Tang De swallowed. All the heat in his heart froze in an instant, and he began to shiver with cold.

He looked hopefully at the two students beside him, neither of whom he recognized.

Unbelievably, the two students who’d just been venting their malice at Zhou Heng showed no surprise or embarrassment now that the real deal was standing before them. They remained perfectly calm, and the way they looked at Tang De was like they were watching a good show.

Sweat beaded on Tang De’s forehead. He ignored Zhou Heng, whom he’d thoroughly offended behind him, and stared blankly at the two unknown students.

“You—you…”

Zhou Heng draped an arm around Tang De’s neck and spoke softly into his ear.

“My friends are pretty good actors, huh?”

The two students who’d been chatting with Tang De were none other than Zhou Heng’s best friends, Zhang Xuan and Lu Yile.

At this point, Zhang Xuan and Lu Yile had no reason to hide who they were. Lu Yile smiled and nodded at Zhou Heng.

“You two talk. I’ll keep watch outside.”

Tang De watched in despair as Lu Yile left the restroom and closed the door—the door that symbolized freedom.

Zhou Heng chuckled maliciously in Tang De’s ear, and the arm around his neck tightened little by little. Yet his voice grew gentler with every word.

“Tang De, earlier you said I’d offended someone. Who was it? Care to explain? I’m sure you understand that what you say next will decide how you’re treated from here on out.”

The message was clear.

Either take Zhou Heng’s side or the mastermind’s.

Tang De didn’t even bother to think. He calmly closed his eyes.

“If you’ve got the guts, beat me to death.”

Who the hell was Zhou Heng? Of course Tang De would side with the mastermind behind it all.

Zhou Heng hadn’t expected that answer. He froze for a moment, then said angrily,

“You little punk. Tough, huh? Let’s see how long you can keep it up.”

The pressure around Tang De’s neck eased, but before he could take more than a couple of breaths, a tremendous force—like being hit by a speeding car—spread from his lower abdomen through his whole body.

This wasn’t the first time Tang De had taken one of Zhou Heng’s heavy punches, but every time, he was still shocked by its unbelievably powerful force.

Tang De dropped to his knees, clutching his stomach. His face was so red it looked ready to burst from within.

But he could still endure this.

Compared to offending the mastermind, this was nothing.

Besides, the restroom was a public place with people coming and going all the time. As soon as someone showed up, Tang De could be rescued.

That was right. If he could just endure a few minutes, someone would come to save him.

At that thought, courage surged through him.

Tang De’s eyes were bloodshot as he glared viciously at Zhou Heng.

“Go on! Keep hitting me! If you can’t beat me to death, you’re no hero!”

Zhou Heng raised his fist again. Tang De gritted his teeth and tensed every muscle in his body.

Zhou Heng’s fist began to fall.

“Wait.”

Zhou Heng’s fist stopped right in front of Tang De’s nose.

The punch’s wind whooshed past his eyes. That was a roller-coaster ride, up and down, and it nearly stopped Tang De’s heart.

Zhou Heng turned, confused, to look at Zhang Xuan, who’d spoken.

“Zhang Xuan, why’d you tell me to stop?”

Zhang Xuan folded his arms and explained.

“It’s nothing. I just remembered that someone’s got leverage over you because of your violent behavior. If you hit someone again and get caught, you’re done for.”

As soon as he heard that, Tang De got excited. Who wanted to get beaten if they could avoid it? He strained his voice and shouted at Zhou Heng.

“Zhou Heng, you’d better kill me right now! Otherwise, once I get out of here, let’s see if I report you!”

Zhang Xuan nodded knowingly at Zhou Heng.

“See? That’s how it is. These are extraordinary times, so we need to be clear about what we can and can’t do. Violence, for one, is definitely out.”

Tang De suddenly thought Zhang Xuan was so cool, level-headed, and adorable.

“So let’s be a little gentler.”

Zhang Xuan walked over to the last stall with a cheerful smile, pulled open the door, and pointed at the toilet bowl.

“Zhou Heng, why don’t we help Tang wash his face?”

“…”

“…”

Zhou Heng tilted his head and stared at Tang De. Tang De’s expression turned stern, and he said righteously,

“W-wait, let’s talk this out…”

Words couldn’t change what was going to happen. Zhou Heng easily picked Tang De up and tossed him into the stall. Tang De, trembling to his core, scrambled to his feet, but the hand pressing down on his neck moved even faster. It let him lift his head only a little before forcing it back down.

Tang De crouched in front of the toilet like a dog, using all his strength to resist the force pressing down on his neck and trying to shove his head into the bowl.

Zhou Heng grinned maliciously.

“Oh, someone didn’t flush after taking a dump. Lucky you, Tang. You’ve got some natural face cleanser waiting for you while you wash up.”

Tang De’s heart lurched. He’d been too afraid to look at the toilet, so he’d turned his gaze away—but now his eyes shifted back, and all he saw was black and yellow.

And an even more nauseating stench.

Worst of all, with Zhou Heng holding him down by the neck, Tang De’s face was still getting closer and closer to this revolting mess, unbearable both physically and psychologically.

Tang De cried out in despair.

“Zhou Heng, don’t—don’t do this! We—we can talk!”

“I’ve always admired you, honestly.”

“Bro, sir, we’re in the same class! We see each other every day. There’s no need to take it this far, right?”

“Zhou Heng, leave yourself some room to maneuver, and you’ll meet people again someday!”

Neither begging nor appeals to reason stopped Tang De’s head from being pushed down. Even though he deliberately turned his gaze away, the mess of excrement took up more and more of his vision until he couldn’t help looking straight at it.

Honestly, it was the first time in Tang De’s life that he’d seen something like this from so close. So close, he could practically tell what its owner had eaten yesterday.

The sharp, irritating odor mixed with the thick, overpowering stench, pricking his nostrils like little knives and making him gag violently.

Closer. It was really close now.

Pinned down, Tang De could see bits of undigested food scattered through the mess.

Irregular yellow lumps had touched the water, and yellowish liquid seeped out around their edges.

All of it—digested or not—was about to end up all over his face.

Could anything be more disgusting than this?

Tang De was truly terrified now. Whether from the fumes or from fear, clear tears welled in his eyes.

Thirty centimeters.

Twenty centimeters.

Ten centimeters.

That mess was practically within touching distance.

He could hardly breathe.

Compared to the thing right in front of him, the mastermind who’d framed Zhou Heng suddenly seemed to have lost all his fearsome presence.

“I’ll talk.”

Tang De yelled. He felt something hot trickling down his cheek.

Damn it, whoever took that dump must’ve eaten way too many peppers. It was so spicy it stung his eyes from this close.

Zhou Heng stopped pushing down and teased him.

“Really?”

Once your breaking point is crossed, there’s no point in holding out anymore.

“I’ll talk, I’ll talk! Don’t—don’t push my head down any farther! Keep going and, Zhou Heng!!! I’m gonna touch it!”

After saying that, Tang De couldn’t hold back his roar.

“Fucking hell, I’m gonna find the bastard who took that dump! What the hell does he eat? It stinks so bad, and it’s so damn spicy!”

Zhou Heng lifted Tang De’s neck a little, at least leaving thirty centimeters between his face and the water in the toilet bowl.

Tang De let out a breath, then began panting rapidly.

Zhou Heng tightened his grip around Tang De’s neck and threatened him.

“Don’t waste my time. I’m not very patient.”

Tang De swallowed and hurriedly said,

“Chu Ji. The mastermind who framed you, Zhou Heng, is called Chu Ji. He’s a student in Class 6, Grade 10.”