Chapter 179 Once I Was 13 Years Old Part 1

"So Shang Jing was your childhood friend? Who taught you how to hack?" Xue Ning asked as Jingwei had to stop to take a drink of water. His voice had gotten hoarse.

That was most likely the start of it, but Xue Ning knew there was still more to come. Jingwei would not have looked so terrified at the thought of an old friend paying him a visit.

"It's… "Jingwei began hesitantly. "Those were the happier days, when we were young and innocent. Or at least I was young and innocent. I keep wondering if Shang Jing was ever innocent. The rest of the story isn't so good. Are you sure you want to hear it?"

Jingwei looked pleadingly at her, as though hoping Xue Ning would tell him now so he wouldn't need to revisit painful memories. Unfortunately for him, Xue Ning was determined to know everything. She nodded, and Jingwei let out a heavy sigh.

"Then in the blink of an eye, 5 years passed just like that…"

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"Shang Jing, I think you can get Zi Long to let him go now," Jingwei mused as he lounged on his chair. "Anything more, and he might just die here - and I don't want to deal with that. Think of the blood. Think of the lawsuit."

"Come on now, don't tell me you're becoming soft," Shang Jing's voice taunted silkily from the other chair. "Remember what he did to you?"

Jingwei paused, a finger tapping on his chin as he eyed the slumped figure of another schoolboy who was only kept upright thanks to Zi Long's hand on his collar. To give him some credit, he tried to get away, but he only managed to flail hopelessly. Jingwei made a face as he watched snot and blood splash around him, scooting back in disgust.

Jingwei's phone rang, but then he declined the call. It was from Lady Yu, most likely calling about dinner plans. But Jingwei had more important things to worry about, namely, watching his old bully metaphorically eat shit.

"I do remember," Jingwei said, eyeing the injured boy.

He was Ding Er Tai, one of the boys that loved to give Jingwei a hard time for years, coining the 'spare' nickname and always calling him useless. He loved to take his belongings and fling them far away, just so he could watch Jingwei struggle to get them back, pointing at him and calling him a dog for fetching them.

Recently he also said that Jingwei's mother didn't have long to live, which made Jingwei mad enough to burst. His mother had fallen ill, but she was getting better! She had to be. Ding Er Tai's words made him so mad that he enlisted Shang Jing's help in getting revenge.

Thankfully, Shang Jing had transferred into his school a year ago! He had a ridiculously good time stomping all over the student body, especially on those people who dared to pick on his best friend while he wasn't there.

Now that he thought about it, maybe Zi Long can punch Ding Er Tai a bit more. Jingwei had suffered for years thanks to his actions. For commenting on his mother's health, he certainly deserved more payback!

"Beat him up a bit more, but can you do it further away? I don't want his disgusting blood to splash on me." Jingwei requested haughtily.

"I forgot how squeamish you are," Shang Jing said, laughing. His best friend had a soft stomach and a soft heart, which was why Shang Jing took it upon himself to get rid of whatever obstacles that Jingwei was too nice or forgiving to deal with. And Jingwei never bothered to stop him, letting Shang Jing do whatever he liked in the guise of enacting justice.

That was great. Shang Jing found that he liked it when there was bloodshed. He liked it when he was causing bloodshed, directly or otherwise. Getting revenge for Jingwei was a handy, rational excuse that put him in a good light. He got to enjoy himself, and Jingwei got to retaliate against all those punks that dared to lay a hand on him.

And best of all, he didn't need to lift a single finger. Zi Long was there, getting his dose of daily workouts as he beat the shit out of their classmates.

"Zi Long-ge is a grown man that's beating up 13 year olds," Sun Jingwei said dryly as he watched Zi Long slam his fist into Ding Er Tai's face, rearranging it further. At this rate, his parents might not even recognize him. "Do you think he gets bored?"

"Then do you have anyone else you want him to beat up? How about our homeroom teacher?" Shang Jing suggested it casually.

"What on earth?" Jingwei stared at him in shock. "Of course not."

"I'm just saying! That man has it out for us." Shang Jing said, tapping his fingers on the armrests of his chair. "He said we were degenerates and a waste of society's resources."

"I am a waste of society's resources," Jingwei admitted cheerfully. "I take great pride in being a wastrel, since my older brother has already cornered the market on being a capable genius heir. Might as well cover all the bases."

Just then, Jingwei's phone rang again. He frowned, and then rejected the call. He was still busy.

"I'm sure he thanks you for your sacrifice," Shang Jing said, only half-seriously. If Jingwei was just that bit more studious and ambitious, Shang Jing believed that Sun Tianwei would not be able to sleep soundly at night, assuming he actually slept. Jingwei told him that his brother was surviving on getting coffee injected into his veins via an IV.

A mountain cannot hold two tigers, an empire doesn't need two rulers. The one good thing about Shang Jing being his father's only son was that no one would come between him and his inheritance, not if he had anything to say about it.

He refused to suffer a decade of emotional and physical abuse from his father to be left with nothing to show for it. Once he hit 18 years of age, he'd get rid of his father to take his business empire for himself.

Jingwei had no idea his hatred for his father ran that deep. Then again, Jingwei still adored his own father, despite that man giving him the bare minimum of affection.

"But do you really have no interest at all in inheriting your father's company?" Shang Jing asked curiously. "Are you going to bum off your brother when you grow up? What happens if he takes everything and leaves you penniless on the streets?"

"Nah, my brother won't do that! He loves me! And Mom would never leave me with nothing." Jingwei said with so much surety that Shang Jing suddenly felt jealousy rear its ugly head.

Jingwei never doubted that his brother loved him, even though sometimes it seemed like Tianwei loved to strangle him more. He had a loving mom. Shang Jing had nothing. One day, Sun Jingwei would leave him too, once he found out about the illegal activities he was doing. He bit his lip hard enough to bleed, but he didn't notice it because he didn't feel it.

"And besides, I also have you, my best friend in the whole world, surely you won't leave me to die on the streets right?" Jingwei wheedled.

"You'll let me stay over in one of those empty rooms - holy shit what happened to your lips! Why are they bleeding?!"