Worm

Untitled Episode

Chapter 6

Leon ran laps at the racecourse, running until his whole body was soaked in sweat and he couldn't exert any more strength.

When he got back to the car, Leon checked his phone and saw that his friends had already gotten up to welcome another absurd and meaningless day. They all mentioned him, asking which place they would go to today. Leon's eyes flashed with a hint of darkness, and he lifted his phone to send a voice message, "Not going today, I'm tired. Going home to sleep."

Ignoring the exaggerated wails of the group, Leon turned the music to maximum volume and stepped on the gas pedal to speed away.

It was only when Leon reached the bridge across the river that he realized he hadn't decided where to go. Such a big city with so many skyscrapers, and he couldn't find a place to pass the time. Leon shrugged, uncertain whether it was the problem of the city or his own.

Fortunately, his emptiness was nothing more than the mere whining of most people. Compared to those who couldn't even find a place to stay, his little troubles were insignificant.

Finally, Leon thought it would be better to spend some money, at least there would be something to do. When he got off the expressway and turned towards the city, Oliver called him again.

The music was suddenly interrupted by the ringing, and Leon impatiently clicked to answer, "What's up again?"

"Leon, are you at home? I'm downstairs at your place."

"I'm not home today. You hurry up and leave," Leon turned on his turn signal and deviated from the original route.

"Oh, that's alright then. You must be coming back tomorrow morning, I'll come over tomorrow morning," Oliver didn't understand Leon's annoyance and simply changed the time with a smile.

"I'm not coming back tomorrow either," Leon frowned, preemptively stopping Oliver from talking any further, "I'm not coming back for the rest of my life."

"Don't be impulsive, Leon. Where else can you go if you don't go home? I know you've been staying with your mom recently. I'll come pick you up tomorrow morning." Oliver completely disregarded Leon's irritation and made his decision.

Angered, Leon hung up the phone directly.

With no more thoughts of spending money, he asked one of his unreliable friends, Moore, for a location.

When Leon entered the private room, he almost choked on the smoke. He waved his hand to fan the air, pinching his nose as he walked over and shouted at a few people, "Aren't you afraid of suffocating? Smoking is not allowed here, right?"

His question elicited laughter, and Moore sprang up from the sofa and hugged Leon's neck, clicking his tongue, "Don't act like a good boy now that you're here. Who doesn't know who you are? Come on, there's alcohol saved for you."

Leon furrowed his brow and pulled Moore off him, "How many times do I have to tell you not to cling onto me like this? It's uncomfortable."

"Alright, alright, we'll listen to Young Master Leon. Change next time. Come over quickly, we're all waiting for you."

The several people slouched on the sofa were all second-generation rich kids whom he used to hang out with in Australia. If you wanted to say they hung out, they didn't dare to mess with anything significant. They just drank, sang, and spent money every day. At most, they would go clubbing. The club had to be one they owned. If you wanted to say they didn't hang out, they were aimless. They didn't look for jobs or care about their companies. Apart from having some money, they were no different from stray dogs.

Moore's ex-girlfriend once said that they were just a group of parasitic scum hanging onto money and were useless.

Leon thought that was quite accurate. If it wasn't for their relationship to money, the world would have shaken them off like fleas long ago.

When those few people saw Leon coming, they suddenly came alive. They poured the drinks and passed the cigarettes, making Leon feel like their leader. Leon took a drink and downed it in one gulp, and Andrew, who was sitting nearby, promptly filled his glass again. Leon drank it in one gulp as well. After a few rounds of drinking, the others finally noticed that something wasn't right. They exchanged glances and tactfully pushed Moore out. Moore had the most experience in dealing with an angered Leon.

Moore raised a middle finger at the others and asked cautiously, "Leon, did your family go bankrupt?"

Leon: "…"

Leon had something on his mind, and after a few drinks, he started feeling tipsy. He slammed the glass heavily on the table and shouted, "How can he be so annoying?!"

"Yeah, how can he be so annoying?" The others didn't care who Leon was talking about and joined in without hesitation.

"He used me, deceived me, and made a fool out of me. He was the one who first mentioned breaking up, the one who rejected me. How does he have the nerve to come and provoke me like this, how can he, how dare he?!"

Before the word "just" could be said, everyone abruptly stopped, staring at each other in disbelief. Was he talking about Oliver?

They didn't like Oliver at all. He seemed kind and gentle on the surface, but no one could figure out what he was hiding behind that smile. He couldn't be classified as a friend or enemy just by appearances. In fact, he wasn't the same type of person as these clueless idiots. So when the two of them got together, they didn't have high hopes. They always treated Oliver with twelve points of caution, fearing that he would take advantage of Leon. But Leon liked him, and would always bring him along to gatherings, inexplicably feeding them with dog food. They gradually got used to Oliver's presence. Just when everyone had finally let their guard down with Oliver, they suddenly broke up without any warning.

During that time, Leon almost drowned himself in alcohol every night, never sober. They took turns staying with him day and night, afraid that he would do something to harm himself if left alone. When Leon finally made it through that period, he remained silent about the reason for the breakup, and even Oliver's name faded from their world.

Later, Moore heard from friends who used to drink with him that Oliver was going back soon. After much hesitation, Moore finally told Leon about it. Leon fell silent for a while and softly said, "Looks like I truly don't have any value anymore." Though they may be silly, they could still sense that there was more to his words. After much probing, Leon slowly explained the reasons for his breakup with Oliver. After hearing the story, they were dumbfounded for a while before exclaiming, "Wow, thought we were watching a TV drama. No matter how cautious you are, you never know what could happen." They rolled up their sleeves, ready to stand up for Leon, even if it meant pulling someone off the plane. Leon shook his head casually and said, "Did he really succeed? Forget it, it's all in the past now."

Indeed, it was all in the past. Leon dropped out of one of the top five schools in the country for the Olympics and enrolled in a little-known college. He gave up his beloved major in design and instead chose to learn Greek, a language that he might never use in his life. Leon had also pondered whether it was worth it to ruin his own life like this. But then he realized that maybe it wasn't really about worth. Oliver fell in love with the added value that came with him, a value that was given to him by his father. Only by stripping away this layer of closely tied commercial relationship with his father could he truly obtain what he deserved and lose what he needed to lose. That would be his true life.