Chapter 131: Hero Lu

"Don't listen to that! Those private vocational schools nearby are just trying to swindle money. Since they can't recruit enough students, they bribe middle school teachers with commissions—a kickback for every student they sign up!"

This was meant as comfort, but the truth was that Lu Qi’s grades were a genuine headache. Unlike Zhang Peiyue, who would sleep through class, Lu Qi listened attentively every day and finished his homework on time. He was, if anything, quite diligent. However, concepts that others grasped the moment a teacher explained them took him a long time to puzzle out on his own. Even by studying until nine or ten o'clock every night, he still lingered at the very bottom of the class.

"Forget it. Being tracked into vocational school is actually for my own good. Finish it early, find a job early! I’ve thought about it—what’s the point of high school anyway? Even if I spend three years there, someone like me won't pass any entrance exams. I’ll just end up carrying bricks and cement with my dad. Instead of that, I might as well start working early, earn money for a few years, and save on tuition!"

Xiao Cheng was struck speechless. Modern high school, to put it bluntly, was just a three-year cram session for the college entrance exam. If you couldn't cross that narrow bridge, a high school diploma held no meaning at all. Lu Qi’s reasoning wasn't entirely wrong, but...

Must a laborer’s son only be a laborer?

The son of an official becomes an official; the son of a tycoon is born a tycoon; but the son of a laborer...

"My dad discussed it with me yesterday. He asked me what I wanted to do. I told him I’m done with school; there’s no point in continuing. He said I could work with him and that he’d find me a master mason. After three years of apprenticeship, I’d be a journeyman. The two of us could work together and make decent money. Houses are being built everywhere, and building means finishing work. A mason never lacks for jobs..."

Xiao Cheng felt a lump in his throat. Although the big guy before him looked no different from a fully-grown man, he was only sixteen. "Poor children mature early"—the saying sounded like a compliment, but it was laden with helplessness and bitterness.

From these few words, Xiao Cheng could perfectly reconstruct the conversation between father and son: the son’s anxious response, the father masking his own despair. For a laborer, the best future he could plan for his son was to find him a master mason.

"Do you like being a mason?" Xiao Cheng asked.

Lu Qi gave a dismal smile. "Who likes bending over to mix cement and lay tiles? But what does it matter if I like it or not? I’m such a big guy; I can't keep letting my dad carry bags of sand to support me. He’s nearly fifty..."

The giant lowered his head, his fingers fiddling with the gauze wrapped around his waist. The air was thick with his helplessness; one could almost smell it.

"If you had a choice, what would you want to do?"

Lu Qi remained silent.

Seeing his embarrassment, Xiao Cheng spoke first. "When I was little, I wanted to be a judge. Who’s right and who’s wrong—I’d be the one to decide! One strike of the gavel, and I’d have them dragged out to be shot for five minutes! It sounded so cool! What about you?"

"I wanted to be a hero!" At the mention of this, Lu Qi grew excited. "The greatest of heroes serves the country and the people! If I could, I’d be a hero—drawing my sword to help those in need, settling grievances with joy, and roaming the world!"

It was rare to hear Lu Qi use so many idioms at once.

"A hero? A thug bullies a girl in broad daylight, and Hero Lu lets out a shout, steps in righteously, and takes on five men at once! The scoundrels flee in terror. I, Wen, am impressed!"

The joke made Lu Qi blush deeply. He said sheepishly, "A real hero wouldn't have gotten beaten up this badly. Damn it, he almost stabbed me to death..."

Xiao Cheng shook his head. "Falling for a villain’s ambush doesn't diminish a hero's reputation!"

Lu Qi felt even more embarrassed but appeared thrilled. He shook his head, saying, "I’m not a hero. How could I be a hero?"

Xiao Cheng laughed. "If acts of courage don't make a hero, what does? Do you have to go to Mount Hua for a sword fight and earn a diploma?"

To help the endangered and relieve the distressed is to be a hero; to sacrifice oneself for righteousness is to be a hero. In fact, every boy harbors a hero’s dream, only to forget it once he wakes up. What is more tragic is that most people end up becoming the very kind of snobbish, petty people that heroes despise.

"I’m only telling you this—when I was a kid, I wanted to be a hero who sneaks into houses at night, takes ill-gotten gains, and uses them to help the poor. Now, it’s just a fantasy. I don't know martial arts, and staying in the hospital is so boring that I just let my mind wander."

Xiao Cheng rolled his eyes. Sneaking into houses at night isn't being a hero; that’s being a thief.

As he finished speaking, he suddenly thought of the "foreign thief"...

But speaking of taking ill-gotten gains, he wondered if his scheme to swindle two million from the casino counted as being a hero.

"Speaking of martial arts, do you want to learn?"

Lu Qi’s eyes lit up. "Can you do it? I saw you fighting Chen Guo and Shi Jianfeng; you looked like you knew your stuff. Don't tell me you really know kung fu!"

Xiao Cheng laughed. "I don't, but someone does. If you want to learn, I’ll arrange it for you!"

As he said this, Xiao Cheng felt enlightened. If someone with Lu Qi’s height and build learned from Tai Hu, even if he didn't become a professional Sanda fighter, he would have no trouble becoming a bodyguard for a female CEO or a campus beauty! Anything would be better than carrying sand and cement!

More importantly—he would love it!

"Are you serious? I can learn kung fu? Does it cost money? Is it expensive?"

"Don't worry. Once you're recovered, I’ll take you. He’s a martial arts master hidden among the common folk!"

Xiao Cheng vividly recounted the legend of Tai Hu in prison: how he dominated the cell block, and how he challenged a special forces soldier who had just transferred to the local area, earning himself a month’s worth of roast chicken. Lu Qi listened with blood pumping in his veins; the martial arts dream of a young boy was reawakened.

Having something to look forward to made missing the high school entrance exam feel less depressing. By the same token, having a brother made him feel less alone.

"By the way, Jiang Xiaotao was caught—the kid who stabbed you."

"I know. Officer Wang from the Municipal Bureau called my dad yesterday to tell him." Lu Qi paused. "Lei Yang’s father came yesterday, too, and... he brought twenty thousand yuan."

Xiao Cheng sensed there was more and narrowed his eyes, listening.

"He asked me not to tell the police that Lei Yang held me down. He wanted me to say the scene was chaotic and I couldn't remember clearly."

Xiao Cheng asked, "What do you think? Did you take the money?"

Lu Qi looked distressed. "He threw the money down and ran off. I hadn't made up my mind, but when my mother came, she thought it was compensation and kept it. I haven't told her yet. Should I take this money?"

Xiao Cheng chuckled. "Brother, the money is for you, not me. You have to make the decision yourself."

Lu Qi looked conflicted. "I know I shouldn't take it. It’s hush money. Even though the kid with the ear stud was the one who stabbed me, if Lei Yang hadn't held me, I wouldn't have been hit! That guy is low."

"Do you want to take the money but still tell the truth?"

Lu Qi nodded. "Whether I keep the money doesn't matter, but I feel that things should be exactly as they happened. I don't intend to frame anyone or cause trouble, but I don't want to compromise my conscience either!"

Xiao Cheng gave a sly grin. "Then just keep the money. I doubt the police will specifically come to ask you about this."

"Huh? Why?"

Xiao Cheng’s grin grew even more cunning. "Because I already sent a recording to Officer Wang Jipeng’s phone."

——————

In this chapter, what I want to say is: do not mock other people’s dreams. Even if someone says they want to be a hero, don't say hurtful things like "you've read too many martial arts novels." What if one day, they actually cross over?

I am not a god, but in fact, I am a hero.

Hero Wen wishes all readers a Happy New Year!