Chapter 5: Betrayal and Friendship Are Unrelated

In the night, Wen Liang had a dream. In the dream, he seemed to have become a time traveler, repeatedly traversing through his twenty-nine years of ordinary life. As a baby, he wobbled while learning to walk; at two, he babbled; at seven, he started school; at eleven, he was a young boy; at sixteen, he experienced a humiliating night; and then the low point of high school and the silence of college. Scenes from the past flashed by in his dream, and he alternated between sadness and laughter, sometimes poking his head out of the time tunnel to tell his disheartened self from a certain year: "Laugh hard, kid, the future is in your hands."

In the morning, a damp spot on the pillowcase greeted him. Wen Liang smiled and patted his face, muttering, "What a wimp!" He walked to the living room, where his mother, Ding Mei, had just returned with fried dough sticks and soy milk, grumbling, "Occasionally being lazy and not cooking, I still have to run far to buy breakfast. It's so inconvenient."

Wen Liang quickly took the fried dough sticks and asked, "Not going to work today? It's almost eight, right?"

Ding Mei worked as a cashier at the city's agricultural machinery factory. The factory's performance had been poor in recent years, and with the state-owned enterprise reform, the atmosphere was tense. Those with connections were running around for job transfers, while those without were petitioning and organizing protests. It was said that in just a month, the factory director, Zhang Changqing, had his blood pressure soar to 180 and had to be hospitalized.

"What work? The director is down, and the factory will likely go under sooner or later," Ding Mei said, irritated. She had graduated from high school and had a low level of education. When Wen Huaming was just a small clerk, he couldn't get her a good job. Later, although he rose in rank, he was always in a cold department with no real power. Zhang Changqing had given her a face-saving position as a cashier, and it was a large state-owned factory, after all. Over time, they had gotten used to it. However, last year, the state's push for reforms had been like a bomb dropped into a calm pond, affecting everyone from the entire society to Wen Liang's family, causing chaos.

"So what if it goes under? It's not a big deal," Wen Liang said. He knew the factory wouldn't last until next year. After the factory's bankruptcy, many issues arose, but the city had suppressed them. Wen Huaming lacked the influence to secure a good job for Ding Mei during the second wave of state-owned enterprise reforms. In a fit of anger, she took the severance pay and opened a clothing store, which did well. Although they didn't become rich, the income was much better than the factory's meager salary.

"So what?" Ding Mei's eyes widened. "What do you know, you little brat? Who will pay your mother's salary if the factory goes under? Relying on your useless father, the whole family would have starved to death long ago!" It was true; her salary was indeed much higher than Wen Liang's, and she had more perks.

Wen Liang rolled his eyes, speechless, and decided not to argue. He quickly finished three fried dough sticks and two bowls of soy milk, patted his stomach, and left with a plastic bag he had prepared.

Inside the plastic bag were a small fruit knife and a nylon rope.

Today, he was going to teach Zhou Xiaochang a lesson. Zhou Xiaochang was the one who had lured him out last night and then let Gu Wenyuan humiliate him. Wen Liang didn't have many friends in class, and Zhou Xiaochang was one of them. His father was a regular employee at the city's first food company. Zhou Xiaochang was tall and strong, known for his righteousness and willingness to stand up for others. He and Mu Shanshan were considered the two bullies of the school, but Zhou Xiaochang was known as "Zhou the Hero," while Mu Shanshan was "Mu the Bully." When Wen Liang was bullied, Zhou Xiaochang often spoke up for him. Wen Liang had always considered him a good friend, never imagining that the seemingly righteous Zhou Xiaochang would betray him.

So, the saying goes: Those who hurt you are the ones you love, and those who betray you are the ones you trust!

This was completely different from Gu Wenyuan. That night, every harsh word, every arrogant gesture, and every mocking and disdainful expression from Gu Wenyuan deeply wounded Wen Liang's self-esteem. He hated Gu Wenyuan but felt powerless. He had often wanted to crush Gu Wenyuan under his feet, but every time he tried, he realized he couldn't even reach the step Gu Wenyuan stood on. This sense of helplessness and growing inferiority only made him angrier, not sad. But with Zhou Xiaochang, young Wen Liang felt deeply hurt. After the incident, he didn't even have the courage to confront Zhou Xiaochang and ask why he had helped Gu Wenyuan bully him. They went to different high schools and never saw each other again.

For his past self, the betrayal by a friend was another devastating blow!

But since he had a chance to start over, whoever did wrong would have to pay the price.

Arriving at the residential area of the food company, Wen Liang bought a bottle of soda from a small convenience store and sat under the eaves to drink it. Knowing Zhou Xiaochang, he would definitely go to the workers' stadium to skate today, just as he had used that as an excuse to lure him out last night. It was not yet nine, so he probably hadn't left yet.

Sure enough, before he finished the soda, he saw Zhou Xiaochang, wearing a red short-sleeved shirt and black shorts, saunter out of the gate. Wen Liang put down the bottle and followed him at a distance of a couple of meters. After turning a few streets, Zhou Xiaochang took a shortcut through a small park. Seeing no one around, Wen Liang quickened his pace and suddenly rushed forward, kicking Zhou Xiaochang in the back. Zhou Xiaochang stumbled a few steps and fell to the ground. Wen Liang kicked him in the buttocks and then flipped him over, riding on his chest and punching him in the nose.

Although Wen Liang was not physically strong, especially compared to Zhou Xiaochang, he knew how to fight dirty. The waist and nose were the weak points in street fights, especially against a teenager like Zhou Xiaochang, and he hit them with precision.

Two streams of blood flowed from Zhou Xiaochang's nose, and he screamed in pain, tears streaming down his face. It wasn't that he had lost his reputation as a hero; it was just that the nose is connected to the tear ducts, and pain in one causes tears in the other.

Seeing that Zhou Xiaochang had lost his fighting spirit, Wen Liang took out the nylon rope and quickly tied his hands behind his back. He kicked him in the buttocks and mocked, "Get up, let me see the face of a traitor. Is it still as handsome and extraordinary as before?"

Zhou Xiaochang was well-built, half a head taller than Wen Liang. While he wasn't as handsome as Gu Wenyuan, he was much better-looking than Wen Liang, who had a common face. So when they were together, Zhou Xiaochang would often put his arm around Wen Liang's shoulder and say, "Come, admire my face. Is it still as handsome and extraordinary as before?"

Hearing this now, even though Zhou Xiaochang was in tears, he was momentarily dazed. He sat on the ground, no longer shouting, and after a while, he looked up and said softly, "I'm sorry... really, I couldn't stand up to Gu Wenyuan..."

Sorry?

Ha, Wen Liang suddenly found it amusing. He had come to scare Zhou Xiaochang, but after all these years, from his nearly thirty years of life experience, Zhou Xiaochang's betrayal was a minor issue, and he no longer cared. However, after last night, he remembered how weak he had been, not even daring to confront Zhou Xiaochang. Feeling ashamed of himself, he had prepared the fruit knife and nylon rope to scare him properly.

But when the moment came, Wen Liang found the whole thing rather boring. He had spent over a decade without finding a chance to get back at Gu Wenyuan, and now, in a second chance, he was going after Zhou Xiaochang first. This was a sign of weakness.

Weakness in the face of power!

He took out the fruit knife and stuck it in the ground. Zhou Xiaochang's face turned pale with fear. Wen Liang didn't want to play any longer, so he slapped him, leaving five red marks on the boy's tender face.

"Zhou, this slap represents the end of our grudges and friendship. I'll give you this fruit knife. I planned to use it to make a hole in you, but now it's unnecessary. I hope that next time you think about betraying a friend, you'll look at this knife and remember how to be a person!"

Gu Wenyuan, wait and see, I'll also show you how to be a person!

After Wen Liang left, Zhou Xiaochang finally got up. His betrayal of his friend was partly due to his fear of Gu Wenyuan, but there was another reason deep in his heart that he didn't even want to admit. He thought that with Wen Liang's timid and weak nature, betraying him once wouldn't be a big problem. Would Wen Liang dare to spread the word or even confront him? But today's Wen Liang had completely shattered his perception, showing decisiveness, calmness, and even a cold, ruthless side.

If he had known Wen Liang would react so strongly, would he still have made that call?

He used the fruit knife to cut the rope, put the broken rope and knife in his pocket, patted the dust off his buttocks, and slowly walked home.

He would still have made the call, because... he couldn't stand up to Gu Wenyuan!

This answer left Zhou Xiaochang feeling disheartened!