Chapter 12: Talent, Gap

【Junior Achievement - Deep Sleep (3/7)】

Seeing this line of illusory text, Qin Shi felt his heart filled.

Like playing a game with stable check-ins, waiting for rich rewards to be distributed.

Expectations maxed out!

"Full of energy every day! In this state, let alone practicing with Lao Liang, even the Old Factory Street triathlon, delivering food, doing courier work, driving a taxi—I can handle it all!"

Just as dawn broke, Qin Shi washed up quickly and stretched his body.

To be sure, Old Martial Arts indeed worked fast.

After only two days of training, results were already visible!

"Arms, shoulders, waist and abdomen... as if carved by a knife, lines gradually emerged."

Qin Shi wiped himself with cold water and put on clean clothes.

His delicate, handsome appearance gained a few points of masculine vigor.

"Tsk tsk, bro, young girls these days are exactly into your type."

"A thin-muscled boy with broad shoulders and narrow waist, plus a 1.8-meter-tall sports student buff—lethality is huge!"

Qin Lan carried breakfast, looking at Qin Shi whose bearing had risen another level, and couldn't help but rub her hands together.

"If big brother is well packaged and dressed up, my future sister-in-law reserve can quickly expand into a group."

"By then, sister relies on brother—no problem!"

"What are you thinking, wipe that drool."

Qin Shi snapped his fingers, expressionlessly flicking Qin Lan's smooth forehead with a finger snap.

"Up so early for what? Isn't your part-time job usually at noon?"

Qin Lan pouted and cried out in pain:

"Ouch, this is the head of the future Chief General Manager of San Tan Heavy Industry! What if you break it!"

Your top priority now is to get into university, stop daydreaming!

Qin Shi looked at his mysteriously confident sister and silently slandered:

"A delusional woman, truly cringe."

Qin Lan took big bites of the thin-skinned, meat-filled beef bun:

"Last time my part-time job ended early. I was doing fine tutoring homework as a private tutor earning one share, then helping the little brother with homework earning another share."

"Too bad competition was too fierce, always getting orders snatched by another piano teacher!"

"That guy not only writes homework for them, but also does online training to boost scores for the little brothers—I can't compete with him!"

The youngest brought up this matter, still angry.

"Cutting off her financial path, irreconcilable enemies!"

"Sure enough, volunteer dogs are the culprits of deteriorating industry ecology."

Qin Shi gave a thumbs up, able to tutor homework and retreat to online training for score boosting, both literary and martial.

"So what's your part-time job now?"

Qin Lan lowered her head and honestly confessed:

"Writing homework for Elite Class students on their behalf. Urban Circle Schools have many slackers who can't finish daily homework."

"Especially those from rich families who want to choose mechanical direction in the future—rich brothers and sisters."

"I help them solve some small problems, earning more than supermarket cashiers and tutors!"

Qin Shi subconsciously frowned, expression serious:

"This behavior violates school rules. What if a teacher finds out? Youngest, let's not take risks."

He had studied at New No. 1 Middle School Hongzhi Class for three years and had come into contact with some Elite Class groups.

He deeply knew that ordinary people's so-called "excellent education" and "high quality" of wealthy and powerful families...

... was actually some kind of unreal illusory filter.

Rich people aren't all utterly evil, but children raised in comfortable environments from childhood get things too easily, and the cost of making mistakes without punishment is too low.

They are not in the same "world" as us Old Factory Street worker children.

If word leaks out and the matter is exposed, the primary one to be harmed must be Qin Lan.

"Oh, okay, bro. I'll listen to you!"

Qin Lan sat up properly, without any perfunctoriness, seriously nodding in agreement.

As the youngest in the family, she never lied to the eldest sister or second brother, nor used her young age as an excuse for rebellion and ignorance.

Qin Shi said softly:

"Don't worry about tuition. Choosing mechanical courses is expensive, but eldest sister can earn money, and I will find a way—we can definitely afford for future Engineer Qin to get into one of the Four Great National Universities and graduate smoothly!"

Qin Lan shook her ponytail and hehe laughed:

"I know, I know. My brother is the most capable! I'll just study hard and not think about anything!"

After breakfast, Qin Shi walked out the door, jogging while thinking:

"Lao Liang said yesterday, as long as the Qi Life Force level is high, there's no worry about not having ways to make money..."

He calculated that the money eldest sister gave hadn't been touched much.

Tutoring class registration fee, let Lao Liang waive it.

But considering drinking Nutrient Paste next, going to the Footbath Shop, these are necessary expenses.

Subsequent martial arts training, many expenses also need to be reserved in advance.

"Relying only on part-time jobs, life is too tight."

Qin Shi was pondering how to make money when suddenly he realized:

"In the past, I would've at most thought about finding Lao Xu to pick up a few more part-time jobs for odd work."

"But now, restless thoughts inexplicably stir."

"Possessing a sharp weapon, killing intent arises of its own — truly correct."

Shaking off chaotic thoughts, Qin Shi's expression returned to calm.

No matter how harsh the conditions, he would never walk the road of no return into illegal crime just for money.

"Even taking ten thousand steps back, even if I went to Jin Se Yin Xiang to sell myself!"

"Being Old Factory Street's top male escort, eating the soft rice of Urban Circle rich women, beats happily receiving a pair of silver bracelets!"

"Raise Qi Life Force to ten points, pass the Ranking Examination."

"Not to mention anything else, the Hongzhi Class scholarship would be in hand."

Qin Shi entered No. 9 Middle School through the Back Gate on time; Lao Liang hadn't arrived yet, but the tutoring class students had more or less all arrived.

The playground was quite lively; Li Yuan, lean and plain-looking, hung from the single bar doing rotational exercises.

"This newcomer grasped Qi Sense yesterday, and Lao Liang even treated him to Nutrient Paste — looks like he's preparing to focus on cultivating him."

"Xin Yi High School's good students are just fierce; they can endure Meridian Opening and Back Pulling, and grasp Qi Sense fast too."

"I reckon Lao Liang won't put him in the same class arrangement as us."

Xie Yucheng's eyes were full of envy; No. 9 Middle School's Teacher Liang's teaching method was very simple.

However far you can cultivate, he teaches that far.

Meridian Opening and Back Pulling — he and Li Yuan tried once and couldn't do it.

Even gritting their teeth and forcing it was useless!

Exhausted to the point that the next day, they lay in bed unable to get up.

Forced to recuperate for several days, missing classes, the loss outweighed the gain.

Grasping Qi Sense was even more hopeless.

This step is too abstruse, like asking a blind man to accurately describe the scenery before him — difficult as ascending to heaven.

"Truly unfair!"

Li Yuan said resentfully:

"The two of us aren't not trying, but we just can't learn it. He's fine — entered the door in two days!"

"A Cheng, you say, why is the gap this big?!"

Maybe it was because of that bottle of soda, or perhaps because they also live on Bao Gong Street, counting as half neighbors.

Xie Yucheng had a good impression of Qin Shi:

"Alright, Brother Yuan. Didn't Lao Liang say, in this world there are always some people born possessing extraordinary talent and Zizhi."

"Think about it, Xin Yi High School's threshold is so high, you can't just buy your way in with money."

"What's more, his family conditions are very ordinary."

"Relying on his own ability to test into the Hongzhi Class — how impressive is that."

Li Yuan exhaled, let go, feet landing on the ground:

"Old Heaven truly doesn't speak a bit of reason!"

Xie Yucheng comforted:

"Between people, differences indeed exist — what can you do about it!"

"Envious, this guy trains a few more days and will probably catch up to our progress."

"Lao Liang's method, suffering is suffering, but as long as you learn it, Qi Life Force rises incredibly fast."

"Speaking of which, isn't Brother Ze's side recruiting? Might as well introduce him over there."

Li Yuan's face showed hesitation:

"Him? Reliable? Brother Ze wants true brothers who dare to fight and strive!"

Li Yuan and Xie Yucheng are standard worker-suburb kids; they've been street loitering since childhood.

Year-round they frequent billiard halls, video halls, game arcades and such places, knowing quite a few "society elder brothers."

"This guy's family situation isn't better than ours; younger sister studies in the Urban Circle, eldest sister drives a truck hauling goods."

"If there were no other way, who would be willing to overdraft their body and follow Lao Liang to learn boxing?"

Xie Yucheng stomped his feet warming up, grinning:

"West of Beiguan Street, Brother Ze is number one."

"Following Brother Ze, it's better prospects than going down the mines or being a laborer later, right."

"Old Factory Street's best way out is nothing more than entering a factory."

Li Yuan didn't answer, said dully:

"Observe a few more days; although he possesses talent in cultivation, physical fitness and actual combat ability are not the same thing at all."

"If it comes to real fighting, he may not beat us; Brother Ze recruits Boxers, and the requirements aren't low."

(Chapter End)