After the Most Hated Persona Faked Their Death, the Ex-Husband Lost His Mind - Chapter 8

Aside from posting homework assignments, Chu Mingzhang had never once spoken in the group chat. No one expected him to suddenly emerge. Looking at those two words, Li Zhi felt waves of dizziness clouding his mind.

Gong Jie’s new messages kept popping up at the top of his screen, but Li Zhi ignored them. With trembling hands, he tapped on Chu Mingzhang’s profile. He realized that Chu Mingzhang’s WeChat name was also a “z,” but unlike his own, it was a capital “Z.”

The Moments page showed only a single gray line. This was exactly as expected, yet Li Zhi could not help but feel a pang of disappointment.

Chu Mingzhang’s profile picture was a kitten. The kitten was very ugly. Its fur was pitch black and messy, making it look like a disorganized ball of fluff. However, its eyes were half-squinted, giving the cat a rebellious, slightly cool aura.

Having nothing better to do, Li Zhi amused himself by zooming in and out on the photo, over and over, until a sudden phone call interrupted his private entertainment.

It was Zhou Baiyu.

Li Zhi hurriedly answered the call. “Brother?”

“Is Dad home?” Zhou Baiyu’s half-dead voice came through the line, accompanied by deafening, thumping music.

Li Zhi turned his volume down. “Are you out partying?”

“Obviously. Why else would I call you?” Zhou Baiyu said impatiently. “Is he there or not? I am wasted, damn it.”

Li Zhi replied, “No, he is not. You should drink less.”

“Who are you to tell me what to do? You think you are someone special?” Zhou Baiyu was about to hang up when his eyes caught someone nearby. He let out a snicker. “Hey, do you know who I am with right now?”

“I do not know.” Li Zhi found it baffling. How could he possibly know who Zhou Baiyu was with? Zhou Baiyu had countless fair-weather friends.

“Wang Kaixuan, the guy from your class,” Zhou Baiyu said, his speech slurred. “What? You actually managed to pick up a girl he could not get? Little tag-along, I am impressed. But do not expect your easy days to last. Wang Kaixuan just got drunk and was screaming about how he is going to ruin you.”

Zhou Baiyu continued, “Since you gave me the heads-up about Dad today, I will do you a favor. I am telling you, this Wang guy loves to hold a grudge. His mind is as small as the tip of a needle. If you cross him, you better prepare to have your mother pick up your corpse.”

“Zhou Baiyu, who are you talking to?” Li Zhi heard Han Ziyao’s voice in the background. “Are you going to keep drinking or what?”

“Drinking, drinking! Keep ordering!” Zhou Baiyu shouted back. Then he asked, “So, did Chu Mingzhang reply to you? Is he coming?”

“Like hell he is,” Han Ziyao rolled his eyes. “He just loves acting all high and mighty.”

“Boring.” Zhou Baiyu forced himself to sit up. “Whatever, I am hanging up. If the old man makes a move, remember to tell me!”

The call was abruptly disconnected. Li Zhi put down his phone and stared at the darkening screen. Recalling Zhou Baiyu’s words, he felt as if all his strength had been drained away. His body and soul felt utterly exhausted.

His hair had grown quite long. Li Zhi had originally planned to get it cut during the break, but now that the time had come, he felt too tired to even get out of bed. His medication sat right there on the nightstand, but he lacked the strength to even reach for it.

“Let it be,” Li Zhi thought, abandoning all effort. “Live or die, it does not matter.”

He wrote that sentence in his diary.

Throughout the entire holiday, Li Zhi did not see Wang Xiaochun once. His mother was so busy she barely touched the ground, unable to find even a spare moment to send him a text. Word was that in order to better assist Zhou Guoxiong with international trade deals, she had hired a private tutor to brush up on her foreign languages, which was a truly unexpected development.

This news naturally reached Zhou Baiyu. Reportedly, he flew into a rage and called his father, cursing Wang Xiaochun’s ancestors before getting straight to the point: “What is that vixen trying to do? Does she think she is a high school student? Learning foreign languages? She should just drop dead.”

Zhou Guoxiong scolded his son harshly, saying Zhou Baiyu had no upbringing and that his education had been a waste. Zhou Baiyu was livid. “My education is useless, but your little mistress’s education is useful? You better watch out or she will trick you out of every cent you own!”

“Stay out of grown-up business!” Zhou Guoxiong bellowed. “Do not think I am unaware of the little stunts you pull when I am not home! You go out and fool around with that Han kid every day, learning nothing but bad habits!”

“Why can you not be more like Chu Mingzhang? He…”

Zhou Baiyu’s face went dark as he slammed the phone down. In reality, it was the butler who had secretly reported his behavior to Zhou Guoxiong, but Zhou Baiyu did not know that. He assumed Li Zhi had been talking, and he took all the frustration from the lecture out on him.

He slapped Li Zhi twice. Only after feeling satisfied did he comfortably get into the car to go to school. Li Zhi gripped the straps of his backpack, fighting back tears as he returned to school in a daze.

As the National Day holiday ended, every grade and class was in a state of chaos, and everyone’s face was grim. The school administration knew the young masters and ladies would be in a foul mood upon returning, so the schedule for the first day back was exceptionally light. Not only did they release the students early, but they also changed all afternoon classes to outdoor golf lessons.

The school had its own golf course. While it could not compete with top-tier private clubs, it was more than enough for the students’ basic needs.

Li Zhi changed into his polo shirt and golf shoes in the locker room. He placed his uniform and leather shoes into the locker marked with his number and walked out slowly.

He had no interest in golf. In fact, Li Zhi had no interest in any sport. If possible, he would much rather sit in the classroom and stare blankly for the afternoon than participate in an activity he knew nothing about.

Almost everyone in the class had some experience with golf except for him; he did not even know the proper grip or stance.

Li Zhi spent eighty percent of his time wasting away in the fairway rest pavilion. When the time was finally up, he sat sleepily on the golf cart returning to the staging area. He took a quick shower, tiredly pulled on his uniform, put on his socks, and then reached for his shoes.

“Ah!”

A sharp pain shot up from the sole of his foot, causing Li Zhi’s nerves to snap tight in an instant. The intensity of the pain made the color drain from his face. His lips trembled, and a heavy blur of red filled his vision.

He thought it was an illusion, but it was not.

The floor was actually being stained red. Li Zhi pulled several thumbtacks out of the sole of his foot. Blood soaked through his sock and poured out as if it would never stop.

“Ah…” Li Zhi’s voice went hoarse with pain. He wanted to throw the thumbtacks away, but his hands were shaking. Just then, his phone rang. The caller ID showed Gong Jie.

The phone vibrated for a moment and then stopped. Immediately, a new message popped up: “Lychee? Why are you being so slow? I have to go to orchestra rehearsal soon.”

“Did we not agree? You were going to accompany me to rehearsal today, and I was going to treat you to dinner afterward. Did you forget?”

Gong Jie waited in the rest area for a while longer. Just as she was becoming impatient, she saw a thin figure walking toward her. She checked her watch and said dissatisfactorily, “Lychee, you…”

Before she could finish, she noticed Li Zhi’s gait was wrong. It was very wrong. He was limping heavily. Gong Jie’s annoyance vanished instantly. She hurried over to support him. “What happened to you? Are you okay?!”

Li Zhi did not speak. He simply reached out and opened his palm. Three blood-stained thumbtacks lay in his hand.

The blood in Gong Jie’s veins turned cold.

“Are you even human? How did your parents raise such a monster?! Did your father teach you to put thumbtacks in a classmate’s shoes? If you have a problem with me, come at me! I am not afraid of you! Who the hell do you think you are, Wang Kaixuan?!”

“Gong Jie, Gong Jie, forget it, Gong Jie…” Li Zhi kept his head down, trying to restrain the girl who was bordering on a breakdown. Gong Jie’s eyes were red. She threw the three thumbtacks directly at Wang Kaixuan. “Scum.”

Wang Kaixuan’s face shifted as the thumbtacks flew toward him. He dodged them hurriedly and caught his breath. “Damn, crazy bitch.”

“If I do not kill you today, I will take your last name.” Gong Jie was nearly insane with rage. To think that in broad daylight, such a piece of trash would do something so underhanded. “Wang, are you really that pathetic?”

The only people Wang Kaixuan truly respected in school were the trio of Chu Mingzhang, Han Ziyao, and Zhou Baiyu. His family was a titan in its own right, and his father was on the board of directors. Who was Gong Jie to him?

However, he could not help but be wary of her when she went off the rails. Gong Jie’s immediate family branch was not powerful, but the Gong family in Hong Kong carried massive weight. Putting thumbtacks in someone’s shoes had seemed like fun at the time, but now that Li Zhi had bled, Wang Kaixuan felt a twinge of regret.

“It was just a little prank. Is all this necessary?”

“Teacher, I really did not do it on purpose,” Wang Kaixuan said, turning to the class advisor who had rushed over. “I really did not. At most, I will pay the medical bills. He can charge whatever he wants.”

The class advisor was overwhelmed. Every student in this school was wealthy or influential, and she could not afford to offend any of them. But Wang Kaixuan’s father was a school director, a boss who was directly above her. Consequently, she could only side with Wang Kaixuan. Besides, considering Li Zhi’s status…

“Well, it is actually just a small matter, right?” The class advisor did not handle specific teaching duties. Her daily job was to follow these young heirs around and clean up their messes. She had mastered the art of picking the softest target.

No matter how fierce Gong Jie was acting now, the real victim was Li Zhi, was he not? If Li Zhi did not say anything, Gong Jie would have no grounds to hold onto the matter.

“Everyone is a classmate. If there is a misunderstanding, we can just talk it out and move on. Kaixuan said he did not do it on purpose and is willing to cover the medical costs. So, Li Zhi, will you forgive him?”

Li Zhi suddenly looked up. Even if his expression was obscured, one could tell his heart was breaking. He slowly let go of Gong Jie’s arm. His voice trembled as he asked, “Teacher, what did you say? What did you say?”

“I said… well, this…” The advisor truly could not continue. She looked at Wang Kaixuan. “Kaixuan…”

Wang Kaixuan let out an impatient click of his tongue. “I said, it was an accident. It will not happen again. Damn it, I will give you however much money you want. Is that enough? FU—!!”

A piercing, agonizing scream, like that of a slaughtered pig, rang out in the classroom. The expressions of the students gathered around to watch the drama shifted instantly. Some looked on with disbelief, some with terror, and some with a sense of justice. As for Wang Kaixuan, his face was contorted and twisted, his features warping as if melted by acid. It became a living version of a famous painting: The Scream.

“Ah… AH!!!”

He turned his head stiffly. All his malice flared up for an instant, only to be snuffed out the moment he saw the face behind him.

“My apologies. It was an accident,” Chu Mingzhang said, casually tossing the thermos in his hand onto the floor. The remaining half-cup of scalding hot water splashed onto the ground, releasing a cloud of white steam. “It will not happen again.”