At The Edge Of The World | YiZhan ✓

Part 3

It was cold and dark, sometime early autumn. The moon had risen up quite fast that day, giving him no time to relax before heading home for the night. The scars in his hands throbbed at the very sight of the man who stood before the door, smoking with a bitter expression plastered on his face. Yet all a child could do when faced with such a man, was to fall silent and obey.

Despite his feet now moving to get in, the fear was still there, making his skin feel like something crawled within. The man who was his father squinted his eyes at the sight of the young boy, bobbing his head to tell him to get in. And as soon as the door opened, he was pushed onto the ground with a kick, making the boy fall face down, hitting his chin on the hard concrete.

As blood spilled and his vision blurry, the father grabbed him by his hair and yelled to the other room. "Your boy dirtied the floors again!" This had been a routine whenever he'd come home late, so one would think that he'd come early to not face such brutality. But only he knew that the abuse was inevitable, no matter how early he'd come.

It was only moments after as he got dragged across the hall, before being thrown into the cold, wet bathroom to only suffer more, as he got locked behind the thick wooden door.

He truly despised this life. How was this room any different than the world outside, when he'd spend so much effort to stay away. It was just as lonely, and just as hurting. Yet even then, he was unable to do a thing in his fragile body, hanging onto life as though there was a reason to live for. When in reality, there was nothing but hatred and agony, eating him up from the inside out.

He hated being alive, just as he hated everyone that lived on this earth. But there was still something that lingered in his heart, letting him dream that there would come a day when he'd make them all pay for the sins they've done.

Yet there he was now, at the age of twenty-five, sitting in a bar drinking until he could think no more. Those people who had done him wrong were no longer, but just the bitter taste of having missed out on the sweet sweet revenge.

"Hey, did you hear the dating rumour about Xiao Zhan? Can't believe he'd give shit away when he is this far in the industry." Ah, yes. Another reason to drink about. "You think he really cares about that? His father is the owner of T.A.Q., which makes him the next in line to lead it. Imagine the money he's bringing, what would being a measly actor do other than for fun?"

Yibo couldn't take it to hear any more of this topic, nor of the misconceptions those "friends" of his spoke of, as though they knew what was truly going on. "Can you just shut the fuck up? What if being an actor is what truly means to him than that shitty job, where you work day and night like a slave to the government?"

One of them who sat across from him at the table smirked as though he was intrigued, later raising his brow in question. "Shitty? What are you protecting him for? We are just talking the truth here." Yibo rolled his eyes with anger, later rubbing the bridge of his nose from the incoming headache. "Rong is right you know. Just 'cuz you worked with him once or twice, you're taking his side like he's your best friend?"

The one who made the comment scoffed, pointing at the tv like he was making a point. "What is happening is right in there. If he really cared about all of this then he'd be behaving more properly. The hell are you on?" Yibo was about to flip the table if it weren't for the drink in his hand. His anger was on its verge of exploding, but the alcohol was even stronger.

The trio that was in the room was led by none other than Hao Rong, the other two who tagged behind him like dogs were Yao Tong and Tan Qiang. So of course they agreed with whatever he said, not even being independent enough to make their own decisions. And Yibo could care less for their stupidity, yet watching them pretend to have more power over him was infuriating. "You speak of behaviour, yet there you two go acting like dogs when you're shown status and material value. I'd think more before speaking, no?"