During the summer that year, I came from my countryside home into the city to study. This was the first time I had encountered the Internet, and I was instantly bewitched by its magic.

Subsequently, I became consumed, my addiction to the Internet growing bigger each day. If I didn't get on for a while every day, I'd feel ill at ease.

In reality, my obsession with the Internet wasn't related to gaming. Rather, I liked to chat with unfamiliar girls on "QQ"

a Chinese messaging app

, and once I started, I found it impossible to extricate myself, almost feeling as though I was losing my mind.

During that day’s morning lesson, my Internet addiction flared up once more. Pretending to need the bathroom, I hurdled the school walls to enter an Internet café I typically frequented.

However, I didn’t expect to witness the scene that left me flabbergasted just as I stepped in.

In my usual corner, a guy and a girl were currently being affectionate as though nobody was around.

The man was large and round, his head shaved clean, a dragon tattoo inked onto his body. One glance and you could tell he was a big troublemaker in society.

The girl, however, had a slender figure, long hair down to her waist. She was held in the man’s arms, her top already messy. A few buttons were even undone on her top, revealing the black laced bra underneath...

The bald man seemed somewhat hurried, leaning down for a few kisses...

Since I was standing not far from them, I saw an image that I should never have seen.

The scene directly made my heart rate spike, even making me recall the scene I had covertly watched the village beauty take a bath during the summer...

“Dragon, wait, someone’s watching us.” The long-haired girl spotted me looking at them and let out a soft whimper as she warned him.

“Oh no!” The words made my heart drop and I turned to leave.

But the so-called Dragon already swiftly appeared behind me, grabbing the back of my collar. He landed several punches directly on my head, instantly plunging my sight into darkness and indescribable pain.

“Dare to watch me in action, you're courting death!” Dragon cursed as he slapped my face a few times.

At that moment, I was completely stunned. It seemed like forever before I managed to stutter, "I didn't mean to..."

"Fuck you!" Brother Long was furious because I had interrupted him. Upon hearing this, he raised his foot and kicked me in the stomach.

I let out a cry of agony, falling painfully to the floor, unable to control my flow of tears.

From childhood to adulthood, I had never been beaten like this before. Furthermore, this beating came so unexpectedly, at this moment, I despised that long-haired girl.

At this point, the internet cafe manager quickly approached, bending over and saying to the bald guy, "Brother Long, please calm down. This kid doesn't know any better, please let him off this time."

"Fuck, always ruining my good times, tell him to get lost!" Brother Long glared cruelly at me before finally sitting back down.

The manager quickly agreed, helped me up, and led me to another computer separated by one row, saying, "You're such an unlucky fellow. Alright, play here."

I nodded and murmured a thanks.

However, sitting in front of the computer, I felt no interest at all. After getting beaten up for no apparent reason, one can only imagine how upset I was.

"Hmm..." Suddenly, a peculiar feminine voice entered my ears. I instinctively looked towards its source, and was left speechless.

To my surprise, that same long-haired girl was actually sitting on Bald Brother Long's lap...

Although there weren't many people nearby, one would say this was still a public area, and yet they behaved so shamelessly.

The sight was something I found hard to accept.

...

Although I was separated by a row from Brother Long at my current position, all I had to do was to shift a bit, and I could see them through the gap between two computers.

Moreover, at this moment, the long-haired girl and the bald man were hugging each other face-to-face, and the bald Dragon Brother was with his back towards me, so the girl and I were also facing each other directly.

I could even clearly see her... delicate face...

This scene made my mouth dry and my tongue parched, so I grabbed a bottle of mineral water at my side and began gulp it down.

However, after drinking, I was filled with a sense of fullness in my stomach but it didn't alleviate my problem at all.

Just then, the long-haired girl suddenly opened her eyes. I was startled and hurriedly sat back in my seat, correcting my posture.

But deep down I was uneasy: "Could she have noticed me? If the girl tells the big bald man, will he beat me up again?"

However, after waiting for a few minutes, Dragon Brother didn't come to bother me.

This allowed me to finally breathe a sigh of relief, and I once again couldn't help wanting to sneak a peek at them, mainly because I was quite close to them... their closeness deeply excited and attracted me.

However, as I was leaning and observing them, I saw that the long-haired girl was looking right towards me, her eyes wide open.

I was immediately dumbstruck with my mouth agape, my heart rate accelerating rapidly.

At this moment, I almost predicted my miserable end.

What surprised me, however, was that the long-haired girl didn't tattle. Instead, she gave me a strange smile.

What does that mean? Is she trying to confuse me first, then come looking for me after they are done?

With that thought, I finally couldn't stay still. I definitely didn't want to get hit again.

I didn't care about the money I had put into the machine, I quickly escaped from the Internet cafe using the excuse of going to the restroom.

On the way back to school, I felt both wronged and irritated, coupled with a deep sense of helplessness.

Back in my hometown, I was the top dog of the school, with everything going my way. I led a bountiful life.

Even the hooligans around the school would show me respect. But once I moved to the city, my status took a drastic downward turn. Not only did my sense of superiority vanish completely, but I also found myself on the receiving end of beatings without daring to retaliate.

Before, life was easy at home compared to the difficulties faced in the world outside. The significance of that saying is now clear to me.

But what could I do?

If there is anyone to blame, it's me for being so obstinate. My parents had no choice but to send me to this school in a place where I know no one.

Wiping away my tears, I rubbed my burning cheeks and jumped over the wall to re-enter the school.

Just as I stepped into the classroom, I heard a boy named Zhang Biao talking loudly, boasting about his plans to pursue Chen Jiaying to be his girlfriend and take her to the karaoke bar...

I didn’t quite understand the meaning, but their sleazy, smirking faces made it clear that they were up to no good, and it lit a spark of anger inside of me.

I wasn’t sure where this anger was coming from, but I walked up to Zhang Biao, warning him, “Zhang Biao, you should refrain from bad-mouthing others.”

Zhang Biao looked at me disdainfully and sneered, “And what’s it to you?”

“Chen Jiaying is my desk mate, and I won’t allow you to talk badly about her.” I declared assertively.

Zhang Biao sprung to his feet in response, but just at that moment, the bell for class rang.