“Confinement? Harm?” Wang Linghua slammed down her peanut-butter-slathered bread, her thick lips parting in an exaggerated grin. Her laughter was like fingernails scraping a blackboard, so shrill it sent shivers down one's spine.
“Who dares touch a single hair on Nottingham Flying Leg War God? Your good-for-nothing ‘fierce reputation’ is known to everyone in this area, isn’t it? If you don’t stir up trouble, others should be burning high incense! Which child around here isn’t scared into silence just by hearing your name?”
I gave her a cold glance, my tone calm but laced with a sharp retort: “If my grades, top five in the entire grade, count as ‘good-for-nothing,’ then you and Wang Sheng are the disgrace of the Wang family… Do you even deserve that title?”
These words were like a sharp knife, piercing directly into the lungs of Wang Dali and his wife, who had high hopes for their children. Their faces instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot, rage surging in their chests with nowhere to vent, feeling as stifled as if they had swallowed a fly.
“Allen, how can you talk to your sister like that? We’re family, after all, can’t we just talk things out nicely?” His aunt squeezed out a smile uglier than a cry, trying to mediate, her tone dripping with hypocrisy.
“Family?” I scoffed, as if I had heard the biggest joke in the world, “Since we’re family, then please invite a social worker to thoroughly investigate the accounts of our ‘family’! From every single expense of this family, to this wretched place we live in, and then to my… all my spending details from these past few years, every single one, make it clear!”
Wang Sheng suddenly stood up, his chair scraping against the floor with a harsh sound. He rushed a few steps in front of me, glaring down at me, his fists cracking: “You f*cking say that again?!”
He had often taken advantage of my fierce reputation to bully others, truly believing he was someone important. Did he really think I was still the pushover who showed him mercy in the past?
My eyes narrowed, and my feet, as if oiled, subtly slid back half a step. Before he could react, a well-aimed kick squarely landed on his thick belly.
“Bang!”
Wang Sheng’s large body, like a collapsing wall, fell heavily to the ground, clutching his stomach, his face pale.
“You can’t even be a proper person, and you can’t fight either. You’re not even a real person.” I looked down at him, shaking my slightly long hair mockingly, my voice full of disdain.
This idiot, usually acting like a fox borrowing a tiger’s prestige, when it came to a real fight, he couldn’t even be considered to have basic skills.
“Allen! Why do you use violence to hurt your own family? Doing this will only pain your loved ones and please your enemies!” Wang Dali slammed the table, his voice loud but unable to hide his guilt. He was wary of me, wary of my determination to go all out.
“Family?” I sneered, “Wang Dali, your words are better than any song. Since that’s the case, I’ll call the police and let them arbitrate, to see what’s truly going on between us ‘family members’.”
“You… you ungrateful wretch!” His aunt shrieked, her voice distorted, like a mouse with its tail stepped on, “All these years, we’ve fed you well and taken care of you…”
“Fed me well and taken care of me?” I interrupted her directly, too lazy to listen to her nonsensical lies. I stared at Wang Dali, enunciating each word, my voice cold, “Wang Dali, do you really think I don’t know what you’re planning? You’re holding onto my father’s will, occupying the position of estate administrator, yet you don’t even give me my most basic living expenses. This is no longer simple embezzlement; it’s abuse!”
I paused, my tone growing colder, “As for those other old, rotten matters, I won’t bother to calculate them with you in detail. Wang Dali, your little schemes might fool others, but they won’t fool me.”
I took a deep breath, suppressing the churning emotions, my voice as calm as possible, “Since things have come to this, I’m not afraid to completely break ties with you. I will apply to the court to revoke your qualification as estate administrator. You are simply not fit to be my guardian, let alone manage my father’s estate.”
Wang Dali’s face was ashen, alternating between red and white. He knew that this time, I was determined to fight him to the end. He let out a long breath, trying to calm his emotions, and stopped his wife and son, who were still trying to curse at me.
“Allen, come with me.” His tone softened, carrying a hint of compromise and helplessness, “You’re going to Clayton City as an exchange student in two months; these things will be yours sooner or later.”
He knew perfectly well that as long as I was still under his control, he would be able to get a share when I inherited the estate. He didn't want to let go of this money easily.
Wang Dali led me into the study, and after much deliberation, he took out an old wooden box from a locked drawer.
Inside the box lay my father’s two notebooks, a few yellowed letters, and my ID card and bank card.
He then took out a stack of cash from the safe, a thick wad, and handed it to me: “This is compensation for the living expenses I owe you, consider it late… compensation.”
I took the wooden box and the cash, roughly counting it—one thousand pounds. According to the local annual minimum living expense standard, it was exactly ten months’ worth. Sure enough, it was Wang Dali, the stingy one, not a penny more, not a penny less. This old fox certainly knew how to calculate.
“Good, from now on, you and I owe each other nothing. We go our separate ways.” I shoved the items into my backpack and turned to leave without a trace of lingering attachment, not seeing Wang Dali’s sinister gaze.
Just as I reached the door, his aunt chased after me, clutching a wad of money in her hand, her eyes red and swollen, her voice hoarse: “Allen, don’t… don’t tell anyone about what happened at home… please… forgive your brother and sister…”
I stopped, looked at her, but neither took the money nor spoke.
She wasn't truly remorseful; she was just afraid. Afraid that I would blow things up, afraid that the ugly things she had done over the years would be exposed.
I walked out of the house, the sunlight dazzling on my body. A new day had begun.
My phone vibrated continuously with messages from Wang Sheng and Wang Linghua, full of threats.
“You wait for me at school!”
“You, Aini’s b*tch, you deserve to be bullied forever! We’re going to make everyone in school isolate you! And those two friends of yours—Annie and Chen Chang—they won’t have an easy time either!”
I sneered, casually replying: “Bring it on.”
“It’s none of your business. If you dare touch a single hair on them, I’ll make you repay it tenfold.”
I immediately told Chen Chang and Annie what had just happened and invited them to meet at the restaurant at the train station to celebrate this hard-won new beginning.
Almost instantly, I received a reply from Little Panda Who Loves Strawberries, a cute emoji: an animated GIF of a little panda raising both hands.
“Congratulations, Allen… We’ll meet at the restaurant at the train station.”
Five seconds later, I received a reply from The Grand Heist Rogue: “Bro, you finally figured it out. I’m so happy for you! See you later…”
Seeing these sincere words, a warm current surged through my heart.
I put away my phone and strode towards the train station. A new life had truly begun.
First, a good, hearty meal, and then… find a place to live.
As for the Wang family, heh, just wait and see. Those bullies who tormented me, I’ll make them pay back everything, with interest.