Chapter 2: Modern Life

Without realizing it, Zhang Chu’an had been in this world for eight years, and during those eight years he had still not seen his unreliable father; whenever he asked his mother, she always said his father was a hero, but currently occupied with something important and unable to return for now.

This excuse left Zhang Chu’an speechless, but right now, whether his father was alive or dead didn’t really matter to him.

What mattered was that his family was rich—they owned a luxurious villa in Los Angeles, California, and his mother, Su Ling, was a high-level elite with a substantial annual income.

Of course, these things were important, but most important of all was that over these five years he had fully understood what it meant to be a child with a mother.

When he was bullied, his usually gentle and mild mother showed unwavering determination; she firmly demanded justice from the school teachers, insisting on a fair resolution. When the teachers tried to downplay the matter, she decisively chose the legal route.

He tried to persuade his mother to drop the matter, maintaining his attitude of not causing trouble, but received his first slap from her.

He still remembered that day—his mother, after slapping him, crouched down, eyes red, staring at him.

“The child I carried for ten months was not born to be bullied by brats who have mothers but no upbringing. Don’t fear the school or teachers blaming you—we can just leave this school. I’ll find work elsewhere, but I won’t let my baby be bullied.”

“I will make sure those who bullied you pay the price. I can’t believe how their parents raised them—if you can’t raise them properly, don’t have them in the first place.”

Watching his usually gentle and kind mother now resemble a shrew yelling in the street, for some reason Zhang Chu’an thought his mother looked cool.

His current life was absolutely wonderful—he spent his days going to school and then asking his mother for pocket money to invest, since it was only 2002 and he had a ten-year foresight advantage.

Hmm, he could also make some deals with those three people to exchange some points.

In Inner Mongolia, inside a grand and majestic Mongolian yurt, an elderly man with silver hair glared furiously and roared at his son:

“Third son, summon your eldest and second brothers and their families—all of them—to a meeting. Today, the whole family will move out—we must make those little brats who bullied my grandson pay.”

“Understood, Father. I’ll go call Brother One and Brother Two and their families right away.” The middle-aged man nodded and left to fetch them.

“Grandpa, is this really necessary? A fight isn’t worth dragging in Uncle One and Uncle Two’s whole families,” Guo Jing said, dumbfounded.

“What do you mean unnecessary? Ajing, you must understand—you’re the hope of the entire family.”

“When I was young, our family was poor and couldn’t afford schooling, so I worked my ass off to ensure my descendants could study. I started as a ten-thousand-yuan household, then became a billionaire, then a hundred-billionaire.”

“But what happened? Your uncle, your second uncle, and your father—all three failed to get into school. So I figured, if the sons won’t study, I’ll raise the grandsons. But none of your cousins or your two older brothers wanted to study. If your brain gets damaged, the whole family will have to buy diplomas.”

As he finished, tears rolled down the old man’s cheeks. Seeing this, Guo Jing immediately apologized: “Sorry, Grandpa. I made you sad. Jing’er won’t cause trouble again.”

“What nonsense—I didn’t say don’t cause trouble. I said don’t fight. Next time someone tries to beat you, tell them you’re rich and offer them money to leave you alone. Once they take the money, report them to the police. If the amount is large enough, they’ll get several years in prison.”

Guo Jing stared, expression blank, as his grandfather lectured him with utter seriousness.

Grandpa, isn’t this a bit underhanded?

When his uncle and second uncle’s entire families arrived, the old man said nothing and led them straight to the home of the schoolyard tyrant, Chen Haonan.

With a deafening crash, Chen Haonan’s front door was violently kicked open by immense force, as if swept by a gale, flinging the door far away. The sudden intrusion caught the schoolyard tyrant off guard—he stared wide-eyed, utterly bewildered.

Suddenly, he spotted a figure in the crowd that would haunt him for life.

“Guo, you’re pushing too far! You beat me up, returned the protection money, and apologized to the victims—what more do you want?”

He, Chen Haonan, had ruled the streets around the middle school with no rivals—yet now a primary schooler had shattered his three-year-long staff. In broad daylight, he and his gang were beaten, forced to apologize to past victims, return the protection money, and even sign IOUs when they couldn’t pay.

They all came home bruised and couldn’t even afford hospital bills—and now this bastard showed up at his house with his family.

Is there no law? No justice?

“Big Brother, we really have no money left. If we had it, we’d pay back every cent,” Chen Haonan pleaded, his face twisted in despair, leaving Guo Jing’s family utterly confused.

Of course, despite their confusion, they still had to beat Chen Haonan—after all, weapons weren’t borrowed for free, people didn’t come for nothing, and beating this street thug carried zero guilt.

After Guo Jing’s family left in triumph, one of Chen Haonan’s battered subordinates trembled and asked: “Big Brother Hao, should we still collect protection money near the middle school?”

Chen Haonan gave him a look as if he were an idiot—has anyone ever seen a broken staff stand upright again?

Meanwhile, Guo Jing, on his way home in the car, was dozing off—whenever he wanted to chat in the group, he always did this.

Zhang Chu’an: “Guys, I’ve got something to tell you—I know what big events will happen in this world over the next few years. It might not earn you many points, but it’ll definitely help you make some money and live better. Interested in trading points for it?”

Nie Huaishang: “Hehe, Master Zhang, that’s not very fair. If you have enough points, you can always exchange them for money—but no amount of money can buy you points.”

Zhang Xiaofan: “Exactly. Look around the group—who’s actually short on cash?”

Zhang Chu’an: “Aren’t you short? Isn’t your village Wadi Village near Beijing?”

Zhang Xiaofan: “Oh, my village got demolished—it’s now the Olympic Village.”

Guo Jing: “Really? Congratulations. By the way, Chu’an, you’re always thinking about making money—have you run into trouble? Send me your bank account first—I’ll deposit some money into it.”

Zhang Chu’an: “Really? Should I send it?”

Afraid Guo Jing would change his mind, Zhang Chu’an immediately sent his bank account. Two or three minutes later, two million yuan appeared in his account.

Looking at the two million suddenly in his account, Zhang Chu’an’s eyes widened—he’d always thought Guo Jing was generous when he read The Legend of the Condor Heroes, and that being friends with him was never a loss.

Now he realized—this wasn’t just a good brother. This was his long-lost biological father.

Zhang Chu’an: “Dad. Real dad. I’m from a single-parent family—my real dad’s whereabouts are unknown. How about you be my real dad?”

Guo Jing: ...

Zhang Xiaofan: ...

Nie Huaishang: ...