Chapter 199 My name is Xiao Ran
I distorted the truth.
How could I possibly be accompanying a child, waiting for his parents? That’s fucking retarded.
Let me ask you, what's the big deal if I didn’t tell the truth?
Hilarious—like there’s really someone out there who’s never told a lie.
Naturally, the weirdos who bare their soul to a bunch of menacing strangers.
I’m no idiot, I know the right way to handle things.
In the third year of middle school, I was with a group of girlfriends in the bathroom, {welcoming} the new girl who had transferred from out of town. We stripped her clothes off, and just as we were about to burn her arm with a cigarette butt, she suddenly rushed forward and knocked me down.
I’ve never been this horrified in my life.
She’s just a girl from out of town—who gave her the galls to think she can mess with me?
Seeing the ferocity with which she hit me, none of my friends around me dared to step in. At that moment, my heart sank.
That {welcome} ended on a sour note.
In the following days, things took an unexpected turn. I noticed that the girl from out of town wasn’t being isolated. Slowly, many of my girlfriends started to befriend her, and before I knew it, no one was paying attention to me anymore.
What happened to our close friendship?
After thinking about it all night, I finally understood this truth—being tough is what gets you friends.
But how do I become tougher?
The next day, I got on Qu ge's motorcycle.
Qu ge was the big shot at the school gate. He spent his days hanging out there with a bunch of little followers, always parking his motorcycle to the side while they stood there smoking. Qu ge’s obese frame and his shiny bald head full of wrinkles made him stand out like a sore thumb in the crowd.
I remember they’d occasionally ask passing students for money.
In the whole school, not a single teacher or student dared mess with him.
Wasn’t he the perfect target for me?
When I got on Qu ge’s motorcycle, I noticed all the students at the school gate staring at me.
They were envying me.
I had connections, but they didn’t.
I'm so smart—I figured this out in almost no time.
That night, we had a great time. Qu ge gathered a lot of his guys, and we drank together. I drank a lot and didn’t have to spend a single penny. It seemed like Qu ge truly saw me as his little sister.
When Qu ge asked me to sleep with him, I agreed without a second thought.
The experience was uncomfortable, something I’d rather not revisit.
The next day, Qu ge and his followers helped me vent my frustration. That girl from out of town and those former friends of mine all started calling me {jie} under the weight of iron rods and fists.
Qu ge once told me that sleeping with him would feel great, but the satisfaction I felt now was a million times better.
Watching Qu ge and his guys beat them up without holding back, I thought I finally understood what they were implying. I stepped forward and tore off those bitches’ school uniforms, letting everyone take pictures as they pleased. I even carefully picked a few myself and posted them on the school forum.
Now you’re all big stars—this is what happens when you mess with me, Xiao Ran.
From that day on, I became the {queen} of the school. No one dared to cross me, and no one dared to disobey me.
This was exactly the feeling I craved.
Unfortunately, happy times never last.
When I saw my high school entrance exam score—182 (out of 700)—I knew my middle school days were officially over.
That day, when I got home, the old geezer and hag who were usually yelling at each other sat in silence, their faces clouded with worry.
I didn’t get it. Wasn’t it just an exam? 182 points—I already did well enough. What more did they want?
I’d scored even worse before, and I wasn’t even worried. So what were they so worried about?
"Xiao Ran… what are you going to do with your life now?" the old hag asked me through her tears. "You can’t even get into high school. How are you supposed to live your life?"
"So what if I can’t go to high school?" I snapped back, annoyed. "I didn’t want to keep studying anyway. I’m planning to go into business with Qu ge."
The old geezer slammed the table hard when he heard that.
"What bullshit are you spouting?!" he growled at me. "I’ve told you a hundred times to stay away from that Qu Qiang! Do you think he’s a good guy? You’re only fifteen! He can’t even support himself—how is he supposed to start a business with you?"
"Mind your own business!" I shot back, glaring at him. "Qu ge is a hundred times better than you two. What else do you do besides argue at home?"
"You... you...!" The old geezer pointed a trembling finger at me, his whole body shaking with anger.
I didn’t bother with him anymore and stormed out, slamming the door behind me.
From then on, I decided I wasn’t going back home. I planned to stay with Qu ge instead.
That summer, I spent every day with Qu ge. I ate his food, used his things, and spent his money. He never complained about any of it—his only demand was to sleep with me.
Isn’t this perfect? I didn’t have to give up anything, and I got so much in return.
I thought that ten-square-meter rental would be my whole life from then on.
But I was wrong. By the time I had my third abortion, Qu ge got arrested. He was sentenced to six years for assault and robbery.
I stayed in that rental for another two weeks, but when the landlord came knocking for rent, I realized I didn’t have a single cent left.
My happy life was over.
I couldn’t live on the streets, so I had no choice but to go back home.
The old hag didn’t scold me. She just looked at me and kept crying. She said that they had borrowed a lot of money to pull some strings, so I could go to a vocational school in the nearby town.
She said the days ahead would be up to me.
She said I had to learn a skill, so I wouldn’t starve in the future.
She went on and on, saying this and that, and it just made me more and more frustrated.
Was I not clear enough? I didn’t want to go to school! What’s the point of school anyway?
But I had nowhere else to go. Qu ge’s men had scattered, fleeing in all directions, leaving me unable to reach a single one of them. I had no money, no shelter, and no one left to protect me.
Despite my reluctance, I showed up at school on the first day.
Because the old hag said that only if I went to school would she give me money.
My major was early childhood education.
Those three years were incredibly painful for me.
After I entered vocational school, it seemed like everyone had changed. The competition between us wasn’t about who had more power or who knew more people. They only compared who had the most expensive phone or the best makeup.
But I had none of that. My stupid phone had been with me for four years.
"What's your name?" my deskmate asked me.
"I’m Chen Ting," the girl smiled and said. "Do you also like kids?"
What a strange question. How could I possibly like kids? I’ve had three abortions in my life—kids are the last thing I want.
"You can say that," I faked a smile and nodded.
"Children are just so cute! I’ve wanted to be a kindergarten teacher since I was little. I think this job really suits me."
Chen Ting looked so happy, but I found her repulsive.
What was she pretending to be, some kind of good person?
She quickly took out her phone to share pictures of her little brother, going on and on about how adorable he was. That was when I finally realized her true intention.
She was showing off her phone.
I’m too smart for my own good—I always see things for what they really are in an instant.
I pretended to go along with her, offering a few half-hearted responses. During the break, while Chen Ting went to the bathroom, I discreetly pulled her phone out of her desk cubby and dropped it onto the floor, then I lay down on my desk and pretended to be asleep.
As expected, expensive phones are fragile. When Chen Ting saw the cracked screen, she looked absolutely devastated.
I comforted her while smiling.
Serves her right—what was she thinking, showing off in front of me?