Chapter 145: Stop Messing Around
“Little brother, come on—introduce yourself to your big brothers,” the bald man said.
Nan Xun’s very first sentence made them all look at him in a new light. “My name is Su Mobai. I’m a student at B University. I haven’t even finished my freshman year yet.”
“Well I’ll be damned—an actual college student, and from B University at that. That name sounds pretty refined too—you can tell right away you’re an educated guy.” Third Brother was clearly in awe of that sort of person, and the look in his eyes when he regarded Nan Xun immediately changed.
The ones sent to Meihuan Prison were all sorts of riffraff. Nearly a quarter of them were serving life sentences. Among these people, there were very few with any education at all. So hearing all of a sudden that Nan Xun was a college student felt like spotting a giant panda—an extreme rarity.
Nan Xun went on, “I did kill someone, but it was manslaughter. I got into a fight with another guy while trying to save a brother of mine, and I accidentally killed him. His family is rich and powerful, so they pinned an intentional murder charge on me. The brother I saved also refused to come forward and testify for me, so here I am—life imprisonment.”
The bald man admired people who stood up for their brothers. “That brother of yours is a real piece of trash.”
Nan Xun bared his teeth in a grin. “He really is. If I ever get the chance to get out, I’ll kill him.”
That was exactly the kind of thing they loved to hear. They hadn’t expected this kid, who looked so young and tender, to be such a ruthless character too.
Of course, it was all just talk. Once you were thrown in here and sentenced to life, even with good behavior, the odds of getting out alive were slim.
They felt a bit of sympathy for him, but even more schadenfreude.
Anyone who ended up here was no saint, and Nan Xun never expected the people in this cell to have much compassion anyway.
That said, Nan Xun was naturally good at getting along with others, and he quickly hit it off with the group.
The bald man was the boss of this cell; everyone called him Brother Tie. The one who’d been snoring away earlier was Second Brother, named Du Pan. He had fairly decent features and knew how to work people. The rest were all big, burly men with bulging muscles. They ranked themselves by number, and since Nan Xun was the last to arrive, he was Sixth Brother.
Hearing the boss’s distinctive laugh, Second Brother was woken up. When he heard a newcomer had arrived, he hurried over.
He stared at Nan Xun for a long time, then suddenly let out a lecherous laugh. “Sixth Brother, don’t say your second brother didn’t warn you. With a face like yours, in our entire A Block you’re guaranteed to be the prison beauty. You know what ‘prison beauty’ means, right?”
Those two words sent a chill down Nan Xun’s spine. She was a man now—how could she be called a prison beauty? If anything, it should be prison grass. And what did “delicate-looking” even mean? She’d looked in the mirror—she was clearly a devastatingly handsome young guy.
Hearing Du Pan’s words, Brother Tie frowned slightly, but he didn’t say anything.
After getting a sense of the place, Nan Xun went to the guards to collect her things.
Once she left, the people in the cell exchanged knowing smiles.
“Boss, that kid’s way too good-looking. You won’t be able to protect him. You know the prison tyrant in A Block—he doesn’t give a damn about anyone. Tonight’s going to be a real show,” Du Pan said in high spirits, even whistling.
Watching such a clean, innocent-looking boy get humiliated and trampled—tsk, he really couldn’t bear it in his heart.
Brother Tie rubbed his smooth bald head and said hesitantly, “Scarface is a ruthless one. We can’t afford to provoke him. No one can help this kid. He’ll just have to get through this hurdle on his own.”
“People who do academic work are said to have pride stronger than steel. He won’t end up smashing his head against a wall because he can’t get through this, will he?” Third Brother said, though there wasn’t much real concern in his tone.
Fifth Brother shrugged. “Didn’t Third, Fourth, and I all get through it the same way? Only Second Brother was lucky—he came in early, so he never ran into Scarface.”
Nan Xun went to the guards and received a washbasin, a stainless-steel cup, a toothbrush and toothpaste, plus a towel and a bar of soap. Besides the prison uniform she was wearing, she also got an extra set to change into.
Honestly, the uniform didn’t look bad at all—dark blue, loose-fitting but not ridiculously so. There were white stripes running down the sides of the pant legs and sleeves, and when worn, it actually made a person look quite sharp.
The guard had already shown Nan Xun around earlier, so after collecting her things, she made her own way back to the cell.
The cellblock building was quite large, four stories in total. One side of the corridor was lined with cells, the other with railings, forming a square around the interior. When inmates came out of their cells and leaned over the railings, they could look down to the empty concrete floor on the first level, which was usually where morning roll call was held.
Nan Xun’s assigned cell was 242, on the second floor. Her mind was occupied with other thoughts, and she didn’t notice that there were already scattered figures leaning over the railings on the third and fourth floors, looking down at her. When their gazes fell on her, they were filled with malicious intent; a few even broke into lewd smiles.
After entering the cell, Nan Xun greeted everyone, then climbed up to the innermost top bunk and closed his eyes to rest.
Second Brother Du Pan tapped on his metal bed frame and reminded him cheerfully, “Sixth Brother, dinner’s at a quarter past six. Don’t be late. Eat a bit earlier—tonight we’ve got some extracurricular activities.”
As he said this, the others exchanged looks. The boss shot Du Pan a glare but said nothing.
Nan Xun always felt there was something off about the smile in Du Pan’s eyes. Maybe “malice” was too strong a word—it was more like schadenfreude, the kind of look someone had when waiting to enjoy a good show.
Nan Xun nodded at him. “Thanks for the reminder, Second Brother.”
Partway through, Nan Xun went to the bathroom. Out of habit, she squatted down, but the moment she pulled down her pants and noticed the extra piece of equipment, her whole world went blank.
Heh. Heh heh. She’d almost forgotten—she was a man now.
Nan Xun began hypnotizing herself: I’m a man. I’m a man. From now on I’m “he,” not “she.”
But even after that, she still couldn’t bring herself to look straight at the extra appendage. Hands trembling, she held it, hurriedly dealt with the biological issue, and then returned to her cell.
Maybe she was too tired—Nan Xun ended up sleeping for a full two hours. When he woke up, the room was already empty. He glanced at the clock hanging in the hall—6:10 p.m. Heading to the cafeteria now would be just right.
However, when Nan Xun arrived at the cafeteria, he discovered it was already packed to the brim. There wasn’t a single empty seat, and the serving window had nothing left but scraps and cold leftovers.
The moment Nan Xun stepped inside, countless probing, ill-intentioned gazes landed on him.
Only then did Nan Xun realize—he’d been played. Dinner time was supposed to be six o’clock.
Damn it!
Coming to get food at this hour meant not only eating leftovers, but also not finding a seat, since everyone else had just gotten their food and was eating with relish.
Expressionless, Nan Xun went to ladle some vegetable broth, planning to eat it with plain white rice.
But as his eyes swept the room, he couldn’t find anywhere to sit.
Finally, his eyes lit up—he spotted a few empty seats. But almost immediately, he sensed something was wrong.
The empty seats he’d noticed formed a ring around the very center of the cafeteria. No one was sitting in them, and at the four-person table in the exact center, there was only one man seated.
