Song Liu was seriously tired of crying and being scared all the damn time; he felt like a beaten dog, and the humiliation was finally starting to turn into a desperate, cold kind of courage, even if it was totally stupid. He knew he couldn't actually fight Liang Xu , that muscular wannabe would crush him but he felt like he had to do something just to feel like a human being again and stop the constant feeling of total helplessness. So, he planned a tiny, pathetic act of rebellion: he decided he was going to mess up one of Liang Xu's expensive, beloved swimming towels that he always left draped over the bleachers during practice, that rich prick never even cleaned his own damn gear anyway. This wasn't going to stop the bullying, but it would be his small, secret way of saying, "Fuck you."
After school, Song Liu slipped into the empty gym and went straight for the pool area, his heart pounding like crazy against his ribs the entire time, terrified that he would get caught by the psycho or one of his many cronies. He spotted the bright red and black towel, which probably cost more than his entire wardrobe, and pulled out a small, old, permanent marker he'd been keeping in his backpack just for this stupid moment of defiance. Instead of writing anything major or obvious, he just scribbled the word "LOSER" in tiny, tiny letters right on the hem of the towel, making it almost impossible to see unless you were looking for it, which was the safest form of rebellion he could manage, you know? He quickly stuffed the marker back in his bag and practically flew out of the gym, shaking with a terrifying mix of fear and a tiny, exhilarating rush of satisfaction from his stupid, meaningless act of vandalism.
The high didn't last long, because the very next day, the payback was immediate and brutal, naturally. Liang Xu cornered him in the empty stairwell right before lunch, and his eyes were blazing with a pure, cold fury that was even scarier than usual; someone had obviously snitched or that rich bastard had spotted the tiny scribbling on his precious towel. Liang Xu didn't even yell; he just grabbed Song Liu's shirt and slammed him hard against the wall, pushing the air completely out of his lungs, leaving him gasping like a fish out of water. "Did you really think I wouldn't notice, you pathetic little rat?" Liang Xu hissed, his face inches from Song Liu's, smelling faintly of expensive cologne and pure rage, "That towel cost more than your whole damn house, and you put your filthy hands on it? You just signed your own fucking eviction notice from this school, Scrub."