Chapter 21: Shattering the Egg

Shi Zhiyong was something of an old hand in the underground rock scene around Gulou and Houhai, familiar with all sorts of unsavory characters in the area. Most of the local rock bands would give the Rotten Corpses band some face, careful not to cross them lightly. Those who knew the Rotten Corpses understood that the band members were all local thugs, notorious for their bad behavior, each with a history of stints in detention. Even the band’s name made it clear that they existed solely to disgust others.

The band’s leader, Shi Zhiyong, had a particular hobby: “picking fruit.” Whenever he spotted a pretty girl, he was determined to get her, no matter what. Bai Yao had caught his eye some time ago. She had never known of the Rotten Corpses, nor did she care to associate with such riffraff. Yet, the band’s members kept pestering her, trying both threats and sweet talk to force her into a relationship with their boss, Shi Zhiyong.

But Bai Yao was no easy target; she countered every move with unflinching strength, as unyielding as a sheet of ice-cold iron. The thugs never got their way. Two weeks earlier, when Shi Zhiyong realized he couldn’t win her over, he decided to resort to force. It was a Saturday. After a show, the Rotten Corpses’ band members “invited” Bai Yao into Shi Zhiyong’s secondhand BMW, claiming their boss had something to say to her. Forced into the car, Bai Yao was driven out to the suburbs, where Shi Zhiyong stopped by the roadside, intending to take advantage of her