TAO | Chapter 11

“Try bullying him again and see what happens?” Jiang Zhan’s eyes were cold and threatening.

“No… bully? Right, Xiaochi? We weren’t bullying you, were we?” one of the guys stammered.

Jiang Zhan, clearly uninterested, waved them off. “Get lost.”

The two, clearly intimidated by Jiang Zhan’s dominance, scrambled to leave. Wei Xiaochi stood there, stunned, realizing too late that a potentially lucrative opportunity had just been scared off.

But Jiang Zhan had meant well, even if Wei Xiaochi couldn’t fully understand why the school bully would bother. He still added, “They didn’t bully me.”

Jiang Zhan ignored the explanation and sized Wei Xiaochi up.

“This is the pair of glasses you’re wearing?” Jiang Zhan’s disgust was evident on his face.

Seeing his reaction, Wei Xiaochi awkwardly adjusted his glasses. “Yeah, what’s wrong with them?”

Jiang Zhan snatched the ugly, outdated glasses off Wei Xiaochi’s face, inspecting them in his hands.

“These must weigh a ton,” Jiang Zhan clicked his tongue. “Did the glasses shop sell you a couple of beer bottle bottoms?”

“…”

Wei Xiaochi was taken aback by how mean Jiang Zhan was. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.

He wanted to argue, to say “they’re not that bad,” but he wasn’t sure if Jiang Zhan had another sarcastic comment waiting for him.

Wei Xiaochi had just bought a new pair of glasses with a black and purple frame. It was the store’s most popular model, and had been there for ten years. The owner, impressed by Wei Xiaochi’s keen eye, sold it to him for a mere fifty yuan.

In all of A City, you wouldn’t find a better deal. Of course, no other store would be selling such an antique frame either.

Wei Xiaochi only had slightly over 500 degrees of myopia, but thanks to this frame, the prescription had inflated to over 800 degrees.

No wonder Jiang Zhan joked about the weight—if he hadn’t felt them in his hand, Wei Xiaochi would’ve thought the glasses weighed ten pounds.

“With a thousand yuan, you could do so much, no wonder they sold you beer bottle lenses.” Jiang Zhan clicked his tongue again, and with a snap, broke Wei Xiaochi’s glasses.

Wei Xiaochi: !!!

Just a second ago, he was still stunned by Jiang Zhan’s comment about what a thousand yuan could buy, and the next moment, his glasses were snapped in half.

Wei Xiaochi snatched the frame back, heartbroken—those glasses cost fifty yuan.

Jiang Zhan had broken the part of the frame that held the lens, leaving Wei Xiaochi with only one piece of the glasses while the other went straight into the trash.

Wei Xiaochi was frantic, “What are you doing?”

425 yuan down the drain, just like that. How could he be so wasteful? And with his money!

Han Ziyang, carrying two cold drinks from the shop next to the cafeteria, saw Jiang Zhan walking toward the exit of the school with someone trailing behind.

He squinted and realized it was Wei Xiaochi—“Little Four-Eyes” as they liked to call him.

“Brother Zhan, where are you going? Skipping lunch?” Han Ziyang asked, but either Jiang Zhan didn’t hear him or didn’t want to respond, as he didn’t even glance back.

Han Ziyang watched them disappear into the distance, completely confused about what was going on between them.

Wei Xiaochi, for his part, was also clueless. Jiang Zhan had broken his glasses for no reason and seemed to be planning on getting him a new pair. Wasn’t that unnecessary?

Following Jiang Zhan, Wei Xiaochi walked out of the school gates, across the street, and into an underground parking garage. After walking another minute, Jiang Zhan stopped in front of a sleek, matte-finished motorcycle. It looked cool, with smooth lines, and definitely drew attention.

This motorcycle had been a birthday gift from Jiang Zhan’s sister when he turned eighteen. He hardly ever used it, but now that his mom was away on a business trip, he finally had the chance to ride it.

The day Wei Xiaochi got beaten up, Jiang Zhan had parked this motorcycle across from the school, and it was then that he happened to save Wei Xiaochi’s life. At the time, he hadn’t been sure about Wei Xiaochi’s condition, so he’d opted for a taxi instead of riding him to the hospital.

Jiang Zhan pulled out a key from his pocket and sat down on the bike. “Get on.”

Motorcycles were fast but not very safe, especially without the protection of an electric bike’s safety features. But Wei Xiaochi couldn’t picture Jiang Zhan on an electric bike—people like him only cared about showing off, not safety.

Wei Xiaochi reluctantly climbed onto the motorcycle.

The design of the bike clearly hadn’t taken passenger comfort into consideration. Wei Xiaochi was squeezed into the back, with nowhere to put his hands.

“I… can I… grab your shirt?” Wei Xiaochi began, but before he could finish, Jiang Zhan twisted the throttle, and the bike roared to life, taking off like an arrow.

Wei Xiaochi instinctively grabbed onto Jiang Zhan’s waist, his voice trembling, “Slow down, slow down.”

There were several speed cameras along the way, so even if Jiang Zhan wanted to speed, he couldn’t.

Wei Xiaochi, worried about Jiang Zhan’s driving, spent the entire ride on edge. When they finally arrived at the optical shop, he could finally relax.

Looking up, he saw the sign for the store, and his heart skipped a beat.

The store’s design was luxurious and elegant—beige marble with rose gold English logos, glass-walled entrances, and window displays with tasseled cradle chairs. There was an elegant European round table with a white lace tablecloth, and the warm orange light created a cozy, inviting atmosphere.

Was this really a glasses shop?

Wei Xiaochi had doubts—it felt more like a slaughterhouse for rich people. He turned to leave, but Jiang Zhan grabbed him by the collar and pulled him into the store.

Wei Xiaochi felt like a vampire caught in the light, his face pale as Jiang Zhan pushed him in front of a staff member. The shop had at least eleven or twelve employees, all staring at him, making Wei Xiaochi feel his social anxiety kicking in.

Jiang Zhan pointed at Wei Xiaochi. “Get him a pair of glasses.”

The employee flashed a professional, sweet smile. “Of course, please follow me. First, let the optometrist measure your prescription.”

Wei Xiaochi was shoved from one employee to the next, ending up in front of the optometrist, who measured his prescription. Then he was passed back to the same female staff member who had greeted him.

She held a tablet showing Wei Xiaochi’s test results.

“Your left eye is 450, and your right is 470. You also have astigmatism, so I suggest getting lenses with a higher refractive index.”

Wei Xiaochi blinked in surprise—his prescription had been over 500 in both eyes just yesterday.

Jiang Zhan suddenly asked, “What’s the benefit of a higher refractive index?”

The staff member patiently explained, “With the same degree of myopia, the higher the refractive index of the lens, the thinner the lens will be.”

Jiang Zhan nodded. “Then get lenses with a higher refractive index.”

The staff member smiled. “There are different materials with varying refractive indexes. Do you know which one you want?”

Jiang Zhan asked about the different materials, and the staff member patiently explained them all, while Wei Xiaochi, the one actually getting the glasses, was left standing aside.

After what felt like an eternity, they finally moved on to the frames.

“Your friend probably wears glasses all the time,” the staff member said, “and although these frames aren’t heavy, frequent wear can put a strain on the nose. Titanium frames are light and comfortable.”

Seeing Jiang Zhan falling into the trap of spending too much, Wei Xiaochi gave him a meaningful look.

But Jiang Zhan was too focused on the titanium frames to notice him.

Wei Xiaochi, growing desperate, tugged on Jiang Zhan’s sleeve. “I really don’t have that much money.”

Jiang Zhan raised a hand and shoved him aside. “Did I say you had to pay?”

Wei Xiaochi fell silent for a moment before muttering, “Your money is your parents’ hard-earned money, though.”

But Jiang Zhan, the rich kid, didn’t even bother to listen. “Try on the frames, stop whining.”

Reluctantly, Wei Xiaochi complied. “Fine, I won’t be paying for it anyway.”

He tried on the frames Jiang Zhan had pointed to. Without his glasses on, everything looked blurry, but he didn’t bother to check in the mirror.

After just two frames, Jiang Zhan became impatient. “This one’s fine.”

Wei Xiaochi didn’t argue. After all, the money was coming from Jiang Zhan.

They finished picking the lenses and frames, and Jiang Zhan pulled out his phone to pay.

“How much?” Jiang Zhan asked.

“Your lenses are 4888 yuan, the pure titanium frame is 1888 yuan, totaling 6776 yuan,” the employee replied with a smile. “We also offer a free lens cleaning solution worth 149 yuan and a suede cleaning cloth.”

Wei Xiaochi couldn’t believe his ears. He knew he was going to get ripped off, but he didn’t expect it to be this bad.

Jiang Zhan paid without hesitation.

Wei Xiaochi stared at him with a mix of fear and concern. His gaze shifted from seeing Jiang Zhan as a school bully to a worried rich kid’s son.

After the glasses were ready, Wei Xiaochi carefully put them on, cradling them in his hands. The lenses were clearer than the old ones, and they were much lighter.

However, the clarity didn’t seem worth the 4888 yuan, and as for the frame—Wei Xiaochi couldn’t bring himself to comment.

Once they left the optical shop, there wasn’t much time left to eat. Across the street, there was a beef noodle shop, and Wei Xiaochi, rarely the one to invite others, surprisingly asked Jiang Zhan to eat with him.

It wasn’t easy for him to invite someone to eat, but Jiang Zhan was the first one who had forced him into it.

Of course, Wei Xiaochi wasn’t too eager—he was driven by a complicated, indescribable feeling.

Jiang Zhan had ruined his glasses, but now he was paying to replace them. It was his own fault for being so generous. He could spend whatever he wanted.

Still, something felt a bit off.

But that feeling disappeared when he saw the menu with a bowl of beef noodles for 30 yuan. Just like that, his hesitation vanished.

Having already made the invitation, Wei Xiaochi couldn’t back out. He nervously ordered a bowl of beef noodles for Jiang Zhan and a cheap bowl of tomato and egg noodles for himself.

The total came to 54 yuan.

The beef noodles came with three pieces of beef, a marinated egg, some greens, and a sprinkle of scallions.

Wei Xiaochi sneered—he wasn’t impressed by the appearance of the dish, especially for the price.

Jiang Zhan seemed to agree, taking a bite and immediately scrunching his face in disgust. “Why does this taste so fishy?”

He was about to throw the beef aside, but Wei Xiaochi quickly saved it, moving the beef to his own bowl. “Don’t throw it away, I’ll eat it.”

It wasn’t worth wasting food, especially at 30 yuan a bowl.

Sensing Jiang Zhan might dislike the beef noodles, Wei Xiaochi quickly asked, “Do you want some vinegar? It might help with the taste.”

Jiang Zhan nodded curtly. “Sure.”

After adding the vinegar, Wei Xiaochi asked, “Do you want some chili too?”

Jiang Zhan raised an eyebrow but nodded. “Yes.”

Wei Xiaochi quickly added the chili, but Jiang Zhan still wouldn’t touch his noodles. Feeling unsure, Wei Xiaochi asked, “Should I get you a spoon? Maybe some more scallions?”

Jiang Zhan gave him a strange look.

Author’s Note:
Next chapter, epic moments coming, hahaha!

Safety Reminder: Always wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle! Please, wear one!