrown into a urinal.

The insidious imagination behind school bullying has always surpassed adult comprehension.

These methods rarely leave physical scars, but they almost inevitably lead to social death. Even if you’re given a semester of psychological counseling, the mental damage is hard to repair.

Not to mention, for boys in puberty who most need self-esteem, being stripped in front of girls means you’ll never hold your head high again.

This becomes a lifelong psychological scar.

If given a choice, they’d rather be beaten.

The campus shooting in Old Meifloda in the 1980s started because the shooter was stripped by classmates in the hallway, then had his head pushed into the urinal.

Gu Weijing had heard of these methods used by these bad kids but hadn’t seen them or been bullied himself.

Not because he was particularly skilled,

but because Mona was the head of the girls’ student council at school, with her ”covering” him, the bullies generally didn’t mess with Gu Weijing.

”It’s not that I’m interested in meeting you. Brother Miao wants to talk to you.”

Bald blew a smoke ring at Gu Weijing.

He raised his hand, pointing to the black and skinny high school student in Fitz School Uniform sitting on the corridor bench, watching the scene with an air of indifference, and threatened Gu Weijing, ”You better behave, kid!”

After speaking, he nodded to Miao Angwen, fawningly saying, ”Brother Miao, I’ve found him.”

This was what his cousin personally instructed him to do, to serve this young master well.

Bald could only act dominant among the students, but his cousin was a true senior in the criminal elite.

Usually, various lackeys came to pay tribute and services.

However,

A few weeks ago, Bald witnessed in the pool hall, his cousin, who he thought was extremely powerful, acting timidly and not daring to even breathe in front of a bald strongman with a Buddha head tattoo.

He realized the true presence of a criminal tycoon.

In his mind, that bald man was like the General Leader of the Heaven and Earth Society in martial arts novels, and Miao Angwen, who was by his side, naturally had a significant status too.

Bald had been considering himself a henchman, running errands diligently.

When asked to stop someone today, Bald agreed without a second thought.

Miao Angwen appreciated for a moment the sight of Gu Weijing surrounded by troublemakers but did not see the nervousness and unease he had expected.

”Still acting calm.”

He felt a bit disappointed inside.

Miao Angwen had ample reason to dislike Gu Weijing.

There were many peers more notable than Gu Weijing.

Though he didn’t envy them, somehow, from early on, he just really, really disliked Gu Weijing.

People easily dislike those similar to themselves.

Especially when clearly everyone is poor, yet he has to run errands for the rich kids to earn pocket money, while Gu Weijing can leisurely enjoy his school life.

During the Rose Lover’s Ball in May two years ago, this dislike peaked, even turning into hatred.

It was their first time attending the ball as upper-grade students, and everyone was excited.

The cheerleading captain competing for prom queen planned to sing Taylor Swift’s ”Love Story” wearing tight leather clothes at the ball.

Koukou had always been the epitome of alluring and sensual charm in Miao Angwen’s mind.

Especially what she looked like in her dance dress,

Tight corset outlining her well-endowed chest, prominently lifted.

Below, the short skirt barely reaching the thigh could not conceal the beautiful curves of her dancer-toughened legs.

Amidst the dance, shimmering sweat adhered to her exposed, flesh-colored shoulders, scorchingly hot, her figure unexpectedly mature for a high school girl.

Miao Angwen’s dreams always featured this lovely and charming campus goddess.

He even dreamt about becoming the skull necklace complementing the earrings, buried closely against Koukou’s heaving breasts.

The school ball allowed wearing uniform or ball attire.

Students from affluent families always paid much attention to clothing.

Rich boys and girls subtly competed with their attire, like peacocks displaying their feathers.

You wear Balenciaga; I’ll wear Armani with a Gucci tie. You wear Armani, I’ll wear a tailor-made handmade suit.

Anyone wearing a school uniform to school might as well have ”I’m a poor bastard” tattooed on their face.

Like a pheasant blending into a peacock’s crowd.

To avoid looking shabby at the school ball, Miao Angwen pleased and flattered Brother Fu at school every day, did people’s homework, risked being expelled cheating on exams, saving money over a year.

He also got three hundred dollars from his dad, who worked hard driving for others; it was his family’s monthly income.

He then rented a high-class ball gown from a luxury store in the West River District, for the first time in his life he felt dignified, not lower than others at the dance.

Miao Angwen prepared a whole year for this ball, only for Gu Weijing to ruin everything in three minutes upon his entrance.

Gu Weijing came, as usual, in school uniform that day.

Miao Angwen had to wear a school uniform before, but today he was different!

He wore a high-class gown, like children of wealthy families, a real ”person above people”!

He deliberately went to Gu Weijing to show off his gem-studded cuff gown, as if to prove he had stomped the other beneath him.

He awaited to see jealousy and longing on Gu Weijing’s face.

Instead, Gu Weijing remained indifferent, nodding and softly saying, it’s quite nice, such good clothes, I can’t afford them.

”You look great like this, I think it’s very spirited!”

Miao Angwen initially wanted to voice some boastful ridicule but was interrupted by Miss Sande Nu.

The pretty girl in the blue dress with silk gloves, holding Gu Weijing’s arm, just casually glanced at Miao Angwen and comforted her boyfriend.

”You mustn’t imitate his vain style of pig with a scallion in its nose. Wealthier families wear high-class gowns, showing off doesn’t matter, not earned money anyway. Poverty isn’t scary, but insisting on flaunting with borrowed attire while being dirt poor, that’s all bark and no bite.”

Miss Sande Nu smiled at Gu Weijing and said, ”Don’t envy, buy good clothes when you earn money and wear them for me. You look fine now in uniform, I like... Do you want to dance, if not, I made cupcakes for you.”

The girl’s voice wasn’t quiet, even causing laughter in the entryway to the ball.

Some laughter was directed at Miao Angwen, some wasn’t.

Either way, hearing it felt incredibly mocking and sarcastic.

He put in a year’s effort for this ball, only to be stripped of his beautiful gown by laughter, labeled as vain.

”All bark...”

”Miss Sande Nu described accurately, exactly a pig with a scallion. Look, he doesn’t even know the basic rule of not buttoning the third button of a ball gown, truly a hillbilly. Might be rented clothes.”

”No ’might’, definitely rented to show off. His name is Miao Angwen, do you know what his dad does? Drives for others, a chauffeur.”

”A chauffeur’s son... ha, this kind can mingle into Fitz... our school’s admission policy really is...”

No matter where Miao Angwen went, he could hear such talk.

These subtle jeers, like icicles, pierced his heart leaving him cold all over.

How could he not hate Gu Weijing!