Just after Xiao Han and Li Dapang had left, within the casino, a middle-aged man sat on a sofa.
"Go check who those two kids are!" the middle-aged man responded, relying on seven hundred yuan to win over twenty thousand at Baccarat, which had already caught the attention of the casino.
"Yes!" A subordinate next to him immediately nodded.
...............
Upon leaving the casino, Li Dapang was so excited he almost cried.
"My god, so much money, over twenty thousand."
"Only a bit over twenty thousand, look how excited you've gotten," Xiao Han glanced at Li Dapang and said, "Let's consider this money as our startup capital. I plan to rent a place and start a college entrance exam training class."
"Are you serious, man?" Li Dapang calmed down.
"Yes!" Xiao Han nodded, saying, "We need to make money, and we can only earn it through our own abilities."
"This..." Li Dapang hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Alright, the money was earned by you anyway, how you want to spend it is up to you!"
"Big Fatty, you're my good brother." Xiao Han patted his shoulder and said, "We'll make the money together."
"Okay." Li Dapang, excited, said, "I'll handle finding the venue, I have a few friends in this area."
"That's settled!" Xiao Han nodded.
It was getting late, Li Dapang rode his bike with Xiao Han, racing towards Fuxing Community. As for the twenty thousand yuan, Xiao Han and Li Dapang each took twelve thousand. Li Dapang was to rent the venue, while Xiao Han would buy desks and chairs. A college entrance exam sprint class was about to begin.
Li Dapang dropped Xiao Han off at the entrance of Fuxing Community, then hurried off to find someone.
In all the hustle and bustle, it was already past seven in the evening before he knew it. As it grew dark, Xiao Han quickly headed home.
However, he hadn't walked two steps when more than twenty people emerged from the green belts on both sides of the entrance to Fuxing Community. This bunch clearly didn't look like good citizens, each wearing tight pants, jeans, or tank tops, with dyed blonde hair.
Among them was a familiar face.
"Liao Zhijie?!" Xiao Han stared at Liao Zhijie among the crowd.
This guy strutted arrogantly, smirking and said, "Xiao Han, you sure made a splash today."
"What do you want?" Xiao Han instinctively stepped back two paces.
Clatter...
More than ten people immediately surrounded Xiao Han. Each one with a cigarette between their lips and malicious looks in their eyes, holding sticks in their hands.
"Thinking of running?" Liao Zhijie sneered, "It won't be that easy. If you kneel down and kowtow to the old man three times, I'll let you go, how about it?"
Xiao Han's expression darkened: "Liao Zhijie, we're classmates, why must you go this far?"
"Haha..." Upon hearing this, Liao Zhijie burst into loud laughter, saying, "Scared now? But, it's already too late!"
Xiao Han's face was grim. He wasn't truly afraid of Liao Zhijie; the elements of timidity and fear seemed to have disappeared from his heart long ago. The Xiao Han now seemed to have been completely transformed. Even he himself couldn't fathom why he suddenly felt like he had become someone else.
Seeing Xiao Han remaining silent, Liao Zhijie was even more convinced he was scared.
"Fellows, give him a good beating," Liao Zhijie waved his hand.
"Hehe..." Several thugs nearby chuckled.
These people hung around Linjiang No.1 Middle School, had come into contact with all sorts of people, and had bullied many. Students were the easiest group to bully, and it was common for some to be extorted by them for protection money. Thus, a student like Xiao Han was nothing in their eyes.
"Kid, you asked for this," the lead bleached-haired lad said coldly.
After that, the blond boy rushed toward Xiao Han, his baseball bat savagely targeting Xiao Han's head.
Xiao Han quickly stepped back two paces.
The blond boy's attack missed, and he sneered, "Pretty quick reflexes there!"
Xiao Han stayed silent, wondering why the opponent's attack seemed so slow to him. Could it be because his brain's reaction speed had increased, thereby speeding up his eyes' ability to judge? Xiao Han found this somewhat unbelievable, even hard to believe.
However, in the next wave of attacks, Xiao Han decided to turn his passiveness into activeness.
Whoosh...
As the blond boy charged at him, Xiao Han proactively lunged forward.
Xiao Han moved quickly as a cheetah.
He grabbed the other's baseball bat at the fastest speed, then raised his leg and kicked viciously at the opponent's chest.
Bang!
In that moment, the blond boy was sent flying like a soccer ball.
"Ouch..." The blond boy screamed in agony as he clutched his chest, struggling to stand up.
"Big Brother, are you okay?" A few younger members hurried over.
"Damn, take him down!" Xiaohuang shouted.
The rustling sound...
Five or six people immediately charged towards Xiao Han. This time, Xiao Han seemed a bit nervous. After all, it was his first time facing so many opponents, and he quickly adapted to their attacks during the tussle.
Bang!
Taking advantage of a moment when his opponents were unguarded, Xiao Han fiercely swung his baseball bat at someone's head, causing it to bleed profusely on the spot.
"Ah!" The guy clutched his head and crouched down, screaming in pain.
"Damn it, kill him!" Several thugs panicked.
Then, everyone jumped him, swinging their weapons at Xiao Han.
Xiao Han fought more fiercely as the battle wore on, his stamina and his regular exercise playing a significant role. Otherwise, no matter how fast his brain reacted, it would have been useless. After a bloody fight, the aluminum baseball bat in Xiao Han's hand was bent, and he had smashed three gang members' heads open, causing severe bleeding. A few others were also hit by the bat, resulting in two broken legs.
After a fierce fight, the opponents were quickly defeated.
"Retreat!" The leader, Xiaohuang, waved his hand hurriedly, and Liao Zhijie was also stunned. When had Xiao Han become so formidable? Although it was hard to discern his technique, he always managed to attack his enemies in the quickest and most precise way.
Just as Liao Zhijie turned to run...
"Stop!" Xiao Han yelled angrily.
"What... what do you want?" Although Liao Zhijie acted tough in school, that was only because he had bribed many people. Without his lackeys, how could he possibly be a match for Xiao Han with his meagre height of 165 cm and weight under 100 pounds?
"Kneel down!" Xiao Han roared.
With a thud...
Liao Zhijie knelt down without any dignity, quickly begging for mercy: "Xiao Han, please... let me go!"
"Liao Zhijie, let me warn you seriously today," Xiao Han said coldly, "If you dare to trouble me again, I won't hesitate to break your arm!"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Liao Zhijie nodded hurriedly.
"Get lost!" Xiao Han bellowed.
Petrified, Liao Zhijie scrambled away.
Watching his opponent's retreating figure disappear into the distance, Xiao Han felt an intense pain throbbing in his brain for the first time. This pain almost bent him double. He clasped his head with both hands, his body curving like a shrimp.
With a thud...
Eventually, he collapsed heavily to the ground.
Upon waking, Xiao Han felt waves of cold air passing over him. This sensation was very uncomfortable, he struggled to stand up. Although his head no longer hurt, it felt as if a thousand needles were pricking his scalp.
Returning home, Mother Xiao was anxiously looking around at the doorway.
"Xiao Han, you're finally back?" Mother Xiao was frantic, grabbing Xiao Han's arm and speaking excitedly, "If you hadn't come back, I was about to go to the school to look for you."
"Mom, I'm fine," Xiao Han shook his head and said, "I was just held back by a teacher."
"The teacher didn't give you a hard time, did he?" Mother Xiao didn't ask for the reason, because she didn't dare to touch on the deep-seated troubles in Xiao Han's heart.
"No!" Xiao Han shook his head.
"Why are you so pale?" Once inside the house, Mother Xiao noticed Xiao Han's pallid face and became somewhat anxious: "Are you feeling unwell?"
"I'm fine," Xiao Han quickly shook his head and said, "I'm just very hungry!"
"Then eat something quickly!" Mother Xiao hurriedly served the food that had been kept warm in the kitchen. Dinner was radish stewed with pork ribs, a dish of bok choy, and a plate of fermented tofu. There were three dishes, the radish stewed with pork ribs was to nourish Xiao Han. She ate only the bok choy and fermented tofu herself. She ate while watching her son, a look of heartfelt concern in her eyes.
Seeing this scene, Xiao Han's nose tingled, and his eyes moistened.
Seeing his mother leaving the best for him, while he alone bore the burdens of poverty and all its associated pains, Xiao Han vowed in his heart to change their situation and ensure his mother lived the best life possible. This was his most urgent hope.
To prove his capabilities, Xiao Han confined himself to his room and brought out all his exercise books. The national college entrance examination's problem-solving questions were relatively easier for him. After reviewing the questions, he could find the solutions quickly. He finished an entire collection of past national college entrance examination exercises that night, which even he found unbelievable. Just to be safe, Xiao Han decided to visit a bookstore the next day to look for some competition math books.
Despite a sleepless night, Xiao Han constantly felt a sense of losing and gaining power. He feared that upon waking, he would revert to the timid and slow-witted Xiao Han.
Fortunately, when he woke up the next day, everything seemed unchanged.
Getting out of bed, the table was already set with warm soy milk, two dough sticks, four meat buns, and an egg.
As he was a teenager going through a growth spurt, he had a particularly large appetite.
After breakfast, Xiao Han quickly grabbed his school bag and headed towards school.
Just reaching the school gate, he immediately encountered Li Dapang, who was looking around. Li Dapang spotted Xiao Han instantly and ran towards him, taking two steps at a time, complaining, "You kid, why so late?"