Chapter 2: The Daily Nightmare and the Classroom’s Silent Corner

‘Ah, another nightmare.’

Lin Qing awoke from his dream, opening his eyes with a placid expression. He gazed at the white ceiling, where a small, pre-existing crack seemed to be slowly widening.

The nightmares had plagued him for some time now. If they continued, they would surely disrupt his daily life.

‘No, this couldn’t go on.’

‘Perhaps he should buy some sleeping pills.’

After all, he possessed a doctor’s prescription, allowing him to purchase them.

‘But then…’

‘He would have to be extremely frugal with his remaining money.’

‘Forget it. He would just have to endure.’

‘He could go without sleep.’

‘But he couldn’t be without money.’

With these thoughts swirling, Lin Qing didn’t linger in bed. He quickly rose, washed up, and then donned his school uniform, preparing to head to school.

“Mom, I’m doing well today too. Don’t worry.”

Just before leaving, Lin Qing habitually called out to the living room. No reply came, only a cold photograph hanging silently on the wall.

Dozens of clocks ticked and tocked, filling the living room with a restless clamor that was anything but quiet.

The moment Lin Qing closed the door, his small world seemed to pause. It would remain suspended, waiting for his return before resuming its silent rhythm.

“Xiao Qing, off to school?”

“Mhm.”

As he descended the stairs, he encountered Auntie Wang, his next-door neighbor, who greeted him with warmth. Lin Qing gave a dull nod, his long hair obscuring his eyes, allowing him only a glimpse of the outside world through narrow slits.

Observing Lin Qing’s indifferent demeanor, Auntie Wang showed no signs of irritation. Instead, she smiled and continued, “Make sure to study hard at school!”

Lin Qing offered no further words in response to Auntie Wang’s kindness. He simply continued his descent, one foot after the other.

Each step was precise, methodical.

Faintly, from behind him, he heard a whispered, ‘Poor child,’ laden with pity and sympathy.

Lin Qing’s pace remained unaltered. He maintained his original, steady speed.

His facial expression was equally unchanged.

Over the past year, he had heard countless such remarks. By now, he was utterly accustomed to them.

‘What did it matter?’

‘His wounds were already riddled with holes; a few more tiny pricks wouldn’t make a difference.’

He rode the bus in silence to school, then walked in silence to the classroom door. When Lin Qing lifted his hand to open it, he felt as though he was instantly stepping into another world.

“My dad is so annoying, not letting me date. What era is this? Such feudal thinking.”

“Did you watch that drama on Lemon TV yesterday? The male lead was super handsome, absolutely amazing!”

“Class monitor, let me copy your homework.”

“Ugh, I lost again! Kids like that shouldn’t even play games; they should be banned online!”

The boisterous commotion didn’t cease. Joyful sounds continued to reverberate, yet none of it concerned Lin Qing.

Nevertheless, Lin Qing rather enjoyed such lively noise; he detested silence.

Perhaps this was one reason he agreed to attend school. Beyond simply wanting to graduate, he loathed being alone.

However, having gone so long without human interaction, Lin Qing didn’t know how to make friends.

He was also afraid of getting to know anyone else.

This led Lin Qing to silently occupy a corner seat, effectively becoming invisible within the classroom.

He quietly walked to his seat and sat down. Lin Qing tucked his backpack inside his desk, then retrieved the books needed for the first lesson. With class still some time away, he rested his arms on the desk as a makeshift pillow, silently lowering his head to lie prone.

He secretly listened to the surrounding hubbub, as if he were a part of it.

“Whoa, as expected of Brother Liu! He actually beat up a third-year thug! He’s really going to dominate the school!!!”

“Idiot, what are you talking about? Brother Liu has been the school’s boss for ages.”

“Now when I go out, I feel so cool. Girls from other classes are even asking me about Brother Liu, hehe. I’d even take his leftovers!”

“Don’t butt in like that! Brother Liu already has someone in mind.”

The classroom’s lively atmosphere didn’t last long. As two loud voices rang out, the room instantly fell silent.

As the henchmen of the school’s delinquents, Zhou Lin and Wang Jian’s status in the class had steadily risen.

To have a normal school life, one simply had to avoid any association with these thugs.

“Damn it, at this rate, when will I ever get a girlfriend?!”

“Hehe, maybe in your next life!”

“Shut up… Fatty, why are you so late today? Did you bring the game console I told you to?”

As Zhou Lin and Wang Jian spoke, the classroom door swung open once more. Seeing the newcomer, Zhou Lin’s eyes lit up with delight, and he immediately yelled loudly towards the doorway.

The loud voice, like a blaring horn, made Wang Fanran, who had just entered, jump. He then looked up to see Zhou Lin waving him over intimately, knowing he couldn’t escape this time.

He could only walk over with a bitter expression, respectfully producing the game console.

Though it was a game console he had painstakingly begged his father to buy, it was better not to resist than to suffer a one-sided beating at school.

‘One must learn to assess the situation.’

‘Don’t be reckless.’

“Heh heh, not bad. It’s the latest model game console! You went to a lot of trouble!”

Zhou Lin unceremoniously snatched the game console, then gleefully fiddled with it.

His family would never be willing to buy him something so expensive.

‘But school is great,’ he thought. ‘It’s wonderful that classmates “kindly and amiably” lend him things to play with!’

‘He hoped he could stay in school forever!’

“Heh heh, I’ll head back to my seat then.”

Wang Fanran looked at his game console. Despite his attempts at self-consolation, the inevitable sadness still gripped him, and a burning fire of humiliating anger raged within.

Seeing that the two thugs had dismissed him, Wang Fanran quickly walked to his own seat.

“Move!”

Wang Fanran looked down at his silent deskmate, a guy from whom you couldn’t even get a fart with a stick.

The more he looked, the more frustrated he felt.

It was as if he were looking at his current self.

‘It was bad enough not having a beautiful deskmate,’ he thought, ‘but to be stuck with such a gloomy man? He truly was unlucky to the extreme.’

Upon hearing Wang Fanran’s impolite demand, Lin Qing silently rose and moved away from his seat, allowing the corpulent Wang Fanran to squeeze in.

His semi-long black hair nearly obscured most of his face. His slender frame and disheveled appearance exuded an air of gloom and isolation, just by looking at him.

It was precisely because of this that the lowest rung of the class belonged to individuals like Lin Qing.

Even a student like Wang Fanran, who had his game console stolen, was considered a middle-tier member of the class due to his decent family background.

He was occasionally bullied, but not often.

“Damn it, why wasn’t it you who got robbed?! Zhou Lin and them even said they were afraid hitting you would bring bad luck. Hmph, fate truly is unfair!”

Knowing Lin Qing’s docile, dough-like temperament, Wang Fanran understood that nothing he did would elicit a reaction.

This allowed Wang Fanran to vent his frustration over the stolen game console. He glared fiercely at Lin Qing, then huffily lifted his leg and sat down in the chair, the cramped space further accentuating his corpulent physique.

After merely walking a few steps and sitting down, Wang Fanran was already panting heavily. Even so, he silently mumbled curses at Zhou Lin under his breath.

As for Lin Qing, who had reseated himself, he remained utterly silent, continuing to lie prone on his desk.

He desired no contact with anyone else, especially not this detestable deskmate.

“Su Yao’s here! Look, she looks so good today too!”

However, upon hearing the sudden praise erupting from the classroom, Lin Qing’s body involuntarily shuddered.

He quickly lowered his head, his face etched with panic. His legs began to tremble slightly, mirroring the profound terror gripping his heart.

‘That terrifying woman is here again!!!’