Chapter 2: Modern Life

Before he knew it, Zhang Chu'an had already been in this world for eight years. Throughout those eight years, he still hadn't seen his unreliable old man. Every time he asked his mom about him, she always said his dad was a hero, but was currently doing something important and couldn't come back for a while.

That excuse was so perfunctory it left Zhang Chu'an speechless, but right now, whether his old man was dead or alive honestly wasn't that important to him.

What mattered was that his family was rich — they had a luxurious villa in Los Angeles, USA. His mom, Su Ling, was a high-level elite, earning a very considerable income every year.

Of course, while all that was important, the most important thing was that over these five years he had fully understood what it meant to be a child with a mom — a treasured little gem.

When he was being bullied, his usually gentle-as-water mother showed firm resolve. Without flinching, she made a stern demand to the school teachers, requiring them to give a fair resolution. Facing the teachers' perfunctory attitude of trying to minimize a big issue and reduce a small one, his mother decisively chose the legal route.

Holding an attitude of not wanting to cause trouble, he tried to persuade his mom to drop the matter, only to receive his first slap from her.

He still remembered that day — after his mom slapped him, she squatted down and stared at him with reddened eyes.

"A baby your mom carried for ten months before giving birth to — was it so those bastards who were raised by their mothers but never taught could bully you? Don't be afraid of the school and teachers resenting you over this. At worst, we just won't study here anymore. Even if Mom has to change jobs and move, I won't let my baby be bullied."

"Mom will definitely make those people who bullied you pay the price. I really don't know how those bastards' parents raised them — if you can't teach them well, don't have the kids in the first place."

Watching his usually gentle and amiable mother now looking like a fishwife cursing on the street, for some reason Zhang Chu'an felt his mom was pretty cool.

His current life was simply wonderful for Zhang Chu'an. Every day, besides going to school, he'd ask his mom for pocket money to invest — after all, it was only 2002, and he had the advantage of ten years of foreknowledge.

Oh right, he seemed to be able to make a deal with those three people to exchange for some points or something.

Inner Mongolia, inside a towering, magnificent great yurt, an old man with a head of silver hair was glaring with fury, bellowing at his son with overwhelming presence:

"Laosan, call the eldest, the second, and all their families over for a meeting. Today our whole family moves out together — we must make those little bastards who bullied my grandson pay the price."

"Understood, Dad. I'll go call big brother, second brother, and their families right now." The middle-aged man nodded and went to gather people.

"Grandpa, there's no need for this, right? A fight doesn't require calling over big uncle and second uncle's whole families." Guo Jing said, exasperated.

"What do you mean no need? Ajing, you have to understand — you are now the hope of the whole family."

"Your grandpa was poor as a child and couldn't afford school, so when he grew up, to give his descendants the conditions to study, he worked desperately hard to earn money. Because of this, your grandpa first became a ten-thousand-yuan household, then a hundred-million-yuan tycoon, and then a ten-billion-yuan tycoon."

"But the result? The conditions were provided, yet not one of your big uncle, second uncle, or your dad could get into school. I figured if the sons' generation was no good, I'd cultivate the grandsons' generation — but the result was that your big uncle's and second uncle's kids, plus your two older brothers, none of them were willing to study. If your brain gets damaged, then our whole family will be people buying diplomas with money."

After speaking, tears slid down from the old man's eyes. Seeing the old man like this, Guo Jing hurriedly apologized: "I'm sorry, Grandpa, for making you sad. Jing'er won't cause trouble anymore."

"What are you talking about? When did I say not to cause trouble? I'm telling you not to fight. Next time someone wants to hit you, just tell them you have money and can pay them to not hit you. Once they take the money, then call the police and arrest them — if the amount is huge, robbery is punishable by a few years in prison."

Guo Jing looked at his grandfather with a dark expression as the old man earnestly lectured him.

Speaking of which, Grandpa, is what you're doing really decent?

By the time his big uncle and second uncle's whole families had arrived, his grandfather, without a word, led the group straight to the home of the schoolyard overlord Chen Haonan.

Amid an ear-splitting boom, the front door of schoolyard overlord Chen Haonan's home was kicked open by a tremendous force, as if a gust of wind swept through, sending the door panel flying far away. The sudden turn of events caught the schoolyard overlord inside off guard — his eyes went wide, his face a picture of bewilderment and shock.

Suddenly, he caught sight of a figure in the crowd that would be unforgettable for the rest of his life.

"You surnamed Guo, don't push people too far. You've already beaten people up, the protection fees have been returned, and I've already apologized to the victims. What more do you want?"

Thinking about it, he, Chen Haonan, had been invincible along the streets of No. 1 Middle School, yet ended up having the wooden stick he'd propped up for three years kicked and broken by an elementary school kid. In front of everyone, he and his little brothers had been beaten up, and on top of that they had to apologize to the people they'd bullied before, return the protection money they'd collected, and if they had no money, write IOUs.

It left his brothers covered in injuries without even money to go to the hospital, and now this bastard had led people to his home.

Is there still justice? Is there still law?

"Big brother, we really have no money. If we had money, we'd definitely pay back what we owe." The schoolyard overlord's tearful plea to Guo Jing left the family that had come for revenge utterly baffled.

Of course, although they had doubts in their hearts, they still had to give Chen Haonan a beating — after all, the weapons couldn't be taken for nothing, the trip couldn't be wasted, and beating a street loafer like Chen Haonan carried zero psychological burden.

By the time Guo Jing's family swaggered off, his little brother, injured on top of his existing injuries, asked trembling: "Haonan-ge, are we still going to collect protection fees near No. 1 Middle School in the future?"

Chen Haonan simply gave him a look that said "are you an idiot?" — have you ever seen a broken wooden stick that could be propped up again?

Meanwhile, Guo Jing, who was riding home in a car, was dozing with his eyes closed. He always did this whenever he planned to chat in the group.

Zhang Chu'an: "Everyone, let me tell you something. I know the big events of the next few years in this world. Although it might not earn you much in points, making you some money and living comfortably is no problem at all. How about it — interested in trading some points for it?"

Nie Huaishang: "Hehe, Young Master Chu'an, that's not quite proper of you. If you have enough points, you can definitely exchange them for money, but no matter how much money you have, you can't necessarily exchange it for points."

Zhang Xiaofan: "Exactly. Look at anyone in the group who's short on money?"

Zhang Chu'an: "Aren't you short on money? I remember you lived in Wadi Village near Beijing, right?"

Zhang Xiaofan: "Oh, the village I lived in got demolished and redeveloped. Wadi Village became Olympic Village."

Guo Jing: "Is that so? Then congratulations. Speaking of which, Chu'an's been thinking about earning more money — did you run into some trouble recently? Send me your bank account number first, I'll transfer some money to your bank card."

Zhang Chu'an: "Really? Then I'll send it?"

Zhang Chu'an, afraid Guo Jing might change his mind, immediately sent over a bank account. Two or three minutes later, Zhang Chu'an's bank account had an extra two million.

Looking at the extra two million in his account, Zhang Chu'an's eyes suddenly went wide. When he used to watch The Legend of the Condor Heroes, he felt Guo Jing was generous enough — being friends with him would definitely not be a loss.

Now it seemed this wasn't just a good brother — this was clearly the biological father he'd never met.

Zhang Chu'an: "Dad, dear dad, I'm from a single-parent family right now. That biological father I've never met has no idea where he disappeared to. How about you be my real dad?"

Guo Jing:.......

Zhang Xiaofan:......

Nie Huaishang:......