“Aini’s Bitch Pig…” I chuckled self-deprecatingly. This awful nickname was a “gift” from my cousin, Wang Linghua.
At first, those words pierced me like knives, but after hearing them so much, I became numb.
Compared to the economic exploitation and mental abuse from my uncle’s family, Aini’s so-called “bullying” was like mosquito bites—painless, itchless, and even a little ridiculous.
Especially after my rebirth, Aini’s actions always struck me as peculiar, like carefully designed riddles waiting for me to solve.
My thoughts churned, and my memory returned to the summer before I transferred in my second year of high school. Nottingham Central Park, with perfect sunshine and gentle breezes, was unbelievably beautiful.
Aini and I met there, like a fated encounter.
At that time, Aini was the embodiment of an angel—pure, kind, and beautiful—descending into my previously bleak world.
When I was downcast, missing the “girl who skipped stones,” she would gently hand me a handkerchief, still carrying her unique faint scent.
“Here, wipe it,” she whispered to me, her voice soft and sweet like cotton candy, melting into my heart.
I deliberately teased her, making her flustered, puffing out her cheeks like a cute little hamster, making one want to pinch her delicate pink cheeks.
“Wang Allen, you…you’re so mean!” she stomped her foot, huffing.
We strolled in the park, sharing our secrets, dreaming of a beautiful future, carefree.
We sketched together against the sunset, clumsily painting the world through each other’s eyes, leaving behind our exclusive memories.
“Look! Does my drawing of you look like you?” I pointed at the somewhat abstract figure on the paper, asking her proudly.
“Hmph, not at all!” she pouted, but couldn’t help but laugh, her eyes curving into crescents.
We played international chess together, both of us liking to compete with all our might, enjoying the thrill of a well-matched opponent.
Our chess skills were evenly matched. Only after I lost two consecutive games playing with all my might would she show her smugness, feeling sweeter than honey.
“Haha, I won again!” she raised a chess piece, cheering joyfully, as innocent as a child.
“Yes, yes, you’re the best. I’ll definitely win next time!” I said, refusing to admit defeat, but my heart was happy for her joy.
That was our unique sweetness, full of competitive fun and pure friendship.
Aini was naturally afraid of cats, but I used the “cat taming technique” my mother had taught me, making the stray cats approach us very kindly. After the cats’ enthusiastic interaction, her “ailurophobia” was cured, which made me proud for quite a while.
We played with stray cats together. Those fluffy little creatures seemed to feel our happiness, rubbing against our legs, purring contentedly.
When I was tired, she would let me rest my head on her lap. That soft touch made me feel incredibly safe, as if all worries had vanished.
The warmth from her thigh and Aini’s faint scent made my heart flutter.
“Allen, are you asleep?” She looked down at me, asking softly, with a hint of concern in her voice.
“No, I just feel very comfortable like this,” I closed my eyes, enjoying her gentleness, my lips curving into an unconscious smile.
When we were hungry, we would go to taste food from the food trucks, then tease each other about our “unique” tastes. The air was filled with the aroma of food and our laughter.
“You actually like to eat this kind of thing? That’s too strange!” I frowned, looking at the food in her hand with a disgusted expression.
“Hmph, you’re the strange one! You don’t like such delicious food!” she retorted indignantly, making a face at me.
In just ten short days of vacation, we seemed to have poured out all our enthusiasm, weaving a splendid memory, like fireworks in the summer night sky—brilliant and fleeting.
It was also she who took me on a tour of this aristocratic private high school and carefully reminded me of things to pay attention to.
“The people here are very complicated, you need to be careful,” she held my hand, earnestly cautioning me, her eyes full of worry.
“Mm, I know,” I nodded, feeling warm inside, sensing her concern for me.
At that time, Aini was gentle, considerate, and kind, like a ray of light that illuminated my previously bleak world, showing me hope and beauty.
However, who would have thought that fate would be so cruel?
After school started, everything changed the moment I mustered the courage to confess to her.
“Aini, I…I like you,” I looked at her nervously, holding a bouquet of roses, my palms sweating.
After she took the flowers, she was silent for a moment, but it was as if she had become a different person, as if possessed by a demon.
Her eyes were cold, like two sharp knives, piercing directly into my heart. I could even feel the chill.
Her words were harsh, like poisoned arrows, shot at me mercilessly. Every word made my heart ache.
“A toad wanting to eat a swan!”
“Why don’t you pee and look at yourself!”
“Wang Allen, you’re a Bitch Pig from now on! Anyone who gets close to him is going against me, Aini!”
Her words were merciless, each one a dagger to the heart. In front of everyone, she trampled me into the mud, making me lose face and dignity.
Even though I had such beautiful memories with Aini, those sweet memories now became the sharpest weapons, piercing fiercely into my heart.
“If this is my retribution for forgetting 【the girl who skipped stones】, then let me bear this damned bitter fruit alone!” I murmured in a hoarse voice, with a hint of resignation, like a surrender to fate, and also like a punishment for myself.
Then… an angel inserted herself between Aini and me, directly rebuking Aini.
“Aini, you’ve gone too far. Come, leave here with me.”
Righteously, she led me, still stunned from the scolding, out of the classroom filled with ridicule. On the first day, to repay the angel who helped me out, I risked skipping class to buy her alcohol.
That afternoon, I also had to face wave after wave of students who had failed to pursue Aini and were jealous of me. I broke a new record at this aristocratic private school, knocking down twenty weaklings.
In the days that followed, Aini’s inexplicable provocations and bullying, along with her good sisters Emma and Gwen, also got involved.
However, it was precisely Gwen’s involvement that made the bullying behavior intriguing.
Soon after the second year of high school began, someone inexplicably gave me the nickname “Nottingham Flying Leg War God.”
But this time, I wouldn’t be submissive. Many problems were just a piece of paper.
Out of fear of breaking the existing status quo, problems accumulated, eventually becoming a dead end.
The class bell rang, and the teacher left after assigning homework.
I put my newly finished homework into the small mountain of notebooks, pondering how to make a more groundbreaking attempt.
It’s lunchtime now; I need to act quickly and find some work that can earn money.
I can’t always rely on Gwen. This time, I need to take the initiative, not be as passive as before.
Just as I was about to leave, my sleeve was tugged. I turned around to see Gwen’s playful face, my deskmate, appearing before me, with a hint of mischief.
“Later is that old spinster’s music class, it’s so annoying! Same old rules, same old place?”
Gwen had rebellion in her bones; skipping class to drink was commonplace.
In my previous life, I would always buy her alcohol and then leave her to go back to class. Then, during those seven darkest days, she was busy at night, and I struggled alone in the desperate abyss of hunger… finally surrendering to my uncle and giving up everything.
This time, I don’t value classes as much. I’ve been reborn, so why follow rules?
“Alright, what do you want to eat with your drink?”
Gwen paused, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes, then she revealed a triumphant smile: “Pizza, pick my two favorite flavors. It’s time to test you, partner.”
“No problem, see you at the usual spot later.”
I agreed to her, first going to the student cafeteria to look for people, to see if I could find any “work.”
Before, I always felt that lunch should be eaten in the cafeteria; hot food was always more appealing.
But what happened? Every time, Aini, that crazy woman, would mess things up. My food would either be spilled on the floor or directly thrown away, and I, being too proud, refused to bow my head.
Sometimes, just as I took a couple of bites, Aini or Emma would appear out of nowhere and flip my food tray.
Emma was still “merciful,” at most spilling the food, but Aini, that young lady, would directly throw the plate on the floor and laugh at me.
And I would tolerate them again and again, thinking to myself, being hungry will pass…
Moreover, in my heart, I am a descendant of the dragon, so naturally, I have a Chinese stomach and always want to eat something hot and filling for lunch.
So I always focused on the affordable and good school cafeteria.
The old me was very persistent about food.
It’s different now. My goal is simple: find people.
This is an aristocratic private school, although not everyone here is a top student.
But most students have money and background.
Especially someone like Aini, the daughter of the Black Hand Family leader. Gwen’s father is a big corporate boss. I have to find a way to utilize these resources.
In my previous life, I was really stupid, only knowing how to indulge in car racing to win prize money to get by; my vision was too narrow.
When Gwen wasn’t around, even that pitiful prize money would be embezzled by those powerful people.
Compared to those guys backed by dark forces, I was just a lamb to be slaughtered, only able to swallow my grievances.
This time, I need to change my thinking. Where there are people, there are problems. Where there are problems, someone is needed to solve them. This is my opportunity.
I moved through the cafeteria, my gaze sweeping over the elegantly dressed, laughing students, like a hunting leopard.