I lay helplessly on the scorching cement ground, enduring Chen Weiqiang's crazed insults and beatings.
"If you've got the guts, kill me today!" I shouted, covering my head with my hands and curling my body to protect my vital areas.
Even if he beat me to death, I wouldn't beg for mercy. Even as a ghost, I wouldn't forgive them.
The physical pain was nothing compared to the raging fire inside me.
After a few minutes, he seemed tired and leaned in close, whispering in my ear, "Jiang Pingan, even if you know how to fight and run, in here, you're just a nobody. Even if Sun Wukong were here, he'd get skinned alive. You'd better not mess with me, or I'll kill you in a heartbeat! Let's see if your fists are faster than my gun!"
He kicked me and laughed arrogantly, "Beating up an old classmate feels great! Hahaha!"
Then he swaggered away with his AK and two henchmen.
"Chen Weiqiang! I'll kill you!!" I yelled, seething with rage as I watched him walk away.
I tried to get up but found my whole body aching terribly.
My arms were bruised, but at least I had managed to protect my face; otherwise, even my mother wouldn't recognize me.
"You know each other?" The onlookers had already dispersed, used to such scenes, but Sister Yu stood by, watching the show.
"Pfft." I spat out blood and said disdainfully, "No."
"Quite stubborn! If you put that energy into your performance, you'd be a great asset," she laughed, but I found it especially disgusting, reminding me of Lulu's fake smile, mocking me for being deceived and beaten.
Ignoring her, I gritted my teeth and struggled to my feet, limping towards the office building.
"Hey, my dorm has some Red Flower Oil. Do you want to use it?" Sister Yu smiled as she walked over to support me.
"No need, I can handle it!" I pulled away in disgust and continued walking.
"Ungrateful brat!" she huffed and sauntered off, swaying her hips.
When I reached the second-floor office area, she was already sitting authoritatively in the boss's chair, reprimanding people.
Seeing me, she snapped, "Why are you late?"
"..." I looked at her, bewildered. You saw me fighting with Chen just a few minutes ago, didn't you?
She tapped her electric baton and stood up, "I asked you a question."
"I tripped." I rubbed my aching back and headed to my workstation.
"Wham!"
After just two steps, she struck me with the baton, knocking me to the ground.
"Really? You looked lively when you were 'talking' with Assistant Chen on the playground!" she said coldly, beating and shocking me with the baton.
The baton made a "zzzz" sound as it hit me, causing my body to convulse and tears to stream down my face. I almost lost control of my bladder and bowels.
I bit down on the webbing between my thumb and forefinger, refusing to scream, though the pain made me writhe and twitch on the floor.
I had never been so humiliated in my life, and all my ideals, anger, and love-hate feelings were reduced to a single thought: just let it end quickly.
When I thought I might be electrocuted to death, Sister Yu suddenly stopped.
"Little Pingzi, if you don't make a sale today, I'll cut off a toe and throw you in the dog cage."
She left with a grim warning, and I lay there like a dead dog, finally wetting my pants.
Tears of humiliation mixed with the bitter taste in my mouth. I missed home, my parents, my brother scolding me, and my sister-in-law's sweet and sour pineapple ribs…
"Dead yet? If not, get up and work!" Datou kicked me, confirming I was still alive, and shouted fiercely.
"..." My mind went blank.
Driven by the will to survive, I dragged my battered body to my corner workstation.
Uncle Scar and the others sighed and continued typing, not daring to speak up for me, fearing they'd be implicated.
I didn't blame them. In this hellhole, not getting beaten was the biggest blessing for everyone each day.
Dinosaur seemed more upset than me, tearfully asking, "Pingzi, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, sis. These injuries won't kill me." Actually, my butt hurt like hell, but I was too proud to admit it.
"What did you call me?" Dinosaur's startled reaction confused me.
"You're older than me, so I called you sis." I gritted my teeth against the pain in my chest and turned on my computer, still hoping to find a way to call the police.
"You don't mind that I'm ugly... I'm so happy." Dinosaur wiped her tears, then looked at me affectionately and said, "Pingzi, from now on, I'll take care of you! After work, I'll get some Red Flower Oil for your wounds. It's awful how they beat you."
"Sis, I'm fine. Don't worry about me; you'll just get yourself in trouble." The thought of Chen Weiqiang's smug face made my blood boil, especially his perpetually messy long hair. I wanted to tear it all out.
"By the way, do you know Assistant Chen?"
"Assistant Chen Cheng? Of course! He's also from Hunan, works for the female supervisor, and acts all high and mighty!"
"He's my college classmate. They tricked me into coming here!"
I got so worked up that I snapped the pen in my hand.
"Thwack!"
Datou, passing by, hit me with his baton, making my arm go numb and my head spin.
"Damn it, if you keep babbling, I'll kill you!" he shouted, giving me two more hits.
Since Dinosaur was a top performer, he only targeted me, the worthless one. If Uncle Scar hadn't just closed a five-thousand-dollar deal, I would've taken dozens more hits.
"Pingzi..." Dinosaur looked at me sadly, then whispered, "I've been cultivating a fish for a week, ready to reel it in today. I'll give you the account to report sales and avoid a beating."
"..." I was stunned, not knowing how to express my complicated feelings.
"Don't be stubborn, or you'll die. They will kill you, and I don't want you to die."
"Sis..." I cried, unable to refuse her kindness.
Wiping away my tears, I quickly added the QQ account she gave me. After sending a flirty emoji, the other party immediately transferred eight thousand dollars.
Damn, I was stunned. Are men really this easy to fool nowadays? They didn't even know if the other person was human, ghost, male, or female, yet they still sent money like crazy.
"Congratulations to the newcomer Pingzi for making an eight-thousand-dollar sale! Everyone, applaud!" Datou couldn't hide his joy, clapping and praising me before giving me a piece of bread as a reward.