After Being Forced Into a Facial Paralysis, the Villain Said I’m Such a Drama Queen - Chapter 16

His sudden outburst just moments ago had exhausted all his strength. Now, as he was dragged back, Su Tong’s heart was filled with despair. Losing teeth and bleeding, his only hope was that they wouldn’t be able to unlock his phone. However, when Sheng Xia picked up a sharp glass shard and held it before his eyes so close that a single blink felt like it would invite the jagged edge to pierce his pupil he tremblingly gasped out the password.

The top album in the gallery was Su Tong’s proudest “achievement,” and the very reason he had fallen into that group chat.

He had followed a local man out to “hunt,” responsible for filming the videos. Later, things had gone too far and an incident occurred; Su Tong had gritted his teeth and helped cover their tracks.

After that one time, Su Tong became an administrator. Many people in the group flattered him, teaching him how to attract girls’ attention and how to make himself appear “superior.”

When he was a child, his mother left them, and his father became extremely violent, subjecting him to constant verbal and physical abuse. Because of this, even in the sweltering heat of July, he wore long sleeves and long pants, terrified that someone would discover the bruises on his body.

The resulting alienation from his classmates only made Su Tong more reclusive and insecure. It wasn’t until his father died in a car accident and he received a settlement that he escaped that hell. Only then did Su Tong find his “paradise.”

He had paid five hundred yuan to find that group. He was too lonely; the group made him feel valued. The flattery he had never experienced before caused Su Tong to fall in love with the place instantly.

“Sheng Xia, I beg you, please pretend you don’t know anything, okay? Sheng Xia, if I don’t have this group, I’ll die.” Su Tong’s voice was panicked. Even now, his greatest fear was that if the group were discovered and vanished, what would he do?

He felt no guilt for his actions, nor did he worry about the beating he might receive; he only feared the disappearance of that foul place, which allowed his filthy soul to find solace beneath a gentle skin.

Sheng Xia sighed. The anger in her eyes faded into indifference, though a killing intent rose within her.

Just as she was pondering how to dispose of Su Tong’s body without being discovered, Da Hu stepped forward and punched Su Tong hard.

“Are you even human, you bastard?”

“You’re disgusting! You’re an embarrassment to men everywhere!”

“You damn idiot! Is your brain filled with literal sh*t? How can it be this foul!”

The bullet comments in the live stream were also filled with curses; the “elegant” variety of Chinese insults helped Sheng Xia calm down a bit.

In a society ruled by law, killing is unacceptable. Respecting and abiding by the law is an obligation every citizen should fulfill.

In a society ruled by law, killing is unacceptable…

After chanting this internally three times, Sheng Xia suppressed the urge to settle matters privately. Her attention was drawn back to the comments.

Xiao Xia, maybe you should move. Today’s events had startled the “ghosts” in the chat room quite a bit especially Su Tong’s group chat, which sent chills down many of their spines.

If anyone ever said ghosts were scary again, they were going to throw a fit! How could ghosts be as terrifying as these people?

In the original plot, this side of Su Tong was never exposed. It only said he had spread some rumors out of jealousy and eventually repented sincerely, leading the male protagonist to forgive him.

Now, some ghosts speculated whether, in the original timeline, Su Tong had gained a higher status in that group years later, or perhaps held information that caused powerful people to protect him. It was even possible the male lead had encountered that chain of interests during his investigation and chose to back down.

If that were the case, it was truly terrifying to think about. If Su Tong who wasn’t even a minor supporting character was this twisted, weren’t the others even more extreme? After all, in novels, those people were more powerful, wealthier, and even more perverted.

Yeah, we can send you some money. Can you try to go abroad? Since it was a live stream, people could tip. After the platform’s cut, Sheng Xia could still get a significant amount of money.

Don’t bother. The streamer is currently a minor, and she doesn’t have her household register. She can’t even get a visa.  Going abroad wasn’t that easy, but staying in the country meant a high probability of running into another supporting male lead.

Although Sheng Xia had high combat power, an individual’s strength appeared weak against power and money. It was best to find a suitable place to settle down first, ensure her safety, and then plan for the future.

After Da Hu and Er Wen finished their beating, Da Hu asked: “Boss! What are you doing? Hurry up and give him a punch too.”

Hearing this, Sheng Xia shook her head. She picked the water bottle back up from the trash can and breathed a sigh of relief to see a little bit of liquid left.

Su Tong was beaten black and blue, his breath weak: “You thugs… I’m going to the police tomorrow.”

“I’m going to sue you!”

“Oh? Sue us for acting bravely for a just cause? Or for ridding the people of a pest?” Sheng Xia raised an eyebrow. She grabbed a handful of Su Tong’s hair and hacked at it with the glass shard. His face, which was originally decent-looking, was turned into that of a vagrant because of the ruined hair.

Sheng Xia turned on the front-facing camera to let Su Tong see himself. He, who cared immensely about his image, collapsed mentally upon seeing his reflection.

“For the sake of our acquaintance, I’ll help you out.”

She moved to call the police, but Da Hu stopped her. “Boss, if we hit someone, we’ll end up in a cell.”

“It’s fine. Come here, I’ll tell you what to say.”

When the police arrived, they saw Da Hu and Er Wen standing there and instinctively assumed these two thugs were muggers after all, they were regulars at the station.

“Officer! I’m the one who called! This guy was intercepting a young girl in the middle of the night; he definitely had bad intentions!”

Following Sheng Xia’s instructions, Da Hu took the initiative.

The officer, who was initially skeptical, was surprised when he saw Sheng Xia. “It’s you?”

He was one of the officers who had taken Sheng Xia’s statement last time. Seeing her standing small in the corner with a distressed expression, he took everyone back to the station to investigate separately.

“I don’t know why Senior followed me today or why he insisted I drink that water.”

“He approached me a few days ago saying he wanted to apologize. At the time, I said it was fine and didn’t accept the water.”

The female officer taking the notes looked up. “Apologize? For what?”

“Well… Senior has borrowed quite a bit of money from me over the last few years. He felt guilty because he hadn’t paid it back for a long time. Actually, I didn’t think it was a big deal, because Senior always said it’s unsafe for a girl to carry that much money.”

“I thought what Senior said made sense, so I lent him all the money.” Sheng Xia lowered her eyes, looking timid and insecure.

Nothing Su Tong had said before sounded human; if any single sentence were repeated, people would wonder if he had a mental illness.

Sure enough, the female officer pried out all the previous events. Looking at the thin Sheng Xia, she couldn’t help but curse the “scumbag” under her breath. Knowing the girl’s living situation wasn’t good and still scamming her for money—weren’t those words just brainwashing?

Hearing more, the officer became suspicious and asked her colleagues to check the water at the lab.

The results weren’t immediate, but Su Tong’s phone was quickly decrypted.

At first, he stubbornly refused to speak, insisting Sheng Xia and the others were framing him and clinging to the fact that Da Hu and Er Wen had beaten him. However, the police had eyes; they naturally wouldn’t overlook that group chat.

Under professional interrogation, Su Tong eventually spilled everything.

“I can’t believe a college student would do such things.”

“I can’t even look at the messages in there; it’s all censored filth.”

“There’s a lot involved here; everyone in there probably has a criminal record.”

As an administrator, Su Tong knew more than the average member, but he hadn’t reached the core.

Behind this group, there was likely a human trafficking ring. They used methods to lure people like Su Tong into the group, then created leverage over them. Once they had blackmail material, the members were forced to comply, ensuring no one would sell out the group.

Once the files and content were exported, everyone’s expressions turned grim, and the matter was immediately reported to higher authorities.

Speed was of the essence. The members of this group were scattered all over the country. After approval, a special task force was immediately established to arrest the members.

But that was all for later. For now, Sheng Xia, Da Hu, and the others were free to leave after finishing their statements.

At the entrance, Da Hu and Er Wen felt a bit awkward. This was the first time they had entered a police station without being the ones in trouble no, wait, they did get into trouble, but they weren’t the ones being criticized.

Actually, it was just a very strange feeling, especially seeing the appreciative looks from the officers; it made them feel uneasy all over.

The officer in charge was an old acquaintance. During his time working there, Da Hu and Er Wen had been in and out constantly, usually brought in for fighting. No matter how much they were lectured, they never listened.

He hadn’t expected them to act heroically this time and even call the police. Although there was some impulsive behavior involved, it was already a very good sign.

“I’ll have a ‘Good Samaritan’ banner sent to you later. Keep it up in the future, understand?” The officer patted their shoulders. The encouragement in his smile made their hearts feel a bit sore.

When the two snapped out of it, they realized Sheng Xia was already gone. They crouched by the roadside again, not knowing where to go.

“Er Wen, are we still going?” Usually, they would look for lone drunks on the street to pick their pockets. Before, they hadn’t thought much of it, but now, they felt they couldn’t bring themselves to do it.

They didn’t look at each other, fearing the tears in their eyes would be discovered.

“Da Hu, do you still want to be a thug?”

“Not really. How about we go find Boss? Let her play games, and we’ll help manage the register. As long as we have a bite to eat.”

“Ah, is that okay?”

“Probably. We’ll go after we get the banner.”

“But will Boss really consider us friends?” Speaking of this, Da Hu’s voice dropped. Before he could feel disappointed, Sheng Xia slowly walked over from behind.

“It’s not even night yet, why are you starting to dream?”

Da Hu/Er Wen: “Boss!”

“Where did you go?”

Sheng Xia shook the dinner in her hand and handed each of them a bun.

“Oh, oh.” Their eyes followed the buns and then looked at Sheng Xia, their eyes shining. “Boss, can we go back to the convenience store to help you now?”

“I’ll definitely work hard—” Da Hu slapped his chest so hard he almost lost his breath. “Work hard!”

Sheng Xia waited for him to catch his breath, then refused: “No.”

Er Wen increased the stakes: “We can carry things for you! And we’ll give you half our wages!”

“No.”

“We’re great at crosstalk; we can entertain you!”

“I don’t need it.”

Being rejected repeatedly, Da Hu’s face flushed with embarrassment. Looking at the girl in front of him, he didn’t know what to do.

He plucked up the courage to ask: “Wh—Why? we don’t even need a salary.” They just wanted to follow Sheng Xia; they wanted to be her friends.

Sheng Xia stopped walking and sighed. “I’ve already clocked off. If I go back now, it’s just working for free.”

Da Hu nodded and asked again, “Then what about tomorrow?”

“No, wait, what about after we get the banner?”

Sheng Xia waved her hand. “Stop following me, go home.”

After walking a few steps, she turned back and said: “I will.” Then she threw a lollipop to each of them.

“Will what?”

Da Hu and Er Wen froze. They looked at each other, not reacting at first, but then they remembered that when Sheng Xia had walked over, Da Hu had just been asking if she would be friends with them.

After a moment of silence, the two jumped up and high-fived, shouting excitedly: “Oh yeah! We made a friend!”

Sheng Xia walked away, and the two followed behind her, shoulder to shoulder, intending to see her home.

The brothers looked at the road ahead and hummed a song. They noticed that the broken streetlights had been fixed at some point. Watching their shadows follow behind Sheng Xia, they felt both tall and small.

Er Wen: “Brother, what flavor is your candy?”

Da Hu: “I don’t know, but it’s pretty damn sweet.”

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