Zhang Lei's eyes darted around, and he walked to a coin-operated phone booth, taking out half of his breakfast money for tomorrow. Luckily, he'd just gotten some money from Tian Xiao earlier, otherwise Zhang Lei wouldn't have been so willing to part with it. But thinking about it now, Zhang Lei felt a pang of regret. He'd been too flustered that time and had forgotten to check if the two little ones had any money in their pockets. What a waste! Thinking about it, blood-stained banknotes—weren't they quite evocative?
"Hello, is this the Kong Family Mansion?" Zhang Lei tried his best to make his voice sound more mature, like a young man who had just started working. Luckily, someone was home at Kong Liang's house at that moment.
"Hmm, who is this?" came the voice of a middle-aged woman from the other end of the phone.
"Oh, Auntie, it's like this, I'm from the telecommunications company. This virus has been spreading quite badly lately, so I'm sorry, we've lost your home address. We don't know where to send the phone bill. Could you please provide it to us?" Zhang Lei tried his best to imitate the Shanghainese accent when speaking Mandarin.
"Okay, listen carefully, don't lose it again, it's Room X, Building X, Floor X, Mingyuyuan, Xiangfeng Road!" Aunt Kong on the other end of the phone was quite easy to talk to, much better-tempered than Kong Liang. Zhang Lei was very grateful for this, because if she had a bad temper like Kong Liang, she would be difficult to deal with.
"Okay, thank you, Auntie! And one more thing, could you please keep that a secret? You see, I specifically chose to call you during my lunch break..." Zhang Lei added at the end.
"It's alright, young man. You probably got a virus from playing games on your computer. Finding a job isn't easy, so work hard. Auntie won't tell on you!"
'She's definitely easier to talk to than that girl Kong Liang!' Zhang Lei thought to himself. 'If Kong Liang's personality is like her mother's, then she's probably his mother, but would I still like her then? I'm not so sure!'
Zhang Lei designed this character to be a young man who had just joined the company, lost a file while playing on the computer, and then secretly called a client. Since they were going to put on an act, they might as well go all the way. Even if they suspected something, it would be difficult for them to suspect Zhang Lei, but it was better to be cautious.
During the exam, the two students who were originally sitting next to each other had to be separated. One classroom was definitely not enough, so the students in the class had to be divided into two groups to take the exam separately. Zhang Lei and Kong Liang were assigned to two different exam rooms according to their student numbers. He missed her quite a bit after not seeing her for a few days.
But thinking of Kong Liang reminded Zhang Lei of Wang Ze. If it weren't for his own relationship with his dream girl, things wouldn't have gotten so bad. Even if Wang Ze wanted to copy my answers this exam, he probably wouldn't have had anything to copy. Damn it, copying my homework and exam papers while secretly sabotaging me—I'll remember this humiliation. Thinking about how Wang Ze's grades plummeted from average to near the bottom because he had no one to copy from, Zhang Lei couldn't help but want to shout out his excitement.
In fact, the things we can't have are often the best things. Most people are like that. If Kong Liang were to be affectionate and sweet to Zhang Lei, he would probably avoid her like the plague. Of course, that's unlikely at the moment.
Children who don't do well in school are most afraid of exams, but good students like Zhang Lei look forward to exams because it's where they can show their strengths and enjoy the sense of superiority while passing notes to others.
Humans are always pursuing this sense of superiority. There's a saying, "Returning home in glory is like wearing fine clothes at night!" Why? Because when you're rich, the most important thing is to show off to your fellow villagers. Wearing fine clothes at night—the clothes are still the same, and the comfort level doesn't change, but since no one is watching, the thrill is gone.
Why do stock markets have VIP rooms, banks have VIP lanes, and trains have sleeper waiting rooms? These are all to satisfy those who feel superior, allowing them to enjoy better services while being wealthy, and to receive envious or jealous glances from others. In comparison, those envious or jealous glances are probably more important. If all waiting rooms were the same as sleeper waiting rooms, then there would probably be no special feeling in a sleeper waiting room.
Schools are a partial microcosm of society. Sports meets and competitions are the days for athletically gifted students to shine. And exams are the time for these same students to demonstrate their strengths, basking in envious glances, graciously offering to let others copy their answers to multiple-choice or fill-in-the-blank questions, and enjoying the gratitude in return. After thinking it through, Zhang Lei realized he was actually quite wicked.
What made Zhang Lei even happier was that this time it wasn't Wang Ze who copied his paper. He hoped that Wang Ze wouldn't be able to find anyone to copy from. Amen, God bless, Amitabha, and may the heavens grant him peace.
The things that make me happier than seeing others suffer are seeing more "others" suffer, and seeing "others" I don't like suffer.
Zhang Lei knew Wang Ze's abilities better than anyone. He was a lucky guy who performed exceptionally well in the high school entrance exam, and his tutor's predictions were spot-on, even giving him a perfect score on his Chinese composition. Although his high school entrance exam results were good, leading the teacher to appoint him as the physics class representative, he fell behind in high school. He also didn't study hard enough, and for all his exams except English, he copied Zhang Lei's answers, and for English, he copied the answers from the English class representative at the back.
To be honest, that English class representative was quite competent. Her English level was good, and she was willing to help struggling students, especially during exams.
In this way, he didn't even need to study for the exams, since his deskmate was a pro. As long as he could copy a little from Zhang Lei, he would at least pass.
However, after Zhang Lei regarded him as an enemy, there were no small tests before the midterm exams. But this was fine, as it exposed his true colors completely and made the teacher reconsider his wavering resolve. Actually, being the physics class representative wasn't bad, and it saved Zhang Lei from feeling embarrassed about taking Lin Feng's math class representative position. Zhang Lei still had some good intentions.
...
"Teacher, how did I do on my math test?" Zhang Lei called out to Ms. Wu, the homeroom teacher, as she passed by, taking advantage of her presence.
Mathematics was tested first, and teachers who graded quickly may have already finished grading, especially students like Zhang Lei who had been given special attention; their scores came out the fastest.
"Never mind that, focus on doing well on the current chemistry exam first!" Teacher Wu didn't answer Zhang Lei's question directly and walked forward.
Zhang Lei quickly prepared the note in his hand, ready to throw it to the guy next to him.
Just then, Wu Ping suddenly turned around and tapped Zhang Lei's table with her knuckles.
Zhang Lei's heart was pounding in his chest. Getting caught cheating had serious consequences. Even though he was considered helpful, he would still receive a warning. That would be terrible—getting a punishment for fighting even though he hadn't actually done it! What a loss!
Now I just hope the homeroom teacher can be lenient.
"You did well on your math test. I shouldn't have told you, but I was afraid you'd get distracted during the test if I didn't tell you... Hey? Zhang Lei, what's wrong? You don't look too good." Wu Ping looked at Zhang Lei while pressing her hand on the table. Zhang Lei's face was like a leaf in the early morning, covered with dewdrops. It was a pity that there wasn't a pretty girl like a cicada to absorb the dew.
"It's alright, teacher. I just had a slight stitch in my side, it'll be fine soon!" Zhang Lei's complexion gradually returned to normal, and his voice went from hoarse to clear.
"Oh, don't be too nervous, it's just a regular exam!" Wu Ping patted Zhang Lei on the shoulder, then said loudly, "You guys too, don't be too nervous. This isn't the college entrance exam or the high school graduation exam. If you're nervous now, what will you do for the college entrance exam or the high school graduation exam?"
A teacher is a teacher; she always remembers to give a lecture, no matter when. Of course, she didn't know that it was her turn around that had startled Zhang Lei so much that the crumpled paper in his palm was completely soaked with sweat.
Zhang Lei didn't care whether the handwriting on the note was still clear or not; he immediately tossed it aside, leaving it to Zhang Lei to see if it was legible.
Zhang Lei values his studies the most right now, as his parents place all their hopes on him. This is one reason why he is nervous, but normally no matter how nervous he is, he shouldn't be this weak.
Zhang Lei could feel the pressure on his heart. His heart couldn't even withstand the slightest tension. Just a moment ago, he felt as if his heart was about to explode. It seemed that everything else had to be put aside for now, and solving his heart problem was the most important thing.
Not only his heart, but his sympathetic nervous system also has serious problems, otherwise he wouldn't be sweating so much. Zhang Lei had never really thought about the nervous system before, but now it seems that the vital energy in his nervous system has also been drained.
...
My good friend's book is good, but it's a bit of a flop. If you have any space, please bookmark it. It's called "The War of the Sith," just to give the author some face.
Episode 2: Metropolis, Chapter 26: A Letter from an Old Friend
Self-assessment also improves in effectiveness as proficiency increases; in the International Bureau, it's called the Superpower Index—basically, they're the same thing.
Most superpowers undergo a qualitative change when the index reaches 1,000. Self-examination is the same. At the beginning, Zhang Lei did think about strengthening his nerves, but at that time, self-examination had not reached that level of precision. He could only see the changes in his nerves recently.
Last time, Zhang Lei tested his ability index again. This time it was more accurate because the patch didn't need to be removed so quickly. Zhang Lei's ability index was 1,685. If the ability index grows relatively evenly, then Zhang Lei's internal optic nerve ability will be at least around 1,500. If the ability index grows more and more slowly as it progresses, then this value will be even higher.
While strengthening and repairing internal organs is difficult, Zhang Lei had been working on repairing them for a long time. However, his nervous system had never been nourished; it had only been drained of its vital energy time and time again, and then it had to slowly recover on its own. It could be said that Zhang Lei's nervous system had atrophied to the extreme. If Zhang Lei hadn't noticed this during the exam, several main nerves might have been severed, which would have made repair much more difficult.
Zhang Lei is currently facing a dilemma: become stronger or survive. Without survival, no matter how strong he becomes, he's like a rootless duckweed. But if he doesn't become stronger, entering the National Bureau of Disorder will be even more difficult. Without the National Bureau's protection, once the Zuo family finds him, Zhang Lei alone will be no match for such a powerful family. The banner of his master that Zhang Lei invokes is ultimately an illusion, unable to withstand scrutiny from professionals. Perhaps he was able to deceive Liu Yun because he himself has a master with such an eccentric temperament.
Chemistry was the last exam. After finishing it, Zhang Lei rushed home. He thought he heard someone calling him on the way, but he ignored it. At this point, getting home quickly to strengthen his nerves and heart was the most important thing. Zhang Lei felt that he could not delay any longer.
There was another reason why Zhang Lei hadn't discovered problems with his nervous system in the past: the nervous system is not like the internal organs. When a person runs a little further, the heart will feel pressure and the lungs will feel bloated. This is because the internal organs have reached their critical point of endurance.
But nerves rarely do that. Nerves are more like electrical wires, wires rated at 100 amps. Running a current of 1 amp is no problem, and even running a current of 200 amps occasionally won't cause any issues.
The wire was a little thin, but because the current wasn't obstructed, you couldn't feel it at all. However, it got thinner and thinner until it was only the rated one amp, or even slightly less than one amp. At this point, it could still carry a one amp current without triggering any alarm, but if something urgent happened and the current increased, it would start to give you a warning.