However, even though Xiong Yong, who was turning to run away, only smashed one pane of glass, the rest would definitely be blamed on him. Zhang Lei had already planned to frame him, otherwise he wouldn't have specifically sought out Xiong Yong's homework to tear up. Although he didn't use any that had been written on to avoid being too obvious, elementary school students always think that teachers are all-knowing and all-powerful, and Zhang Lei also believed that Jiang Zhiguo would have a chance to trace the blame to Xiong Yong.
The motive is obvious; Zhang Lei deliberately chose a time when Xiong Yong had a motive, and it turns out that Xiong Yong did indeed come to take revenge. Although Zhang Lei framed him, he wasn't entirely wrong.
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Now Xiong Yong is foolishly providing the time to commit the crime. Even if no one sees him on the street, his family will know that he was not at home during this time. His mother and brother don't need to participate in any organizational activities.
Moreover, judging from Zhang Lei's appearance, he didn't seem to have come prepared in advance. Zhang Lei had a scarf wrapped around his face and was wearing clothes he didn't usually wear. Xiong Yong, on the other hand, had his coat open, was covered in sweat, and had taken off his hat. It was obvious that he had just finished playing football and had impulsively grabbed a stone and run over while passing by.
In that case, most of the kids who played football with him would know that Xiong Yong left near Jiang Zhi's house on the way home. Zhang Lei didn't believe that he would have such meticulous thoughts. If he had that ability, he wouldn't have failed two subjects.
Even if these kids didn't betray him, they couldn't hide anything. Zhang Lei knew very well that under the teacher's questioning, even if these kids didn't tell the truth, they would reveal flaws that anyone who wasn't blind could see, especially since the teacher already had someone to suspect.
Zhang Lei waited a little longer before leisurely walking out of the outhouse. As usual, he walked back home along the river, ate the meal his parents had prepared that morning, did his homework, went to bed to practice his martial arts, and went to sleep. It seemed that everything was no different from usual.
The next day, Jiang Zhiguo didn't come to class. The school's science teacher substituted for him. A group of students surrounded the popular science teacher, asking him all sorts of questions. Zhang Lei, not wanting to stand out, also squeezed in with great interest. The science teacher, who wasn't careful with his words, vividly recounted Jiang Zhiguo's unfortunate night.
After Jiang Zhiguo finished his organizational activities, it was already past 10 p.m. when he stayed to pack up his things. The other teachers had already gone home. Jiang Zhiguo, being an activist and living nearby, took on the task of packing up. As a result, he went home alone, without any other teachers going with him.
Jiang Zhiguo first discovered that the keyhole was blocked, locking him out. Then he found that the glass had been smashed. However, he managed to reach through the broken glass and open the window, but then he cut his foot. So he couldn't come to class for the next few days, and the science teacher would be filling in for Zhang Lei's class.
Zhang Lei secretly glanced at Xiong Yong, and sure enough, the kid's face was very ugly. He probably hadn't expected such serious consequences and was worried.
However, Zhang Lei knew that a shard of glass could not possibly injure a foot. Jiang Zhiguo wouldn't go barefoot. The most likely cause of the injury was the pin that Zhang Lei had prepared for him in the toilet. The pin was quite sturdy. However, after injuring his foot, Jiang Zhiguo would probably fall into the latrine. He probably wouldn't be ashamed to publicize such an embarrassing incident, so he would just say that he was injured by glass.
"I must be careful not to look guilty like that fool. Let him draw all the suspicion away," Zhang Lei kept reminding himself. For some reason, Zhang Lei suddenly remembered an old movie where a brave soldier, holding a walkie-talkie, shouted pointlessly, "Fire at me!"
So sad and so strong, so strong and so sad!
Episode 1: Internal Skills Like Drugs, Chapter 5: Internal Skills Like Drugs
Jiang Zhiguo did not disappoint Zhang Lei. Five days later, he limped to the school. He said that he was a young teacher and could not delay the normal teaching of the school because of his own affairs, nor could he add burden to other teachers. But Zhang Lei knew that he was afraid that it would be difficult to investigate if it took too long, so he came to the school early to find the culprit.
It's not easy to entrust this kind of matter to someone else for investigation. To suspect his own students over something like this would be tantamount to admitting his teaching failure. But besides these students, Jiang Zhiguo couldn't think of anyone else he had offended here. Although they were also local students who had passed the teacher's college entrance exam here and then returned to their hometowns for job assignments, Jiang Zhiguo couldn't think of anyone else who could harbor such deep hatred towards him.
Although Zhang Lei deliberately chose the time when Xiong Yong was the most suspicious, Jiang Zhiguo still suspected him the most. After all, those traps were full of clever ideas, and Jiang Zhiguo thought that even he probably didn't have the ability to come up with such traps.
Just like that lock, he thought that once he dug out what was inside, everything would be fine. But when he was resting at home, he spent the whole morning digging and still couldn't get everything out. Obviously, there must have been something else inside besides the chewing gum, otherwise it wouldn't have been so hard to remove. In the end, Jiang Zhiguo had no choice but to reluctantly buy a new lock.
Therefore, in Jiang Zhiguo's eyes, Xiong Yong was naturally and sadly excluded. Only students who were usually very bright could come up with these methods, and the biggest suspect among them was undoubtedly Zhang Lei.
"What can I do? Do homework, watch TV, and sleep!" Zhang Lei tried his best to make the same expression he had when he saw the idiot in Yanji City last time. "This month, I've been going home with Tian Zhiguo and Wang Wenren every day. No matter which day you ask me, it's always the same. Remember, we walked together on Wednesdays, is that not allowed?"
The conflict between Zhang Lei and Jiang Zhiguo has become somewhat public, especially after Zhang Lei's father spoke with Principal Fu of the primary school. Jiang Zhiguo has not found any obvious fault and dares not make things difficult for Zhang Lei anymore, since the principal has already given special instructions.
"Teacher Jiang, may I go back now?" Without waiting for Jiang Zhiguo's reply, Zhang Lei walked back to his seat with a smug smile, picked up a book and stood it in front of him in a serious manner, but that couldn't hide the gloating smile on his face.
He knew that while this would make Jiang Zhiguo hate him even more, it would also reduce the suspicion he faced. He hadn't considered things carefully enough; while he was doing it, everything seemed ingenious, but in hindsight, it was full of flaws, especially regarding the intelligence issue. Zhang Lei glanced at Xiong Yong; this guy didn't seem to have that kind of high intelligence—that was the biggest weakness. To frame him, the best approach would be to smash the glass with a rock, but then why bother framing him? He could have done it himself.
"Xiong Yong, come here for a second!" Jiang Zhiguo seemed to be turning this class meeting into his Sherlock Holmes experiment classroom. However, Zhang Lei had never thought that the new homeroom teacher's voice was so pleasant, especially the voice of Xiong Yong. It really should be recorded and played back over and over again as a tenor.
Seeing Xiong Yong's tense expression, Zhang Lei knew that the kid was probably not going to make it. Oh Buddha, since you can't escape the matter of breaking the glass, then you might as well accept the rest, including the wonderful thing of making the great homeroom teacher swim in the dung.
As expected, Xiong Yong couldn't escape in the end. After several rounds of false threats, he confessed. Zhang Lei, who was sitting in the first row, could hear about 30-50% of Jiang Zhiguo's deliberately lowered, authoritative voice and Xiong Yong's tearful protests.
"What? You say I like to cry? You cry your eyes out just the same way, more girly than a woman! When Jiang Zhiguo asked me, I answered him confidently and logically." Listening to the two men's conversation, Zhang Lei felt an indescribable joy! If he had to describe Zhang Lei's feelings in one word, it would only be "awesome." If he had to use two…
Such a sobbing plea was of course useless. Xiong Yong's crime was quickly determined, and as Zhang Lei had hoped, although there was no severe torture, Xiong Yong was bravely forced to bear all the blame. His young heart also experienced what it meant to be wronged. "Poor thing!" Zhang Lei finally couldn't help but stand on the empty playground and speak out for Xiong Yong with a smile.
At this point, no one dared to speak up for Xiong Yong. He should have realized that his friends were all bad influences. Only my kind-hearted Zhang Lei would have such a sense of justice. Zhang Lei silently gave them a scathing critique.
Jiang Zhiguo didn't make a big deal out of this. He was a new teacher in his first year, and making a big deal out of it wouldn't do him any good. The other people in the school still just thought that he had cut his foot on broken glass when he climbed out of the window.
However, Xiong Yong didn't get away with it within the class. Jiang Zhiguo didn't dare to hit him, but he had many other ways to make fun of him. Jiang Zhiguo, who was in charge, sacrificed his spare time every day and prepared lessons in the classroom, just to keep Xiong Yong behind to copy, write, and do other things as punishment.
Those who stayed on duty during that period were always on edge, because even if there was just a little dust, Xiong Yong would still fly into a rage, even with Jiang Zhiguo present. Although he didn't dare to lay a hand on them on the spot, he would inevitably utter terrifying words like, "You wait!"
Unlike others, Xiong Yong's words weren't just empty promises; he kept his word very often. Therefore, after several such instances, Jiang Zhiguo finally made the wisest decision of his teaching career: from then on, other students wouldn't have to do chores after school; Xiong Yong would be responsible for cleaning the classroom after he finished copying the lessons.
This made Zhang Lei even more aware of the correctness of his nail placement. It was a good thing that benefited the whole class. Although it was only once a week, even this time was very annoying for these elementary school students. However, this good thing could not be publicized. This could be considered doing good deeds without wanting others to know. Jiang Zhiguo also said that this was a virtue. Zhang Lei sometimes listened to the new teacher.
As for Xiong Yong... I've never heard of sacrificing him for the happiness of everyone. Everyone would bless and pray for him on days when he didn't have to clean and could go home early. It's said that this is the source of divine power. If Xiong Yong becomes a god in the future, he might even have to thank this period of time.
However, Xiong Yong actually benefited from this. He had been worried that three people in the class would not be able to get into middle school, and one of those spots was definitely his.
Moreover, Xiong Yong was different from the other two rural students. If he couldn't go to middle school, his parents would really beat him to death. But after Jiang Zhiguo's strict supervision for a period of time, Xiong Yong's grades actually improved. After all, the elementary school curriculum was not difficult. As long as there were no major problems with intelligence, everyone could pass. And the power plant's affiliated middle school only needed to pass one main subject to be accepted.
Everything seemed to be getting better. Zhang Lei felt that he was getting better and better at his studies. Xiong Yong was thinking about how to escape from Jiang Zhiguo's clutches all day long. Although his temper was getting more and more irritable, as long as he stayed away from Jiang Zhiguo, he couldn't think of anything.
If it weren't for that physical fitness test.
When we graduated from elementary school, there was a physical fitness test that required all elementary school students to participate in. It was not like a regular physical education exam where you could just fool the physical education teacher and pass.
Zhang Lei wasn't too worried at first. Although he was a little nervous during physical education exams in the past, he could still barely pass each time. Anyway, as long as he passed, that was fine. Besides, he didn't have internal energy in the past. Now, if he used internal energy, Zhang Lei could guarantee that he could grab anyone in the class within ten meters.
When the test actually started, Zhang Lei realized something was wrong. That's right, he was indeed the fastest in the class within ten meters, and no one could surpass him even within twenty meters. It was just a pity that the physical education test did not include a ten-meter or twenty-meter event.
Zhang Lei's meager internal energy was exhausted at around fifteen meters. He could only rely on his weakened muscles to finish the rest. He could manage to keep going for the first five meters thanks to his initial advantage, but he couldn't go any further. Even the shortest qualifying event, fifty meters, seemed like an unreachable finish line for Zhang Lei without the support of his internal energy.
In the end, Zhang Lei's score was more than double the required score, but not just twice as good; it was double the time taken.
That's why people always have doubts about their own feelings. Even Zhang Lei, with his superpower of clear self-examination, couldn't help but have some doubts. Only when the actual physical test results were in front of him did Zhang Lei truly believe that the feeling of muscles constantly atrophying due to the continuous depletion of vital energy was real.
People are like that; they don't learn until they're faced with dire consequences. Zhang Lei was no exception. Only now could he truly confront the problems caused by his self-created internal energy technique. In the past, he always harbored wishful thinking and avoided the issue. Otherwise, he would have already gotten to the bottom of it by simply taking a quick look at the table.
Although muscles can generate greater power when filled with internal energy, the function of the muscles themselves has decreased. Without the filling of internal energy, the effect is also much lower. After running, Zhang Lei felt that all the muscles in his body were expressing their opinions with soreness.
It wasn't just his muscles; in just fifty meters, Zhang Lei felt as if his throat was being slashed open, dry and itchy, and his chest felt like it was about to explode. He used to feel this way only after running a full kilometer, but now he'd only run fifty. Fortunately, his heart was only beating a little more violently, unlike his respiratory system, which gave him some apprehension. He wasn't terrified, but a voice inside him seemed to be telling him that his body's internal functions were already like those of a fifty or sixty-year-old man.
With the situation truly looming large, Zhang Lei no longer wanted to run away. In fact, at this point, there was no way to escape even if he wanted to. After returning home, he conducted several simple tests on himself.
The test results completely disillusioned Zhang Lei. This haphazardly cobbled-together internal energy cultivation technique had no health benefits whatsoever; on the contrary, it had caused his physical functions to decline to a point that terrified him.