After the divorce, he took care of his child and sold fried rice; his ex-wife was filled with regret

Zhang Lei did not answer.

He kept staring at the big screen, then reached under the coffee table and pulled out a spare game controller, tossing it into Ah Biao's arms before patting the spot next to him.

"Come on, sit down and play a couple of rounds with me."

A Biao was stunned for a moment. He didn't know what his boss was up to in the middle of the night, but he knew Zhang Lei's temper; if he was told to sit, he had to sit.

Ah Biao didn't dare ask any more questions. He obediently sat cross-legged on the carpet, picked up the controller, and selected a fighting character.

The screen flickered with light and shadow as two game characters quickly engaged in a brutal, hand-to-hand combat on the arena. Intense sound effects of skill attacks blared from the speakers.

Zhang Lei's fingers moved rapidly across the joystick, his eyes fixed on the screen. Suddenly, he casually asked, "Ah Biao, how long have you been hanging out with me?"

Ah Biao paused, almost missing Zhang Lei's combo in the game, and quickly calmed himself down and thought back.

"Brother Lei, it must have been fifteen years, right?" Ah Biao said with emotion as he pressed the defense button.

"In my second year of junior high, because my family was poor and we couldn't pay the protection money to the thugs in town, I was cornered in the outhouse by several older students and beaten to death."

"I still remember that you rushed in with half a brick and saved me. You had been hit on the head and needed six stitches."

"Fifteen years..."

Zhang Lei let out a long breath, his hands still working swiftly. "Back then, we were really miserable. We were always covered in dirt, and we didn't even have a decent cotton-padded coat in the dead of winter."

"They'd fight to the death over a half-full bucket of instant noodles left over from someone else in an internet cafe, even grabbing beer bottles in the process."

Ah Biao listened and couldn't help but sigh.

Yes, these people all climbed out of the mud pit at the very bottom, and it was by daring to fight to the death that they built this gray empire in Lunan City today.

Zhang Lei suddenly pressed the ultimate move button, and the character on the screen unleashed a combo that brought A Biao's character to zero health.

"KO!"

He reached for the half-empty pack of Zhonghua cigarettes on the coffee table, knocked one out, and put it in his mouth. Ah Biao quickly pulled out a lighter and lit it.

Zhang Lei took a deep breath and looked at A Biao through the bluish-gray smoke.

Do you still remember my cousin who lives far away in Jiangcheng?

Ah Biao was stunned for a moment.

Having followed Zhang Lei for so many years, he naturally knew that Zhang Lei had such a relative.

But in recent years, it seems that they haven't had much contact with Zhang Lei.

But he still asked tentatively, somewhat uncertainly, "Is it... that fair-skinned girl who always wore princess dresses when I went back to my hometown to visit relatives during summer vacation in junior high?"

"Yes, it's her."

Zhang Lei sneered when he mentioned the name.

"Back then, we were still rolling around in the mud pits of town. Her family made a fortune by doing small business in Jiangcheng. When they went back to their hometown to visit relatives during the Spring Festival, they drove a shiny new car and were all the rage."

Zhang Lei took the cigarette out of his mouth and pointed to his cheek.

"I was only thirteen or fourteen years old at the time. I saw Su Qing holding a remote-controlled car and I thought it was interesting, so I couldn't help but move closer to her and want to play with it for a while."

Zhang Lei's facial muscles twitched slightly, as if he could still feel the humiliation from back then.

"And guess what? Before I even touched the remote-controlled car, her mother, Zhang Cuihua, who is also my aunt, saw me approaching her precious daughter from afar, rushed over without saying a word, and slapped me hard across the face."

Ah Biao frowned upon hearing this.

"That slap made my ears ring and my mouth was bleeding."

Zhang Lei tightened his grip on the cigarette between his fingers slightly. "After beating me, that wasn't all. In front of the whole village, she pointed her finger at me and cursed me. She said I smelled like a poor, filthy person and that I was an uncultured vagrant."

Zhang Lei mimicked Zhang Cuihua's sharp and sarcastic tone perfectly:

"She told me to get lost, and not to infect her precious, elegant daughter with my poverty and filth!"

The office was so quiet that only the whirring of the air conditioner could be heard.

"Su Qing was standing right next to me at the time, wearing a clean white dress."

Ah Biao scratched his head, tentatively guessing, "She pleaded for...you?"

"Plead for mercy?" Zhang Lei scoffed as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world, and tapped his finger holding the cigarette in the air.

"She didn't say a single word in my defense."

Zhang Lei stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and snorted coldly.

"From then on, I understood that deep down, their family believed that people like us were the lowest of the low, not even worthy of breathing the same air as them!"

After hearing this, Ah Biao felt a surge of anger: "Brother Lei, this family is utterly despicable! Who do they think they are! We can do whatever we want in Lunan City now, they're nothing!"

Just then, the phone on the coffee table suddenly vibrated again.

"Buzzing—buzzing—"

A rapid, muffled vibration echoed on the glass tabletop, and the screen lit up, displaying the name "Su Qing" on the caller ID.

Ah Biao glanced at his phone: "Brother Lei, call."

"Ignore it." Zhang Lei casually flipped his phone over, placed it screen-down on the glass coffee table, and let it vibrate silently.

He picked up the game controller that had been tossed aside, cracked his knuckles, stared at the screen, and said, "Come on, let's continue."

Ah Biao didn't dare to spoil his boss's fun, so he obediently picked up the controller and selected a new character.

The screen displayed a dazzling interplay of light and shadow, while the sound effects of a fighting game echoed throughout the spacious office.

Another half hour passed.

As the glaring red "KO" message popped up on the screen again, Ah Biao's character was once again mercilessly knocked to the ground, his health bar completely depleted.

"call……"

Ah Biao rubbed his sore and stiff thumb, threw the game controller onto the thick carpet, and gave a helpless, bitter laugh:

"I'm not playing anymore, my hands are about to break from rubbing them so much, but I still can't beat you. Brother Lei, your hand speed is too fast, and your combos are so dense, you don't give me a chance to breathe at all!"

Zhang Lei released the handle, picked up the long-flat can of iced cola from the coffee table, took a big gulp, glanced at A Biao, and sneered.

"Practice more."

"Fighting this thing is the same principle as when we're out in the underworld."

"If you're not ruthless enough and your moves aren't fast enough, you'll expose a weakness and be cornered until you're finished."

Zhang Lei pointed at the screen, "You clearly had a chance to turn the tables on me in the second round, but you hesitated, always thinking about taking a step back to defend. In our line of work, taking a step back isn't about finding a safe haven, it's about falling into an abyss. You're just too soft-hearted."

Ah Biao nodded, looking ashamed, "Brother Lei, you see things very clearly. I really can't wrap my head around it."

……