Forbidden love

Chapter 17: The Merciless Command

The harsh glare of the afternoon sun offered no warmth to Jow as he stood frozen near the crowded entrance of the university's grand cafeteria.

His entire frame was still aching from hidden bruises, but the suffocating terror of Teng's threat from yesterday had locked his spirit in an iron cage.

He kept his long eyelashes lowered, his pale face expressionless as he waited for the elite students to clear the path. He had no choice but to submit, knowing that his grandmother's heart medications and her very survival depended entirely on his compliance.

Teng was seated at the large center VIP table, surrounded closely by the remaining members of his gang, their handsome features twisted into collective, mocking amusement as they watched the transfer student approach.

Teng beckoned Jow with a cold, slow gesture of his index finger, his dark eyes flashing with sick satisfaction.

"Go to the counter, Jow, and fetch the premium lunch trays for all seven of us," Teng commanded smoothly, his voice dropping into a sinister hiss that cut through the loud hum of the cafeteria. "Make sure you don't drop a single plate, scholarship boy."

Jow didn't offer a single word of resistance, his humble and polite nature keeping him completely silent as he turned on his heel to fulfill the humiliating chore, bearing his physical pain in total isolation.

Jow carefully carried the heavy, loaded food trays back to the VIP table, his slender fingers shaking slightly under the immense weight as he neatly arranged the expensive dishes before the billionaire heirs. His breath was shallow, his ghost-white face devoid of color under the bright lights, but his eyes remained calm and clear, safely protecting his inner disgust.

Teng watched him with a slow, smug smile, thoroughly enjoying his absolute psychological victory.

"Good boy," Teng growled softly, a cold chuckle escaping his lips as he leaned back, his predatory gaze locking onto Jow's fragile posture. "Now, I need you to do one more small thing for us. Go all the way down to the commercial tuck shop on the ground floor and purchase seven bottles of chilled mineral water for our table."

Jow's heart instantly plummeted, a sudden wave of sharp exhaustion making his vision briefly blur.

He looked directly into Teng's possessive eyes, his voice trembling slightly with a rare, desperate plea.

"Teng... the premium water dispensers are available right here inside the cafeteria," Jow whispered softly, his hands tightening against his sides. "Must I really walk all the way down six flights of stairs to fetch the water from the lower shop?"

Teng's jaw clenched tightly, the calmness on his handsome features instantly hardening into a freezing, dark expression as Jow's soft question challenged his supreme authority.

He didn't raise his voice, but the cold aura emitting from his tall frame made the entire space feel suffocating. Teng leaned forward slowly, until his cold breath brushed against Jow's cheek.

"Go," Teng commanded in a low, smooth hiss, his dark eyes narrowing to sharp slits that delivered an unwritten, brutal reminder of the old lady resting inside the small house.

Jow's breath caught in his throat, the absolute horror of his grandmother's safety flashing through his mind like a physical blow, utterly neutralizing his final trace of resistance.

He lowered his head, his long eyelashes brushing against his ghost-white skin as his spirit completely submitted.

"Alright... I will fetch it," Jow whispered brokenly, his soft voice dropping into quiet surrender as he turned away to face the grueling six-story walk.

Jow slowly dragged his aching body down the stairwell, each step sending a burning wave of pain across his ribs, but he forced his fragile feet forward until he reached the lower shop to purchase the water.

Within fifteen minutes, he walked back into the crowded cafeteria, his chest heaving heavily with exhaustion as he carefully placed the seven chilled bottles onto the VIP table.

Teng glanced at the cold bottles and then looked up at Jow's pale face with a slow, victorious smirk.

"Fine, you can leave now," Teng growled smoothly. "But remember, Jow... whenever I call your name, you better appear before me instantly, or else your little family sanctuary will pay the price."

Jow kept his eyelashes lowered, his heart freezing as he accepted this torturous leverage.

"Alright," Jow whispered softly as he turned and slowly walked away.

Jay watched Jow's slender, fragile back disappear through the heavy exit doors, letting out a low, dark chuckle as a sick thrill flared within his ego. He leaned closer to Teng, nudging his shoulder with mocking amusement.

"Bro, what a fragile pet Jow is, right?" Jay whispered rapidly, a twisted smirk on his lips. "It honestly feels so good to see him look so helpless under your hands, doesn't it?"

Teng tilted his head back, a terrifyingly calm yet chilling madness emitting from his dark eyes.

"Yeah, bro," Teng growled smoothly, his voice dropping into a sinister hiss. "Just watch what else I am going to do to him in the coming days. This is only the beginning of his living hell."

A few minutes later, the lunch break ended, and the students returned to the classroom for the next lecture.

While the professor had not arrived yet, the members of Teng's gang quickly sneaked up to the front row and secretly placed strong glue on the professor's desk chair.

Teng lazily leaned back against his bench, his dark eyes locking onto Jow's slender profile with a freezing, unwritten threat. He leaned forward slightly, his voice dropping into a smooth, sinister whisper.

"You are going to take the entire blame for this, Jow, understand?" Teng growled softly. "If a single word slips out of your mouth, you know exactly what will happen to your little sanctuary."

Jow kept his long eyelashes lowered, his heart completely freezing as he accepted this torturous leverage in absolute, helpless silence.

Within moments, the heavy classroom doors opened and the history professor walked in, heading straight toward his desk. The moment he sat heavily onto his wooden chair, the glue instantly bonded his trousers to the seat, trapping him.

The professor froze, his face flushing with sudden rage as he realized he had been humiliated before the elite students. He slapped his hand against the desk, shouting angrily.

"Who did this?! Who dares to play such a trick on my chair?!"

The room remained deathly silent, the rich heirs keeping their heads down with mocking smirks.

Jow's breath caught in his throat, the terrifying memory of his grandmother's safety flashing through his mind like a physical blow. Slowly, his slender frame shivering, Jow stood up from his desk and lowered his head before the furious professor.

"Sir... I did it," Jow whispered softly, his ghost-white face devoid of color as he took the false blame to protect his final refuge.

The professor's eyes widened with severe disbelief and fury, staring at the scholarship student with complete disgust.

"How dare you?! Where did you get such immense courage to misbehave in my class?!" the professor roared, his voice echoing through the silent corridor. "Go down to the university courtyard immediately and stand under the hot sun for the rest of the day! That is your official punishment!"

Jow didn't offer a single word of defense, nor did his lips shake with any tears. He simply packed his small pen, turned on his heel, and slowly walked out of the room to face the grueling pain under the burning heat.

From the back rows, Teng watched his departure with a slow, victorious smirk, thoroughly satisfied with his psychological dominance, completely blind to the reality that beneath the heavy silence, the invisible strings of his control were already slipping away.

Teng lazily leaned back with a sinister smile as Jow walked into the burning courtyard, completely blind to the fact that from the upper balcony, Ray's dark eyes were tracing the boy's heavy steps with a dangerous resolve.