In the 90s, you could acquire max-level skills every 14 days.

Sun Jian's slap hadn't even landed yet.

Zhang Yong stepped forward and blocked his wrist.

Uncle Sun.

"If you have something to say, say it. What kind of skill is it to beat your wife?"

Sun Jian's face turned red with anger. His clenched fist froze in place, unable to move forward or backward.

He knows it perfectly well.

I was originally planning to slap my wife in front of the whole hospital to show that we still had a reasonable wife in our family.

He and his wife can discuss the rest behind closed doors.

But Zhang Yong stopped him.

They failed to save face and also exposed their weaknesses.

He shook off his wrist and shoved his wife's shoulder.

"Then you! Confess honestly! Did you do it or not?!"

Sun Jian's wife couldn't hold on and almost sat down again.

She touched her face with lingering fear, only to find that the slap hadn't landed, but the force of the blow had already intensified.

"Sun Jian, you heartless bastard! You're siding with outsiders!"

She poked Sun Jian's chest with her finger, spitting as she spoke.

"I've worked so hard to take care of you two, doing the laundry, cooking, and looking after the house. I've suffered so much humiliation in this courtyard, and you haven't said a single word in my defense!"

"That motorcycle was roaring all morning, making such a racket! What's wrong with me saying a few words?"

"And that girl from the Wei family! I disliked her last time! She was banging on the door downstairs in the middle of the night! You all pretended not to hear her, didn't you!"

She glanced around the courtyard and pointed to the entrance of the apartment building.

"She's even paying out of her own pocket to get a car mechanic! I wonder what her secret is! She's probably just a little vixen!"

The moment those words were spoken, the atmosphere in the courtyard changed.

Even the quickest-talking Sister Zhao didn't dare to reply, and the rest of the people gasped in shock.

Sun Lei stood to the side, his face drained of all color.

He grabbed his mother's arm tightly.

"Mom! Please! Stop talking! Let's go back!"

Sun Jian's wife shook off his hand.

"Am I wrong? I—"

That's enough.

Zhang Yong turned around and faced Sun Jian's wife.

His eyes held no anger, but instead made Sun Jian's wife feel uneasy.

"Auntie, I was originally planning to settle this matter of damaging other people's property privately. After all, we're neighbors, and we could just talk things out behind closed doors."

He paused for a moment.

"But I can't pretend I didn't hear what you just said."

Zhang Yong then turned to look at Sun Jian.

"Uncle Sun, Wei Shuyun is my classmate from driving school. Her father is the director of Tongxian Winery, and she herself was admitted to Tsinghua University this year."

"She came to my house yesterday, and her dad thanked me in person for fixing his car. Everyone saw it."

He speaks slowly and clearly.

"Your wife called a Tsinghua University student a vixen in front of the entire hospital. If this gets out, who do you think will be the one who loses face?"

Sun Jian was so disappointed in his son that he kept sighing.

Zhang Yong glanced at Sun Lei again.

"Sun Lei, you're a teacher trainee, and you claim to understand the law. You should know what it means to publicly spread rumors, especially when the other party is a student from Tsinghua University."

Sun Lei gripped his mother's arm tightly, his knuckles turning white, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Zhang Yong looked away.

"I'm putting my words here."

"First, I can let the matter of the motorcycle go. But I'll keep this rag and this button."

"Secondly, everyone present heard what was said today. From now on, if anyone makes even a single word about Wei Shuyun, we will go to the Education Bureau and talk to the leaders."

He glanced at Sun Jian one last time.

"Uncle Sun, you've worked in the Education Bureau for so many years, and your reputation isn't easy to maintain. Whether you can control it or not, you should consider that carefully."

"Also, your wife threw that rag into the slop bucket. It's evidence, so we'll have to trouble you to find a way to retrieve it."

Sun Jian's face turned from a liverish color to a steely gray. He opened his mouth twice, but finally managed to squeeze out only one sentence.

"Okay... alright. Let's talk about it when we get back."

He grabbed his wife with one hand and pushed Sun Lei with the other, and the three of them walked towards the entrance of the apartment building.

Sun Jian's wife was dragged a few steps, still angry.

"What are you doing? You're pinching my flesh..."

"Shut up! Go back and get a hook to get the rag out for them!" Sun Jian's voice was squeezed out between his teeth, extremely low, but everyone around could hear it.

"I, Old Sun, have never been so humiliated in my entire life!"

The sound of the three people's footsteps faded into the distance.

The door on the fourth floor slammed shut.

Immediately afterwards, Sun Jian's suppressed roar came from inside, mixed with the sound of bowls and plates clattering, and Sun Jian's wife's shrill sobs.

Sister Zhao stood by the flower bed for a long time before finally letting out a long sigh of relief.

"This family..."

She shook her head, picked up the thermos, and left.

The courtyard returned to peace.

Chen Yang was still standing next to the carport, clutching the car-wiping towel in his hand, his eyes wide open.

"Brother Yong, you're so handsome."

Zhang Yong patted him on the head.

"What's so handsome about him? Go and bring me your essay so I can take a look."

......

After half an hour.

The engine of the Jialing 125 roared in the yard.

Zhang Yong straddled the motorcycle and gave it another throttle. A clear blue smoke billowed from the exhaust pipe, and the roar echoed between the buildings.

Chen Yang sat in the back seat, his arms tightly wrapped around Zhang Yong's waist, a wide smile spreading across his face.

"Brother Yong! Let's go!"

Zhang Yong released the clutch, and the Jialing 125 smoothly glided out of the shed, circling the old locust tree in the middle of the yard.

The sound of the engine echoed among the buildings of Jinsong Community, deep and crisp, carrying an indescribable vigor.

"Yongzi! That's so cool!"

Grandpa Chen sat at the entrance of the gatehouse, holding a teacup in his hand, watching his grandson happily frolicking in the back seat.

Zhang Yong floored the gas pedal again, and the Jialing 125 circled around the corner of the apartment building, came back from the alley entrance, and came to a steady stop in front of the gatehouse.

Chen Yang jumped out of the car, his legs trembling with fear, but he still cheered.

"The wind was so strong just now! Yong-ge! One more lap! Please!"

"For the last lap, write a reflection essay when you get back."

"Ah... okay."

The two walked around a few more times before Chen Yang reluctantly went home.

Zhang Yong also turned off the engine, pushed the car back into the shed, and glanced at it in the rearview mirror.

A crack was opened in the window on the fourth floor.

Behind the curtains, a pair of eyes were staring downstairs.

Sun Lei.

Zhang Yong didn't linger; he turned his back and went upstairs.

……

Fourth floor.

Sun Lei stood behind the window, the curtains clutched tightly in his hand, almost torn off.

The red motorcycle downstairs was parked quietly in the shed, its deep red fuel tank reflecting the afternoon sun.

He stared at it for a long time.

In the living room, Sun Jian sat at the dining table, smoking one cigarette after another without saying a word.

Sun Jian's wife huddled in the bedroom, her crying having long since turned into sobs.

The whole room was filled with smoke.

Sun Lei opened the curtains and went back to his room.

He closed the door and sat down at his desk.

On the desk were the registration materials from the teachers' college, with the student ID card stamped in red on top.

He glanced at his student ID, then closed it again.

That image is all I can think about.

A floral dress, a ponytail, and the scent of lanolin soap.

When she turned around and smiled, her eyes were crescent-shaped and the corners of her mouth were upturned.

But she was looking at Zhang Yong.

Sun Lei's fist slowly clenched.

He stared out the window in that direction, and his lips moved slightly.

The voice was very soft, so soft that only he himself could hear it.

"A car mechanic..."

He placed the student ID back on top of the documents, his fingers tracing the red stamp.

"Once I get a stable job..."

......