The last part of the message, especially the "Thank you," was dripping with a mix of arrogance and a teenager's attempt at sounding mature.
"So, that's how it is, huh?" Lin Yourong chuckled, mocking the boy's audacity.
Unbeknownst to Zhou Ming, Lin Yourong and Xu Zhengyang had already tracked him down. Yet, he was still acting so brazenly.
Xu Zhengyang quickly replied to Zhou Ming with another text message.
"You'll regret this."
The response came almost immediately.
"I'm waiting for you, goodbye!"
Those six short words made Xu Zhengyang almost admire Zhou Ming. This kid might grow up to be quite a ruthless character, he mused.
While Xu Zhengyang was having these thoughts, at Yude High School, a group of students was huddled in a corner of the playground, sneaking a smoke.
One of them turned to Zhou Ming and asked, "Zhou Ming, what's up? Is that Wang Qingqing from Class 9 texting you again?"
The others laughed knowingly.
Zhou Ming smirked, feeling proud. "Remember that account I sold a few days ago? I sold it for three li! Then I took it back! Easy money!"
"Whoa! That's amazing!"
"Yeah, man, that's clever! Shouldn't you treat us to something? Maybe buy us some Zhonghua cigarettes?"
The boys started to cheer him on, some genuinely impressed, others just playing along, but internally disapproving.
Zhou Ming noticed the envious looks on their faces and felt even prouder. "I think the buyer must've contacted the platform and found my phone number! They tried to threaten me just now."
As he spoke, he shared the text messages.
"Hilarious, this idiot still thinks he can get his account back! I just told him, 'That's life! The world isn't as kind as your parents.'"
Zhou Ming enjoyed using phrases he learned online, phrases that made him feel worldly and superior, even though he had yet to truly understand their meaning.
One of his friends, noticing the phrase "You'll regret this," chuckled and offered a cautionary note, "Three li? I think that's enough to file a police report. Aren't you worried they might report you?"
This remark made the others stop laughing.
Zhou Ming felt a chill run down his spine. The moment that phone call connected earlier, his heart had already started to race.
As the saying goes, 'A guilty conscience needs no accuser.'
Ever since he reclaimed the account, a mix of excitement and fear had gripped him. Fear that the buyer might report him, fear of being arrested, fear of breaking the law, fear of bringing trouble to his family, fear of the buyer seeking revenge.
Over time, these fears had faded, but that phone call had brought them all rushing back.
He forced himself to stay calm. "They're just trying to scare me. I'm not that easily intimidated. I've never heard of anyone getting arrested for reclaiming an account."
"Maybe not arrested, but I've heard of buyers finding and beating the crap out of sellers," another classmate chimed in.
This remark struck a nerve. Zhou Ming's deepest fear resurfaced, sending a shiver through him.
Sweat began to bead on his forehead.
Back in the classroom, Zhou Ming found it hard to focus, his gaze drifting outside. He happened to notice three people entering the school gates—a man, a woman, and a boy about twelve or thirteen years old.
A sense of unease started gnawing at him, a feeling of impending doom.
Though he didn't recognize them, his growing fear made every small event seem ominous.
About seven or eight minutes later, the school's discipline master stormed into Class 2-7.
Behind him were the three people Zhou Ming had seen earlier.
Zhou Ming's mind went blank.
"Mr. Chen, what brings you here?" the teacher asked, surprised by the discipline master's sudden appearance. A visit from him usually meant trouble for a student.
"Who is Zhou Ming? Get out here!"
The teacher, puzzled, looked towards Zhou Ming.
Zhou Ming was pale, sweat dripping down his face.
His friends, those who had been with him earlier, either looked at him with schadenfreude or outright disdain.
Retribution really does come fast, some of them thought.
"Zhou Ming! Come out here!" the discipline master barked.
When Zhou Ming didn't move, the teacher walked over and pulled him up by his collar, dragging him out of the classroom.
His legs were so weak he could barely stand, looking every bit as guilty as he felt.
The discipline master followed closely, while Xu Zhengyang and the others trailed behind, occasionally exchanging looks with Zhou Ming. Xu Zhengyang had a playful smirk on his face.
Throughout the entire ordeal, the most shocked person was Lin Yourong's nephew.
He had just witnessed Xu Zhengyang's unique way of handling things.
At the school gate, the security guard had initially refused them entry, but Xu Zhengyang simply tossed him a pack of cigarettes. The guard immediately changed his attitude, bowing slightly as he let them in.
Xu Zhengyang then confidently walked into the school office, saying, "I'm looking for someone," and explained the situation.
The discipline master, feeling slightly annoyed by Xu Zhengyang's attitude, tried to brush him off, but Lin Yourong pulled out a hundred-yuan note and slapped it on the table.
The discipline master went silent.
Then Lin Yourong added two more hundred-yuan notes. The discipline master immediately slammed the table, declaring that such students must be dealt with severely! He pocketed the money and led Xu Zhengyang's group to find Zhou Ming.
The account only cost three li. Lin Yourong's nephew was in awe. His aunt and uncle had already spent three hundred yuan just to settle this score. The cost outweighed the benefits by a long shot.
Is my uncle one of those legendary tycoons? Maybe he's just doing this for fun… The nephew felt like he finally understood everything.
In the school office, the teacher roughly shoved Zhou Ming inside and asked Xu Zhengyang and the discipline master, "What's the matter with him?"
Xu Zhengyang explained, "My nephew bought a game account for 3 li. It was Zhou Ming's account. But then Zhou Ming reclaimed it. I called him, but he hung up on me. I texted him, and he said it was my fault for being scammed, that it was his skill to swindle money. You're quite skilled, aren't you?"
The teacher was speechless for a moment. The situation seemed trivial—a game account—but it wasn't. This was fraud, pure and simple, involving more than two li.
"This is outright fraud!" the discipline master roared, slamming his fist on the table with a loud bang, nearly causing Zhou Ming to collapse on the spot.
Zhou Ming's lips trembled, but no words came out.
"Sir, what would you like to do? If you want to report this to the police, we'll fully cooperate. Our school has no place for such a disgraceful student!" the discipline master asked Xu Zhengyang.