“Your mother and I have played together since we were little. She’s so much older than you, how can she not be your elder? Children should be more polite to their elders, you know?” As he spoke, he reached out a hand to give Zhang Lei a good slap.
Zhang Lei grabbed his sleeve, turning it around and gripping it tightly. Just because he didn't want to fight him today didn't mean he wanted to be beaten. Zhang Lei knew he wasn't that shameless.
"Oh, so according to you, my grandmother should be your elder too. My grandmother is home right now, and I have to go out. Go and tell her, and I'd like to see how you talk to your elders!" Zhang Lei slowly pulled his hand back from his sleeve, placing it back where it was most convenient to grab the collar.
He didn't hold back, grabbing Zhang Lei by the collar again and lifting him up with both hands. "No need. I'll tell you, you were the one who insulted my daughter a few days ago."
“They walked upstairs from my house, treating this place like a main road. Can’t I say something to them?” His daughter’s face looked like a flattened aluminum lunchbox that had been stepped on, perfectly reflecting their family’s excellent genes. So Zhang Lei didn’t have the usual embarrassment of talking to unfamiliar girls.
"No way! Who do you think you are? Only I can talk to my daughter. If you dare say another word to her, I'll beat you to a pulp!" He then decided to set an example for Zhang Lei so that Zhang Lei would remember it.
He tried to move his hand, but found that he could barely move it.
Zhang Lei pressed down on his wrists with his left hand, and pressed down on his forearms with his right hand, leaning forward and pressing down hard.
Perhaps Zhang Lei's physical strength is not as great as his, but under normal circumstances, it is difficult for a person to be strong enough to withstand the full force of another person. Zhang Lei is essentially using all his strength to bully his two hands, which are not convenient for him to use.
The elder immediately shrank back. Zhang Lei knew that this would make his forearm feel like it was broken. That's why grabbing someone's collar is such a trap. If you grab someone's collar but don't quickly follow up with other actions, giving the other person time to prepare, it's like handing over the initiative to someone else.
"I have something to do today and don't have time to discuss this with you, an elder. As for whether your daughter is something only you can talk about, we'll talk about it when we get back!" Zhang Lei said as he walked away.
The elder's hand wasn't broken; Zhang Lei had just used a bit too much force, so it hurt. It would probably be fine in a couple of seconds. In this situation, Zhang Lei either had to leave quickly or go all out and beat him until he couldn't fight back, until he was incapacitated. But that might cause a big fuss, since there was a police station not far from the alley entrance, and Zhang Lei didn't want to be noticed by the police.
However, Zhang Lei doesn't usually eat lunch at home. His grandmother is out playing mahjong at noon, and the nanny doesn't come back until late after buying groceries in the morning, so lunch is a bit late. Time is already tight, and this delay means he might not make it to school in time to deliver the letter. So the letter can only be delivered in the afternoon. Perhaps it's fate; things often only differ by a day or two.
What Zhang Lei didn't know was that Tian Zhiguo hadn't originally intended to write him a letter. They were all from the same group, and none of them were the kind of people who would think of writing a letter. Tian Zhiguo was only writing the letter because someone had asked him to.
The investigation into the Zuo family came to a standstill. Regardless of their usual relationship, the children of Yudian had learned the importance of loyalty very well. They couldn't use illegal means to coerce or bribe confessions, as those were explicitly prohibited.
In the end, they could only resort to some roundabout methods. One of them was sending an old man to practice boxing in front of Tian Zhiguo. Naturally, this slowed things down considerably, which is why it took the State Administration of Foreign Exchange a long time to find Zhang Lei.
However, due to the rumors surrounding Yudian, Zhang Lei practically fled to Shanghai. His exact address and phone number are generally unknown; probably only his parents know. Shanghai is a place the Zuo family is reluctant to venture into; it's the sphere of influence of several families with whom they have strained relations. If members of the Zuo family were to appear there, it would easily be seen as a provocation. While a quick in-and-out operation would be fine, a leisurely investigation there would likely be difficult to leave.
Parents would never betray their children, and they wouldn't waste their energy trying to influence Zhang Lei's parents. Besides, the Zhang family's influence in the local underworld shouldn't be underestimated, and with the National Security Bureau lurking behind the scenes, waiting to find fault with them, they could better control the Zuo family. This was standard practice, and the National Security Bureau couldn't easily violate it; otherwise, the backlash from the various families would be fierce.
Tian Zhiguo's initial situation was not as rosy as he had described. It was true that almost everyone from Yudian was a formidable fighter, and few from Tumen No. 2 Middle School could match him in a one-on-one fight. However, Tian Zhiguo did not have overwhelming strength to fight multiple opponents. Precisely because he stood out, he was targeted and his life became difficult.
At this time, the Zuo family appeared and gradually taught him some real skills. Tian Zhiguo began to behave exactly as he described in his letter at school, and the people sent by the Zuo family successfully became Tian Zhiguo's masters.
The master was very attentive and held nothing back when teaching, even though he was just an outsider and didn't have much to hide. The bond between master and disciple grew stronger, so what problem would there be if the master asked the disciple for a small favor?
That's why Tian Zhiguo repeatedly asked Zhang Lei for his mailing address in his letters. Zhang Lei wrote the school's address on the letter, and many classmates received letters from their former classmates. Everyone who received a letter was quite proud of themselves. Zhang Lei was also quite envious and hoped that Tian Zhiguo's next letter would arrive soon.
Nevertheless, Zhang Lei didn't plan to send any express mail; regular mail would suffice. Express mail was expensive to begin with, and this letter was overweight. There was still no news from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. Although he had managed to extract a small sum from Tian Xiao, he still needed to be frugal, as the cost of living in Shanghai was far higher than in Northeast China.
...
The Legend of the Mage: A masterpiece by a new author whose first book made it onto two bestseller lists. It would be a shame to miss it.
Episode 2, Metropolis, Chapter 27: Hating Me Is Better Than Ignoring Me
Before the official scores are released by the teacher, students will ask the teacher about their scores, not only their own, but also those of their friends, or the highest score, etc.
Most of these will be contributed as the most valuable gossip at this stage. In fact, the people who care most about grades are not teachers or parents, but precisely these students. If these students no longer care about grades, then for teachers, there is only one sentence to describe it: "The morale has fallen, and the team is difficult to manage!"
Kong Liang is from this school. She didn't do well on the direct admission exam, but later scored higher than the top city key school and got back in. She only got in because she had more friends here and was more familiar with the environment; otherwise, her score would have been high enough for the best city key school. Therefore, Kong Liang and her friends are very familiar with the teachers at this school. Having studied here for three years of junior high, they are the only ones who can get their scores from the teachers. If Zhang Lei wanted to ask, he probably wouldn't even be able to find the teachers' offices.
She now really dislikes Zhang Lei because he's actually part of that group of stubborn hooligans. Look at him, he seems not ashamed at all, but his grades are really high.
Everyone has different standards for evaluating others. In Zhang Lei's eyes, those stubborn people are just petty thugs, not even worthy of being called hooligans. Even without using his internal energy, he could easily take on three or four people at once, so they are not qualified to be called hooligans at all.
But in Kong Liang's mind, they were already petty thugs. One of them even dared to secretly pinch her cute, plump, and elastic buttocks while pushing her, showing no mercy whatsoever; it hurt terribly. What was most despicable was that after pinching her, he complained that the feel wasn't as good as yesterday's, which was something Kong Liang couldn't tolerate. As for Zhang Lei, judging from his tone, he was just a petty thug trying to act like a big shot.
Kong Liang may dislike Zhang Lei, but as someone once said, "If I can't make you fall in love with me, then I'll just make you hate me." Zhang Lei has unintentionally reached that level.
At first, Kong Liang was just casually asking Zhang Lei because she was interested in him. But the more she asked, the more she realized something was wrong. If she hadn't asked about his foreign language grades first, Kong Liang would already be worried that Zhang Lei would surpass her.
Kong Liang was second in the class during the first diagnostic test. The first place was the class monitor, and she had always considered him her target for competition. As for Zhang Lei, she hadn't paid any attention to him. Why would a second-place student care about a fifth-place student? If Zhang Lei hadn't offended her with those words, she probably wouldn't have even thought to ask about his score.
However, this time, class monitor Pan Sihao's scores are not good. He only scored above average in every subject he asked. Even if he gets full marks in the remaining subjects, he probably won't have a chance to surpass Kong Liang. Kong Liang has already excluded him from the competition. On the contrary, Zhang Lei seems to be emerging as a dark horse.
...
As soon as Kong Liang and the others returned, a group of people surrounded them. Everyone knew they had gone to ask about their scores. "How did it go? How many failed? Did I pass?"
For most students, the passing grade is a matter of life and death; the difference between passing and failing is significant.
"There are five people who failed the foreign language exam: you, you, you, and Lin Feng. There's one more I forgot, but I don't think any of you are among them. I just wrote down everyone's scores. The highest score in the foreign language exam is mine, 89 points!" Kong Liang's voice came from inside. The group of people who came with her were clearly centered around her, so she was the one who did the job of being the spokesperson.
Zhang Lei was actually itching to know his score too. Of course, he also wanted to find out as soon as possible; otherwise, he wouldn't have been in such a hurry to ask the proctor, the homeroom teacher, about his score during the exam. But thinking about Kong Liang's attitude towards him, he figured he'd just be wasting his time, and Zhang Lei really couldn't bring himself to ask. After all, he was thin-skinned and had an extremely strong sense of pride.
But then again, if Zhang Lei were really asked to rub his face against Kong Liang's bare butt, he probably wouldn't be happy about it. Peeking through the gaps in the crowd at Kong Liang's figure, which wasn't even showing, Zhang Lei swallowed hard. Sometimes reading too many miscellaneous books and understanding things too early isn't a good thing. Why isn't my superpower X-ray vision?
Just then, Kong Liang's voice, deliberately tinged with disdain, rang out crisply, "Zhang Lei, seventy-one points! I can't believe someone like you could even pass! It's outrageous!"
"Hehe, passing is good enough, I don't have that many ambitions!" Listen carefully, this crisp voice is also very pleasant, at least it's no worse than the sweet and delicate voice that Zhang Lei particularly likes.
Chen Zilai's voice is naturally sweet and soft, not intentionally so, it's just her usual voice. It's the most attractive to Zhang Lei, this repressed little pervert. Now that Zhang Lei has discovered a new hobby, a clear and crisp voice is also quite pleasing to the ear.
"What are you pretending for, hypocrite!" Kong Liang's voice came from inside, not too loud, not too soft, as if it were her own muttering, but Zhang Lei, in his position, could hear it clearly even through a large group of chattering people.
"In math, the highest scorer is Zhang Lei, with 98 points, which is higher than mine. Why did you even aim for such a high score? Just pass and hand in your paper!"
This is progress. Although her tone of voice is still unfriendly, Kong Liang is like a combative little cricket. But at least she is willing to talk to Zhang Lei now. Before, she would not have bothered to argue with Zhang Lei even if they were arguing.
"Oh, you're lucky. It seems you got the questions you weren't sure about right. So, what was your score?" Zhang Lei was still too embarrassed to move closer, and the two of them started talking from a distance.
"Ninety-two, so you're smug because you're lower than me? You're so clever! You're only six points higher. I'm eighteen points higher than you in foreign languages!" Kong Liang's words were still provocative, but they were much better than the harshness of her first sentence.
"XX, 82 points, XX, 91 points..." After Kong Liang finished speaking, Zhang Lei really wanted to continue. Even if her tone was unfriendly, just having her say a few more words to him would make Zhang Lei happy, even more so than knowing that he got first place in math. After all, that was already a habit. But it seemed like the first time Kong Liang had spoken to him like that.