My life instantly became a miserable, exhausting cycle, but strangely, I felt a new kind of calm settling over me. I wasn't wasting energy being terrified anymore; the fear had solidified into a hard, cold focus. Every morning, I would wake up early and pretend to "attend" my fake online school classes in the living room while my parents were home. I would sit there with my laptop, carefully studying the materials just enough so I could convincingly lie about my assignments if they ever asked. It was all a complete charade, but I had to keep the lie perfect to protect my sister and prevent my parents from discovering the truth about Liang Xu. That perfect routine gave me a strange, almost comforting sense of control, which was something I hadn't felt since the entire ordeal began.
The real work started every evening when I headed out to the dingy laundromat for my late-night shift. Washing and folding strangers' dirty clothes was backbreaking and the pay was awful, but the physical exhaustion was actually a strange form of therapy. When my muscles ached and my mind was blank from folding the endless stacks of towels, I didn't have the mental space left to panic or cry anymore. My emotions had been replaced by a quiet, simmering resentment. I no longer felt the hot, desperate rage of a victim; instead, I felt the cold, patient hatred of someone planning a slow payback. Every time I smelled the industrial detergent or felt the heat of the broken dryers, I thought of Liang Xu's easy, rich life, and that memory fueled me to work harder and save every single cent.
I was getting colder, too. I didn't talk much to anyone anymore—not even Mr. Lee, the manager, who usually just left me alone anyway. My focus was singular: work, save money, and protect my sister. I knew that my destroyed future meant I had to build a new one from scratch, and that would only happen if I was completely ruthless about my goals. I meticulously started tracking my wages in a small notebook, calculating how many months it would take to save enough money to finally move my family out of this town, away from the shadow of that wealthy bully. The notebook wasn't just a record of my wages; it was a testament to my determination and a countdown to the day I would no longer have to look over my shoulder, terrified of Liang Xu's reach.
The exhaustion was constant, and I knew I was risking my health by sleeping so little, but the alternative—giving up and letting Liang Xu win completely—was simply not an option. That cruel, rich kid had ruined my life, but he hadn't broken my will. He had just changed me, transforming me from a pathetic nerd into a quiet, focused engine of revenge and survival, patiently waiting for my chance to escape and maybe, just maybe, make that handsome jerk pay for destroying everything I had.