Because looking into his eyes felt like he wanted to kill someone, this person was named Lei Xiaofeng. He had two older brothers, nicknamed "Three Leis." He had no connection with Zhang Lei in the past and didn't know him. He had only heard of Zhang Lei's reputation. But soon they would cross paths because he was going to be demoted to Zhang Lei's class.
If Xiong Yong is like a bear cub that hasn't fully grown up, then this San Lei Zi—just listen to that name!—is a cheetah that has already learned to hunt. Xiong Yong still relies somewhat on his brother, but San Lei Zi has earned his reputation entirely through his own hard work.
In this small town, there lived a mentally unstable man who loved to bully children. Zhang Lei and his classmates were terrified of him, as were Xiong Yong and his friends. Even a group of them would run away at the mere sight of this madman. To make matters worse, the madman was incredibly accurate at throwing stones, and if they were a little too late, the stones might hit them.
Even this madman would be like a mouse seeing a cat when he sees Lei Xiaofeng. To be able to scare a madman who can beat people without anyone holding him accountable like this, you can imagine what kind of person this San Lei Zi really is.
Junior high school is not like primary school. Although both are compulsory education and there is no such thing as dropping out for children of power plant workers, failing two main subjects or a total of four subjects still requires repeating a grade.
Lei Xiaofeng failed all seven subjects, including three main subjects. He came to Zhang Lei's house to ask Zhang Lei's mother not to make him repeat a grade. He had already repeated a grade once, and it would be too embarrassing to repeat it again.
In the eyes of students, teachers are omnipotent, but unfortunately, that's not the case. Which student should repeat a grade or not is not entirely up to the homeroom teacher. At most, the homeroom teacher can only say a few good words for someone. But with his grades, no amount of praise will help. Besides, teachers would love to get rid of such a plague. Who would want him to stay in their class? San Lei Zi is more than just naughty.
However, this Sanleizi clearly didn't see it that way. When he went out, he gave Zhang Lei a fierce look, and Zhang Lei felt a chill from that look.
It was probably a day when guests were coming. Not many people had come throughout the entire summer vacation, but the knocking on the door kept coming all day. Zhang Lei looked at the parents who were having a cordial conversation with the visiting students, and said with a sigh, "I'll go open the door!"
Standing at the door was someone Zhang Lei would never have imagined, and would never have seen before—Hu Zhongwei.
"What are you doing here?" Zhang Lei certainly wouldn't give him a friendly look. After that incident, Zhang Lei had planned to cause him trouble. One reason was that he was preoccupied with his internal energy cultivation and didn't have much energy to deal with other matters. The other reason was that this guy was always around Xiong Yong, which didn't give Zhang Lei many opportunities. Actually, those were just excuses. If he really wanted to find an opportunity, there would be plenty of them. The real reason was that Zhang Lei simply didn't want to go.
"Zhang Lei, that!" Hu Zhongwei saw Zhang Lei blocking the doorway, and it didn't seem like he was going to invite him in at all. He couldn't help but smile bitterly. Yes, given their current relationship, how could Zhang Lei possibly let him in? The two of them were no longer friends.
Although he hung out with Xiong Yong and his group, Hu Zhongwei knew in his heart that they weren't true friends.
"I don't want to see you during my happy summer vacation, so please don't touch my door again!" Zhang Lei stood there for a moment, then slammed the door shut.
"Zhang Lei, I'm sorry! Really, I'm sorry!" Hu Zhongwei heard the automatic lock click shut. He didn't have the courage to knock on the door again. After shouting loudly, he turned around and ran down the stairs. He hadn't expected Zhang Lei to forgive him before he came. The rift between the two of them was far more than just a fight. He didn't understand it himself, but he still felt sad. These tears were a way of repaying Zhang Lei.
"Leilei, who's at the door?" Dad asked from inside the house.
"Nobody, just knocked on the wrong door!" Zhang Lei scoffed. What's the point of having a teacher if an apology is useless? In a student's mind, a teacher can replace everything, including the police. So, encountering a good teacher is lucky, while encountering a bastard teacher is extremely unfortunate. As a vulnerable student, one doesn't have the power to change teachers; being able to do what Zhang Lei did is already considered exceptionally gifted.
"I think I heard someone named Zhang Lei!"
"No, you misheard. He's looking for that Korean girl across the hall, Zhang Lei! The name you gave me is too common; there are people with the same name everywhere!" Zhang Lei walked back to his room and gently closed the door.
It's impossible to say that Hu Zhongwei's arrival had no psychological impact on him. He still had many fond memories of Zhang Lei, his classmate of four years who had suddenly become his enemy. However, all those fond memories couldn't compare to the slap of betrayal. Whether you're an adult or a child, the most unbearable thing is a friend who betrays you.
Forgiveness is not so easy.
Three days later, Zhang Lei officially became a first-year junior high school student. There was only one class for Han students, so the classmates were basically the same as before, and there were not many changes, except for a few fewer students.
Two students from rural areas, including Chen Zhiquan, were gone. Their families hadn't valued them much to begin with; they used to have to help with farm work after school, and supposedly didn't even have time to do their homework. Whether it was really that bad, no one bothered to investigate. That's the outcome anyway. I heard the girl is getting married this year.
One more person missing is Hu Zhongwei. I heard that his father was temporarily transferred to a newly built power plant as an engineer, and he also transferred schools with him. Zhang Lei understood why Hu Zhongwei apologized to him a few days ago. Hmph, probably just to put his mind at ease. Although Zhang Lei felt a little melancholy, he still had no intention of treating him as a friend and reminiscing about him. Maybe his mother's words about him being petty since he was a child were not without reason.
Besides these, there were several other students in the class, including three who had repeated a grade, including Lei Xiaofeng. These students were all from Zhang Lei's mother's class. In addition to Lei Xiaofeng, there was another student who had reportedly repeated four grades. This student was named Wang Baozhong. Zhang Lei's mother said that he was a very honest person, but his mind was a little slow. He was very active in other areas, including labor. If you don't look at his academic performance, he was a very good student.
There was another one named Song Yadong, who was very similar to Zhang Lei from before. No matter how others bullied him, he never dared to fight back, but he was much stronger than Zhang Lei, tall and sturdy. He was just too timid, a bit like an ox, but an ox without a temper. He wasn't stupid, but he just couldn't concentrate on his studies, so he was also on the list of those repeating a grade this time.
However, these are all things Zhang Lei's mother said. A teacher's perspective is always different from that of a student. She also said that Lei Xiaofeng is loyal and righteous, but Zhang Lei doesn't seem like that guy at all.
There were also seven or eight students from a nearby small village. That village only had a primary school, and students would usually come to this affiliated middle school to study.
The new homeroom teacher is a female history teacher. I heard she's a very responsible teacher, but it seems she doesn't have a good relationship with Zhang Lei's parents. Teachers are human too, and the backstabbing and infighting among teachers is probably unparalleled in other professions. No wonder teachers are all in the civil service; the saying that the teaching profession is like the officialdom isn't just for show.
Zhang Lei was assigned to sit next to Lei Xiaofeng. The new teacher said it was so that Zhang Lei could help Lei Xiaofeng improve, and so on. It's unclear what ability a first-year junior high student has to reform a student that so many teachers can't teach. It seems that what Zhang Lei's parents mentioned yesterday about Teacher Cui being very dissatisfied with transferring these troublemakers to their class was true.
The junior high school curriculum is new and challenging for these new junior high school students. Unlike in the past when only Chinese and mathematics were considered regular subjects, now in addition to Chinese, mathematics, and English, history, politics, physics, and so on are all graded.
Suddenly, the number of subjects that needed to be emphasized increased, and the pressure felt by students also increased dramatically. Almost instantly, the learning atmosphere in the class became much stronger, and even Xiong Yong seemed to have transformed into a studious and enthusiastic student overnight.
But there are always students who don't take studying seriously. The three students who repeated a grade were like that, especially Lei Xiaofeng, who sat next to Zhang Lei. Because he sat next to Zhang Lei, Zhang Lei could see his every move clearly.
At that time, billiards was just becoming popular, and a few out-of-towners set up several billiard tables outdoors near the train station. Every day after school, the demand far exceeded the supply. Of course, there were also quite a few young people from the streets who were good at billiards and used it to gamble. Among them was San Leizi. Zhang Lei often saw him take out a stack of money and count it during class. To be honest, the amount was not small for a student, and Zhang Lei was quite envious.
Students usually get along well easily, and after spending more than two months together, Zhang Lei found that Lei Xiaofeng wasn't difficult to get along with, except that he often daydreamed during class. His daydreaming didn't usually bother Zhang Lei, and sitting with him was much more comfortable than sitting with Hu Zhongwei.
However, the teachers clearly didn't like Lei Xiaofeng, especially Ms. Yang, the Chinese teacher. Lei Xiaofeng was quite strange; he was supposed to be someone who wouldn't interrupt, but whenever there was a question, he would raise his hand unless he was completely distracted and couldn't hear anything. Calling on him was always wrong, and if you didn't call on him, he would definitely cause trouble in the rest of the class.
Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but this guy did it during an exchange visit from another school. It's like making the Chinese teacher lose face in front of everyone. Teachers care a lot about their reputation, so how could they not hold a grudge against Lei Xiaofeng?
Lei Xiaofeng was someone who was never afraid of teachers, but of course he didn't take them seriously either, and stubbornly persisted in his special hobby.
During the midterm exams, Zhang Lei felt he hadn't done very well. He had to consider his new deskmate's feelings during the exams, regardless of the teacher's opinion. Zhang Lei thought Lei Xiaofeng was quite good; he realized his perception of Lei Xiaofeng at home was probably flawed. Moreover, with Lei Xiaofeng sitting next to him, even Xiong Yong had to walk around him; it seemed no one wanted to use the passageway next to Lei Xiaofeng.
Teacher Cui is quite skilled in teaching. She subtly fostered a competitive atmosphere among the students, focusing not on anything else but on their rankings. Even students like Xiong Yong would pester the teacher for their scores. With this kind of atmosphere, students' academic performance naturally improved. This kind of trickery didn't work on seasoned students like Lei Xiaofeng, but thanks to Zhang Lei's special attention, Lei Xiaofeng's results in this exam were quite good. If he continues to achieve these results, his first promotion to the next grade in middle school should be no problem.
The parents were quite satisfied with the results. The student ranked second in the class, and his total score was only three points lower than the first place student, but more than ten points higher than the third place student.
The first place winner was unexpected by many. The winner was Leng Weifeng, a henchman from Xiong Yong's gang. He had always been unassuming, but this time he unexpectedly rose to prominence and took the first place.
Before that, many teachers were worried that this student would become the second Lei Xiaofeng, because they heard that his family seemed to have some trouble and his parents' relationship had become very strained.
Grades are everything; students who excel academically are always considered good by teachers, and Leng Weifeng instantly became a good student in the eyes of his teachers as well.
Money is omnipotent, but unlike grades, money is also evil. The formal breakdown of the relationship between Zhang Lei and Lei Xiaofeng began with money. Before the exam, Lei Xiaofeng borrowed thirty yuan from Zhang Lei, saying he would gamble on football and pay Zhang Lei back if he won. But the money seemed to have disappeared without a trace.
Thirty yuan was a lot of money back then. Zhang Lei only had ten yuan of pocket money each month, and he was still the richest one in the class. Fortunately, although the students there were quite wild and there were fights almost every day, there was basically no robbery. Maybe people in small places are more simple and honest.
However, this simplicity doesn't seem to suit everyone, especially not San Leizi.
Thirty yuan is a lot of money, and Zhang Lei didn't urge San Leizi. He was partly embarrassed, and partly because he was a little jealous of the famous San Leizi. Besides, his mother said that San Leizi was very loyal and there was nothing to worry about.
Land is cheap in small towns, so there are far more public football fields than you can imagine in big cities. There is such a football field near the railway south where Zhang Lei lives. In the summer, grass grows on its own and people can play football there. In the winter, it is surrounded by soil and watered to become an ice rink.
A few days after the midterm exam results came out, Zhang Lei was playing with some friends by the basketball court when San Leizi happened to pass by.