"That's just how Zhang Lei is. You can't beat others, so why are you always showing off to them!" This is Xiong Yong's logic: if you can't beat someone, you should just obediently accept being bullied and not put up any resistance. As for jokes, you can't make any of them.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Lei understood that Hu Zhongwei had probably become one of Xiong Yong's gang members. That car was likely the key to his advancement, and this slap was the proof of his promotion.
Honestly, almost every boy in Xiong Yong's class wanted to get in. Even Zhang Lei wouldn't let any opportunity slip by. He also envied the few who could get along well with them. However, not just anyone could get in. If everyone joined their gang, who would Xiong Yong bully? If he couldn't bully his classmates, his life would probably be pretty dull.
It took Zhang Lei a while to realize what had happened. He glared hatefully at Hu Zhongwei, who had completely mingled with Xiong Yong and his gang. Just then, Hu Zhongwei turned and glanced at him, his expression unreadable through his blurry, tearful eyes.
Xiao Zhang Lei knew that no matter what expression he had, their friendship was over. Hu Zhongwei was no longer his friend. Even if he didn't care about what happened today, Hu Zhongwei would never go back to hanging out with bullied kids like him.
Zhang Lei also considered rushing up to save face, but when he saw Xiong Yong among the people gathered there, Zhang Lei's courage vanished, and he could only guide himself slowly back to the classroom through blurry, tearful eyes.
At the time, this matter seemed insignificant. Xiong Yong and his friends had always enjoyed playing the "pledge of allegiance" game, and there were various tests to be found in order to join the gang. However, for Zhang Lei, this might even have had a greater impact than the time he transferred schools when he was a child.
Regardless of Hu Zhongwei's opinion, Zhang Lei always considered him one of his two best friends. Although Hu Zhongwei liked to fool around in class and often dragged Zhang Lei into it, especially after the new homeroom teacher was introduced, Zhang Lei never blamed him. In his heart, that's what friends should be like.
But after this incident, not only was Hu Zhongwei no longer his friend, but Zhang Lei also began to look at his other friends with a hint of wariness.
"You were really embarrassing that day. It's not like you couldn't beat him, but you just stood there dumbfounded and got slapped by him. You were so scared that you didn't even react after he hit you. All you did was cry!" This was Tian Zhiguo scolding Zhang Lei. Several days had passed, but Tian Zhiguo and a few other close friends still scolded Zhang Lei whenever they thought about it.
"I didn't expect it. At first, I thought he was just joking with me. I wasn't just scared, I was stunned!" Zhang Lei tried to argue. Being scared was embarrassing, but being stunned seemed much better.
"Keep talking nonsense, keep talking nonsense!" A few friends cheered, and that's how it always ended the last few times.
Zhang Lei understood that they didn't mean any harm. At least compared to Hu Zhongwei, these guys could be considered friends. The reason Tian Zhiguo kept bringing up that matter was mostly because Zhang Lei had been wavering between him and Hu Zhongwei, and he was just deliberately bringing it up now to show off.
What they didn't know was that Zhang Lei had secretly made a vow that this kind of thing would never happen again. No matter who it was, if they made a move, he would retaliate immediately and would never stand there dumbfounded, no matter who it was.
This was actually the biggest change in Zhang Lei's childhood. From that day on, for a long time afterward, even if a teacher tapped him on the head, he would immediately retaliate. Being vindictive was not enough to describe his mentality. Fortunately, his parents were not the type to resort to violence, otherwise, who knows what kind of trouble might have ensued. Under strong psychological suggestion, Zhang Lei had developed a conditioned reflex, and there was really no guarantee that his parents wouldn't retaliate.
This transformation is also slow, and the psychological suggestion takes effect gradually. During this transformation, the final exam arrives.
Primary school mainly focuses on two subjects: Chinese and math. Zhang Lei was relatively fortunate as a primary school student when he was young, at least he didn't have English classes. However, with the increasing emphasis on holistic education, primary school students are required to learn more about various aspects of character development.
At the end of the first semester of sixth grade, Zhang Lei tied for first place in Chinese with a girl and in math with a boy. In other words, he was the absolute number one in total score, which was Zhang Lei's best performance in elementary school.
Zhang Lei was already worried that this qigong was affecting him. He also felt that his recent condition seemed to be problematic. After practicing this qigong, instead of the refreshing feeling described in the novels, he felt increasingly tired.
Since he did so well on the exam, it meant that most of it was just his imagination. Zhang Lei subjectively didn't want to believe that the internal skills he had painstakingly pieced together—no, researched—were not only useless but also had side effects.
This is mainly a psychological issue. After realizing that Qigong cannot replace sleep, Zhang Lei practiced for a few hours every night and then slept normally. He felt that his mental state had improved a lot. It seemed that his previous lack of concentration and memory decline were not due to Qigong, but simply because he was sleepy.
However, as he developed self-examination, Zhang Lei became increasingly clear about where the flow of energy in his body and the vital energy in his lower dantian came from. Although he was slowly absorbing vital energy from the outside world, its main source was still other parts of his body, such as muscles, bones, blood, and internal organs.
These parts are constantly absorbing vital energy from the outside world, but the speed is so slow that even a self-examination a few days ago could not detect it. Zhang Lei only just discovered this secret.
It's like a door. Once this door is opened, many mysterious things from the past become clear. Zhang Lei gradually understands what exactly is extracted when this self-examination is activated, why he often feels weak after using this superpower, and why he feels weak instead of having immense strength after practicing Qigong.
Knowing the solution made things easier. Zhang Lei tried to guide the vital energy that had been drawn to his lower dantian back to the muscles in his right hand. It seemed to be easy, and he did feel an incredibly powerful sensation in an instant. He clenched his hands together, and with just a little force in his right hand, his left hand was already aching from the grip. If he had used any more force, Zhang Lei estimated that he would have cried out.
Zhang Lei was unaware that, according to conventional methods, one wouldn't extract vital energy from the body. In Chinese martial arts, this energy is categorized as innate vital energy, the foundation of the human body. Normal cultivation methods involve absorbing and refining the energy of heaven and earth through the meridians, specifically from the Baihui or Yongquan acupoints. The energy within one's own body is strictly protected, and not a single drop is used.
In fact, aside from special, desperate techniques like the Heavenly Demon Disintegration, this portion of internal energy cannot be utilized. The thing Zhang Lei has created is essentially a constant state of desperate struggle, which is extremely harmful to the body and cannot be recovered from simply by absorbing external energy.
After understanding how to activate his superpower, Zhang Lei also began to try using the internal energy stored in his dantian to run a self-examination. Sure enough, he could still activate it normally, but he no longer felt weak after a few hours. He just felt as if the internal energy in his lower abdomen had been instantly drained. Fortunately, the internal energy here would recover on its own, and the absorption speed was much faster.
Throughout the entire winter vacation, Zhang Lei spent his time either visiting his grandfather's house with his parents for the Chinese New Year or researching how to use his internal energy. Fortunately, during his research, he would only throw a couple of punches with a "hehe" laugh. Zhang Lei was a quiet child in his parents' eyes, and he would always put a novel in front of him and pretend to read, so they didn't notice anything different.
Nothing much happened during this winter break because Zhang Lei stayed home all the time. Apart from visiting his grandfather's house, he only went to the house of his childhood nanny once.
The first episode, like an internal drug, is followed by the fourth episode, which focuses on revenge and framing.
Everyone called this nanny Mrs. Xiao. Mrs. Xiao's husband worked for the railway. When she had nothing to do at home, she would look after other people's children. She didn't charge much, and the house that the school had allocated to Zhang Lei's parents was close to. So they entrusted their child to Mrs. Xiao's care.
Mrs. Xiao wasn't a professional childcare worker, and her business wasn't doing very well either. At the time, Zhang Lei was the only child she had to look after. Mrs. Xiao wasn't doing it for the money; the ten yuan a month was just enough to supplement her household expenses. Because of her conscientiousness and responsibility, almost every family that Mrs. Xiao cared for became her friend.
Mrs. Xiao's house is very close to Mr. Zhang Lei's house, so Mrs. Xiao always makes sure to visit Mr. Zhang Lei when he goes to his grandfather's house for the New Year. Compared to his grandfather's house, Zhang Lei is probably closer to Mrs. Xiao's family.
Since Zhang Lei is the link between the two families, the conversation naturally revolves around Zhang Lei's childhood.
"Speaking of which, my eldest grandson is the smartest child I've ever seen. I still tell people that I once saw a child who could talk at three and a half months old!" Old Mrs. Xiao hugged Zhang Lei in front of her as she sat, her eyes crinkling with laughter.
"Hmm, I didn't believe it when you first told me. Who talks about things so early!" Zhang Lei's mother looked at her son with a smile. She had always been very proud of this. No matter how many times she told him, that feeling had not diminished, especially since her son's exam results were so good this time. He even got first place in Chinese, a subject he was not good at.
"But Leilei started saying everything when he was four and a half months old: Dad, Mom, Grandpa. That's when I could believe that he was really talking so early! But the fact that he didn't say 'Mom' first, but 'Dad' first, has always made me jealous!" As she spoke, she flicked Zhang Lei's nose with her hand.
No one noticed that Zhang Lei suddenly grabbed his right hand with his left. "That was close!" Zhang Lei exclaimed inwardly. If he hadn't reacted quickly and grabbed his hand, he would have reached out and scratched his mother's nose. Tsk tsk, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
“That year during the Spring Festival, I took him to his grandfather’s house. Dali, the second son’s son, was half a year older than our child, but he couldn’t say anything yet. Our Xiaolei, on the other hand, could say ‘Grandpa,’ ‘Uncle,’ and ‘Auntie,’ which made his second aunt very jealous!”
“They’ll say things like, ‘What does their little Lei eat? Their little Lei eats milk powder brought back from Shanghai, of course he’s developing well!’”
That's how mothers are; they can talk about even the slightest thing their son does for half a day. When it comes to their sons, if there's anything they can be proud of, no mother won't seize the opportunity to show off.
...
"May you never be able to poop!" This had become a common wish for Zhang Lei and his friends when they parted ways. Zhang Lei waved and headed home. After arguing his case, he had earned the right to go home alone, and the key tied to the thick wire around his neck finally came in handy.
Actually, the key tied to that thick wire is used for much more than just opening doors. This semester, many people have clearly noticed the change in Zhang Lei. He is no longer the child who was afraid of fighting. The threat of fighting can no longer scare him; instead, it makes his eyes light up with excitement. That thick double-stranded wire is what he uses when he fights.
The wire was quite thick, and there was a rather heavy key attached to it. Although it wouldn't show much power through the thick clothes in the cold winter, it would definitely leave a bloody mark if it hit someone's face.
Everyone is saying that Zhang Lei used to be a fighter, but once he starts fighting, he really goes all out.
Zhang Lei himself didn't know why, but whenever someone showed any inclination to fight him, he would feel excited, and a fighting spirit seemed to well up directly from his heart. Fortunately, fights between students were rarely reported, and among parents and teachers other than the homeroom teacher, Zhang Lei was still considered a good kid.
Although he has learned how to use this internal energy, it can only last for a short time. Moreover, Zhang Lei can feel that his strength is getting weaker and weaker when he does not use internal energy. Although some areas will be strengthened after internal energy is poured in, it is not much stronger than before. If the natural growth of his body during this period is taken into account, it is still unknown whether it is a positive number.
He vaguely sensed something was wrong, but Zhang Lei was unwilling to give up so easily, and he really couldn't bear to part with that pleasurable feeling. Now, it was less about Zhang Lei practicing to become stronger and more about him pursuing that kind of pleasure.