They found Li Wei in the storage closet.
Tuesday morning.
Three days after the video went viral.
Fourteen hours after Teacher Chen said, "boys will be boys."
And gave him detention.
His phone was still in his hand.
Screen still on.
Still playing.
It was him.
Smiling. Performing. Joking.
Trying.
The comments kept scrolling:
lol what a clown
he actually thinks he's funny
imagine being this desperate for attention
we're laughing AT you bro not WITH you
His last expression wasn't sadness.
It was confusion.
Like he still didn't understand…
Why being funny wasn't enough.
At his funeral, they said nice things.
They always do.
"He made everyone laugh."
"He lit up the room."
"He was such a positive kid."
Li Wei watched.
From somewhere that wasn't anywhere.
They didn't know.
Didn't know he cried every night.
Didn't know every joke was survival.
Didn't know he laughed first so it wouldn't hurt as much when they did.
Didn't know Teacher Chen promised to help—
Then laughed the loudest.
He watched his mother stand alone.
Watched the bullies take selfies after.
Watched Teacher Chen get promoted.
He watched.
And watched.
And watched.
Years passed.
His mother aged.
The bullies moved on.
Smiled. Graduated. Fell in love.
And Li Wei watched everything.
Forgotten.
Unseen.
Unfinished.
Until—
Something flickered.
A curtain.
Red velvet.
Torn at the edges.
A voice came from behind it.
"You've been waiting."
Li Wei turned.
For the first time in years—
He moved.
"Waiting for what?"
"The show."
The curtain opened.
Darkness.
But not empty.
Crowded.
The kind of darkness that breathes.
That listens.
That waits.
"You were a performer," the voice said.
"They just didn't know what kind."
Li Wei's chest tightened.
A feeling.
After years of nothing.
"You made them laugh," the voice continued.
"Every day. On command."
A pause.
"Even when it hurt."
"Especially when it hurt."
"…So?" Li Wei whispered.
"That isn't desperation."
"It's talent."
The darkness shifted.
Rows appeared.
Seats.
Hundreds of them.
Empty.
Waiting.
"This is your stage now."
"Every laugh fills a seat."
"Every reaction builds your power."
"And when the curtain falls…"
A pause.
Cold.
Precise.
"They'll finally understand who they were laughing at."
The curtain snapped shut.
[SYSTEM INITIALIZATION COMPLETE]
Li Wei opened his eyes.
Fluorescent lights.
Chalk dust.
Noise.
A classroom.
He shot upright.
Breathing hard.
His hands—
Smaller.
Younger.
Alive.
"…Li Wei."
He froze.
Teacher Chen stood at the front.
Smirking.
Younger.
The same eyes.
"Since you're finally awake," he said,
"why don't you answer the question?"
Laughter.
Soft.
Familiar.
Li Wei's vision split.
The classroom—
And beneath it—
A stage.
Dark.
Silent.
A single spotlight flickered on.
[PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITY DETECTED]
[Audience: Hostile — 32]
[Objective: Convert hostility → Applause]
[Reward: 50 AP | Unlock: Quick Wit Lv.1]
His heart slowed.
He'd seen this before.
Lived it.
Died from it.
Last time—
He froze.
Stuttered.
Broke.
Not this time.
He looked at the board.
Quadratic equations.
He remembered failing.
But he also remembered something else.
Years.
Working.
Calculating.
Surviving.
"…x equals negative b plus or minus square root…" he started.
Calm.
Steady.
Silence spread.
"…all over 2a."
Teacher Chen blinked.
"…Correct."
No laughter.
Not even a whisper.
Li Wei looked forward.
Calm.
Still.
[Hostile Audience: 32 → 28]
[+4 Converted]
[Continue performance?]
He smiled.
Not the old smile.
Not the please like me smile.
Something colder.
Sharper.
The boy next to him shifted away.
Good, Li Wei thought.
You're starting to feel it.
The bell rang.
Chaos returned.
Chairs scraping. Voices rising.
Li Wei moved slowly.
Deliberately.
Wang Jie was waiting outside.
Of course he was.
Same spot.
Same sneer.
Same audience.
"Yo," Wang Jie said, clapping slowly.
"Look who thinks he's smart now."
His friends laughed.
Phones already out.
[PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITY DETECTED]
[Audience: 3 Hostile | 12 Neutral Observers]
[Risk: High]
[Reward: Scales with Impact]
Li Wei stopped.
Last time—
He joked.
Played along.
Lost.
This time—
He stepped closer.
"I'm not going to cry," Li Wei said.
Wang Jie smirked. "Yeah? Then wha—"
"But you might."
Silence.
Li Wei leaned in.
Just enough.
"Your dad's girlfriend texted you last night."
Wang Jie froze.
"The one that isn't your mom."
"…What?"
"She sent a picture," Li Wei continued softly.
"You deleted it."
A beat.
"Not fast enough."
Color drained from Wang Jie's face.
"…How do you—"
"Lucky guess."
Li Wei smiled.
"Your face did the rest."
He walked past him.
The hallway shifted.
Whispers.
Eyes turning.
Attention moving.
For the first time—
Not away from him.
Toward him.
[PERFORMANCE COMPLETE]
[Hostile: 3 → 0]
[Neutral: 12 → 15]
[+35 AP]
[Total AP: 39 / 50]
Li Wei didn't stop walking.
Thirty-nine.
From one move.
So that's how the game works.
He passed the teachers' lounge.
And stopped.
Teacher Chen sat inside.
Relaxed.
Smiling.
Their eyes met.
Li Wei smiled back.
For a second—
Just one—
Teacher Chen's expression faltered.
[Hidden Audience Detected: Authority Figure]
[Status: Future Target]
Not yet.
Li Wei turned away.
The stage was still empty.
The seats were still waiting.
But not for long.
He had three years.
And this time—
When the curtain fell…
They wouldn't be laughing.