"Husband... husband... I miss you so much... ah..." It was my mom's voice coming from the other end of the phone.
"Husband... I miss you so much, you know?" Mom kept calling out Dad's name over and over on the phone. Mom had been drinking! And she had drunk quite a lot—she was already drunk.
"Mom! Mom!!" I kept shouting into the phone, trying to get her attention.
"Husband, ah~ you know, right now I'm standing right in front of the men's dormitory gate. There are so many male teachers inside, I really... ah~... want them to pin me against the wall... hard... ah~" Through the phone, I faintly heard men in the background discussing which teacher at school was the prettiest. Was Mom masturbating right outside the male teachers' dormitory??
I thought of the teachers inside the men's dormitory, including that pervert, Teacher Wang Wei, who had installed hidden cameras to secretly film up female teachers' skirts. I had to catch Teacher Wang Wei's weakness and ruin his reputation! Thinking this, I slapped my phone's receiver hard. "Mom, wake up, Mom!! Wake up!!" I tried to snap her out of it.
"You know, husband, if you hadn't made that choice back then, things wouldn't have turned out like this. Ah~..." I heard the faint, wet sound of fingers moving against her entrance, like the soft patting of water. Was Mom blaming Dad for choosing that job that kept him stationed abroad for long periods? Over the past few years, Dad had to stay overseas for most of the year, only coming home for a little over a month each time. Poor Mom, during the years she needed someone the most, Dad wasn't there for her, leaving her all alone. On top of that, all the pent-up sexual frustration over the years had nowhere to go, and today, fueled by alcohol, it all came pouring out.
"Mom!!!" I kept calling out tirelessly, but I couldn't let Mom be discovered—otherwise, her reputation would be ruined for sure!
"Teacher Sun, Teacher Sun! Is my phone with you?" A woman's voice called from the end of the hallway. It was Principal Yan's voice. "Help Teacher Sun back." Principal Yan gave the order.
Thump, thump, thump—a woman hurried over and helped my mom away. "We have someone here who drank too much and dialed the wrong number. Sorry, sorry!" It was Teacher Wu Jie's voice. Before I could say anything, Teacher Wu hastily hung up the phone.
Sigh, Mom always seemed so sharp and decisive in daily life. I never imagined she had been holding back like this. Thinking about what Mom did tonight, even though alcohol played a part, her inner needs and desires couldn't be ignored. "Luckily, Dad will be back in the country soon. Once he's back, Mom won't be so lonely anymore," I thought to myself.
Wait—I suddenly realized something odd. Mom had mistaken Principal Yan's phone for hers. If Mom had intended to call Dad, she would have looked for the contact labeled "Husband" in the phonebook to make the call. But Mom was using Principal Yan's phone, and the person who answered the call was me!!? My brain short-circuited. There was no indication that this call would reach me, and no clue pointed to why the call ended up with me. My head throbbed with pain. I racked my brains but couldn't make sense of it. I had absolutely no idea what was going on.
"I'll definitely have to investigate once the teachers are back from their trip." Whatever needed to be done would have to wait until after their vacation.
"Son, help! Come pick me up—I've got too much luggage!" My phone rang. It seemed that after this team-building trip, Mom had relaxed quite a bit, even feeling playful enough to joke with me. That put my mind at ease.
I hurried to the station to meet her. After the team-building event, Monday rolled around again—another day of teachers teaching and students working.
"Liu Yang!! Liu Yang!!!!" During lunch break, I spotted Liu Yang from a distance, walking shoulder-to-shoulder with a boy about his height, arms draped around each other.
"Oh, Xu Wei!!" Both Liu Yang and the boy turned around. Liu Yang waved at me and quickly walked over, while the boy gave a slow wave and approached at a more leisurely pace.
"Who's this?" I asked, eyeing the boy.
"Let me introduce you—this is my master!!" Liu Yang said excitedly.
Having heard about the supposed danger of this "master" from Liu Yang before, I scrutinized the man in front of me with caution. He stood around 180 cm tall, with sapphire-blue eyes, a prominent nose bridge, light golden short hair, and thin lips. Was he a foreigner?
"Hello, I've been wanting to meet you for a long time. I'm glad we finally have the chance. My name is Wang Mu." The man extended his hand with a smile, offering a handshake.
Wang Mu? I quickly searched my memory for that name and suddenly recalled that the most mysterious person in Class Four was named Wang Mu. He hardly ever attended school—he was Principal Yan's son. So he wasn't a foreigner but a mixed-race individual, I thought, studying his handsome face. I cautiously extended my hand. This person was dangerous—I couldn't be fooled by his smile. And what did he mean by "finally meeting me"? No way... A terrifying thought flashed through my mind.
"No need to guess. I am Brother Jie. I told you during our first chat—I won't lie to you because there's no need, and playing games with you was really fun! My full name is Wang Mu. I was born to stand above the crowd, and 'Mu' (wood) above others becomes 'Jie' (outstanding), so I gave myself the single character 'Jie.'" Wang Mu saw right through my thoughts, generously answering my questions, his smile still in place.
"So you are Brother Jie!" He could guess my thoughts and knew about the game—he was the real Brother Jie! A wave of shame surged within me, and I instantly tightened my grip on his hand.
"Xu Wei!! What are you doing?!" Liu Yang wrapped an arm around my neck and pulled me aside. "What's wrong with you? That's my master! Is this how you act on your first meeting? Have you no manners?" Liu Yang scolded me while waving to Wang Mu, signaling for him to head back to class. Wang Mu smiled and waved at me before walking back to the classroom.
"Master, master!! All you care about is your master—what about your friend? We've known each other for years. How long have you known him?" I shouted angrily at Liu Yang.
"Don't be mad, don't be mad... It's just, I think, since it's your first time meeting him, squeezing his hand like that was really rude." Liu Yang, feeling guilty from my outburst, tried to explain.
"Didn't I tell you this person is dangerous? Why didn't you listen?" I continued questioning Liu Yang.
"Calm down, calm down, don't be so angry. Look, I often send you benefits on WeChat. For the sake of those benefits, don't be mad."
"Benefits? What benefits?" I picked up my phone and scrolled through but didn't find any benefits.
"You forgot? Not long ago, I sent you a sexy picture of Teacher Sun!" Liu Yang said.
A sexy picture of my mom? "You're that Brother Jie?" I realized.
"Yeah, I sent you lots of benefit videos. Every time before sending you benefits, I'd call you Xu Wei, Xu Wei! But you always spoke so coldly, so I didn't dare say much more." Liu Yang sounded a bit aggrieved.
"Then let me ask you, why didn't you tell me earlier? And why do you never reply when I talk to you?" I continued questioning Liu Yang.
"This WeChat account belongs to my master. My master forbade me from telling you. Every time I wanted to reply to you, my master would take over the account. I can only log in when sending you benefit videos. After my master uses this account to chat with others, he always clears the chat history, so I never know who he's talking to. He doesn't let me know about other things either. Haven't you noticed that every time I talk to you, I call your name first?" Liu Yang continued explaining with grievance.
"Why me?" I pressed further.
"My master said you're very smart, among the smartest of ordinary people. He said you're qualified to participate in his game. My master thinks highly of you," Liu Yang told me.
Why!! Why!! I was so close! Just a little more! Just a little more and I could have uncovered the whole truth! My deduction was that Brother Jie's dual identities were both high school seniors. The small account Brother Jie was a student in Class 3 with grades in the top 20 of the grade. The main account Brother Jie was a student in Class 4 but didn't appear often. The small account Brother Jie knew my home address! This completely matched Wang Mu and Liu Yang's identities! If I had just a little more time, just a tiny bit more, I could have found you! Why did you have to appear now? Could this also be part of your game?
As I thought this, I scrolled through my chat history with Brother Jie. Every time the small account Brother Jie sent me videos or photos, he would call my name, while the main account Brother Jie wouldn't. When I reached the part where Brother Jie sent me the sexy picture of my mom, I felt deep regret. I regretted that because I was worried Liu Yang would frequently ask me for favors if he knew Sun Xiudong was my mom and his homeroom teacher, I never told him. This ultimately led to my mom becoming the object of Liu Yang's fantasies. What could I blame him for? Blame him for fantasizing about my mom? Blame a teenage boy for having hormonal fantasies about his homeroom teacher? I thought about Liu Yang—ignorance is no sin. I'll tell him after I investigate everything clearly.
"Since you admire your master so much, tell me everything about Wang Mu," I calmed down and said to Liu Yang.
"I'm telling you, my master is incredible. They say his IQ is over 160. He's swept all the gold medals in the Olympiads for the past three years and has already received early admission offers from nearly ten top universities both in China and abroad. A genius like him is definitely going to end up in a research lab as a scientist someday. He doesn't even need to take the college entrance exam to get into elite schools. Why would someone like him need to attend high school classes with us?" Liu Yang recounted everything he knew in detail.
So that's why I've never seen Wang Mu's name on any exam rankings.
"Did I or did I not tell you to stay the hell away from him! Did I say it or not!" Wang Mu is far too dangerous. I need to get Liu Yang away from him as soon as possible.
"Don't be mad, don't be mad... Let me tell you a secret first, just don't get angry." In all the years we've known each other, this is the first time I've been this furious. Liu Yang was starting to get scared.
"What secret?" I took a deep breath.
"Principal Yan is a total slut!" Liu Yang said excitedly.
"Look at this!" Liu Yang pulled a pink remote control from his pants pocket. It looked like the remote for some kind of vibrator. "I'm telling you secretly—during the school anniversary dance, Principal Yan had a vibrator inside her! I was the one controlling it. I'm also the reason she tripped and fell in the end! Do you know why I admire my master so much? He turned such a dignified and formidable female principal into a whore, and the most shocking part is—that woman is his mother! I was completely stunned when I found out! It's just too amazing. My master is truly incredible... And I'm telling you, I've noticed that my master seems to have no emotions. He treats everything and everyone with the same cold indifference." The admiration in Liu Yang's eyes was overflowing.
I touched the remote control in my own pocket. If what Liu Yang said was true, and his remote controls Principal Yan's vibrator, then what does the one in my pocket control?
"Oh no, it can't be..." My heart sank, and a chill shot straight from the top of my head down to my toes. I left Liu Yang right where he was, rushed into Class Four, grabbed Wang Mu by the collar, dragged him into the sports equipment room, and locked the door behind us.
We stood facing each other across a vaulting horse.
"Is there something you need?" Wang Mu still wore that same smiling face, but I couldn't sense even a hint of warmth in his smile—only bone-chilling coldness.
"I'm asking you—if Liu Yang's remote controls the vibrator inside Principal Yan, then who does the one in my pocket control?" I threw the vibrator remote from my pocket onto the floor.
"You've already guessed it, haven't you? You're smart. Stop denying your own intuition." Wang Mu's expression remained unchanged.
"You son of a bitch!" I swung my fist at Wang Mu's face. He staggered, and a trickle of dark red blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
"You already have, haven't you? Did it feel good? That bitch has you saved as 'husband' in her contacts, you know~" But he immediately turned back, still wearing that same smile.
"You're a monster! You didn't even spare your own mother. Tell me—why does she have me saved as 'husband'?" To uncover the truth, I had to know the answer.
"It's actually quite simple. I've trained her into a completely obedient bitch. If I tell her to call someone husband, she'll call them husband. Even if I ordered her to marry a male dog, she wouldn't refuse." A straightforward answer, brutally simple. No issues at all—complete submission requires no explanation. I couldn't extract any useful information from his response. Looking at Wang Mu, I felt as though I were staring at an insurmountable mountain.
"Let's play a game. If you beat me, I'll tell you the answers you want." Wang Mu's expression finally shifted, changing from a smile to one filled with anticipation.
"I'm asking you—in those videos and photos you sent me, which ones are my mom? Which ones are Principal Yan? When did you start targeting my mom?" I ignored his proposal and fired a series of questions at Wang Mu, trying to find some clues to defeat this formidable enemy.
"No, no, no. You have to follow the rules of the game. You can only ask one question at a time, and you must win against me. You have no other choice." Wang Mu stood half a head taller than me. Sitting on the pommel horse, he looked down at me as if a deity were scrutinizing a mortal.
"I'm giving you a chance to challenge me."
"I accept this game." I made up my mind, just as I had with everything I'd done before. I didn't know if it was right or wrong, I didn't know what would happen afterward, and I didn't know what I would face. But I knew that only by taking action could there be hope, only then could miracles be born.
"If you are a god, then I'll drag you down to the mortal realm. With a mortal body, I will stand shoulder to shoulder with the divine!" I threw the challenge back at him.
"Good, good, good! You truly satisfy me! Admirable courage. Since you've brought me such pleasure, I'll tell you one piece of information before the game begins." Consider it a deity's charity to those who dare challenge him.
"Your mother came to me on her own!" Wang Mu looked at me mockingly, hoping to see a panicked expression.
"Oh, I see." I returned his signature smile. "I'll handle my mother's affairs myself. Right now, I just want to defeat you."
"Then let me explain the rules. It's simple: I'll ask questions, and you answer. Best of seven wins four. For every question you answer correctly, you can ask me one question, and I'll answer truthfully. If you manage to beat me in the end, I'll release your mother and tell you the whole story—though you have no chance of winning." Wang Mu laid out the rules.
I shrugged, indicating my acceptance.
"First question: I'm a mixed-race child. You already know my name is Wang Mu, and Principal Yan is Chinese. So the question is: Since I'm mixed-race, where does my surname 'Wang' come from?"
(Just a heads up, the protagonist's dialogue gets a bit chuunibyou towards the end, but I think it's normal for an 18-year-old teenager to have some chuunibyou moments, so don't mind it. Spoiler alert: the winner of this showdown will be the protagonist, but the process will be extremely difficult. Also, for the first question, if you read the text carefully and think it through, you can find the correct answer—it's a classic mystery puzzle, but I used narrative deception when designing it. If you can figure it out, feel free to leave a comment, and I'll mark the correct answers. Many of the earlier "dumbed-down" points will be expanded upon during the showdown, though not all of them—some foreshadowing will still be useful later.) This can be considered the end of the first half, with more plot development, so I hope you don't mind. Chapter 19 marks the start of the second half. I knew I couldn't wrap it up in just a dozen chapters... and indeed, I couldn't.
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