Sorrows of a Spiky Boy

On a certain morning, Wu Shen's boys were in a brighter mood than usual.

The girls had gone out shopping. The leaders had gone out to map out the area. They were alone.

Freedom!

"Not until you tidy this place up."

"But leader!"

"Have you finished your assignments?"

"No..."

Wu Shen wanted to sigh his soul away. His schedule was packed with school, riding lessons, homework, cooking and even more work. They had established a rota. Everybody had to work hard to earn income. No. Not working part-time. Stealing.

Was it easy?

No.

To find the perfect fool to pickpocket was hard. If you targeted a pretentious person who strutted around as if they had money but their wallet was as empty as a baby's brain, you'd have wasted your efforts.

There were a few rules.

1. Don't steal from kids. Let them enjoy their sweets in peace.

2. Don't steal from the elderly. They need that money to give to the children to buy candy. Hence, breaking rule two meant violating rule one at the same time.

3. Kick the bratty teens and mock them as you empty their wallets in front of their insignificant selves. Make them cry. MAKE THEM CRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY. Hahahahahahahaha. Harsh? No. Just simply taking care of the trash in society.

Filthy scum. Parading about as if they owned the world. They needed a gun to the head to understand that life wasn't all about social media and video games. Seriously. The animals that let their hormones run rampant were just a waste of space.

Oh. They were also teens? It doesn't count. They were obviously so much better. Plus, Xiaozhi was an adult. They had a guardian. They couldn't be considered as trash. Seriously. The nerve of some people. To consider them as being on the same level of those filth. Unbelievable. Those with the nerve to say such things were dealt with immediately.

—— School ——

"You've been rather quiet lately. Teacher is very pleased with you."

"Yes..."

Wu Shen was held back at school one day. His teacher's face was filled with glowing happiness. His rowdy student finally calmed down and didn't make so much noise anymore. What a change! What a blessing! Even if they didn't study and their grades were still buried under the others', he was still happy. Although... there was another issue he would like to inquire about.

"Is there something happening at home. You can tell teacher." The boys in Wu Shen's group were always haggard and tired out when they arrived. As soon as their butts hit their seats they were transported to dreamland. No exceptions. It was concerning.

"Ah..." Wu Shen could guess what the teacher was talking about. Trudging up and down hurt, alright? They were young, but that distance was no joke. Walk too fast and they'd be all sweaty. Walk too slowly, they'd be late to school. Waking up earlier cut their very souls.

Why didn't they just skip school? Their parents were scary. What other reason could there be? They needed that one hundred percent attendance. Very important. Grades? Ha! Who needs that? Their parents had already resigned themselves to the fact that the best their children could achieve was a D. Anyway, their brainpower had already been used up for the day by the time they arrived. School was now a place to sleep. Or, even better, a place to hide from those dropouts and a certain elder sister.

"Sir, don't worry. I, Wu Shen, am a reformed man. I understand the pains to be a teacher. I won't cause you a grief. Please let me apologise for my bast behaviour!" Wu Shen bowed deeply to his teacher. Teaching two students brought him great despair. Just how did this old man cope? Serious respect.

"Oh!-" The teacher choked up with emotion. His student was all grown up! He would finally pay attention in class!

"No need, no need. Rise, child. Go home now. Teacher knows you are a good boy. Go, go. Get some sleep."

'He will let me sleep in class too? This old man is a good old man.'

"Yes, sir!

Wu Shen left the classroom feeling lighter. He felt like he had come to an agreement with the teacher. From now on, he would freely sleep without a care in the world.

....

Back at home, Wu Shen warped into the evil stepmother once again.

"Tidy up! Tidy up!"

The boys scurried around with mops and cloths. It was a comical sight.

"You've missed a spot. Don't even think of playing until this place is shining!" Wu Shen barked orders to the boys as he stood to the side.

"But leader!"

"But nothing! Get back to work!"

Wu Shen scolded them once more before leaving for his job. Just one last thing and he could sleep.

...

'Let's make this quick.'

Wu Shen casually strode up to a man and snuck his hand into the stranger's back pocket with skilled ease. However, something was strange. Wasn't it a bit too tight?

The man froze. So did Wu Shen.

"Ah, sh*t-"

The man grabbed Wu Shen's hand that was emerging from his back pocket. He spun around and looked straight at Wu Shen.

"There's a reason why I wear these tight pants, boy." The man drew close to Wu Shen's ear. "So I can feel everything you filthy kids do. Everything."

These words made Wu Shen feel a bit strange.

'Police, we have a pervert on our hands.'

Wu Shen shook himself free and tried to reason with the man.

"It was a mistake. Sorry, I'll be going now."

The man stopped him.

"You think you can leave after defiling me like that? Naughty child."

'Help me.'

"I'm here with my girlfriend. I need to catch up with her." This wasn't how it was meant to be! Grab the money and make a dash for it. That was how it went all the other times!

"I'll keep you company until then."

"Heck no."

Wu Shen covered his mouth. Those words had come out of their own accord.

"Did you just curse at me? Seems you need to be re-educated in manners."

'F*ck life.'

Wu Shen spotted a girl approaching them and he made use of the chance immediately. He grabbed the girl by the shoulder and exclaimed,

"Qing'er! Where were you! You kept me waiting for so long!"

He wrapped his arm around her waist to make it seem more realistic. Wu Shen took her silence as her indicating that she'd help her.

'Such a nice girl.'

Those were his thoughts until she gave him a tight slap on the cheek.

"How dare you?!"

She strutted away.

*sob* *sob*

'Bet if boss did that she'd be clinging onto him like glue.'

"So," the stranger cocked a brow. "Looks like that wasn't your 'Qing'er' was it?"

"Hahaha..."

Wu Shen made a dash for it.

....

Later that day, a rumour had spread that Wu Shen was often found staring at his reflection with a forlorn look on his face.

When he saw Lukas, the weight in his heart only grew heavier.

"Am I ugly?" Wu Shen looked to Lukas with hope. Although you're a cold bastard, you'd at least comfort a fellow comrade, right?

"...what?" This hoodlum suddenly started to care about his looks? Why ask him? As if he would know how he appeared to girls.

"Ask the girls."

"Sigh..."

'Should have known.'

Wu Shen gathered his courage and presented this same question to Xiaozhi who, in return, burst into laughter and exclaimed 'cute.' She managed to answer him after she'd calmed herself down.

"Your freckles and mean eyes give off a boyish look. A bad boy vibe. Very attractive. This big sister thinks you look good enough."

'Hmph. Knew it. That girl just didn't have eyes.'

His mood lifted, he went to his room to rest.

His students were finally learning something, his boys could clean the mansion properly, and he was called good-looking by a girl.

He couldn't be more content with life.